Kievan Rus

While often overlooked, the early history of the Eastern Slavs creates an essential aspect of the rise of the Kievan state. These people, who broke from the western and southern Slavic groups, largely influenced the rise of the Kievan state and in turn the rise of Russia. The impact of various cultures including the Greeks, Khazars, and Scythians led to the cultural revolution which allowed for an established state to be possible in the once tribal area. The rise of the Kievan state came from immense cultural impact, strong political ties, and a desire for a resilient economy.

In order to discuss the rise of Kiev, it is essential for us to explore their early history before the rule of the Varangians. The early Eastern Slavs were located largely around the North shore of the Black Sea and the Southern steppe. Their location had them in heavily forested land where it was hard to farm due to lack of open fields. As a result of these deep woods, the Slavs developed a practice known as ‘slash and burn agriculture’. However, this method of agriculture exhausted the soil because they continually used the same fields for years. Because of this the Eastern Slavs had to continually move around and burn all the trees around them to make room for new fields. This can explain the reason the Eastern Slavs expanded so rapidly across Eastern Europe from the Dneiper to Pomerania. The Eastern Slavs did not yet have an official state; rather they were divided amongst familial tribes; the earliest tribal centers included Novgorod and Kiev.

It is also important for us to discuss the cultural influences felt by the Eastern Slavs in the era before Kiev. Among the influences the Slavs were subjected to in this early period were the Scythi...

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...ion in between the two empires allowed for the economic situation in Kiev to become one of envy among surrounding states and tribes.

Although it is hard for us to ever say for sure the exact nature of the development of the Kievan state or the direct nature of the history of the early Eastern Slavs. However, we are able to make inferences and theories from the evidence presented to us from the Black Sea to the southern steppe. It is important for us to understand that the nations that gave cultural, political, and economic standing to the Kievan state did not directly link to the rise of the Kievan state. They did, however, aid in the process of establishing a powerful enough tribe to unite multiple tribes as one. The history of the early Eastern Slavs is one which should be continually studied and analysed to understand the founding of the Kievan state.