Category
Religion & Belief
Conversions, churches, faiths and saints, and how religion drew and redrew the borders of states.
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Religion & Belief · Tsardom of Russia
St Basil's Cathedral: Why Ivan the Terrible Built It, and the Myths
St Basil's Cathedral was built in 1555–1561 to give thanks for the conquest of Kazan. Who designed it, who was Basil, and did Ivan blind the architects?
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Religion & Belief · Grand Principality of Moscow
Sergius of Radonezh: The Monk Behind Moscow's Rise
St Sergius of Radonezh (died 1392), founder of the Trinity monastery near Moscow: what his Life says, his role in politics, and what is later legend.
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Religion & Belief · Rostov-Suzdal
Kitezh: The Invisible City and the Legend of 1238
The legend of Kitezh, the Russian city that became invisible to escape Batu in 1238: where the story comes from, what the chronicles say, what the lake holds.
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Religion & Belief · Grand Principality of Moscow
Rublev's Trinity: The Icon Behind the Legend
Andrei Rublev's Trinity icon, painted about 1411 or in the 1420s: what it shows, who painted it, and why its handover to the Church in 2023 alarmed experts.
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Religion & Belief · Kievan Rus'
Slavic Paganism in Rus': Perun, Veles and the Gods Before Christianity
What did the pagan Slavs of Rus' believe? Perun, Veles, Mokosh and the other gods, the few sources that name them, and which "Slavic gods" were invented later.
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Religion & Belief · Kievan Rus'
The Christianization of Kievan Rus': How a Pagan Realm Became Christian
Kievan Rus' did not become Christian in a year. Early converts, the baptism of 988, pagan magicians in revolt, the first bishops and what graves reveal.
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Sources & Evidence · Kievan Rus'
The Primary Chronicle: How We Know About Early Rus'
Who wrote the Primary Chronicle, when, which manuscripts survive, and how historians test its dates against Byzantine, Arabic and Frankish sources.
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People · Kievan Rus'
Yaroslav the Wise: Law, Marriages and the Golden Age
Who was Yaroslav the Wise? See how Kyiv's grand prince wrote down the law, married his daughters to kings and why his bones are missing.
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People · Kievan Rus'
Olga of Kiev: Revenge, Regency and Sainthood
Olga of Kiev buried envoys alive and burned a city with birds, then became a saint. Here is what really happened and what the sources say.
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Empires & Dynasties · Volga Bulgaria
Volga Bulgaria: The Trading Kingdom on the Volga
Volga Bulgaria was a Muslim Turkic kingdom on the Volga and Kama that grew rich on furs and silver. Discover its story, from AD 922 to the Mongols.
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People · Kievan Rus'
Vladimir the Great: The Warlord Who Baptised Kievan Rus'
Vladimir the Great seized Kiev with Viking help, then baptised Kievan Rus' in 988. Here is what the sources really say about his life and legacy.