Varangians to the Greeks: Ladoga to Constantinople

Ships coming from the Baltic reached Ladoga first. Merchant vessels sailed from the Baltic through Ladoga to Novgorod and then on to Constantinople. The Primary Chronicle says the Varangian leader Rurik arrived here in 862 and made it his seat of power in northern Russia. The heart of Staraya Ladoga is an old fortress where the Ladozhka flows into the Volkhov. Nearby stand mid-12th-century churches, and inside St George's some 12th-century frescoes are still visible.

Visitor guidance: The fortress and the 12th-century St George's church stand in the village of Staraya Ladoga.

Further south the route followed the Volkhov to the point where it flows out of Lake Ilmen. Here, on the right bank, lay the hillfort later named for Rurik. After his arrival it became the capital of his state. According to the chronicle, Oleg succeeded Rurik as ruler of Novgorod in 879. The site is now part of the Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kyiv was where the northern route reached the Dnieper. According to the Primary Chronicle, Oleg took Smolensk and then seized power in Kiev by tricking and slaying Askold and Dir, which is commonly taken as the founding of Kievan Rus'. Some historians dispute this. The Rus gathered here before sailing down the Dnieper in June. Boats were sold here to the Varangians, who re-equipped them and loaded them with merchandise.

Location precision: The sources name Kiev, not a particular spot; the pin marks the modern city centre.

South of Kyiv the Dnieper turned dangerous. Travelers had to portage their ships round seven rapids while on guard for Pecheneg nomads. In early 972 Sviatoslav tried to cross the cataracts near Khortytsia and was ambushed and killed by the Pechenegs. Khortytsia is the largest island on the Dnieper. The rapids themselves are gone: the dam of DniproHES, built in 1932, put them underwater.

Location precision: Sources place Sviatoslav's death 'near Khortytsia', not at one exact spot on the river.

At the mouth of the Dnieper lay Berezan Island, an important station on the route where the Varangians first met the Greeks. A runestone found here reads: "Grani made this vault in memory of Karl, his partner." It seems to have marked the grave of a Varangian merchant from Gotland. The treaty of 944 allowed the Rus' to use the island in the summertime only. Sviatoslav's troops spent the hungry winter of 971/972 in this estuary.

Location precision: The sources describe the island as a station on the route; the exact camp sites are not known.

The journey ended at Constantinople. In the Primary Chronicle's account of 907, Oleg found the city gate closed and the entry into the Golden Horn barred with iron chains. He then had some 2,000 boats fitted with wheels and led them to the walls, where he fixed his shield to the gates. The Byzantines paid twelve grivnas for each Rus' boat. The tale is colorful, and its details belong more to folklore than to history.

Location precision: The 907 raid is known mostly from folklore-tinged chronicle details; the pin marks the Golden Horn, not a gate.