Rurik The Swarthy Viking Warlord, Russia Is Named After. Russia didn’t begin with tsars, palaces, or imperial myths. It began with Rurik, a swarthy Viking warlord, whom the Slavs invited to rule. Modern history books often show Rurik as a tall, blonde, blue-eyed Viking and call him the “father” of Russia. But those images were created centuries later. The original chronicles describe the Rus as dark-featured, imposing, and foreign, powerful outsiders who controlled trade routes, tribute, and mov