The Rise of Kyivan Rus: A Local Process, Not a 'Varangian Gift'

What this myth is about

The question of the origins of Rus is one of the most politically charged in history. There are two extreme positions:

The “Norman theory” (formulated by German scholars of the 18th century, Bayer, Müller, Schlözer): the Slavs were “savage” and incapable of creating a state, so the “civilised” Scandinavian Varangians created it for them.

The “anti-Norman theory” (Lomonosov and later Russian historians): the Varangians were of no significance; the state was created exclusively by Slavs (with the implication that these were “Rus” = Russian Slavs).

Both extremes are wrong. Modern scholarship offers a far more complex and interesting picture.

What existed before the Varangians?

Slavic societies of the Dnipro region

Long before the arrival of the Varangians, developed Slavic societies existed on the territory of modern Ukraine:

The Zarubyntsi culture (3rd century BCE – 2nd century CE) and the Cherniakhiv culture (2nd–5th centuries CE) — archaeological cultures of the Dnipro region — demonstrated:

• Advanced agriculture and metallurgy
• Trade with the Roman Empire
• High-quality pottery production
• Complex social organisation

Tribal unions (6th–8th centuries):

• Polianians — around Kyiv, the most developed tribe
• Derevlianians — west of Kyiv
• Siverian — on the Left Bank of the Dnipro
• Ulichians, Tiverians — in the southwest

The Primary Chronicle describes the Polianians as a tribe that already had cities (including Kyiv), their own princes, and an advanced culture before the Varangians arrived:

“The Polianians… were wise and prudent men… and their customs were meek and quiet.”

The legend of the founding of Kyiv

The chronicle tells of Kyiv being founded by three brothers — Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv — and their sister Lybid. Regardless of the historical truth of this legend, archaeology confirms that Kyiv existed as a fortified settlement at least from the 5th–6th century — several centuries before the Varangians.

Archaeologist Petro Tolochko documented continuous habitation of the Kyiv hills from the 5th century. On Old Kyiv Hill, Castle Hill, and Podil, remains of residential and defensive structures have been found dating to before the 8th century.

Trade before the Varangians

The Dnipro region was integrated into international trade long before Scandinavian influence:

• Roman coins of the 1st–4th centuries have been found throughout the Dnipro region
• Byzantine goods of the 6th–7th centuries are present in the archaeological layers of Kyiv
• The Dnipro trade route was functioning before the Varangians

The role of the Varangians: catalysts, not creators

What the Varangians brought

The Scandinavian newcomers (8th–9th centuries) did make an important contribution:

• Military organisation — experienced warriors and seafarers
• Trade connections — the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” via the Dnipro to Byzantium
• A dynastic element — the Rurik dynasty (though some scholars dispute its Scandinavian origin)

But this was not a one-sided process. The Varangians:

• Quickly assimilated with the Slavic population — already the second generation bore Slavic names (Sviatoslav, Volodymyr)
• Adopted the Slavic language — Old Rus is a Slavic, not a Scandinavian, language
• Adopted local customs — including the legal system and religious practices
• Moved the centre of power to Kyiv — i.e., they submitted to the logic of local development

Oleh and the transfer of the capital to Kyiv (882)

The chronicle date for the founding of Kyivan Rus is 882, when Prince Oleh moved the capital from Novgorod to Kyiv with the words:

“Let this be the mother of all Rus cities.”

Why did Oleh choose Kyiv rather than remain in Novgorod? Because:

• Kyiv was economically more powerful — it controlled the Dnipro trade route
• Kyiv was geographically more advantageous — closer to Byzantium, the main trading partner
• The Polianians had a more developed social organisation
• Kyiv was already an important city with its own history

A Varangian conqueror himself acknowledged Kyiv’s primacy. This contradicts the idea that the Varangians “brought civilisation to savages.”

Comparison with other countries

The process of Rus formation was typical of early medieval Europe:

Country	External element	Local foundation
England	Normans (1066)	Anglo-Saxon culture
France	Franks (5th century)	Gallo-Roman culture
Rus	Varangians (9th century)	Slavic culture of the Dnipro region
Bulgaria	Bulgars (7th century)	Slavic culture
Normandy	Vikings (10th century)	Frankish culture

In none of these cases did the external conquerors “create” a state from nothing — they led processes that were already underway.

Archaeological evidence

Kyiv vs Novgorod

Archaeology clearly shows that Kyiv was more developed than Novgorod in the early period:

• Kyiv has continuous habitation from the 5th century, Novgorod from the 10th
• The first stone buildings in Rus — in Kyiv (the Church of the Tithes, 989)
• The first coin finds — in the Dnipro region
• The population density of the Dnipro region was higher than the Ilmen lake region

Ladoga and Novgorod

Scandinavian presence in the north (Ladoga, Novgorod) is indeed documented from the 8th century. But these were mainly trading posts, not fully-fledged states. The formation of statehood as a system of governing a large territory occurred precisely after the transfer of the centre to Kyiv.

How Russia uses this myth

The Russian interpretation of the “Norman theory” works in two steps:

1. The Varangians created Rus (in the north, in Novgorod)
2. Moscow is the heir of Novgorod and the Varangians → Moscow is the “true” Rus

This logic is flawed even in its own internal terms:

• Moscow destroyed Novgorod in 1478 (Ivan III) — meaning Moscow is not an heir but a destroyer
• Ivan the Terrible massacred Novgorod in 1570 — thousands of residents were killed
• If the Varangians “created” Rus, they created it in Kyiv, not in Moscow

Modern scholarship (Franklin, Shepard, Duczko) agrees: Rus arose as a synthesis of the local Slavic traditions of the Dnipro region and Scandinavian elements, centred on Kyiv. Moscow has no relationship to this process.