The Destruction of the Idols at Kiev (980 CE)
In 980 CE, the pagan ruler Vladimir of Kiev (later baptized as Vladimir) ordered the destruction of the pagan idols. The great wooden idol of Perun (with a golden head and beard) was dragged from its hill by the Dnieper, beaten, and thrown into the river [S1]S1 · Primary Chronicle (Povest' vremennykh let / Latopis povest' vremen'nykh let)c. 1113 CE (describes 10th c.)textOpen source ↗[S3]S3 · 'Tale of the Destruction of the Idols' (Skazanie o razrushenii idolov)16th-18th c.textOpen source ↗. This is the oldest attested event in the Slavic pantheon's history — the moment of the Christianization of Kiev [S1]S1 · Primary Chronicle (Povest' vremennykh let / Latopis povest' vremen'nykh let)c. 1113 CE (describes 10th c.)textOpen source ↗[S3]S3 · 'Tale of the Destruction of the Idols' (Skazanie o razrushenii idolov)16th-18th c.textOpen source ↗. The 'Tale of the Destruction of the Idols' (a later retelling) describes the event in detail [S3]S3 · 'Tale of the Destruction of the Idols' (Skazanie o razrushenii idolov)16th-18th c.textOpen source ↗.
Pre-Christian Slavic religion left no native written corpus. Named gods are attested (Vladimir's pantheon, 980 CE; chronicles; ethnography), but the narrative layer is largely scholarly reconstruction (Ivanov–Toporov et al.). Every reconstructed claim is badged as such.
The Primary Chronicle (c. 1113 CE) is the oldest source but is a later literary retelling of 10th c. events; the 'Tale of the Destruction of the Idols' (16th-18th c.) is a much later retelling [S1]S1 · Primary Chronicle (Povest' vremennykh let / Latopis povest' vremen'nykh let)c. 1113 CE (describes 10th c.)textOpen source ↗[S3]S3 · 'Tale of the Destruction of the Idols' (Skazanie o razrushenii idolov)16th-18th c.textOpen source ↗.