Their origin and identity are much in dispute. Traditional Western scholars believe them to be Scandinavian Vikings, an offshoot of the
Vikings founded Kievan Rus in the mid-9th century, but Scandanavian settlements in Eastern Europe actually date back to at least A.D. 750. This is when pre-Viking-Age Scandanavians likely settled the northwestern Russian town of Staraya Ladoga (or “Old Ladoga”), across Lake Ladoga from what is now Finland.
Rurik, also spelled Rorik or Hrorekr, Russian Ryurik, (died ad 879), the semilegendary founder of the Rurik dynasty of Kievan Rus. Rurik was a Viking, or Varangian, prince.
Swedish Vikings and the Eastern World – Vikings in Russia
There are evidence for that a East Slavic empire was created by Vikings in Russia. A Viking called Oleg in Russian. This information comes from the “The Russian Primary Chronicle” that tells about Oleg and the foundation of Kievan Rus.
From about 1500 BC a group of people called the Slavs settled into the area which is now Poland and Western Russia. Although they were often under threat from other groups who wanted their land, they held their ground there until the arrival of the Vikings in the 9th century.
The Russians were formed from East Slavic tribes, and their cultural ancestry is based in Kievan Rus'. Genetically, the majority of Russians are identical to their East and West Slavic counterparts, unlike Northern Russians, who belong to the Northern European Baltic gene pool.
According to the traditional account presented in The Russian Primary Chronicle, it was founded by the Viking Oleg, ruler of Novgorod from about 879. In 882 he seized Smolensk and Kiev, and the latter city, owing to its strategic location on the Dnieper River, became the capital of Kievan Rus.
However, the 'Russian Primary Chronicle' claims that Kyiv was founded by the Viking king, Rurik. The National Historical Museum of Ukraine was founded in 1899 to house archaeological artefacts.
The events of 1066 in England effectively marked the end of the Viking Age. By that time, all of the Scandinavian kingdoms were Christian, and what remained of Viking “culture” was being absorbed into the culture of Christian Europe.
At the battle of Ashdown in 871, Alfred routed the Viking army in a fiercely fought uphill assault.
The Swedish Vikings in particular travelled eastwards. From the trading town of Birka and from Gotland they sailed across the Baltic, then along the East European and Russian rivers, reaching as far as the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
The Varangians, as they were known in Russia, became feudal lords and the name of their tribe, the Rus, gave Russia its name just as Normandy was named after the Normans. Soon Rurik's descendants and other Varangians adopted the Russian language and merged into Russian society, creating the Russian state.
No, the Vikings did not invade China. Since the Vikings travelled principally on water, it would have been very difficult for them to launch a substantial attack on China, as it was thousands of miles away.
Yes, there were Viking settlements in Germany. In fact, Vikings didn't just settle in Germany, but they conducted a lot of raids on the land along the Rhine River. These raids moved far along the North Sea Coast to the borderlands of Scandinavia.
While the oldest endonyms were Rus' (Russian: Русь) and the Rus' land or Russian land (Russian: Русская земля), a new form of its name, Rusia or Russia, appeared in the 15th century, and became common thereafter.
Historians say that the Finno-Ugric people were the first inhabitants of Russia, with many of our customs and fairytales descending from their civilization: the cult of ancestors, the love of forests and villages, our patience and communality.
For almost 100 years, parts of north, east and central England were ruled by Norsemen. The area retains a strong Viking legacy to this day. If you've looked into the Viking Age in the past, you've likely come across the term Danelaw.
Early research said the exodus was due to many problems, including climate change, a lack of management, economic collapse and social stratification. Temperature change has often been cited as an explanation for the end of the Vikings, so let's take a closer look.
Vikings worked long hours, carrying, and using heavy equipment which contributed to the formation of muscles, even from an early age. Another reason for the significant strength of the Vikings was their diet. Vikings were mostly hunters, not gatherers, due to their cold, harsh environment.
While both Ukrainians and Russians consider themselves Orthodox Slavs, Rurik, the founding father of the Kievan Rus' dynasty, which goes back to the 9th Century, was a pagan Viking.
Ukraine and Russia go back to Kievan Rus, a medieval Viking federation that ruled first from Novgorod to the north, and then from Kyiv. Its territory included what is now Ukraine, Belarus and part of Russia. Kievan Rus meant “the land of the Rus”. The word “Russia” derives from Rus.
During the Viking Age, one of Europe's most important trade and communication routes between Scandinavia and Constantinople went through what are now the battlefields in Ukraine.
While right-bank Ukraine belonged to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until late 1793, left-bank Ukraine had been incorporated into Tsardom of Russia in 1667 (under the Treaty of Andrusovo).
The average height of Vikings as found by researchers and scholars, varied depending on a number of factors, including their age and gender. Typically, the average male Viking would usually be between 5 foot 7 and 5 foot 9, while the average female would be between 5 foot 1 and 5 foot 3.
The battle is a severe and crippling defeat for the Vikings, as Bjorn seemingly dies and King Harald is badly injured, paving the way for further Rus progress towards Norway. Both sides suffered relatively heavy losses.