Timeline of Russian History

Kievan Rus - 860-1240

862 - Legendary arrival of Riurik of the Varangians.
980-1015 - Vladimir is grand prince of Kiev
988 - Official Conversion to Christianity
1019-1054 - Iaroslav is grand prince of Kiev
1037-1046 - Foundation of Church of St. Sofia in Kiev
1051 - Hilarion consecrate as metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus
1055 - Polovtsy appear on the steppe.
1061 - Polovtsy attack Rus
1072 - Canonization of Princes Boris and Gleb
1096 - Polovtsy attack Kiev and burn Pecherskii Monastery
1097 - Princely conference at Liubech
1113-1125 - Vladimir Monomakh is grand prince of Kiev
1132-1136 - Novgorod becomes semi-autonomous
1147 - Moscow first appears in the chronicles
1156 - First Kremlin walls in Moscow
1169 - Prince Andrei Bogoliubskii of Vladimir sacks Kiev
1191-1192 - Novgorod signs treaty with Hanseatic League
1204 - Constantinople falls to the 4th Crusade
1221 - Nizhni-Novgorod founded.
1223 - Battle of Kalka - first Mongol victory over Kievan Rus
1237-1240 - Mongol conquest of Kievan Rus
1240 - Prince Alexander Nevsky defeats Swedes on the Neva
Mongol Rus - 1240-15th century (note that there is not a clean break between the period of Mongol Rus and the period of Muscovite Rus) 1242 - Prince Alexander Nevsky defeats Teutonic Knights at Lake Peipus
1300 - Moscow conquers Kolomna
1305 - Metropolitan moves from Vladimir to Moscow
1327 - Ivan I Kalita of Moscow designated Grand Prince of Vladimir by Khan.
1359 - Dmitri Donskoi is Grand Prince of Moscow
1380 - Battle of Kulikova, first victory over the Mongols, demonstrates Moscow's preeminence
1448 - Bishop Iona chosen to be Metropolitan without approval of Constantinople.
1453 - Constantinople falls to the Turks.
1462 - Ivan III The Great is Grand Prince of Moscow.
1478 - Moscow annexes Novgorod.
1480 - Battle of Ugra, final (?) victory over the Mongols.
Muscovite Rus - 14th century (Battle of Kulikova) onward 1497 - Ivan III issues the Sudebnik
1533 - Ivan IV the Terrible is Grand Prince.
1547 - Ivan IV is crowned Tsar.
1584-1613 - Time of Troubles
1598 - Boris Godunov becomes Tsar.
1613 - Mikhail Romanov elected Tsar.

References: Freeze, Gregory. Russia: A History. Oxford University Press, New York, 1997.

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