For almost two centuries, the literary and historical reminiscences of "Words about Igor's Regiment" attract research. Now many difficult passages of the text have been deciphered and explained, the journalistic orientation of the work has been revealed, the literary borrowings contained in it have been revealed, and the historical basis of most of its evidence has been established. Other parts of the poem are still not fully understood. Meanwhile, they contain important information on the history of the Old Russian state, shedding light on the time of the origin of the "Word" itself.
Publicists and commentators have long paid attention to the lines of the monument describing one of the brightest and most restless figures in ancient Russian history - Prince Vseslav Bryachislavich of Polotsk. His fate was extraordinary. He suffered severe defeats, was imprisoned, and was expelled from Russia. But, having been born literally in a "shirt" 1, the prince of Polotsk, after being imprisoned, ascended to the Kiev table, suddenly attacking enemies, won victories and returned to his native Polotsk again. The author of Slovo mentions Vseslav three times. The most important and interesting mention is the last one: "Vseslav Prince ludem sudyashe, knyaz grady rydyashe, and he entered the night vlkom ryskashe; from Kyeva doriskashe to Kur Tmutorokanya, the great Hrsovi vlkom way preryskashe" 2 .
This testimony is placed in the" Word " between the reports of the battle of Nemiga and the description of Vseslav's stay in Kiev. The battle took place on March 3, 1067. In July 1067. Vseslav was thrown into prison in Kiev, and on September 15, 1068, he was released by the Kievan rebels and elevated to the Kievan table, which he occupied for seven months .3 Therefore, the actions described by Vseslav relate to the period between March 3, 1067 and April 15, 1069, most likely to the time of his stay at the Kievan table (mid-September 1068-mid-April 1069).
The quoted passage, especially its ...
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