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The Varangians or Variags were Vikings who travelled eastwards from Sweden. Promoting trade, piracy and mercenary militarism, they roamed the river systems and portages of what later became Russia, reaching the Caspian Sea and Constantinople. They created a network of strongholds and trade posts establishing the first Russian state.

The Slavs and the Byzantines, however, did not distinguish between Scandinavians and closely related Germanic subsets, when they used this term. In the Russian Primary Chronicle, this term also includes the people of England (Англяне).

The VarangianThe Sturtian-Varangian is a late Precambrian world-wide glaciation episode ranging from 950Ma to 600Ma, represented by tillite deposits in Congo, Australia, China, North America, Sahara and Norway. Also known as the Cryogenian''. Generally considered to b was a glacial episode approximately 700 million years ago.

1 Rus'

Main article: Rus' (people)The ethnic origins of the Rus' people are controversial. Whereas most Western historians tend to give credence to the Normanist theory, many Slavic scholars are strongly opposed and work to find other origins. Culture and heritage is what is ultimately at.

The Varangians (Varyags, in RussianRussian /'ruski j'zk/) is the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages. Russian belongs to the group of Indo-European languages, and is therefore related to Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin, as well as the modern Germanic, Romance, and Celtic languages, inclu) are first mentioned by the Russian Primary Chronicle as having arrived from beyond the Baltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is in northeastern Europe, bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of east and central Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat and the North Sea by way of the Oresund, the Great Belt and the Small Belt. It is around the mid- 9th century8th century 9th century 10th century other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial around 813-around 915 period of serious, invited by the warring SlavicThe Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. They speak Slavic languages and reside chiefly in the east of that continent, but are also found in Asia east to the Pacific Ocean. Ethno-cultural subdivisions One c and Fennic tribes to bring peace to the region. (The Chronicle says these Slavic and Finnish tribes used to pay tribute to Varangians even before, then they drove Varangians away, refusing to pay, but afterwards the tribes fell into a discord with each other and invited Varangians to bring the order.) [1].

According to the Chronicle, the invited Varangians called Rus' were led by Rurik and his two brothers Truvor and Sineus, who settled around the Slavic town of Novgorod. Some historians hold that these Varangians of 9th century were legendary, but a real Swedish settlement, Aldeigjuborg (now Staraya Ladoga), associated with the name of Rurik, was established around Lake Ladoga in the 8th century.

The role of the Varangians in Russian history was an important subject of discussion in the 19th century Russian historiography. See Rus' article for more discussions.