Did Russians participate in… the Crusades?

No, Russian princes and their retinues did not participate in the struggle to liberate the Holy Sepulchre. They were too preoccupied with feuding with each other and defending their borders from nomads.

Furthermore, after the schism of the Christian Church in 1054, Old Russia was slow to heed the appeals of the popes. However, individual enthusiasts may have headed to the Holy Land. Western European chronicles do mention certain knights "de Russi" – that is, from Old Russia.

Russian mercenaries in the service of the Byzantine Emperor may also have fought against the Saracens. In 1097, Byzantine troops stormed Nicaea alongside the Crusaders and the commander of one of the detachments was named Radomir.

While we couldn’t find any precise information about Russian warriors in the Holy Land, we do know for certain about Russian pilgrims. Thus, a certain Abbot Daniil visited the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the beginning of the 12th century, where he met King Baldwin I of Jerusalem, whom he called “a virtuous man, very humble and not at all proud”.