The Rurik dynasty or Rurikids (Ukrainian: Рю́риковичі, Russian: Рю́риковичи, IPA: [ˈrʲʉrʲɪkəvʲɪt͡ɕɪ]) was a dynasty founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who established himself in Novgorod around the year 862 AD. The Rurikids were the ruling dynasty of Kievan Rus' (after 862), the successor principalities of Galicia-Volhynia (after 1199), Chernigov, Vladimir-Suzdal, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and the founders of the Tsardom of Russia.

They are one of Europe's oldest royal houses, with numerous existing cadet branches, and are regarded as the founders of Rus' and later Russia.

The Rurikid dynasty was founded in 862 by Rurik, a Varangian prince. The apocryphal story tells of the Slavic tribes in the area calling on “‘the Varangians [i.e. Scandinavians], to the Rus' … The Chud, the Slovenes, the Krivichi and the Ves said “Our land is vast and abundant, but there is no order in it. Come and reign as princes and have authority over us!”’ Three brothers came with ‘their kin’ and ‘all the Rus’ in response to this invitation. Rurik set up rule in Novgorod, giving more provincial towns to his brothers. There is some ambiguity even in the Primary Chronicle about the specifics of the story, “hence their paradoxical statement ‘the people of Novgorod are of Varangian stock, for formerly they were Slovenes.’” However, archaeological evidence such as “Frankish swords, a sword chape and a tortoiseshell brooch” in the area suggest that there was, in fact, a Scandinavian population during the tenth century at the latest. The "Rurikid Dynasty DNA Project" of FamilyTreeDNA commercial genetic genealogy company reports that Y-DNA testing of the descendants of Rurikids suggests their non-slavic origin.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин; IPA: [vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪr vɫɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ ˈputʲɪn] ( listen); born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician who has been the President of Russia since 7 May 2012. Putin previously served as President from 2000 to 2008 and as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012. Putin also serves as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when president Boris Yeltsin resigned in a surprising move. Putin won the 2000 presidential election; in 2004 he was re-elected for a second term lasting until 7 May 2008.

Because of constitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a third consecutive presidential term. After his successor Dmitry Medvedev won the 2008 presidential election, Putin was nominated by Medvedev to be Russia's Prime Minister; Putin took office on 8 May 2008 and a period of so-called "tandemocracy" followed. In September 2011, Putin and Medvedev agreed he should seek a third, non-consecutive term in the 2012 presidential election, which he won in the first round on 4 March 2012.

Harald Sigurdsson (1015 – 25 September 1066), later given the epithet Hardrada (Old Norse: Haraldr harðráði, roughly translated as "stern counsel" or "hard ruler", Hardråde in modern Norwegian) was the king of Norway from 1047 until 1066. He also claimed to be the King of Denmark until 1064, often defeating King Sweyn's army and forcing him to leave the country. Many details of his life were chronicled in the Heimskringla and other Icelandic sources. Among English speakers, he is generally remembered for his failed invasion of England in 1066. Harald's death at the Battle of Stamford Bridge which brought an end to that invasion is often recorded as the end of the Viking Age.

Harald was the youngest of King Olaf II of Norway's three half-brothers born to Åsta Gudbrandsdatter. His father was Åsta's second husband Sigurd Syr. The Icelandic sources, in particular Heimskringla, state that Sigurd, like Olaf's father, was a great-grandson of Harald I of Norway (Harald Fairhair) in the male line. However, many modern scholars believe that the ancestors attributed to Harald, along with other parts of the Fairhair genealogy, are inventions reflecting the political and social expectations of the time of the authors rather than historical reality.

Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.

After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of 20, Grace Kelly appeared in New York City theatrical productions as well as in more than forty episodes of live drama productions broadcast during the early 1950s Golden Age of Television. In October 1953, with the release of Mogambo, she became a movie star, a status confirmed in 1954 with a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nomination as well as leading roles in five films, including The Country Girl, in which she gave a deglamorized, Academy Award-winning performance. She retired from acting at 26 to enter upon her duties in Monaco. She and Prince Rainier had three children: Caroline, Albert, and Stéphanie. She also retained her American roots, maintaining dual US and Monégasque citizenships.

Dmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky (Russian: Дмитрий Михайлович Пожарский) (October 17, 1577 - April 30, 1642) was a Rurikid prince, who led Russia's struggle for independence against Polish-Lithuanian invasion known as the Time of Troubles. He obtained from Mikhail I of Russia the unprecedented title Saviour of the Motherland.

Pozharsky was descended from a dynasty of sovereign princes which ruled the town of Starodub-on-the-Klyazma near Suzdal. At one point in the 15th century their family patrimony burned to the ground, in consequence of which event they assumed the name of Pozharsky (from pozhar, the Russian word for conflagration). It is interesting to note that Dmitry's mother came from the Beklemishev family, just like the mother of Mikhail Kutuzov, who would be credited with saving Russia precisely two centuries after him.

The family was never particularly prominent, and Pozharsky's early career was not documented until he took part in the Zemsky sobor which elected Boris Godunov to the throne in 1598. Four years later, he was attested as a stolnik. When the Time of Troubles broke out upon Godunov's death, he was present at the defense of Kolomna (1608) and helped Vasily IV during the Siege of Moscow in 1609. Later that year, he routed the Bolotnikov Cossacks at the Pekhorka River. In 1610, Pozharsky was in command at the defense of Zaraysk against the forces of False Dmitry II.