The existence of pre-Christianity - the centuries-old period of the "announcement" of Russia - is evidenced by the bright and distinctive features of Russian Orthodoxy: unknown to Byzantium fiery symbols of churches and sacred ornaments, features of iconography and church rites, hidden solar milestones of the national church calendar. In religious traditions, folk beliefs, fairy tales, epics, a surprisingly poetic Old Russian picture of the world was captured. This unique research covers the fields of linguistics, philology, archaeology, ethnography, paleoastronomy, the history of religion, and artistic culture; not being polemical, it opposes modern "neopagan myths" and the old underestimation of Old Russian pre-Christian culture. The book combines the merits of painstaking scientific work and artistic essays, is well illustrated and is intended for a wide circle of readers: philologists, historians, art historians, clergy, teachers, students - everyone who seeks to learn more about the spiritual origins of Russian civilization.