The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text

Excellent book. A must read for all students

This copy seems to be a reprint of an older edition (common these days) but it is of good quality and easy to read. Great introduction and notes. The Russian Primar Chronicle is one of the few essential primary sources for learning about the Rus' as they (later) saw themselves. Plenty of propaganda, but it makes a very good story. Intriguing details and lots of food for thought. If you like Vikings or are interested in the early history of Eastern Europe, you should read this book.

I just got this book and it’s fascinating. It depicts the origins of Russia and Ukraine as one country Kiev Russia. For someone born & raised in Ukraine, it’s incredible that this writing was not taught in schools there, at least not in 1980’s. I am finally learning origins of my people.

I enjoy history but I'm not a professor or historian. So from my perspective I did appreciate that the introductory material of this book discussed the modern view of history through alternate sources and archaeological record. It provided an interesting contrast between what they believed in the 1000s versus what we believe today, and why.

The main text is fine. The low 2-star review relates instead to the unprofessionally handled genealogy section that is a basic reference to this kind of text. It is far below readable standards. See the original at http://www.mgh-bibliothek.de/dokumente/a/a011458.pdf, at p.309 of 325. I did not have time to return this book, but it has been difficult to use. To get five stars, 1. Please add a needed additional page so the genealogy attached will open to make a spreadsheet, as in the original. Whose son was this? Flip the page, squint,flip back, find a ruler, guess. 2. Make the font as large as the page permits. That would be a huge help. The tiny font here requires too much magnification. There is margin room for a decent font size. 3. Copy each side, whether double-sided or with the added page to be set up as a spreadsheet, so the lines match up and look alike: I got one with one side that had black margins and an ugly black corner (lid left up) and the other page is well done and white. (lid was down). And the lines do not match.

This work is fundamental to the history of Russia and the beginning of the Kievan culture. Reading this chronicle helps one understand how the Russian state developed and why it differs so much from our own.

This is the Primary Chronicle for a very inexpensive price. Ten years or so ago, the price was prohibitive.

Exactly what I ordered and needed