The Old Russian state, signs of which appeared as early as 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 around them. The territory of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs was squeezed on both sides from the north, on the border with the Ilmen Slavs, the militant Vikings lived, or as they were called in Russia by the Varangians, in the south there was the Khazar Khaganate, to which the glades were forced to pay tribute. Therefore, the calling of the Varangians to Russia had pragmatic goals.
The birth of the Rurik dynasty
At the turn of the century, the glades on the southern borders freed themselves from the power of the Khazars, stopped paying tribute to them, and a state formation arose with its capital in Kyiv. 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 Russia, each of which wanted to head the emerging state, comes to the fore. 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 civil strife for power, then in order to stop the eternal rivalry,at the veche, it was decided to call on a stranger who would not be involved in local Novgorod disputes for power. The choice fell on the Varangian Rurik and his brothers. The year of the calling of the Varangians to Russia coincided with the beginning of another cruel round of struggle in Novgorod, which accelerated the emergence of the Varangians within ancient Russia.
The chronicle describes in detail that the calling of the Varangians to Russia had positive consequences for the subsequent development of the state. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, three Varangian brothers Rurik, Sineus and Truvor appeared in the Slavic lands. 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 subjugated their possessions to his power, and soon the entire north-west was conquered by this man. The calling of the Varangians to Russia, the date of this event is determined by historians in 862, when written evidence of this event also appears. In itself, it would not have been of great importance, but the events that followed completely changed both the map of Europe and the fate of many peoples and rulers.
North beats South
The calling of the Varangians to Russia intensified the struggle between the two Russian centers for supremacy. The Varangians and their squads had rich combat experience. If Rurik concentrated his efforts on the creation of a well-organized state machine, then his successors were already thinking about expanding their influence. This was done by a relative of Rurik Oleg, who in 882by cunning and pressure he managed to capture Kyiv and establish himself in it. However, attempts to portray the Varangians as the founders of Slavic statehood are completely meaningless, because it arises due to certain processes within society itself. Another thing is important: the calling of the Varangians to Russia was the impetus for the emergence of a single centralized ancient Russian state.
