The “Medieval Rus’” section does not claim to resolve all historical controversies. Its primary goal is to present the sources themselves — the most important medieval chronicles and documents — as well as the databases compiled by Russian historians on the Rus’ lands and their knyazes. The materials in this section make it possible to trace the process by which the volosts of medieval Rus’ transformed into independent principalities. The articles are accompanied by unique maps and linked to a comprehensive database of knyazes, including their biographies, genealogical ties, and the histories of their reigns. As a result, for each medieval land, the section provides an overview, a list of knyazes and their reigns, and detailed maps. Ultimately, the “Medieval Rus’” section will contain information about all the medieval Rus’ lands and all the knyazes who ruled them. In addition, the “Medieval Rus’” section of the Runivers.ru encyclopedia is linked to a database on military conflicts and campaigns involving Rus’ forces (including princely civil wars and external conflicts), as well as to a comprehensive section on the foreign policy history of Russia.
The main objective of this section is to provide a clear and comprehensible picture of the political development of Rus’ from the 11th to the 15th centuries. A database of knyazes has been compiled, organized by lands and principalities, with biographies and genealogical information. This kind of consolidated resource is being created for the first time.
Specially prepared maps illustrate the evolution of Rus’ over several centuries, and for the first time, thoroughly verified maps of lands and principalities have been produced. In collaboration with scholars from the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a unique historical map has been created showing the external and internal borders of Russia for each year from 850 to 2020. These maps show, for the first time, the boundaries of all Rus’ lands and principalities.
For each principality of Rus’, the section includes a historical overview, a list of knyazes and their reigns, and corresponding maps.
The “Russian Chronicles” subsection features, for the first time, illustrations from the Radziwiłł Chronicle with scholarly commentary and chronological annotations. Additionally, 11,290 illustrations from the Illustrated Chronicle Compilation (Litsevoy Letopisny Svod) have been digitized and published for the first time.
The project also includes an original database of military conflicts in Medieval Rus’, which contains descriptions and maps of:
363 internal conflicts among Rus’ principalities (977–1450),
152 engagements between Rus’ and the Golden Horde (1223–1502),
158 Rus’–Polovtsian conflicts (1055–1253),
21 Rus’–Pecheneg conflicts (915–1036),
and 461 external conflicts (860–1460).
The academic consultant for the project is Dr. Aleksandr A. Gorsky, Doctor of Historical Sciences and Professor of the Department of Russian History before the 19th Century at the Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Note on the Term Knyaz
The term knyaz (plural: knyazes) is a historical Slavic title used in medieval Rus’ to denote a hereditary ruler, usually a member of the Rurikid dynasty, who governed a principality (knyazhestvo). Although it is often translated into English as prince, the term carries specific cultural, political, and historical connotations unique to the East Slavic context. In this translation, the original word knyaz is retained to preserve its historical nuance and authenticity.
