Izborsk, Russia

History

The first fortified settlement was founded around the late 8th century.

According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, the town was the seat of Rurik's brother Truvor from 862 to 864. Russian historian Valentin Yanin (2008) agreed that the "existence of the "Rurik brothers" seems doubtful" based on a linguistic argument, adding: "... In Izborsk, it is customary to display a stone cross, supposedly standing on the grave of Truvor, in complete oblivion of the fact that Truvor, if he lived, then one and a half centuries before the establishment of Christianity in Eastern Europe. The most significant thing is that neither in Izborsk nor in Beloozero have archaeological excavations found any traces of Scandinavian presence in the 9th century." Although Truvor's burial mound is still shown to occasional tourists, archaeological excavations of long barrows abounding in the vicinity did not reveal the presence of the Varangian settlement at the site, which indicates that Izborsk was an important centre of the early Krivichs.

From the History section of Izborsk on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.