The Kievan Rus’: Ancestor of Ukraine and Russia

Vladimir Putin’s claim to dictating Ukraine’s foreign policy is mistaken, to say the least. One nation should have no right to control another nation in this way.

But, despite the innaccuray of the claim, there is a grain of truth in Russia and Ukraine being connected.

They have the same origin story.

Sometime in the 8th century, a group of Norse raiders, alternatively known as the Varangians or the Rus’, took control of the river basins between the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea. They founded cities, established kingdoms, and ruled over the native Slavic peoples.

Map showing Varangian settlement (in red) and location of Slavic tribes (in grey), mid-9th century Khazar influence indicated with blue outline. Source: Wikimedia Commons

One of these rulers, Prince Oleg of Novgorod, united many of these kingdoms into a single confederation centered on the city of Kiev, the Kievan Rus’.

Beginning in 882, the Kievan Rus’ was one of the most powerful states in Eastern Europe. It controlled trade on the Volga, Don, and Dnieper rivers, a status secured in a series of wars with the Byzantine empire.

Principalities of the Kievan Rus’. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Kiev became one the most important trade centers of Eastern Europe and, with 50,000 people, was one of the larger cities on the continent. Overall, the…