Ch.6-Section 1. Early Russia

• Russia is the world's largest country, covering about one-sixth of the globe, and occupies a large portion of both Europe and Asia.
• Russia's population is composed of people of many different racial and linguistic backgrounds, with the largest group being the Slavs.

Early Slavic People

• The Slavs migrated into eastern Europe as Germanic tribes moved westward.
• Three groups of Slavs emerged: the West Slavs (Poles and Czechs), the Yugo-Slavs (South Slavs in the Balkans), and the East Slavs (ancestors of the Russians).
• The East Slavs occupied the territory between the Baltic and Black Seas, building village communities along a network of rivers and participating in prosperous trade along these river highways.
• Swedish Norsemen, known as Varangians, sailed south from the Baltic Sea during the eighth and ninth centuries, plundering Slavic villages.
• Many Varangian warriors settled along inland waterways to open trade routes with the Byzantine and Muslim civilizations.
• Slavic settlements often hired Varangians to protect their villages from other raiding tribesmen.

Establishment of Early Russia

• In 862, the Varangian warrior Rurik gained control of Novgorod, traditionally marking the beginning of Russian history and establishing the first ruling dynasty of Russia.
• Rurik's successors captured and ruled other cities in the region, including Kiev, which became the center of the early Russian state shortly after Rurik's death.
• Kiev was located on the Dnieper River, the major route for trade with the Byzantine Empire.
• For three centuries, Kiev held the prominent position in a loose confederation of city-states seeking to further the region's common commercial interests and protect important trade routes.
• The area under Kievan influence became known as Russia, possibly deriving its name from the Slavic designation of the Norsemen, Rus, meaning "rowers" or "seafarers."

Byzantine Cultural Influences

• Russian culture bears a strong Byzantine imprint due to early commercial contacts between Kiev and Constantinople.
• In 988, the Kievan ruler Vladimir I adopted Eastern Orthodoxy, ordering the destruction of pagan idols and temples and establishing Orthodox Christianity as the official state religion.
• This decision separated Russia from Western thought, and it came under the influence of the eastern church and Byzantine culture instead.
• The Slavic alphabet, adapted from the Greek alphabet by Byzantine missionaries Cyril and Methodius, benefited the Russian language.
• The Slavic alphabet enabled the Russians to translate Greek works and prompted the growth of native Russian literature.
• Russian artists made beautiful icons like those adorning Byzantine churches.
• Russian cathedrals were patterned after Byzantine models, with the unique feature of "onion-shaped" domes.

Vladimir's Choice of Religion

• According to legend, Vladimir investigated Islam, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy before deciding which monotheistic religion to establish among his people.
• Vladimir rejected Islam because the Qur'an forbade the drinking of alcoholic beverages.
• He rejected Judaism because the Jewish people had been defeated and scattered across the world.
• Roman Catholicism was rejected because the Catholic churches were dark and damp, and the services were dull.
• Vladimir chose Eastern Orthodoxy after his envoys described the beautiful service they had attended at the Hagia Sophia.
• The Russian Orthodox Church was established.

Height of Kievan Russia

• Kiev reached its peak during the reign of Yaroslav "the Wise" (1036-1054).
• Yaroslav strengthened Kiev's leadership, and it became known as the "Mother of Russian cities."
• He expanded the early Russian state.
• International recognition was gained through marriage alliances between his princely house and the royal families of France, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Hungary, and the Byzantine Empire.
• Yaroslav sponsored the earliest known Russian code of laws, which combined Slavic tribal law and Byzantine law.
• Kiev became a rival of Constantinople in size, wealth, and culture, and it was a prosperous center of commerce.
• Yaroslav's patronage of art, education, and the church attracted Byzantine painters, architects, teachers, and priests.
• With the aid of Byzantines, the Russians constructed their own cathedral of Hagia Sophia.
• Kiev also boasted schools, libraries, monasteries, cathedrals, and fortifications built by Yaroslav.

Decline of Kievan Russia

• After Yaroslav's death, Kiev lost prominence as his heirs fought for succession.
• Cities began to assert their independence.
• New trade routes and commercial centers drew away much of Kiev's wealth and population.
• The Tartars (Mongolian warriors) destroyed Kiev in 1240 and ruled Russia until the late 1400s.
• After the decline of Mongol power, Moscow arose as a new center of Russian society in the north.