Vikings
The Swedish Vikings conquered the native Slavic land in the 9th century. The Viking leader, Rurik, was elected as king of Novgorod. His successor, Oleg, moved south with the Viking army and conquered Kyiv. Kyiv had been ruled by the Khazars, a branch of the Mongols. Doing this, they started a centuries-long rivalry with the Mongols, which would return to haunt them. Meanwhile, Rurik’s son, Igor, was conquering the eastern Slavic land and destroying the Khazar Khaganate. He further led many military campaigns into Persia and Byzantium, which failed.
Confederation
After the Vikings, the Kyivan became one of the most prosperous states in Europe. During this time, Eastern Orthodoxy spread from Byzantium. In addition, they established the first Slavic law code, the Russkaya Pravda. However, the age of feudalism and decentralization brought fighting to the Rurik dynasty. Also, many questioned Kievan Rus’s dominance in Slavic Europe. This allowed the growth of other nations, such as Vladimir-Suzdal in the northeast, the Novgorod Republic in the north, and Galicia-Volhynia in the southwest. By the 12th century, the Kyivan Rus had dissolved into many kingdoms. Later, Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky came and burned Kyiv and made Vladimir his capital. A new confederation formed, Novgorod, which repelled the Swedes and the Teutonic Knights with the help of Alexander Nevsky.
Aftermath
The Novgorod Republic lived on, spreading the arts and sciences and having a golden age. But later, the Mongols burned, sacked, and destroyed the cities of Kyiv and Novgorod. Novgorod became a vassal state to the Mongols and paid tribute to them. In the south, however, a small town on the banks of the Moskva River was getting a bit unruly. That town was Moscow.
