Rurik (also spelled Rorik, Riurik or Ryurik;[1][2][3][4] Church Slavonic: Рюрикъ, romanized: Rjurikŭ;[5][b] Old Norse: Hrøríkʀ; died 879)[6][7][a] was a Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who, according to tradition, was invited to reign in Novgorod in the year 862.

The earliest mention of Rurik is contained in the Primary Chronicle, traditionally ascribed to Nestor and compiled in c. 1113,[11] which states that East Slavic and Finnic tribes in 860–862 (including the Chuds, Slovenes, Krivichs, Meryans and Ves) "drove the Varangians back beyond the sea, refused to pay them tribute, and set out to govern themselves".

[14] According to the prevalent theory, the name Rus' is derived from an Old Norse term for "the men who row", from an older name for the Swedish coastal area of Roslagen.

[1] Askold and Dir, followers of Rurik who were sent to Constantinople, seized Kiev before launching an attack recorded in Byzantine sources for the year 860.

[19][17] The Laurentian Codex of 1377, which contains the oldest surviving version of the Primary Chronicle, states that Rurik first settled in Novgorod ("newtown"), while the Hypatian Codex of the 1420s states that Rurik first settled in Ladoga, before moving his seat of power to the newly founded city of Novgorod, a fort built not far from the source of the Volkhov River, where he stayed until his death.

[23] The Rurikids were the ruling dynasty of Kievan Rus', and ultimately the Tsardom of Russia, until 1598, and numerous noble families claim male-line descent from Rurik.

[citation needed] The idea of identifying Rurik of Rus' with Rorik of Dorestad was revived by the anti-Normanists Boris Rybakov and Anatoly H. Kirpichnikov in the mid-20th century,[30] but Alexander Nazarenko and other scholars have objected to it.