# Christianisation of Rus' (988)

URL: https://history-russia.com/timeline/988-christianisation-of-rus
Categories: main-event

Around 988 Vladimir accepted baptism, married Anna, sister of Byzantine Emperor Basil II, and ordered the people of Kiev to be baptised in the Dnieper. The chronicle tells of envoys choosing Orthodoxy for the beauty of its worship. The idols were thrown down and churches built; the new faith spread slowly beyond the cities. Christianisation tied Rus' to Byzantine civilisation, Church Slavonic writing and Orthodox identity for the next thousand years.

## Why it matters
Christianisation tied Rus' to Byzantine civilisation, Church Slavonic writing and Orthodox identity for the next thousand years.

Ruler at the time: [Vladimir I](https://history-russia.com/rulers/vladimir-i)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Christianization of Kievan Rus'](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianization_of_Kievan_Rus')
- [Wikipedia — Vladimir the Great](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_the_Great)
- [Wikipedia — Kievan Rus'](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kievan_Rus')
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Christianisation of Rus'](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Christianisation+of+Rus%27)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of Russian history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Russian_history)