Khadikova, Alina Kh.
Izvestia SOIGSI. 2021. IIS 41 (80).

Abstract:
The article reviews a fundamental publication that has become the result of a lasting
interdisciplinary scientific project dedicated to the study of the life and deeds of Maria Yasynya,
the virtuous wife of the great Vladimir Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest. Among the numerous
and glorious descendants of this great – princely couple are truly outstanding figures of Russian
history: Christian saints, great warriors and rulers who preserved the well-being of their lands
not only by the power of weapons, but also by prayer, the art of diplomacy, and the flourishing of
culture. A caring patroness of her subjects, an educator and a mother who raised twelve children,
Maria Yasynya, along with her husband, managed to lay the foundations of the creative power
of more than a hundred Russian princely families for many generations to come. Since direct
evidence of the princess»s ethnicity was lost in the tragic events of the Horde yoke, the issue
remained debatable for a long time. The authors of this collective work defend the Alan version
of the origin of princess, using different research methods: historical, linguistic, anthropological,
and genetic. Time will tell whether this monograph will close such a long-standing controversy;
however, there is every reason to believe that a thorough scientific argumentation will decisively
advance it. But finding out the origin of the princess was not the only task of the author»s
group. The publication includes research on the Christian life of Maria Yasyn-Marfa, her moral
greatness and high spiritual intelligence in the aspect of compliance of her personal qualities
with modern criteria of all-Russian canonization, to which the efforts of many spiritual and
secular persons have been applied.

Keywords: Russian history, Grand princess Maria Yasynya, discussion, ethnic origin, interdisciplinary scientific argumentation, historical unity of Alanya and Russia

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