Russia and the United States
The Beginnings
THE BEGINNINGS
Almost two hundred years before Leif
Eriksson, the Viking explorer, reached the
mainland of North America, Viking ships
were sailing down the river networks of
Russia. Just as Leif Eriksson and his
followers found America occupied by
Native Americans, so also the Viking
leader Rurik encountered Slavic tribes
who !"tad already settled along the
Russian rivers. The advantages of living
beside such rivers as the Dnieper and the
Duna had long been recognized by the
native Slavic peoples. By shipping the
products of the north-slaves, amber, furs,
wax, and honey-downriver to the fabulous
city of Constantinople, the Vikings
discovered that they could
trade for valuable spices and fabrics
from the East.
Vikings settled along the rivers of Russia
and traded with the Byzantine Empire.
Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire, which had
survived the downfall of the empire in the West in the fifth century. The Byzantine Empire
preserved the best of Roman civilization while mixing it with Greek and Middle Eastern culture.
Byzantium was to have a huge impact on the development of Russian culture and religion.
We have no written records of Russian history until the eleventh century, four hundred years
after the founding of Russia took place. We do know, however, that the Vikings valued their
contacts with Byzantium'so much that they constructed fortified sites along the rivers to control
the trade routes. The Varangians, the name given to the Vikings by the eventually conquered
Slavs, established rule over the settlements surrounding the rivers. They called their new home
Rus, from which the name Russia is derived, but it was not a single state. Rus was made up of
several separate principalities, all ruled by princes who claimed to be descended from Rurik.
Trade remained important, and it was the principality of Kiev's access to Byzantium that
eventually enabled it to dominate the other principalities. Kiev became the chief city in Russia
and remained in the forefront for the next three hundred years.
It was through Kiev that Byzantine culture influenced Russia. In 988 A.D. Prince Vladimir of
Kiev decided to make his principality Byzantine Orthodox Christian. He ordered all his subjects to
be baptized into the new faith or risk his displeasure. Along with the religion, Kiev also adopted
the alphabet, art, architecture, and customs of the fading Byzantine Empire. Vladimir's decision
had two important effects on the future of Russia. First, the church in Russia remained closely
allied with the prince. Second, the Russian people identified themselves culturally with the
Byzantine East instead of western Europe.
In the thirteenth century, however, Kiev's domination was suddenly eclipsed by the fastmoving armies of the Mongols. Under the leadership of Genghis Khan these terrifying warriors,
armed with bows made of bone and mounted on short, shaggy, but tough horses,
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The Beginnings
Russia and the United States
breached the Great Wall of China in the east and swept westward into Central Asi~. Later, under
Genghis Khan's grandson, Batu, all of Rus fell under the control of the Mongols or, as the
Russians called them, the Tatars.
The Tatars, however, were mainly interested in loot. They chose not to rule Russia directly
but allowed the Russian princes to manage the day-to-day affairs, providing the princes paid
tribute in the form of taxes, custom duties, fees, and tolls to the Great Khan. Competition among
the princes was stiff over who was to possess the iarlyk, or the Tatar authorization to manage
the tribute system.
When the Tatar invasion began, many townspeople and peasants fled into the northern
woods and settled in small principalities that previously had enjoyed little economic or political
importance. In time, some of these principalities became as important as Kiev. One of these was
Moskva (Moscow), whose rulers lived in a mighty fortress called the Kremlin. The princes of
Moskva managed to become the holders of the iarlyk and thus laid the foundation for their later
domination of Russia.
ARCTIC OCEAN
EARLY
RUSSIA
MEDITERRANIAN SEA
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