Where and when did the Russian people arise? This most difficult question has been worrying domestic historians for several centuries. Even the author of the medieval chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years" began his work with the phrase: "Where did the Russian land come from." To resolve this issue, we will have to cross the Baltic Sea from end to end more than once. Our path will pass not only in space, but also in time. It took Odysseus ten years to wander the sea to return to his native Ithaca. The resettlement of an entire people throughout its long historical fate can take centuries and even millennia. To trace folk wanderings through the waters of the Baltic Sea, we need an unusual ship. His nose is decorated with a bull's head, and a griffin sits on the mast. When the wind fills the sail, we can swim out into the vastness of time. Our path will not be easy and long, but the reward will also be high - we, at least in general terms, will learn the true history of our people thousands of years before the officially adopted date of the founding of the Old Russian state.