The Ruling Families of Rus

The originality of this study of Rus lies in its focus on specific families which dominated political life and deeply affected social, cultural, and religious life there . . . the book has many strengths. The authors show deep knowledge of primary sources and look critically at original narratives in them that have been too readily accepted by numerous later historians. They display a command of the secondary literature on their subject. They carefully examine such complex matters as interfamilial and interclan relationships and rivalries, the rise and decline of different regions within the lands of Rus, and shifts in the complex understandings and practices governing inheritance and succession. It should also be said that the book is attractively produced and generously illustrated. -- Derek Offord * European History Quarterly *
The Ruling Families of Rus explores the area's history through local families, revealing how the concept of family rule developed over the centuries into what we understand now as dynasties. This book took my knowledge of Russian history much further back than the Romanovs. I highly reccomend it to all [who are] into Russian or Medieval European history. -- Mel Ulm * The Reading Life *
Twenty-five years ago, Donald Ostrowski helped to alter conventional views of the Mongol influence on Russia. Now, with his collaborator Christian Raffensperger, he offers a novel interpretation of early Rus history, focusing on families rather than dynasties. Ostrowski and Raffensperger reveal the roles of these families in Rus history from about the tenth through the sixteenth centuries. The families not only dominated political life but had dramatic influences on the economy, art, culture, and religion. This well-written and jargon-free work will will serve as an important source for scholars. * Morris Rossabi, Associate Adjunct Professor, Columbia University *
The Ruling Families of Rus offers a seminal contribution to our understanding of the medieval and early modern history of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Christian Raffensperger and Donald Ostrowsky challenge centuries of research on the history of Kyivan Rus and its successor states by moving away from the anachronistic concept of dynasty. By demolishing the "Rurikid dynasty" so deeply ingrained in scholarly literature, they rewrite the history of the region as a history of the variety of ruling families and integrate Rus into the history of Europe as a whole. A major achievement and a must-read for both students of premodern world and everyone interested in the history of the region. * Serhii Plokhy, author of The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Premodern Identities in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus *
At a time when many of the narratives of “Russian” history are being re-examined, Raffensperger and Otrowski have focused on dynasty, the central pillar of Muscovite claims to Rus. Challenging the very concept of dynasty through explorations of kinships and rulers over six centuries, they have fashioned a convincing new image of those who sought to rule the diverse Rusian lands. * Frank E. Sysyn, Professor in the Department of History, Classics, and Religious Studies, University of Alberta *
In the current context of the Russian-waged war in Ukraine, calls to decolonize the study of Eastern Europe and Eurasia abound. The search is on to shed the teleological framework that casts Russia’s early modern and modern imperial ambitions into the medieval past and onto the lands that comprise today’s Belarus and Ukraine. In The Ruling Families of Rus, Christian Raffensperger and Donald Ostrowski provocatively venture to displace some of the myths of Russia’s aggrandizement that have been projected onto a medieval past that belongs to many others. The authors destabilize claims of a continuous Riurikid dynasty often used to link the Kyivan past with late medieval Muscovy, and instead focus on families, which opens historical space for women and the numerous kniazi who lived their lives unaware of the national historiographical claims that would come to define modern visions of the East European medieval period. Tracing the stories of families and individuals from the ninth to the late sixteenth century, this book evidences the entanglement of peoples across Europe and Eurasia and shows readers how diversity of intention is a mark of both the present and the past. Raffensperger and Ostrowski take a brave step in replacing the popularized Russian myth of the Middle Ages with a history that emphasizes multiplicity and complexity of identities, relationships and choices. * Olenka Z. Pevny, Associate Professor of Pre-Modern Slavonic and Ukrainian Studies, University of Cambridge *