PreRussia - стр. 8
The Rujans had a large fleet and extensive trade relations with Scandinavia and the Baltic States. They carried out frequent military attacks. For example, some provinces of Denmark before the era of King Valdemar I paid tribute to the Rujans. At one time their kingdom became so powerful that it controlled almost the entire Baltic Sea, which then was called the Sea of Rugs (Rujans) for quite a long time.
The island was the main pagan worship place of the Western Slavs. Back in the XI century, pilgrims from the distant and already seemingly Christian Czech Republic came to its main four-headed shrine – the idol of Svyatovit. The popularity of the four–faced idols was not limited only to Western Slavs – archaeologists found such idols in Eastern Slavic countries – in Ukraine, Russia and Bulgaria. The Slavs of the island defended their independence and their faith for a very long time – until 1168, when they were defeated by the Danish king. The temple of Arkon was destroyed. According to the Danish chronicles, King Rujana – Jaromir became a vassal of the Danish king, and the island became part of the bishopric of Roskilde. The Rujans were converted to Christianity. However, already in 1234, the Rujans not only freed themselves from Danish rule, but soon captured part of the nearby coast – Western Pomerania (now part of Germany), founding the city now known as Stralsund. Further, the Rujans participated in numerous wars. In the end they lost their independence and, being part of various German state formations over the next few centuries, gradually became culturally Germans. The Rujan Slavic dialect was still heard in some places on the island until the XVI century.
It is assumed that the island of Buyan, from Pushkin's famous fairy tale, is the island of Rujan. Today lighthouses are installed on the cape of the island where the temple city of Arkon once stood. The photo shows the remains of the Slavic fortress of Arkona. The rampart that used to protect the fortress is still clearly visible. There is an exhibition of Arcona Fortress artifacts in the tower.
As we see, the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", the Joachim Chronicle and the "Legend of Slovene and Rus" overlap with each other. According to each of them, Russia as a state entity (at least at the level of individual principalities) was actually formed centuries before the arrival of Rurik in 862. Also, all three sources agree that a certain Rurik was invited from across the sea. By origin Rurik is either a Varangian (Viking) or a Prussian, or a Western Slav.