EXPANSION INTO RUSSIA
EThe Norse people had contact with those who lived on the far side of the Baltic Sea and could navigate the River Neva from the Gulf of Finland onto Lake Ladoga. Trading expeditions plied this route from the Vendel period onwards and, wherever the Norsemen went, a few of them settled.
There were opportunities in these lands, which were home to people of Slavic origin, and over time the inhabitants became known as the Rus.
Exactly how this came to pass remains open to debate. Some sources claim that cities in what is now Russia were founded by Norsemen, but the truth of this remains unclear.
It is likely that energetic and ambitious Norsemen integrated within the local Slavic society and gravitated to positions of authority. This was common in the era; the ruling class and their immediate supporters tended to be warriors. As the Norsemen were more warlike than the local population, they naturally fulfilled this role.
Norsemen were also enthusiastic traders and skilled artisans, whose presence increased the prosperity of the local communities.
Two of these, Novgorod and Kiev, grew to particular prominence as capitals of the local region and their mingled Norse/Slavic population became generally known as the Kievan Rus. It may be that the term ‘Rus’ was originally applied to the Scandinavian warrior class, but eventually the people as a whole became known by that name.
Much of what we know about this region comes from the Primary Chronicle, which was compiled in around 1100 in Kiev from a variety of sources. According to this work, the first ruling dynasty of the Rus was founded by a Norseman named Rurik.
His people are referred to in the Primary Chronicle as Varangians, a local name for Norsemen that was also used in
Byzantium.
Rurik and his warriors were invited by the local population to deal with a rebellion by the local tribes, which was threatening trade routes and settlements in the region of Lake Ladoga. Rurik founded a settlement named Holmgard, which according to legend grew into the city of Novgorod. After his death in 879, Rurik’s brother Oleg took command and led a campaign to capture Kiev. Kiev became the capital of the Rus state; by tradition, the ruler’s heir would reside in the northern capital of Novgorod with the Rus as a whole governed from Kiev. The Rurik dynasty is today considered to be the beginnings of the Russian state.
The Kievan Rus prospered in part due to their position on the trade routes of eastern
Europe. From the Lake Ladoga region it was possible to access the Dnieper and Volga rivers, allowing a voyage all the way to the Black and Caspian seas. This was no easy undertaking, as it required portages at several rapids along the way. The usual method was to unload the ship and transport the cargo overland around the rapids, then pick up the ship and carry it to a deeper part of the river before reloading it and setting off again. By this laborious method, goods could be moved in bulk all the way from the Baltic to Byzantium.
It is known that Norsemen had extensive dealings with the Byzantine Empire and traded in goods coming from the east along the Silk Road. What is less clear is how far the Norsemen themselves travelled east. Given their energetic and inquisitive nature, it is probable that some journeyed over huge distances.
Wild claims that Norsemen reached China or sailed their long ships out of the Yangtze estuary to lands beyond have no basis in reality, but do resurface from time to time.
Source ~ “ The Dark Ages “ by Martin J. Dougherty