BEFORE RUSSIA, UKRAINE AND BELARUS: ‘Medieval Rus’ and a World of Diversity’

In the centuries before the Tatar conquest, a vibrant society flourished in the East Slavic lands, but it is difficult to put a name on its political system or to pinpoint the elements that united it into a cohesive entity. Defying just about every modern convention for understanding states and peoples, Rus’ destabilizes expectations and demands that we think outside of standard categories. In this lecture, we will try to make sense of the disorderly and fascinating world of Rus’ through use of a variety of visual, textual, and material sources.