VarangiansThe Varangians (vəˈrændʒiənz; Væringjar; Βάραγγοι, Várangoi; Old East Slavic: варяже, varyazhe or варязи, varyazi) were Viking conquerors, traders and settlers, mostly from present-day Sweden. The Varangians settled in the territories of modern-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, and in the 9th century, they founded the medieval state of Kievan Rus'. They also formed the Byzantine Varangian Guard, which later also included Anglo-Saxons. According to the 12th-century Primary Chronicle, a group of Varangians known as the Rus' settled in Novgorod in 862 under the leadership of Rurik.
Veliky NovgorodVeliky Novgorod (Великий Новгород, vjɪˈljikjɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as Novgorod (Новгород), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the Volkhov River just downstream from its outflow from Lake Ilmen and is situated on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and Saint Petersburg. UNESCO recognized Novgorod as a World Heritage Site in 1992.
Volga trade routeIn the Middle Ages, the Volga trade route connected Northern Europe and Northwestern Russia with the Caspian Sea and the Sasanian Empire, via the Volga River. The Rus used this route to trade with Muslim countries on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, sometimes penetrating as far as Baghdad. The powerful Volga Bulgars (cousins of today's Balkan Bulgarians) formed a seminomadic confederation and traded through the Volga river with Viking people of Rus' and Scandinavia (Swedes, Danes, Norwegians) and with the southern Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) Furthermore, Volga Bulgaria, with its two cities Bulgar and Suvar east of what is today Moscow, traded with Russians and the fur-selling Ugrians.
Novgorod RepublicThe Novgorod Republic (Новгородская республика) was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The republic prospered as the easternmost trading post of the Hanseatic League, and its people were much influenced by the culture of the Byzantines. The state was called Novgorod and Great Novgorod (Veliky Novgorod) with the form Sovereign Lord Novgorod the Great (Gosudar Gospodin Veliky Novgorod) becoming common in the 15th century.
Leningrad OblastLeningrad Oblast (Leningradskaya oblast’, ljɪnjɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsjtj; Leningradan agj; Leningradin alue) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 1,716,868 (2010 Census); up from 1,669,205 recorded in the 2002 Census. Leningrad Oblast is highly industrialized. Its administrative center and largest city is Gatchina. The oblast was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position.
Lake LadogaLake Ladoga ('laed@g@; Ladozhskoye ozero, ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozjɪrə or Ladoga, ˈladəɡə; Laatokka [earlier in Finnish Nevajärvi]; Luadogu; Ladog, Ladoganjärv) is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake after Baikal in Russia, and the 14th largest freshwater lake by area in the world. It is comparable in size to Lake Ontario.
NevaThe Neva (ˈniːvə , UKalsoˈneɪvə ; ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it is the fourth-largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge (after the Volga, the Danube and the Rhine). The Neva is the only river flowing from Lake Ladoga. It flows through the city of Saint Petersburg, the three smaller towns of Shlisselburg, Kirovsk and Otradnoye, and dozens of settlements.
