On the back of the top cover of the binding of the collection containing the Tale of the Destruction of the Rus' Land, on 24 May 1878, he made a postscript: “NB A variety of Prologue.

The last one, 22nd, Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land, about the death of the Grand Prince Yaroslav (and the Life of Alexander Nevsky) - only the beginning and end, there is no middle, the sheets are torn out.

[8] Dates proposed for the composition of the Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land range from 1238 (the beginning of the Mongol-Tatar invasion) to 1246 (the year of the death of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (1191-1246) - the son of Vsevolod the Big Nest, the father of Alexander Nevsky).

[4] The reason for writing was the news from Vladimir-Suzdalian Russia about the invasion of Batu and the death of Yaroslav's brother Yuri in the battle on the Sit River against the Mongols.

[14] Professor N. K. Gudziy believes that the Tale was written not in Novgorod, but most likely in Pereyaslavl, before the battle of the Sit river on 4 March 1238, since in it Yuri, and not Yaroslav, is called the Prince of Vladimir.

[15] The philologist Alexander Solovyov, opposing the versions about the writing of the Tale in Novgorod, notes that the author is very accurate in designating the southwestern border of Rus' with the Ugrians, Czechs, Poles, Yatvyaz and Lithuanians.

The Tale of Bygone Years knows within these limits the neighbors and tributaries of Rus': Korshi, narowa, lib, zimegola, chud, wes, jääm.

Therefore, the author of the Tale of the Destruction intended to praise, against the backdrop of the past greatness of the Rus' land, its current Grand Prince Yaroslav.

After this catastrophe, in the midst of the terrible “destruction of the Rus' Land”, Yaroslav survived, remained the legitimate heir to the listed grand princes, the organizer of the devastated homeland.

The text goes on to state that the Rus' Land is blessed by "ecclesiastical houses" (domy tserkovnye), monasteries or churches, and illuminated by the Christian religion (svetlorusskaia zemlia).

[4] According to the text, the Burtas, Cheremis, Mordvins, and the Veda or Viada (probably a Finno-Ugric people) were tributaries of Kievan Rus' during the reign of Vladimir II Monomakh.