About the book: 2016 / Readers are invited to the first part of the second volume of the famous work of the Russian historian Ivan Yegorovich Zabelin (1820–1909) - “The History of Russian Life from Ancient Times ", published from 1876 to 1879. In this book, the historian turned to the dawn of ancient Russian statehood, the times of the first great princes - from the legendary Rurik to Vladimir. Analyzing the early written evidence of Ancient Rus' - treaties with Byzantium - I. E. Zabelin reflects on the foreign and domestic policies of the young state, on the growing role of the Grand Duke, on the moral essence of Slavic paganism.