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Rurik

Rurik

?879 CE · Novgorod

Rurik (died c. 879) was a Varangian (Scandinavian) chieftain who, according to the medieval Primary Chronicle, was invited by feuding Slavic and Finnic tribes to rule and settled at Novgorod around 862. He is regarded by tradition as the founder of the Rurikid dynasty, which would go on to rule the lands of the Rus for some seven centuries. His historical existence rests almost entirely on this single chronicle account and is debated by scholars, so his dates are treated as semi-legendary.

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Stop 1 of 1Seat Of Power

Novgorod

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In Novgorod at the same time

Oleg of Novgorod (Oleg the Prophet)

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The world in their lifetime

Thinkers, teachers, and rulers whose lives overlapped with Rurik’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.

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