Kievan Rus

Kievan Rus’
Main articles: Rus’ Khaganate, Kievan Rus’, and List of early East Slavic states

Kievan Rus’ in the 11th century
The establishment of the first East Slavic states in the 9th century coincided with the arrival of Varangians, the Vikings who ventured along the waterways extending from the eastern Baltic to the Black and Caspian Seas.[27] According to the Primary Chronicle, a Varangian from the Rus’ people, named Rurik, was elected ruler of Novgorod in 862. In 882, his successor Oleg ventured south and conquered Kiev,[28] which had been previously paying tribute to the Khazars. 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.[29] The reigns of Vladimir the Great (980–1015) and his son Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054) 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.