As we have all witnessed in recent years, history is never a dead subject, but a living and breathing one.
Before launching an illegal invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin spat out a sort of dictator's potted history of Russia and Ukraine.
Yes, these two countries, locked in a bloody existential war that has now raged for over three tragic years and taken countless innocent souls along the way, do indeed have a long and complicated history that winds its way back to the early medieval period when Vikings roamed.
Eastern European Vikings? I hear you say. Hang on, I was never taught that at school.
Sadly, for so long in the Anglosphere, the history of the Vikings has been a westward-facing, dare we say, Anglocentric view.
Raids on English monasteries, their eventual settlement in Normandy, or their adventures to the shores of the New World, the history of the Vikings was written with the compass point facing west.
Yet, as soon as Vikings sailed across the North Sea to raid what is now England or France, they headed eastward across that great Viking Pond, the Baltic Sea.
In the opinion of the current author, the eastern exploits of the Vikings are even more remarkable, even more colorful and adventurous than anything that happened in northwest Europe.
"The Invitation of the Varangians" shows Rurik and his brothers, Norse adventurers, arriving in the Slavic lands to take up rule. Illustration: Viktor Vasnetsov (1848–1926)
A timely history of eastern adventures
It is fair to say that the excitement at The Viking Herald office was palpable when we received this latest assignment.
Whilst Dr. Cat Jarman teased the eastern exploits of Vikings in her wonderful book, River Kings, all of us here felt that there was so much more history, more adventures, more raiding, trading, and conquest to explain and wanted more.
Thankfully, Martyn Whittock has landed a blow for the "Easterners" with his brilliant new book, Vikings in the East: From Vladimir the Great to Vladimir Putin – The Origins of a Contested Legacy in Russia and Ukraine (available in e-book format or for preorder on Amazon here).
Aside from its mouthful of a title, this is the definitive history of people in Viking society's eastern adventures across a huge swathe of the world, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, from the edges of Central Europe to the steppes of Central Asia and everywhere in between.
It is also the story of how this ancient history, which stretches back into the early medieval period, is very much current and is being exploited and abused by powerful people.
A case in point is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has made a whole career as a dictator—excuse me, I mean a "president"—using and abusing this shared history and heritage for his nefarious means.
Whether basking in the glow of Vladimir the Great's legacy by erecting great statues (let's not delve too much into the Freudian analysis of that) or giving Tucker Carlson a potted (Russian dictator's) "history lesson," Putin has repeatedly exploited this Viking history in Eastern Europe.
Most tragically, he specifically cited this history as a pretext for the Russian invasion of Ukraine back in 2022—an obsession that has had deadly consequences.
Consequences of the bombing of the children's hospital and maternity hospital in Mariupol, March 9, 2022. Photo: armyinform.com.ua (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The best (historical) antidote to recent propaganda
So then, what is the best antidote to the Russian historical propaganda and spin spouting from Putin?
Never has a history book on this subject been timelier. Whittock delivers a root-and-branch analysis not only of the early history of people from Viking societies in Eastern Europe and surrounds but also follows this story down through the ages to the bloody ramifications taking place throughout Ukraine today.
From the foundations of the Kievan Rus to the rise of Muscovy, the creation of a Romanov dynasty to the political machinations of Catherine the Great, from the Russian Revolution through the Holodomor to the collapse of the USSR and the rise of Putin, the entire history of Ukraine and Russia is coldly examined, and analyzed.
This sweeping narrative traces how the characters, forces, and trends that wind their way back to the medieval period have impacted more than a millennium and a half of Eastern European relations.
A 15th-century illustration from the "Radziwiłł Chronicle" depicting the Christian baptism of Vladimir the Great. Source: Public domain
Know your history
Who would have thought that so much modern bloodshed, stemming from Viking expeditions a millennium ago, would be spilled?
These Viking eastern expeditions—raiding, trading, subjugating, and later settling huge swathes of land between the Baltic and Black Seas—would eventually culminate in the establishment of the Kievan Rus by Vladimir the Great in 988 CE.
From the economic impact of the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate in Scandinavia through the religious and spiritual complexities of the Uniate versus Russian Orthodox Churches, Whittock delves into the deep history of the legacy of Viking expansion into Eastern Europe and surrounds.
This book proves that the best way to comprehend the complexities of the modern world today is through history.
It also helps to understand that, sadly for the people of Ukraine, history is alive, dangerous, and omnipresent in their lives, so much more than simply remembering a bunch of dates from a dusty old book.
Thankfully, we have Whittock to safely navigate these troubled waters and shed full light on the eastern experience of people from Viking societies.
Whilst you might not be able to help Ukraine on the battlefield, reading Whittock's book and understanding the "deep story" and complex history of Russia and Ukraine is a great way to counter whatever "history lesson" Putin spouts next.
Vikings in the East: From Vladimir the Great to Vladimir Putin – The Origins of a Contested Legacy in Russia and Ukraine by Martyn Whittock is available for preorder or immediate purchase in e-book format on Amazon here.
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