Kievan Rus and the problem of Russian «beginning»

The author of the article considers di erent concepts and ideas about the «beginning» of Russian culture. First, he analyzes Boris A. Rybakov’s works, in which the paganism of ancient Slavs considered as the basis of Kievan Rus, suggests the preservation of pagan ideas in folk memory (rites, customs, rituals, arts and cra s). Another point of view on the origins of Russian culture was held by Sergei S. Averintsev, who considered that fundamentally important changes have occurred in Kievan Rus with the adoption of Christianity there appeared picture of the world containing an idea of the orderliness of being, the creation of the world «out of nothing», the connection of God with man. According to S. S. Averintsev, Kievan Rus had special type of spirituality, which was determined by the «Russian soul», unformed, chaotic, in the process of development and far from rationality. In addition to two alternative points of view B. A. Rybakov and S. S. Averintsev, author of the article reviewed the works of Pavel A. Florensky, Vladimir N. Ilyin and Dmitry S. Likhachev, the examples from written sources of Kievan Rus, which clearly show the features of ancient Russian worldview. According to the author of the article, only taking into account di erent research positions and analyzing the entire «fusion» of elements, in uences and trends in ancient Russian culture, can get holistic view of the connecting idea, the Russian «beginning».