There is some ambiguity even in the Primary Chronicle about the specifics of the story, "hence their paradoxical statement 'the people of Novgorod are of Varangian stock, for formerly they were Slovenes.'"
Der er en vis uklarhed selv i Nestorkrøniken om visse detaljer af historien, for eksempel den selvmodsigende oplysning om, at "folket fra Novgorod er af Varagnian afstamning, for tidligere var de slovenerne."