Ancient Rus and the Great Steppe

29 hrs. 35 min.

Language Russian

Author Lev Gumilyov

Narrator Maxim Suslov

Description

Lev Nikolaevich Gumilev (1912–1992) is a Russian Soviet scholar: archaeologist, orientalist, geographer, ethnologist, creator of the theory of passionarity in ethnogenesis. Son of Anna Akhmatova and Nikolai Gumilev, who was executed in 1921 on a fabricated charge of participating in an anti-Soviet conspiracy. For his views, Lev Gumilev was repeatedly subjected to repression. In the final years of the Great Patriotic War he fought in the ranks of the Red Army and received awards. However, after the war he was condemned again and rehabilitated only in 1956. Both in the camps and after his release, he worked on writing various scholarly works. In his research, Lev Gumilev adhered to Eurasianist ideas; his works still provoke heated debates among ethnologists and historians.

“Ancient Rus’ and the Great Steppe” is a large monograph devoted to studying the relationship between Ancient Rus’ and its neighbors, mainly the nomads. The author tries to recreate a coherent picture of the ethnical history of that period. Gumilev’s theory sparked serious disputes in the academic community and was rejected by most historians. But his book continues to attract the attention of the general public. We offer you the opportunity to get acquainted with this substantial work in audio format.