The term "Scandinavia" originates from medieval Latin. The word was first mentioned by the ancient Roman scholar Pliny the Elder in his encyclopedic work "Natural History".
Traditionally, Scandinavia includes three countries — Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Some authors include Iceland, which is historically closely linked to Norway and Denmark, in Scandinavia; however, the Icelanders themselves (as well as Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes) do not consider Iceland part of Scandinavia.
Before you is the history of these three countries — fascinating, at times brutal, and educational. Rulers, battles, conflicts, and the very spirit of this land, the so-called "northern bravery" — all of this creates a unique appearance of the Scandinavian countries and their special path in history, in some ways similar to Russia, and in other ways infinitely distant.