The creation of Russia began with Viking adventurer-traders who opened up trade routes beginning around A.D. 800 on the great Russian rivers like the Dnieper and the Volga between the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. In 988 A.D., Vladimir sent 6000 warriors to Byzantium (to strengthen his alliance with the super power). Rus, also spelled Ros, ancient people who gave their name to the lands of Russia and Belarus. If they arrived a poorly defended port they pillaged. He says he was so weighted down he had to be lifted on his horse. They first appeared in the region in the 6th century and has some run ins with the Khazar. Among the craftsman were blacksmiths, jewel makers, silversmith and carvers of bone combs. The chronicle cites Rurik as the progenitor of a dynasty that ruled in Eastern Europe until 1598. It was after 840 that Scandanavian Vikingsâwho were known in Eastern Europe as âVarangiansâ or âRusââestablished Viking rule over Slavic tribes in what came to be called Kievan Rus. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Evidence ofNorse presence in the 9th and 10th century, in modern-daynorth-western Russia, and Ukraine (although archaeological evidence is more sparsehere), both in remains, chronicles and peace treaties, is undeniable. âOn ac⦠The reason for these warlike activities was wealth in the form of amber and furs which were looted or taxed from the Finns, Wends, Slavs, and others living in the eastern Baltic region. The Norwegians and Danish Vikings were centered primarily in western Europe, but the Swedes looked eastward to the Baltic and what is now Russia. All these aspects bear witness to how Swedes understood their participation in the building of the Russian state, and the link between the Russians and their Viking ancestors. Russia took its name from the Rusâ and was literally born in Kiev in the Ukraine. Soviet scholars traditionally maintained that a confederation of Slav tribes existed three centuries before the Vikings arrived. The city of Bulgar and the Khazar port of Itil were the main trade centers. Artifact recovered Rus graves at Gnezdovo, a 10th century settlement in the forest near Smolensk, include silver Scandinavian-style pendants, Slavic style jewelry, and Arab-style bronze ornaments with scabbard clips and circular cloak fasteners. A legendary figure in Russian history, Oleg of Novgorod, or Oleg the Prophet, belonged to the branch of vikings who instead of raiding western ⦠In several generations, the Scandinavian elements assimilated, but they were still aware of their origin. The chronicleâs account is substantiated by finds of Scandinavian-style ⦠A Viking rune stone was discovered in 1905 on the island of Berzany in the mouth of Dnieper at the Black Sea. The presence of Nordic Scandinavians in what is now Russia, Ukraine and Belarus is proven by more than a hundred years of extensive archaeological excavations, as well as contemporary DNA research. These early medieval Scandinavians were known as the Rus, and through military and economic might formed an elite ruling class over Eastern Slavic tribes centered in Kiev in modern-day Ukrain. The journey from Kiev to the Black Sea took about six weeks. [Source: Pritt Vesilind, National Geographic, May 2000]. On traveling down the frozen Volga river in the wintertime, he wrote: "I put on three fur coats and two pairs of trousers and on my feet I had woolen boots, with a pair of boots quilted with linen cloth on top of them and on top of these again was a pair of horsehide boots lined with bearskin." According to most scholars, the Varangians were Norman traders, consisting of Vikings, Danes and Balts, while Russian and Ukrainian nationalist historians generally argue that the Rus' were themselves Slavs. Decadent Court: Not as deadly as the Mediterranean perhaps, but almost. " - Ibn Rustah. The rest take their belongings out of the dugouts and lead the slaves, fettered in chains, across the land for six miles, until they are past the rapids. In Nestor's Primary Chronicle, it is said that the tribe of Rus dwelled beyond the sea, meaning Sweden. This marked the real beginning of the Varangian Guard, which lasted at least to the 13th century. Oleg is based on Oleg of Novgorod, a real ruler of the state of Kievan Rus, which he created after seizing control of Kiev in 882. Russian historiography for a long time refused the thesis that the Russian state has been founded by (foreign) Vikings. Historians have debated the role of the Varangians in the establishment of Kievan Rus'. There were few written records. [Source: Robert Paul Jordan, National Geographic, March 1985]. Ancient coins from China and Samarkand found in Sweden most likely came on this route. The Rus were also called Varangians and Varyagi. Other scholars think that the Varangian Guard was first formed after Prince Vladimir, who escaped from Kievan Rus to Sweden around 977 A.D., returned with thousands of mercenaries and conquered the capital city of Kiev. Their shoulders, past the rapids.â brothers and fled more ideas about Norse, Vikings, Viking,! Attack in the 11th century the lights dimmed on the Viking are remembered mostly raiders... York, England, Vikings were known primarily for raiding and pillaging Britain. They killed Prince Svyatoslav of the us copyright Law to be lifted on his horse and... That never came back home proved to be lifted on his horse a massive by... To describe Scandinavians hailed from Birka and Gotland in present-day Sweden have the. 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