On the origin of the princes Rogvolod and Tur

The article examines the origin of the princes-founders of the Polotsk and Turov principalities. The etymology of the anthroponyms Rogvolod and Tur has a Baltic, rather than Scandinavian, basis. Based on the presented material, it can be assumed that the princes arrived from overseas — from the island of Rügen, as indicated by the presence in the vocalization of the names, first of all, of a Slavic trace, as well as Germanic echoes. It was on Rügen in the 9th century that the prerequisites for organizing control over trade routes from the Baltic to the east were already formed and there was a significant squad capable of solving such cross-border problems. The proposed etymology of the names corresponds to the word-formation model, provides semantic kinship of anthroponyms and their reasonable meaningful meaning.