History is not at all unambiguous, and the deeper you plunge into ancient chronicles and documents, the more questions and bewilderment arise from an unbiased researcher. To remove these questions, it is necessary to carry out painstaking critical work with those sources that serve as a door for us in the history of Ancient Russia, and, above all, with the Tale of bygone years. The origin of Russia, the vocation of Rurik, the war with Byzantium - this is an incomplete list of those topics that Anton Belyakov concerns in his book. He invites his reader to read the Tale of Bygone Years in a new way with him and learn the history of Russia, which may turn out to be true.