Where does “Russia” come from?

Russia derives from Medieval Latin Russi, from Byzantine Greek Ῥωσία, a term for the medieval East Slavic state and people of that region.

Ancestry of “Russia”, step by step

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Medieval Latin	Russi	Russians
2	Old East Slavic	Русь	Rus; Ruthenia
3	Finnish	ruotsi	Swedish
4	Proto-Finnic	*roocci	—
5	Old Swedish	roþs-	related to rowing
6	Old Norse	róðr	—
7	Proto-Germanic	rōþrą	oar; rudder
8	Proto-Indo-European	h₁reh₁-	to row; to separate; loose, sparse, rare