Expansion of Rus

I found it really interesting that a group of Slavic people were the ones that had the most significant expansion of Orthodox Christianity because I do not think that I have ever thought about Christians in that area of the world. Its effects brought together all of the diverse peoples of the region and made it available to more interaction with other civilizations while giving religious legitimacy to its rulers. It must have been a big change to the people because it caused the civilization to grow and become more important in status. I can only imagine how it might have felt for my leader to decide to bring our region together under one religion when I had been used to the diversity and being able to have the freedom to choose what I wanted to believe in. He could have been understanding and let everyone keep their own beliefs or it could have been the opposite and force everyone to follow Christianity. There is not much information on which situation occurred but I know that the region went through a lot of changes during that period and hopefully it ended well for Rus' people.