East Europe (820 – 963 CE): Varangian Routes, Khazar Gateways, and the Making of Rus’

Geographic and Environmental Context

East Europe includes Belarus, Ukraine, the European portion of Russia, and the sixteen Russian republics west of the Urals.

• A vast transition from northern taiga and mixed forests to southern forest-steppe and Pontic steppe, threaded by great rivers—the Dnieper, Volga, Dvina, Oka, and Don.

• Major nodes formed along portage chains between the Baltic, Caspian, and Black Sea basins, especially at Novgorod, Smolensk, Kiev, and Volga Bulgar markets.

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Climate and Environmental Shifts

• A cool–temperate regime prevailed; by the mid-10th century the onset of the Medieval Warm Period (c. 950–1250) modestly lengthened growing seasons in the forest-steppe.

• Flood pulses on the Dnieper and Volga structured seasonal travel; winter freeze created over-ice corridors for sled transport.

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Societies and Political Developments

• Varangians and Tribal Unions (9th c.): Scandinavian merchant-warriors (Varangians) entered forest trade routes, installing ruling groups among Slavic and Finnic unions—Krivichs, Drevlians, Severians, Radimichs, Vyatichs, and others.

• Rurik and Oleg: Tradition places Rurik at Novgorod (862); his kinsman Oleg seized Kiev (882), uniting the “route from the Varangians to the Greeks.” Kiev became the core of   Kievan Rus’, extracting tribute from neighboring tribes and mediating steppe diplomacy.

• Khazar Khaganate: The Khazars controlled the lower Volga–Don and Caspian Gate, taxing trade between the steppe and Islamic markets; their elite adopted Judaism (9th c.). Rus’ princes alternately paid tribute, raided Khazar towns, and competed for Volga access.

• Volga Bulgars: A commercial polity at the Volga–Kama confluence; conversion to Islam (922) under Almış tied them to the Samanid economy.

• Steppe Frontiers: After c. 895 the Magyars moved into the Carpathian Basin; Pechenegs replaced them on the Pontic steppe, pressuring Rus’ river traffic and Sarmatian corridors.

• Byzantine Relations: Rus’ raids on Constantinople (notably 860) gave way to treaties (907/911 per later compilations), regulating trade duties and mercenary service.

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Economy and Trade

• Exports: high-value furs, wax, honey, slaves, and falcons moved south on river craft; iron swords and worked amber moved internally along forest routes.

• Imports: Byzantine silk, wine, fine metalwork via the Dnieper; Samanid silver dirhams, glassware, and textiles via the Volga.

• Monetization: massive inflows of Samanid dirhams fueled a hack-silver economy; coin hoards appear from Ladoga/Novgorod to the middle Dnieper and upper Volga.

• Kiev and Novgorod functioned as hinge markets, auditing tolls and tribute before goods crossed portages toward Cherson and Constantinople, or toward Volga Bulgar and the Caspian.

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Subsistence and Technology

• Agriculture: forest-steppe communities practiced plow agriculture (millet, rye, wheat) with slash-and-burn in the forest zone; stock-keeping expanded in river meadows.

• Crafts: iron tools, plows, and broad-seax blades; antler combs, bone skates, glass beads; early urban smithies in Ladoga, Novgorod, Kiev.

• River boats: light dugouts and plank-built craft—monoxyla—ported between watersheds; winter travel used sleds over frozen rivers.

• Fortifications: earthen ramparts and timber palisades ringed hillforts (gorodishche); princes maintained druzhina (retinues) of armored cavalry and river fighters.

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Movement and Interaction Corridors

• “From the Varangians to the Greeks”: the Dvina–Dnieper and Volkhov–Dnieper chains funneled Baltic goods to the Black Sea; the Dnieper porohy (rapids) demanded portage and escorts through Pecheneg country.

• Volga Route: Ladoga/Novgorod → Volga → Volga Bulgar → Khazaria → Caspian, connecting to Samanid markets in Gurgān and Tabaristan.

• Forest Portages: Smolensk, Rzhev, and Gorodets nodalized crossings between upper river systems, creating dense hub-and-spoke exchanges.

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Belief and Symbolism

• Slavic paganism (Perun, Veles), Finnic and Baltic animisms, and Norse cults coexisted among Varangian elites and local communities; shrines and sacred groves sacralized hilltops and river bends.

• Khazars patronized Judaism at court; Volga Bulgars normalized Islamic law and markets after 922.

• Christianity: Byzantine missions influenced Crimea and lower Dnieper; individual baptisms occurred among elites, but mass conversion of Rus’ came later (988).

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Adaptation and Resilience

• Dual-route strategy (Dnieper + Volga) hedged against steppe raids and political tolls; when Pechenegs blocked the Dnieper, merchants shifted to the Volga.

• Seasonal logistics—summer navigation, winter sled freight—smoothed transport risk; caches and fortified gorodishche protected goods and people.

• Tribute diplomacy balanced payments to Khazars and Pechenegs with punitive raids and alliances, keeping corridors open.

• Urban niches (Ladoga, Novgorod, Kiev) developed storage, craft specialization, and legal customs for foreign merchants, stabilizing long-distance exchange.

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Long-Term Significance

By 963 CE, East Europe had coalesced into a river-route commonwealth under emerging Kievan Rus’, framed by Khazar gatekeeping on the Caspian and Byzantine markets on the Black Sea.

• Silver-driven commerce integrated forest, steppe, and sea;

• Tribal unions and Varangian retinues forged the institutions of Rus’ rulership;

• Volga Bulgar Islam and Khazar Judaism embedded the region in wider religious economies.

On the eve of the next age, Sviatoslav’s campaigns (from 964) would crack Khazar hegemony, Pecheneg pressure would intensify, and the Dnieper metropolis of Kiev would begin its ascent toward high-medieval preeminence.

Kievan Rus' is founded by the Rus' people, who come from Scandinavia across Staraya Ladoga and settle in Kiev around CE 880.

Kievan Rus' includes the central, western and northern part of modern Ukraine, Belarus, far eastern strip of Poland and the western part of present-day Russia.

Little is known of the origin of the Slavs.

Philologists and archaeologists theorize that the Slavs settled very early in the Carpathian Mountains or in the area of present-day Belarus.

By 600, they had split linguistically into southern, western, and eastern branches.

The East Slavs had settled along the Dnepr River in what is now Ukraine; then they spread northward to the northern Volga River valley, east of modern-day Moscow, and westward to the basins of the northern Dnestr and the western Bug rivers, in present-day Moldova and southern Ukraine.

In the eighth and ninth centuries, many East Slavic tribes pay tribute to the Khazars, a Turkic-speaking people who had adopted Judaism about 740 and live in the southern Volga and Caucasus regions.

Many ethnically diverse peoples have migrated onto the East European Plain, but the East Slavs remain and gradually become dominant.

Kievan Rus', the first East Slavic state, emerges in the ninth century CE and develops a complex and frequently unstable political system that will flourish until the thirteenth century, when it declines abruptly.

Among the lasting achievements of Kievan Rus are the introduction of a Slavic variant of the Eastern Orthodox religion and a synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures.

The disintegration of Kievan Rus' will play a crucial role in the evolution of the East Slavs into the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belorussian peoples.

Iranian and other peoples lived in the area of present-day Ukraine long before the organization of Kievan 'Rus.

The best known of those groups was the nomadic Scythians, who occupied the region from about 600 BCE to 200 BCE and whose skill in warfare and horsemanship is legendary.

Between CE 100 and 900, Goths and nomadic Huns, Avars, and Magyars have passed through the region in their migrations.

Although some of them subjugated the Slavs in the region, those tribes left little of lasting importance.

More significant in this period is the expansion of the Slavs, who are agriculturists and beekeepers as well as hunters, fishers, herders, and trappers.

By 600, the Slavs were the dominant ethnic group on the East European Plain.

Oleg, another Varangian, moves south from Novgorod to expel the Khazars from Kiev and founds Kievan Rus' about  880.

During the next thirty-five years, Oleg subdues the various East Slavic tribes.

In 907, he leads a campaign against Constantinople, and in 911 he signs a commercial treaty with the East Roman Empire as an equal partner.

The new Kievan state prospers because it controls the trade route from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea and because it has an abundant supply of furs, wax, honey, and slaves for export.

Historians have debated the role of the Varangians in the establishment of Kievan Rus'.

Most Russian historians—especially in the Soviet era—have stressed the Slavic influence in the development of the state.

Although Slavic tribes had formed their own regional jurisdictions by 860, the Varangians accelerate the crystallization of Kievan Rus'.

The Swedish Viking Age lasts roughly from the eighth century to the eleventh century.

It is believed that Swedish Vikings and Gutar mainly traveled east and south, going to Finland, the Baltic countries, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Black Sea and even as far as Baghdad.

Their routes pass through the Dnieper south to Constantinople, on which they carry out numerous raids.

The Emperor Theophilos notices their great skills in war, and invites them to serve as his personal bodyguard, known as the Varangian Guard.

The Swedish Vikings, called Rus, are believed to be the founding fathers of Kievan Rus'.

The Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan described these Vikings as follows:

    I have seen the Rus as they came on their merchant journeys and encamped by the Itil. I have never seen more perfect physical specimens, tall as date palms, blond and ruddy; they wear neither tunics nor caftans, but the men wear a garment which covers one side of the body and leaves a hand free. Each man has an axe, a sword, and a knife, and keeps each by him at all times. The swords are broad and grooved, of Frankish sort.

Eastern Southeast Europe (856–867 CE): Ecclesiastical Schism and Military Challenges

Settlement and Migration Patterns

Stability Amid Ecclesiastical and Military Tensions

From 856 to 867 CE, Eastern Southeast Europe experienced demographic stability, even as the region was influenced by significant religious and military events. Settlements continued consolidating, maintaining cohesion despite broader geopolitical tensions.

Political and Military Developments

Rus'-Byzantine Conflict (860 CE)

The period witnessed the significant Rus'-Byzantine War of 860, the only major recorded military expedition of the Rus' Khaganate in Byzantine and Western European sources. The Rus', taking advantage of Byzantine preoccupation with Arab conflicts, launched a surprise attack on Constantinople. Although the exact outcome remains unclear, Byzantine sources indicate a retreat by the Rus', attributed in later tradition to miraculous intervention by the Theotokos, thus enhancing religious sentiment and historical narrative.

Economic and Technological Developments

Economic Resilience Amid External Threats

Despite the military disruptions, the regional economy remained resilient, supported by stable trade networks and fortified infrastructure. Strategic fortifications continued to play a crucial role in protecting economic interests from external threats.

Ongoing Fortification Efforts

Continued enhancements in military fortifications, particularly around Constantinople and frontier areas, ensured regional stability and protection against sudden military incursions, such as the Rus' attack.

Cultural and Artistic Developments

Continued Cultural Flourishing

Cultural and artistic endeavors continued to thrive, supported by regional stability and institutional resilience. Despite external pressures, Byzantine cultural revival continued to advance scholarly and literary production, fostering cultural continuity.

Scholarly Persistence

Educational institutions and scholarly communities maintained active roles in preserving and promoting classical and theological traditions, further enriching regional cultural identity and intellectual resilience.

Social and Religious Developments

The Photian Schism

The prominent ecclesiastical event during this era was the Photian Schism, a four-year rupture between the episcopal sees of Rome and Constantinople. The schism arose primarily from disputes over ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the southern Balkans and was intensified by personal conflicts between Pope Nicholas I and Patriarch Photios, both elected in 858. Unlike later disputes, the Photian Schism centered around jurisdictional authority rather than accusations of heresy, significantly shaping ecclesiastical politics and relations between East and West.

Strengthening of Religious Institutions

Despite the schism, Eastern Orthodox institutions continued playing a central role in societal cohesion, influencing social and religious practices throughout the period. This ecclesiastical resilience reinforced regional stability and community identity.

Long-Term Consequences and Historical Significance

The era from 856 to 867 CE was defined by significant religious and military events, notably the Photian Schism and the Rus' military expedition against Constantinople. These developments critically shaped ecclesiastical politics, regional military strategy, and the religious-cultural identity of Eastern Southeast Europe, leaving enduring historical impacts.

The Rus'-Byzantine War of 860 is the only major military expedition of the Rus' Khaganate recorded in Byzantine and Western European sources.

Accounts vary regarding the events that took place, with discrepancies between contemporary and later sources, and the exact outcome is unknown.

It is known from Byzantine sources that the Rus' caught Constantinople unprepared, when the empire was occupied by the ongoing Byzantine-Arab Wars and unable to deal with the Rus' threat.

After pillaging the suburbs of the imperial capital, the Rus' retreat, although the nature of this withdrawal, and indeed which side had been victorious, is subject to debate.

This event gives rise to a later Orthodox Christian tradition, which ascribes the deliverance of Constantinople to a miraculous intervention by the Theotokos.

Kiev, located on the right bank of the Dnepr River, at the halfway point of its fourteen hundred-mile (two thousand two hundred and fifty-five -kilometer) route from northwest Russia to the Black Sea, is first mentioned in Russian chronicles in 860.

The eventual capital of Kievan Rus', its name supposedly derives from that of its legendary founder, Prince Kii.

Kiev’s location, above the Dnepr rapids where the open steppe meets with the belt of Slavic settlements in the forest-meadow region, endows the city with great strategic importance.

The legend of Kyi, Schek and Khoriv speaks of a founder-family consisting of a Slavic tribe leader Kyi, the eldest, his brothers Schek and Khoriv, and also their sister Lybid, who had founded the city.

Kyiv/Kiev is translated as "belonging to Kyi".

It is unclear when Kiev had fallen under the rule of the Khazar empire but, in an event attributed to the ninth century, the Primary Chronicle (a main source of information about the early history of the area) mentions Slavic Kievans telling Askold and Dir that they live without a local ruler and pay a tribute to Khazars.

At least during the eighth and ninth centuries Kiev functions as an outpost of the Khazar empire on its border with Levédia, an area settled by the Magyars in the ninth century, located in the territory of present-day eastern Ukraine.

They had moved to this area from Magna Hungaria situated on the western side of the Urals in the region today known as Bashkortostan.

A hill-fortress, called Sambat (Old Turkic for "High Place") is built to defend the area (although there is no evidence of an urban settlement on the site of Kiev prior to the 880s, and archaeological finds from the period in the vicinity of Kiev are almost nonexistent).