What role did the spread of christianity have on the development of the earliest states in russia?

Christianity helped the development of earliest states in Russia, because:
1) It gave the Russian people something to unite with
-As russia was made up of different people groups, they only united if they have similarities, which, in this case, was Russian Orthodox
2) It gave them a then-powerful Byzantine Empire as an Allie
- Because they share religion, they became allies. This allowed them to trade with each other, and to help each other (at least while the Byzantine Empire lasted)

hope this helps

An elector in the electoral college.