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115-522: The early Rostov principality occupied a vast but sparsely populated territory in the northeast of Kievan Rus' , approximately bounded by the Volga , Oka , and Northern Dvina rivers. According to the archaeologist Andrei Leontiev  [ ru ] , who specializes in the history of the region, the Rostov land until the 10th century was already under the control of Rostov city, while Sarskoye Gorodishche

230-581: A brief capture of Kiev in 1149. 20 years later, his son led the Sack of Kiev (1169) . He was canonized as a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church in 1702. Andrey Bogolyubsky was born ca. 1111, to a daughter of Ayyub Khan , the Kipchak leader, and to Yuri I Vladimirovich (Russian: Юрий Владимирович ), commonly known as Yuri Dolgoruki (Russian: Юрий Долгорукий ). Yuri

345-560: A cloak; rather the men among them wear garments that only cover half of his body and leaves one of his hands free." Liutprand of Cremona , who was twice an envoy to the Byzantine court (949 and 968), identifies the "Russi" with the Norse ("the Russi, whom we call Norsemen by another name") but explains the name as a Greek term referring to their physical traits ("A certain people made up of

460-648: A conspiracy that resulted in Bogolyubsky's death on the night of 28–29 June 1174, when twenty of them burst into his chambers and slew him in his bed. According to the story of Andrey Bogolyubsky's death as recorded in the Kievan Chronicle of the Hypatian Codex (Ipatiev), and the Radziwiłł Chronicle , his "right hand" was cut off by an assailant called "Peter" (Петръ): However,

575-462: A mythic tale of Oleg's death. A sorcerer prophesies that the death of the prince would be associated with a certain horse. Oleg has the horse sequestered, and it later dies. Oleg goes to visit the horse and stands over the carcass, gloating that he had outlived the threat, when a snake strikes him from among the bones, and he soon becomes ill and dies. The Chronicle reports that Prince Igor succeeded Oleg in 913, and after some brief conflicts with

690-473: A navy to attack the city in 863–66, catching the Byzantines by surprise and ravaging the surrounding area, though other accounts date the attack in 860. Patriarch Photius vividly describes the "universal" devastation of the suburbs and nearby islands, and another account further details the destruction and slaughter of the invasion. The Rus' turned back before attacking the city itself, due either to

805-745: A part of the Norse, whom the Greeks call [...] the Russi on account of their physical features, we designate as Norsemen because of the location of their origin."). Leo the Deacon , a 10th-century Byzantine historian and chronicler, refers to the Rus' as " Scythians " and notes that they tended to adopt Greek rituals and customs. According to the Primary Chronicle , the territories of the East Slavs in

920-525: A principle of universal subordination and undivided authority. Rus' was only able to recover from the consequences of the Mongol invasion by the late thirteenth century. The first areas to recover were Novgorod and Pskov , which had been spared the Tatar raids . These city-states , with parliamentarian rule, created an original kind of culture under some influence from their western Baltic neighbours. In

1035-410: A scholarly consensus (at least outside of nationalist historiography), was summarized by the historian, F. Donald Logan, "in 839, the Rus were Swedes ; in 1043 the Rus were Slavs ". Ahmad ibn Fadlan , an Arab traveler during the 10th century, provided one of the earliest written descriptions of the Rus': "They are as tall as a date palm , blond and ruddy, so that they do not need to wear a tunic nor

1150-411: A staunch pagan . Due to his abrupt death in an ambush in 972, Sviatoslav's conquests, for the most part, were not consolidated into a functioning empire, while his failure to establish a stable succession led to a fratricidal feud among his sons, which resulted in two of his three sons being killed. It is not clearly documented when the title of grand prince was first introduced, but the importance of

1265-730: A storm dispersing their boats, the return of the Emperor, or in a later account, due to a miracle after a ceremonial appeal by the Patriarch and the Emperor to the Virgin. The attack was the first encounter between the Rus' and Byzantines and led the Patriarch to send missionaries north to engage and attempt to convert the Rus' and the Slavs. Rurik led the Rus' until his death in about 879 or 882, bequeathing his kingdom to his kinsman, Prince Oleg , as regent for his young son, Igor . According to

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1380-961: A vassal of the Mongol Empire , later succeeded by the Golden Horde , with the Grand Prince appointed by the Great Khan . Even the popular Alexander Nevsky of Pereslavl had to go to the Khan's capital in Karakorum to be installed as the Grand Prince in Vladimir. As many factions strove for power, the principality rapidly disintegrated into eleven tiny states: Moscow , Tver , Pereslavl , Rostov , Yaroslavl , Uglich , Belozersk , Kostroma , Nizhny Novgorod , Starodub-upon-Klyazma , and Yuriev-Polsky . All of them nominally acknowledged

1495-468: Is distinguished by its monochromatic palette and uncommon expressiveness of laconic blots and lines, which send a message of a complex symbolic implication, close to the then widely-spread doctrine of hesychasm , from Byzantium. The soft-coloured icons of Rublev are closer to the late Byzantine painting style of the Balkan countries in the fifteenth century. The late fourteenth century was marked by one of

1610-542: Is more likely that he adopted Byzantine Christianity in order to strengthen his diplomatic relations with Constantinople. Vladimir's choice of Eastern Christianity may have reflected his close personal ties with Constantinople, which dominated the Black Sea and hence trade on Kiev's most vital commercial route, the Dnieper River . According to the Primary Chronicle , Vladimir was baptised in c. 987, and ordered

1725-427: Is said to have founded a school system. Yaroslav's sons developed the great Kiev Pechersk Lavra ( monastery ). In the centuries that followed the state's foundation, Rurik's descendants shared power over Kievan Rus'. The means by which royal power was transferred from one Rurikid ruler to the next is unclear, however, historian Paul Magocsi mentioned that 'Scholars have debated what the actual system of succession

1840-741: The Kievan Chronicle , while the Suzdalian Chronicle made no judgement on it. After his father's death in 1157, Andrey ousted his younger brothers Mikhail "Mikhalko" Yurievich and Vsevolod "the Big Nest" from Rostov and Suzdal in 1162, thus uniting his father's patrimony in Vladimir-Suzdal under his sole rule ( samovlastets ). He expelled his four brothers to the Byzantine Empire together with their mother, Yuri's second wife. Andrey established for himself

1955-587: The Primary Chronicle , which was produced in the 12th century. Nationalist accounts on the other hand have suggested that the Rus' were present before the arrival of the Varangians, noting that only a handful of Scandinavian words can be found in Russian and that Scandinavian names in the early chronicles were soon replaced by Slavic names. Nevertheless, the close connection between the Rus' and

2070-538: The Russkaya Pravda , shortly after his death. The state began to decline in the late 11th century, gradually disintegrating into various rival regional powers throughout the 12th century. It was further weakened by external factors, such as the decline of the Byzantine Empire , its major economic partner, and the accompanying diminution of trade routes through its territory. It finally fell to

2185-575: The Hunnic invasion of the 370s halted Christianisation for several centuries. Some of the earliest Kievan princes and princesses such as Askold and Dir and Olga of Kiev reportedly converted to Christianity, but Oleg , Igor and Sviatoslav remained pagans. The Primary Chronicle records the legend that when Vladimir had decided to accept a new faith instead of traditional Slavic paganism , he sent out some of his most valued advisors and warriors as emissaries to different parts of Europe. They visited

2300-523: The Mongol invasion in the mid-13th century, though the Rurik dynasty would continue to rule until the death of Feodor I of Russia in 1598. The modern nations of Belarus , Russia , and Ukraine all claim Kievan Rus' as their cultural ancestor, with Belarus and Russia deriving their names from it, and the name Kievan Rus' derived from what is now the capital of Ukraine. During its existence, Kievan Rus'

2415-481: The Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' . While heavy tribute payments and the initial Mongol invasions did manage to cause much destruction to Vladimir-Suzdal, rule under the Mongols also brought wealth to the region, as Vladimir was able to access the Mongol's lucrative patronage of oriental trade. None of the cities of the principality managed to regain the power of Kievan Rus' after the Mongol invasion. Vladimir became

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2530-582: The Old Norse name Garðaríki , which, according to a common interpretation , means "land of towns". Prior to the emergence of Kievan Rus' in the 9th century, most of the area north of the Black Sea was primarily populated by eastern Slavic tribes. In the northern region around Novgorod were the Ilmen Slavs and neighboring Krivichi , who occupied territories surrounding the headwaters of

2645-521: The Polotsk Princes . The position of the grand prince of Kiev was weakened by the growing influence of regional clans. The rival Principality of Polotsk was contesting the power of the Grand Prince by occupying Novgorod, while Rostislav Vladimirovich was fighting for the Black Sea port of Tmutarakan belonging to Chernigov. Three of Yaroslav's sons that first allied together found themselves fighting each other especially after their defeat to

2760-525: The Primary Chronicle , Vladimir assembled a host of Varangian warriors, first subdued the Principality of Polotsk and then defeated and killed Yaropolk, thus establishing his reign over the entire Kievan Rus' realm. Although sometimes solely attributed to Vladimir, the Christianization of Kievan Rus' was a long and complicated process that began before the state's formation. As early as

2875-526: The Primary Chronicle , in 880–82, Oleg led a military force south along the Dnieper river, capturing Smolensk and Lyubech before reaching Kiev, where he deposed and killed Askold and Dir: "Oleg set himself up as prince in Kiev, and declared that it should be the "mother of Rus' cities". Oleg set about consolidating his power over the surrounding region and the riverways north to Novgorod, imposing tribute on

2990-629: The Rurik dynasty , founded by the Varangian prince Rurik . The name was coined by Russian historians in the 19th century to describe the period when Kiev was at the center. At its greatest extent in the mid-11th century, Kievan Rus' stretched from the White Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south and from the headwaters of the Vistula in the west to the Taman Peninsula in

3105-728: The Slavic peoples . This literature facilitated the conversion to Christianity of the Eastern Slavs and introduced them to rudimentary Greek philosophy , science, and historiography without the necessity of learning Greek (there were some merchants who did business with Greeks and likely had an understanding of contemporary business Greek). Following the Great Schism of 1054, the Kievan church maintained communion with both Rome and Constantinople for some time, but along with most of

3220-537: The Virgin Mary , was moved to Vladimir. From this time on, almost every principality began forming its own architectural and art schools. The invasion of Batu Khan and subsequent domination of Rus' lands by the Golden Horde was also a turning point in the history of Russian culture and statehood. Mongol rule imposed its principles of state on the northeastern Rus' principalities, which were very different from those of Western Europe. In particular, Russia adopted

3335-712: The Volga Bolgars ; he won a victory, but according to later traditions, a son was killed in battle, to whose memory he supposedly ordered the construction of the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl in 1165. In March 1169 Andrey's troops sacked Kiev , devastating it as never before. Andrey did not take part in the attack; he stayed in Vladimir-Suzdal while his troops sacked the capital. After plundering

3450-890: The West Dvina , Dnieper and Volga rivers. To their north, in the Ladoga and Karelia regions, were the Finnic Chud tribe. In the south, in the area around Kiev, were the Poliane , the Drevliane to the west of the Dnieper, and the Severiane to the east. To their north and east were the Vyatichi , and to their south was forested land settled by Slav farmers, giving way to steppelands populated by nomadic herdsmen. There

3565-538: The metropolitan of Kievan Rus' moved his chair from Vladimir to Moscow in 1325, it became clear that Moscow had effectively succeeded Vladimir as the chief centre of power in the north-east remnant of Kievan Rus'. As part of the Christian world, Rus' principalities gained a wide range of opportunities for developing their political and cultural ties not only with Byzantium but with the European countries, as well. By

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3680-467: The sovereign Russian state, headed by the Grand Prince of Moscow. Kievan Rus%27 Kievan Rus' , also known as Kyivan Rus ' , was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century. Encompassing a variety of polities and peoples, including East Slavic , Norse , and Finnic , it was ruled by

3795-611: The steppe region, leading to military conflict, disruption of trade, and instability within the Khazar Khaganate. The Rus' and Slavs had earlier allied with the Khazars against Arab raids on the Caucasus, but they increasingly worked against them to secure control of the trade routes . The Byzantine Empire was able to take advantage of the turmoil to expand its political influence and commercial relationships, first with

3910-527: The 12th century also as Ruthenia or Rutenia . Various etymologies have been proposed, including Ruotsi , the Finnish designation for Sweden or Ros , a tribe from the middle Dnieper valley region. According to the prevalent theory, the name Rus ' , like the Proto-Finnic name for Sweden ( *rootsi ), is derived from an Old Norse term for 'men who row' ( rods- ) because rowing

4025-683: The 12th-century Orthodox priests who authored the Chronicle as an explanation how the Vikings managed to conquer the lands along the Varangian route so easily, as well as to support the legitimacy of the Rurikid dynasty. The three brothers— Rurik , Sineus and Truvor —supposedly established themselves in Novgorod, Beloozero and Izborsk , respectively. Two of the brothers died, and Rurik became

4140-615: The 1st century AD, Greeks in the Black Sea Colonies converted to Christianity, and the Primary Chronicle even records the legend of Andrew the Apostle 's mission to these coastal settlements, as well as blessing the site of present-day Kyiv. The Goths migrated to through the region in the 3rd century, adopting Arian Christianity in the 4th century, leaving behind 4th- and 5th-century churches excavated in Crimea, although

4255-416: The 9th century were divided between the Varangians and the Khazars. The Varangians are first mentioned imposing tribute from Slavic and Finnic tribes in 859. In 862, various tribes rebelled against the Varangians, driving them "back beyond the sea and, refusing them further tribute, set out to govern themselves". They said to themselves, "Let us seek a prince who may rule over us, and judge us according to

4370-551: The Balkans to drive the Rus' back, and a naval contingent reportedly destroyed much of the Rus' fleet on its return voyage (possibly an exaggeration since the Rus' soon mounted another attack). The outcome indicates increased military might by Byzantium since 911, suggesting a shift in the balance of power. Igor returned to Kiev keen for revenge. He assembled a large force of warriors from among neighboring Slavs and Pecheneg allies, and sent for reinforcements of Varangians from "beyond

4485-520: The Byzantines deteriorated, as Byzantium increasingly allied with the Pechenegs against them. The Pechenegs were thus secure to raid the lands of the Khazars from their base between the Volga and Don rivers, allowing them to expand to the west. Relations between the Rus' and Pechenegs were complex, as the groups alternately formed alliances with and against one another. The Pechenegs were nomads roaming

4600-806: The Christians of the Latin Church , the Jews , and the Muslims before finally arriving in Constantinople. They rejected Islam because, among other things, it prohibited the consumption of alcohol, and Judaism because the god of the Jews had permitted his chosen people to be deprived of their country. They found the ceremonies in the Roman church to be dull. But at Constantinople, they were so astounded by

4715-431: The Cuman forces in 1068 at the Battle of the Alta River . The ruling Grand Prince Iziaslav fled to Poland asking for support and in a couple of years returned to establish the order. The affairs became even more complicated by the end of the 11th century driving the state into chaos and constant warfare. On the initiative of Vladimir II Monomakh in 1097 the Council of Liubech of Kievan Rus' took place near Chernigov with

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4830-399: The Don river, and into the lower Volga region. The Rus' were raiding and plundering into the Caspian Sea region from 864, with the first large-scale expedition in 913, when they extensively raided Baku, Gilan, Mazandaran and penetrated into the Caucasus. As the 10th century progressed, the Khazars were no longer able to command tribute from the Volga Bulgars, and their relationship with

4945-400: The Drevlians and the Pechenegs, a period of peace ensued for over twenty years. In 941, Igor led another major Rus' attack on Constantinople, probably over trading rights again. A navy of 10,000 vessels, including Pecheneg allies, landed on the Bithynian coast and devastated the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus. The attack was well timed, perhaps due to intelligence, as the Byzantine fleet

5060-515: The East Slav tribes. In 883, he conquered the Drevlians , imposing a fur tribute on them. By 885 he had subjugated the Poliane, Severiane, Vyatichi, and Radimichs , forbidding them to pay further tribute to the Khazars. Oleg continued to develop and expand a network of Rus' forts in Slavic lands, begun by Rurik in the north. The new Kievan state prospered due to its abundant supply of furs, beeswax, honey and slaves for export, and because it controlled three main trade routes of Eastern Europe . In

5175-521: The Eastern churches it eventually split to follow the Eastern Orthodox. That being said, unlike other parts of the Greek world, Kievan Rus' did not have a strong hostility to the Western world. Yaroslav , known as "the Wise", struggled for power with his brothers. A son of Vladimir the Great , he was prince of Novgorod at the time of his father's death in 1015. Although he first established his rule over Kiev in 1019, he did not have uncontested rule of all of Kievan Rus' until 1036. Like Vladimir, Yaroslav

5290-431: The Khazars and later with the Rus' and other steppe groups. The Byzantines established the Theme of Cherson , formally known as Klimata, in the Crimea in the 830s to defend against raids by the Rus' and to protect vital grain shipments supplying Constantinople. Cherson also served as a key diplomatic link with the Khazars and others on the steppe, and it became the centre of Black Sea commerce. The Byzantines also helped

5405-423: The Khazars build a fortress at Sarkel on the Don river to protect their northwest frontier against incursions by the Turkic migrants and the Rus', and to control caravan trade routes and the portage between the Don and Volga rivers. The expansion of the Rus' put further military and economic pressure on the Khazars, depriving them of territory, tributaries and trade. In around 890, Oleg waged an indecisive war in

5520-410: The Kiev principality was recognized after the death of Sviatoslav I in 972 and the ensuing struggle between Vladimir and Yaropolk . The region of Kiev dominated the region for the next two centuries. The grand prince (or grand duke) of Kiev controlled the lands around the city, and his formally subordinate relatives ruled the other cities and paid him tribute. The zenith of the state's power came during

5635-406: The Law." They accordingly went overseas to the Varangian Rus'. ... The Chuds, the Slavs, the Krivichs and the Ves then said to the Rus', "Our land is great and rich, but there is no order in it. Come to rule and reign over us". They thus selected three brothers with their kinfolk, who took with them all the Rus' and migrated. Modern scholars find this an unlikely series of events, probably made up by

5750-437: The Monomakh-Piast descendant Roman the Great . Andrey Bogolyubsky Andrey Bogolyubsky (died 28 June 1174; Russian : Андрей Ю́рьевич Боголюбский , romanized :  Andrey Yuryevich Bogolyubsky , lit. Andrey Yuryevich of Bogolyubovo ), was Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal from 1157 until his death. During repeated internecine wars between the princely clans, Andrey accompanied his father Yuri Dolgorukiy during

5865-408: The Moscow seat of the Grand Prince. Ivan III managed to unite the Russian lands around Moscow (at the cost of ravaging Novgorod and Pskov) only by the end of the fifteenth century, and put an end to Russia's subordination to the Golden Horde after the Great standing on the Ugra river of 1480. The river was later poetically dubbed the "Virgin Belt" ( Poyas Bogoroditsy ). This event marked the birth of

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5980-424: The Norse is confirmed both by extensive Scandinavian settlement in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine and by Slavic influences in the Swedish language. Though the debate over the origin of the Rus' remains politically charged, there is broad agreement that if the proto-Rus' were indeed originally Norse, they were quickly nativized , adopting Slavic languages and other cultural practices. This position, roughly representing

6095-409: The Norse origins of the Rus' have been supported directly by state policy in some cases, and the resultant foundation myths have been included in some school textbooks in Russia. While Varangians were Norse traders and Vikings , many Russian and Ukrainian nationalist historians argue that the Rus' were themselves Slavs. Normanist theories focus on the earliest written source for the East Slavs ,

6210-409: The Patriarch announced that the Rus' had accepted a bishop, and in 874 he speaks of an "Archbishop of the Rus'." Relations between the Rus' and Byzantines became more complex after Oleg took control over Kiev, reflecting commercial, cultural, and military concerns. The wealth and income of the Rus' depended heavily upon trade with Byzantium. Constantine Porphyrogenitus described the annual course of

6325-403: The Pechenegs to attack the Magyars from their rear. Boxed in, the Magyars were forced to migrate further west across the Carpathian Mountains into the Hungarian plain, depriving the Khazars of an important ally and a buffer from the Rus'. The migration of the Magyars allowed access for the Rus' to the Black Sea, and they soon launched excursions into Khazar territory along the sea coast, up

6440-422: The Rostislavichi of Smolensk and Iziaslavichi of Volhynia jointly secured the throne of Kiev, Andrey assembled another coalition and marched on Vyshhorod in 1173 , where the Yurievichi–Olgovichi forces of Suzdalia and Chernigov were utterly defeated. The defeat of Andrey's second coalition at Vyshgorod, the expansion of his princely authority, and his conflicts with the upper nobility, the boyars , gave rise to

6555-517: The Rus' attacked Constantinople again in 907, probably to secure trade access. The Chronicle glorifies the military prowess and shrewdness of Oleg, an account imbued with legendary detail. Byzantine sources do not mention the attack, but a pair of treaties in 907 and 911 set forth a trade agreement with the Rus', the terms suggesting pressure on the Byzantines, who granted the Rus' quarters and supplies for their merchants and tax-free trading privileges in Constantinople. The Chronicle provides

6670-483: The Rus' in later campaigns against the Byzantines, yet allied with the Byzantines against the Rus' at other times. After the Rus' attack on Constantinople in 860, the Byzantine Patriarch Photius sent missionaries north to convert the Rus' and the Slavs to Christianity. Prince Rastislav of Moravia had requested the Emperor to provide teachers to interpret the holy scriptures, so in 863 the brothers Cyril and Methodius were sent as missionaries, due to their knowledge of

6785-555: The Rus', including stringent regulations on the conduct of Rus' merchants in Cherson and Constantinople and specific punishments for violations of the law. The Byzantines may have been motivated to enter the treaty out of concern of a prolonged alliance of the Rus', Pechenegs, and Bulgarians against them, though the more favorable terms further suggest a shift in power. Following the death of Igor in 945, his wife Olga ruled as regent in Kiev until their son Sviatoslav reached maturity (c. 963). His decade-long reign over Kievan Rus'

6900-399: The Russian state owed its existence and origins to the supposedly racially superior Norse tribes. More recently, in the context of resurgent nationalism in post-Soviet states, Anglophone scholarship has analyzed renewed efforts to use this debate to create ethno-nationalist foundation stories, with governments sometimes directly involved in the project. Conferences and publications questioning

7015-627: The Slavonic language. The Slavs had no written language, so the brothers devised the Glagolitic alphabet , later replaced by Cyrillic (developed in the First Bulgarian Empire ) and standardized the language of the Slavs, later known as Old Church Slavonic . They translated portions of the Bible and drafted the first Slavic civil code and other documents, and the language and texts spread throughout Slavic territories, including Kievan Rus'. The mission of Cyril and Methodius served both evangelical and diplomatic purposes, spreading Byzantine cultural influence in support of imperial foreign policy. In 867

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7130-453: The Varangians to the Greeks ," continuing to the Black Sea and on to Constantinople. Kiev was a central outpost along the Dnieper route and a hub with the east–west overland trade route between the Khazars and the Germanic lands of Central Europe. and may have been a staging post for Radhanite Jewish traders between Western Europe, Itil and China. These commercial connections enriched Rus' merchants and princes, funding military forces and

7245-404: The Volga-Don steppes to eastern Crimea and the northern Caucasus during the 8th century, an era historians call the ' Pax Khazarica ', trading and frequently allying with the Byzantine Empire against Persians and Arabs. In the late 8th century, the collapse of the Göktürk Khaganate led the Magyars and the Pechenegs , Ugrians and Turkic peoples from Central Asia, to migrate west into

7360-415: The basis for the so-called "monastic colonization" of the little-developed northern lands. The Life of Sergii Radonezhsky was written by one of the outstanding writers of that time, Epifaniy the Wise . Andrei Rublev painted his Trinity , the greatest masterpiece of the Russian Middle Ages, for the cathedral of Sergii's monastery. Mid-fifteenth-century Muscovy is known for bloody internecine wars for

7475-441: The beauty of the cathedral of Hagia Sophia and the liturgical service held there that they made up their minds there and then about the faith they would like to follow. Upon their arrival home, they convinced Vladimir that the faith of the Byzantine Rite was the best choice of all, upon which Vladimir made a journey to Constantinople and arranged to marry Princess Anna , the sister of Byzantine emperor Basil II . Historically, it

7590-400: The broader one, encompassing all the lands under the hegemony of Kiev's grand princes. The Russian term Kiyevskaya Rus' ( Russian : Ки́евская Русь ) was coined in the 19th century in Russian historiography to refer to the period when the centre was in Kiev. In the 19th century it also appeared in Ukrainian as Kyivska Rus' ( Ukrainian : Ки́ївська Русь ). Later, the Russian term

7705-401: The cities of Kiev, Chernigov , and Pereyaslavl and their surroundings came under Varangian control. From the late tenth century, Vladimir the Great and Yaroslav the Wise tried to associate the name with all of the extended princely domains. Both meanings persisted in sources until the Mongol conquest: the narrower one, referring to the triangular territory east of the middle Dnieper, and

7820-463: The city, stealing much religious artwork, many books and valuables and devastating houses and religious buildings alike, Andrey had his brother Gleb appointed as prince of Kiev, in an attempt to create a position of overlordship for himself. This overlordship lasted for less than two years, ending with Gleb's death on 20 January 1171. Andrey's attempts to control other parts of Kievan Rus' were barely successful either; his Siege of Novgorod (1170)

7935-449: The construction of churches, palaces, fortifications, and further towns. Demand for luxury goods fostered production of expensive jewelry and religious wares, allowing their export, and an advanced credit and money-lending system may have also been in place. The rapid expansion of the Rus' to the south led to conflict and volatile relationships with the Khazars and other neighbors on the Pontic steppe . The Khazars dominated trade from

8050-480: The controversy is related to the foundation myths of modern states in the region. This often unfruitful debate over origins has periodically devolved into competing nationalist narratives of dubious scholarly value being promoted directly by various government bodies in a number of states. This was seen in the Stalinist period, when Soviet historiography sought to distance the Rus' from any connection to Germanic tribes, in an effort to dispel Nazi propaganda claiming

8165-471: The coveted throne of Kiev. Whatever the case, according to professor Ivan Katchanovski 'no adequate system of succession to the Kievan throne was developed' after the death of Yaroslav the Wise ( r.  1019–1054 ), commencing a process of gradual disintegration. The unconventional power succession system fomented constant hatred and rivalry within the royal family. Familicide was frequently deployed to obtain power and can be traced particularly during

8280-595: The early fifteenth century, Andrei Rublev and Prokhor of Gorodets painted the Assumption (Uspensky) Cathedral. In the mid-1450s, they restored the Cathedral of St. George in Yuriev-Polsky under the supervision of Vasili Dmitriyevich Yermolin . The architecture of Muscovy and its surrounding lands in the fourteenth to early fifteenth centuries, usually referred to as early Muscovite architecture, inherited

8395-525: The early fourteenth century, leadership in the northeastern lands was transferred from the Principality of Vladimir to Moscow , which, in turn, would fight for leadership against Tver for another century. Moscow was a part of the Vladimir lands and functioned as one of the border fortresses of north-eastern Rus'. In 1324, Metropolitan Peter left Vladimir and settled down in Moscow, thus, transferring

8510-535: The east, uniting the East Slavic tribes. According to the Primary Chronicle , the first ruler to unite East Slavic lands into what would become Kievan Rus' was Oleg the Wise ( r.  879–912 ). He extended his control from Novgorod south along the Dnieper river valley to protect trade from Khazar incursions from the east, and took control of the city. Sviatoslav I ( r.  943–972 ) achieved

8625-610: The end of the eleventh century, Rus' gradually fell under the influence of Roman architecture . Whitestone cathedrals, decorated with sculpture , appeared in the principality of Vladimir-Suzdal due to Andrey Bogolyubsky's invitation of architects from "all over the world". These cathedrals, however, are not identical to the Roman edifices of Catholic Europe and represent a synthesis of the Byzantine cruciform plan and cupolas with Roman whitestone construction and decorative technique. This mixture of Greek and Western European traditions

8740-492: The expense of the nearby princely states, which he treated with contempt. When grand prince Rostislav I of Kiev died in 1167, a succession crisis broke out in which Andrey argued that, according to the emergent tradition of the Principality of Pereyaslavl being the domain of the crown prince of Kiev, his brother Gleb ought to be enthroned. After burning down Kiev , then the metropolitan seat of Rus' , in 1169, he enthroned his younger brother. For Andrey, his capital of Vladimir

8855-516: The first major territorial expansion of the state, fighting a war of conquest against the Khazars . Vladimir the Great ( r.  980–1015 ) spread Christianity with his own baptism and, by decree, extended it to all inhabitants of Kiev and beyond. Kievan Rus' reached its greatest extent under Yaroslav the Wise ( r.  1019–1054 ); his sons assembled and issued its first written legal code,

8970-410: The flames, jumped overboard, preferring water to fire. Some sank, weighed down by the weight of their breastplates and helmets; others caught fire." Those captured were beheaded. The ploy dispelled the Rus' fleet, but their attacks continued into the hinterland as far as Nicomedia , with many atrocities reported as victims were crucified and set up for use as targets. At last a Byzantine army arrived from

9085-489: The formerly wooded areas, known as Zalesye , many new settlements were established. The foundations of Pereslavl , Kostroma , Dmitrov , Moscow , Yuriev-Polsky , Uglich , Tver , Dubna , and many others were assigned (either by chronicle or popular legend) to G, whose sobriquet ("the Long-Armed") alludes to his dexterity in manipulating the politics of far-away Kiev . Sometime in 1108 Monomakh strengthened and rebuilt

9200-637: The lands of the lower Dniester and Dnieper rivers with the Tivertsi and the Ulichs , who were likely acting as vassals of the Magyars, blocking Rus' access to the Black Sea. In 894, the Magyars and Pechenegs were drawn into the wars between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire . The Byzantines arranged for the Magyars to attack Bulgarian territory from the north, and Bulgaria in turn persuaded

9315-511: The lawful heir, his brother George , from Vladimir to Rostov . George managed to return to the capital six years later, upon Konstantin's death. George proved to be a shrewd ruler who decisively defeated Volga Bulgaria and installed his brother Yaroslav in Novgorod . His reign, however, ended when the Mongol hordes under Batu Khan took and burnt Vladimir in 1238. Thereupon they proceeded to devastate other major cities of Vladimir-Suzdal during

9430-603: The main intention to find an understanding among the fighting sides. By 1130, all descendants of Vseslav the Seer had been exiled to the Byzantine Empire by Mstislav the Great . The most fierce resistance to the Monomakhs was posed by the Olegovichi when the izgoi Vsevolod II managed to become the Grand Prince of Kiev. The Rostislavichi , who had initially established in the lands of Galicia by 1189, were defeated by

9545-485: The most important events in Russian history. In 1380, Dmitry Donskoy and his army dealt the first serious blow to the Golden Horde . Sergii Radonezhsky , the founder and hegumen of Troitse-Sergiyev monastery , played an exceptional role in this victory. The name of Saint Sergii, who became the protector and patron of Muscovy, has an enormous significance in Russian culture. Radonezhsky himself and his followers founded more than two hundred monasteries, which would become

9660-698: The north, Novgorod served as a commercial link between the Baltic Sea and the Volga trade route to the lands of the Volga Bulgars , the Khazars, and across the Caspian Sea as far as Baghdad , providing access to markets and products from Central Asia and the Middle East. Trade from the Baltic also moved south on a network of rivers and short portages along the Dnieper known as the " route from

9775-577: The population of Kiev to be baptised in August 988. The greatest resistance against Christianisation appears to have occurred in northern towns including Novgorod, Suzdal, and Belozersk. Adherence to the Eastern Church had long-range political, cultural, and religious consequences. The church had a liturgy written in Cyrillic and a corpus of translations from Greek that had been produced for

9890-518: The princely family, and the mighty Turkic state of Volga Bulgaria , which bordered Vladimir-Suzdal to the east. After several military campaigns, Ryazan was burnt to the ground, and the Bulgars were forced to pay tribute. Vsevolod's death in 1212 precipitated a serious dynastic conflict. His eldest son Konstantin gained the support of powerful Rostovan boyars and Mstislav the Bold of Kiev and expelled

10005-574: The princes of Kiev, collecting tribute from client tribes, assembling the product into a flotilla of hundreds of boats, conducting them down the Dnieper to the Black Sea, and sailing to the estuary of the Dniester, the Danube delta, and on to Constantinople. On their return trip they would carry silk fabrics, spices, wine, and fruit. The importance of this trade relationship led to military action when disputes arose. The Primary Chronicle reports that

10120-401: The reigns of Vladimir the Great ( r.  980–1015 ) and Prince Yaroslav I the Wise ( r.  1019–1054 ). Both rulers continued the steady expansion of Kievan Rus' that had begun under Oleg. Vladimir had been prince of Novgorod when his father Sviatoslav I died in 972, but fled to Scandinavia in 977 after his half-brother Yaropolk killed his other half-brother Oleg. According to

10235-485: The residence of the Russian Orthodox Church ( Metropolitan Maximus had moved the residence from Kiev to Vladimir not long before, in 1299). In the late fourteenth century, the principal object of worship of the "old" capital—the icon of the Theotokos of Vladimir —was transferred to Moscow. Vladimir became a model for Muscovy . Emphasizing the succession, Muscovite princes took good care of Vladimir's sacred places. In

10350-635: The right to receive tribute from the populations of the Northern Dvina lands. He commenced the construction of fortifications around the town of Vladimir in 1158 (completed in 1164 ), as well as the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir . In 1162 or 1164, Andrey sent an embassy to Constantinople , lobbying for a separate metropolitan see in Vladimir, but he was overruled by the patriarch of Constantinople. Fortifications around Vladimir were completed in 1164. The same year Andrey attacked

10465-463: The sea". In 944, the Rus' force advanced again on the Greeks, by land and sea, and a Byzantine force from Cherson responded. The Emperor sent gifts and offered tribute in lieu of war, and the Rus' accepted. Envoys were sent between the Rus', the Byzantines, and the Bulgarians in 945, and a peace treaty was completed. The agreement again focused on trade, but this time with terms less favorable to

10580-541: The sole ruler of the territory and progenitor of the Rurik dynasty . A short time later, two of Rurik's men, Askold and Dir , asked him for permission to go to Tsargrad ( Constantinople ). On their way south, they came upon "a small city on a hill", Kiev, which was a tributary of the Khazars at the time, stayed there and "established their dominion over the country of the Polyanians ." The Primary Chronicle reports that Askold and Dir continued to Constantinople with

10695-476: The steppe raising livestock which they traded with the Rus' for agricultural goods and other products. The lucrative Rus' trade with the Byzantine Empire had to pass through Pecheneg-controlled territory, so the need for generally peaceful relations was essential. Nevertheless, while the Primary Chronicle reports the Pechenegs entering Rus' territory in 915 and then making peace, they were waging war with one another again in 920. Pechenegs are reported assisting

10810-427: The suzerainty of the Grand Prince of Vladimir, but his effective authority became progressively weaker. By the end of the century, only three cities — Moscow, Tver, and Nizhny Novgorod — still contended for the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir. Once installed, however, they chose to remain in their own cities rather than move to Vladimir. The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually came to eclipse its rivals. When

10925-500: The technique of whitestone construction and typology of four-pillar cathedrals from Vladimir. Art historians, however, notice that early Muscovite architecture was influenced by the Balkans and European Gothic architecture . Russian painting of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries is characterized by two major influences, namely those of Byzantine artist Feofan Grek and Russian icon-painter Andrei Rublev . Feofan's style

11040-644: The time of the Yaroslavichi (sons of Yaroslav), when the established succession system was skipped in the establishment of Vladimir II Monomakh as the Grand Prince of Kiev ( r.  1113–1125 ), in turn creating major squabbles between the Olegovichi (sons of Oleg I ) from Chernigov, the Monomakhovichi from Pereyaslavl, the Izyaslavichi (sons of Iziaslav ) from Turov – Volhynia , and

11155-539: The town of Suzdal ', was the prince of Rostov. In the same year, he supposedly founded the fortified outpost of Vladimir ( Volodimer ) on the Klyazma , to control that river and defend against raids of the Volga Bulgars who had attacked in 1107. In 1120, Yuri conducted a military campaign against Bolghar territory. During the 11th and 12th centuries when southern parts of Rus' were systematically raided by Turkic nomads, their inhabitants began to migrate northward. In

11270-666: The town of Vladimir on the Klyazma River , 31 km south of Suzdal. During the rule of Yuri, the principality gained military strength, and in the Suzdal-Ryazan war of 1146, it conquered the Ryazan Principality . Later in the 1150s, Yuri occupied Kiev a couple of times as well. From that time the lands of the northeastern Rus' played an important role in the politics of Kievan Rus'. Yuri's son Andrey Bogolyubsky significantly increased Vladimir's power at

11385-478: The upper Volga by 1071, and that Vladimir Monomakh ordered a church to be built in Rostov. At the 1097 Council of Liubech , Monomakh became prince of Pereyaslavl, including Rostov, for which he made an appanage for his sons. From that time onwards, the Rostov region was a point of contention between the Monomakhovichi of Pereyaslavl and the Sviatoslavichi of Murom . Control of the upper Volga river

11500-433: Was Yaroslav the Wise , appointed by his father Volodimer I of Kiev . In 1024, there was reportedly a famine in the area, and a revolt stoked up by pagan sorcerers was suppressed by Yaroslav personally. Upon his death in 1054, Vsevolod Yaroslavich received the Principality of Pereyaslavl including the lands of Rostov. Little is known about the region until the 1090s, except that the town of Yaroslavl had been founded upon

11615-609: Was a failure, and the Suzdalians were defeated. Although he managed to later blackmail the Novgorodians by imposing a blockade on the trade hub, securing the princehood for his son Yury Bogolyubsky in 1171, the Novgorodians immediately expelled him upon Andrey's death in June 1174. Gleb's death in 1171 caused another Kievan succession crisis , and Andrey became embroiled in a two-year war to regain control over Kiev. When

11730-537: Was a far greater concern, as he embellished it with white stone churches and monasteries. Prince Andrey was murdered by boyars in his suburban residence at Bogolyubovo in 1174. After a brief interregnum, Andrey's brother Vsevolod III secured the throne. He continued most of his brother's policies and once again subjugated Kiev in 1203. Vsevolod's chief enemies, however, were the Southern Ryazan Principality , which appeared to stir discord in

11845-589: Was a son of Volodimer II Monomakh , progenitor of the Monomakhovichi . Yuri proclaimed Andrey a prince in Vyshgorod (near Kiev ). Andrey left Vyshgorod in 1155 and moved to Vladimir , a little town on the river Klyazma founded in 1108. In doing so, he removed the Icon of the Blessed Mother of God from Vyshgorod to Vladimir (thereafter known as the "Virgin of Vladimir"), an action condemned as theft by

11960-545: Was a tribal centre of the native Merya people. In the 10th century, an eparchy was established in Rostov. At that time Rostov was the major centre of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity in the region dominated mostly by paganism. Until the 11th century, Rostov was often associated with Novgorod . The first known administrator in the Rostov region mentioned in the Primary Chronicle sub anno 988

12075-543: Was eager to improve relations with the rest of Europe, especially the Byzantine Empire. Yaroslav's granddaughter, Eupraxia , the daughter of his son Vsevolod I , was married to Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor . Yaroslav also arranged marriages for his sister and three daughters to the kings of Poland, France, Hungary and Norway. Yaroslav promulgated the first law code of Kievan Rus', the Russkaya Pravda ; built Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev and Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod ; patronized local clergy and monasticism ; and

12190-609: Was known as the " Rus' land" ( Old East Slavic : ро́усьскаѧ землѧ́ , romanized:  rusĭskaę zemlę , from the ethnonym Роусь , Rusĭ ; Medieval Greek : Ῥῶς , romanized :  Rhos ; Arabic : الروس , romanized :  ar-Rūs ), in Greek as Ῥωσία , Rhosia , in Old French as Russie, Rossie , in Latin as Rusia or Russia (with local German spelling variants Ruscia and Ruzzia ), and from

12305-561: Was marked by rapid expansion through the conquest of the Khazars of the Pontic steppe and the invasion of the Balkans . By the end of his short life, Sviatoslav carved out for himself the largest state in Europe, eventually moving his capital from Kiev to Pereyaslavets on the Danube in 969. In contrast with his mother's conversion to Christianity , Sviatoslav, like his druzhina , remained

12420-575: Was occupied with the Arabs in the Mediterranean, and the bulk of its army was stationed in the east. The Rus' burned towns, churches and monasteries, butchering the people and amassing booty. The emperor arranged for a small group of retired ships to be outfitted with Greek fire throwers and sent them out to meet the Rus', luring them into surrounding the contingent before unleashing the Greek fire. Liutprand of Cremona wrote that "the Rus', seeing

12535-536: Was once controversy over whether the Rus' were Varangians or Slavs (see anti-Normanism ), however, more recently scholarly attention has focused more on debating how quickly an ancestrally Norse people assimilated into Slavic culture. This uncertainty is due largely to a paucity of contemporary sources. Attempts to address this question instead rely on archaeological evidence, the accounts of foreign observers, and legends and literature from centuries later. To some extent

12650-576: Was one of the reasons for this. Barely noticeable in the eleventh century, it became very obvious two centuries later during the resistance of the citizens of Novgorod to the Teutonic Knights . Also, by the middle of the twelfth century, the dominating influence of the Kievan Rus’ (some historians do not consider it possible to even call it a state in the modern sense of the word) began to wane. The famous Theotokos of Vladimir , an icon of

12765-399: Was or whether there was any system at all.' According to historian Nancy Kollmann, the rota system was used with the princely succession moving from elder to younger brother and from uncle to nephew, as well as from father to son. Junior members of the dynasty usually began their official careers as rulers of a minor district, progressed to more lucrative principalities, and then competed for

12880-469: Was particularly important, as it was the primary route for trade between Volga Bulgaria to the east and Veliky Novgorod to the west. Intercepting that commercial shipping for their own profit was tempting for the Monomakhovichi, but also risky, as it provoked hostilities with both the Bulgars and Novgorodians. It seems that by the year 1108, Monomakh's sixth son Yuri Dolgorukiy , who resided in

12995-497: Was possible only in Kievan Rus'. One of its results was a famous architectural masterpiece of Vladimir, the Church of Pokrova na Nerli , a symbol of cultural originality of Suzdalia. In the early Middle Ages, Rus' principalities were similar to other European countries culturally and in historical development. Later on, however, the Rus' polities and Europe began diverging due to a number of factors. The East-West Schism of 1054

13110-470: Was rendered into Belarusian as Kiyewskaya Rus' or Kijeŭskaja Ruś ( Belarusian : Кіеўская Русь ) and into Rusyn as Kyïvska Rus' ( Rusyn : Київска Русь ). In English, the term was introduced in the early 20th century, when it was found in the 1913 English translation of Vasily Klyuchevsky 's A History of Russia , to distinguish the early polity from successor states, which were also named Rus ' . The Varangian Rus' from Scandinavia used

13225-539: Was the main method of navigating the rivers of Eastern Europe, and could be linked to the Swedish coastal area of Roslagen ( Rus-law ) or Roden . The name Rus ' would then have the same origin as the Finnish and Estonian names for Sweden: Ruotsi and Rootsi . When the Varangian princes arrived, the name Rus' was associated with them and came to be associated with the territories they controlled. Initially

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