A Varangian, Rurik founded the Principality of Novgorod in 862, starting the Rurikid dynasty of princes and later tsars who ruled Russia for seven and a half centuries.
According to the chronicles, it was in 862 that Slaves, Krivichs, Chuds, and Veses invited the Varangians to rule over them. Rurik first came to Ladoga and then settled in Novgorod, where he governed under a pact with the local nobility, which claimed the right to collect taxes.
There weren’t many dramatic events during Rurik’s time in Novgorod, apart from unrest in 864, when the people of Novgorod, led by Vadim the Brave, expressed their discontent with the Varangian’s rule and rebelled against him. However, Rurik killed Vadim together with his main accomplices.
