Norman theory (normality) - a direction in historiography, developing the concept that the name Kievan Rus in the period from IX to XI centuries. belonged to people from Scandinavia, who in Western Europe were called Normans. Over time, the concept of Rus spread to the territories controlled by the Normans (Kievan Rus), and then the local tribes inhabiting the territory. In the Russian and Soviet historiography, norminism is traditionally opposed to antinormanism.

Supporters of normality include the Normans (Vikings of Scandinavian origin) to the founders of the first states of the Eastern Slavs: Novgorod, and then Kievan Rus. In fact, this follows the historiographical concept of the Tale of Bygone Years (the beginning of the 12th century), supplemented by the identification of the chronicled Varangians as Scandinavians-Normans. Around the ethnicity of the Varangians, the main disputes broke out, at times reinforced by political ideologization.

Scandinavians themselves noted the abundance of fortified cities in Russia, dubbed it the "country of cities" - Gardarica.

Viking units were often hired and sometimes Russian princes as professional combatants, providing them with isolated settlements. This practice continued until the Mongol invasion of Rus'

In Staraya Ladoga Yaroslav Wise Earl sat Regnwald Ulvson.

Vikings made trips down the river. Dnieper to the Black Sea, the so-called "Way from the Varangians to the Greeks