Rus

The Rus are an old Norse tribe with a name that comes from north western Slavic tribes. They originated in the lands of Sweden (Geatland as it was called at one point). Taking to the seas, they eventually travelled down the rivers & waterways of the areas in eastern & southern regions of the Baltic Sea, down as far the Black Sea settling along the banks of many of these rivers.
They have took over many Slavic tribes as the de-facto rulers in many of these regions, while still following many of the Norse traditions & religions. Raiding and trading up & down the river such as the Volga is common, and there are two powerful factions forming at present. One is the Kievan Rus, and the Novgorod Rus. Out of the two, the Kievan Rus are the dominant tribal group though both are on friendly terms with only minimal skirmishes between them.
Most of their wealth comes from buying or selling goods as far as Sweden to Constantinople. Slaves, furs, timber and ores are common trade items for them. Enemy Slavic tribes are common trades for other goods, especially for coin, precious metals & items.
Their ruling class is regularly referred to as the Rus Khaganate or Khaganate of Rus, and been in existence from roughly the 750s AD. Both Kiev & Novgorod are the main cities that they rule from.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Old Norse is the language used by the Rus, tho many also use the local Slavic languages when dealing with the local Slavic tribe members.