I visited St Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv last Saturday. It's a UNESCO world heritage site featuring Byzantine architecture, a collection of frescoes and mosaics dating back to the 11th century and Christian Orthodox statues, symbols and paintings that were added later. The cathedral is one of the most important monuments from the Kyivan Rus period 

The Kyivan Rus (879-1240) was a powerful state (federation) in Eastern Europe and the predecessor to modern Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, lending its name to the latter two. The history of the Kyivan Rus is connected to that of the Vikings. We all know the Western exploits of the Vikings, but the Eastern exploits also deserve our attention. 

From the 8th century onwards Vikings from Sweden, also called Varangians, sailed down the Volga, Dnieper and smaller rivers to trade and work as mercenaries (e.g. the Varangian guard in Constantinople) and created a trade route between Sweden and the Byzantine Empire. A group of Varangians, the Rus, eventually settled down along the Northern part of the trade route in Novgorod. Rurik, a viking chief, was their legendary leader and the founder of the Rurik dynasty which would lead the Kyivan Rus. His son Oleg conquered Kyiv and made it the capital of the Kyivan Rus for the rest of its history.

One of the most important leaders of the Kyivan Rus was Vladimir the Great (reign 978-1015). He converted to Christianity and turned the Kyivan Rus into a Christian principality for which he later became a saint. He solidified the borders of his domain and passed economic reforms. Vladimir is an important symbol nowadays in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia who all trace their roots to the Kyivan Rus as mentioned before. Vladimir the Great is also the one who founded St Sophia's Cathedral in 1011.  

Originally posted on Instagram on July 22, 2021