Editing Askold and Dir (section)

== Origins of Askold and Dir ==
Some historians, based on late and unreliable sources, try to declare Askold and Dir to be direct heirs of the legendary [[Kyi]], a representative of the dynasty of "[[Kyi dynasty|Kievichi]]". The existence of this "princely dynasty" is based on the information of the Polish historian of the 15th century [[Jan Długosz|Jan Dlugosz]], who wrote that the chronicle's Kievan princes Askold and Dir, killed by [[Igor of Kiev|Igor]] (according to the Primary Chronicle killed by [[Oleg the Wise|Oleg]]), were descendants of Kyi. This message of Dlugosz was used in the works of [[Dmitry Ilovaysky]] (who treated the facts quite arbitrarily) and [[Mykhailo Hrushevsky]] (who strove to prove the existence of a distinct Ukrainian ethnos already in the 4th century); [[Aleksey Shakhmatov]] also referred to them in his historical reconstructions. However, this point of view is rarely supported by specialists.<ref name=":02" />

The mention by Jan Dlugosz of the family ties of Askold and Dir with the legendary Kyi raises serious doubts. According to [[Vladimir Petrukhin]]: "Jan Dlugosz was not so naive as some modern authors who uncritically accepted his conclusions. The fact is that the Polish chronicler sought to substantiate the claims of the Polish state on Kiev and therefore associated the [[Polans (eastern)|Kiev Polans]] with [[Polans (western)|Polish Polans]], considered Kyi a "Polish pagan prince", etc." Therefore, we have no grounds to believe that Askold and Dir belonged to the "dynasty of Kievichi" (or even were Slavs).<ref name=":02" />