History glossary
Kievan Rus
a medieval state centered on Kyiv, linking Slavic, Norse, Byzantine, and steppe worlds.
- Category
- Medieval state
- Region
- Modern Ukraine, Belarus, and western Russia
- Date range
- c. ninth-thirteenth centuries
What it means
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity centered on Kyiv, now the capital of Ukraine. It connected river trade routes between the Baltic and Black Seas, absorbed Norse and Slavic influences, adopted Orthodox Christianity, and shaped later Ukrainian, Russian, and Belarusian histories.
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