Rus': from Rurik to Ivan III
Six centuries of Russian history: the Varangians, Kiev and Christianisation, the break-up into principalities, Horde rule, the rise of Moscow and Ivan III's united state.
The globe flies from place to place and the timeline from year to year. Every step has its own link — handy for showing it in class.
Tour steps
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862 The calling of the Varangians
According to the Primary Chronicle, the Slovenes, Krivichs and Chud invite the Varangian Rurik to rule them. Chronicle tradition dates the beginning of Rus' and of the Rurikid dynasty, which ruled for over seven centuries, to this event.
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882 Oleg in Kiev
Prince Oleg seizes Kiev and makes it his capital, the “mother of Rus' cities”. The union of Novgorod and Kiev is traditionally seen as the beginning of the Old Rus' state.
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911 The treaty with Byzantium
After a campaign against Constantinople, Oleg wins a treaty giving Rus' merchants the right to trade there free of duty. Its text is the oldest surviving monument of Rus' law.
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988 The Christianisation of Rus'
Grand Prince Vladimir adopts Christianity in its Byzantine form and has the people of Kiev baptised in the Dnieper. Rus' joins the Orthodox world, with its writing, art and church.
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1016–1037 Yaroslav the Wise
The first law code, the Russkaya Pravda, which limited blood feuds, is associated with the reign of Yaroslav the Wise. In Kiev he founds the Cathedral of Saint Sophia, named after the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.
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1113 The Chronicle and Monomakh
Around 1113 the monk Nestor compiles earlier records into the Primary Chronicle. That same year the people of Kiev call Vladimir Monomakh to the throne, and he briefly restores the unity of Rus'.
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1147 “Come to me, brother, in Moskov”
Rus' has broken up into rival principalities. Under the year 1147 a chronicle tells how Prince Yuri Dolgoruky of Suzdal invites an ally to Moscow, the first mention of the future capital.
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1237–1240 Batu's invasion
Khan Batu's army sacks Ryazan, Vladimir and many other towns, and in 1240 takes Kiev. The Rus' principalities fall under the overlordship of the Golden Horde.
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1240–1242 Alexander Nevsky
In the north-west, Prince Alexander of Novgorod defeats the Swedes on the Neva, and in 1242 the knights of the Livonian Order on the ice of Lake Peipus.
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1325 Ivan Kalita
Ivan Kalita becomes Prince of Moscow, and Metropolitan Peter moves his seat to the city. With the Horde's patent for the grand principality and the right to collect tribute, Ivan I lays the foundations of Moscow's rise.
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1380 Battle of Kulikovo
The armies of the Rus' principalities under Dmitry of Moscow defeat Mamai's host. Horde rule is not over yet, but Moscow becomes the recognised centre for uniting the Russian lands.
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1478 The end of the Novgorod Republic
Novgorod surrenders to Ivan III: its assembly is abolished and its veche bell taken to Moscow. Annexing the vast Novgorod lands is a key step towards a united Russian state.
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1480 The Stand on the Ugra
The armies of Ivan III and Khan Akhmat face each other across the Ugra for weeks, and Akhmat withdraws without a battle. This is traditionally seen as the end of Horde rule.
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1485–1497 Ivan III's state
Italian masters build the brick walls and towers of the Moscow Kremlin that still stand today. The law code of 1497 sets a single order of justice for the whole country.