Summary
Highlights
For thousands of years, the lands of Russia and Ukraine were inhabited by nomadic tribes and Bronze Age cultures. The Scythians buried their chieftains in kurgans. Following nomadic warrior incursions, the land was settled by Slavs. Vikings, known as Varangians, established trade routes. According to legend, the East Slavs asked Varangian chief Rurik to unite them, establishing the Rurikid dynasty. His successor, Oleg, made Kiev the capital of Kievan Rus. Vladimir the Great adopted Orthodox Christianity in the 10th century, fostering ties with the Byzantine Empire. Kievan Rus reached its golden age under Yaroslav the Wise, becoming a sophisticated and powerful state.
After Yaroslav's death, Kievan Rus fragmented into feuding princedoms. A new threat emerged from the east: the Mongols under Genghis Khan. They defeated Kievan princes at the Battle of the Kalka River in 1223, then returned 14 years later under Batu Khan to conquer the land. Cities that resisted were destroyed, while Novgorod was spared by submitting. Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod became a hero for defeating the Teutonic Knights. The Mongols established the Golden Horde, ruling through local princes who paid tribute. This period was known as 'the Tatar yoke'.
Alexander Nevsky's son, Daniel, founded the Grand Principality of Moscow, which steadily grew in power. The rising Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Tatars and conquered Kiev. Later, Dmitri Donskoi of Moscow also defeated the Tatars at the Battle of Kulikovo Field in 1380. The Golden Horde began to disintegrate into rival khanates. With the fall of Constantinople, Moscow was seen by some as the 'Third Rome'. Moscow expanded its power, annexing Novgorod and forming the first Russian state. Ivan III of Moscow finally ended the 'Tatar yoke' at the Ugra River in 1480.
Under Vasili III, Moscow continued to grow. His son, Ivan IV, was crowned the first Tsar of Russia, earning the epithet 'the Terrible'. Ivan conquered Tatar lands but faced defeats in the Livonian War. His reign saw a period of terror and mass executions. Despite a raid on Moscow, Russian forces routed the Tatars at Molodi. Cossacks emerged as skilled horsemen on the steppe. Ivan the Terrible's son, Feodor I, died childless, ending the Rurikid dynasty. This led to the 'Time of Troubles', a period of anarchy, famine, plague, and foreign occupation by Polish and Swedish forces, pushing the Russian state to the brink of collapse.