The Origin of Rus
The Eastern Slavs managed to create in the 9th century a powerful state called Kyivan Rus or Rus. The origin of the word Rus is still a mystery. Around A.D. 1100 Slavic traditions were written down in the Chronicle of Bygone Years (also known as the Primary Chronicle), a record that combines facts and legends. According to the Chronicle, in about A.D. 860 the Slavic people from Novgorod (located in northern Russia) asked Vikings from Scandinavia for aid: “Our land is great and rich, but there is no order in it. Come to rule and reign over us.” The Viking leader Rurik accepted the invitation. According to the Chronicle, “Rurik came with the Rus,” which means “Rurik came with a (Viking) army.” In many ancient sources Vikings are called “Rus.” Some historians (mostly from Western Europe) believe that the name Rus is derived from this word. They stress the fact that early Kyivan princes had Scandinavian names: Askold, Dir, Helgi (Oleh), Ingvar (Ihor), Helga (Olha), Voldemar (Volodymyr). Thus, according to these historians usually known as the Normanists,14 the Vikings in the 9th century established the state called Rus.
Other historians (mostly Ukrainian and Russian patriots) give another explanation of the word Rus. The word Rus is not of Scandinavian origin, according to them. They associate Rus with the names of the Ros River and her tributaries Rosava and Rostavytsia in central Ukraine. According to these historians, usually known as the Anti-Normanists, the Ros was a Slavic tribe, living in the valley of the Ros River, that later merged with the Polianians of Kyiv region as well as with the Siverianians of Chernihiv region to form a new tribal union – Rus.
The Rise of Kyiv
According to the Chronicle of Bygone Years, in the first half of the 9th century, two Vikings, Askold and Dir, left their lord Rurik of Novgorod, sailed down the Dnieper with their followers and captured Kyiv. In 860 they launched a sea raid against Constantinople when the Byzantine army was away fighting the Arabs. As a result of this raid the Byzantines had to sign a trade agreement which was favorable for Kyiv.
In 882 Kyiv was conquered by another Viking from Novgorod, Oleh, who united Novgorod and Kyiv and proclaimed Kyiv the capital and “mother of all Rus cities.” According to the Chronicle of Bygone Years, Oleh made a raid against Constantinople in 911. The result was quite a favorable trade treaty with the Byzantine Empire.15 In 913 Oleg perished during the war against the Arabian Caliphate on the coast of the Caspian Sea. According to a legend he died from the bite of a snake.
Oleh’s successor, Prince Ihor, ruled Kyivan Rus from 913 until his death in 945. In 941, when the Byzantine army was away fighting the Arabs, Ihor launched a sea raid on Constantinople. Though Ihor devastated some regions in Asia Minor his raid was a failure. Ihor’s fleet was burned by the famous Greek fire.16 Then his army was defeated by the Byzantine forces which had returned from the Arab campaign. In 943 Ihor collected a new army and launched another raid against Byzantines. This time Constantinople decided to avoid war and started peace negotiations. The resulting peace treaty of 944 was not as good for the Rus as that of 911. In 944 the Rus army attacked several Muslim cities on the Caspian coast and the Caucasus. Wars devastated Ihor’s treasury and the prince decided to raise the amount of tribute from subjugated tribes, especially from the Drevlianians (a Slavic tribe west of Kyiv) since the tribe refused to take part in Ihor’s military raids. Ihor perished in 945 when trying to collect a double tribute from the Drevlianians. He died in a horrible way. His legs were tied to the curved tops of two trees. When the trees became strait they tore Ihor into two pieces.
Princess Olha, the wife of Ihor, took revenge on the Drevlianians. She burnt their major city Iskorosten (present-day Korosten in Zhytomyr region). At the same time she promised not to collect more tribute from the subjugated tribes than it was agreed. Olha reigned from 945 till 964 while her son Sviatoslav17 was under age. Olha was considered to be a clever ruler. The Chronicle of Bygone Years even said that she had “man’s brain.” In those times it sounded like a complement.
Sviatoslav spent all his life in military raids. He was a classic warrior-prince, simple, severe, brave, equally sharing with his men hardships of wars. Before attacking his enemies Sviatoslav sent a warning: “I am going to attack you.” In 964-966 Sviatoslav destroyed Khazaria, a powerful empire in the Volga region.18 Then he engaged in long wars in the Balkans against Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire. Having achieved some impressive successes he even planned to move Rus’ capital from the Dnieper to the Danube. During his Balkan wars the prince showed himself as a cruel and merciless warrior. In Philippopolis, for example, he impaled several thousand prisoners (Bulgarian and Byzantine soldiers). Sviatoslav was killed by Pechenegs in 972 while returning from Bulgaria after an unsuccessful campaign against the Byzantines. The Pecheneg khan Kuria made a cup from Sviatoslav’s skull and drank wine from it before having sex with his wife. According to a Pecheneg tradition it could lead to the birth of a powerful ruler.