The
Rurik Dynasty was the ruling
dynasty of
Russia from
862 to
1598. More precisely, though, Russia
per se did not exist during this time. The state that existed from 862 until 1240 (see
Mongol invasion of Russia) is called the
Kievan Rus'. The Mongols forced the Rurikid rulers to withdraw to the city of
Novgorod. After the
1480s, the dynasty ruled over a state called
Muscovy and held court at
Moscow.
The dynasty was established by Rurik, a Varangian ruler of Novgorod, and became extinct with the death of the imbecile tsar Feodor I. After Feodor's death, an unstable period known as the Time of Troubles ensued, and lasted until 1613. That year, Mikhail I took the throne, founding the Romanov dynasty that would last for three centuries.