After the conquest of Kief, Oleg commanded a tribute to be paid to the Variagi “for the preservation of peace.” This tribute to the Swedes was paid up to the death of Jaroslaf, who in 1019 gave assurance to the king of Upsala that it should be paid regularly, Vladimir having neglected to do so. This tribute could be nothing else than a scat paid to the king of Sweden by the rulers of Russia during the ninth and tenth centuries. Sweden possessed in those days a large territory south of the Baltic, which paid scat to the king of Upsala. It was called Austria (_Austerike_), and reference to it under this name is often made in sagas, chronicles and inscriptions. Ynglinga Saga gives incidents of close Swedish connections to Finland and the Baltic provinces, and archæological finds point to Swedish settlements in Finland, already in the prehistoric period. Memories of conquests are preserved in statements by the Icelanders and by Saxo, the Danish historian, about the Austria of which the Swedish kings Ivar Vidfamne, Harald Hildetand, “Sigurd” Ring and Ragnar “Lodbrok” were rulers. Closest to an exact statement comes Snorre, who says that King Eric Edmundson of Sweden ruled over Finland, Carelia, Esthonia, Courland and “wide over all Austria.” These countries belonged to Sweden until King Olof Skœtkonung “let all his scatlands get away from him.” The chronicler Rimbert says that Courland, by which he means the Baltic provinces, in 850 belonged to Sweden. Shortly after this date fall, according to Nestor, those of the first Swedish contact with interior Russia (859) and of the founding of the Russian empire by Rurik (862). The Swedish dominion in the Baltic provinces, as well as the early Russian empire, must consequently have held a position similar to the one of Normandie to France and England. The old Swedish name for Russia was Gardarike, for Novgorod Holmgard and for Byzantium Miklagard, which mean “Country of towns,” “Island town,” and “Great town,” respectively.