The Tale of Igor's Campaign

Gems of secular literature of Russian medieval times from the 12th to the 15th centuries. The poetic "Zadonshchina" and the fierce "Tale of the Mamayev Battle," the heart-wrenching "Tale of the Destruction of Ryazan by Batu" and the mysterious, full of literary riddles and secrets "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"... They were copied by hand for centuries, read and re-read, commented on and discussed. Their manuscripts burned along with estates and monasteries, and separate copies survived only by miracle – to convey to us not in a dry and indifferent manner, but in a vivid, emotional artistic perception the great and dramatic history of Rus' – with its feudal internal strife and complex, ambiguous relationships with the Great Steppe, the national tragedy of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, and the great national upsurge that finally allowed this yoke to be thrown off. Works in which the past of Rus' comes to life.