The Green Stone

19 hrs. 31 min.

Language Russian

Author Boris Izyumsky

Narrator Alexander Konyakhin

Description

V.V. Izyumsky’s historical tales are always interesting. He masters the art of constructing suspenseful narratives. From the first pages of the book, you can feel the writer’s gift.

His persistent pursuit of the true essence of life, the precision of observed details, and the realism of life circumstances in his accumulated material enabled B.V. Izyumsky not to sacrifice truth in his books.

Boris Vasilyevich Izyumsky is a person with a very difficult, yet interesting and happy fate. The happiness of the writer is his books. Everything he wrote for children and adults—easy and lasting—found its way into readers’ hearts and souls. His books have one undeniable virtue: they are interesting. And they are interesting because they are written by a talented, broadly educated man who knew precisely and deeply what he writes about.

It was only natural for the author to turn to themes of Russian history. A professional historian and connoisseur of genuine documents, he knew the language of his historical characters. And again—traveling to the places where events took place. In Kyiv, Novgorod, and Taman he carefully studies preserved old times and immerses himself in the era about which he intends to write.

The novella “Timofey from Kholop Street” carries us from the southern outskirts of Rus northward, to the Novgorod veche republic. A republic? Yes, Novgorod was torn apart by harsh contradictions between the wealthy nobility and the working poor. In the struggle against German “dogs,” the knightly crusaders, the Novgorodians stood like an unbreakable wall. But once the people drained away from the battlefield, social strife flared up with renewed force. And how difficult it was for the truth-seeker and literate man Timofey from Kholop Street to say—and preserve in his writings for posterity—the full truth of how Novgorodians really lived in their “republic.”

And finally “The Khan’s Yarlik.” In this story, the writer attempts to artistically interpret the deeds of the Moscow prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita, who, already in the times of the Tatar yoke, made a bold and not entirely unsuccessful attempt to gather a unified Rus around the still very young Moscow. No, this Moscow prince is in no way ideal. Still, his actions—far from always flawless—contribute to the emergence of a new Russian state. Such is the wisdom of history.

Contents:

01. “Green Stone”
A tale about the reign of Anna Ioannovna...

02. “The Salt Highway”
The first tale about Evsee Bovkun. Together with him, following the chumaks’ convoy, we’ll travel to Crimea for salt, and witness fierce clashes of the Cumans with Russian people...

03. “A City Beyond the Sea of a Lukomorye”
Independent and proud Evsee, seeking escape from the serfdom of the brutal bojar-livestock butcher Putyata, flees into the wild—yet free at the time—Podonyé. Here, freedom-loving rabble from all corners of Rus founds new Russian settlements...

04. “Timofey from Kholop Street”
The action unfolds in the north of Rus, in the Novgorod veche republic...
A republic?! Yes, Novgorod is also torn apart by harsh contradictions between the wealthy nobility and the working poor. In the struggle against the German knightly dogs, the Novgorodians stood like a tightly-knit, unbreakable wall. But when the people drained away from the battlefield, social strife erupted with new strength. And how difficult it was for Timofey from Kholop Street, a man devoted to truth and letters, to say—and preserve in his records for posterity—the full truth of how the Novgorodians actually lived in their “republic”...