The history of mankind knows many examples of heroism and courage. They came to us thanks to chroniclers, oral literature, myths and legends. This is very important for future generations: descendants should be proud of their national heroes, even if the events took place more than a thousand years ago! Not everyone knows about what feat the youth from Kiev accomplished, and at what time it happened.
Studying in literature lessons
Of course, “The Tale of Bygone Years,” recorded by Nestor, required translation and processing in order for this historical work to be understandable to the modern reader. The content of legends and historical events is conveyed to us by ancient Russian literature. The feat of the youth from Kiev was already outlined on Today, the legend is studied in schools by fifth grade students. Some Old Russian words, the names of tribes and peoples remain incomprehensible to children. To make archaisms easier to remember, you should compile a small dictionary for yourself: during the teacher’s explanation, write down the meaning of expressions or individual names. Children may not know what a youth, father, Pechenegs, or grieving are. Although, in parallel, in history lessons, children study Ancient Rus' and hear some terms.
Quotation plan
The feat of the youth from Kiev is better perceived by children if the teacher recommends that they draw up a plan for the work. It is advisable that this be a quotation plan: it is enough to use phrases from the text that reflect the content of the episode. It might look like this:
The Pechenegs came to Russian land;
They besieged the city with great force;
Who could get over to the other side;
The boy said: “I’ll get through!”;
Will people surrender to the Pechenegs;
They sat down in the boats and blew the trumpet loudly;
An army is following me;
He gave Pretich a horse, a saber and arrows;
Svyatoslav returned to Kyiv.
The monument, built in honor of the victory of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich over the Pechenegs, still stands above the banks of the Dnieper in Zaporozhye.
Each part of the story is easily remembered and retold, thanks to the use of a quotation plan. The teacher can invite students to read the work role-playing. In such lessons, children begin to understand the significance of the appearance of writing, books, chronicles for the now Christian Rus'. Many schoolchildren today know about the feat the Kiev boy accomplished thanks to literature and history lessons. In honor of this feat, the St. Sophia Cathedral was built.
Books and chronicles
Until the 11th century, books came to Rus' only from Byzantium, and then from Bulgaria. These were translations by foreign authors. The first works of ancient Russian writers appeared only in the eleventh century: this is the work of Hilarion and the chronicle. In other countries this genre was not known. In the 12th century, the monk Nestor made additions and corrections to the old chronicles and gave them the name “The Tale of Bygone Years.” Temporary summers mean past years. The chronicle describes the life and activities of all the Russian princes: the author especially emphasizes the idea that only the love of brothers and the desire for peace could unite them. Love for the Motherland, caring attitude towards the land of one’s ancestors - the fatherland - is the main motive of the entire work. And although the beginning of the book is similar to legends and myths, the reader receives information about the historical figures who created the first principalities of Ancient Rus'. Part of the story is a description of what feat the Kiev youth and governor Pretich accomplished.
The legend of the youth's feat
This happened in the summer of 968 or, according to the calendar of those times, in 6476. The principalities were constantly subject to attacks from eastern tribes. But this summer, for the first time, the Pechenegs encroached. At this time, Svyatoslav was not in the city of Kyiv: he was in Pereyaslavets. His mother, Princess Olga, stayed here with her grandchildren, the children of Svyatoslav.
These were his three sons: Oleg, Vladimir and Yaropolk. She locked herself in with them in the city of Kyiv, and they were not able to get out of there: the Pechenegs besieged it with great force. There was no way for the population to go outside the city; it was impossible to send messages and ask for help. People were exhausted from hunger and thirst.
Youth from Kiev and feat
On the other side of the Dnieper, people also gathered who could not get to Kyiv through the huge horde of Pechenegs in order to help the residents of the city or deliver provisions and water there. They stood ready in the boats on the opposite bank and could not do anything.
The population of the city tried to find someone who could get through the ranks of the enemies and inform the troops that if they did not approach Kyiv, they would have to surrender to the Pechenegs. And then one young man from Kiev declared that he would make his way to “his own people.” The people told him: “Go!”
This boy knew the Pecheneg language. He took the bridle in his hands and went out with it into the enemy’s camp. He ran through their ranks and asked if anyone had seen his horse? They took the young man for their man. Having reached the Dnieper, he threw off his clothes and threw himself into the water. The Pechenegs saw his maneuver and rushed after him, shooting: but nothing could be done.
Voivode Pretich and his cunning
People on the opposite bank noticed that the Kiev youth threw himself into the water and swam towards them. They went on boats to meet him, lifted him on board and took him to the squad. The youth said that if the soldiers did not approach the city tomorrow, then the people would have to surrender to the Pechenegs. The governor was Pretich, and he proposed to approach the city in boats, capture Princess Olga and the princes, and rush off to the opposite bank. If they do not do this, if they do not save the princes, then Svyatoslav will not forgive this and will destroy them. A real feat was accomplished by a youth from Kiev, reporting on the difficult situation of Kyiv.
Voivode's plan
According to Pretich's plan, at dawn the squad got into the boats and, with the sounds of trumpets, moved towards Kyiv. People in the city, hearing the sound of trumpets, screamed. The Pechenegs rushed in all directions: it seemed to them that it was Prince Svyatoslav himself who had come. She left the city with her grandchildren and retinue and headed towards the boats. The Prince of the Pechenegs, noticing this, returned to the boats on his own and asked Pretich who they were? To which I received the answer that these were people from the other side of the Dnieper. When asked by the Pechenezh prince if he was Svyatoslav, Pretich replied that they were the foremost comfort, and behind them a huge army led by Prince Svyatoslav was moving. He said this on purpose to scare the Pecheneg prince. This resolved all the contradictions: the Pecheneg offered friendship to Pretich and he accepted it. They shook hands and exchanged armor: the prince received a shield, sword and chain mail, and Pretich received a horse, arrows and a saber.
Victory over enemies
Despite the truce and the retreat of the Pechenegs from the city, the danger of being captured remained. The enemy remained densely encamped on the Lybid River, and it was impossible for the residents to take their horses out to water. And then the residents of Kyiv decided to send a messenger to Svyatoslav with words about the danger that threatened them. They reproached the prince for the fact that while fighting and caring for a foreign land, he left his native side. And the Pechenegs almost captured both his mother and his children. Residents called the prince for help, asking him to protect him. As soon as this news reached him, Svyatoslav, together with his retinue, quickly returned to Kyiv, where his mother and three sons met him.
He was very sad about what they all had to go through. Svyatoslav gathered his entire squad and drove all the Pechenegs far into the field. After which came a time of peace.
Now, when asked what feat the youth from Kiev accomplished, everyone can say that he saved the inhabitants of the ancient city and the family of Prince Svyatoslav. Today this is called patriotism and love for the Motherland.
Old Russian literature. “The feat of a youth from Kiev and the cunning of governor Pretich”
The emergence of Russian literature dates back to the end of the 10th century, when books intended for church services appeared in Rus' after the adoption of Christianity. The concept of “Old Russian literature” includes literary works written in the 11th – 17th centuries.
The beginning of Old Russian literature is associated with the adoption of Christianity in Rus', with church services and preaching. The first listeners of the works were noble people who gathered in the main temple of the city.
The beginning of writing among the Eastern Slavs is associated with the Baptism of Rus' in 988 during the reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavich, grandson of Princess Olga, in Kyiv. Writing came to Rus' from Bulgaria, where the brothers Cyril and Methodius created the Slavic alphabet and for the first time translated liturgical books from Greek into Church Slavonic.
Along with writing, various genres of Byzantine Christian literature came to Rus': life, teaching, word.
In the 11th century, chronicle writing appeared in Rus'. During the reign of Yaroslav the Wise in Kiev, at the court of the Metropolitan, at that time the main church hierarch in Rus', the “Most Ancient Kiev Code” was created, that is, stories about the main events in Rus' from ancient times were recorded.
The word “chronicle” comes from two words: “summer”, i.e. year, and “write.” Thus, a chronicle is a work in which the narrative is presented in chronological order. The narrative began with the words “In the summer...” (i.e., “In the year...”) - hence the name of the chronicle.
The chroniclers considered themselves not authors, but only recorders of events. Therefore, they rarely mention themselves. Most often, the ancient Russian chronicler was a learned monk.
In 1073, the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nikon the Great, using the “Ancient Kiev Code,” compiled the “First Kiev-Pechersk Code.” At the beginning of the 12th century. The monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor corrects and supplements the first editions of the chronicle, which is named after its first lines - “The Tale of Bygone Years.”
“The Tale of Bygone Years” combined a variety of materials - biblical stories, information about the ancient Slavs, legends about the first princes of Ancient Rus', texts of treaties between Rus' and Byzantium, stories about princely civil strife, church teachings, essays about the first monks of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery.
The compiler of “The Tale of Bygone Years” had a goal not only to tell about the past of Rus', but also to determine the place of the Eastern Slavs among the European and Asian peoples.
The chronicler talks in detail about the settlement of the Slavic peoples, about the settlement of territories by the Eastern Slavs that would later become part of the Old Russian state, about the morals and customs of different tribes. The “Tale...” emphasizes not only the antiquity of the Slavic peoples, but also the unity of their culture, language and writing, created in the 9th century by the brothers Cyril and Methodius.
The chronicler turns to the history of the first Russian princes and tells about the deeds of their descendants. The chronicle shows how the Old Russian state is taking shape and strengthening, how its borders are expanding, how its enemies are weakening.
From the middle of the 11th century, the Old Russian state began to split into separate principalities and lands. Inter-princely conflicts began, which the militant neighbors of Rus' took advantage of. All this could not leave the chroniclers indifferent, and they called on the princes to unite for the salvation of Rus'.
In Russian culture, chronicle writing played a very important role: it helped people learn about the history of their people, what good and evil are, how a person should and should not act.
One of the stories included in the “Tale of Bygone Years” is a story about the feat of a Kiev youth.
The narrative begins with the words: “In the summer of 6476 (968).” This means that the events took place in 6476 from the Creation of the world. In Ancient Rus', chronology was accepted not from the Nativity of Christ, as we count years now, but from the Creation of the world. In parentheses, modern historians, for our convenience, indicate the same year according to modern chronology.
At the beginning of the story, Prince Svyatoslav is mentioned, who was a very active prince, liberated the Vyatichi from the power of the Khazars, and went on a campaign to Bulgaria to reconquer lands along the Danube. There, to the small town of Pereyaslavets on the Danube, Svyatoslav wanted to move the capital of Rus'. At this time, the lands on which the Khazars defeated by Svyatoslav lived were occupied by new nomads - the Pechenegs. When Svyatoslav and his squad were in Pereyaslavets, far from his native Kyiv, the Pechenegs first attacked the capital city, which is what the chronicle passage tells us about.
Kyiv in those days was surrounded by a fortress wall with a gate and was located on a high hill above the Dnieper, where the small river Lybid flows into the Dnieper. The Pechenegs surrounded the city, but Russian people gathered on the other bank - “people from the other side of the Dnieper,” and they could help the besieged.
The youth (as the prince's servant was called) volunteered to cross the Dnieper, but to do this he needed to go through the Pecheneg camp. If the Pechenegs had learned that he was from Kiev, the young man would have faced inevitable death. The young man, who could speak Pecheneg, managed to reach the detachment of governor Pretich.
The next morning Pretich with his small detachment set off for Kyiv. He told the Pecheneg prince that he was leading the vanguard of Svyatoslav’s army, and the Russian prince with countless troops was following behind. The Pechenezh prince was frightened, asked for peace and retreated from the city.
Svyatoslav returns from a foreign land and drives the Pechenegs into the field. With his last words, the chronicler emphasizes that the most important thing for a person is peace.
The chronicler respects the heroic deed of the youth, who was able to pass through the enemy camp and cross the Dnieper under arrows, understands Pretich’s forced cunning and does not approve of Svyatoslav. This disapproval is expressed in the words of the Kievites: “You, prince, are looking for a foreign land and taking care of it, and have left your own.” The trouble and famine might not have happened if Svyatoslav had been not in Pereyaslavets on the Danube, but in his native land.
The Tale of Bygone Years also includes other folk legends, the main characters of which are ordinary Russian people who perform feats and risk their own lives to save their Motherland.
The story of the heroic deed of a Kievite youth is an example of courage and dedication shown for the sake of saving his native land.
In summer 6476 (968). The Pechenegs came to the Russian land for the first time, and Svyatoslav was then in Pereyaslavets, and Olga locked herself with her grandchildren Yaropolk, Oleg and Vladimir in the city of Kyiv. And the Pechenegs besieged the city with great force: there were countless numbers of them around the city, and it was impossible to leave the city or send messages, and the people were exhausted from hunger and thirst. And the people from that side of the Dnieper gathered in boats and stood on the other bank, and it was impossible either to get to Kyiv or from the city to them. And the people in the city began to grieve and said: “Is there anyone who could get over to the other side and tell them: if you don’t approach the city in the morning, we will surrender to the Pechenegs.” And one youth said: “I will make my way,” and they answered him: “Go.” He left the city, holding a bridle, and ran through the Pecheneg camp, asking them: “Has anyone seen a horse?” For he knew Pecheneg and was accepted as one of their own. And when he approached the river, he threw off his clothes, threw himself into the Dnieper and swam. Seeing this, the Pechenegs rushed after him, shot at him, but could not do anything to him. On the other side they noticed this, drove up to him in a boat, took him into the boat and brought him to the squad. And the youth said to them: “If you don’t approach the city tomorrow, the people will surrender to the Pechenegs.” Their commander, named Pretich, said to this: “We will go tomorrow in boats and, having captured the princess and princes, we will rush to this shore. If we do not do this, then Svyatoslav will destroy us.” And the next morning, close to dawn, they got into the boats and blew a loud trumpet, and the people in the city screamed. It seemed to the Pechenegs that the prince himself had come, and they ran away from the city in all directions. And Olga came out with her grandchildren and people to the boats. The Pecheneg prince, seeing this, returned alone and turned to the governor Pretich: “Who came?” And he answered him: “People of the other side (Dnieper).” The Pecheneg prince asked again: “Aren’t you a prince?” Pretich replied: “I am his husband, I came with an advance detachment, and behind me is an army with the prince himself: there are countless of them.” He said this to scare them. The Prince of Pecheneg said to Pretich: “Be my friend.” He replied: “I will do so.” And they shook hands with each other, and the Pecheneg prince gave Pretich a horse, a saber and arrows. The same one gave him chain mail, a shield and a sword. And the Pechenegs retreated from the city, and it was impossible to take the horse out to water: the Pechenegs stood on Lybid. And the people of Kiev sent to Svyatoslav with the words: “You, prince, are looking for someone else’s land and taking care of it, but you left your own, and the Pechenegs and your mother and your children almost took us. If you don’t come and protect us, they will take us.” us. Don’t you feel sorry for your fatherland, your old mother, your children?" Hearing this, Svyatoslav and his retinue quickly mounted their horses and returned to Kiev; greeted his mother and children and lamented what had happened to them from the Pechenegs. And he gathered the soldiers, and drove the Pechenegs into the field, and peace came.
In 968, nomadic Pechenegs came to Rus' for the first time. The Kiev prince Svyatoslav fought with Byzantium and was far from home. Not far from the city there was only a small detachment of governor Pretich.
The youth from Kiev accomplished the following feat: he left the city and passed through the enemy camp, speaking Pecheneg. If the enemies had realized that he was from Kiev, they would have captured and killed him.
The trick of the governor Pretich was that he did not admit to the Pecheneg prince that Svyatoslav was far from Kiev, but told him that he, the governor, was leading the vanguard, and the Russian prince with countless troops was following. The Pechenezh prince was frightened, asked for peace and retreated from the city.
The story ends with Svyatoslav returning from a foreign land and driving the Pechenegs into the field. With his last words, the chronicler emphasizes that the most important thing for a person is peace.
The chronicler respects the heroic deed of the youth, who was able to pass through the enemy camp and cross the Dnieper under arrows, understands Pretich’s forced cunning and does not approve of Svyatoslav. This disapproval is expressed in the words of the Kievites: “You, prince, are looking for a foreign land and taking care of it, and have left your own.” The trouble and famine might not have happened if Svyatoslav had been not in Pereyaslavets on the Danube, but in his native land.
The heroes of the chronicle story read, for the most part, occupy a high position: Pretich is a governor, he makes peace with the Pecheneg prince; Svyatoslav is a Russian prince, Princess Olga is his mother. Only the youth does not occupy a high position, but he can rightly be called an outstanding brave man.
The story of the heroic deed of a Kievite youth can serve our time, setting an example of courage and dedication for the sake of saving our native land. Material from the site
The Tale of Bygone Years also includes folk legends - the story of the Kozhemyak youth (under 992) and the story of Belgorod jelly (under 997). IN "Tales of the Kozhemyak" The leather craftsman puts the princely squad to shame and saves Rus' from the Pecheneg raid. He accomplished a feat that none of Prince Vladimir’s warriors could accomplish - he defeated the mighty Pecheneg warrior. "The Legend of Belgorod Kisel"- a story about deceiving the Pechenegs by cunning, when they besieged Belgorod and there was severe famine in the city. Then, on the advice of the wise old man, the remains of jelly and honey were lowered into the well, and then these wells were shown to the Pechenegs. The Pechenegs decided that they would never starve the city out and went back to the steppe.
The heroes of these legends are not princes, but ordinary Russian people, who, with their personal initiative, liberate their native land from enemies.
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On this page there is material on the following topics:
- read the fairy tale feat of the young man Kozhemyaki
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- feat of a young Kiev resident essay
- a brief retelling of the story of the feat of a youth from Kiev
In summer 6476 (968). The Pechenegs came to the Russian land for the first time, and Svyatoslav was then in Pereyaslavets on the Danube. And Olga shut herself up in Kyiv with her grandchildren. And the Pechenegs besieged the city with great force: there were countless of them around the city. And it was impossible to leave the city or send messages. It was impossible to take the horse out to water: the Pechenegs stood on Lybid. People were exhausted from hunger and thirst.
And the people from that side of the Dnieper gathered in boats and stood on the other bank. And it was impossible for any of them to enter Kyiv, nor from Kyiv to them. And the people in the city began to grieve and said:
Is there anyone who could go over to the other side and tell them: if you don’t approach the city in the morning, we’ll surrender to the Pechenegs?
And one youth said:
I'll pass.
And they answered him:
He left the city with a bridle and ran through the Pecheneg camp, asking them:
Has anyone seen the horse?
For he knew how to speak Pecheneg, and they accepted him as one of their own. And when he approached the river, he threw off his clothes, threw himself into the Dnieper and swam. Seeing this, the Pechenegs rushed after him, shot at him with arrows, but could not do anything to him.
They saw this on the other side, drove up to him in a boat, took him into the boat, and brought him to the squad. And he said to them:
If you don’t approach the city tomorrow, the people will surrender to the Pechenegs.
Their governor, named Pretich, said:
Tomorrow we will go in boats and, having captured the princess and princes, we will rush off to this side. If we don’t do this, Svyatoslav will destroy us.
"The feat of a young Kievite." Hood. A. Ivanov
The next morning, close to dawn, they got into the boats and blew a loud trumpet, and the people in the city screamed. The Pechenegs thought that the prince himself had come and fled from the city. And Olga went out with her grandchildren and people to the boats. The Pecheneg prince, seeing this, returned alone to the governor Pretich and asked:
Who came? And he answered him:
People from that side of the Dnieper. The Pecheneg prince asked again:
Aren't you a prince? Pretich replied:
I am his husband and came as a guard, and behind me comes a regiment with the prince himself: countless of them.
He said this to threaten them. The Prince of Pecheneg said to Pretich:
Be my friend. He replied:
I will do so.
And they shook hands with each other, and the Pecheneg prince gave Pretich a horse, a saber, and arrows. He gave him chain mail, a shield, a sword. And the Pechenegs retreated from the city.
And the people of Kiev sent to Svyatoslav with the words:
You, prince, are looking for someone else’s land and taking care of it, but you have left your own. And we were almost taken by the Pechenegs, and your mother, and your children. If you don't come and protect us, they will take us. Don’t you really feel sorry for your fatherland, nor your old mother, nor your children?
Hearing this, Svyatoslav quickly mounted his horse and came to Kyiv with his retinue. He kissed his mother and children and lamented what happened to them from the Pechenegs. And he gathered the soldiers and drove the Pechenegs into the field 2, and there was peace.
1 Watchmen - advanced, reconnaissance detachments.
2 Field - steppe south of Kyiv.