«Корабли» и военно-морское дело народа русь IX — середины X в. (по основным синхронным письменным источникам)
Vessels and Marine Activities of the Rus’ People in the 9th — Middle 10th Centuries (by the main contemporary written accounts)

Summary/Abstract: This article presents a review and analysis of data from the main written sources of the 9th — middle 10th centuries, which mention different vessels and naval affairs of the people named Rus’. During this period, the Rus’ used only simple small rowing vessels with a crew of 20—40 people (referred to in Greek sources as small akations, and in Ancient Russian early chronicle’s tradition as lodias). These akations-lodias were used by the Rus’ only for movement on water, for the Rus’ could not conduct naval combat: with the exception of one disputed case, there is no evidence that the Rus’ tried to conduct combat operations on water. Apparently, the tradition of navigation on the water among the Rus’ did not differ much from the synchronous development of the Khazars’ watercraft. According to written sources, the Rus’ had no “Viking traditions” of the Northern Sea. In 930—950s, the Rus’ mastered the technology of upgrading their akations-lodias with removable masts and tiller’s gears. At the same time, after 911, the Rus’, as part of the Byzantine regular army, mastered the skill of sailing and waging war at sea in special Russian karabias, which were equipped according to the rules of the regular fleet of the East Roman Empire. The Rus’ learnt their marine skills in the Black and Mediterranean seas directly from the Byzantines. It is not excluded that it was precisely this progress in mastering the technology of maritime shipbuilding that was among the significant, perhaps one of the main factors, that determined the advantage of the “Rurikid’s Empire” with its center in Kiev over other competing polities.

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