The calling of the Varangians to Russia is truth and fiction

The Old Russian state, whose signs appeared in the 8th century, began to form in the 9th century with the direct participation of numerous unions of Slavic tribes, as well as the peoples of their surrounding. The territory of settlement of the eastern Slavs was caught on both sides from the north on the border with the ilmen Slavs inhabited by warlike Vikings or as they were called in the Varangians in Russia, in the south the Khazar Khaganate was located , whose tribute was compelled to pay a glade. Therefore, the vocation of the Varangians to Russia had pragmatic goals.

The birth of the dynasty of Rurik

At the turn of the century, the meadow on the southern borders freed Khazars from power, stopped paying tribute to them, and a state formation arose with the capital in Kiev. At the same time in the north, Novgorod claimed the dominant influence in the all-Russian process of state building. Thus, the rivalry between the two centers of ancient Rus comes to the forefront, each of which wanted to lead the emerging state. Slavic reality did not allow the princes to choose the most worthy, any of them did not want to give in, especially in the north. There the princes waged feuds for power, then to stop the eternal rivalry, it was decided to call on the veche an outsider who would not have been involved in the local Novgorod disputes over power. The choice fell on the Varangian Rurik with his brothers. The year of vocation of the Varangians to Rus coincided with the beginning of another cruel round of struggle in Novgorod, which accelerated the appearance of the Varangians within ancient Rus.

The chronicle describes in detail that the vocation of the Varangians to Rus had positive consequences for the subsequent development of the state. According to the "Tale of Bygone Years" in the Slavic lands appeared three brothers Varangian Rurik, Sineus and Truvor. The first of them began to rule in Ladoga, and then in Novgorod, Sineus reigned in Beloozero, and the third brother in Izborsk. After the death of the brothers, Rurik subordinated their possessions to his power, and soon the entire north-west was conquered by this man. The call of the Varangians to Rus, the date of this event is determined by historians in 862, when written evidence of this event also appears. It would not have been important in itself, but the events that followed have completely changed the map of Europe and the destinies of many peoples and rulers.

North wins the South

The call of the Varangians to Russia intensified the struggle between the two Russian centers for supremacy. Varangians and their squads had a rich combat experience. If Rurik concentrated his efforts on the creation of a well-organized state machine, his successors already thought about expanding their influence. This involved a relative of Rurik Oleg, who in 882 by cunning and pressure managed to capture Kiev and establish itself in it. However, attempts to portray the Varangians as the founders of the Slavic statehood are completely meaningless, for it arises in view of certain processes within society itself. Another thing is important: the vocation of the Varangians to Russia became the impetus for the emergence of a single centralized ancient Russian state.