Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

9 results found

Rurik

(Encyclopedia)Rurik ro͞oˈrĭk [key], d. 879, semilegendary Varangian warrior, regarded as the founder of the princely dynasty of Kievan Rus. Rurik and his two brothers, at the head of an armed band, apparently se...

Varangians

(Encyclopedia)Varangians vərănˈjēənz [key], name given by Slavs and Byzantine Greeks to Scandinavians who began to raid the eastern shores of the Baltic and penetrate Eastern Europe by the 9th cent. Their lead...

Igor, d. 945, duke of Kiev

(Encyclopedia)Igor ēˈkhər [key], d. 945, duke of Kiev (912–45), successor of Oleg as ruler of Kievan Rus. According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, a medieval history, Igor was the son of Rurik, founder of t...

Oleg

(Encyclopedia)Oleg ôlĕkhˈ [key], d. c.912, founder of Kievan Rus. Succeeding his kinsman Rurik as leader of the Varangians at Novgorod, Oleg led forth his retainers to seize Kiev (c.879). He made Kiev his capita...

Novgorod

(Encyclopedia)Novgorod nôvˈgərət [key], city (1989 pop. 229,000), capital of Novgorod region, NW European Russia, on the Volkhov River near the point where it leaves Lake Ilmen. Novgorod's industries produce ch...

Kievan Rus

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Kievan Rus (c.1000) Kievan Rus kēˈĕfən [key], medieval state of the Eastern Slavs. It was the earliest predecessor of modern Ukraine and Russia. Flourishing from the 10th to the 13th cent....

Russian and Soviet Rulers since 1462 (table)

(Encyclopedia)Russian and Soviet Rulers since 1462(including dates of rule) House of Rurik House of Godunov Usurpers House of Romanov Provisional Government(premiers) Soviet Russia (1917–22) and the U...

Vikings

(Encyclopedia)Vikings, Scandinavian warriors who raided the coasts of Europe and the British Isles from the 9th cent. to the 11th cent. In their language, the word “viking” originally meant a journey, as for tr...

Russia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 CE5 Russia, officially the Russian Federation, Rus. Rossiya, republic (2015 est. pop. 143,888,000), 6,591,100 sq mi (17,070,949 sq km). The largest country in the world by area, Russia is bou...

Browse by Subject