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Kievan or Kyivan Rus' was a loose federation of East Slavic and
Finno-Ugric peoples in Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century, under
the reign of the Varangian Rurik dynasty. The modern nations of Belarus,
Russia, and Ukraine all claim Kievan Rus' as their cultural ancestors, with
Belarus and Russia deriving their names from it. Russia was ruled by the
Rurikid dynasty until the 16th century. At its greatest extent, in the mid-11th
century, it stretched from the White Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the
south and from the headwaters of the Vistula in the west to the Taman Peninsula
in the east, uniting the majority of East Slavic tribes. According to Rus'
Primary Chronicle, the first ruler to start uniting East Slavic lands into what
has become known as Kievan Rus' was Prince Oleg (879–912). He extended his
control from Novgorod south along the Dnieper river valley to protect trade
from Khazar incursions from the east, and moved his capital to the more
strategic Kiev. Sviatoslav I (died 972) achieved the first major expansion of
Kievan Rus' territorial control, fighting a war of conquest against the
Khazars. Vladimir the Great (980–1015) introduced Christianity with his
own baptism and, by decree, extended it to all inhabitants of Kiev and beyond.
Kievan Rus' reached its greatest extent under Yaroslav the Wise
(1019–1054); his sons assembled and issued its first written legal code,
the Russkaya Pravda ("Russian Justice"), shortly after his death. The
state began to decline during the late 11th century and the 12th century,
disintegrating into various rival regional powers. It was further weakened by
economic factors, such as the collapse of Rus' commercial ties to the Byzantine
Empire due to the decline of Constantinople and the accompanying diminution of
trade routes through its territory. The state finally fell to the Mongol
invasion of the 1240s.
Main articles: Rus' and Ruthenia
During its existence, Kievan Rus' was known as the "land of the Rus"
in Old French as Russie, Rossie, in Latin as Rusia or Russia (with local German
spelling variants Ruscia and Ruzzia), and from the 12th century also Ruthenia
or Rutenia. Various etymologies have been proposed, including Ruotsi, the
Finnish designation for Sweden, and Ros, a tribe from the middle Dnieper valley
region. In the Norse sources, the sagas, the principality is called
Garðariki, and the peoples, according to Snorre Sturlason, are called
Suiones, the confederation of Great Sviþjoð (Þjoð means
people in Norse; cf. etymology of Sweden) were made up of the peoples along the
Dniepr called Tanais that separated Asia and Europe (called Enea by Snorri
Sturluson), all the way to the Baltics and Scandinavia. The term Kievan Rus':
Kiyevskaya Rus was coined in the 19th century in Russian historiography to
refer to the period when the centre was in Kiev. In English, the term was
introduced in the early 20th century, when it was found in the 1913 English
translation of Vasily Klyuchevsky's A History of Russia, to distinguish
the early polity from successor states, which were also named Rus. Later, the
Russian term was rendered into Belarusian: Kiyewskaya Rus’ or Kijeuskaja
Rus, Rusyn: romanized: Kyïvska Rus', and Ukrainian: romanized: Kyivska
Rus, respectively. Both Ukraine and Russia consider the Kievan Rus' their
antecessor state, Ukraine through the History of Ukraine-Rus', with its
perception of Galicia–Volhynia Rus' as the main successor of Kievan Rus'
after its collapse, and Russia through Vladimir-Suzdal Rus'.
History Origin:
Prior to the emergence of Kievan Rus' in the 9th century AD, the lands between
the Baltic Sea and Black Sea were primarily populated by eastern Slavic tribes.
In the northern region around Novgorod were the Ilmen Slavs and neighboring
Krivichi, who occupied territories surrounding the headwaters of the West
Dvina, Dnieper, and Volga Rivers. To their north, in the Ladoga and Karelia
regions, were the Finnic Chud tribe. In the south, in the area around Kiev,
were the Poliane, a group of Slavicized tribes with Iranian origins, the
Drevliane to the west of the Dnieper, and the Severiane to the east. To their
north and east were the Vyatichi, and to their south was forested land settled
by Slav farmers, giving way to steppelands populated by nomadic herdsmen. There
were five Volga Finnic groups of the Merya, Mari, Muromians, Meshchera and
Mordvins are shown as surrounded by the Slavs to the west; the three Finnic
groups of the Veps, Ests and Chuds, and Indo-European Balts to the northwest;
the Permians to the northeast the (Turkic) Bulghars and Khazars to the
southeast and south. Controversy persists over whether the Rus' were Varangians
or Slavs. This uncertainty is due largely to a paucity of contemporary sources.
Attempts to address this question instead rely on archaeological evidence, the
accounts of foreign observers, and legends and literature from centuries later.
To some extent the controversy is related to the foundation myths of modern
states in the region.
According to most scholars, the Varangians were Norman traders, consisting of
Vikings, Danes and Balts, while Russian and Ukrainian nationalist historians
generally argue that the Rus' were themselves Slavs. Normanist theories focus
on the earliest written source for the East Slavs, the Primary Chronicle,
although even this account was not produced until the 12th century. Nationalist
accounts have suggested that the Rus' were present before the arrival of the
Varangians, noting that only a handful of Scandinavian words can be found in
modern Russian and that Scandinavian names in the early chronicles were soon
replaced by Slavic names. An undeniable fact is the close ties between Russia
and the Normans, which is confirmed by both Slavic-type settlements on the
territory of modern Sweden, and a large number of Slavicisms in the
Scandinavian languages. Considering the linguistic arguments mounted by
nationalist scholars, if the proto-Rus' were Danes or Finns, they must have
quickly become nativized, adopting Slavic languages and other cultural
practices. Ahmad ibn Fadlan, an Arab traveler during the 10th century, provided
one of the earliest written descriptions of the Rus': "They are as tall as
a date palm, blond and ruddy, so that they do not need to wear a tunic nor a
cloak; rather the men among them wear garments that only cover half of his body
and leaves one of his hands free."
Liutprand of Cremona, who was twice an envoy to the Byzantine court (949 and
968), identifies the "Russi" with the Norse ("the Russi, whom we
call Norsemen by another name") but explains the name as a Greek term
referring to their physical traits ("A certain people made up of a part of
the Norse, whom the Greeks call [...] the Russi on account of their physical
features, we designate as Norsemen because of the location of their
origin."). Leo the Deacon, a 10th-century Byzantine historian and
chronicler, refers to the Rus' as "Scythians" and notes that they
tended to adopt Greek rituals and customs. But 'Scythians' in Greek parlance is
used predominantly as a generic term for nomads.
Invitation of the Varangians:
According to the Primary Chronicle, the territories of the East Slavs in the
9th century were divided between the Varangians and the Khazars. The Varangians
are first mentioned imposing tribute from Slavic and Finnic tribes in 859. In
862, the Finnic and Slavic tribes in the area of Novgorod rebelled against the
Varangians, driving them "back beyond the sea and, refusing them further
tribute, set out to govern themselves." The tribes had no laws, however,
and soon began to make war with one another, prompting them to invite the
Varangians back to rule them and bring peace to the region: They said to
themselves, "Let us seek a prince who may rule over us, and judge us
according to the Law." They accordingly went overseas to the Varangian
Rus'. … The Chuds, the Slavs, the Krivichs and the Ves then said to the
Rus', "Our land is great and rich, but there is no order in it. Come to
rule and reign over us". They thus selected three brothers with their
kinfolk, who took with them all the Rus' and migrated. —?The Primary
Chronicle The three brothers—Rurik, Sineus, and Truvor—established
themselves in Novgorod, Beloozero, and Izborsk, respectively. Two of the
brothers died, and Rurik became the sole ruler of the territory and progenitor
of the Rurik Dynasty. A short time later, two of Rurik's men, Askold and Dir,
asked him for permission to go to Tsargrad (Constantinople). On their way
south, they discovered "a small city on a hill," Kiev, captured it
and the surrounding country from the Khazars, populated the region with more
Varangians, and "established their dominion over the country of the
Polyanians."
The Chronicle reports that Askold and Dir continued to Constantinople with a
navy to attack the city in 863–66, catching the Byzantines by surprise and
ravaging the surrounding area, though other accounts date the attack in 860.
Patriarch Photius vividly describes the "universal" devastation of
the suburbs and nearby islands, and another account further details the
destruction and slaughter of the invasion. The Rus' turned back before
attacking the city itself, due either to a storm dispersing their boats, the
return of the Emperor, or in a later account, due to a miracle after a
ceremonial appeal by the Patriarch and the Emperor to the Virgin. The attack
was the first encounter between the Rus' and Byzantines and led the Patriarch
to send missionaries north to engage and attempt to convert the Rus' and the
Slavs.
Foundation of the Kievan state:
Rurik led the Rus' until his death in about 879, bequeathing his kingdom to his
kinsman, Prince Oleg, as regent for his young son, Igor. In 880–82, Oleg
led a military force south along the Dnieper river, capturing Smolensk and
Lyubech before reaching Kiev, where he deposed and killed Askold and Dir,
proclaimed himself prince, and declared Kiev the "mother of Rus'
cities." Oleg set about consolidating his power over the surrounding
region and the riverways north to Novgorod, imposing tribute on the East Slav
tribes. In 883, he conquered the Drevlians, imposing a fur tribute on them. By
885 he had subjugated the Poliane, Severiane, Vyatichi, and Radimichs,
forbidding them to pay further tribute to the Khazars. Oleg continued to
develop and expand a network of Rus' forts in Slav lands, begun by Rurik in the
north. The new Kievan state prospered due to its abundant supply of furs,
beeswax, honey, and slaves for export, and because it controlled three main
trade routes of Eastern Europe. In the north, Novgorod served as a commercial
link between the Baltic Sea and the Volga trade route to the lands of the Volga
Bulgars, the Khazars, and across the Caspian Sea as far as Baghdad, providing
access to markets and products from Central Asia and the Middle East. Trade
from the Baltic also moved south on a network of rivers and short portages
along the Dnieper known as the "route from the Varangians to the
Greeks," continuing to the Black Sea and on to Constantinople. Kiev was a
central outpost along the Dnieper route and a hub with the east–west
overland trade route between the Khazars and the Germanic lands of Central
Europe. These commercial connections enriched Rus' merchants and princes,
funding military forces and the construction of churches, palaces,
fortifications, and further towns. Demand for luxury goods fostered production
of expensive jewelry and religious wares, allowing their export, and an
advanced credit and money-lending system may have also been in place.
Early foreign relations:
Volatile steppe politics The rapid expansion of the Rus' to the south led to
conflict and volatile relationships with the Khazars and other neighbors on the
Pontic steppe. The Khazars dominated the Black Sea steppe during the 8th
century, trading and frequently allying with the Byzantine Empire against
Persians and Arabs. In the late 8th century, the collapse of the
Göktürk Khaganate led the Magyars and the Pechenegs, Ugrians and
Turkic peoples from Central Asia, to migrate west into the steppe region,
leading to military conflict, disruption of trade, and instability within the
Khazar Khaganate. The Rus' and Slavs had earlier allied with the Khazars
against Arab raids on the Caucasus, but they increasingly worked against them
to secure control of the trade routes. The Byzantine Empire was able to take
advantage of the turmoil to expand its political influence and commercial
relationships, first with the Khazars and later with the Rus' and other steppe
groups. The Byzantines established the Theme of Cherson, formally known as
Klimata, in the Crimea in the 830s to defend against raids by the Rus' and to
protect vital grain shipments supplying Constantinople. Cherson also served as
a key diplomatic link with the Khazars and others on the steppe, and it became
the centre of Black Sea commerce. The Byzantines also helped the Khazars build
a fortress at Sarkel on the Don river to protect their northwest frontier
against incursions by the Turkic migrants and the Rus', and to control caravan
trade routes and the portage between the Don and Volga rivers. The expansion of
the Rus' put further military and economic pressure on the Khazars, depriving
them of territory, tributaries, and trade. In around 890, Oleg waged an
indecisive war in the lands of the lower Dniester and Dnieper rivers with the
Tivertsi and the Ulichs, who were likely acting as vassals of the Magyars,
blocking Rus' access to the Black Sea. In 894, the Magyars and Pechenegs were
drawn into the wars between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire. The
Byzantines arranged for the Magyars to attack Bulgarian territory from the
north, and Bulgaria in turn persuaded the Pechenegs to attack the Magyars from
their rear. Boxed in, the Magyars were forced to migrate further west across
the Carpathian Mountains into the Hungarian plain, depriving the Khazars of an
important ally and a buffer from the Rus'. The migration of the Magyars allowed
Rus' access to the Black Sea, and they soon launched excursions into Khazar
territory along the sea coast, up the Don river, and into the lower Volga
region. The Rus' were raiding and plundering into the Caspian Sea region from
864, with the first large-scale expedition in 913, when they extensively raided
Baku, Gilan, Mazandaran and penetrated into the Caucasus.
As the 10th century progressed, the Khazars were no longer able to command
tribute from the Volga Bulgars, and their relationship with the Byzantines
deteriorated, as Byzantium increasingly allied with the Pechenegs against them.
The Pechenegs were thus secure to raid the lands of the Khazars from their base
between the Volga and Don rivers, allowing them to expand to the west. Rus'
relations with the Pechenegs were complex, as the groups alternately formed
alliances with and against one another. The Pechenegs were nomads roaming the
steppe raising livestock which they traded with the Rus' for agricultural goods
and other products. The lucrative Rus' trade with the Byzantine Empire had to
pass through Pecheneg-controlled territory, so the need for generally peaceful
relations was essential. Nevertheless, while the Primary Chronicle reports the
Pechenegs entering Rus' territory in 915 and then making peace, they were
waging war with one another again in 920. Pechenegs are reported assisting the
Rus' in later campaigns against the Byzantines, yet allied with the Byzantines
against the Rus' at other times.
Rus'–Byzantine relations:
After the Rus' attack on Constantinople in 860, the Byzantine Patriarch Photius
sent missionaries north to convert the Rus' and the Slavs. Prince Rastislav of
Moravia had requested the Emperor to provide teachers to interpret the holy
scriptures, so in 863 the brothers Cyril and Methodius were sent as
missionaries, due to their knowledge of the Slavonic language. The Slavs had no
written language, so the brothers devised the Glagolitic alphabet, later
replaced by Cyrillic (developed in the First Bulgarian Empire) and standardized
the language of the Slavs, later known as Old Church Slavonic. They translated
portions of the Bible and drafted the first Slavic civil code and other
documents, and the language and texts spread throughout Slavic territories,
including Kievan Rus'. The mission of Cyril and Methodius served both
evangelical and diplomatic purposes, spreading Byzantine cultural influence in
support of imperial foreign policy. In 867 the Patriarch announced that the
Rus' had accepted a bishop, and in 874 he speaks of an "Archbishop of the
Rus'." Relations between the Rus' and Byzantines became more complex after
Oleg took control over Kiev, reflecting commercial, cultural, and military
concerns. The wealth and income of the Rus' depended heavily upon trade with
Byzantium. Constantine Porphyrogenitus described the annual course of the
princes of Kiev, collecting tribute from client tribes, assembling the product
into a flotilla of hundreds of boats, conducting them down the Dnieper to the
Black Sea, and sailing to the estuary of the Dniester, the Danube delta, and on
to Constantinople. On their return trip they would carry silk fabrics, spices,
wine, and fruit. The importance of this trade relationship led to military
action when disputes arose.
The Primary Chronicle reports that the Rus' attacked Constantinople again in
907, probably to secure trade access. The Chronicle glorifies the military
prowess and shrewdness of Oleg, an account imbued with legendary detail.
Byzantine sources do not mention the attack, but a pair of treaties in 907 and
911 set forth a trade agreement with the Rus', the terms suggesting pressure on
the Byzantines, who granted the Rus' quarters and supplies for their merchants
and tax-free trading privileges in Constantinople. The Chronicle provides a
mythic tale of Oleg's death. A sorcerer prophesies that the death of the Grand
Prince would be associated with a certain horse. Oleg has the horse
sequestered, and it later dies. Oleg goes to visit the horse and stands over
the carcass, gloating that he had outlived the threat, when a snake strikes him
from among the bones, and he soon becomes ill and dies. The Chronicle reports
that Prince Igor succeeded Oleg in 913, and after some brief conflicts with the
Drevlians and the Pechenegs, a period of peace ensued for over twenty years.
In 941, Igor led another major Rus' attack on Constantinople, probably over
trading rights again. A navy of 10,000 vessels, including Pecheneg allies,
landed on the Bithynian coast and devastated the Asiatic shore of the
Bosphorus. The attack was well-timed, perhaps due to intelligence, as the
Byzantine fleet was occupied with the Arabs in the Mediterranean, and the bulk
of its army was stationed in the east. The Rus' burned towns, churches, and
monasteries, butchering the people and amassing booty. The emperor arranged for
a small group of retired ships to be outfitted with Greek fire throwers and
sent them out to meet the Rus', luring them into surrounding the contingent
before unleashing the Greek fire. Liutprand of Cremona wrote that "the
Rus', seeing the flames, jumped overboard, preferring water to fire. Some sank,
weighed down by the weight of their breastplates and helmets; others caught
fire." Those captured were beheaded. The ploy dispelled the Rus' fleet,
but their attacks continued into the hinterland as far as Nicomedia, with many
atrocities reported as victims were crucified and set up for use as targets. At
last a Byzantine army arrived from the Balkans to drive the Rus' back, and a
naval contingent reportedly destroyed much of the Rus' fleet on its return
voyage (possibly an exaggeration since the Rus' soon mounted another attack).
The outcome indicates increased military might by Byzantium since 911,
suggesting a shift in the balance of power.
Igor returned to Kiev keen for revenge. He assembled a large force of warriors
from among neighboring Slavs and Pecheneg allies, and sent for reinforcements
of Varangians from “beyond the sea.” In 944 the Rus' force advanced
again on the Greeks, by land and sea, and a Byzantine force from Cherson
responded. The Emperor sent gifts and offered tribute in lieu of war, and the
Rus' accepted. Envoys were sent between the Rus', the Byzantines, and the
Bulgarians in 945, and a peace treaty was completed. The agreement again
focused on trade, but this time with terms less favorable to the Rus',
including stringent regulations on the conduct of Rus' merchants in Cherson and
Constantinople and specific punishments for violations of the law. The
Byzantines may have been motivated to enter the treaty out of concern of a
prolonged alliance of the Rus', Pechenegs, and Bulgarians against them, though
the more favorable terms further suggest a shift in power.
Sviatoslav:
Following the death of Grand Prince Igor in 945, his wife Olga ruled as regent
in Kiev until their son Sviatoslav reached maturity (ca. 963). His decade-long
reign over Rus' was marked by rapid expansion through the conquest of the
Khazars of the Pontic steppe and the invasion of the Balkans. By the end of his
short life, Sviatoslav carved out for himself the largest state in Europe,
eventually moving his capital from Kiev to Pereyaslavets on the Danube in 969.
In contrast with his mother's conversion to Christianity, Sviatoslav, like his
druzhina, remained a staunch pagan. Due to his abrupt death in an ambush in
972, Sviatoslav's conquests, for the most part, were not consolidated into a
functioning empire, while his failure to establish a stable succession led to a
fratricidal feud among his sons, which resulted in two of his three sons being
killed.
Reign of Vladimir and Christianisation:
Main article: Christianization of Kievan Rus:
It is not clearly documented when the title of the Grand Duke was first
introduced, but the importance of the Kiev principality was recognized after
the death of Sviatoslav I in 972 and the ensuing struggle between Vladimir the
Great and Yaropolk I. The region of Kiev dominated the state of Kievan Rus' for
the next two centuries. The grand prince or grand duke romanized: vyaliki
knyaz’ or vialiki kniaz, Russian: romanized: velikiy kniaz, Rusyn:
romanized: velykyi kni?az', Ukrainian: romanized: velykyi kniaz) of Kiev
controlled the lands around the city, and his formally subordinate relatives
ruled the other cities and paid him tribute. The zenith of the state's power
came during the reigns of Vladimir the Great (980–1015) and Prince
Yaroslav I the Wise (1019–1054). Both rulers continued the steady
expansion of Kievan Rus' that had begun under Oleg. Vladimir had been prince of
Novgorod when his father Sviatoslav I died in 972. He was forced to flee to
Scandinavia in 976 after his half-brother Yaropolk had murdered his other
brother Oleg and taken control of Rus. In Scandinavia, with the help of his
relative Earl Håkon Sigurdsson, ruler of Norway, Vladimir assembled a
Viking army and reconquered Novgorod and Kiev from Yaropolk. As Prince of Kiev,
Vladimir's most notable achievement was the Christianization of Kievan Rus', a
process that began in 988. The Primary Chronicle states that when Vladimir had
decided to accept a new faith instead of the traditional idol-worship
(paganism) of the Slavs, he sent out some of his most valued advisors and
warriors as emissaries to different parts of Europe. They visited the
Christians of the Latin Rite, the Jews, and the Muslims before finally arriving
in Constantinople. They rejected Islam because, among other things, it
prohibited the consumption of alcohol, and Judaism because the god of the Jews
had permitted his chosen people to be deprived of their country. They found the
ceremonies in the Roman church to be dull. But at Constantinople, they were so
astounded by the beauty of the cathedral of Hagia Sophia and the liturgical
service held there that they made up their minds there and then about the faith
they would like to follow. Upon their arrival home, they convinced Vladimir
that the faith of the Byzantine Rite was the best choice of all, upon which
Vladimir made a journey to Constantinople and arranged to marry Princess Anna,
the sister of Byzantine emperor Basil II.
Vladimir's choice of Eastern Christianity may also have reflected his close
personal ties with Constantinople, which dominated the Black Sea and hence
trade on Kiev's most vital commercial route, the Dnieper River. Adherence to
the Eastern Church had long-range political, cultural, and religious
consequences. The church had a liturgy written in Cyrillic and a corpus of
translations from Greek that had been produced for the Slavic peoples. This
literature facilitated the conversion to Christianity of the Eastern Slavs and
introduced them to rudimentary Greek philosophy, science, and historiography
without the necessity of learning Greek (there were some merchants who did
business with Greeks and likely had an understanding of contemporary business
Greek). In contrast, educated people in medieval Western and Central Europe
learned Latin. Enjoying independence from the Roman authority and free from
tenets of Latin learning, the East Slavs developed their own literature and
fine arts, quite distinct from those of other Eastern Orthodox countries. (See
Old East Slavic language and Architecture of Kievan Rus for details).
Following the Great Schism of 1054, the Rus' church maintained communion with
both Rome and Constantinople for some time, but along with most of the Eastern
churches it eventually split to follow the Eastern Orthodox. That being said,
unlike other parts of the Greek world, Kievan Rus' did not have a strong
hostility to the Western world.
Golden age:
Yaroslav, known as "the Wise", struggled for power with his brothers.
A son of Vladimir the Great, he was vice-regent of Novgorod at the time of his
father's death in 1015. Subsequently, his eldest surviving brother, Svyatopolk
the Accursed, killed three of his other brothers and seized power in Kiev.
Yaroslav, with the active support of the Novgorodians and the help of Viking
mercenaries, defeated Svyatopolk and became the grand prince of Kiev in 1019.
Although he first established his rule over Kiev in 1019, he did not have
uncontested rule of all of Kievan Rus' until 1036. Like Vladimir, Yaroslav was
eager to improve relations with the rest of Europe, especially the Byzantine
Empire. Yaroslav's granddaughter, Eupraxia the daughter of his son Vsevolod I,
Prince of Kiev, was married to Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. Yaroslav also
arranged marriages for his sister and three daughters to the kings of Poland,
France, Hungary and Norway. Yaroslav promulgated the first East Slavic law
code, Russkaya Pravda; built Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev and Saint Sophia
Cathedral in Novgorod; patronized local clergy and monasticism; and is said to
have founded a school system. Yaroslav's sons developed the great Kiev Pechersk
Lavra (monastery), which functioned in Kievan Rus' as an ecclesiastical
academy. In the centuries that followed the state's foundation, Rurik's
descendants shared power over Kievan Rus'. Princely succession moved from elder
to younger brother and from uncle to nephew, as well as from father to son.
Junior members of the dynasty usually began their official careers as rulers of
a minor district, progressed to more lucrative principalities, and then
competed for the coveted throne of Kiev.
Fragmentation and decline:
Principalities of the later Kievan Rus (after the death of Yaroslav I in 1054).
The gradual disintegration of the Kievan Rus' began in the 11th century, after
the death of Yaroslav the Wise. The position of the Grand Prince of Kiev was
weakened by the growing influence of regional clans. An unconventional power
succession system was established (rota system) whereby power was transferred
to the eldest member of the ruling dynasty rather than from father to son, i.e.
in most cases to the eldest brother of the ruler, fomenting constant hatred and
rivalry within the royal family. Familicide was frequently deployed to obtain
power and can be traced particularly during the time of the Yaroslavichi (sons
of Yaroslav), when the established system was skipped in the establishment of
Vladimir II Monomakh as the Grand Prince of Kiev, in turn creating major
squabbles between Olegovichi from Chernihiv, Monomakhs from Pereyaslav,
Izyaslavichi from Turov/Volhynia, and Polotsk Princes. The most prominent
struggle for power was the conflict that erupted after the death of Yaroslav
the Wise. The rival Principality of Polotsk was contesting the power of the
Grand Prince by occupying Novgorod, while Rostislav Vladimirovich was fighting
for the Black Sea port of Tmutarakan belonging to Chernihiv. Three of
Yaroslav's sons that first allied together found themselves fighting each other
especially after their defeat to the Cuman forces in 1068 at the Battle of the
Alta River. At the same time, an uprising took place in Kiev, bringing to power
Vseslav of Polotsk who supported the traditional Slavic paganism. The ruling
Grand Prince Iziaslav fled to Poland asking for support and in couple of years
returned to establish the order. The affairs became even more complicated by
the end of the 11th century driving the state into chaos and constant warfare.
On the initiative of Vladimir II Monomakh in 1097 the first federal council of
Kievan Rus' took place near Chernihiv in the city of Liubech with the main
intention to find an understanding among the fighting sides. However, even
though that did not really stop the fighting, it certainly cooled things off.
By 1130, all descendants of Vseslav the Seer had been exiled to the Byzantine
Empire by Mstislav the Great. The most fierce resistance to the Monomakhs was
posed by the Olegovichi when the izgoi Vsevolod II managed to become the Grand
Prince of Kiev. The Rostislavichi who had initially established in Halych lands
by 1189 were defeated by the Monomakh-Piast descendant Roman the Great. The
decline of Constantinople – a main trading partner of Kievan Rus' –
played a significant role in the decline of the Kievan Rus'. The trade route
from the Varangians to the Greeks, along which the goods were moving from the
Black Sea (mainly Byzantine) through eastern Europe to the Baltic, was a
cornerstone of Kievan wealth and prosperity. These trading routes became less
important as the Byzantine Empire declined in power and Western Europe created
new trade routes to Asia and the Near East. As people relied less on passing
through Kievan Rus' territories for trade, the Kievan Rus' economy suffered.
The last ruler to maintain a united state was Mstislav the Great. After his
death in 1132, the Kievan Rus' fell into recession and a rapid decline, and
Mstislav's successor Yaropolk II of Kiev, instead of focusing on the external
threat of the Cumans, was embroiled in conflicts with the growing power of the
Novgorod Republic. In March 1169, a coalition of native princes led by Andrei
Bogolyubsky of Vladimir sacked Kiev. This changed the perception of Kiev and
was evidence of the fragmentation of the Kievan Rus'. By the end of the 12th
century, the Kievan state fragmented even further, into roughly twelve
different principalities. The Crusades brought a shift in European trade routes
that accelerated the decline of Kievan Rus'. In 1204, the forces of the Fourth
Crusade sacked Constantinople, making the Dnieper trade route marginal. At the
same time, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (of the Northern Crusades) were
conquering the Baltic region and threatening the Lands of Novgorod.
Concurrently with it, the Ruthenian Federation of Kievan Rus' started to
disintegrate into smaller principalities as the Rurik dynasty grew. The local
Orthodox Christianity of Kievan Rus', while struggling to establish itself in
the predominantly pagan state and losing its main base in Constantinople, was
on the brink of extinction. Some of the main regional centres that developed
later were Novgorod, Chernigov, Halych, Kiev, Ryazan, Vladimir-upon-Klyazma,
Volodimer-Volyn and Polotsk.
Novgorod Republic:
Main article: Republic of Novgorod:
In the north, the Republic of Novgorod prospered because it controlled trade
routes from the River Volga to the Baltic Sea. As Kievan Rus' declined,
Novgorod became more independent. A local oligarchy ruled Novgorod; major
government decisions were made by a town assembly, which also elected a prince
as the city's military leader. In 1136, Novgorod revolted against Kiev, and
became independent. Now an independent city republic, and referred to as
"Lord Novgorod the Great" it would spread its "mercantile
interest" to the west and the north; to the Baltic Sea and the
low-populated forest regions respectively. In 1169, Novgorod acquired its own
archbishop, named Ilya, a sign of further increased importance and political
independence. Novgorod enjoyed a wide degree of autonomy although being closely
associated with the Kievan Rus.
Northeast:
Main article: Vladimir-Suzdal:
In the northeast, Slavs from the Kievan region colonized the territory that
later would become the Grand Duchy of Moscow by subjugating and merging with
the Finnic tribes already occupying the area. The city of Rostov, the oldest
centre of the northeast, was supplanted first by Suzdal and then by the city of
Vladimir, which become the capital of Vladimir-Suzdal'. The combined
principality of Vladimir-Suzdal asserted itself as a major power in Kievan Rus'
in the late 12th century. In 1169, Prince Andrey Bogolyubskiy of
Vladimir-Suzdal sacked the city of Kiev and took over the title of the grand
prince to claim primacy in Rus'. Prince Andrey then installed his younger
brother, who ruled briefly in Kiev while Andrey continued to rule his realm
from Suzdal. In 1299, in the wake of the Mongol invasion, the metropolitan
moved from Kiev to the city of Vladimir and Vladimir-Suzdal.
Southwest:
Main article: Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia
To the southwest, the principality of Halych had developed trade relations with
its Polish, Hungarian and Lithuanian neighbours and emerged as the local
successor to Kievan Rus'. In 1199, Prince Roman Mstislavych united the two
previously separate principalities of Halych and Volyn. In 1202 he conquered
Kiev, and assumed the title of Knyaz of Kievan Rus', which was held by the
rulers of Vladimir-Suzdal since 1169. His son, Prince Daniel (r.
1238–1264) looked for support from the West. He accepted a crown as a
"Rex Rusiae" ("King of Rus") from the Roman papacy,
apparently doing so without breaking with Constantinople. In 1370, the
patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Constantinople granted the King of
Poland a metropolitan for his Ruthenian subjects. Lithuanian rulers also
requested and received a metropolitan for Novagrudok shortly afterwards.
Cyprian, a candidate pushed by the Lithuanian rulers, became Metropolitan of
Kiev in 1375 and metropolitan of Moscow in 1382; this way the church in the
territory of former Kievan Rus was reunited for some time. In 1439, Kiev became
the seat of a separate "Metropolitan of Kiev, Halych and all Rus'"
for all Greek Orthodox Christians under Polish-Lithuanian rule. However, a long
and unsuccessful struggle against the Mongols combined with internal opposition
to the prince and foreign intervention weakened Galicia-Volhynia. With the end
of the Mstislavich branch of the Rurikids in the mid-14th century,
Galicia-Volhynia ceased to exist; Poland conquered Halych; Lithuania took
Volhynia, including Kiev, conquered by Gediminas in 1321 ending the rule of
Rurikids in the city. Lithuanian rulers then assumed the title over Ruthenia.
Final disintegration:
Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, one of the successor states of Kievan Rus'
The state finally disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of
Rus', fragmenting it into successor principalities who paid tribute to the
Golden Horde (the so-called Tatar Yoke). In the late 15th century, the
Muscovite Grand Dukes began taking over former Kievan territories and
proclaimed themselves the sole legal successors of the Kievan principality
according to the protocols of the medieval theory of translatio imperii.
On the western periphery, Kievan Rus' was succeeded by the Principality of
Galicia-Volhynia. Later, as these territories, now part of modern central
Ukraine and Belarus, fell to the Gediminids, the powerful, largely Ruthenized
Grand Duchy of Lithuania drew heavily on Rus' cultural and legal traditions.
From 1398 until the Union of Lublin in 1569 its full name was the Grand Duchy
of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia. Due to the fact of the economic and
cultural core of Rus' being located on the territory of modern Ukraine,
Ukrainian historians and scholars consider Kievan Rus' to be a founding
Ukrainian state. On the north-eastern periphery of Kievan Rus', traditions were
adapted in the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality that gradually gravitated towards
Moscow. To the very north, the Novgorod and Pskov Feudal Republics were less
autocratic than Vladimir-Suzdal-Moscow until they were absorbed by the Grand
Duchy of Moscow. Russian historians consider Kievan Rus' the first period of
Russian history.
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