Rurik
Rurik (Riurik, Rörek, Hrorekr) (ca 830 - ca 879) was a Varangian (Viking) who gained control of Novgorod in 862 and built Holmgård there (Rurikovo Gorodische).
The exact ethnical roots of Rurik are disputed, in Russia. The Primary Chronicle refers to him as from the tribe of the Rus, which lived across the Baltic Sea. Since linguists usually consider this tribe to have been the Ros-byggjar of Roslagen (see Rus' (people) he is assumed to have been Swedish. However, some associate him with his contemporary Danish namesake Rörek of Jutland; due to the common intermarriages between Varangians and Slav women, some Russian scholars suggest that he was in fact both Slav and Scandinavian.
There is also a debate over how Rurik came to control Novgorod. The later Slavic chronicles, starting from the Primary Chronicle, state that he was invited in by the local tribes who wanted order, but many scholars consider this unlikely and conjecture that he invited himself.
Rurik remained in power until his death in 879. His successors (the Rurik Dynasty), however, moved the capital to Kiev and founded the state of Kievan Rus, which persisted until 1240, the time of Mongol invasion. The ruling dynasty of this state is named the Rurik Dynasty, after Rurik.
