Why go
This distinction helps when reading labels that alternate between Rus’, Ruthenia and Russia. It also keeps the medieval world of Novgorod and Kyiv separate from later states, rather than projecting modern national identities backwards onto a mixed population of traders, rulers and settled communities.
The full story
The name Russia derives from Rus’, a medieval polity populated largely by East Slavs. Historians use the term Kievan Rus’ to distinguish it from later states that inherited parts of its territory and traditions. Its name travelled through several languages: Ruthenia was a Latin form, while Rossiya developed from a Byzantine Greek designation. The identity of the early Rus’ is debated. A widely accepted interpretation connects them with Scandinavian Varangians who entered eastern European river networks. The Primary Chronicle, compiled centuries after the earliest events it describes, associates their arrival with Rurik and the later establishment of rule in Kyiv. One prominent explanation links the word Rus’ to an Old Norse term associated with rowing, with parallels in the Finnish name for Sweden, Ruotsi. This is an etymological interpretation, not a settled description of every person called Rus’. Political rule, language and population changed as these communities developed.