The establishment of the first East Slavic states in the 9th century coincided with the arrival

of Varangians, the traders, warriors and settlers from the Baltic Sea region. Primarily they
were Vikings of Scandinavian origin, who ventured along the waterways extending from the eastern
Baltic to the Black and Caspian Seas.[47] According to the Primary Chronicle, a Varangian from Rus'
people, named Rurik, was elected ruler of Novgorod in 862. In 882 his successor Oleg ventured
south and conquered Kiev,[48] which had been previously paying tribute to the Khazars, founding
Kievan Rus'. Oleg, Rurik's son Igor and Igor's son Sviatoslav subsequently subdued all local East
Slavic tribes to Kievan rule, destroyed the Khazar khaganate and launched several military
expeditions to Byzantium and Persia.

In the 10th to 11th centuries Kievan Rus' became one of the largest and most prosperous states in
Europe.[49] The reigns of Vladimir the Great (9801015) and his son Yaroslav the Wise (10191054)
constitute the Golden Age of Kiev, which saw the acceptance of Orthodox
Christianity from Byzantium and the creation of the first East Slavic written legal code, the Russkaya
Pravda.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, constant incursions by nomadic Turkic tribes, such as
the Kipchaks and the Pechenegs, caused a massive migration of Slavic populations to the safer,
heavily forested regions of the north, particularly to the area known as Zalesye.[50]

The Baptism of Kievans, by Klavdy Lebedev

The age of feudalism and decentralization was marked by constant in-fighting between members of
the Rurik Dynasty that ruled Kievan Rus' collectively. Kiev's dominance waned, to the benefit
of Vladimir-Suzdal in the north-east, Novgorod Republic in the north-west and Galicia-Volhynia in the
south-west.

Ultimately Kievan Rus' disintegrated, with the final blow being the Mongol invasion of 123740[51] that
resulted in the destruction of Kiev[52] and the death of about half the population of Rus'.[53] The
invading Mongol elite, together with their conquered Turkic subjects (Cumans, Kipchaks, Bulgars),
became known as Tatars, forming the state of the Golden Horde, which pillaged the Russian
principalities; the Mongols ruled the Cuman-Kipchak confederation and Volga Bulgaria (modern-day
southern and central expanses of Russia) for over two centuries.[54]

Galicia-Volhynia was eventually assimilated by the Kingdom of Poland, while the Mongol-dominated
Vladimir-Suzdal and Novgorod Republic, two regions on the periphery of Kiev, established the basis
for the modern Russian nation.[20] The Novgorod together with Pskov retained some degree of
autonomy during the time of the Mongol yoke and were largely spared the atrocities that affected the
rest of the country. Led by Prince Alexander Nevsky, Novgorodians repelled the invading Swedes in
the Battle of the Neva in 1240, as well as the Germanic crusaders in the Battle of the Ice in 1242,
breaking their attempts to colonize the Northern Rus'.