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Brief history of Russia (Part 1)

© Alexander Batyukov

European Russia was occupied by Indo-European and Ural-Altaic peoples from about the 2d millennium BC. Among the peoples present in the steppe north of the Black Sea were the CIMMERIANS. They were conquered by the SCYTHIANS in the 7th century BC. The Scythians in turn were largely displaced by the SARMATIANS in the 3d century BC. In the early centuries AD a succession of tribes, the GOTHS, the HUNS, and the AVARS, ruled the area. The KHAZARS (7th century) and the Bulgars (8th century) established substantial states. Slavic settlements in the area are documented from the 6th century on.

Mideval Russia The SLAVS probably came from southern Poland and the Baltic shore and settled in the region of mixed forest and meadowlands north of the fertile but unprotected steppe lands of the south. The Slavs engaged in agriculture, hunting, and fishing and gathered products of the forest. They settled beside the rivers and lakes along the water route that was used by VIKING warrior-traders (the Varangians) to reach Constantinople. Using their superior military and organizational skills, the Varangians exacted tribute from the Slavs and to this end consolidated their rule in key points on the route to Constantinople. About 862 a group of Varangians led by RURIK took control of NOVGOROD. From there Rurik moved south and established (879) his authority in KIEV, strategically located above the Dnepr rapids where the open steppe met with the belt of Slavic settlements in the forest-meadow region.

Kievan Russia

Under Rurik's successor, Oleg (d. c.912), Kiev became the center of a federation of strong points controlled by Varangian "dukes" who soon became Slavicized in language and culture. Attempts by Duke SVYATOSLAV I (r. 945-72) to create an "empire" in the region between the Dnepr and Danube failed, but Kiev was effectively protected from nomads in the east by the Khazar state on the Volga. With the conversion (c.988) of Duke VLADIMIR I to Eastern Christianity, Kiev developed into a major cultural center, with splendid architecture, richly adorned churches, and monasteries that spread Byzantine civilization.

The political and cultural apogee of Kievan Rus' was reached under YAROSLAV the Wise, who ruled from 1019 to 1054. Politically, Kiev was the center of a federation of principalities tied together by their rulers who claimed to be descendants of Rurik. The unity of Kievan Rus' was more of an ideal than a reality (many internal feuds existed), but it served as an inspiration to later generations. The socioeconomic base of this polity has been a subject of controversy; liberal historians have singled out the trading role of the princes and their retinues (druzhina), whereas Soviets historians insisted on the primacy of agriculture and artisanal production. Probably trade was the mainstay of political power, and agriculture (complemented by hunting and fishing) was the major occupation of the population.