The Laurentian Chronicle is a handwritten chronicle compilation dating to 1377, one of the most important monuments of Old Russian chronicle writing, containing the text of the *Tale of Bygone Years* and a number of subsequent chronicles. It was created in Nizhny Novgorod at the court of the Nizhny Novgorod–Suzdal and Gorodets prince Dmitry Konstantinovich of Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod.
Creation in Nizhny Novgorod
The chronicle was copied in 1377 at the initiative of the Nizhny Novgorod–Suzdal and Gorodets Bishop Dionisy. It was based on worn manuscript books recording the history of Rus' from the *Tale of Bygone Years* onward; by that time the pages of the originals had barely survived. The work was carried out by a monk-copyist named Lavrentiy, after whom the compilation received its name.
Significance for the Study of Regional History
The Laurentian Chronicle is one of the most reliable sources for The History of Nizhny Novgorod. In particular, historians use it as a key argument in the debate The Founding of Nizhny Novgorod: the complete absence in the chronicle of any mention of The Dyatlov Mountains serves as evidence against the hypothesis that a Bulgar city existed there — a hypothesis advanced on the basis of the writings of Vasily Tatishchev. Seleznev Fyodor Alexandrovich, Doctor of Historical Sciences and head of the Regional Studies Research Center of IMOMI at Lobachevsky University, noted that the chronicle does not support this claim, while Tatishchev also contains other information unattested by any other sources.
Chronicle sources from the same tradition mention a Bulgar city captured in the winter of 1171–1172 by Prince Mstislav Andreyevich; however, the texts contain no direct indication that this fortress was located on the Dyatlov Hills.