Where did Russia come from? - Alex Gendler

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Russia is the biggest country in the world, spanning one-eighth of the earth’s landmass. But where did it all begin? Alex Gendler explores the epic history of the Kievan Rus, where characters ranging from Viking raiders and Western crusaders to Byzantine missionaries and Mongol hordes all played a role to create a unique civilization standing at the crossroads of culture and geography.

Lesson by Alex Gendler, animation by Draško Ivezić.

Where did Russia come from,

why is it so big,

and what are the differences
between it and its neighbors?

The answers lie in an epic story
of seafaring warriors,

nomadic invaders,

and the rise and fall of a medieval state
known as Kievan Rus.

In the first millennium,

a large group of tribes spread through
the dense woodlands of Eastern Europe.

Because they had no writing system,

much of what we know about them
comes from three main sources:

archaeological evidence,

accounts from literate scholars
of the Roman Empire and the Middle East,

and, lastly, an epic history called
the Primary Chronicle

compiled in the 12th century
by a monk named Nestor.

What they tell us is that these tribes
who shared a common Slavic language

and polytheistic religion

had by the 7th century split into
western, southern and eastern branches,

the latter stretching from
the Dniester River

to the Volga and the Baltic Sea.

As Nestor's story goes, after years of
subjugation by Vikings from the north,

who, by the way, did not wear
horned helmets in battle,

the region's tribes revolted
and drove back the Northmen,

but left to their own devices,
they turned on each other.

Such chaos ensued that, ironically,

the tribes reached out to the foreigners
they had just expelled,

inviting them to return
and establish order.

The Vikings accepted, sending a prince
named Rurik and his two brothers to rule.

With Rurik's son, Oleg,
expanding his realm into the south,

and moving the capitol to Kiev,

a former outpost of the Khazar Empire,

the Kievan Rus was born,

"Rus" most likely deriving from
an old Norse word for "the men who row."

The new princedom had complex relations
with its neighbors,

alternating between alliance and warfare
with the Khazar and Byzantine Empires,

as well as neighboring tribes.

Religion played an important
role in politics,

and as the legend goes, in 987,

the Rus prince Vladamir I decided
it was time to abandon Slavic paganism,

and sent emissaries
to explore neighboring faiths.

Put off by Islam's prohibition on alcohol

and Judaism's expulsion
from its holy land,

the ruler settled on Orthodox Christianity

after hearing odd accounts
of its ceremonies.

With Vladimir's conversion and marriage
to the Byzantine emperor's sister,

as well as continued trade
along the Volga route,

the relationship between
the two civilizations deepened.

Byzantine missionaries created an alphabet
for Slavic languages

based on a modified Greek script

while Rus Viking warriors served as the
Byzantine Emperor's elite guard.

For several generations,

the Kievan Rus flourished
from its rich resources and trade.

Its noblemen and noblewomen married
prominent European rulers,

while residents of some cities
enjoyed great culture,

literacy, and even democratic freedoms
uncommon for the time.

But nothing lasts forever.

Fratricidal disputes over succession
began to erode central power

as increasingly independent cities
ruled by rival princes vied for control.

The Fourth Crusade
and decline of Constantinople

devastated the trade integral
to Rus wealth and power,

while Teutonic crusaders
threatened northern territories.

The final blow, however, would
come from the east.

Consumed by their squabbles,

Rus princes paid little attention
to the rumors

of a mysterious unstoppable hoard

until 1237, when 35,000 mounted
archers led by Batu Khan

swept through the Rus cities,

sacking Kiev before continuing
on to Hungary and Poland.

The age of Kievan Rus had come to an end,
its people now divided.

In the east, which remained
under Mongol rule,

a remote trading post, known as Moscow,

would grow to challenge
the power of the Khans,

conquering parts
of their fragmenting empire,

and, in many ways, succeeding it.

As it absorbed other
eastern Rus territories,

it reclaimed the old name
in its Greek form, Ruscia.

Meanwhile, the western regions
whose leaders had avoided destruction

through political maneuvering
until the hoard withdrew

came under the influence of Poland
and Lithuania.

For the next few centuries,

the former lands of Kievan Rus

populated by Slavs,

ruled by Vikings,

taught by Greeks,

and split by Mongols

would develop differences in society,
culture and language

that remain to the present day.