The work “Russian chronicler” was discovered by Russian Old Believers in the archives. The materials have been digitized and are now being prepared for publication. Old Believers believe that, based on the Russian Chronicler, the Tale of Bygone Years was written at one time – until now, this text was considered the oldest known story about Russian history. 

Researchers who analyzed the text from the Old Believers insist that from the first pages it becomes clear: they are dealing with “not just a valuable source”, but with the original document, which filled in the gaps allowed in the Tale of Bygone Years. As the “Russian Faith” writes with reference to the testimonies of researchers, there is enough information about the so-called pre-Kiev period – Novgorod.

Kiev in the Russian Chronicler is a city conquered by the Novgorodians and Rostovites after the founding of Moscow. At the same time, he appears in the middle of the story. Kiev, according to the text, is joined by the Novgorod-Rostov princes to their huge state, which has already swept Western Siberia. Having captured Kiev, the princes supplement their title – from the “Grand Dukes of Novgorod” to the remark “and Kiev”.

The “Comparison of the Russian Chronicler” with “The Tale of Bygone Years” leaves no doubt that the author of the PVL, describing the beginning of Russian history, had the Russian Chronicler in front of him and purposefully edited it, discarding some parts and inserting others with with a clear goal: to represent Kiev as the “mother of Russian cities,” the cradle of Russian statehood. Although its source, the Russian Chronicler, had a completely different picture of ancient Russian history, “the Russian Faith said in a statement.

The “Tale of Bygone Years”, according to the Old Believers, is an abridged and edited version of the “Russian chronicler”, which begins with the fact that the Novgorodians call on the Varangian princes, and then, in the next generation, the rulers transfer the capital to Kiev. Further we will learn about the history of Kievan Rus, and Novgorod as if becomes a secondary “hero”. Those who find the text believe that it is able to explain inconsistencies. Based on their guesses, they date the “Tale of Bygone Years” not XV century, but XVII.