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Kievan Rus

Kievan Rus'
Рѹ́сь
882–1240
Realm of Kievan Rus at its height
(with dependent lands)
Capital Kiev
Languages Old East Slavic
Religion
Government Monarchy
Grand Prince of Kiev
 •  882–912 Oleg of Novgorod (first)
 •  980–1015 Vladimir the Great
 •  1019–1054 Yaroslav the Wise
 •  1236–40, 1241–43 Saint Michael of Chernigov (last)
Legislature Veche, Prince Council
History
 •  Established 882
 •  Conquest of Khazar Khaganate 965–969
 •  Baptism of Rus' c. 988
 •  Rus' Justice early 11th century
 •  Mongol invasion of Rus' 1240
Area
 •  1000 1,330,000 km² (513,516 sq mi)
Population
 •  1000 est. 5,400,000 
     Density 4.1 /km²  (10.5 /sq mi)
Currency Grivna
Today part of  Belarus
 Moldova
 Poland
 Romania
 Russia
 Slovakia
 Ukraine

Kievan Rus' (Old East Slavic: Рѹ́сь (Rus'), Рѹ́сьскаѧ землѧ (Rus'kaya zemlya), Ancient Greek: Ῥωσία, Latin: Rus(s)ia, Ruscia, Ruzzia, Rut(h)enia,Old Norse: Garðaríki) was a loose federation of East Slavic tribes in Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century, under the reign of the Rurik dynasty. The modern peoples of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia all claim Kievan Rus' as their cultural ancestors.

At its greatest extent in the mid-11th century, it stretched from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south and from the headwaters of the Vistula in the west to the Taman Peninsula in the east, uniting the majority of East Slavic tribes.

According to Russian historiography the first ruler to start uniting East Slavic lands into what has become known as Kievan Rus' was Prince Oleg (882–912). He extended his control from Novgorod south along the Dnieper river valley to protect trade from Khazar incursions from the east, and he moved his capital to the more strategic Kiev. Sviatoslav I (died 972) achieved the first major expansion of Kievan Rus' territorial control, fighting a war of conquest against the Khazars. Vladimir the Great (980–1015) introduced Christianity with his own baptism and, by decree, extended it to all inhabitants of Kiev and beyond. Kievan Rus' reached its greatest extent under Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054); his sons assembled and issued its first written legal code, the Rus' Justice, shortly after his death.


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