PreRussia - стр. 2

That is, as follows from the chronicle record, the Varangians initially came to the Prarussian tribes to impose tribute on them, but were defeated and driven away. And then our ancestors turned to another tribe of Varangians (logically not to the one that attacked them), which was called "Rus", which later gave the name to the entire Russian state.

The artist Vasnetsov V.M. in 1909 captured on canvas his vision of the moment of Rurik's meeting in the painting "The Invitation of the Varangians":

The image from https://ru.wikipedia.org. According to international and Russian legislation it is free from licensing restrictions on publication as more than 80 years have passed since the author's death in 1926.

Rurik (Rorik) of Jutland (a peninsula in Denmark) came with his squad and two brothers. "And the eldest, Rurik, settled down in Novgorod, and Sineus in Beloozero, Truvor in Izborsk". Since the names of the brothers Sineus and Truvor sound exotic even for the Varangians, there is an opinion that they are the phrases (distorted by the chronicler) from the old Norman language “sine hus” and “thru varring”, which mean “with their home” (with relatives and servants) and a “loyal army”. Rurik really managed to stop internecine princely wars, unite tribes and principalities, and restore order.

All theories about the origins of Russia can be divided into three groups. Those which assert that Rurik was a foreigner from Scandinavia and that it was he with his squad and retinue who formed the state of Russia from "unorganized" Slavic tribes, are called a "Norman" group. The Normans are a generalized name for the neighboring Scandinavian peoples in the Northern Baltic States – the Swedes, Danes and Norwegians, who ravaged Western Europe and Eastern Slavic lands with sea robber raids from the VIII to the XI century. Therefore, the "Norman" group is divided into three almost identical versions, which differ mainly by whether Rurik was a Swede, a Dane or a Norwegian.

The dashing "raiders" from across the sea were called either Vikings or Varangians. Some historians consider these words synonymous. Others believe that the Vikings are sea robbers who, unlike pirates, did not rob ships, but neighboring countries. They say that the Varangians were not robbers at all, but the defenders of their commercial business (for example, on the trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks") or military mercenaries in various countries including in Byzantium and Russian principalities. The chronicle however says that it was the very Varangians, not the Vikings who raided and tried to impose tribute on Russia. So, there was a very fine line between Vikings and Varangians at that time. The hypotheses claiming that Rurik was a Slav, just from an overseas tribe, or that Russian statehood was formed long before the arrival of Rurik, belong to a "