The ruler of the empire, Vladimir, decided that the main religion is going to be Greek Orthodoxy. The next ruler Yaroslav started making basic laws for the empire ( " H i s t o r y a n d c u l t u r e , " ) . Over the next few hundred years, new invaders- Mongols settled in on the Russian territories. They made big improvements in the empire. For the first time the city Moscow became an important centre. Over time the Rurik dynasty in Russia had had 7 rulers. The first czar was appointed in 1547- Ivan IV the terrible. After Ivan IV the terrible died the "Time of Troubles" began. The next czar was Michael Romanov, whose family ruled the empire for the next 300 years. The Romanov's couldn't make many changes in the empire's economy and political life ( " H i s t o r y o f r u s s i a , " ) . At the beginning of the 19th century Napoleon started his invasions to The Russian Empire
Constantinople and Cicily, Iceland, Greenland, and North America (A Viking leader Leif Eriksson reached it about the year 1000, that is 500 years before Columbus). Armed gangs of Vikings raided nearly all the European countries. The inhabitants of coastal and inland cities often collected money to pay them off. Besides the British Isles, the Vikings settled in Iceland, Greenland and a part of north- western France which became known as Normandy. It is believed that a Viking leader Rurik became king of Rus. To have a better idea of the Vikings and their way of life, it would be good to see an American film The Vikings and a Russian-Norwegian film «И на камнях растут деревья». coastal прибрежный, береговой inland (adj) внутренний, удаленный от моря pay sb. off откупиться от кого-л. 2
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