Rurik takes power at Novgorod
A Scandinavian warband gives its name, Rus, to the state that becomes Russia and Ukraine
Quick facts
- Location
- Novgorod
- Date
- c. 862 CE
- Leader
- Rurik
- Primary source
- Russian Primary Chronicle (12th century)
What happened
According to the Rus Primary Chronicle, quarreling Slavic and Finnic tribes around Novgorod invited a Varangian, or Scandinavian, leader named Rurik to rule them and keep order. Rurik settled at Novgorod while two associates, Sineus and Truvor, took Beloozero and Izborsk, and the surrounding district became known as the land of Rus. Two of Rurik's men, Askold and Dir, later broke off to raid toward Constantinople and seized a hilltop town called Kiev on the way, starting an independent Rus foothold there.
Why it matters
This is the founding moment the Rurik Dynasty later claimed, and Rus, the name given to these Scandinavian settlers by their Slavic neighbors, is the root of both Russia and Ukraine's names. The scholarly debate over how much Scandinavian versus Slavic input built the resulting state, known as the Normanist controversy, remains unresolved and politically charged.
How we know
The account comes from the Russian Primary Chronicle, compiled by monks in Kiev in the 12th century, more than 250 years after the events it describes, so the story of Rurik's invitation is treated by historians as a later origin legend rather than a contemporary record.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Kievan Rus · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- World History Encyclopedia. Kievan Rus · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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