In 882 he captured Kiev, a Slavic City which developed into a trading center between Scandinavia and Constantinople. In 989 Vladimir I expanded his territory to the Caucasus and the Black Sea and adopted the teachings of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Russian kingdom of Kiev ended after the Mongol invasion in 1237 by Batu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan.
Subsequently the Mongols were defeated by Dimitri Donskoy in 1380 with a victory at Kulikovo. Then the scattered areas were reunited by Ivan IV; he conquered Kazan (1552), Astrakhan (1516) and took possession of Siberia. The government was continued by his successors until the Romanov dynasty ascended the throne which was preceded by Michael Romanov’s appointment as Tsar (1613).
The Romanov dynasty ruled for 304 years until 1917 with Tsar Nikolai II as the last tsar. In February 1917 the Provisional Government was formed under Prince Lyvov and Alexander Kerensky until 25 October 1917, when it was replaced by the Bolshevik Revolutionary Government by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
Nomadic pastoralism flourished in the Pontus-Caspian steppes beginning in the Copper Age. (Source: Wikipedia)
