The name Rurik is associated with the ancient Russian state and one of the legendary figures in the history of Europe. Very little is known about this very courageous man.
Prince Rurik is considered perhaps one of the most mysterious figures in Russia. Presumably, he was born somewhere in 808 in the city of Rerik, now renamed Rarog.
In the early 800s, the Danish king Gottfried captured this city, and ordered Rurik's father, Prince Godolyub, to hang. His mother, the widowed Princess Umila, hid in a foreign land with two young children. In general, Rurik’s childhood period is not covered in history. Mention of this time can only be found in the “Bertin Annals”, when in 826 the brothers (the future prince and brother Harold) appeared in the residence of the Frankish emperor. King Louis the Pious became their godfather, and granted them lands beyond the Elbe.
By the beginning of the ninth century, there was no whole state on our territory. Here lived tribes of miracles, weights, Ilmen Slavs, Krivichs, Vyatichi, Drevlyans, Polyans and others. Between them very often hostility and quarrels broke out, many people died in endless skirmishes.
Therefore, according to legend, finally, one day, representatives of all these tribes gathered and called for “restoring order” for the foreign prince. This man, according to the chroniclers, was Prince Rurik, and this event happened in 862.
Before the events described, in the year 845, the Varangians climbed on their boats up the Elbe and defeated almost all the cities along the banks of the river. They were led by Prince Rurik, who already five years later commanded a fleet of 350 ships, enormous at that time. And it was this armada that he brought down to England.
In 862, the Varangian troops occupied the shores of Lake Ladoga, and in 864, Rurik annexed Izborsk and Belozero to his possessions.
And when the “called-up” prince formed a single state on the united lands of numerous tribes, Novgorod became its capital. Next to it was cut down another small town - Gorodishche, where subsequently many Novgorod rulers lived.
In neighboring Polotsk, Beloozero and other cities, Prince Rurik appointed to rule his close people - associates. Just two years after Prince Rurik ascended the throne, an uprising began, led by Vadim the Brave. However, the governor of the Novgorod lands was able to fully prove that he was quite capable of managing his rebellious subjects: he brutally crushed the uprising.
By the year 864, as a result of a difficult war with the Khazars, he managed to subdue Mur and Rostov, expanding the Principality of Novgorod, stretching from Volkhov to the mouth of the Oka.
During the reign, Prince Rurik actively strengthened his borders and laid new cities. The policy he pursued was quite simple: he was well aware of the importance of river trade routes along which the main cargo from the East was transporting. He managed to control them, making Novgorod even richer.
Until his death, he firmly held the rule in Novgorod. According to the annals, Rurik reigned for seventeen years. He died in the year 879 during a raid on the Lop and Korela tribes.
After his death, the throne in Novgorod passed to his son Igor, however, due to the fact that he was a minor, the actual rule was taken over by Prince Oleg.
Ruriks, whose dynasty ruled the Russian land for more than seven hundred years, were interrupted only at the end of the nineteenth century.