Switching Navies for a while we take a look at the Russian (Soviet) ships Varyag (Variag) and where the name comes from. There have been five different ships to carry this name in the Russian (Soviet) Navy.

Varyag or Варяг, is a shortened form of Varangian. The Varangians are ancestors of the Rus people and sometimes referred to as Vikings in some English publications. The origin gets a little involved, but that’s what this is all about. Greek Várangos and Old East Slavic varęgŭ are derived from Old Norse væringi, originally a compound of vár "pledge" and gengi "companion", i.e. "a sworn person" or "a foreigner who has taken service with a new lord by a treaty of fealty to him or protégé". So, basically they were hired swords or mercenaries.

The actual entomology of the word is a little confusing. This is because there are many different possible roots for the word in many different languages. A Slavic word varangiti means floating, to sail, so they were sea-people, or also people who constantly navigate. The name of varag is associated with an international word barge.

It is thought they first settled around Lagoda around 750. This is the beginning of the Rus people according to many scholars. They were first mentioned around 859 by Primary Chronicle. Finn and Slavic tribes rebelled against the Rus peoples in 862 and pushed them back into Scandinavia. As these peoples began to fight among themselves they invited the Rus back. This then launched the Varangians on the path they needed to rule the Russian land mass. The many rivers flowing southward allowed them to set up trade routes and spread into the vast Russian territory.

The Rus are believed to have had contact with the Byzantine Empire around 839 to 842. Emperor Theophilus was known to have negotiated with foreigners, he was looking for mercenaries for his army. He referred to these people are the Rhos. The Rus people raided the Byzantine Empire many times over the years. They were normally defeated by the stronger Byzantine forces. Many atrocities were attributed to the Rus people by Greek historians. Basil II began the custom of recruiting Varangians as his personal guard. They were also used as “Special Forces” of their day. Eventually other European courts recruited them for their own use. One court said to recruit Rus was London. Some historians make a claim that King Arthur was one of these recruits.

The first Varyag served the Russian navy was a gunboat. She visited U.S.A. with Vice-Admiral Stepan Lesovskiy's diplomatic mission 1863–1864. After her return to Europe she served in the Mediterranean Sea until 1867. She was rearmed by rifled guns 1870, and served as a training ship in the late 1870s. She was finally decommissioned 1886.

The next ship to carry the name was a protected cruiser launched in 1899, commissioned into the Imperial Russian Navy in 1901. She was scuttled in 1904 during the Battle of Chemulpo Bay. Following their victory the Japanese repaired her she was relaunched as Japanese cruiser Soya. Shortly after Japan joined the allied cause during World War I she was returned to the Russians in 1916. While being overhauled by the British in 1917 she was seized in 1917. This was done shortly after the Russian and German peace treaty. After the war she was sold to Germany for scrapping. While being towed she run aground in 1920. Her hulk remained grounded until she finally broke apart and sank in 1925.

The Soviet Navy had the next ship Varyag. She was a Kynda class missile cruiser and served until 1990. The ships were designed as multi-role surface combatants. The main armaments were two quadruple SS-N-3 anti-ship missile launchers. These were mounted forward and aft on the ship. They also carried torpedo tubes, 30mm self defense weapons, and 76 mm twin gun mounts. There was a helo deck, but they could not support any aviation assets. She was decommissioned in 1990 and is currently being held for a museum ship. The ships in the class were originally designated as destroyers and were given traditional destroyer names. In 1962 they were reclassed as cruisers, but they retained their earlier names.

Next we shall talk about the Varyag in her carrier incarnation. This Varyag was built in the Ukraine shipyard of Nikolayev South Shipyard. She was never finished and eventually Russia stopped paying fro her construction. After some legal battles the unfinished hull was given to the shipyard in lieu of payment. The hull was sold to china under the condition it never be finished for combat. However the hull has been repainted in PLAN Grey and had its top surfaces finished with non-skid. Although the Varyag is listed as a carrier she would have operated in a totally different role as an American carrier. Her aircraft would only be able to conduct air superiority roles. She could not launch strike aircraft. She is also much smaller than an American carrier, 56,000 ton compared to 100,000 ton displacement.

The final Varyag is a Slava Class missile cruiser. She was originally commissioned as the Chervona Ukraina (Red Ukraine). She was finished in 1989, but only has a skeleton crew until 2002. She underwent a major overhaul and has been active with the Pacific fleet since 2008. She has taken part in the International Celebration for the 60th year of the PLAN (Peoples Liberation Army Navy) and most recently visited San Francisco.

The word came to us from the early residents of the land we now call Russia. It was given to several different ships in the Imperial Russian, Soviet, and Russian Navies.