Book A.V. Gudz-Markov is an attempt to give a general overview of the history of Ancient Russia in the pre-Mongol era. The author bases his research mainly on a scrupulous study of Old Russian chronicles. The book tells about the formation of ancient Russian statehood, the heyday of Kievan Rus, contacts with Byzantium and wars with steppe nomads, about princely congresses and attempts to preserve the unity of Russia, about the reasons for the outbreak of internecine wars. Much attention is paid to the struggle of the princes at the Kyiv table, the reasons for the sharp decline in the role of the "capital city" of Kyiv, the tragic events of the first third of the 13th century, and finally, the Batyev invasion, which became a true disaster for Old Russian civilization.