In Mesopotamia, and on the grass steppes of southern Russia, oxen are used to pull heavy loads on sledges

The Slavs settle in the regions of eastern Europe and western Russia

Viking tribes known as the Rus are established as traders in the region of Novgorod

Oleg, leader of the Rus, seizes the town of Kiev and makes his headquarters there

Vladimir, the prince of Kiev, decides that Greek Orthodoxy is the most suitable religion for the Russian people

Yaroslav builds up his Russian kingdom and turns his capital, Kiev, into a spectacular Christian city

Yaroslav commissions Russkaya Pravda ('Russian truth'), a code of Russia's laws

A Russian chronicle makes the first mention of the marauding Polovtsy, who persistently raid Russian cities from the steppes

A Russian prince, Andrei Bogolyubski, makes his capital east of Moscow at Vladimir, where he builds a cathedral and several churches

Batu Khan and his Mongols sweep into Russia, where they and their descendants become known as the Golden Horde

Alexander, a Russian prince, defeats a Swedish army on the frozen river Neva, thus winning his name Alexander Nevksy

Alexander Nevsky, appointed grand prince of Vladimir in 1252, thrives by collaborating with the Mongols of the Golden Horde

Novgorod asserts its independence, electing its own city magistrate to take over the role of the local Russian prince

A treaty divides Finland between two powerfully competitive neighbours, Sweden and Novgorod

Moscow acquires new prestige when the metropolitan (or patriarch) of the Russian Orthodox church moves his residence from Vladimir

Dimitri, grand prince of Moscow, leads other Russian princes in a crushing victory over the Mongols on the Kulikovo plain

With Constantinople in Turkish hands, Moscow begins to see itself as the centre of Orthodox Christianity - or the third Rome

Ivan III subdues proudly independent Novgorod, removing the city's famous bell

Ivan III, grand prince of Russia, becomes the first to deny the Mongols of the Golden Horde their annual tribute of tax

Ivan IV is crowned tsar of Russia and becomes known as Ivan the Terrible

Serfdom is introduced in Russia by Boris Godunov, whose measures tie the peasants to the land

Willem Barents sets off on the first of his three expeditions to find a passage to the east through the waters north of Russia

The first false Dmitry marches into Russia with a Polish army to claim the throne

A second false Dmitry marches on Moscow, to be followed by a third in 1612

Michael Romanov is elected tsar, beginning a new dynasty on the Russian throne