The Russian Orthodox Church has gone through many different alterations throughout history. It started in Kiev, moved to Moscow, and is not the Russian Orthodox Church of today.
Prince Vladimir brought Christianity to ancient Rus in 1088 from Greece. His people were baptized en masse, often at the threat of prosecution. After the Kievan people were baptized, one center of spiritual belief was the Kievan monastery. It was the first to provide religious writings. The leader of the church was the Bishop of Kiev, sometimes he'd be from Greece.
After the Tatars devastated Kiev in 1240, the mainstream of religion shifted to Moscow. Sergei Rodonezh created the Muscovite religion.. The Saint Sergius Trinity of Moscow became one of the greatest works of religious art to come from this society.
Under the communists, the Russian Orthodox religion was persecuted. However, in the late 1980's, the Russian Orthodox Church was granted the legal right to hold church services.