{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Context XXI","provider_url":"http:\/\/contextxxi.org","title":"Greeks and Russians\n","author_name":"Amelie Lanier","width":"1200","height":"800","url":"https:\/\/contextxxi.org\/greeks-and-russians.html","html":"\u003Ch4 class='title'\u003E\u003Ca href='https:\/\/contextxxi.org\/greeks-and-russians.html'\u003EGreeks and Russians\n\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cblockquote class='spip'\u003EWhen the Kievian Rus converted to Christianity Constantinople won a powerful ally. This alliance strengthened the Byzantine Empire and helped it survive for some more centuries by pacifying its northern border. To the Rus it gave unity and, for the first time, a real identity. Till then they had been torn between Slav rites and habits, other pagan rites, and the influence of the Viking (Rurik) dynasty ruling them. The alliance with Constantinople led to an influx of scholars and \u003Ca href=\"..\/greeks-and-russians.html\" class=' pts_suite'\u003E(...)\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n"}