Reference guide
Nine synchronised tracks bring together years, states, dynasties, rulers, their families, statesmen, contemporaries, events and wars. Click a card or press Enter to open it; hover for a brief preview.
Choose an era, enter a year or drag the highlighted window on the overview. Use the − and + buttons to change the scale. Drag the track background with a mouse, or swipe on a phone. Keyboard arrows also move the timeline. Hover over a card or bar, or focus it with the keyboard, to highlight the matching period on the YEARS ruler. Interrupted reigns are highlighted as separate segments. On a phone, open a card and choose “Show on the timeline” to keep its period highlighted. Use the × button beside the navigation arrows or Escape to clear the pinned highlight.
The coloured bar shows the exact period on the timeline; markers at both ends show its boundaries. Ruler cards all have the same width, with the reign stated on each card and represented by its bar. State and dynasty panels are inset equally from their period boundaries. Very short periods appear as compact markers. Concurrent cards, or cards that cannot fit side by side, occupy separate rows; each card keeps its row as you scroll. Family cards show a lifespan or an explicitly labelled known period, while statesmen and contemporaries are shown for the years of activity specified in their cards.
Rus' in the 9th–12th centuries is a shared historical heritage of several modern peoples. After its fragmentation, there was no single state or continuous succession of sole rulers. The early atlas features selected major princes of Kyiv, Vladimir and Moscow; it is not a complete list of princes or territories. Concurrent reigns are retained. The years 1132 and 1478 are conventional period boundaries.
Many early princes are known only through images created much later. These are not treated as reliable portraits made during their lifetimes. Princely marks, seals, coats of arms and flags are different kinds of symbols. Early Rus' had neither a national flag nor a single state coat of arms in the modern sense. Each symbol is dated separately.
Early chronicle dates and birth years are often conventional or uncertain. Cards indicate uncertainty; unknown dates are not replaced with invented ones. The main timeline uses years, while exact dates and calendar conventions appear in the descriptions. The selection of events, relatives and leading figures is not exhaustive. Sources follow the same order in every card: historical documents and specialist institutional materials where available, followed by Ruwiki, Wikipedia and the Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Links lead to specific materials. Image credits are listed separately.
Images come from open collections. When no reliable portrait is available, cards use later depictions, icons, manuscript miniatures, monuments or illustrations connected with the person; captions explain the image. Each card provides its source and attribution.
