Russian scientists sequenced the genome of a man whose remains were discovered and buried in St. Sophia Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod as early as the 12th century. Although it is evident that this person held a high social status, his identity remains a mystery.
Researchers hypothesized that the individual in the stone sarcophagus could be a member of the Rurikid dynasty, specifically Prince Vyacheslav Yaroslavich, who was a grandson of Mstislav the Great. However, this identification is not yet conclusive, as the genetic data did not allow for an unambiguous link between this man and known members of the Rurikids.
The results of the study were officially published by the authors in the Russian Journal of Genetics.