I was so right about the hat

The one on my head in the profile picture. Why, I hear you ask. See, my great-grandfather's brother's sons are into family research and have taken it to themselves to delve as far back in the history as they can - with the aid of genetic research. It turned out that I and all my relations on my mother's side are of the same stock as the bloke in the iron fishnets.

As the Viking Answer Lady puts it:

According to the Russian Primary Chronicle (ca. 1040-1118 AD), the Rus were a group of "Varangians," possibly of Swedish origin, who had a leader named Rurik. Rus appears to be derived from the Finnish word for Sweden, *Rotsi, later Ruotsi, which in turn comes from Old Swedish rother, a word associated with rowing or ships, so that rothskarlar meant "rowers" or "seamen."

Due to civil strife in Russia, the leaders invited Rurik and his Rus kinsmen to come rule over them:

"6370 (862 BC) ...Discord thus ensued among them, and they began to war one against another. They said to themselves, 'Let us seek a prince who may rule over us, and judge us according to the law.' They accordingly went overseas to the Varangian Rus: these particular Varangians were known as Rus, just as some are called Swedes, and others Normans, Angles, and Goths, for they were thus named. The Chuds, the Slavs, and the Krivichians then said to the people of Rus: 'Our whole land is great and rich, but there is nor order in it. Come to rule and reign over us.' They thus selected three brothers, with their kinfolk, who took with them all the Rus, and migrated. The oldest, Rurik, located himself in Novgorod; the second, Sinaeus, in Beloozero; and the third, Truvor, in Izborsk. On account of these Varangians, the district of Novgorod became known as Russian (Rus) land. The present inhabitants of Novgorod are descended from the Varangian race, but aforetime they were Slavs." (Russian Primary Chronicle)

I'm a bit surprised, to be honest. I always thought that the most anyone could expect to find would be some horse thieves and, um, village eccentrics.