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One of the planet's oldest human settlements, separated from our time by 800,000 years, was unearthed in the territory of present-day Ukraine near Korolyove, a village in Transcarpathia. In 1899 the world came to know about the Trypillya culture which appeared in the mid-fourth millennium B.C.

The coming centuries saw the formation of new ethnic and cultural communities in Ukraine. Written sources mention the Cimmerians, the Taurians, the Scythians, the Antes and the Slavs.

Over a thousand years ago, on the vast expanses stretching from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to the Volga-River in the east, from the Black Sea in the south to the White Sea in the north, appeared one of the largest and mightiest medieval powers, Kyiv Rus.

The biggest cities were Novgorod and Kyiv. Both were built on the great river-road which led from the Baltic to the Black Sea and Constantinople. Merchants carried amber from the shores of the Baltic Sea and sold it at a high price in Constantinople and the Mediterranean lands. That is why this trade route has sometimes been called the amber road.

Varangians who invaded Rus came from Norway. As Nestor says people of Novgorod sent an invitation to a distant Varangian prince called Rurik to come and govern them.

Rurik brought an army with him, and he governed Novgorod and made it strong. Two of his companions, Askold and Dir, went farther down the amber road and became rulers of Kyiv.

In 882, the most legendary Prince Oleh the Seer, Rurik's son, defeated Kyiv Princes Askold and Dir. He rallied round Kyiv the Slavic tribes of Eastern Europe. “Let Kyiv be Mother of Rus cities”, he said as the chronicle reads.

Under the first Kyiv Princes Oleh the Seer, Ihor the Elder and Svyatoslav the Warrior Kyiv Rus became a strong power in Eastern Europe. In 955, Kyiv Princess Olha was baptized at Constantinopol. The Eastern Orthodox faith was introduced in Rus by Prince Volodymyr the Great. He ruled from 980 to 1,015 and replaced the traditional paganism of Slavs with the Byzantine trend of Christianity. The first ceremony of baptism took place in 988.

It was under Prince Volodymyr the Great and Prince Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054) that Kyiv Rus reached its apex, becoming a major factor in European politics. To ensure the unity of his state, Yaroslav introduced primogeniture.

According to the Rus Primary Chronicle, the founders of Kyiv were the brothers Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv, leaders of the Slavonic Polianian tribe. The city was named after the eldest, Kyi. The memory of the other two brothers has been preserved in the names of two hills – Shchekavytsia and Khorevytsia – and in the names of the streets. Kyiv was founded in the latter half of the 5th, or the early 6th century. During the reign of Volodymyr the Great Kyiv consisted of two parts – the fortified Upper City and Podil, the lower part. In the upper part of the city lived the prince and his retainers – the boyars and the prince's bodyguard. Podil was inhabited by artisans, fishermen and merchants.



At this time the construction of brick buildings decorated with wall painting and mosaics was begun in Kyiv. The brick Desiatynna (Tithe) Church was among these buildings. It was so called because Prince Volodymyr contributed one-tenth of his income to the construction and maintenance of this church.

During the reign of Yaroslav the Wise three gates led to the city. The remains of only one of them, the brick Golden Gates, have come down to us. In 1037 the foundation was laid for the magnificent Sophia Cathedral, which formed the architectural center of the new “Yaroslav's City”.

Considerable progress was noted in the development of Rus culture the center of which was Kyiv. It was during this period that the first schools were built. Literacy began to spread among the princes, boyars, clergy and rich citizens.


Date: 2016-03-03; view: 882


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