1. What caused the formation of the Kyivan state?

A.The formation of the Kievan state that began in the mid-9th century, the role of the Varangians
(Vikings) in this process, and the name Rus by which this state came to be known are all matters
of controversy among historians. It is clear, however, that this formation was connected with
developments in international trade and the new prominence of the Dnieper route from the Baltic
to Byzantium, on which Kyiv was strategically sited. Trade along this route was controlled by
Varangian merchant-warriors, and from their ranks came the progenitors of the Kievan princes,
who were, however, soon Slavicized. In the early chronicles, the Varangians were also called
Rus, and this corporate name became a territorial designation for the Kievan region—the basic
territory of the Rus; later, by extension, it was applied to the entire territory ruled by members of
the Kievan dynast

2.Historically most prominent princes of Rus? Their most important and significant
achievements?
A. Prince Yaroslav I (the Wise). In 988 Volodymyr adopted Christianity as the religion of his
realm and had the inhabitants of Kyiv baptized. Rus entered the orbit of Byzantine (later,
Orthodox) Christianity and culture. A church hierarchy was established, headed (at least since
1037) by the metropolitan of Kyiv, new forms of architecture, art, and music, a written language
(Old Church Slavonic), and the beginnings of literary culture. All these were vigorously
promoted by Yaroslav, who also promulgated a code of laws, the first in Slavdom. Although
Byzantium and the steppe remained his main preoccupations in external policy, Yaroslav
maintained friendly relations with European rulers, with whom he established marital alliances
for his progeny,

Prince Danylo. founded, most importantly Lviv; trade—especially with Poland and
Hungary, as well as Byzantium—brought considerable prosperity; and culture flourished, with
marked new influences from the West. In 1253 Danylo (in a bid for aid from the West) even
accepted the royal crown from Pope Innocent IV and recognized him as head of the church,
although nothing substantial came from this. Danylo’s reign also witnessed the rise of boyar-
magnate unrest, debilitating dynastic involvements with Poland and Hungary, and the Mongol
invasion of 1240–41. These marked the onset of Galicia-Volhynia’s decline, which continued
until the extinction of Roman’s dynasty in 1340.
3.The causes of the decline of Kyiv and the fragmentation (disintegration) of Rus?

A. 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.

4.Which countries were formed later in the territory of Rus?

A.  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. 

5.What was happening in the territory of Ukraine after the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars?

A. The Mongols have been blamed for the destruction of Kievan Rus', the breakup of the ancient
Rus' nationality into three components and the introduction of the concept of "oriental
despotism" into Russia.[  Historians also credit the Mongol regime with an important role in the
development of Muscovy as a state.[  Under Mongol occupation, for example, Muscovy
developed its mestnichestvo hierarchy, postal road network (based on Mongolian ortoo system,
known in Russian as "yam", hence the terms yamshchik, Yamskoy Prikaz, etc.), census, fiscal
system and military organization.
The period of Mongol rule over the former Rus' polities included significant cultural and
interpersonal contacts between the Slavic and Mongolian ruling classes. By 1450, the Tatar
language had become fashionable in the court of the Grand Prince of Moscow, Vasily II, who
was accused of excessive love of the Tatars and their speech, and many Russian noblemen
adopted Tatar surnames (for example, a member of the Veliamanov family adopted the Turkic
name "Aksak" and his descendants were the Aksakovs)  Many Russian boyar (noble) families
traced their descent from the Mongols or Tatars, including Veliaminov-Zernov, Godunov,
Arseniev, Bakhmetev, Bulgakov (descendants of Bulgak) and Chaadaev (descendants of Genghis
Khan's son Chagatai Khan). In a survey of Russian noble families of the 17th century, over 15%
of the Russian noble families had Tatar or Oriental origins.
6.The causes of the decline of the Galician-Volhynian principality?

A. After Lev's death in 1301, a period of decline ensued. Lev was succeeded by his son Yuri I,
who ruled for only seven years. Although his reign was largely peaceful and Kingdom of Rus
flourished economically, Yuri I lost Lublin to the Poles in 1302 From 1308 until 1323 Kingdom
of Rus was jointly ruled by Yuri I's sons Andrew and Lev II, who proclaimed themselves to be
the kings of Kingdom of Rus. The brothers forged alliances with King Władysław I of Poland
and the Teutonic Order against the Lithuanians and the Mongols, but the Kingdom was still
tributary to the Mongols and joined the Mongol military expeditions of Uzbeg Khan and his
successor, Janibeg Khan.[4] The brothers died together in 1323, in battle, fighting against the
Mongols, and left no heirs.
After the extinction of the Rurikid dynasty in Kingdom of Rus in 1323, Volhynia passed into the
control of the Lithuanian prince Liubartas, while the boyars took control over Galicia. They
invited the Polish prince Boleslaw Yuri II, a grandson of Yuri I, to assume the Galician throne.
Boleslaw converted to Orthodoxy and assumed the name Yuri II. Nevertheless, suspecting him
of harboring Catholic feelings, the boyars poisoned him in 1340 and elected one of their
own, Dmitry Detko, to lead the Galician state. In Winter 1341 Tatars, Ruthenians led by Detko,
and Lithuanians led by Liubartas were able to defeat the Poles, although they were not so
successful in Summer 1341. Finally, Detko was forced to accept Polish overlordship, as a starost
of Halych. After Detko's death, Poland's King Casimir III mounted a successful invasion,
capturing and annexing Galicia in 1349. Galicia–Volhynia ceased to exist as an independent
state.