Igor (son of
Rurik) succeeded his cousin
Oleg as ruler of
Kievan
Russia in
913. On coming to the
throne, Igor had to suppress several
rebellions of
tribes conquered by Oleg, since the tribes did not wish to pay
tribute to Kiev if they could possibly avoid it. He generally succeeded in bringing the rebels and other surrounding tribes under his domination, and like his predecessor tried to attack
the Byzantine Empire. Unfortunately, his ships were defeated by the "
Greek fire" which was used by the Byzantines, and the treaty of
941 was not as good for the Rus as the one signed with Byzantium under Oleg.
Igor was killed by the Derevlian tribe in 945 while trying to collect the tribute they owed to him; apparently when they captured Igor alone, they bent two trees down, tied him to both, and let go of the trees, pulling him apart. He had been married to the Scandinavian princess Olga, with a son, Sviatoslav I, who was still a child at the time of Igor's death, so Olga became regent.