Rus’ (????, [rus?]) was a medieval East Slavic nation, which, according to the most popular (but by no means only) theory, may have taken its name from a ruling warrior class, possibly with Scandinavian roots. The Slavic Rus’ people were the historical predecessors of modern Belarusians, Russians, and Ukrainians. The name of the Rus’ survived in the cognates Russians, Belarusians, Rusyns, and Ruthenians. The East Slavs are the ethnic group that evolved into the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples. ... Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region centered on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe and includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. ... Rusyns, also called Ruthenians, Ruthenes, Rusins, Carpatho-Rusins, and Russniaks, are a modern group of ethnic groups that speak the Rusyn language and are descended from the minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt a Ukrainian national identity and become Ukrainians in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ... Ruthenians is a name that has been applied to different ethnic groups at different times; for an explanation of the reasons for this, see Ruthenia. ...

The origins of the Rus as the warrior class are controversial. The question is whether Scandinavia civilization owes an element of its cultural origin to the Rus rulers of the 9th – 11th centuries. It is only implied by the Normanist theory, that was vice versa, or whether that heritage may be attributed exclusively to the Slavs. Whereas some Western historians still hold to the Normanist theory, many Slavic and PCT scholars take strong exception to it and show continiuos origins. Some take the view that the word Rus was not ethnically specific, but rather, like Viking in the west or Varangian in the east, designated an occupation ("merchant/raider/mercenary"). These occupations were filled mostly by Norsemen at first and Slavs later on. The Vikings spread M17 gene coming from Slovianic roots.^[1][2] Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region centered on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe and includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. ... As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was that century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... The origins of the Rus (or Rus , Русь) are controversial. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ... The Paleolithic Continuity Theory (PCT) suggests that the Indo-European languages originated in Europe and have existed there since the Paleolithic. ... The term Viking commonly denotes the ship-borne warriors and traders of Norsemen (literally, men from the north) who originated in Scandinavia and raided the coasts of the British Isles and mainland Europe as far east as the Volga River in Russia from the late 8th–11th century. ... The Varangians (Russian: Variags, Варяги) were Scandinavians who travelled eastwards, mainly from Jutland and Sweden. ... Norseman redirects here; for the town of the same name see Norseman, Western Australia. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... In human genetics, Haplogroup R1a1 (M17) is a Y-chromosome haplogroup, that is spread across Eurasia. ...

as show map C^[3].

Ultimately at stake in this controversy are culture and heritage. The question is whether East Slavic civilization owes an element of its cultural origin to the Scandinavian rulers of the 9th – 11th centuries, as implied by the Normanist theory, or whether that heritage may be attributed exclusively to the Slavs, as the Slavists would have it. Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region centered on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe and includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. ... As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was that century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ...

Key sources

Slavonic sources

According to the earliest East Slavic chronicle, the Rus' was a group of Varangians who lived on the other side of the Baltic Sea, in Scandinavia. The Varangians were first expelled, then invited to rule the warring Slavic and Finnic tribes of Novgorod: The Russian Primary Chronicle (Russian: Повесть временных лет, Povest vremennykh let, which is often translated in English as Tale of Bygone Years), is a history of the early East Slavic state, Kievan Rus, from... The Varangians (Russian: Variags, Варяги) were Scandinavians who travelled eastwards, mainly from Jutland and Sweden. ... The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. ... Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ... Finnic peoples (Fennic, sometimes Baltic-Finnic) refers to a group of related ethnic groups and nations speaking Finnic languages (also known as Balto-Finnic languages). ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ...

The four tribes who had been forced to pay tribute to the Varangians - Chuds, Slavs, Merians, and Krivichs drove the Varangians back beyond the sea, refused to pay them further tribute, and set out to govern themselves. But there was no law among them, and tribe rose against tribe. Discord thus ensued among them, and they began to war one against the other. They said to themselves, "Let us seek a prince who may rule over us, and judge us according to custom. Thus they went overseas to the Varangians, to the Rus. These particular Varangians were known as Rus, just as some are called Swedes, and others Normans and Angles, and still others Gotlanders, for they were thus named. The Chuds, the Slavs, the Krivichs and the Veps then said to the Rus, "Our land is great and rich, but there is no order in it. Come reign as princes, rule over us". Three brothers, with their kinfolk, were selected. They brought with them all the Rus and migrated (The Primary Chronicle, 879-902.

Later, the Primary Chronicle tells us, they conquered Kiev and created the state of Kievan Rus' (which, as most historians agree, was preceded by the Rus' Khaganate). The territory they conquered was named after them as were the local people eventually(see Etymology of Rus and derivatives for further details). Chud is a term referring to urban homeless people, especially those who dwell in the tunnels, sewers and subway corridors beneath New York City. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... The Meryas were a probably Finno-Ugric tribe which lived in the region of Moscow, Rostov, Kostroma, Jaroslavl and Vladimir. ... Kriwi  album cover The Krivichs (Кривичи́ in Russian, Крывічы́ in Belarusian or Krivichi), a tribe of Early East Slavs between the 6th and the 12th centuries, which inhabited the upper reaches of the Volga, Dnieper, Western Dvina, the southern part of the Lake Peipus and parts of the Neman basin. ... Norman conquests in red. ... White cliffs of Dover in England White cliffs of Rugen down the Baltic coast from Schleswig The Angles is a modern English word for a Germanic-speaking people who took their name from the cultural ancestor of Angeln, a modern district located in Schleswig, Germany. ...   is a county and province of Sweden and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. ... Veps language, spoken by Vepses, belongs to the Baltic-Finnic group of the Finno-Ugric languages. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587. ... Kievan Rus′ was an early, mostly East Slavic[1] state dominated by the city of Kiev from about 880 to the middle of the 12th century. ... The Rus Khaganate is a poorly-documented period in the history of East Slavs (roughly the late eighth and early to mid ninth centuries CE). ... Originally Rus (Русь, Rus’) was a medieval country and state that comprised mostly Early East Slavs. ...

Islamic sources

Ibn Haukal and two other Arabian sources (as well as Idrisi who followed them later) distinguish three groups of the Rus: Kuyavia, Slavia, and Arcania. In the mainstream Russian-Soviet historiography (as represented by Boris Rybakov), these were tentatively identified with the "tribal centres" at Kiev, Novgorod and Tmutarakan. 10th century map of the World by Ibn Hawqal. ... Al-Idrisis world map from 1154. ... Boris Alexandrovich Rybakov (1908-2001) was an orthodox Soviet historian who personified the anti-Normanist vision of Russian history. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... Tmutarakan is an ancient city that controlled the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. ...

The Arabian traveller, Ibn Fadlan, who visited Volga Bulgaria in 922, described the Rus (Rusiyyah) in the terms strongly suggestive of the Norsemen: Ahmad ibn-al-Abbas ibn Rashid ibn-Hammad ibn-Fadlan (Aḥmad ʿibn alʿAbbās ʿibn Rasẖīd ʿibn ḥammād ʿibn Fadlān أحمد ابن العبا&#1587... Volga Bulgaria or Volga-Kama Bolghar, is a historic state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers in what is now the Russian Federation. ... Events Births Deaths March 26 - Al-Hallaj, Sufi writer and teacher Categories: 922 ...

I have seen the Rus as they came on their merchant journeys and encamped by the Itil. I have never seen more perfect physical specimens, tall as date palms, blond and ruddy; they wear neither tunics nor caftans, but the men wear a garment which covers one side of the body and leaves a hand free. Each man has an axe, a sword, and a knife, and keeps each by him at all times. The swords are broad and grooved, of Frankish sort. Each woman wears on either breast a box of iron, silver, copper, or gold; the value of the box indicates the wealth of the husband. Each box has a ring from which depends a knife. The women wear neck-rings of gold and silver. Their most prized ornaments are green glass beads. They string them as necklaces for their women.^[4]

Apart from Ibn Fadlan's account, the Normanist theory draws heavily on the evidence of the Persian traveler Ibn Rustah who allegedly visited Novgorod (or Tmutarakan, according to George Vernadsky) and described how the Rus' exploited the Slavs. For other meanings of the word Volga see Volga (disambiguation) Волга Length 3,690 km Elevation of the source 225 m Average discharge  ? m³/s Area watershed 1. ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... Ibn Rustah (in Persian: ابن رسته) was a 10th century Persian explorer and geographer born in Rosta district, Isfahan, Persia (See Encyclopaedia Iranica [1]). He wrote a geographical compendium. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... Tmutarakan is an ancient city that controlled the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. ... A History of Russia by George Verdansky George Vernadsky (1887-1973) (Russian: Георгий Вернадский) an American historian and an author of numerous books on Russian history. ...

As for the Rus, they live on an island ...that takes three days to walk round and is covered with thick undergrowth and forests; it is most unhealthy....They harry the Slavs, using ships to reach them; they carry them off as slaves and...sell them. They have no fields but simply live on what they get from the Slav's lands....When a son is born, the father will go up to the newborn baby, sword in hand; throwing it down, he says, "I shall not leave you with any property: You have only what you can provide with this weapon." (Ibn Rustah, according to the National Geographic, March 1985)

In Ibn Khordadbeh's account, the Rus are described as "a kind of the Saqaliba", a term usually used to refer to Slavs, and anti-Normanist scholars have interpreted this passage as indicative of the Rus being Slavs rather than Scandinavians. In the interpretation of the Normanist scholars, the word Saqaliba was also frequently applied to all fair-haired, ruddy-complexioned population of Central, Eastern, and Northeastern Europe, indicating that the Arab authors did not distinguish sharply between the Slavs and the Rus. Ibn Rustah (in Persian: ابن رسته) was a 10th century Persian explorer and geographer born in Rosta district, Isfahan, Persia (See Encyclopaedia Iranica [1]). He wrote a geographical compendium. ... The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ... Abul Qasim UbaidAllah ibn Khordadbeh (c. ... In the medieval Arab world, the term Saqaliba (سقالبة, sg. ...

Greek sources

When the Varangians first appeared in Constantinople (Paphlagonian expedition of the Rus, Siege of Constantinople (860)), the Byzantines seem to have perceived the Rhos (Greek: ???) as a different people from the Slavs. At least they are never said to be part of the Slavic race. Characteristically, pseudo-Symeon Magister refers to the Ros as ???µ?ta?, a word derived from the Greek verb "to flee", suggesting the mobility of their movement by waterways. Map of Constantinople. ... The Paphlagonian expedition of the Rus is documented in the Life of St. ... Combatants Roman (Byzantine) Empire Rus Commanders Michael III Askold and Dir? Strength Unknown Unknown Casualties Unknown Unknown The Rus raid against Constantinople in 860 is the only major military expedition of the Khaganate of Rus recorded in Greek and Western European sources. ... A dugout is a boat which is basically a hollowed tree trunk. ...

In his treatise De Administrando Imperio, Constantine VII describes the Rhos as the neighbours of Pechenegs who buy from the latter cows, horses, and sheep "because neither of these animals may be found in Rosia". His description represents the Rus as a warlike northern tribe. Constantine also enumerates the names of the Dniepr cataracts in both Rhos and in Slavic languages. The Rhos names have distinct Germanic etymology: De Administrando Imperio is the commonly used title of a scholarly work from ca. ... Constantine and his mother Zoë. Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, the Purple-born (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Ζ΄ Πορφυρογέννητος, Kōnstantinos VII PorphyrogennÄ“tos), (Constantinople, September 905 – November 9, 959 in Constantinople) was the son of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife Zoe Karbonopsina. ... Pechenegs or Patzinaks, also known as Besenyők, were a semi-nomadic steppes people of Central Asia that spoke a Turkic language. ... The Dnieper River (Belarusian: Дняпро/Dnyapro; Russian: Днепр/Dnepr; Ukrainian: Днiпро/Dnipro; Polish: Dniepr; Latin: Borysthenes, Danaper) is a river (2290 km length) which flows from Russia through Belarus and then Ukraine. ...

• Essoupi (Old Norse vesuppi, "do not sleep")
• Oulvorsi (Old Norse holmfors, "island rapid")
• Gelandri (Old Norse gjallandi, "yelling, loudly ringing")
• Aeifor (Old Norse eiforr, "ever fierce")
• Varouforos (Old Norse varufors, "cliff rapid" or barufors, "wave rapid")
• Leanti (Old Norse leandi, "seething", or hlaejandi, "laughing")
• Stroukoun (Old Norse strukum, "rapid current").

Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ...

Western European sources

The first Western European source to mention the Rus is the annals of Saint Bertan which relate that Emperor Louis the Pious' court in Ingelheim, 839 (the same year as the first appearance of Varangians in Constantinople), was visited by a delegation from the Byzantine emperor. In this delegation there were two men who called themselves Rhos (Rhos vocari dicebant). Louis enquired about their origins and learnt that they were Swedes. Fearing that they were spies for their brothers, the Danes, he incarcerated them. Subsequently, in the 10th and 11th centuries, Latin sources routinely confused the Rus with the extinct East Germanic tribe of Rugians. Olga of Kiev, for instance, was designated in one manuscript as a Rugian queen (regina Rugorum). The Annales Bertiniani, or Annals of St. ... Louis the Pious, contemporary depiction from 826 as a miles Christi (soldier of Christ), with a poem of Rabanus Maurus overlaid. ... Ingelheim am Rhein is the administrative centre of the Mainz-Bingen local government district, situated on the left bank of the Rhine within the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The town has approx. ... Events Louis the Pious attempts to divide his empire among his sons. ... The Varangians (Russian: Variags, Варяги) were Scandinavians who travelled eastwards, mainly from Jutland and Sweden. ... Map of Constantinople. ... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... The Rugians (Latin rugii) were an East Germanic tribe whose ultimate origins have been traced to Rogaland in Norway, whose population probably was the Rugii that Jordanes mentioned as a tribe that still remained in Scandza. ... Baptism of Princess Olga. ...

Archaeological evidence

Staraya Ladoga Riurikovo Gorodishche The fortress of Ladoga was built in stone in the 12th century and rebuilt 400 years later. ...

Normanist theory

Map showing Varangian settlement (in red) and location of Slavic tribes (in grey), mid ninth century CE. Khazar influence indicated with blue outline.

The "Normanist" theory suggests that Kievan Rus' may have been named after its Scandinavian ruling elite, much as was the case with Normandy. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 528 pixel Image in higher resolution (922 × 609 pixel, file size: 742 KB, MIME type: image/png) Map showing the distribution of early Varangian settlement, mid-ninth century CE. Varangian settlements shown in red, other Scandinavian settlement in purple. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 528 pixel Image in higher resolution (922 × 609 pixel, file size: 742 KB, MIME type: image/png) Map showing the distribution of early Varangian settlement, mid-ninth century CE. Varangian settlements shown in red, other Scandinavian settlement in purple. ... Kievan Rus′ was an early, mostly East Slavic[1] state dominated by the city of Kiev from about 880 to the middle of the 12th century. ... Flag of Normandy Normandy (in French: Normandie, and in Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region in northern France. ...

The proponents of this theory claim that the name Rus, like the Finnish name for Sweden, is derived from an Old Norse term for "the men who row" (rods-) as rowing was the main method of navigating the Russian rivers, and that it is linked to the Swedish province of Roslagen (Rus-law) or Roden, from which most Varangians came. The name Rus would then have the same origin as the Finnish and Estonian names for Swedes: Ruotsi and Rootsi. Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... Roslagen is the name of the coastal areas of Uplandia in Sweden, which also constitutes the northern part of the Stockholm Archipelago. ... The Varangians (Russian: Variags, Варяги) were Scandinavians who travelled eastwards, mainly from Jutland and Sweden. ...

It has been suggested that the Vikings had some enduring influence in Rus, as testified by loan words, such as yabeda "complaining person" (from aembaetti "office"), skot "cattle" (from skattr "tax") and knout (from knutr, "a knotty wood"). Moreover three Nordic names of the first Varangian rulers also became popular among the later Rurikids and then among the East Slavic people in general: Oleg (Helgi), Olga (Helga) and Igor (Ingvar). A knout (rhymes with boot) is a heavy scourge-like whip, usually made of a bunch of rawhide thongs attached to a long handle, sometimes with metal wire or hooks incorporated. ... Prince Oleg ( Norse name Helgu) was the East Slavic ruler who moved the capital of Rus from Novgorod the Great to Kiev. ... OLGA is an acronym for On-line Guitar Archive [1], the oldest internet library of guitar and bass tablature, or tabs. Born from a collection of guitarist internet-forum archives, it has been a useful resource for musicians for over a decade. ... Igor is a given name derived from the Scandinavian name Ingyar, that was brought to ancient Russia by the Vikings (Ingvar or Yngvar). ...

The Normanist theory was first elaborated by the German historian Gerhardt Friedrich Müller (1705-1783), who was invited to work in the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1748. At the beginning of his notorious speech from 1749, Müller declared that the "glorious Scandinavians conquered all the Russian lands with their victorious arms", but now researcher using new methods to trace geneology finding the genetic ancestors of Slaves dominated Viking elite.^{[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]} As the rest of the speech represented a lengthy list of Russian defeats by the Germans and Swedes, Müller was forced to curtail his lecture by shouts from the audience. The scathing criticism from Lomonosov, Krasheninnikov, and other academicians led to Müller being forced to suspend his work on the issue until Lomonosov's death. Although the printed text of the original lecture was destroyed, Miller managed to rework it and had it reprinted as Origines Rossicae in 1768. Gerhardt Friedrich Müller (1705-1783) was a historian and ethnologist who studied Russia, Siberia, Mongolia and China in Leipzig, Germany and Saint Petersburg, Russia. ... Russian Academy of Sciences: main building Russian Academy of Sciences (Росси́йская Акаде́мия Нау́к) is the national academy of Russia. ... Events April 24 - A congress assembles at Aix-la-Chapelle with the intent to conclude the struggle known as the War of Austrian Succession - at October 18 - The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle is signed to end the war Adam Smith begins to deliver public lectures in Edinburgh Building of... Events While in debtors prison, John Cleland writes Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure). ... The name Lomonosov may refer to: Mikhail Lomonosov, a polymath and writer of Imperial Russia Lomonosov Gold Medal, an annual award given by the Russian Academy of Sciences Lomonosov, Russia, a city named for Mikhail Lomonosov (formerly Oranienbaum) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other... Stepan P. Krasheninnikov Stepan Petrovich Krasheninnikov (1711 - 1755) was a Russian explorer and geographer who gave the first full description of Kamchatka in the early eighteenth century. ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Other notable proponents of the "Normanist theory" of the Russian state — including Nikolai Karamzin (1766-1826) and his disciple Mikhail Pogodin (1800-75) — gave credit to the claims of the Primary Chronicle that the Varangians were invited by East Slavs to rule over them and bring order. The theory was not without political implications. In Karamzin's writing the Normanist theory formed the basis and justification for Russian autocracy (as opposed to anarchy of the pre-Rurikid period), and Pogodin used the theory to advance his view that Russia was immune to social upheavals and revolutions, because the Russian state originated from a voluntary treaty between the people of Novgorod and Varangian rulers. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (December 1, 1766--1826) a Russian author credited with reforming the Russian literary language. ... Mikhail Petrovich Pogodin (Russian: , 1800-1875) was a Russian historian and journalist who dominated the national historiography between the death of Nikolay Karamzin in 1826 and the rise of Sergey Solovyov in the 1850s. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... The Varangians (Russian: Variags, Варяги) were Scandinavians who travelled eastwards, mainly from Jutland and Sweden. ...

Antinormanist theories

Starting with Lomonosov, scholars from Eastern Europe have criticised the Normanist theory. During the imperial period, Karamzin's and Pogodin's official views were disputed by the more liberal sectors of Russian society and by some Polish historians. In the early 20th century, the traditional anti-Normanist doctrine (as articulated by Dmitry Ilovaisky) seemed to have lost currency. However, the Normanist rhetoric was abused by Goebbels during the Soviet-German War and, in the eyes of the Soviet authorities, the theory was discredited forever. The war over, the anti-Normanist arguments were revived and adopted in official Soviet historiography. Mikhail Artamonov ranks among those who attempted to reconcile both theories by hypothesizing that the Kievan state united the southern Rus (of Slavic stock) and the northern Rus (of Germanic stock) into a single nation. The name Lomonosov may refer to: Mikhail Lomonosov, a polymath and writer of Imperial Russia Lomonosov Gold Medal, an annual award given by the Russian Academy of Sciences Lomonosov, Russia, a city named for Mikhail Lomonosov (formerly Oranienbaum) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other... Map of Eastern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange),members of the Warsaw pact (light orange), and other former Communist regimes not aligned with Moscow (lightest orange). ... Dmitry Ivanovich Ilovaisky (1832-1920) was an anti-Normanist Russian historian who penned a number of standard history textbooks. ... Joseph Goebbels Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels (October 29, 1897 – May 1, 1945) was Adolf Hitlers Propaganda Minister (see Propagandaministerium) in Nazi Germany. ... The Eastern Front of World War II was the theatre of war covering the conflict in central and eastern European regions from June 1941 to May 1945. ... The site of the Khazar fortress of Sarkel, which was discovered and excavated by Artamonov in the 1930s. ...

The staunchest advocate of the anti-Normanist views in the post-WWII period was Boris Rybakov, who argued that the cultural level of the Varangians could not have warranted an invitation from the equally culturally advanced Slavs. This conclusion leads Slavicists to deny or reinterpret the Primary Chronicle, which claims that the Varangian Rus' were "invited". Rybakov assumes that Nestor, putative author of the Chronicle, was biased against the pro-Greek party of Vladimir Monomakh and supported the pro-Scandinavian party of the ruling prince Svyatopolk. He cites Nestor's factual inaccuracies as pro-Scandinavian manipulations and compares his account of Rurik's invitation with numerous similar stories found in folklore around the world. Boris Alexandrovich Rybakov (1908-2001) was an orthodox Soviet historian who personified the anti-Normanist vision of Russian history. ... Mark Antokolski Nestor the Chronicler Nestor (c. ... Volodymyr Monomakh (Ukrainian: Володимир Мономах; Russian: Владимир Мономах; Christian name Vasiliy, or Basil) (1053 -- May 19, 1125) was the ruler of Kievan Rus. ... Mosaic of St. ...

Quite a few alternative, non-Normanist origins for the word Rus have been postulated by Sigismund von Herberstein, Ilovaisky, Rybakov, and others, although none was endorsed in the academic mainstream: Siegmund (Sigismund) Freiherr von Herberstein[1], (or Baron Sigismund von Herberstein), (August 23, 1486—March 28, 1566), Austrian diplomat, writer and historian. ...

• From the Old Slavic name that meant "river-people" (tribes of fishermen and ploughmen who settled near the rivers Dnieper, Don, Dniester and Western Dvina and were known to navigate them). The rus root is preserved in the modern Slavic and Russian words "ruslo" (river-bed), "rusalka" (water sprite), etc.
• From one of two rivers in Ukraine (near Kiev and Pereyaslav), Ros' and Rusna, whose names are derived from a postulated Slavic term for water, akin to rosa (dew) (related to the above theory).
• A Slavic word rusy (refers only to hair color - from dark ash-blond to light-brown), cognate with ryzhy (red-haired) and English red.
• A postulated proto-Slavic word for bear, cognate with Greek arctos and Latin ursus.
• The Sarmatian tribe of the Roxolani (from the Persian, rokhs ‘light’; R ????? ?????? /rusyje volosy/ "light-brown hair"; cf. Dahl's dictionary definition of ???? /rus/: ???? ?. ? ????. ???, ???????. Rus, fig. world, universe [???????: lit. "white world", "white light"]).
• The modern Finnish word "Ruotsi" means Sweden and refers to the swedish people ("Ruotsalainen") which in turn is very similar to the Slavic word "Rus" and could be historically connected.^[10]

According to F. Donald Logan (The Vikings in History, cit. Montgomery, p. 24), "in 839, the Rus' were Swedes. In 1043, the Rus' were Slavs." The Scandinavians were completely absorbed and, unlike their brethren in England and in Normandy, they left little cultural heritage in Eastern Europe. This almost complete absence of cultural traces (besides several names, as discussed above, and arguably the veche-system of Novgorod, comparable Seym and to later ocured thing in Scandinavia), is remarkable, and the Slavicists therefore call the Vikings "cultural chameleons", who came, ruled and then disappeared, leaving little cultural trace in Eastern Europe. This seems to suggest that these Rus' were a relatively small group. Much simpler explanation is that the 'Rus' were an independent tribe or group that then spread to Scandinavia, as has been explored in DNA analysis. However, DNA can not be manipulated in living persons but manipulating of text was possible and perhaps manipulation occurred by author who wanted made glorious past to peripheral Scandinavia. Espetialy when we take into account the wars occuring in the time the Norman theories was devised. In Slavic languages "nora" means "animal earth tunnel-set". Normans a people who live in nora. In fact the norse houses are build due to climatic and material constrains in fasion similar to nora. This article is about the river. ... The Don (Дон) is one of the major rivers of Russia. ... The Dniester (Ukrainian: , translit. ... The Daugava or Western Dvina (Russian: За́падная Двина́, Belarusan: Дзьвіна́, Latvian: Daugava, German: Düna, Polish Dźwina) is a river rising in the Valdai Hills flowing through Russia... Rusalka may refer to: Rusalkas, Slavic water nymphs. ... The term water sprite or water faery may refer to a creature of general lore which resembles a human female, but is the color of the sea. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587. ... Pereyaslav is the former name of towns in Ukraine and Russia: Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi in Ukraine. ... Ros (Ukrainian and Russian: Рось, Ros) is a river in Ukraine, a right tributary of the Dnieper. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Sarmatia Europea in Scythia map 1697 AD Sarmatia Europæa separated from Sarmatia Asiatica by the Tanais (the River Don), based on Greek literary sources, in a map printed in London, ca 1770 Great steppe in early spring. ... Rhoxolani were Sarmatian tribes that migrated in the 3rd and 4th century BC from the territories north of Azov Sea toward the Danube, in what is now the Baragan steppes in Romania. ... Persian (Local names: فارسی Fârsi or پارسی Pârsi)* is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan as well as by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... Dahls portrait by Perov Vladimir Ivanovich Dal (also: Dahl, Владимир Иванович Даль) (November 10, 1801 – September 22, 1872) was the greatest Russian lexicographer. ... Events Louis the Pious attempts to divide his empire among his sons. ... // Events Edward the Confessor crowned King of England at Winchester Cathedral. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 967 AD  Area  -  Total 130,395 km²  50,346 sq mi  Population  -  2006 estimate... Flag of Normandy Normandy (in French: Normandie, and in Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region in northern France. ... Removal of the veche bell from Novgorod to Moscow in 1478. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... Seym (also transliterated as Seim and Sejm, in Russian and Ukrainian: ) is a river in Russia and Ukraine. ... A thing or ting (Old Norse and Icelandic: þing; other modern Scandinavian: ting) was the governing assembly in Germanic societies, made up of the free men of the community and presided by lawspeakers. ... The term Viking commonly denotes the ship-borne warriors and traders of Norsemen (literally, men from the north) who originated in Scandinavia and raided the coasts of the British Isles and mainland Europe as far east as the Volga River in Russia from the late 8th–11th century. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the development and function of living organisms. ...

References

1. ^ Passarino, G; Cavalleri GL, Lin AA, Cavalli-Sforza LL, Borresen-Dale AL, Underhill PA (2002). "Different genetic components in the Norwegian population revealed by the analysis of mtDNA and Y chromosome polymorphisms". Eur. J. Hum. Genet. 10 (9): 521-9. PMID 12173029. 
2. ^ Capelli, C; Redhead N, Abernethy JK, Gratrix F, Wilson JF, Moen T, Hervig T, Richards M, Stumpf MP, Underhill PA, Bradshaw P, Shaha A, Thomas MG, Bradman N, Goldstein DB (2003). "A Y chromosome census of the British Isles". Current Biology 13 (11): 979-84. PMID 12781138. 
3. ^ High-Resolution Phylogenetic Analysis of Southeastern Europe Traces Major Episodes of Paternal Gene Flow Among Slavic Populations; Marijana Perii &all url: http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/22/10/1964
4. ^ Quoted from: Gwyn Jones. A History of the Vikings. Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-19-280134-1. Page 164.
5. ^ http://www.relativegenetics.com/genomics/images/haploMaps/originals/R1a_large_RG.jpg
6. ^ Pericic, M; Lauc LB, Klaric IM, Rootsi S, Janicijevic B, Rudan I, Terzic R, Colak I, Kvesic A, Popovic D, Sijacki A, Behluli I, Dordevic D, Efremovska L, Bajec DD, Stefanovic BD, Villems R, Rudan P (2005). "High-resolution phylogenetic analysis of southeastern Europe traces major episodes of paternal gene flow among Slavic populations". Mol. Biol. Evol. 22 (10): 1964-75. PMID 15944443.  Haplogroup frequency data in table 1
7. ^ Semino, A; Passarino G, Oefner PJ, Lin AA, Arbuzova S, Beckman LE, De Benedictis G, Francalacci P, Kouvatsi A, Limborska S, Marcikiae M, Mika A, Mika B, Primorac D, Santachiara-Benerecetti AS, Cavalli-Sforza LL, Underhill PA (2000). "The Genetic Legacy of Paleolithic Homo sapiens sapiens in Extant Europeans: A Y Chromosome Perspective". Science 290: 1155-1159. PMID 11073453. 
8. ^ [1]
9. ^ Pawlowski, R; Dettlaff-Kakol A, Maciejewska A, Paszkowska R, Reichert M, Jezierski G (2002). "Population genetics of 9 Y-chromosome STR loci in Northern Poland". Arch Med Sadowej Kryminol. 52 (4): 261-77. PMID 14669672.  (in Polish; English abstract)
10. ^ Christian 334; Goehrke 157-162.

Literature

• The Annals of Saint-Bertin, transl. Janet L. Nelson, Ninth-Century Histories 1 (Manchester and New York, 1991).
• Davies, Norman. Europe: A History New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
• Christian, David. A History of Russia, Mongolia, and Central Asia. Blackwell, 1999.
• Dolukhanov, Pavel M. The Early Slavs: Eastern Europe from the Initial Settlement to the Kievan Rus. New York: Longman, 1996.
• Duczko, Wladyslaw. Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe (The Northern World; 12). Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2004 (hardcover, ISBN 90-04-13874-9).
• Goehrke, C. Frühzeit des Ostslaven. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1992.
• Magocsi, Paul R. A History of Ukraine. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996.
• Pritsak, Omeljan. The Origin of Rus'. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1991.
• Stang, Hakon. The Naming of Russia. Oslo: Middelelser, 1996.
• Gerard Miller as the author of the Normanist theory (Brockhaus and Efron)

Norman Davies, Warsaw (Poland), October 7, 2004 Norman Davies (born June 8, 1939 in Bolton, Lancashire) is an English historian of Welsh descent, noted for his publications on the history of Poland, Europe and the British Isles. ... Omeljan Pritsak (b. ... Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (35 volumes, small; 86 (?) volumes, large) was published in Imperial Russia in 1890-1906. ...

External links

• Ibn Fadlan and the Rusiyyah, by James E. Montgomery, with full translation of Ibn Fadlan
• An overview of the controversy