Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-26847105-20160926230200/@comment-27462565-20160926231453

Aparantly only the city of dale was based on Kievan Rus'. "The city of  Dale  itself is clearly  based on  old Rus' cities and fortresses (especially, Kiev). ... Given the location of  Dale  in the North-East of  Middle-earth , this depiction ..."