Case file · Cosmic event
A great serpent falls from the sky
The Primary Chronicle says that in 1091, while Prince Vsevolod was hunting beyond Vyshhorod, 'a great serpent fell from the sky' and all the people were afraid; the same year has a solar eclipse.
1091 CE · 50.59, 30.49 · status: account
The account
The entry is short and the chronicler gives no explanation. Modern writers have read the 'serpent' as a bright fireball with a long, writhing train, the usual way a bolide was described in medieval texts; others suggest a fallen meteorite. The solar eclipse of 21 May 1091 is real and was visible in Kyiv.
The sceptical view
Most likely a bolide; 'fiery serpent' (zmei ognenny) remained the Russian folk word for a fireball for centuries.