Prophetic Oleg in the history of Kievan Rus

Polyakov Alexander Nikolaevich

The article deals with the controversial issue of the role of Prince Oleg in the formation of the ancient Russian state. The author comes to the conclusion that none of the events described by the chroniclers related to the name of Oleg is confirmed in other sources. All of them are the result of book constructions based on biblical and folklore stories. The image of the prophetic prince, which was drawn by the author of the "Tale of Bygone Years", is the fruit of the creativity of an Old Russian scribe, and not a historical person.

Keywords:Oleg, "The Tale of bygone years", the Novgorod First Chronicle, the campaign, Igor, the contract