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How did the Byzantine Empire influence Russia

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==Literacy and Byzantium==
The introduction of Byzantine Church rites and above all the Bible, led to Russia becoming a literate society. There may have been a nascent Russian alphabet prior to the conversion of Vladimir. However, the adoption of Orthodox Christianity was decisive in the development of a literate culture in the Russian lands. Constantine-Cyril (826-69) and Methodius (815-85), two Greek missionaries who proselytized in Slavic lands, ‘’created the alphabet for the liturgical language Old Church Slavonic that was influenced by Greek models in vocabulary, phraseology, syntax and style, and was the common literary language of all the Orthodox Slavs’’ <ref> Ryan, Norma "Byzantine Influence on Russia Through the Ages", Culture & Memory. Special Issue of Modern Greek Studies (Australia and New Zealand), 2006: 279-290 </ref>. This alphabet became the language of the Church in Russian lands and all literary works for many centuries. The development of Old Slavonic meant that the production of literary works was in the hands of the Church and this tended to restrain intellectual life in Russia, for many centuries.
==The relationship Relationship between the ruler and the ruled==The Byzantine Emperors were absolute rulers, they were both the head of state and the Church, in a form of government known as Caesaropapism <ref>Runciman, Steven. "Byzantium, Russia and Caesaropapism." Canadian Slavonic Papers 2, no. 1 (1957), p. 9</ref>. They were seen as God’s representative on earth and defying the authority of the Emperor was, therefore, a mortal sin. This meant that the Byzantine Emperor was as usual as not an autocrat. Vladimir and his successor adopted the political ideology of Byzantium. This meant that they were both heads of state and of the Orthodox Church and this meant that they were at least in theory the absolute rulers in their territories and they were answerable only to God. Autocracy was considered the best form of government. This created a society in Russia where obedience and hierarchy, was divinely sanctioned. Moreover, the early Rus rulers adopted the law codes of Byzantium, replacing the traditional law codes and this further enhanced their power over their subjects <ref>Billington, p. 178</ref>. There are many who believe that the very autocratic nature of Russian political culture down the centuries owed much to the Caesaropapism’ that was imported into Kievan Rus, during the Christianization of the state.  
==Moscow as the Third Rome==
The influence of Byzantine was complex and enduring. The Russian people stayed remarkably loyal to the Orthodox faith and the Church played a very important role during the long and dark years of Mongol rule. The Russians, continued to revere the Byzantine heritage, that was transmitted by the Church. In 1453, to the shock of all in Russia, the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople. This came at a time when the Duchy of Moscow was transforming itself into a mighty state, under Ivan III. Ivan III of Russia who had married, a niece of Constantine XI, the last Byzantine emperor, and he claimed to be the heir of the Roman Empire. This was to play an important role in the consolidation of his power and gave the expansion of his territories a legitimacy. The idea that Moscow was the Third Rome, was used to justify the foundation of the Russian Empire. The importance of the idea that Moscow, was the heir of Rome can be seen in the title of Tsar, which is the Russian for Caesar, a title used frequently not only by Roman but also by Byzantine rulers.
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