Riurik

Rurik
Prince of Ladoga
Rurik in the Tsarsky Titulyarnik, 1672
Reign	862–879
Predecessor	—
Successor	Oleg
Born	830
Died	879
Issue	Igor
Dynasty	Rurik Dynasty

Rurik (also Riurik; Old Church Slavonic Рюрикъ Rjurikŭ, from Old Norse Hrøríkʀ; c. 830 – 879), according to the 12th-century Primary Chronicle, was a Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 gained control of Ladoga, built the Holmgard settlement near Novgorod, and established the Kievan Rus'. He is the founder of the Rurik Dynasty, which ruled the Kievan Rus' and its successor states, including the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Tsardom of Russia, until the 17th century.

The only information about Rurik is contained in the 12th-century Primary Chronicle written by one Nestor, which states that Chuds, Eastern Slavs, Merias, Veses, and Krivichs "...drove the Varangians back beyond the sea, refused to pay them tribute, and set out to govern themselves". Afterwards the tribes started fighting each other and decided to invite the Varangians, led by Rurik, to reestablish order.

According to the Primary Chronicle, Rurik was one of the Rus', a Varangian tribe likened by the chronicler to Danes, Swedes, Angles, and Gotlanders.