Slavs, Varangians, and the Rise of Rus

A number of events occurred during the first quarter of the 9th century, which would signal a sharp break with past practice. The flow of silver dirhams to Eastern Europe ceased, introducing a shortage of silver currency that would reach all the way to the Baltic region.

The Varangians from beyond the sea imposed tribute (tax) upon the Chuds (Finnish tribes), the Slavs, the Merians, the Ves (Finnish tribes) and Krivichi (Slavic tribe). But the Khazars im­posed it upon the Polyanians, the Severians, and the Vyatichians (Slavic tribes), and collected a white squirrel skin from each hearth.

This much quoted passage from the Kyiv Primary Chron­icle written some two centuries after the fact is often taken that The Rus” were Scandinavians who had migrated to ""Novgorod” (which did not exist at the time). Elsewhere the Chronicle also reports that the great raid on Constantinople of860 (stated in­correctly as 863-66) was led by the Scandinavians (Varangians) Askhold and Dir of Kyiv, and it is at times taken as a ""typical Viking raid.” This, however, is highly unlikely if the Chronicle is correct that the Varangians were driven out of ""Novgorod” (Staraia Ladoga) at this time. A force which was unable to hold a Slavic town certainly could not have mounted the expedition such as appeared before the walls of Constantinople. The force that attacked the area around Constantinople was mainly Slavic with Scandinavians and Finns probably taking part.

According to Normanists, the East Slavic “Rus” is a borrowing ei­ther directly from Scandinavian, where we find such terms as the Old Icelandic “ropps-menn,” “raps-karlar” (oarsmen, seamen) and the Swedish “Ros-lagen” (the coastal area of Uppland, across the Baltic from the Gulf of Finland) or, what is likelier, from Finnish, where “Ruotsi” (West Finnic “Rotsi”) is the name of Sweden and ^aRuotsalainen^w denotes a Swede. In this explanation, the people who in Slavic were called “Rus,” in Greek “Rhos,” and in Arabic “Rus” were Norsemen involved in trade with the Ori­ent and Byzantium.³⁵

An early reference to “Rhos” is found in the Carolingian annals of St. Bertin, an abbey near Constance. An embassy from Constantinople sent by Emperor Theophiles in 839 arrived at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Pious, at In­gelheim on the Rhine.

(Emperor Theophiles) sent with them (the embassy) some men who called themselves, that is the people to which they be­longed, Rhos. According to them, their king, called Chacanus sent them to (Theophiles) in friendship.... The Emperor asked in his letter that Louis graciously give them permission and help to return to their country... because the roads by which they had traveled to Constantinople fell into the hands of the barbar­ian and exceedingly wild tribes.... Having diligently investigated the reasons for their arrival, the emperor (Louis) established that they belonged to the people of the Sueni (Swedes).³⁶

“Chacanus” was a corruption of Kagan, a Turkic king with a higher status and more powerful than a Slavic “kniaz” or prince, and as such was at times used in Eastern Europe to designate a Grand Prince.

Early references to Rus can also be found in the Muslim literature of the IOth century, such as the writing of Ibn-Dast.

Between the country of the Badzhaks (Pechenegs) and the coun­try of the Slavs there is ten day s distance; at the beginning of the Slav Countryis the city of Kuyab (Kyiv).... The country of the Slavs is a flat and woody land; they live in the woods, too.... If a son is born unto a family, the father takes a naked sword, places it before the newly-born infant and says: “I leave you no inheri­tance except this sword, and you will have but that which you will be able to conquer with it.” They have a great number of cities which are quite dispersed.³⁷

An eyewitness account was left by the geographer ibn- Rusta dating to the 970s.

I have seen (a tradepost) of the Rus as they came on their mer­chant journey and encamped by the Atil (Volga). Never have I seen a people of such perfect physique. They are as tall as date- palms and reddish in colour. They wear neither coat nor kaftan, but each man carries a cape, which covers one half of his body, leaving one hand free. No one is ever parted from his axe, sword and knife. Their swords are broad and grooved of the Frankish sort. They are the filthiest of God’s creatures... as lousy as don­keys. They arrive from their distant lands and lay their ships alongside the banks of the Volga... and there they build big houses on its shore. On beaching their vessels each man goes ashore carrying bread, meat, onions, milk and “nabid” and takes these to a large post with a face like that of a man (Perun, Slav God of War) surrounded by smaller figures, and behind them are tall poles set in the ground. Each man prostrates himself before the large post and recites; “O Lord, I have come from distant parts with so many girls, so many sable furs (and whatever other commodities he carries).” I now bring you this offering.... Please send me a merchant who has many dinars and who will trade favourably with me.³⁸

Not onlywere “the Rus” not a Norse tribe (or some other grouping as described in the Kyiv Chronicle) but the term has nothing to do with Scandinavians as such, who were referred to as “Varangians” by the eastern Slavs.

Written in the Ilth century in Kyiv by the monk Nestor (and copied many times), the Chronicle has been responsible for much speculation. It begins with the biblical account of the origin of the world and the human race, and proceeds to describe the origin and geographical distribution of the Slavic tribes. The account of Rurik being Invitedbythepeople of Nov­gorod (sic) to “... seek a prince who may rule over us and judge us according to the law” is, interestingly, similar to the biblical story of the people of Israel inviting an outsider to rule over them (Book of Samuel).³⁹ It must also be kept in mind that the Kyiv Chronicle was intended as a record of the Rurik Dynasty and the Kyiv State. It simply establishes Rurik (and his two brothers) as the legitimate prince and not some chieftain of a band of men hired by the merchants of “Novgorod” (Staraia Ladoga) to provide military protection and civic order. The in­correct identification of “the Rus” as Scandinavians could also have been made intentionally to satisfy a bias of the Rurik Dy­nasty. With time, the princely descendants of Rurik began to distance themselves from the common population—not only were they a different class, they were also a different people.

It is possible to reconstruct the events that led to Ruriks arrival in the northern Slavic lands. Fueled by overpopulation and civilwar in Scandinavia, the presence of surplus manpower equipped with fast maneuverable longboats had become a com­mon occurrence in the Baltic. These were a new type of pro­fessional military units which did not exist among the Slavic, Finnish, or Lithuanian populations. While some hired them­selves out for pay others became bent on conquest; we know that the king of Denmark occupied parts OfLatvian-Lithuanian territory early in the 9th century. The Primary Chronicle also states that the inhabitants of Novgorod (Staraia Lodoga), with the neighboring Finnish tribes were forced to pay tribute to the Varangians before they were driven out. Having expelled an oc­cupying force, the merchants of Staraia Ladoga would need mil­itary mercenaries for protection, such as that offered by Rurik and his two brothers. The manufacturing-trading emporia had maintained much of the traditional Slavic democratic practices in the form of the town assembly or “Veche” which decided all matters of importance. The protective force was to reside outside of the town, since we know that about 890 Rurik built his own stronghold, “Rurikovo Gorodishche” (Ruriks Fortress) on Lake Ilmen. Before that in 870, after several years Rurikleft Staraia Ladoga and during his three-year absence an uprising broke out led by Vadim the Brave. It was defeated by Rurik on his return but it must have been of some magnitude, since ex­cavations reveal that Staraia Ladoga was completely burned down about this time.

If “the Rus” cannot be identified with Scandinavia, the same cannotbe said of “the Varangians.” Based on archaeology and the historic record we can offer an explanation of the Varangians and their first recorded chief, Rurik. Although there is no mention of a people or a tribe by that name in any Norse saga or record, the term “Varagi” is of Scandinavian origin and first appears in medieval east Slavic literature. Were the Varan­gians exclusively Scandinavians? Probably not, judging from the name “Rurik” which could very well have been of Slavic ori­gin. It may have denoted a man from Rerik, the Slavic empor­ium destroyed by the Danish king around 800. Ruriks brother, Sineus, has an even more Slavic name, literally meaning “blue mustache.” What is significant is also that neither Ruriknor his brothers had any difficulties Conversingwith the Slavs of “Nov­gorod.” The term “Varag,” however, is generally accepted to be of Germanic origin although given the similarities between the Indo-European languages this cannot be certain. In old Norse “varig” meant “an ally,” or someone who had sworn an oath of alliance or friendship. Also, “waroegi” in Old Norse (“vaeringi” in Old Icelandic) meant “those who seek protection” or “those who find shelter,” with the same meaning given to the Old En­glish “waergenga.” In Frankish Germanic a Strangerwas also re­ferred to as a “wargensus.” A version of the Primary Chronicle describes the Varangians by a Slavic word which meant “those who came from outside.” What cannot be done, however, is to equate the Varangians with the Vikings of western Europe as is commonly done in some popular expositions.

The second major argument offered for the Normanist hypothesis lies in linguistics. The term Rus, it is claimed, is de­rived from the Finish “Ruotsi” which means “rowers.”⁴⁰ Apart from the fact that the terms exhibit little resemblance to each other, it is difficult to see why a Finnish word would be used by Slavs to denote Scandinavians, or why the Iatterwould choose a Finnish word to describe themselves. Also, Finnish was not spoken in the south (the territory around Kyiv and Chernihiv) to which the term “Rus” applied. The Swedish area of “Ros- lagen” is closer, but there is no lack of similar names—for ex­ample the Danish town of Roskilde, the Slavic settlement of “Russen” in Polabia, and the southern French territory of “Rousillon.”

What then is the origin of the proper noun “Rus”? It is of southern and not northern origin, and designates a location or territory rather than a people. The linguistic confusion is prob­ably the most telling argument against the Normanist hypothe­sis and seems to arise from the introduction of the article “the” as in “the Rus.” Slavic languages do not have articles, and to des­ignate a people suffixes such as “Rusky,” “Rusov” or “Rusin” are used to mean “of Rus” and “Rusian.”⁴¹ The fact that Rus was mainly a Slavic land is noted by the 9th century Persian post­master general ibn Khurardadbih, who was probably also re­sponsible for gathering intelligence for the Caliphate. In his “The Book of Routes and Realms” he writes:

The Rus merchants are a sort of Saqaliba (Slavs). They take beaver skins and the pelts of polar foxes, and swords from the most distant parts of the Slav country to the sea of the Rum (Black Sea), and the tithe is levied on them by the king of Rum. If they wish, they go along the Don, the river of the Slavs, and go through the straits of the capital of the Khazars, their ruler levies the tithe.⁴²

The Slavs were well known in the Muslim world from the be­ginning of the 7th century, when they were conducting wars with Constantinople and the Khazars. Many slaves sold in the Muslim markets were Slavs, and they also provided the prae­torian guard of the Umayyad Caliphs of Cordoba, Spain.

IfRus was a territory, then where was it located? Medieval chronicles are consistent when referring to it and when indi­cating its location which identify Rus to be in north central Ukraine. Thus we have, in chronological order⁴³;

1018: “After collecting Rusins, Varangians and Slavs (tribes­men, or alternatively Slovenians), Yaroslav marched forth against Boleslav (of Poland) and Sviatopolk (his brother), and upon arriving at Volyn (northwestern Ukraine) they camped on both sides of the river Bug.” 1132: “In this year Vsevolod went forth (from Novgorod) to

Rus, to Pereyaslav” (Ukraine, east of the Dnipro River). 1140: “Mstislav, Prince of Kyiv, summoned the Prince of Po­latsk (Belarus) to Rus.”

1141: “Fleeing from Novgorod, Sviataslav went to Rus, to his brother.”

1145: “The whole land of Rus marched forth against Galich” (Galicia, now western Ukraine).

1148: “Rostislav arrived... with all the troops of Rus and Smolensk.”

1149: “Neither I (Yuri, Prince of Rostov and Suzdal) nor my children have any share in the land of Rus.”

1152: “Prince Izyaslav (of Kyiv) met the King of Hungary, and they went away, the king to his country, Hungary, and Izyaslav to the land of Rus.”

1152: “Yuri went forth with the men of Rostov, Suzdal and Ryazan... to Rus.”

1155: “When Grand Prince Iuri Dolgoruky of Suzdal learned that his nephew... had passed away he began to con­sider campaigning in Rus: and, preparing his army, he marched into Rus.”

1175: “The men of Rostov and Suzdal had assembled in Vladi­mir on the Klyasma River to hold council as to whom they should elect as Kniaz (Prince). ^tOur nearest neigh­bours are the Princes of Murom and Ryazan, but we fear their cunning... (their envoys) should go to Rus to ask for a Kniaz.’”

1175: (Prince Michael left Vladimir on the Klyasma) “and went forth to Rus, and the people of Vladimir accompanied him with lamentation.”

1180: “Prince Sviatoslav, son of Vsevolod... marched from Rus to Suzdal.”

1193: “Sviatoslav sent his envoys to Rurik (to Ovruch) and said to him: come now to Rus...’ Rurik... came with all his troops to Rus.”

1202: “Roman, having gathered the troops of Galich and Vladimir invaded the land of Rus.”

1231: “Danilo (Prince Daniel of Galicia) captured the town of Torchesk, belonging to the land of Rus.”

A direct description of Rus is also provided by the Kyiv Primary Chronicle: “Yaroslav recruited many soldiers and ar­rived at Kyiv, where he made peace with his brother Mstislav near Gorodets. They divided Rus according to the course of the Dnipro. Yaroslav took the Kyiv side and Mstislav the other.”⁴⁴

The “land of Rus” occupied a specific area and location and was identified as such right up to the sack of Kyiv by the Mongols in the middle of the 13th century. The territory con­sisted of what is today north-central Ukraine and southern Be­larus, with the three medieval cities of Kyiv, Chenihiv and Pereyaslav. It is incorrect therefore to refer to the entire eastern Slavic territory as “Rus” or “Russia,” particularly since the latter name was only introduced in the 18th century. Far from being of Scandinavian origin, the name “Rus,” together with the north-central Ukrainian rivers such as the “Ros,” “Rsha,” “Rusa” and “Ruska” predate Slavic presence, and is of Sarmatian origin. This is also the case for the other major rivers in the eastern prairies such as the Don, Donets, Dnipro (Don Prau) and the Danube, as well as many place names. The Ukrainian prairies were occupied by the Roxolani tribes, the Rokhs-Alani or the Western Alans, the term being derived from “rakh” (“rokh”) meaning “white” or “light,” and could also have meant “west,” as the western tributary of the Dnipro which was referred to as “Ros.” The relationship between light and the prairie setting sun was of importance to the sun worshipping Roxolani who, incidentally, also gave their name to the Rousillon region of south-western France. Their influence on the Slavs can still be seen in Ukrainian and Russian names such as “Roxoliana,” “Rox­ana” and “Ruslan,” to name but a few. Also Polish records writ­ten in Latin refer to the people of Rus as “Roxolani.” Their pres­ence in early Rus is indicated by burial mounds such as the ChornaMohila (BlackGrave) mound excavated during 1872- 74 in the Chernihivprovince of Ukraine. Itwas a typical prairie kurgan, some 11 yards tall and 40 yards in diameter and covered the remains of a wooden funeral house which contained the burnt remains of an adult male, a female, and a young warrior. It contained two sets of swords, helmets, scale armor, a saddle, spears, arrowheads and knives, as well as a drinking horn with decorative mythical mount-reliefs and a Scythian-Sarmatian cauldron.

The nature of the Norse presence amongst the eastern Slavs can also be seen from archaeology. Most of the Scandi­navian grave finds date from about 930 onwards, mainly in spe­cific clusters in the north and the northeast. Cemeteries are found around Novgorod and Pskov in the Ladoga region, the upper Volga around Jaroslavl and north of Lake Nero, and around the city of Suzdal. Rich Scandinavian artifacts and burials have been unearthed in the Gnezdovo-Smolensk area, but Onlyisolated finds in Rus itself around Kyiv and Chenihiv. Most of the finds are made in frontier areas around Kyiv, just where one would expect to find task forces.⁴⁵ Not all Scandina­vians were mercenaries, however, since some served in the Princes’ retinues, who themselves were part Scandinavian through intermarriage. Other Norse were merchants trading with the Muslim and Christian civilizations whose presence was probably taken as evidence that “the Rus” were exclusively a Scandinavian people. With trade between Rus and the Eastern Roman Empire showing a sharp increase towards the end of the IOth century most of the merchandise heading north was

passing through the Black Sea and Kyiv. It is not surprising therefore that Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus would have learned of Scandinavian names for some of the rapids on the Dnipro River, together with their Slavic equivalents (see Chapter 5). Again, their description as being “Rus” does not imply ethnicity but Simplythat they were Scandinavians trading on behalf of the Rus prince or his relations, or were simply members of his retinue. Scandinavians also had their own names for Slavic towns and territory. Novgorod, for example, was known as Holmgard (island Stronghold), Ladoga as Aldeigaborg, while the Slavic lands were generally referred to as “Gardarike” (Realm of Strongholds). An important feature of the 9th century was the growth of towns in the Slavic tribal areas. Many of the walled strongholds began to take part in trade and the storing of merchandise, and metalworking was followed by handicrafts as a common activity in the defended enclosures. At first the towns grew their own produce but with time they began to specialize in non-agricultural production. We know that from the beginning of the 8th CenturyPskovhad become an urban center, and during the 9th century Rostov sprang up on Lake Nero while Gnezdovo (Smolensk) was al­ready a citadel inhabited by craftsmen and traders by the 9th century. Other fortified enclosures also began to spring up in the tribal areas. As we saw the fortress which was strategically located on the Dnipro River would be destined to grow into one of the greatest cities in Europe, the metropolis of Kyiv.

On the level of east European culture, Norman elements are even less significant. Scandinavian terms in Ukrainian (or Bielorusian), once supposed to be numerous, actually number only six or seven known words. Russian and Old Ukrainian terms dealing with navigation often came from Greek, and those related to trade were usually Slavic or Oriental. To quote N. Ri- asanovsky:

Written literature in Kiev preceded written literature in Scandi­navia, and it experienced clear Byzantine and Bulgarian rather than Nordic influences... persistent efforts to Iinkit to the Scan­dinavian epics fail to carry conviction. Claims of Norman contri­butions to Russian (that is, Kyivan Rus) law have suffered a fi­asco; while at one time scholars believed in the Scandinavian foundation ofRussian (Kyivan Rus) jurisprudence, it has in fact proved impossible to trace elements of Kievan law back to Nor­man prototypes. Similarly there is no sound evidence for Nor­man influence on Kievan paganism.⁴⁶

Scandinavia located in the far north lay much father from centers of civilization than did north central Ukraine and South­ern Belarus. The culture of Kievan Rus developed more richly and rapidly than that of Scandinavia, be it written literature, written law, the minting of coins or architecture. All of these made their appearance in Kiev a considerable time before their arrival in Scandinavia. And given the contacts between the two cultures, that of Kyiv-Rus must have had an important influence on Scandinavian development.