History
The Primary Chronicle says the people of the north invited the Varangian Rurik to rule them in 862, and that he died in 879. His kinsman Oleg then ruled for Rurik's young son Igor. Historians argue about how much of that story is later dynastic legend. The Rurikid princes claimed him anyway.
No contemporary portrait exists. The face in the Tsarsky Titularnik is a 1672 book portrait. The 867 start seats him at Novgorod, tribal and Ásatrú, with the eastern consolidation as the campaign.
In the game
| Seat | Detail |
|---|---|
| Start | 867 |
| Bookmark | Humble Origins |
| Title | Novgorod |
| Realm size | 10 counties |
| Status | Independent |
| Difficulty | Easy, the bookmark rating in patch 1.20.1.2 |
| Culture | Norse |
| Faith | Ásatrú |
| Government | Tribal |
| Age | 37 |
How to play
Goal. Hold the Rurikid line and consolidate the east toward a Rus realm.
Players often pick Rurik for the origin story of Russia. He is a tribal Norse ruler in the east.
Where this run fails. Pushing into the steppe with no spare heir, mishandling a faith or culture change, or a partition that breaks Novgorod.