. Is it true that the Russian state was founded by non-Slavic people?
'The Invitation of the Varangians' by Vasnetsov, Viktor (1848-1926)
Yes, they were most likely Varangians. Although, a 12th-century Russian chronicle calls them “Rus”. According to the chronicle, Rurik (died in 879) was a Varangian prince who was called upon by the Finnic and Eastern Slavic peoples of the Northwestern lands in 862:
Discord ensued among them, and they began to war one against another. They said to themselves, "Let us seek a prince who may rule over us, and judge us according to the law." They accordingly went overseas to the Varangian Rus: these particular Varangians were known as Rus, just as some are called Swedes, and others Normans, Angles, and Goths, for they were thus named. The Chuds, the Slavs, and the Krivichians then said to the people of Rus, "Our whole land is great and rich, but there is no order in it. Come to rule and reign over us." – The Tale of Bygone Years (Primary Chronicle), Russia, 12th century
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