RAC: Lesson - Kievan Rus
Kievan Rus
Kievan Rus and the Impact of the Vikings
The Kievan Rus Empire is the origin of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. While the city Kyiv (also historically spelled Kiev) was founded around the fall of Western Rome, the empire of Kievan Rus grew under the influence of Viking colonies along the Volga River. Those Viking descendants collected taxes and slaves from nearby areas to build up their power. One of the most notable and prosperous cities in this era was Novgorod. Historians have even found a young boy’s “homework” from there (see image below), which demonstrates that the people were educated (and that children have always doodled in their schoolwork!).
Left Image: Onfim’s homework of Cyrillic letters and 2 figures, written on birch bark.
Right Image: Early Cyrillic Alphabet. Of the 45 characters, 13 look like modern English letters, although they are not always used in the same way.
Byzantine Impact on Russia
One of the Byzantine Empire’s largest neighbors was Kievan Rus. The Byzantine Emperor sent missionaries Cyril and Methodius to convert the empire to Christianity. Ultimately, the Kievan ruler Vladimir did convert to Christianity in 988 (in part because the Arab Islamic missionaries forbade wine and pork and in large part because he had to be Christian to marry a Byzantine princess). This led to Kievan Rus adopting the Cyrillic alphabet (see image above), Byzantine-style Christianity, Roman law, as well as Western-style art. Kievan Rus grew in trade and international influence. While Kievan Rus and the Byzantine Empire sometimes fought, the Byzantine Empire remained the dominant influence on what is now Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia for over 200 years. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the Russian leadership adopted the Roman title Caesar (spelled Czar or Tsar) and the idea that they were protectors of Orthodox Christianity.
Mongol Impact on Russia
As the Mongols swept through Asia, they sent emissaries to Kyiv. According to some sources, the Kievan Rus made a terrible tactical error: they killed the Mongol emissaries out of fear of an attack. However, this enraged the Mongols. The Golden Horde (led by Genghis Khan’s grandson) attacked Kyiv and other major cities but spared Novgorod. People were slaughtered and palaces, churches, and other buildings were destroyed. The political city councils were also halted in favor of Mongol rule – but the Orthodox church still grew in power: remember that the Mongols allowed religious tolerance. For the next 200 years, the Orthodox church grew in power and dominated Kievan Rus’s artistic and literary styles.
Moscow was initially a small town in the Kievan Rus empire. However, after it was destroyed by the Mongols, Prince Ivan of Moscow decided to help the Mongols attack surrounding ethnic groups. Moscow was rewarded and grew in wealth and importance. As the Golden Horde lost power, Moscow gained even more power until Prince Dimitry twice defeated the Mongols in 1376 and again in 1380. Even though they fell to Mongol rule again, it showed the people of the empire that Moscow was strong, and when they achieved independence in the late 15th century, it was Moscow, not Novgorod, that became the capital of an empire that would one day become Russia.
This is Andrei Rublev's famous icon of the Holy Trinity. Even though this was created while the Mongols controlled the area, all figures wear Roman/Byzantine-style clothing and are depicted with European features in a style similar to other European Medieval painters.
[CC BY 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION