The long Viking Age in Sweden : Sweden's early history and the founding of Kyiv Rus and Russia

Viking exploits in the British Isles, along the West European coasts and all the way to America are well known. Less known are the Vikings from Sweden that sailed East, traded with the Caliphates and Byzantium and who were instrumental in the formation of what became Russia and Ukraine. This illustrated text introduces this history and how Sweden came into being as a Viking civilization centered around Lake Mälaren near modern-day Stockholm during the first millennium AD. It offers a short intro