Rurik
Rurik,
Riurik or
Rörek was a
Varangian (
Viking) who gained control of
Novgorod in
862. Nationality of Rurik is disputed: he is often considered Swede, but there are many good reasons to suppose the Rurik and Danish Rörek of Jutland is the same person; due to close ties between Varangians and Slavs, there are also theories that he was ethnically Slav and Scandinavian. There is debate over how Rurik came to control Novgorod. The later chronicles state that he was invited in by the local tribes who wanted order, but many scholars consider this unlikely. He probably invited himself. Rurik remained in power until his death in
879. His successors (the
Rurik Dynasty), however, moved the capital to
Kiev and founded the state of
Kievan Rus, which persisted until
1240. The ruling dynasty of this state is named Riurikovich, after Rurik.