Kyiv, one of Europe’s oldest cities, boasts a rich history that draws both researchers and tourists from around the globe. With roots believed to stretch back over 1,500 years, Kyiv celebrated its 1,542nd anniversary in May 2024. Yet, the origins of the city remain a matter of debate. So, how old is Kyiv, in fact?
This article explores the history of Ukraine’s capital and investigates the source of the “1,500-year” milestone.
The Legend of Kyiv’s Founders – Fact or Folklore?
The most popular version of Kyiv’s founding, known even to children, is the legend of the three brothers and their sister: Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv, and Lybid. Their story is so meaningful to the city’s history that a monument was erected in their honor on the Dnipro River bank in 1982 for the city’s 1,500th anniversary. Anyway, were these legendary founders real?
In the Tale of Bygone Years, chronicler Nestor recounts the story of the brothers Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv, and their sister Lybid, who founded the city, naming it after the eldest brother, Kyi. Though the story captivates many, it is filled with uncertainties, particularly regarding Kyi’s origin and deeds. There are no definitive records pinpointing Kyi’s lifetime, only theories suggesting he may have fought Byzantium under the name Kuver in the 6th or 7th century or been known as Helbudius in the 5th century.
Who Determined the Age of Kyiv?
Interestingly, 1982 was the first time Kyiv’s age was officially declared to be exactly 1,500 years. This “1,500-year hypothesis” was popularized by Boris Rybakov, a Soviet academic favored by the government. Celebrating such a grand anniversary drowned out scholarly skepticism, and any criticism of this timeline was met with harsh backlash.
Contrary to expectations, this age claim was not based on new archaeological evidence or a meticulous analysis of ancient texts. Instead, the ideologists behind the celebration crafted a narrative using convenient historical facts and relations. Byzantine chronicles note that Emperor Justinian I, who ruled in the 6th century, interacted with Slavic leaders. Similarly, in the Tale of Bygone Years, Kyi is said to have met with a ruler from Constantinople. Rybakov drew a possible connection, hypothesizing that Kyi might have been Justinian’s contemporary.
Later, Rybakov refined his hypothesis, concluding that the Byzantine ruler could not have been Justinian himself, as his name would likely have been preserved in Rus’ records. Instead, Rybakov suggested it was likely Anastasius I, a lesser-known emperor who reigned from the late 5th to early 6th centuries. Thus, Kyiv was believed to have been founded around that period.
An Armenian Account of Kyiv’s Founding
In the 1920s, Soviet linguist Nikolai Marr uncovered an interesting story in the 8th-century Armenian chronicle, History of Taron. It tells of three brothers—Kuar, Meltey, and Hoream—who founded three cities, each named after themselves, and then established a communal settlement on Mount Karke.
Marr noticed similarities with Kyiv’s founding legend and equated Kuar with Kyi, Hoream with Khoryv, and the region of Paluni, where Hoream’s city was located, with the land of the Polianians. He even found a parallel for Shchek in Meltey, suggesting both names referred to “snake” in different languages. The geographic descriptions in both Armenian and Slavic chronicles showed remarkable resemblances.
However, Rybakov argued that the Armenian legend was adapted from an earlier Slavic tale. If the Armenian author already knew of Kyiv in the 8th century, then the city must have been founded much earlier. Yet, it’s quite confusing how an Armenian chronicler could have learned of a Kyiv legend centuries before the first Slavic records were compiled.
The story of Kyiv’s origins remains layered with legends, scholarly interpretations, and political narratives. While the city’s official age is 1,500 years, its true history is perhaps even richer and more complex.
What Modern Science Says About the Founding of Kyiv
Scientists often look for a city’s founding date in documented records; in case such records don’t exist, they rely on the first written mention of the city. However, Kyiv’s case is more complex. The earliest reference to the city appears in the undated prologue of The Tale of Bygone Years, making it challenging to link this reference to other chronologically verifiable records.
Researchers in independent Ukraine reached a near consensus in the 2000s, suggesting that Kyiv has existed as a city only since the 9th century, meaning it’s no more than 1,200 years old.
Current methods for dating Kyiv’s archaeological findings, coupled with new analyses of early 20th-century excavation results, recent discoveries around the Church of the Tithes, and fresh interpretations of historical texts and interactions with neighboring cultures, have led to an entirely new understanding of Kyiv’s early years.
Slavic settlements indeed appeared in this area as early as the 6th century, but they weren’t related to one another. These small communities emerged and disappeared over time until a more permanent group formed, which archaeologists refer to as a “nest” — the precursor to Kyiv. This likely occurred no later than the latter half of the 9th century.
Around the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries, Scandinavian groups known as the Rus appeared along the Dnipro River, engaging in both trade and military activities. They established a military-trading center on Kyiv’s hills, utilizing resources from nearby Slavic tribes — primarily slaves — for transport to Constantinople.
Archaeological evidence of early Scandinavian graves from the first third of the 10th century confirms the city’s existence by that time, marking the beginning of an unbroken timeline for Kyiv.
However, the picture painted by archaeologists remains incomplete and contains some ambiguities and gaps. For instance, no 10th-century dwellings have been found on Starokyiv Hill. Additionally, it’s unclear where the residences of the first princes were located, as well as where the noble Rus whose graves have been discovered actually lived. Nonetheless, researchers hope that ongoing scientific advances and investigations will eventually resolve these questions.