The word ''Rus'' referred initially to a group of Scandinavian
Vikings
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
, also known as
Varangians, who founded the medieval state of
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,.
* was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...
in
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
in the 10th century. The term gradually acquired the meaning of the aforementioned dynastic polity itself, and also the geographic region of its heartlands
Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
,
Pereiaslavl' and
Chernihiv. ''Russia'' is a Hellenized rendering of the same word, and ''Ruthenia'' is its Latinized form.
Following the decline of Kievan Rus' in the 12th century, its territory fragmented into multiple polities. The northeastern principality of
Vladimir-Suzdal played a crucial role in the eventual rise of the
Grand Duchy of Moscow, which, by the 14th to 16th centuries, had consolidated power over most of northeastern Rus'. The name ''Russia'' began to appear in official documents during this time, alongside the older term ''Rus''. By the 15th century, Muscovite rulers adopted the title "Grand Prince of all Rus'," signaling their claim over the legacy of Kievan Rus'. The term ''Russia'' gradually replaced ''Rus'', and by the 16th century, under
Ivan IV, the state officially became the
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721.
...
. Despite this, the term ''Muscovy'' persisted in Europe, especially in Latin Catholic regions, but ''Russia'' was increasingly recognized across Northern Europe and the courts of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
.
The name ''
Ruthenia'' originated as a Latinized form of ''Rus'' and was commonly used in Western European documents to refer to the eastern Slavic lands during medieval times. Over time, the name became more localized, especially after the 19th century, to refer to
Carpathian Ruthenia
Transcarpathia (, ) is a historical region on the border between Central and Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast.
From the Hungarian Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, conquest of the Carpathian Basin ...
a region in the northeastern
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...
inhabited by Slavs with a
Rusyn identity.
Initially the ecclesiastical title "
Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus'" was used for the head of the church based in Kiev until the metropolitan see moved to
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
in the 14th century, where it became "
Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'
The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the Primate (bishop), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the Ordinar ...
" with the establishment of the
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
. In contrast, the southwestern regions of former Kievan Rus' adopted the title "
Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia", while modern
Ukrainian Orthodox churches have shifted to using titles reflecting "Ukraine" instead of "Rus'."
Etymology

The most common theory about the origins of Russians is the Germanic version. The name ''Rus'', like the
Proto-Finnic name for
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
(''*roocci''), supposed to be descended from an
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
term for "the men who row" (''rods-'') as rowing was the main method of navigating the rivers of Eastern Europe, and that it could be linked to the Swedish coastal area of
Roslagen or ''Roden'', as it was known in earlier times.
[Stefan Brink, 'Who were the Vikings?', in ]
The Viking World
'', ed. by Stefan Brink and Neil Price (Abingdon: Routledge, 2008), pp. 4–10 (pp. 6–7).
The name Rus' would then have the same origin as the
Finnish,
Estonian,
Võro and
Northern Sami
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ...
names for Sweden: ''Ruotsi'', ''Rootsi'', ''Roodsi'' and ''Ruoŧŧa''.
[Russia]
," Online Etymology Dictionary
Etymonline, or ''Online Etymology Dictionary'', sometimes abbreviated as OED (not to be confused with the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', which the site often cites), is a free online dictionary that describes the etymology, origins of English la ...
The local
Finnic and
Permic peoples in northern Russia proper use the same (''Rus''-related) name both for
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
(depending on the language): thus the
Veps name for
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and Swedish is ''Ročinma'' / ''Ročin'',
["Зайцева М. И., Муллонен М. И. Словарь вепсского языка (Dictionary of Veps language). Л., «Наука», 1972.] while in the
Komi language spoken further east the etymologically corresponding term ''Roćmu'' / ''Roć'' means already
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and Russian instead.
[Zyri͡ansko-russkīĭ i russko-zyri͡anskīĭ slovarʹ (Komi – Russian dictionary) / sostavlennyĭ Pavlom Savvaitovym. Savvaitov, P. I. 1815–1895. Sankt Peterburg: V Tip. Imp. Akademīi Nauk, 1850.][Русско–коми словарь 12000 слов (Russian – Komi dictionary, Л. М. Безносикова, Н. К. Забоева, Р. И. Коснырева, 2005 год, 752 стр., Коми книжное издательство.]
The Finnish scholar
Tor Karsten has pointed out that the territory of present-day
Uppland,
Södermanland
Södermanland ( ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latinisation of names, Latinized form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden, historical province (or ) on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Österg� ...
and
Östergötland in ancient times was known as ''Roðer'' or ''roðin''. Thomsen accordingly has suggested that ''Roðer'' probably derived from ''roðsmenn'' or ''roðskarlar'', meaning seafarers or rowers.
Ivar Aasen, the Norwegian philologist and lexicographer, noted proto-Germanic root variants ''Rossfolk'', ''Rosskar'', ''Rossmann''.
George Vernadsky theorized about the association of Rus and
Alans
The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...
. He claimed that ''Ruxs'' in
Alanic means "radiant light", thus the ethnonym ''Roxolani'' could be understood as "bright Alans".
He theorized that the name ''Roxolani'' a combination of two separate tribal names: the Rus and the Alans.
According to the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
'', the English name ''Russia'' first appeared in the 14th century, borrowed from
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...
''Russia,'' which was in turn a rendition of the Byzantine Greek name for Rus', Ρωσία (Rosía). The word ''Ruthenia'' originated as a
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
designation of the region its people called ''Rus. ''Rusia'' or ''Ruthenia'' appears in the 1520 Latin treatise ''Mores, leges et ritus omnium gentium, per Ioannem Boëmum, Aubanum, Teutonicum ex multis clarissimis rerum scriptoribus collecti'' by
Johann Boemus. In the chapter ''De Rusia sive Ruthenia, et recentibus Rusianorum moribus'' ("About Rus', or Ruthenia, and modern customs of the Rus'"), Boemus tells of a country extending from the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
to the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
and from the
Don River to the northern ocean. It is a source of
beeswax, its
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
s harbor many animals with valuable
fur, and the capital city
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
(''Moscovia''), named after the
Moskva River
The Moskva (, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river that flows through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through central Moscow. About southeast of Moscow, at the cit ...
(''Moscum amnem''), is 14 miles in circumference.
Danish diplomat
Jacob Ulfeldt, who traveled to Russia in 1578 to meet with
Tsar Ivan IV, titled his posthumously (1608) published memoir ''Hodoeporicon Ruthenicum''
("Voyage to Ruthenia").
Early evidence
In
Old East Slavic
Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian) was a language (or a group of dialects) used by the East Slavs from the 7th or 8th century to the 13th or 14th century, until it diverged into the Russian language, Russian and Ruthenian language ...
literature, the
East Slavs refer to themselves as "''
uzhiruskie''" ("Rus' men") or, rarely, "''rusichi''." The East Slavs are thought to have adopted this name from the
Varangian elite, which was first mentioned in the 830s in the ''Annales Bertiniani''. The ''Annales'' recount that
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...
's court at
Ingelheim am Rhein in 839 (the same year as the first appearance of
Varangians in
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
), was visited by a delegation from the
Byzantine emperor
The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...
. The delegates included two men who called themselves "''Rhos''" ("Rhos vocari dicebant"). Louis inquired about their origins and learned that they were Swedes. Fearing that they were spies for their brothers the
Danes
Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
History
Early history
Denmark ...
, he jailed them. They were also mentioned in the 860s by Byzantine Patriarch
Photius under the name "''Rhos''."
''Rusiyyah'' or ''Rūs'' (روس) was used by
Ahmad ibn Fadlan for what was assumed to be Varangians he met by the
Volga River, and by the
Persian traveler
Ahmad ibn Rustah who visited
Veliky Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the ...
and described how the Rus' exploited the Slavs.
When the Varangians arrived in
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, the Byzantines considered and described the ''Rhos'' (
Greek ''Ῥῶς'') as a different people from the Slavs.
The earliest written mention of the word ''Rus'' appears in the ''Primary Chronicle'' under the year 912. When describing a peace treaty signed by the Varangian
Oleg of Novgorod
Oleg (), Oleh (), or Aleh () is an Slavic peoples, East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine, and Belаrus.
Origins
''Oleg'' derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' (Helge (name), Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "ble ...
during his
campaign on Constantinople, it contains the following passage, "Oleg sent his men to make peace and sign a treaty between the Greeks and the Rus', saying thus:
.."We are the Rus': Karl, Inegeld, Farlaf, Veremud, Rulav, Gudi, Ruald, Karn, Frelav, Ruar, Aktevu, Truan, Lidul, Vost, Stemid, sent by Oleg, the great prince of Rus', and all those under him
Later the ''Primary Chronicle'' states that they conquered
Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
and created what is now called
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,.
* was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...
. The territory they conquered was named after them as were, eventually, the local people (''cf''.
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
).
However, the Synod Scroll of the ''
Novgorod First Chronicle'', which is partly based on the original list of the late 11th Century and partly on the Primary Chronicle, does not name the
Varangians asked by the Chuds, Slavs and Krivichs to reign their obstreperous lands as the "Rus'". One can assume that there was no original mention of the Varangians as the Rus' due to the old list predating the Primary Chronicle and the Synod Scroll only referred to the Primary Chronicle if the pages of the old list were blemished.
Other spellings used in Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries were as follows: ''Ruzi'', ''
Ruzzi'', ''Ruzia'' and ''Ruzari''. Sources written in Latin routinely confused the Rus' with the
Rugii, an ancient
East Germanic tribe related to the
Goths
The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...
.
Olga of Kiev, for instance, was called "queen of the Rugii" (''regina Rugorum'') in the Lotharingian Chronicle compiled by the anonymous
continuator of
Regino of Prüm.
Alternate anti-Normanist theories
A number of alternative etymologies have been suggested. These are derived from the "
anti-Normanist" school of thought in
Russian historiography during the 19th century and in the
Soviet era. These hypotheses are considered unlikely in Western mainstream academia.
Slavic and Iranian etymologies suggested by "anti-Normanist" scholars include:
* The ''
Roxolani'', a
Sarmatian
The Sarmatians (; ; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples who dominated the Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe from about the 5th century BCE to the 4t ...
(i. e.,
Iranian
Iranian () may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Iran
** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran
** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia
** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...
) people who inhabited southern Ukraine, Moldova and Romania;
* Several river-names in the region contain the element ''rus''/''ros'' and these might be the origin of the name of the Rus'. In
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, the ''Ros'' and ''Rusna'', near
Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
and
Pereiaslav, respectively, whose names are derived from a postulated Slavic term for "water", akin to ''rosa'' (dew), ''rusalka'' (
water nymph), ''ruslo'' (
stream bed
A streambed or stream bed is the bottom of a stream or river and is confined within a Stream channel, channel or the Bank (geography), banks of the waterway. Usually, the bed does not contain terrestrial (land) vegetation and instead supports d ...
). (A relation of ''rosa'' to the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
''rasā́-'' "liquid, juice; mythical river" suggests itself; compare
Avestan
Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...
''Raŋhā'' "mythical stream" and the ancient name of the
Volga River, Ῥᾶ ''Rā'', from a cognate
Scythian name.)
* ''Rusiy''
Русый, light-brown, said of hair color (the translation "reddish-haired", cognate with the Slavic "ryzhiy", "red-haired", is not quite exact);
* A postulated proto-Slavic word for "
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...
", cognate with ''arctos'' and ''ursus''.
The name ''Rus'' may have originated from the
Iranian
Iranian () may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Iran
** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran
** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia
** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...
name of the
Volga River (by F. Knauer, Moscow 1901).
George Vernadsky has suggested a derivation from the
Roxolani or from the
Aryan term ''ronsa'' (moisture, water). River names such as
Ros are common in Eastern Europe.
The Russian linguist
Igor Danilevsky, in his ''Ancient Rus as Seen by Contemporaries and Descendants'', argued against these theories, stating that the anti-Normanists neglected the realities of the Ancient Slavic languages and that the nation name ''Rus'' could not have arisen from any of the proposed origins.
* The populace of the
Ros River would have been known as ''Roshane'';
*
Red-haired or bear-origined people would have ended their self-name with the plural ''-ane'' or ''-ichi'', and not with the singular ''-s
''' (red hair is one of the natural hair colors of Scandinavians and other
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...
);
* Most theories are based on a ''Ros-'' root, and in Ancient Slavic an ''o'' would never have become the ''u'' in ''Rus''.
Danilevskiy further argued that the term followed the general pattern of Slavic names for neighboring
Finnic peoples
The Finnic peoples, or simply Finns, are the nations who speak languages traditionally classified in the Finno-Permic languages, Finnic language family, and which are thought to have originated in the region of the Volga River. Currently, the l ...
—the ''
Chud''', ''
Ves''', ''
Perm''', ''
Sum''', etc.—but that the only possible word that it could be based on, ''Ruotsi'', presented a historical dead-end, since no such tribal or national name was known from non-Slavic sources. "Ruotsi" is, however, the Finnish name for
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
.
Danilevskiy shows that the oldest historical source, the ''
Primary Chronicle'', is inconsistent in what it refers to as the "Rus'": in adjacent passages, the Rus' are grouped with
Varangians, with the Slavs, and also set apart from the Slavs and Varangians. Danilevskiy suggests that the ''Rus
''' were originally not a nation but a
social class
A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...
, which can explain the irregularities in the ''Primary Chronicle'' and the lack of early non-Slavic sources.
From Rus' to Russia
In modern English historiography, common names for the ancient East Slavic state include ''Kievan Rus'', (sometimes retaining the apostrophe in ''Rus'', a transliteration of the
soft sign, ь), or ''Kievan Ruthenia''. The term ''Kievan Rus'' was established by modern historians to distinguish the period from the 9th century to the beginning of the 12th century, when Kiev was the center of a large state.
Initially, the Rus' lands referred only to the
Middle Dnieper region centered on
Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, and forming a triangle with
Pereiaslav, and
Chernihiv.
The 12th century chroniclers "record princes from Vladimir–Suzdal’ in the Northeast, Novgorod in the North, and Galicia–Volhynia in the Southwest, among others, as going to the Rus’ Land when Kiev is meant." This narrow usage of Rus’ ceased after the Mongols conquered Kiev in the second half of the thirteenth century.
The vast polity of
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,.
* was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...
was subsequently divided by geographical distance into several more distant principalities. The most influential were, in the south-west,
Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, in the north, the
Novgorod Republic, and in the north-east,
Vladimir-Suzdal.
Northeast principalities
In the 14th–16th centuries most of northeastern
Rus' principalities were united under the power of the
Grand Duchy of Moscow, once a part of Vladimir-Suzdal, and formed a large state. While the oldest endonyms were ''Rus'' () and the ''Rus' land'' or ''Russian land'' (), a new form of its name, ''Rusia'' or ''Russia'', appeared in the 15th century, and became common thereafter.
[E. Hellberg-Hirn. Soil and Soul: The Symbolic World of Russianness. Ashgate, 1998. P. 54][Lawrence N. Langer. Historical Dictionary of Medieval Russia. Scarecrow Press, 2001. P. 186] In the 1480s Muscovite state scribes Ivan Cherny and Mikhail Medovartsev mention Russia under the name "Росиа"', Medovartsev also mentions "the sceptre of Russian lordship (Росийскаго господства)". In the following century ''Russia'' co-existed with the old name ''Rus' ''and appeared in an inscription on the western
portal of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in
Yaroslavl (1515), on the
icon case of the
Theotokos of Vladimir (1514), in the work by
Maximus the Greek, the ''Russian Chronograph'' written by Dosifei Toporkov (?–1543/44) in 1516–22 and in other sources.
By the 15th century, the rulers of the
Grand Duchy of Moscow had incorporated the northern parts of the former Kievan Rus'.
Ivan III of Moscow was the first local ruler to claim the title of "Grand Prince of all Rus'" This title was used by the Grand Dukes of Vladimir since the early 14th century, and the first prince to use it was
Mikhail of Tver. Ivan III was styled by
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...
as and . Later, ''Rus'' — in the
Russian language
Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...
specifically — evolved into the Byzantine-influenced form, ''Rossiya'' (Russia is (''Rhōssía'') in Greek).
Tsardom of Russia
In 1547, Ivan IV assumed the title of "Tsar and Grand Duke
of all Rus'" (Царь и Великий князь всея Руси) and was crowned on 16 January, thereby proclaiming the
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721.
...
, or "the Great Russian Tsardom", as it was called in the
coronation document, by the
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...
Jeremiah II and in numerous official texts,
[Richard S. Wortman. Scenarios of Power: Myth and Ceremony in Russian Monarchy from Peter the Great to the Abdication of Nicholas II. Princeton University Press, 2013. P. 17] but the state partly remained referred to as ''Moscovia'' () throughout Europe, predominantly in its Catholic part, though this
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
version of the term was never used in Russia, instead it was referred as ''Moscow State'' (.
The two names "Russia" and "Moscovia" appear to have co-existed as interchangeable during the later 16th and throughout the 17th century with different Western maps and sources using different names, so that the country was called "''Russia, or Moscovia''" () or "''Russia, popularly known as Moscovia''" (). In
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
of the 16th century, it was known both as Russia and Muscovy. Such notable Englishmen as
Giles Fletcher the Elder, author of the book ''Of the Russe Common Wealth'' (1591), and
Samuel Collins, author of ''The Present State of Russia'' (1668), both of whom visited Russia, were familiar with the term ''Russia'' and used it in their works. So did numerous other authors, including
John Milton, who wrote ''A brief history of Moscovia and of other less-known countries lying eastward of Russia'', published posthumously, starting it with the words: "The Empire of Moscovia, or as others call it, Russia...".
In the Russian Tsardom, the word ''Russia'' replaced the old name ''Rus'' in official documents, though the names ''Rus'' and ''Russian land'' were still common and synonymous to it, and often appeared in the form ''Great Russia'' (), which is more typical of the 17th century, whereas the state was also known as ''Great-Russian Tsardom'' ().
[
According to historians like ]Alexander Zimin
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Zimin (Александр Александрович Зимин; 1920-1980) was one of the most prolific and well-known Soviet medievalists. His area of expertise was late medieval Muscovy.
Zimin was born in a noble fa ...
and Anna Khoroshkevich, the continuous use of the term ''Moscovia'' was a result of traditional habit. The term ''Moscovia'' was used in many parts of Europe prior to the reign of Peter I. In Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...
and at the court of the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, however, the country was also known under name ''Russia'' or ''Rossia''. Sigismund von Herberstein
Siegmund (Sigismund) Freiherr von Herberstein (or Baron Sigismund von Herberstein; 23 August 1486 – 28 March 1566) was a Carniolan diplomat, writer, historian and member of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Council. He was most noted for his exten ...
, ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
in Russia, used both ''Russia'' and ''Moscovia'' in his work on the Russian tsardom and noted: "The majority believes that Russia is a changed name of Roxolania. Muscovites ("Russians" in the German version) refute this, saying that their country was originally called Russia (Rosseia)". Pointing to the difference between Latin and Russian names, French captain Jacques Margeret, who served in Russia and left a detailed description of ''L'Empire de Russie'' of the early 17th century that was presented to King Henry IV, stated that foreigners make "a mistake when they call them Muscovites and not Russians. When they are asked what nation they are, they respond 'Russac', which means 'Russians', and when they are asked what place they are from, the answer is Moscow, Vologda, Ryasan and other cities". The closest analogue of the Latin term ''Moscovia'' in Russia was "Tsardom of Moscow", or "Moscow Tsardom" (), which was used along with the name "Russia",["В некотором царстве, в некотором государстве..."](_blank)
Sigurd Schmidt, Doctor of history sciences, academician of RAN, Journal "Rodina", Nr. 12/2004 sometimes in one sentence, as in the name of the 17th century Russian work ''On the Great and Glorious Russian Moscow State'' ().[О великом и славном Российском Московском государстве. Гл. 50 // Арсеньев Ю. В. Описание Москвы и Московского государства: По неизданному списку Космографии конца XVII века. М, 1911. С. 6–17 (Зап. Моск. археол. ин-та. Т. 11)]
From Rus' to Ruthenia
Ruthenian principalities
In the 13th–14th centuries, parts of the core Rus' land and many of southwestern Rus' principalities were united under the power of the Kingdom of Rus' or Ruthenia (), historiographically better known as the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia. Roman the Great was variously named ''dux Rutenorum'', ''princeps Ruthenorum'' or ''rex Ruthenorum'' by Polish chroniclers. Danylo of Galicia was crowned ''Rex Ruthenorum'' or "king of the Rus'" in 1253. Alternatively, Danylo and his brother Vasylko Romanovych were styled ''Princeps Galiciae'', ''Rex Russiae'', and ''Rex Lodomeriae'' in Papal documents, while the population of Halych and Volhynia was called ''Rusciae christiani'' and ''populus Russiae'' amongst other names. The '' Gesta Hungarorum'' ( 1280) stated that the Carpathian mountains between Hungary and Halych were situated ''in finibus Ruthenie'' ("on the borders of Ruthenia").
Galicia–Volhynia declined by mid-14th century due to the Galicia–Volhynia Wars
The Galicia–Volhynia Wars were several wars fought in the years 1340–1392 over the succession in the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, also known as Ruthenia. After Yuri II Boleslav was poisoned by local Ruthenian nobles in 1340, both the Gran ...
after the poisoning of king Yuri II Boleslav by local Ruthenian nobles in 1340. ''Iohannes Victiensis Liber'' (page 218) records the death of Boleslav as ''Hoc anno rex Ruthenorum moritur (...)'' ("In that year the king of the Ruthenians died (...)"). Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas
Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341.
He is considered the founder of Lithuania's capital Vilnius (see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from t ...
adopted the title ''King of the Lithuanians and many Ruthenians, ect.'' or ''King of Lithuanians
Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...
and Ruthenians, Prince and Duke of Semigalia'' in the 1320s. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rus', Samogitia incorporated the majority of Ruthenian territory, and the Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385.
Background
The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
later absorbed Galicia as the ''Rus Voivodeship''. The latter became the Ruthenian Voivodeship () in 1434.
While gradually most of the territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rus', Samogitia retained the name ''Rus'', some of them got more color-specific names:
* "White Rus" (''Russia (Ruthenia) Alba'', ''Belarus'', ''Ruś Biała''). This would eventually become the name of the country Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
.
* "Black Rus" (''Russia (Ruthenia) Nigra'', ''Chorna Rus'', ''Ruś Czarna'')
* "Red Rus" (''Russia (Ruthenia) Rubra'', ''Chervona Rus'', ''Ruś Czerwona'')
Although the name '' Ruthenia'' arose as a Latinized form of the name ''Rus'' in Western European documents in medieval times, ''Russia'' was still the predominant name for Western Rus' territories up until 19th century.
Later usage
Later usage of the name "Ruthenia" became narrowed to Carpathian Ruthenia
Transcarpathia (, ) is a historical region on the border between Central and Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast.
From the Hungarian Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, conquest of the Carpathian Basin ...
(''Karpats'ka Rus''), the northeastern part of the Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...
, in the Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
where the local Slavs had '' Rusyn'' identity. Carpathian Ruthenia incorporated the cities of Mukachevo (), Uzhhorod
Uzhhorod (, ; , ; , ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality on the Uzh, Uzh River in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistan ...
() and Prešov
Prešov () is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region () and Šariš. With a population of approximately 85,000 for the city, and in total more than 100,000 with the urban area, it is the second-largest city i ...
(''Pryashiv''; ). Carpathian Rus' had been part of the Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
since 907, and had been known as "Magna Rus'" but was also called "Karpato-Rus'" or " Zakarpattya".
Ecclesiastical titles
Originally, the metropolitan based in Kiev (Kyiv) called himself "metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus'", but in 1299, the Kievan metropolitan chair was moved to Vladimir by Metropolitan Maximos, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus'. One line of metropolitans settled in Moscow in 1325 and continued titling themselves "of Kiev and all Rus'". Patriarch Callistus I of Constantinople in 1361 created two metropolitan sees with their own names (in Greek) for the northern and southern parts: respectively, (''Megálē Rhōssía'', Great Russia) in Vladimir and Kiev and (''Mikrà Rhōssía'', Russia Minor or Little Russia) with the centers in Halych and Novogrudok.
After the 15th–16th century Moscow–Constantinople schism, the Muscovite church became autocephalous in 1589, renamed itself the Moscow Patriarchate (today better known as the Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
) and switched to the title of "Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'
The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the Primate (bishop), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the Ordinar ...
". On the other hand, the southwestern territories of former Kievan Rus' would undergo Polonisation and experience the 1596 Union of Brest, leading to the creation of the Ruthenian Uniate Church ( Belarusian: Руская Уніяцкая Царква; Ukrainian: Руська Унійна Церква; ; ). The primate of this church was titled " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia". The Annexation of the Metropolitanate of Kiev by the Moscow Patriarchate happened in 1685–1722.
When the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church proclaimed itself in 1917, its primates styled themselves "Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine", thus replacing "Rus'" with "Ukraine", until 1936. From 1991 to 2000, two further patriarchs of the UAOC called themselves "Patriarch of Kiev and all Rus-Ukraine", but then "Rus" was definitively dropped from the name. After the Unification Council of 2018 which established the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), the title of Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine was first held by Epiphanius I of Ukraine. His rival Filaret (Denysenko) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) continues claiming the title "Patriarch of Kiev and All Rus'-Ukraine". Onufriy (Berezovsky) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) (UOC-MP) also claims the title of "Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine", and in 2022 the UOC formally cut ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.
See also
* Name of Ukraine
The earliest known usage of the name ''Ukraine'' ( , , ; ) appears in the Hypatian Codex of 1425 under the year 1187 in reference to a part of the territory of Kievan Rus'.
The use of "the Ukraine" has been officially deprecated by the Ukra ...
* House of Reuss
Reuss ( ) was the name of several historical states located in present-day Thuringia, Germany. Several lordships of the Holy Roman Empire which arose after 1300 and became Imperial Counties from 1673 and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Imperial ...
– a German noble family whose name come from
* Gathering of the Russian lands – for the succession of Rus'
References
Citations
Sources
*
* (first published 2012 by Рукописные памятники Древней Руси anuscript monuments of ancient Rus' Moscow).
* E. Nakonechniy. ''The Stolen Name: How the Ruthenians became Ukrainians''. (Lviv, 1998)
* P. Pekarskiy. ''Science and Literature in Russia in the Age of Peter the Great.'' (St Petersburg, 1862)
* S. M Solovyov. ''History of Russia since the Ancient Times''. (Moscow, 1993)
* Hakon Stang, ''The Naming of Russia'' (Oslo: Meddelelser, 1996).
* Y. M. Suzumov. ''Etymology of Rus'' (in Appendix to S. Fomin's "Russia before the Second Coming", available on-lin
in Russian
.)
*
* '' Zerkalo Nedeli'' (''Mirror Weekly''):
** "How Rusyns Became Ukrainians", '' Zerkalo Nedeli'' (''Mirror Weekly''), July 2005. Available onlin
in Russian
an
in Ukrainian
** "Such a Deceptive Triunity", '' Zerkalo Nedeli'' (''Mirror Weekly''), 2–8 May 1998. Available onlin
in Russian
an
in Ukrainian
** "We Are More 'Russian' than Them: a History of Myths and Sensations", '' Zerkalo Nedeli'' (''Mirror Weekly''), 27 January – 2 February 2001. Available onlin
in Russian
an
in Ukrainian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rus (Name)
Country name etymology
Name
A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...
Viking Age populated places
Exonyms
Ethnonyms
Saga locations
History of Russia