Слово о полку Игореве

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" is a masterpiece of ancient Russian literature, created at the turn of the 12th-13th centuries by an unknown author. Engravings by V.A. Favorsky.

The "Tale of Igor's Campaign" describes the campaign of two brothers, princes Seversky, Igor and Vsevolod, against the Polovtsians in 1185. Igor and Vsevolod act with their squads against the Polovtsians, who occupy the steppes of Southwestern Rus' and constantly attack Russian lands. On their way through the steppes, the princes see a solar eclipse, which in Rus' is considered a bad omen. But Igor does not pay attention to this and continues the hike. On Friday morning there is a battle between the Russians and the Cumans. The Russians defeat the Polovtsians. But the next day the Polovtsy gather an army and attack Igor’s army. A long battle takes place between the opponents on the Kayala River. As a result, Russian wars suffer a crushing defeat. The Polovtsians capture princes, including Prince Igor. Meanwhile, in Kyiv, Grand Duke Svyatoslav sees a prophetic dream, foreshadowing trouble. The boyars explain to Svyatoslav that this dream means the defeat of Igor and Vsevolod by the Polovtsians. Svyatoslav understands that his brothers Igor and Vsevolod “awakened the beast” in the person of the Polovtsians. To fight the enemy, the Russian princes need to unite, but this is not easy to do. The trouble is that at this time in Rus' there are internecine wars: the princes are fighting among themselves, which makes Rus' weak and vulnerable to the enemy. The author of “The Lay” calls on the princes to stop civil strife and unite against a common enemy (this is the main idea of ​​the work). At this time, Igor’s wife, Yaroslavna, cries for him, waiting for him at home. She turns to the wind and the sun, begging her to return her husband (see "Yaroslavna's Lament"). In the end, Igor escapes from captivity and returns to Russian soil. The people rejoice at his return.