Editing History of Russia (section)

===Kievan Rus' (862–1240)===
{{Main|Kievan Rus'}}
[[File:Варяги.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Calling of the Varangians]]'' by [[Viktor Vasnetsov]]]]
[[Scandinavia]]n Norsemen, known as [[Vikings]] in Western Europe and [[Varangian]]s{{sfn|Magocsi|2010|p=55, 59–60}} in the East, combined [[piracy]] and trade throughout Northern Europe. In the mid-9th century, they began to venture along the waterways from the eastern [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] to the [[Black Sea|Black]] and [[Caspian Sea]]s.<ref>Dimitri Obolensky, ''Byzantium and the Slavs'', St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1994, p. 42. {{ISBN|0-88141-008-X}}.</ref> According to the legendary [[Calling of the Varangians]], recorded in several [[Rus' chronicle]]s such as the ''[[Novgorod First Chronicle]]'' and ''[[Primary Chronicle]]'', the Varangians [[Rurik]], [[Sineus and Truvor]] were invited in the 860s to restore order in three towns – either [[Novgorod]] (most texts) or [[Staraya Ladoga]] (''[[Hypatian Codex]]''); [[Beloozero]]; and [[Izborsk]] (most texts) or "Slovensk" (''Pskov Third Chronicle''), respectively.{{sfn|Martin|2009b|p=3}}{{sfn|Magocsi|2010|p=55, 59–60}}{{sfn|Cross|Sherbowitz-Wetzor|1953|p=38–39}}<ref name=Curtis>[http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Kievan.html Kievan Rus' and Mongol Periods] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927230631/http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Kievan.html |date=27 September 2007 }}, excerpted from Glenn E. Curtis (ed.), ''Russia: A Country Study'', Department of the Army, 1998. {{ISBN|0-16-061212-8}}.</ref> Their successors allegedly moved south and extended their authority to [[Kiev]],<ref>James Westfall Thompson, and Edgar Nathaniel Johnson, ''An Introduction to Medieval Europe, 300–1500'', W. W. Norton & Co., 1937, p. 268.</ref> which had been previously dominated by the Khazars.<ref>David Christian, Op cit. p. 343.</ref>

Thus, the first East Slavic state, [[Kievan Rus|Rus']], emerged in the 9th century along the [[Dnieper River]] valley.<ref name=Curtis/> A coordinated group of princely states with a common interest in maintaining trade along the river routes, Kievan Rus' controlled [[Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks|the trade route for furs, wax, and slaves]] between Scandinavia and the [[Byzantine Empire]] along the [[Volkhov River|Volkhov]] and Dnieper Rivers.<ref name=Curtis/>

By the end of the 10th century, the minority [[Old Norse language|Norse]] military aristocracy had merged with the native Slavic population,<ref>Particularly among the aristocracy. See {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070718120101/http://history-world.org/BYZ4.htm World History]}}. Retrieved 22 July 2007.</ref> which also absorbed [[Byzantine Greece|Greek]] Christian influences in the course of the multiple [[Rus'–Byzantine War (disambiguation)|campaigns]] to loot [[Tsargrad]], or [[Constantinople]].<ref>See Dimitri Obolensky, "Russia's Byzantine Heritage," in ''Byzantium & the Slavs'', St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1994, pp. 75–108. {{ISBN|0-88141-008-X}}.</ref> One such campaign claimed the life of the foremost Slavic [[druzhina]] leader, [[Svyatoslav I]], who was renowned for having crushed the power of the [[Khazars]] on the Volga.<ref>Serhii Plokhy, ''The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Premodern Identities in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus'', Cambridge University Press, 2006, p. 13. {{ISBN|0-521-86403-8}}.</ref>

[[File:Kievan-rus-1015-1113-(en).png|thumb|right|Kievan Rus' after the [[Council of Liubech]] in 1097]]
Kievan Rus' is important for its introduction of a [[Russian Orthodox Church|Slavic variant]] of the [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox]] religion,<ref name=Curtis/> dramatically deepening a synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next thousand years. The region [[Christianization of Kievan Rus'|adopted Christianity in 988]] by the official act of public [[baptism]] of Kiev inhabitants by [[Vladimir I of Kiev|Prince Vladimir I]].<ref>See [http://www.dur.ac.uk/a.k.harrington/christin.html The Christianisation of Russia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070727221316/http://www.dur.ac.uk/a.k.harrington/christin.html |date=27 July 2007 }}, an account of Vladimir's baptism, followed by the baptism of the entire population of Kiev, as described in ''The Russian Primary Chronicle''.</ref> Some years later the first code of laws, [[Russkaya Pravda]], was introduced by [[Yaroslav the Wise]].<ref name="Smith">Gordon Bob Smith, ''Reforming the Russian Legal System'', Cambridge University Press, 1996, pp. 2–3. {{ISBN|0-521-45669-X}}.</ref> From the onset, the Kievan princes followed the Byzantine example and kept the Church dependent on them.<ref>P. N. Fedosejev, ''The Comparative Historical Method in Soviet Mediaeval Studies'', USSR Academy of Sciences, 1979. p. 90.</ref>

By the 11th century, particularly during the reign of [[Yaroslav the Wise]], Kievan Rus' displayed an economy and achievements in architecture and literature superior to those that then existed in the western part of the continent.<ref>Russell Bova, ''Russia and Western Civilization: Cultural and Historical Encounters'', M.E. Sharpe, 2003, p. 13. {{ISBN|0-7656-0976-2}}.</ref> Compared with the languages of European Christendom, the [[Russian language]] was little influenced by the [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Latin]] of early Christian writings.<ref name=Curtis/> This was because [[Church Slavonic]] was used directly in [[liturgy]] instead.<ref>Timothy Ware: ''The Orthodox Church'' (Penguin, 1963; 1997 revision) p. 74</ref>
A nomadic Turkic people, the [[Kipchaks]] (also known as the Cumans), replaced the earlier [[Pechenegs]] as the dominant force in the south steppe regions neighbouring to Rus' at the end of the 11th century and founded a nomadic state in the steppes along the Black Sea (Desht-e-Kipchak). Repelling their regular attacks, especially in Kiev, was a heavy burden for the southern areas of Rus'. The nomadic incursions caused a massive influx of Slavs to the safer, heavily forested regions of the north, particularly to the area known as [[Zalesye]].{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated as a state because of in-fighting between members of the princely family that ruled it collectively. Kiev's dominance waned, to the benefit of [[Vladimir-Suzdal]] in the north-east, [[Novgorod Republic|Novgorod]] in the north, and [[Halych-Volhynia]] in the south-west. Conquest by the [[Mongol]] [[Golden Horde]] in the 13th century was the final blow. Kiev was destroyed.<ref name="Hamm">In 1240. See Michael Franklin Hamm, ''Kiev: A Portrait, 1800–1917'', Princeton University Press, 1993. {{ISBN|0-691-02585-1}}</ref> Halych-Volhynia would eventually be absorbed into the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]],<ref name=Curtis/> while the Mongol-dominated Vladimir-Suzdal and independent [[Novgorod Republic]], two regions on the periphery of Kiev, would establish the basis for the modern Russian nation.<ref name=Curtis/>