Perunu
;)
known as Pyerun in Russia, Piorun in Poland and sometimes Perun, was the Slavic thunder god. He was the chief god and a creator god. At Kiev in Russia he had an important temple until the tenth century. Perunu's supremacy was ended by Vladimir, the ruler of Kiev who was later raised to the sainthood. After living the typical life of a Slavic prince, with numerous wives and mistresses, Vladimir 'tired of the desire for women' and sought a new way of living. He sent out ambassadors to witness the religious ceremonies of both the Catholic and Orthodox churches, as well as those of the Jews and Moslems. His choice fell on the Byzantine form of Christianity and thereafter the Russians and the Greeks shared the same form of Christian worship.
Prior to this conversion in 988 though, the 'Rus' owed more to north-western Europe, for the establishment of the Russian state resulted from Viking trade and settlement on its great rivers. The Viking leader Oleg had captured Kiev in 882 and raised its status to 'mother of Russian cities'. With this Germanic influx, it is hardly surprising that there are obvious parallels between Perunu and Thor. Oleg was referred to as a 'wizard'. It seems quite likely that Thor provided the native Slavic thunder god with a developed mythology, since surviving details of Perunu's worship suggest that he was originally believed to he an aid to agriculture. Indeed, rain-making ceremonies are known to have involved a chaste girl, naked and decked with flowers, dancing in a magic circle. Whirling and drinking seem to have been important in his Russian worship.
Elsewhere in Europe the Slavic peoples also revered Perunu, as place names still indicate. In Slovenia there is Perunji Ort, in Croatia Peruna Dubrava, in Bulgaria Penn Planina, and in Poland Peruny as well as Piorunow. According to Procopius, secretary to the Greek general Belisarius in the sixth century, the Slays worshipped above all the god of lightning, and sacrificed cattle and other animals to him. In Russian folklore the memories of Perunu's great skill with the thunderbolt can doubtless be found in stories that tell of dragon-slaying and other supernatural deeds that required enormous strength.