So how were they ruled?

The Rus were ruled by Princes, with an advisory body, the Duma, made up of nobles called boyars, who were sometimes more powerful than the Tsar himself. Below these was an assembly of free men, known as the Veche, who could be summoned by any citizen ringing the Veche bell. In Novgorod there was a freely elected burgomaster, known as the posadnik, who ruled with the consent of the Veche and defended the interests of the town against the Prince of Kiev. Novgorod was independent of Kiev, and its relative democracy may be because of its connections with Scandinavia and the merchant towns of Western Europe


This is the Varangian Rus' Rulers of the Rurikid Dynasty, - 988

856 - 873/879 Rurik, prince of Novgorod
873/879 - 912 Oleg, prince of Novgorod, since 882 of Kiev
912 - 945 Igor
945 - 973 Svyatoslav (Olga regent 945-962)
973 - 978 Jaropolk
978 - 1015 Vladimir the Great