Norman theory was first expressed by three German scientists, G. Miller, A. Schletser and G. Bayer, in the middle of the XIIIth century, and over the next two centuries the controversy surrounding it did not stop.
The theory is based on an old legend, according to which the Eastern Slavs were uncouth barbarians until the Varangians set foot on Slavic land and brought with them the foundations of the political system and the beginnings of culture.
Norman Theory: Pros and Cons
Naturally, just as any theory has its fans and opponents, so the Norman theory has both its adherents and people who consider it absurd. The first thoughts regarding the inconclusiveness of the theory were expressed by M.V. Lomonosov. It was during this period that an active controversy erupted over the influence of the Varangians on Russia, which found its echoes in the works of many authors. But the main problem of the anti-Normanists (people who denied this theory radically) was the inability to refute its foundations - “The Tale of Bygone Years”, since this work was officially recognized as a historical document, the source.
While the Normanists clarified the term “Rus”, received precisely from the Scandinavians, their opponents were actively looking for other versions that could at least somehow overshadow the Norman. A fat point in the debate was put by W. Thomsen, who in 1891 published a work entitled "The Beginning of the Russian State." In it, he reasonably reflected the main provisions on which the Norman theory was based, after which many historians and anti-Romanists came to the conclusion that the theory of the Scandinavian origin of Russia can be considered proven.
A new interest in the origin of Russia arose already in Soviet times, when the vision of Russian history was viewed through the prism of socialism. During this period, Norman theory was criticized again by A.A. Shakhmatova. This work was devoted to the origin of the Slavs and the Russian state.
Based on his analysis of the chronicle, the fact of a later and inaccurate writing of a story about the calling of the Varangian princes, the treatise on which the whole Norman theory was based, was established. Another major anti-Norman essay published in the 1920s was a book authored by P. Smirnov, The Volga Way and Ancient Russes, in which the author tried to refute this theory using ancient treatises of Arab writers. In his book, Smirnov linked the emergence of the Old Russian State not with the well-known path “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, but with the Volga route “from the Baltic - along the Volga to the Caspian Sea”. In accordance with his theory, the first Russian state was formed on the Middle Volga. The new concept of the origin of the Slavs was quite interesting and original, but unconvincing, and therefore did not find support even among supporters of the anti-Norman school.
For the most part, Norman theory found support from foreign scholars who historically believe in the Slavs' inability to naturally develop independently without foreign intervention and guidance. In particular, she was actively promoted in wartime in Nazi Germany. To date, the question of the formation of the Russian state has ceased to be relevant for historians. Over the past 30 years, few books and articles have been written on this topic, but this absolutely does not mean the victory of Norman theory.
The enormous influence and significance of the Varangian princes on the formation of the Old Russian state cannot be understated or forgotten, but it is also not worth exaggerating. Norman and anti-Norman theory have a right to exist, which of them is actually true, we will not know soon.