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How did Vikings travel and trade through Novgorod and Kiev?

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Exhumed Viking ship with a tall, curved prow on display inside the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway, surrounded by stone flooring and visitors in the background. — Viking Exhumed Viking ship; in the Viking Ship Museum, Oslo, Norway.

Vikings, known in this region as Varangians, traveled and traded through Novgorod and Kyiv by utilizing the extensive network of rivers in what is now Russia and Ukraine.123

Travel and Trade Routes

The Varangians established strongholds in river towns like Novgorod and Kyiv, which served as vital hubs for controlling trade routes. They navigated these waterways using Viking ships—sturdy, clinker-built vessels equipped with both oars and square sails, which allowed them to traverse both rivers and open seas.124

From these bases, they controlled two primary commercial arteries:
* The Dnieper River: This route connected them to the Black Sea and Constantinople, where they engaged in trade defined by formal treaties.15
* The Volga River: This route provided access to the Caspian Sea and markets in the East.12

Economic Activities

The Varangian princes organized commerce by collecting tribute—consisting of furs, honey, wax, timber, and enslaved people—from local Slavic and Finnish tribes. During the spring, they transported these goods in convoys down the rivers to protect their shipments from nomadic steppe tribes. This trade was highly lucrative, as evidenced by the significant quantities of Middle Eastern silver coins discovered in the region.3561