The culture of ancient Rus' can be divided into different historical periods of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. During the Kievan period (989–), the principalities of Kievan Rus’ came under the sphere of influence of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, one of the most advanced cultures of the time, and adopted

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. In the Suzdalian period, the Russian principalities gained a wide range of opportunities for developing their political and cultural ties not only with Byzantium, but with the European countries as well, with a resulting impact on architecture and other cultural indicators. By the Muscovite period in the thirteenth century, Russian culture was recovering from the invasion of

Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Kh ...

and subsequent domination of Russian lands by the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...

. The city-states of Novgorod and Pskov, which had been spared the

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

raid Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to: Attack * Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground * Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business * Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...

s, created an original kind of culture under some influence from their western

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

neighbors. Finally, only by the end of the fifteenth century, Russia ended its subordination to the Golden Horde with the Great standing on the Ugra river of 1480, which marked the birth of the sovereign Russian state, headed by the Grand Prince of Moscow.

Kievan period

This new cultural era dates back to the adoption of Christianity in 989, when the principalities of Kievan Rus’ came under the sphere of influence of the

, one of the most advanced cultures of the time.

Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...

's political choice determined the subsequent development of the Rus culture. Byzantine masters built their first cathedrals in Rus’ and decorated their interiors with

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

s and

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s. Samples of pictorial art, such as

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

s and

miniature A miniature is a small-scale reproduction, or a small version. It may refer to: * Portrait miniature, a miniature portrait painting * Miniature art, miniature painting, engraving and sculpture * Miniature (chess), a masterful chess game or probl ...

s of illuminated manuscripts, came to Kiev and other cities from

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. After the completion of the most important cathedral of Kievan Rus’—

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, is an architectural monument of Kyivan Rus. The former cathedral is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first heritage site in Ukraine to be inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the K ...

, named after the principal cathedral of the Byzantine capital—a Russian

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man, the metropolitan

Ilarion Ilarion ( bg, Иларион, sr, Иларион, russian: Иларион, uk, Іларіон) is a variant of the Greek given name ''Hilarion'', found in Slavic and Romanian languages. It may refer to: * Hilarion of Kiev or Ilarion (11th century ...

, wrote his work ''On Law and Grace'' (''Slovo o zakone i blagodati''), confirming the basics of Russia's new Christian world outlook. Thus, Kievan Rus’ became part of the broader Christian world, under Byzantium's influence. The metropolitan of Kiev was subordinated to the Patriarch of Constantinople. The Russian principalities adopted the Byzantine culture during a time when the

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ell ...

of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

had already been overcome, but its decline was still far ahead. Byzantium remained the only direct successor of the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

world, which had applied the artistic achievements of antiquity to the spiritual experience of Christianity. Byzantine culture differed from the rest of the world by its refined taste and sophistication.

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted u ...

differed in the depth of religious substance and virtuosity of formal methods. The principal achievement of Byzantine

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

was the

ecclesiastic {{Short pages monitor