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During the 900s Russia was named "Kievan Rus" and was made up of a group of principalities, or countries.
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In around 988, Grand Prince Vladimir I converted to Christianity and made it the state religion.
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A formal division was made in 1054 when the relationship between the eastern and western wings of the Christian church gradually declined.
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In the 1200s Kiev and the other principalities fell to Mongol invaders, weakened by the civil war.
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In 1240 The Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, destroyed Kiev and incorporated Russia into the Mongol Empire.
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In the 1300s, the principality of Moscow began to increase its power and Prince Yuri of Moscow married the sister of the Golden Horde’s ruler. Prince Yuri started to expand his territory. He increased the size and strength of his army.
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In 1380, Moscow’s army defeated the Mongols at the Battle of Kulikovo and the army drove the Mongols out of the region. The Mongols later regained control of Moscow, but they were not as powerful as before.
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In the late 1400s, Ivan III of Moscow refused to pay taxes to the Mongols, so the Mongols sent troops to attack Moscow. However, after a while, they went back to their capital, which ended the Mongol rule of Russia.
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In 1547 Ivan IV was the Grand Prince of Moscow. He became the first to rule all of Russia. This ruler came to be called the tsar. Ivan feared that other nobles might try to overthrow him, therefore he arrested and murdered thousands of nobles.
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In the 1800s serfdom was abolished in Russia.
