The Tale of Bygone Years

The Primary Chronicle (also called the “Initial Chronicle” or “Nestor’s Chronicle”) is the earliest of the chronicle compendiums that has come down to us. It belongs to the 12th century. Traditionally it is considered to have been compiled by Nestor the Chronicler in ancient Kyiv. It describes the history of Kievan Rus from the 9th to the 12th century. This compilation is known as part of a number of chronicle collections preserved in manuscript copies, the best and oldest of which are the Laurentian of 1377 (where the 2nd edition of the “Primary Chronicle” is reflected) and the Hypatian of the 1520s (where the 3rd edition of the “Primary Chronicle” is reflected).

The chronicle absorbed a large amount of materials from stories, tales, and legends, as well as oral poetic traditions about various historical persons and events.

Researchers of the 18th–19th centuries considered Nestor the first Russian chronicler, and the “Primary Chronicle” the first Russian chronicle. The study of chronicle writing by A. A. Shakhmatov, M. D. Prisyolkov, D. S. Likhachyov, A. N. Nasonov, M. N. Tikhomirov, L. V. Cherepnin, B. A. Rybakov, and others showed that there existed chronicle compendiums that preceded the “Primary Chronicle,” and that the “Primary Chronicle” itself is not a single work.

Many treat it as the main source for the indicated period, sometimes without sufficient justification rejecting other sources if they contradict the “Primary Chronicle.” The manuscript copies that have come down to us are a compilation of several original sources, and the same events are sometimes interpreted differently in different parts of the chronicle.

In the “Primary Chronicle,” legends about the origins of the Slavs and the calling of the Varangians are recorded. Many moments are conveyed allegorically, using biblical quotations, which is why the chronicle contains a large amount of information that is still not fully understood.