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[[File: RUS 2.jpg|200px|thumbthumbnail|left|A 19th-century painting of the baptism of Prince Vladimir]]Russia has a unique history, and the influence of Byzantium on Russia's culture, society, and politics cannot be understated. The influence of the Eastern Roman Empire changed Russia not through conquest but a through cultural exchange.

The Vikings became a ruling aristocracy who governed many tribes and eventually created a state-centered around Kyiv, a vital trading center. <ref>David Christian. A History of Russia, Mongolia and Central Asia (London, Blackwell, 1999), p 189</ref> The Vikings overtime over time began to merge with their Slavic and Finnic subjects and became known as the Rus, from this comes the name of Russia.

[[File: Rus 3.jpg|200px250px|thumbthumbnail|left| A good example of Byzantine influence on Russian architecture, the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir (1186—1189)]]It appears that the Rus dominated the trade routes between northern Europe and the Black Sea and that their merchants acted as middlemen specifically in the fur trade. It also appears that Rus merchants often visited the spectacular city of Byzantium. However, the Byzantines were preoccupied with the Bulgars, and the Arab threats paid little attention to Rus's growing powers. This changed in 860 when the Rus raided the environs of Byzantium before being beaten back. In 941, the Rus threatened the Christian Empire with invasion, but a peace agreement prevented war.<ref>John Julius Norwich. Byzantium, The Apogee (London, Penguin Books, 1992), p 145</ref> This treaty led to more trade with Byzantium and encouraged Christians Christian missionaries to follow the merchants into Russia and bring the Gospel to the people of the Steppe.

However, in 970 A.D under Grand Prince Sviatoslav, the Rus after conquering the Bulgar Empire invaded Byzantium. It took two years of hard fighting for the Byzantines to defeat the Rus. All the time it appears that Byzantine cultural and religious influence spread in Kievan Rus. It seems that a mother of a Grand Prince, Olga was baptized by Byzantine missionaries. The Grand Princess Olga ruled as regent for her son Sviatoslav, however despite his mothers’ influence he remained an avowed pagan. Christianity was slowly growing in Rus, but it remained overwhelmingly pagan.<ref>Norwich, p 67</ref> This was to change in around 1000 AD when Emperor Basil II and Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev Kyiv (958-1015 AD) came to an arrangement. The Rus leader agreed to support Basil in his civil war with a rebel in return for the hand of his sister in marriage. As part of this bargain, Vladimir agreed to convert to Greek Orthodox Christianity. Vladimir under the influence of his wife became a zealous Christian, and the Grand Prince personally tossed pagan idols into a river.<ref>Norwich, p 71</ref>

The Grand Prince is today recognized as a saint in the Orthodox Church. It is widely believed that Vladimir used the Christian Church to unify his realm. Like many other ‘state-builders,’ Vladimir used religion to extend his own power and discipline his people. After Vladimir's death, the Kiev Kyiv Rus state flourished for several more decades until the Empire began to fragment because of a series of succession disputes. Interactions between the Byzantine Empire and the various Russian states that emerged in the wake of the Rus's fall continued for some centuries. Still, they were interrupted by the Mongols conquest of the Russian principalities.

The adoption of the Byzantine version of Christianity by Grand Prince Vladimir was revolutionary. Grand Prince Vladimir and his successors, especially Yaroslav the Wise, modeled their church on the Byzantine Empire. Its hierarchy and organization were identical to that of Byzantium, and so too was were its theology and rituals. It should be noted that Christianity did not supplant paganism but often integrated it into its religious calendar and festivities.<ref>Billington, James. Icon and Axe: An Interpretative History of Russian Culture. (London, Vintage, 2010),p. 101</ref>

Following to the conversion of Vladimir, churches, and monasteries began to develop and soon became very important landowners and a dominant force in Russian society. The teachings of the Orthodox Church over time became very influential and began to change society, for instance, they helped to improve the status of women. <ref>Angold, Michael. The Byzantine Empire, 1025-1204: a political history (New York, Longman Publishing Group, 1997), p 118</ref> The Orthodox Church in Russia, following the example of the Byzantine Church, saw itself as distinct from Latin Christianity, which is viewed as heretical.<ref> Shepard, J. The expansion of Orthodox Europe: Byzantium, the Balkans and Russia (London, Routledge, 2017), p 116</ref> This was to result in Russia remaining outside the influence of Europe for many centuries, in a conscious effort to preserve the purity of its religion which they held was the only orthodox form of Christianity. It also ensured that the Russian Church, closely related to Byzantine practices and beliefs, became central to Russian national identity.

Within decades of the conversion of the Grand Prince, the city of Kiev Kyiv was considered to be one of the most beautiful in medieval Europe. After the Mongol Invasions, architecture declined, but Byzantine models still influenced subsequent Russian buildings, as evidenced in the Kremlin.<ref> Hamilton, George Heard. The art and architecture of Russia (Yale, Yale University Press, 1983), p 198</ref> The influence of the Orthodox Church was also important in the development of Russian painting. Icons were introduced into Russia by missionaries, and soon they were popular with converts. Frescoes were also popular in many Russian Cathedrals. Initially, Greek artists introduced the art of Byzantium to Russian artists. In the centuries after the adoption of Christianity, Greek artists such as Theophanes (1330-1405) helped to introduce new styles based on the Byzantine Renaissance, ‘which emphasized realism.’ <ref> Hamilton, p 189</ref>

This influence from Byzantium led to the development of essential schools of icon painting such as Pskov. The Byzantine tradition of icon painting is one that is still practiced in Russia to this day. Another significant result of the cultural exchanges between Byzantium and early Russia was that Byzantine chants and music was were used in Russian Orthodox Church services. This was to have a meaningful impact on Russian music, right up to the great classical composers of the 19th century.

The introduction of Byzantine Church rites and above all the Bible, led to Russia becoming a literate society. There may have been a nascent Russian alphabet prior to the conversion of Vladimir. However, the adoption of Orthodox Christianity was decisive in the development of a literate culture in the Russian lands. Constantine-Cyril (826-69) and Methodius (815-85), two Greek missionaries who proselytized in Slavic lands, ‘’created the alphabet for the liturgical language Old Church Slavonic that was influenced by Greek models in vocabulary, phraseology, syntax , and style, and was the common literary language of all the Orthodox Slavs.’’ <ref> Ryan, Norma "Byzantine Influence on Russia Through the Ages," Culture & Memory. Special Issue of Modern Greek Studies (Australia and New Zealand), 2006: 279-290 </ref>

The Byzantine Emperors were absolute rulers, they were both the head of state and the Church, in a form of government known as Caesaropapism. <ref>Runciman, Steven. "Byzantium, Russia and Caesaropapism." Canadian Slavonic Papers 2, no. 1 (1957), p. 9</ref> They were seen as God’s representative on earth , and defying the authority of the Emperor was, therefore, a mortal sin. This meant that the Byzantine Emperor was as usual as not an autocrat. Vladimir and his successor adopted the political ideology of Byzantium. This meant that they were both heads of state and of the Orthodox Church and this meant that they were at least in theory the absolute rulers in their territories and they were answerable only to God.