Abstract
The old Rus'state (Rus/Ruskaja zemlja), was constituted in the Eastern Europe in the 10th century due to varangian business activities and integrated all East Slavic population into one state unit. However, as early as the 12th century, it was disintegrated and on its territory several autonomous political units have emerged, which are referred to as lands (zemli) in the sources.
During a long period of political fragmentation there was the definitive separation of the Northeast from Southwest of the Rus' - the dynamic Polish and especially Lithuanian expansion and the long Tatar domination contributed significantly to this. Since the end of the 12th century appeared concurrently efforts for a new integration connected with the claim of the Kyivan heritage.
This process was implemented in the new political centres, Galicia-Volhynia Land and Vladimir-Suzdal Land, which identified themselves to the Rus' on the way of translatio imperii. As a result of the royal coronation od Daniel of Galicia in 1253 were the Galician and Volhynian Lands transformed according to the Roman law into Regnum Russiae, however, the process of its institutionalization was interrupted by the extinction of the local dynasty and the Polish and Lithuanian invasions.
In Muscovy the concept of new Rus' Land/Russia (novaja Russkaja zemlja/Rossija) was invented and the grand princes od Moscow, later the Tsars, were supposed to have exclusive dynastic rights on all lands which used to be controlled by the Rurikov rulers.