Требуется грамотный перевод! kyiv rus. during the a.d. 800s, a slavic civilization called rus grew up in kyiv and at other points along river routes between the baltic sea and the black sea. the term ukraina first appeared in the chronicles of ancient slavs in the xii century as a geographical name of the southern lands of the ancient kyiv rus. kyiv became the first of the east slavic states and was known as kyiv rus. scandinavian merchant-warriors called varangians (also known as vikings) played a part in organizing the east slavic tribes into kyiv rus. oleg, a varangian, becameits first ruler in 882. during the 900s, other states recognized kyiv's leadership. volodymyr i, the ruler of the russian city of novhorod, conquered kyiv rus in 980. under his rule, the state became a political, economic and cultural power in europe. about 988, volodymyr became a christian and made christianity the state religion. before the east slavs became christians, they had worshipped idols and nature spirits. from the xiii century ukraine was always struggling against different invaders: the tatar-mongols, the turks, the crimean tatars, lithuanian and polish rulers. in 1240, mongol tribes known as tatars swept across the ukrainians plains from the east and conquered the region.