The
history of Russia begins with that of the
Eastern Slavs and the
Finno-Ugric peoples. The state of
Garðaríki ("the realm of towns"), which was centered in
Novgorod and included the entire areas inhabited by
Ilmen Slavs,
Veps, and
Votes, was established by the Varangian chieftain
Rurik in 862 (the traditional beginning of Russian history).
Kievan Rus', the first united
East Slavic state, was founded by Rurik's successor
Oleg of Novgorod in 882. The state
adopted Christianity from the Byzantine Empire in 988, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and
Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated as a state because of the
Mongol invasion of Rus' in 1237–1240 and the death of about half the population of Rus'. During that time, a number of regional magnates, in particular Novgorod and Pskov, fought to inherit the cultural and political legacy of Kievan Rus'.