d. 879

Varangian prince who in 862 established the Rus dynasty in Novgorod, regarded as the historic foundation of the Russian state. According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, compiled at the beginning of the twelfth century, the people of Novgorod, tired of political unrest, invited the Varangians (Scandinavian interlopers also known as the Rus) to establish a stable government. Rurik, along with his two brothers, responded by seizing control of Novgorod and the surrounding region. Whether Rurik was an invited monarch or simply a conqueror is debatable. The Rurik dynasty ruled Russian until the death of Fyodor I in 1598.