Androshchuk, Fedir: Vikings in the East. Essays on Contacts along the Road to Byzantium (800–1100) (Studia Byzantina Upsaliensa). Uppsala: Uppsala University Press 2013.
Fedir Androshchuk studied archeology and history at the University of Kyjiw before completing his PhD in 1989. Since 2000 he worked as an Associate Researcher at the University of Stockholm in Sweden for the Department of Archeology and Classical Studies where he initiated the research project “Sweden and Ukraine in the History of Museum Collections and Exhibition Narratives.” In 2020 he also took over management of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in Kyjiw.
The author’s research deals specifically with the Viking Age, with a focus on transregional relations and contacts between Scandinavia, the Kievan Rus’ and Byzantium. His main interest relates to material culture, such as coins, jewelry, weapons and urban structures. With the present book on Vikings in the East and the trade and contact routes as far as Byzantium, he offers an overview of the archaeological and written sources, with the purpose of highlighting the importance of these contacts and their impact on the shaping of the local communities and the emerging of the Rus’ state (pp. 60/125–130/213–228). Androshchuk presents his sources, methodology and terminology in the introduction (pp. 1–2). In the conclusion, he summarizes his results, focusing particularly on the processes of cultural adaptation and identity building among the Vikings who settled in medieval Eastern Europe, especially in the regions of the Kievan Rus’ and along the trade routes connecting Scandinavia with Byzantium (pp. 213–228). The main body of the book is divided into eight chapters, each presenting important case-studies regarding the topic.
In the first chapter, Androshchuk provides a general outline of the Scandinavian presence in Eastern Europe, all the way from the coast of the southeastern Baltic Sea to the Black Sea region. He focuses on important archaeological locations, such as Grobiņa, Ladoga, Kyjiw, and Crimea, and analyzes the distribution of Scandinavian artifacts in these regions (pp. 11–32). Androshchuk furthermore gives a summary of the current research on the topic of “Scandinavian activity”. Androshchuk refers to a broad range of interactions, including trade, settlement, military expeditions, and cultural exchange, through which Vikings established extensive networks connecting Scandinavia, Rus’ and Byzantium in the East, and elaborates on the terms of material culture and identity (pp. 33–44).
In chapter 2, Androshchuk examines the definition, perception and origin of the Rus’ in the written and archeological sources. He discusses the visibility of Scandinavian elements and their possible role and connection with the emergence of the Rus’ state. He argues that Scandinavian influence was most evident among the political and military elites, shaping early forms of rulership and state organization. However, this influence was limited in everyday material culture, suggesting that Norse traditions were selectively adopted within a predominantly Slavic environment (pp. 45–64).
Chapter 3 is focused on the regions of Dereva and Volhynia as contact zones between Scandinavians and Slavs in the 9th–11th centuries. Androshchuk gives particular attention to Iskorosten and examines the archaeological and written evidence of these contacts. He highlights Iskorosten as a key site for understanding early interaction between Norse traders and local Slavic elites, since it controlled important routes and resources. While traces of Scandinavian presence can be identified, Androshchuk concludes that their influence was rather limited and mostly restricted to trade and elite exchange, rather than broader cultural integration (pp. 65–89).
In chapter 4 Androshchuk examines the written sources, and in particular, the archaeological material showcasing the Byzantine-Scandinavian exchange in the 9th and 10th centuries. These included reliquary crosses, finger rings, buckles, pottery, glass, silk, weapons, lead seals and coins, thus illustrating the influence of Byzantium along the trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” (pp. 90–130).
Chapter 5 addresses the large burial mounds in Scandinavia and Rus’, which Androshchuk interprets as symbols of power and rule. He therefore sees the ritual of “mound sitting” as a political symbol of Scandinavian elites, both in their regions of origin and in their new homes in the east. (pp. 131–144).
Chapter 6 highlights the ongoing contacts between the Medieval Scandinavian regions and the territories in present-day Ukraine in the 11th–12 century, particularly through weapons, silver hoards, and trade relations. Androshchuk also critically reflects on the concept of “Scandinavian antiquity” in Ukraine, questioning nationalist interpretations that overemphasize Scandinavian origins and instead emphasizing the complex, multi-ethnic character of the region’s cultural development (pp. 145–168).
In chapter 7 Androshchuk raises the question as to whether Christian objects in Rus’ had religious or social functions. He points out that many finds point to a pragmatic use of religious symbols to represent social status (pp. 169–186).
Chapter 8 compares early Christian cemeteries of the late 10th century in Birka, Sigtuna, and Kyjiw. Androshchuk shows how the burial practices contributed to the formation of urban Christian identities. These developments occurred after the period of the large burial mounds, reflecting the transition from pre-Christian elite rituals to Christian forms of commemoration. (pp. 187–211).
Androshchuk’s book is a well-structured series of case-studies aiming for an overview of the topic of transregional contacts and mutual influences between Scandinavia, Kievan Rus’, and Byzantium during the Viking Age, covering different areas from daily life to trade relations and warfare. Its strength lies above all in the extensive knowledge of the author, who studied this topic for a whole decade (p. 1), as well as the linking of material and written sources. It is the first comprehensive work about this topic on which other researchers will be able to build further research. The book is also thought-provoking in terms of its methodology, for example in regard to further research into the concept of transnational history (p. 1), and the thesis that Vikings in the East were not merely conquerors or traders, but actively participating in cultural exchange processes, thereby forming new hybrid identities (p. 213–238). It is perfect for gaining a comprehensive insight into a highly complex topic and is therefore suitable for both experts in the field and new students of the topic. In any case, Androshchuk makes the convincing case, that the topic of Vikings in the East deserves more attention in general. Especially since “Scandinavian” finds are far more common in the East than in the West, as he correctly points out (p. 3).