The Scandinavian Influence on Russia

Many historians believe that the area of Russian known as Kievan Rus was actually ruled by a group of Scandinavian brothers who had been invited by the Russians to rule the territory; it is from the name of one of the brothers, Riurik, that we get the name of the dynasty which ruled Russia until the Time of Troubles, the Ruirikovic dynasty.

However, as Nicholas Riasanovsky points out in his A History of Russia, there is no real evidence of a significant Scandinavian influence on Russia; there were clearly Normans (from the north of France and parts of Scandinavia) present in the 9th century, but they were not as influential as once believed.

Early Kievan History

Kievan history is divided into three periods:
-to the conversion;
-the pinnacle under Vladimir and Iaroslav the Wise;
-and the decline and fall, ending in 1132

The first period begins with the rule of Oleg, who occupied Kiev with a Varangian army in 882 and remained its ruler until 913; although not much is known of Oleg's personal life, we do know that he attacked the Byzantine empire in 907 and managed to arrange a treaty which included increased trade agreements in 911.

He was succeeded by Prince Igor (the relationship between the two is not completely known); Igor ruled until 943, and information about him comes from multiple sources, including the famous poem the Lay of Igor. His battles against the Byzantines were less successful, although he did actually destroy many of the suburbs around Constantinople.

This involvement with the Byzantines is going to be tremendously important for the history of Russia, because the trade agreements which are worked out will eventually turn into political and military alliances. This is particularly important for the Kievans in the first years of development, as barbarian tribes such as the Magyars and the Pechenegs threaten the stability of Kiev; the Pechenegs, in particular, will remain a problem until the 10th century.

Igor's murder (he was killed while collecting tribute) led to an unusual circumstance, with his widow Olga being left in charge while their son Sviatoslav was still a young boy. Olga ruled from 945-962 and became the first female Saint of the Russian Orthodox Church; she is also the first significant woman to emerge from Russian history.

She showed no mercy to those who had killed her husband, blinding their leaders and imposing higher taxes; she also tried to increase the power of the Kievan state over the tribes living around them. She converted to Christianity in 954, and travelled to Constantinople in 957 and met with the emperor there; however, her conversion was not forced on the rest of the people, and even her own son did not convert.

Sviatoslav came to power in 962 and ruled until 972; he was a daring military commander who attempted to increase Kiev's holdings at the expense of the barbarian tribes to the east of Kiev; he successfully defeated the Khazars, the Alans, and the Volga Bulgars, and seized control of the Volga and the Volga-Caspian trade route.

The problem was that the defeat of the Khazars effectively removed a buffer from the rest of the Asiatic tribes, most significantly the Pechenegs. Sviatoslav turned his attention west, and attacked the Bulgarian states at the Danube. He considered moving his capital to the Danubian plain, but the Pechenegs attacked at home and forced him to return to defend Kiev in 969.

In addition to the threats from the various nomadic and barbaric tribes, the Byzantines did not want to see the Rus establish themselves in the Balkans, and when Sviatoslav refused to leave, the two former allies went to war over the territory: this is ironic because Sviatoslav had become involved at the behest of the Byzantine emperor. Despite the fact that Sviatoslav had 60,000 men under his command, he was defeated by the Byzantines and was forced to give up his dream and leave the Balkans, and on the way back to Kiev he was killed by Pechenegs in 972.

Before returning to the Balkans, Sviatoslav had divided power at home. Olga had died in 969, and as a result, Sviatoslav's sons were each given a portion of land to command: Iaropolk was given command of Kiev, Oleg control of the land to the Drevliane, and Vladimir control of Novgorod. After Sviatoslav's death, civil war erupted between the brothers; Oleg was killed, and Iaropolk eventually was defeated, with Vladimir emerging the eventual victor in 980.

The Rule of Vladimir

Vladimir ruled until 1015, and he spent most of his reign consolidating his rule and continuing the policies of the previous rulers. He built fortresses and towns and secured his position as ruler and the defensive position of Kiev as the capital of his lands.

His most significant contribution, however, was his conversion to Christianity and, as a result, his increased relationship with the Byzantines. Initially during Vladimir's reign, there had been a strong pagan revival, and the conversion of Olga and the inclination of Iaropolk to Christianity was not enough to overcome it. However, when Vladimir entered into an alliances with emperor Basil II and provided him military aid, coupled with the capture of a Byzantine Black Sea port and the arrangement of a marriage between Vladimir and Basil's sister Anna, the conversion to Christianity became increasingly a matter of state rather of just religion.

The traditional date given for the conversion is 988, in Kiev. There is a legend which surrounds the conversion: according to the tale, Vladimir sent emissaries out to each of the major cities to determine which religion would be best for the people of the Rus. The emissaries reported back that Islam, while an interesting faith, did not allow its adherents to consume alcohol, and according to tradition, Vladimir proclaimed that "Drink is the joy of the Rus", so Islam was eliminated as a choice. The Khazars practiced Judaism, but they had been recently defeated, and Vladimir did not want the Rus associated with defeat. The emissaries found Roman Catholicism too stuffy, and the distance to travel to Rome to adhere to the western form of Christianity was too great. The remaining faith was Eastern Orthodoxy, which was practiced by the Byzantines; according to legend, the emissaries were so awed by the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople that they chose to convert immediately. Vladimir later oversaw the baptism of his people in the Dneiper River. Although Western and Eastern Christianity had not yet split (the formal schism between the two churches would not occur until 1054), the conversion of the Rus to Eastern Orthodoxy would have major significance later. It meant that the peoples of Kievan Rus established a relationship with the Byzantines that would last until the fall of Constantinople in 1453, and it meant that the people of the Rus became the eastern most area of Christianity rather than a non-Christian country within Europe. In later times, it also allowed for greater acceptance into European politics and affairs, and provided the state with a stronger ideological base.

Vladimir's role as the baptiser of his people led him to be canonised by the Church as a saint and an equal of the apostles, in the minds of the Russian Orthodox, but this did not prevent civil war from emerging following his death.

Iaroslav the Wise

Vladimir's death in 1015 saw another civil war, this time between Vladimir's sons who had been his lieutenants in other parts of the country; the eldest, Sviatopolk, initially emerged victorious with help from the Poles, but he was defeated in 1019 by his younger brother Iaroslav.

Sviatopolk became known as the damned, in large part because of his role in the assassinations of his two young brothers, Boris and Gleb, who were later made saints in the Orthodox Church.

Iaroslav became known as Iaroslav the Wise, and he ruled from 1019-1054; his reign is considered the apex of Kievan society. However, he had to overcome a variety of challenges and dangers, including a civil war with his brother Mstislav, with whom he split the Kievan state until 1036, when Mstislav died. He was also forced to contend with a variety of uprisings and rebellions from his people, and needed to recover lands that had been lost to the Poles while Sviatopolk had been in power. He waged war against the Byzantines, and successfully defeated the Pechenegs and broke their control over the steppe.

Significantly for Kiev's relationship with the West, he saw the importance of creating relationships between other ruling houses, and made a point of marrying his children to Europeans (France, Hungary, Norway); he also made Kiev a refuge for those fleeing from other countries, especially princes and kings.

Iaroslav's greatest achievements took place at home. He sponsored a religious revival, restructuring the organisation of church, and appointing a well educated Russian, Hilarion, to serve as the metropolitan. He also sponsored the building of both churches and monasteries on a large scale, much like Charlemagne in the West.

He was also responsible for the first Russian law code, known as The Russian Justice; he established patronage for artists and architects in Kiev, build a large library and school, and used the state treasury to sponsor civic and religious projects. All told, his reign was one of the highlights of the pre-imperial period of Russian history.