The Byzantine Empire was located close to the Slavs of Eastern Europe. As Slavic and Viking culture mixed to form Russia, new trade centers were formed, such as the city of Kiev. From Kiev, merchants could sail by the river to Constantinople where they could trade for exotic foreign products. This trade helped improve the wealth and power of Russia and led to cultural diffusion with Byzantine culture. Byzantine missionaries from the Orthodox Church spread their religion north to the Slavs. Two missionaries, Saint Methodius and Saint Cyril, converted many Russians to Christianity. To help themselves spread their religion they developed an alphabet for the Slavic languages called the Cyrillic alphabet. The Cyrillic alphabet allowed Slavic peoples to read the Bible in their own language.
