-Russia was formed by colonizing cites which later on formed the Russian Empire.
-A warrior named Rurik came into the eastern part of Russia with a group of Scandinavians, known as the Varangians crossed the Baltic Sea and emerged into Russia.
-He & his partner, Oleg, took over cities, but helped invest into them.
-Oleg managed to gain control of the lower region of Russia, which later on his son took over.
-Faith was a big factor back then, according the Greek Orthodox religion, Vladimir decided against Islam partly because of his belief that his people could not live under a religion that prohibits hard liquor
-Vladimir was succeeded by Yaroslav the Wise, whose reign marked the apogee of Kievan Rus'. Yaroslav codified laws, made shrewd alliances with other states, encouraged the arts, and all the other sorts of things that wise kings do.
-kingdom falls, Yaroslav dies in 1054
-Kievan Rus’ broke up the division and let the country come together
-Moscow was then formed which then became the heart of Russia. * The Mongols and the Emergence of Moscow
-Kievan Rus' struggled on into the 13th century, but was decisively destroyed by the arrival of a new invader--the Mongols.
-In 1237, the grandson of Rus’ came into control of the empire, this led the Mongols to take an advantage of the new king so they destroyed almost all the cities Rus’ have created in Russia.
-War began between the Moscow kingdom and the Mongols.
-In the best news of the era for Russia, both were decisively defeated by the great warrior Alexander Nevsky, a prince of Novgorod who earned his surname from his victory over the Swedes on the Neva River.
-As a sign of the city's importance, the patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church was transferred to the city, Moscow, making it the spiritual capital of Russia.
-1480, after another century had passed, that Moscow was strong enough to throw off Tatar rule for good. However, it wasn't until the