Geog Ch 15 2

Slavs settled along the Dnieper and Volga Rivers in Northeast Europe. In the 800s, Varangians also settled in this area, called Kievan Rus, where they adopted Slavic language and customs. In the 1200s, the Mongols invaded from Central Asia, destroying Kiev and conquering much of Kievan Rus, isolating the region from Europe for 200 years. Slavs who fled the Mongols settled in the forests along the Moskva River, establishing the central town of Muscovy, now called Moscow. Grand Prince Ivan later drove out the Mongols in the 1400s.