The first formations of a state emerged around Kiev in the 9th century. Russia was then dominated by Viking traders. After 250 years of Mongol supermacy the power shifted to Moscow, where Ivan III ruled with a firm hand.
Background
The name Russia comes from the group of Varangians (Vikings) called the Rus. They established a state around the Dnieper River trading route to the Greeks. Furs, slaves and wax were traded for Arabian silver and Byzantine luxury goods.
The Varangian princes formed the ruling class, but they soon assimilated with the local Slavs and the Finns.
State and society
The state of Kievan Rus was a loose confederation of principalities whose leaders were at constant war for the supreme title Grand Prince of Kiev.
Each prince was supported by a druzhina of loyal soldiers. The senior druzhinniks were named boyars and formed an advisory board called the Duma. Exceptionally, the town of Novogorod was governed by a democratic assembly of merchants called Veche. The Veche was so powerful that they could name and depose princes.
When Mongol Tatars conquered Russia, the capital had already shifted from Kiev to Vladimir. Princes retained their dominions if they paid tax to the Mongols. The title Grand Prince now shifted to the ruler of Moscow.
Culture
Russians were deeply influenced by Byzantine culture and the Orthodox faith. Mentality, customs and icons were adopted from Byzantium.
882-1283
The first state on the territory of Russia was established by the Viking clan called the Rus in 882 to trade with the rich Byzantine Empire.
Background
The Eastern Slavs’ territory was covered by long rivers. The Dnieper, Don and Volga rivers were the trading routes that connected Scandinavia with Constantinople and Baghdad.
The Varangians (the Slavonic name for the Vikings) established control over these territories. They came to rule the Slavs and gradually mixed with them.
Kievan Rus
Legend says that in 862 Slavic princes, tired of fighting each other, invited Varangian Prince Rurik to rule over them. He established the Rurikovich dynasty in Novgorod that ruled over Russia for 700 years. Rurik’s successor Oleg founded the Kievan Rus state in 882 by connecting Novgorod with Kiev.
The following rulers Igor I, his wife Olga and son Svyatoslav I extended their dominance, fighting Byzantium, Pechenegs and Polovtsy.
Vladimir I, looking for a way to spiritually unify his people, adopted the Russian Orthodox faith from Byzantium.
The reign of Yaroslav the Wise was a highlight of Kievan power. Yaroslav built fortifications, introduced a code of law and promoted culture.
Decline
The following civil war was only temporarily contained by Vladimir Monomakh. Since the rule of Yuri Dolgorukiy the importance of Kiev declined. His son Andrey Bogolyubsky raided Kiev in 1169. The Vladimir-Suzdal principality and Novgorod republic took its place.
1237-1480
Mongol Tatars were the biggest threat to the 13th-century Christian world. They established the largest empire of all time. Russia was under Mongol rule for 250 years.
Background
In the 13th century a new and powerful enemy attacked from the east. The Mongol Tatars were Central Asian nomadic people who had already subdued all of Asia. Their commander was Genghis Khan.
Russians first faced them at the 1223 Battle of Kalka. They helped the Polovetsy fight Genghis Khan and lost miserably.
Invasion
In 1237 the invasion began under Batu Khan. Whole cities were destroyed and entire populations decapitated. In just 3 years the Mongol Tatars crushed the resistance of Russian princes one by one. Only Novgorod was spared.
The Mongol Tatars sacked and destroyed Kiev in 1240 then moved ahead to the west. The Mongols established the biggest empire the world has ever seen. Under the command of Batu Khan they were about to conquer all of Europe. Instead they decided to turn back home.
The Golden Horde
The Mongols named their vast Russian territories The Golden Horde. They did not wish to settle in Russia. Instead they imposed heavy taxes but let Russian princes rule.
The princes had to get their yarlyk (certificate of power) from the khan. Asking for it was a humiliating practice for the formerly all-powerful princes.
1283-1547
The Moscow princes were the smartest in dealing with Mongol conquerors. Their Duchy of Moscow gradually annexed all neighbouring principalities and became the heart of Russia.
Background
By the 1200s the biggest cities of Rus were Vladimir, Tver, Ryazan and Rostov. Moscow was of no significance until the 14th century. It had been established by Yuri Dolgorukiy in 1147 in the middle of thick woods.
Rise of Moscow
Moscow princes had learned to please the Mongol khans and had earned special privileges at the expense of other principalities.
Ivan Kalita was good at collecting all the tax money from fellow princes and giving it to the Mongols. They recognized him as the Grand Prince of Moscow – superior to all other princes.
Moscow’s importance grew even more when the Russian Metropolite (head of the church) moved his residence there. The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually absorbed all the neighbouring lands and became the central power.
Victory over the Mongols
In 1380 Prince Dmitry Donskoy felt he was strong enough to oppose the Mongols on a battlefield. He beat the Mongol army in the 1380 Battle of Kulikovo.
The ending of Mongol rule was a long process. It took another 100 years for Russia to get rid of the Mongol yoke for good.
1462-1505
Russia became a strong centralised state under the rule of Ivan III (the Great). He proclaimed that Russia was the Third Rome – a rightful predecessor to the Roman Empire and Byzantium.
Background
When Ivan III became Grand Prince of Moscow he tore the Mongol khan’s letter to pieces and refused to pay tribute. His and the khan’s armies met on opposite sides of the Ugra River in 1480. Neither side wanted to attack first, and after several weeks the khan went home. That was the end of Mongol rule.
The Third Rome
Ivan III was the “gatherer of Russian lands”. He more than tripled the size of his country. In 1478 he subdued the wealthy Novgorod Republic that had long enjoyed independence.
In 1453 the Byzantine Empire fell to the Muslim Turks. From then on Ivan III gradually turned his country into what he called The Third Rome.
He adopted their imperial two-headed eagle as an emblem and named himself the tsar (Russian for “caesar”). He even had Monk Filofei create a family tree that connected him to Julius Caesar.
Ivan III invited top architects to turn Moscow into an imperial capital. Aristotele Fiorovanti reconstructed the Moscow Kremlin, the Dormition Cathedral and the Annunciation Cathedral.
Ivan imposed a code of law called the Sudebnik in 1497 that tied peasants to their land and enabled them to be turned into serfs 100 years later.
