The word ''Rus'' referred initially to a group of Scandinavian

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

, also known as

Varangians The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

in the 10th century. The term gradually acquired the meaning of the aforementioned dynastic polity itself, and also the geographic region of its heartlands

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, Pereiaslavl' and

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

. ''Russia'' is a Hellenized rendering of the same word, and ''Ruthenia'' is its Latinized form. Following the decline of Kievan Rus' in the 12th century, its territory fragmented into multiple polities. The northeastern principality of

Vladimir-Suzdal The Principality of Suzdal, from 1157 the Grand Principality of Vladimir, commonly known as Vladimir-Suzdal, or simply Suzdalia, was a medieval principality that was established during the disintegration of Kievan Rus'. In historiography, the ...

played a crucial role in the eventual rise of the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Principality of Moscow, or Muscovy, known as the Principality of Moscow until 1389, was a late medieval Russian monarchy. Its capital was the city of Moscow. Originally established as a minor principality in the 13th century, the gra ...

, which, by the 14th to 16th centuries, had consolidated power over most of northeastern Rus'. The name ''Russia'' began to appear in official documents during this time, alongside the older term ''Rus''. By the 15th century, Muscovite rulers adopted the title "Grand Prince of all Rus'," signaling their claim over the legacy of Kievan Rus'. The term ''Russia'' gradually replaced ''Rus'', and by the 16th century, under Ivan IV, the state officially became the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

. Despite this, the term ''Muscovy'' persisted in Europe, especially in Latin Catholic regions, but ''Russia'' was increasingly recognized across Northern Europe and the courts of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. The name ''

Ruthenia ''Ruthenia'' is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin, as one of several terms for Rus'. Originally, the term ''Rus' land'' referred to a triangular area, which mainly corresponds to the tribe of Polans in Dnieper Ukraine. ''Ruthenia' ...

'' originated as a Latinized form of ''Rus'' and was commonly used in Western European documents to refer to the eastern Slavic lands during medieval times. Over time, the name became more localized, especially after the 19th century, to refer to

Carpathian Ruthenia Transcarpathia (, ) is a historical region on the border between Central and Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast. From the Hungarian Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, conquest of the Carpathian Basin ...

a region in the northeastern

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

inhabited by Slavs with a Rusyn identity. Initially the ecclesiastical title " Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus'" was used for the head of the church based in Kiev until the metropolitan see moved to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in the 14th century, where it became "

Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the Primate (bishop), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the Ordinar ...

" with the establishment of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

. In contrast, the southwestern regions of former Kievan Rus' adopted the title " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia", while modern Ukrainian Orthodox churches have shifted to using titles reflecting "Ukraine" instead of "Rus'."

Etymology

The most common theory about the origins of Russians is the Germanic version. The name ''Rus'', like the

Proto-Finnic Proto-Finnic or Proto-Baltic-Finnic is the common ancestor of the Finnic languages, which include the national languages Finnish language, Finnish and Estonian language, Estonian. Proto-Finnic is not attested in any texts, but has been linguisti ...

name for

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(''*roocci''), supposed to be descended from an

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

term for "the men who row" (''rods-'') as rowing was the main method of navigating the rivers of Eastern Europe, and that it could be linked to the Swedish coastal area of

Roslagen Roslagen is the name of the coastal areas of Uppland province in Sweden, which also constitutes the northern part of the Stockholm archipelago. Historically, it was the name for all the coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, including the eastern par ...

or ''Roden'', as it was known in earlier times.Stefan Brink, 'Who were the Vikings?', in
The Viking World
'', ed. by Stefan Brink and Neil Price (Abingdon: Routledge, 2008), pp. 4–10 (pp. 6–7). The name Rus' would then have the same origin as the Finnish,

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

, Võro and

Northern Sami Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

names for Sweden: ''Ruotsi'', ''Rootsi'', ''Roodsi'' and ''Ruoŧŧa''.Russia
,"

Online Etymology Dictionary Etymonline, or ''Online Etymology Dictionary'', sometimes abbreviated as OED (not to be confused with the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', which the site often cites), is a free online dictionary that describes the etymology, origins of English la ...

The local Finnic and Permic peoples in northern Russia proper use the same (''Rus''-related) name both for

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(depending on the language): thus the Veps name for

and Swedish is ''Ročinma'' / ''Ročin'',"Зайцева М. И., Муллонен М. И. Словарь вепсского языка (Dictionary of Veps language). Л., «Наука», 1972. while in the

Komi language Komi (, ), also known as Zyran, Zyrian or Komi-Zyryan (),. is the native language of the Komi (Zyrians). It is one of the Permian languages; the other regional varieties are Komi-Permyak, which has official status, and Komi-Yazva. Komi is s ...

spoken further east the etymologically corresponding term ''Roćmu'' / ''Roć'' means already

and Russian instead.Zyri͡ansko-russkīĭ i russko-zyri͡anskīĭ slovarʹ (Komi – Russian dictionary) / sostavlennyĭ Pavlom Savvaitovym. Savvaitov, P. I. 1815–1895. Sankt Peterburg: V Tip. Imp. Akademīi Nauk, 1850.Русско–коми словарь 12000 слов (Russian – Komi dictionary, Л. М. Безносикова, Н. К. Забоева, Р. И. Коснырева, 2005 год, 752 стр., Коми книжное издательство. The Finnish scholar Tor Karsten has pointed out that the territory of present-day

Uppland Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The name literally ...

Södermanland Södermanland ( ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latinisation of names, Latinized form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden, historical province (or ) on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Österg� ...

and

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

in ancient times was known as ''Roðer'' or ''roðin''. Thomsen accordingly has suggested that ''Roðer'' probably derived from ''roðsmenn'' or ''roðskarlar'', meaning seafarers or rowers.

Ivar Aasen Ivar Andreas Aasen (; 5 August 1813 – 23 September 1896) was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright, and poet. He is best known for having assembled one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language, Nynorsk, from ...

, the Norwegian philologist and lexicographer, noted proto-Germanic root variants ''Rossfolk'', ''Rosskar'', ''Rossmann''. George Vernadsky theorized about the association of Rus and

Alans The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...

. He claimed that ''Ruxs'' in Alanic means "radiant light", thus the ethnonym ''Roxolani'' could be understood as "bright Alans". He theorized that the name ''Roxolani'' a combination of two separate tribal names: the Rus and the Alans. According to the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'', the English name ''Russia'' first appeared in the 14th century, borrowed from

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

''Russia,'' which was in turn a rendition of the Byzantine Greek name for Rus', Ρωσία (Rosía). The word ''Ruthenia'' originated as a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

designation of the region its people called ''Rus. ''Rusia'' or ''Ruthenia'' appears in the 1520 Latin treatise ''Mores, leges et ritus omnium gentium, per Ioannem Boëmum, Aubanum, Teutonicum ex multis clarissimis rerum scriptoribus collecti'' by Johann Boemus. In the chapter ''De Rusia sive Ruthenia, et recentibus Rusianorum moribus'' ("About Rus', or Ruthenia, and modern customs of the Rus'"), Boemus tells of a country extending from the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

to the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

and from the Don River to the northern ocean. It is a source of

beeswax Bee hive wax complex Beeswax (also known as cera alba) is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in o ...

, its

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s harbor many animals with valuable

fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

, and the capital city

(''Moscovia''), named after the

Moskva River The Moskva (, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river that flows through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through central Moscow. About southeast of Moscow, at the cit ...

(''Moscum amnem''), is 14 miles in circumference. Danish diplomat Jacob Ulfeldt, who traveled to Russia in 1578 to meet with Tsar Ivan IV, titled his posthumously (1608) published memoir ''Hodoeporicon Ruthenicum'' ("Voyage to Ruthenia").

Early evidence

Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian) was a language (or a group of dialects) used by the East Slavs from the 7th or 8th century to the 13th or 14th century, until it diverged into the Russian language, Russian and Ruthenian language ...

literature, the

East Slavs The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert Huds ...

refer to themselves as "'' uzhiruskie''" ("Rus' men") or, rarely, "''rusichi''." The East Slavs are thought to have adopted this name from the

Varangian The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

's court at

Ingelheim am Rhein Ingelheim (), officially Ingelheim am Rhein (), is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. The town sprawls along the Rhine's left bank. It has been Mainz-Bingen's district seat since 1996. From the la ...

in 839 (the same year as the first appearance of

Varangians The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

), was visited by a delegation from the

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

. The delegates included two men who called themselves "''Rhos''" ("Rhos vocari dicebant"). Louis inquired about their origins and learned that they were Swedes. Fearing that they were spies for their brothers the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

, he jailed them. They were also mentioned in the 860s by Byzantine Patriarch

Photius Photius I of Constantinople (, ''Phōtios''; 815 – 6 February 893), also spelled ''Photius''Fr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., and Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Mate ...

under the name "''Rhos''." ''Rusiyyah'' or ''Rūs'' (روس) was used by Ahmad ibn Fadlan for what was assumed to be Varangians he met by the

Volga River The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

, and by the Persian traveler Ahmad ibn Rustah who visited

Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), 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 ...

and described how the Rus' exploited the Slavs. When the Varangians arrived in

, the Byzantines considered and described the ''Rhos'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''Ῥῶς'') as a different people from the Slavs. The earliest written mention of the word ''Rus'' appears in the ''Primary Chronicle'' under the year 912. When describing a peace treaty signed by the Varangian

Oleg of Novgorod Oleg (), Oleh (), or Aleh () is an Slavic peoples, East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine, and Belаrus. Origins ''Oleg'' derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' (Helge (name), Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "ble ...

during his campaign on Constantinople, it contains the following passage, "Oleg sent his men to make peace and sign a treaty between the Greeks and the Rus', saying thus: .."We are the Rus': Karl, Inegeld, Farlaf, Veremud, Rulav, Gudi, Ruald, Karn, Frelav, Ruar, Aktevu, Truan, Lidul, Vost, Stemid, sent by Oleg, the great prince of Rus', and all those under him Later the ''Primary Chronicle'' states that they conquered

and created what is now called

. The territory they conquered was named after them as were, eventually, the local people (''cf''.

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

). However, the Synod Scroll of the ''

Novgorod First Chronicle The Novgorod First Chronicle ( rus, Новгоро́дская пе́рвая ле́топись, Novgoródskaya pérvaya létopisʹ, nəvɡɐˈrot͡skəjə ˈpʲervəjə ˈlʲetəpʲɪsʲ, commonly abbreviated as NPL), also known by its 1914 Eng ...

'', which is partly based on the original list of the late 11th Century and partly on the Primary Chronicle, does not name the

Varangians The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

Ruzzi'', ''Ruzia'' and ''Ruzari''. Sources written in Latin routinely confused the Rus' with the

Rugii The Rugii, Rogi or Rugians (), were one of the smaller Germanic peoples of Late Antiquity who are best known for their short-lived 5th-century kingdom upon the Roman frontier, near present-day Krems an der Donau in Austria. This kingdom, like t ...

, an ancient East Germanic tribe related to the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

. Olga of Kiev, for instance, was called "queen of the Rugii" (''regina Rugorum'') in the Lotharingian Chronicle compiled by the anonymous

continuator A continuator, in literature, is a writer who creates a new work based on someone else's prior text, such as a novel or novel fragment. The new work may complete the older work (as with the numerous continuations of Jane Austen's unfinished novel ...

Regino of Prüm Regino of Prüm or of Prum (, ; died 915 AD) was a Benedictine Order, Benedictine monk, who served as abbot of Prüm Abbey, Prüm (892–99) and later of St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier, Saint Martin's at Trier, and chronicler, whose ''Chronicon'' is ...

Alternate anti-Normanist theories

A number of alternative etymologies have been suggested. These are derived from the " anti-Normanist" school of thought in Russian historiography during the 19th century and in the

Soviet era The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

. These hypotheses are considered unlikely in Western mainstream academia. Slavic and Iranian etymologies suggested by "anti-Normanist" scholars include: * The ''

Roxolani The Roxolani or Rhoxolāni ( , ; ) were a Sarmatian people documented between the 2nd century BC and the 4th century AD, first east of the Borysthenes (Dnieper) on the coast of Lake Maeotis (Sea of Azov), and later near the borders of Roman Daci ...

'', a

Sarmatian The Sarmatians (; ; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples who dominated the Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe from about the 5th century BCE to the 4t ...

(i. e.,

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

) people who inhabited southern Ukraine, Moldova and Romania; * Several river-names in the region contain the element ''rus''/''ros'' and these might be the origin of the name of the Rus'. In

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, the ''Ros'' and ''Rusna'', near

and Pereiaslav, respectively, whose names are derived from a postulated Slavic term for "water", akin to ''rosa'' (dew), ''rusalka'' ( water nymph), ''ruslo'' (

stream bed A streambed or stream bed is the bottom of a stream or river and is confined within a Stream channel, channel or the Bank (geography), banks of the waterway. Usually, the bed does not contain terrestrial (land) vegetation and instead supports d ...

). (A relation of ''rosa'' to the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

''rasā́-'' "liquid, juice; mythical river" suggests itself; compare

Avestan Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...

''Raŋhā'' "mythical stream" and the ancient name of the

, Ῥᾶ ''Rā'', from a cognate

Scythian The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...

name.) * ''Rusiy''
Русый
, light-brown, said of hair color (the translation "reddish-haired", cognate with the Slavic "ryzhiy", "red-haired", is not quite exact); * A postulated proto-Slavic word for "

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

", cognate with ''arctos'' and ''ursus''. The name ''Rus'' may have originated from the

name of the

(by F. Knauer, Moscow 1901). George Vernadsky has suggested a derivation from the

or from the

Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...

term ''ronsa'' (moisture, water). River names such as Ros are common in Eastern Europe. The Russian linguist Igor Danilevsky, in his ''Ancient Rus as Seen by Contemporaries and Descendants'', argued against these theories, stating that the anti-Normanists neglected the realities of the Ancient Slavic languages and that the nation name ''Rus'' could not have arisen from any of the proposed origins. * The populace of the Ros River would have been known as ''Roshane''; * Red-haired or bear-origined people would have ended their self-name with the plural ''-ane'' or ''-ichi'', and not with the singular ''-s''' (red hair is one of the natural hair colors of Scandinavians and other

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

); * Most theories are based on a ''Ros-'' root, and in Ancient Slavic an ''o'' would never have become the ''u'' in ''Rus''. Danilevskiy further argued that the term followed the general pattern of Slavic names for neighboring

Finnic peoples The Finnic peoples, or simply Finns, are the nations who speak languages traditionally classified in the Finno-Permic languages, Finnic language family, and which are thought to have originated in the region of the Volga River. Currently, the l ...

—the '' Chud''', '' Ves''', '' Perm''', '' Sum''', etc.—but that the only possible word that it could be based on, ''Ruotsi'', presented a historical dead-end, since no such tribal or national name was known from non-Slavic sources. "Ruotsi" is, however, the Finnish name for

. Danilevskiy shows that the oldest historical source, the ''

Primary Chronicle The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a Rus' chronicle, chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been or ...

'', is inconsistent in what it refers to as the "Rus'": in adjacent passages, the Rus' are grouped with

Varangians The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

social class A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...

, which can explain the irregularities in the ''Primary Chronicle'' and the lack of early non-Slavic sources.

From Rus' to Russia

In modern English historiography, common names for the ancient East Slavic state include ''Kievan Rus'', (sometimes retaining the apostrophe in ''Rus'', a transliteration of the soft sign, ь), or ''Kievan Ruthenia''. The term ''Kievan Rus'' was established by modern historians to distinguish the period from the 9th century to the beginning of the 12th century, when Kiev was the center of a large state. Initially, the Rus' lands referred only to the Middle Dnieper region centered on

, and forming a triangle with Pereiaslav, and

. The 12th century chroniclers "record princes from Vladimir–Suzdal’ in the Northeast, Novgorod in the North, and Galicia–Volhynia in the Southwest, among others, as going to the Rus’ Land when Kiev is meant." This narrow usage of Rus’ ceased after the Mongols conquered Kiev in the second half of the thirteenth century. The vast polity of

was subsequently divided by geographical distance into several more distant principalities. The most influential were, in the south-west,

Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia The Principality or, from 1253, Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, also known as the Kingdom of Ruthenia, Kingdom of Rus', or Kingdom of Russia, also Halych–Volhynian Kingdom was a medieval state in Eastern Europe which existed from 1199 to 1349. I ...

, in the north, the

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () 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 ...

, and in the north-east,

Northeast principalities

In the 14th–16th centuries most of northeastern Rus' principalities were united under the power of the

, once a part of Vladimir-Suzdal, and formed a large state. While the oldest endonyms were ''Rus'' () and the ''Rus' land'' or ''Russian land'' (), a new form of its name, ''Rusia'' or ''Russia'', appeared in the 15th century, and became common thereafter.E. Hellberg-Hirn. Soil and Soul: The Symbolic World of Russianness. Ashgate, 1998. P. 54Lawrence N. Langer. Historical Dictionary of Medieval Russia. Scarecrow Press, 2001. P. 186 In the 1480s Muscovite state scribes Ivan Cherny and Mikhail Medovartsev mention Russia under the name "Росиа"', Medovartsev also mentions "the sceptre of Russian lordship (Росийскаго господства)". In the following century ''Russia'' co-existed with the old name ''Rus' ''and appeared in an inscription on the western portal of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

(1515), on the icon case of the Theotokos of Vladimir (1514), in the work by Maximus the Greek, the ''Russian Chronograph'' written by Dosifei Toporkov (?–1543/44) in 1516–22 and in other sources. By the 15th century, the rulers of the

had incorporated the northern parts of the former Kievan Rus'. Ivan III of Moscow was the first local ruler to claim the title of "Grand Prince of all Rus'" This title was used by the Grand Dukes of Vladimir since the early 14th century, and the first prince to use it was

Mikhail of Tver Mikhail Yaroslavich (; 1271 – 22 November 1318) was Prince of Tver from 1285 and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1304 to 1314 and again from 1315 until his death in 1318. He was Russian Orthodox Church#Canonization, canonized and counted amo ...

. Ivan III was styled by

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...

as and . Later, ''Rus'' — in the

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

specifically — evolved into the Byzantine-influenced form, ''Rossiya'' (Russia is (''Rhōssía'') in Greek).

Tsardom of Russia

In 1547, Ivan IV assumed the title of "Tsar and Grand Duke of all Rus'" (Царь и Великий князь всея Руси) and was crowned on 16 January, thereby proclaiming the

, or "the Great Russian Tsardom", as it was called in the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

document, by the

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...

Jeremiah II and in numerous official texts,Richard S. Wortman. Scenarios of Power: Myth and Ceremony in Russian Monarchy from Peter the Great to the Abdication of Nicholas II. Princeton University Press, 2013. P. 17 but the state partly remained referred to as ''Moscovia'' () throughout Europe, predominantly in its Catholic part, though this

version of the term was never used in Russia, instead it was referred as ''Moscow State'' (. The two names "Russia" and "Moscovia" appear to have co-existed as interchangeable during the later 16th and throughout the 17th century with different Western maps and sources using different names, so that the country was called "''Russia, or Moscovia''" () or "''Russia, popularly known as Moscovia''" (). In

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

of the 16th century, it was known both as Russia and Muscovy. Such notable Englishmen as Giles Fletcher the Elder, author of the book ''Of the Russe Common Wealth'' (1591), and Samuel Collins, author of ''The Present State of Russia'' (1668), both of whom visited Russia, were familiar with the term ''Russia'' and used it in their works. So did numerous other authors, including

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

, who wrote ''A brief history of Moscovia and of other less-known countries lying eastward of Russia'', published posthumously, starting it with the words: "The Empire of Moscovia, or as others call it, Russia...". In the Russian Tsardom, the word ''Russia'' replaced the old name ''Rus'' in official documents, though the names ''Rus'' and ''Russian land'' were still common and synonymous to it, and often appeared in the form ''Great Russia'' (), which is more typical of the 17th century, whereas the state was also known as ''Great-Russian Tsardom'' (). According to historians like

Alexander Zimin Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Zimin (Александр Александрович Зимин; 1920-1980) was one of the most prolific and well-known Soviet medievalists. His area of expertise was late medieval Muscovy. Zimin was born in a noble fa ...

and Anna Khoroshkevich, the continuous use of the term ''Moscovia'' was a result of traditional habit. The term ''Moscovia'' was used in many parts of Europe prior to the reign of Peter I. In

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

and at the court of the

, however, the country was also known under name ''Russia'' or ''Rossia''.

Sigismund von Herberstein Siegmund (Sigismund) Freiherr von Herberstein (or Baron Sigismund von Herberstein; 23 August 1486 – 28 March 1566) was a Carniolan diplomat, writer, historian and member of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Council. He was most noted for his exten ...

, ambassador of the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

in Russia, used both ''Russia'' and ''Moscovia'' in his work on the Russian tsardom and noted: "The majority believes that Russia is a changed name of

a. Muscovites ("Russians" in the German version) refute this, saying that their country was originally called Russia (Rosseia)". Pointing to the difference between Latin and Russian names, French captain Jacques Margeret, who served in Russia and left a detailed description of ''L'Empire de Russie'' of the early 17th century that was presented to King Henry IV, stated that foreigners make "a mistake when they call them Muscovites and not Russians. When they are asked what nation they are, they respond 'Russac', which means 'Russians', and when they are asked what place they are from, the answer is Moscow, Vologda, Ryasan and other cities". The closest analogue of the Latin term ''Moscovia'' in Russia was "Tsardom of Moscow", or "Moscow Tsardom" (), which was used along with the name "Russia","В некотором царстве, в некотором государстве..."
Sigurd Schmidt, Doctor of history sciences, academician of RAN, Journal "Rodina", Nr. 12/2004 sometimes in one sentence, as in the name of the 17th century Russian work ''On the Great and Glorious Russian Moscow State'' ().О великом и славном Российском Московском государстве. Гл. 50 // Арсеньев Ю. В. Описание Москвы и Московского государства: По неизданному списку Космографии конца XVII века. М, 1911. С. 6–17 (Зап. Моск. археол. ин-та. Т. 11)

From Rus' to Ruthenia

Ruthenian principalities

In the 13th–14th centuries, parts of the core Rus' land and many of southwestern Rus' principalities were united under the power of the Kingdom of Rus' or Ruthenia (), historiographically better known as the

Roman the Great Roman Mstislavich ( – 19 June 1205), also known as Roman the Great, was Prince of Novgorod (1168–1170), Volhynia (1170–1189; 1189–1205), and Galicia (1189; 1198/99–1205). He founded the ''Romanovichi'' branch of Rurikids, which wou ...

was variously named ''dux Rutenorum'', ''princeps Ruthenorum'' or ''rex Ruthenorum'' by Polish chroniclers. Danylo of Galicia was crowned ''Rex Ruthenorum'' or "king of the Rus'" in 1253. Alternatively, Danylo and his brother Vasylko Romanovych were styled ''Princeps Galiciae'', ''Rex Russiae'', and ''Rex Lodomeriae'' in

Papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

documents, while the population of Halych and Volhynia was called ''Rusciae christiani'' and ''populus Russiae'' amongst other names. The ''

Gesta Hungarorum ''Gesta Hungarorum'', or ''The Deeds of the Hungarians'', is the earliest book about Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian history which has survived for posterity. Its genre is not chronicle, but ''gesta'', meaning "deeds" or "acts", which is a medie ...

'' ( 1280) stated that the Carpathian mountains between Hungary and Halych were situated ''in finibus Ruthenie'' ("on the borders of Ruthenia"). Galicia–Volhynia declined by mid-14th century due to the

Galicia–Volhynia Wars The Galicia–Volhynia Wars were several wars fought in the years 1340–1392 over the succession in the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, also known as Ruthenia. After Yuri II Boleslav was poisoned by local Ruthenian nobles in 1340, both the Gran ...

after the poisoning of king

Yuri II Boleslav Yuri II Boleslav (; ; c. 1305/1310 – April 7, 1340), was King of Ruthenia and ''Dominus'' of the Galicia–Volhynian lands (1325–1340). A foreigner and a Catholic by birth, he was the son of Trojden I, Duke of Masovia and a member of the ...

by local Ruthenian nobles in 1340. ''Iohannes Victiensis Liber'' (page 218) records the death of Boleslav as ''Hoc anno rex Ruthenorum moritur (...)'' ("In that year the king of the Ruthenians died (...)").

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Gediminas Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341. He is considered the founder of Lithuania's capital Vilnius (see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from t ...

adopted the title ''King of the Lithuanians and many Ruthenians, ect.'' or ''King of

Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

and Ruthenians, Prince and Duke of Semigalia'' in the 1320s. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rus', Samogitia incorporated the majority of Ruthenian territory, and the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

later absorbed Galicia as the ''Rus Voivodeship''. The latter became the

Ruthenian Voivodeship The Ruthenian Voivodeship (; ; ) was a voivodeship of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1434 until the First Partition of Poland in 1772, with its center in the city of Lwów (lat. Leopolis) (modern day Lviv). Together with a number of ot ...

() in 1434. Premislia celebris Rvssiae civitas

While gradually most of the territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rus', Samogitia retained the name ''Rus'', some of them got more color-specific names: * "White Rus" (''Russia (Ruthenia) Alba'', ''Belarus'', ''Ruś Biała''). This would eventually become the name of the country

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. * "Black Rus" (''Russia (Ruthenia) Nigra'', ''Chorna Rus'', ''Ruś Czarna'') * "Red Rus" (''Russia (Ruthenia) Rubra'', ''Chervona Rus'', ''Ruś Czerwona'') Although the name ''

'' arose as a Latinized form of the name ''Rus'' in Western European documents in medieval times, ''Russia'' was still the predominant name for Western Rus' territories up until 19th century.

Later usage

Later usage of the name "Ruthenia" became narrowed to

(''Karpats'ka Rus''), the northeastern part of the

, in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

where the local Slavs had '' Rusyn'' identity. Carpathian Ruthenia incorporated the cities of Mukachevo (),

Uzhhorod Uzhhorod (, ; , ; , ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality on the Uzh, Uzh River in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistan ...

() and

Prešov Prešov () is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region () and Šariš. With a population of approximately 85,000 for the city, and in total more than 100,000 with the urban area, it is the second-largest city i ...

(''Pryashiv''; ). Carpathian Rus' had been part of the

since 907, and had been known as "Magna Rus'" but was also called "Karpato-Rus'" or " Zakarpattya".

Ecclesiastical titles

Originally, the metropolitan based in Kiev (Kyiv) called himself "metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus'", but in 1299, the Kievan metropolitan chair was moved to Vladimir by Metropolitan Maximos, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus'. One line of metropolitans settled in Moscow in 1325 and continued titling themselves "of Kiev and all Rus'". Patriarch Callistus I of Constantinople in 1361 created two metropolitan sees with their own names (in

) for the northern and southern parts: respectively, (''Megálē Rhōssía'',

Great Russia Great Russia, sometimes Great Rus' ( , ; , ; , ), is a name formerly applied to the territories of "Russia proper", the land that formed the core of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and later the Tsardom of Russia. This was the land to which the e ...

) in Vladimir and Kiev and (''Mikrà Rhōssía'', Russia Minor or Little Russia) with the centers in

Halych Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Eastern Europe), ...

and

Novogrudok Novogrudok or Navahrudak (; ; , ; ) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Novogrudok District. As of 2025, it has a population of 27,624. In the Middle Ages, the city was ruled by King Mindaugas' son V ...

. After the 15th–16th century Moscow–Constantinople schism, the Muscovite church became autocephalous in 1589, renamed itself the

Moscow Patriarchate The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the Primate (bishop), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the Ordinar ...

(today better known as the

) and switched to the title of "

". On the other hand, the southwestern territories of former Kievan Rus' would undergo Polonisation and experience the 1596

Union of Brest The Union of Brest took place in 1595–1596 and represented an agreement by Eastern Orthodox Churches in the Ruthenian portions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to accept the Pope's authority while maintaining Eastern Orthodox liturgical ...

, leading to the creation of the

Ruthenian Uniate Church The Ruthenian Uniate Church (; ; ; ) was a Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church of the Catholic Church in the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was created in 1595/1596 by those clergy of the Ea ...

( Belarusian: Руская Уніяцкая Царква; Ukrainian: Руська Унійна Церква; ; ). The primate of this church was titled " Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia". The Annexation of the Metropolitanate of Kiev by the Moscow Patriarchate happened in 1685–1722. When the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church proclaimed itself in 1917, its primates styled themselves "Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine", thus replacing "Rus'" with "Ukraine", until 1936. From 1991 to 2000, two further patriarchs of the UAOC called themselves "Patriarch of Kiev and all Rus-Ukraine", but then "Rus" was definitively dropped from the name. After the Unification Council of 2018 which established the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), the title of Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine was first held by Epiphanius I of Ukraine. His rival Filaret (Denysenko) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) continues claiming the title "Patriarch of Kiev and All Rus'-Ukraine". Onufriy (Berezovsky) of the

Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), commonly referred to by the exonym Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), is an Eastern Orthodox church in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was officially formed in 1990 in pla ...

(UOC-MP) also claims the title of "Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine", and in 2022 the UOC formally cut ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.

References

Citations

Sources

* * (first published 2012 by Рукописные памятники Древней Руси anuscript monuments of ancient Rus' Moscow). * E. Nakonechniy. ''The Stolen Name: How the Ruthenians became Ukrainians''. (Lviv, 1998) * P. Pekarskiy. ''Science and Literature in Russia in the Age of Peter the Great.'' (St Petersburg, 1862) * S. M Solovyov. ''History of Russia since the Ancient Times''. (Moscow, 1993) * Hakon Stang, ''The Naming of Russia'' (Oslo: Meddelelser, 1996). * Y. M. Suzumov. ''Etymology of Rus'' (in Appendix to S. Fomin's "Russia before the Second Coming", available on-lin
in Russian
.) * * '' Zerkalo Nedeli'' (''Mirror Weekly''): ** "How Rusyns Became Ukrainians", '' Zerkalo Nedeli'' (''Mirror Weekly''), July 2005. Available onlin
in Russian
an
in Ukrainian
** "Such a Deceptive Triunity", '' Zerkalo Nedeli'' (''Mirror Weekly''), 2–8 May 1998. Available onlin
in Russian
an
in Ukrainian
** "We Are More 'Russian' than Them: a History of Myths and Sensations", '' Zerkalo Nedeli'' (''Mirror Weekly''), 27 January – 2 February 2001. Available onlin
in Russian
an
in Ukrainian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rus (Name) Country name etymology

Name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

Viking Age populated places Exonyms Ethnonyms Saga locations History of Russia