Vikings Came to Rule Europe’s Largest State
With the passage of time, the Viking adventurers who had conquered the heartland of what are now Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, formed a hybrid civilization with the locals. At the height of its power and prosperity, Kievan Rus controlled Eastern Europe’s main trade routes. Trade from the Baltic moved through a network of rivers and portages down the Dnieper, the Black Sea, and thence to Constantinople. Baltic trade also moved down the Volga, the Caspian Sea, and thence to Baghdad, Persia, and Central Asia. Additionally, Kiev was a trade hub for the east-west land routes between Central Europe to Kiev’s west, and the Khazars and other Steppe inhabitants to the east. Igor’s son Sviatoslav I (circa 942 – 972) greatly expanded the Rus borders along and down the Volga River, into the Balkans, and into the Steppe.
By the time Sviatoslav died after a short but extremely active life, Kievan Rus was Europe’s largest state. A power struggle erupted between Sviatoslav’s sons after his demise. The victor was Vladimir the Great (circa 958 – 1015), who seized power with armed help from his Viking relatives in Norway. By 980, Vladimir had consolidated his control over the realm from the Ukraine up to the Baltic. In 988, he converted to Christianity, and Christianized his realm with him. That eventually got him canonized as Saint Vladimir of Kiev, whose feast day is celebrated on July 15th by both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
