Vladimir's effigy on one of his coins. He is crowned in the Byzantine style, holding a cross-mounted staff in one hand and a Khazar-inspired trident[1] in the other.
Born in 958, Vladimir was the illegitimate and youngest son of Sviatoslav I of Kiev by his housekeeper Malusha.[35] Malusha is described in the Norse sagas as a prophetess who lived to the age of 100 and was brought from her cave to the palace to predict the future. Malusha's brother Dobrynya was Vladimir's tutor and most trusted advisor. Hagiographic tradition of dubious authenticity also connects his childhood with the name of his grandmother, Olga of Kiev, who was Christian and governed the capital during Sviatoslav's frequent military campaigns.[36]
Transferring his capital to Pereyaslavets, Sviatoslav designated Vladimir ruler of Novgorod the Great in 970,[13] but gave Kiev to his legitimate son Yaropolk. After Sviatoslav's death at the hands of the Pechenegs in 972, a fratricidal war erupted in 977 between Yaropolk and his younger brother Oleg, ruler of the Drevlians; Vladimir fled abroad and assembled a Varangian army to assist him in deposing Yaropolk.[37][18] On his return the next year, he marched against Yaropolk. On his way to Kiev he sent ambassadors to Rogvolod (Norse: Ragnvald), prince of Polotsk, to sue for the hand of his daughter Rogneda (Norse: Ragnhild). The high-born princess refused to affiance herself to the son of a bondswoman (and was betrothed to Yaropolk), so Vladimir attacked Polotsk, took Ragnhild by force, and put her parents to the sword.[35][38] Polotsk was a key fortress on the way to Kiev, and capturing Polotsk and Smolensk facilitated the taking of Kiev in 978, where he slew Yaropolk by treachery and was proclaimed knyaz of all Kievan Rus'.[39][14]
Years of pagan rule
Vladimir continued to expand his territories beyond his father's extensive domain. In 981, he seized the Cherven towns from the Duchy of Poland; in 981–982, he suppressed a Vyatichi rebellion; in 983, he subdued the Yatvingians; in 984, he conquered the Radimichs; and in 985, he conducted a military campaign against the Volga Bulgars,[40][41] planting numerous fortresses and colonies on his way.[35]
Although Christianity had spread in the region under Oleg's rule, Vladimir had remained a thoroughgoing pagan, taking eight hundred concubines (along with numerous wives) and erecting pagan statues and shrines to gods.[42]
He may have attempted to reform Slavic paganism in an attempt to identify himself with the various gods worshipped by his subjects. He built a pagan temple on a hill in Kiev dedicated to six gods: Perun—the god of thunder and war, a god favored by members of the prince's druzhina (military retinue); Slavic gods Stribog and Dazhd'bog; Mokosh—a goddess representing Mother Nature "worshipped by Finnish tribes"; Khors and Simargl, "both of which had Iranian origins, were included, probably to appeal to the Poliane".[43]
Open abuse of the deities that most people in Rus' revered triggered widespread indignation. A mob killed the Christian Fyodor and his son Ioann (later, after the overall Christianisation of Kievan Rus', people came to regard these two as the first Christian martyrs in Rus', and the Orthodox Church set a day to commemorate them, 25 July[44]). Immediately after the murder of Fyodor and Ioann, early medieval Rus' saw persecutions against Christians, many of whom escaped or concealed their belief.[lower-alpha 4]
However, Prince Vladimir mused over the incident long after, and not least for political considerations. According to the early Slavic chronicle, the Tale of Bygone Years, which describes life in Kievan Rus' up to the year 1110, he sent his envoys throughout the world to assess first-hand the major religions of the time: Islam, Latin Christianity, Judaism, and Byzantine Christianity.[45] They were most impressed with their visit to Constantinople, saying, "We knew not whether we were in Heaven or on Earth... We only know that God dwells there among the people, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations."[46]
The Baptism of Saint Prince Vladimir, by Viktor Vasnetsov (1890)
The Primary Chronicle reports that in the year 986, missionaries from various peoples representing various religions arrived in Kiev, trying to convert Vladimir to their religion. In 987, after consultation with his boyars, Vladimir reportedly sent envoys to study the religions of the various neighboring peoples whose representatives had been urging him to embrace their respective faiths. Although in both stories Vladimir ultimately rejects all options except Eastern Christianity, he hesitates and does not convert.[47]
In 988, having taken the town of Chersonesus in Crimea, he allegedly boldly negotiated for the hand of emperor Basil II's sister, Anna.[48] Never before had a Byzantine imperial princess, and one "born in the purple", married a barbarian, as matrimonial offers of French kings and Holy Roman Emperors had been peremptorily rejected. In short, to marry the 27-year-old princess to a pagan Slav seemed impossible. Vladimir was baptized at Chersonesos, however, taking the Christian name of Basil out of compliment to his imperial brother-in-law; the sacrament was followed by his wedding to Anna.
Arab sources, both Muslim and Christian, present a different story of Vladimir's conversion. Yahya of Antioch, al-Rudhrawari, al-Makin, al-Dimashqi, and ibn al-Athir all give essentially the same account.[49] In 987, Bardas Sclerus and Bardas Phocas revolted against the Byzantine emperor Basil II. Both rebels briefly joined forces, but then Bardas Phocas proclaimed himself emperor on 14 September 987. Basil II turned to the Kievan Rus' for assistance, even though they were considered enemies at that time. Vladimir agreed, in exchange for a marital tie; he also agreed to accept Christianity as his religion and to Christianize his people. When the wedding arrangements were settled, Vladimir dispatched 6,000 troops to the Byzantine Empire, and they helped to put down the revolt.[50]
Vladimir then formed a great council out of his boyars and set his twelve sons over his subject principalities.[35] According to the Primary Chronicle, he founded the city of Belgorod in 991. In 992, he went on a campaign against the Croats, most likely the White Croats that lived on the border of modern Ukraine. This campaign was cut short by the attacks of the Pechenegs on and around Kiev.[53]
In 1014, his son Yaroslav the Wise stopped paying tribute. Vladimir decided to chastise the insolence of his son and began gathering troops against him. Vladimir fell ill, however, most likely of old age, and died at Berestove, near modern-day Kiev. The various parts of his dismembered body were distributed among his numerous sacred foundations and were venerated as relics.[35]
During his Christian reign, Vladimir lived the teachings of the Bible through acts of charity. He would hand out food and drink to the less fortunate, and made an effort to go out to the people who could not reach him. His work was based on the impulse to help one's neighbors by sharing the burden of carrying their cross.[54] He founded numerous churches, including the Desyatynna Tserkva(Church, or Cathedral, of the Tithes) (989), established schools, protected the poor and introduced ecclesiastical courts. He lived mostly at peace with his neighbors, the incursions of the Pechenegs alone disturbing his tranquility.[35]
The fate of all Vladimir's daughters, whose number is around nine, is uncertain. His wives, concubines, and their children were as follows:
Olava or Allogia (Varangian or Czech), speculative; she might have been mother of Vysheslav while others claim that it is a confusion with Helena Lekapene
Vysheslav (c. 977–c. 1010), Prince of Novgorod (988–1010)[56]
Yaroslav the Wise (no earlier than 983), Prince of Rostov[57] (988–1010), Prince of Novgorod (1010–1034), Grand Prince of Kiev (1016–1018, 1019–1054). He was likely a son of Anna Porphyrogenita rather than Rogneda.[58][59] Another interesting fact is that he was younger than Sviatopolk according to the words of Boris in the Tale of Bygone Years and not as it was officially known. A later analysis of his skeletal remains also corroborates this view.[60]
Vsevolod (c. 984–1013), possibly the Swedish Prince Wissawald of Volhynia (c. 1000), was perhaps the first husband of Estrid Svendsdatter
Mstislav, distinct from Mstislav of Chernigov, possibly died as an infant, if he was ever born
Mstislav of Chernigov (born c. 983), Prince of Tmutarakan (990–1036), Prince of Chernigov (1024–1036), other sources claim him to be the son of other mothers (Adela, Malfrida, or some other Bulgarian wife)
Mstislava, in 1018 was taken by Bolesław I Chrobry among the other daughters
Bulgarian Adela, some sources claim that Adela is not necessarily Bulgarian as Boris and Gleb may have been born from some other wife
Boris (born c. 986), Prince of Rostov (c. 1010–1015), remarkable is the fact that the Rostov Principality as well as the Principality of Murom used to border the territory of the Volga Bolgars
Gleb (born c. 987), Prince of Murom (1013–1015), as is Boris, Gleb is also claimed to be the son of Anna Porphyrogenita.[61]
Stanislav (born c. 985–1015), Prince of Smolensk (988–1015), possibly of another wife and the fate of whom is not certain
Sudislav (died 1063), Prince of Pskov (1014–1036), possibly of another wife, but he is mentioned in Nikon's Chronicles. He spent 35 years in prison and later became a monk.
a granddaughter of Otto the Great (possibly Rechlinda Otona [Regelindis])
Maria Dobroniega of Kiev (born c. 1012), the Duchess of Poland (1040–1087), married around 1040 to Casimir I the Restorer, Duke of Poland, her maternity as daughter of this wife is deduced from her apparent age
The town Volodymyr in north-western Ukraine was founded by Vladimir and is named after him.[64] The foundation of another town, Vladimir in Russia, is usually attributed to Vladimir Monomakh. However some researchers argue that it was also founded by Vladimir the Great.[65]
The memory of Vladimir was also kept alive by innumerable Russian folk ballads and legends, which refer to him as Krasno Solnyshko (the Fair Sun, or the Red Sun; Красно Солнышко in Russian). The Varangian period of Eastern Slavic history ceases with Vladimir, and the Christian period begins.
The appropriation of Kievan Rus' as part of national history has also been a topic of contention in Ukrainophile vs. Russophile schools of historiography since the Soviet era.[66] Today, he is regarded as a symbol in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
All branches of the economy prospered under Vladimir.[67] He minted coins and regulated foreign affairs with other countries, such as trade, bringing in Greek wines, Baghdad spices, and Arabian horses for the markets of Kiev.
Viking, Russian historical film (2016), where Vladimir the Great is portrayed by Danila Kozlovsky
Notes
↑ Volodiměrъ is an Old East Slavic form of the given name; this form was influenced and partially replaced by the Old Bulgarian (Old Church Slavonic) form Vladiměrъ (by folk etymology later also Vladimirъ; in modern East Slavic languages, the given name is rendered Belarusian: Уладзiмiр, Uladzimir, Russian: Владимир, Vladimir, Ukrainian: Володимир, Volodymyr. See Vladimir (name) for details.
↑ Russian: Владимир Святославич, Vladimir Svyatoslavich; Ukrainian: Володимир Святославич, Volodymyr Sviatoslavych; Belarusian: Уладзімір Святаславіч, Uladzimir Svyataslavich; Old NorseValdamarr gamli[9]
↑ According to historian Donald Ostrowski (2017), Russian scholars tend to prefer "Vladimir", while Ukrainian scholars tend to prefer "Volodimer". However, "Volodimir" tends to occur as much in the primary sources as "Volodimer", and significantly more often than "Vladimir".[28]
↑ In 983, after another of his military successes, Prince Vladimir and his army thought it necessary to sacrifice human lives to the gods. A lot was cast and it fell on a youth, Ioann by name, the son of a Christian, Fyodor. His father stood firmly against his son being sacrificed to the idols. Further, he tried to show the pagans the futility of their faith: "Your gods are just plain wood: it is here now but it may rot into oblivion tomorrow; your gods neither eat, nor drink, nor talk and are made by human hand from wood; whereas there is only one God – He is worshiped by Greeks and He created heaven and earth; and your gods? They have created nothing, for they have been created themselves; never will I give my son to the devils!"[citation needed]
Related Research Articles
Olga was a regent of Kievan Rus' for her son Sviatoslav from 945 until 957. Following her baptism, Olga took the name Elenа. She is known for her subjugation of the Drevlians, a tribe that had killed her husband Igor. Even though it was her grandson Vladimir who adopted Christianity and made it the state religion, she was the first ruler to be baptized.
Sviatoslav or Svyatoslav I Igorevich was Prince of Kiev from 945 until his death in 972. He is known for his persistent campaigns in the east and south, which precipitated the collapse of two great powers in Eastern Europe, Khazaria and the First Bulgarian Empire. He conquered numerous East Slavic tribes, defeated the Alans and attacked the Volga Bulgars, and at times was allied with the Pechenegs and Magyars (Hungarians).
Yaroslav I Vladimirovich, better known as Yaroslav the Wise, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death in 1054. He was also earlier Prince of Novgorod from 1010 to 1034 and Prince of Rostov from 987 to 1010, uniting the principalities for a time. Yaroslav's baptismal name was George after Saint George.
The Grand Prince of Kiev was the title of the monarch of Kievan Rus', residing in Kiev from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prince of Vladimir and the Mongol Golden Horde governors, and later was taken over by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Yaropolk I Sviatoslavich was Prince of Kiev from 972 to 978. He was the oldest son of Sviatoslav I. His mother was Malusha, who was a steward in the household of his grandmother, Olga of Kiev.
Sviatopolk I Vladimirovich was Prince of Turov from 988 to 1015 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 1015 to 1019. He earned his sobriquet after allegedly murdering his brothers during his bid to take the throne. His actual responsibility is disputed by historians.
Vladimir II Monomakh was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1113 to 1125. He is considered a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is celebrated on May 6.
The Christianization of Kievan Rus' was a long and complicated process that took place in several stages. In 867, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople told other Christian patriarchs that the Rus' people were converting enthusiastically, but his efforts seem to have entailed no lasting consequences, since the Russian Primary Chronicle and other Slavonic sources describe the tenth-century Rus' as still firmly entrenched in Slavic paganism. The traditional view, as recorded in the Russian Primary Chronicle, is that the definitive Christianization of Kievan Rus' dates happened c. 988, when Vladimir the Great was baptized in Chersonesus (Korsun) and proceeded to baptize his family and people in Kiev. The latter events are traditionally referred to as baptism of Rus' in Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian literature.
Rogneda Rogvolodovna, also known as Ragnhild (Ragnheiðr), is a person mentioned in the Primary Chronicle as having been a princess of Polotsk, the daughter of Rogvolod (Ragnvald), who came from Scandinavia and established himself at Polotsk in the mid-10th century. Vladimir the Great is narrated as having killed her father and taking her as one of his wives.
Iziaslav Yaroslavich was Prince of Turov and Grand Prince of Kiev.
Rurik Rostislavich, also spelt Riurik, was Prince of Novgorod (1170–1171), Belgorod (1173–1194), Grand Prince of Kiev, and Prince of Chernigov (1210–1214).
The family of Vladimir I, popularly known as Vladimir the Great, prince of Kievan Rus', is subject to scholarly studies. The primary sources about his life, such as the Primary Chronicle and the Chronicon Thietmari of Thietmar of Merseburg, are legendary, and require critical scrutiny to separate fact from fiction.
The Principality of Polotsk, also known as the Duchy of Polotsk or Polotskian Rus', was a medieval principality. The origin and date of the establishment of the state are uncertain. Chronicles of Kievan Rus' mention Polotsk being conquered by Vladimir the Great, and thereafter it became associated with Kievan Rus' and its ruling Rurik dynasty.
The Battle of Listven (1024) was part of the aftermath of the Kievan succession crisis of 1015–1019 following the death of Vladimir the Great (Volodymyr) in 1015. It was fought between his sons Mstislav of Chernigov and Kievan forces supporting Yaroslav the Wise; Mstislav defeated Yaroslav. The battle is mainly known from the account written under the year 6532 (1024) in the Primary Chronicle, completed about 90 years later. According to that legendary narrative, the battle took place at night during a thunderstorm.
The Prince of Polotsk ruled the Principality of Polotsk within the realm of Kievan Rus' or within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the mid-9th century to 1307.
Yaropolk Iziaslavich was Prince of Turov and Prince of Volhynia from 1078 until his death.
Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus', was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century. Encompassing a variety of polities and peoples, including East Slavic, Norse, and Finnic, it was ruled by the Rurik dynasty, founded by the Varangian prince Rurik. The name was coined by Russian historians in the 19th century to describe the period when Kiev was at the center. At its greatest extent in the mid-11th century, Kievan Rus' stretched from the White Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south and from the headwaters of the Vistula in the west to the Taman Peninsula in the east, uniting the East Slavic tribes.
The Principality of Turov, later called the Principality of Turov and Pinsk, also known as Turovian Rus', was a medieval principality of Kievan Rus' from the 10th century on the territory of modern-day Belarus and northern Ukraine. The princes of Turov often served as grand princes early in 10th and 11th centuries. Its capital was Turov (Turaŭ), and other important cities included Pinsk, Mazyr, Slutsk, Lutsk, Brest, and Volodymyr.
The Conversion of Volodimer is a narrative recorded in several different versions in medieval sources about how Vladimir the Great converted from Slavic paganism to Byzantine Christianity in the 980s.
The battle and siege of Vyshgorod took place in late 1173, during the 1171–1173 Kievan succession crisis. Commanding another broad coalition army, prince Andrey Bogolyubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal launched a second campaign against Kiev, capital city of Kievan Rus'. After the conquest and sack of Kiev in March 1169 by an earlier coalition assembled by Andrey, his brother Gleb of Pereyaslavl had been installed as the new grand prince, only to die under suspicious circumstances in January 1171. A series of princes briefly reigned in Kiev thereafter, with Andrey usually managing to put his preferred candidates on its throne, until his brother Vsevolod "the Big Nest" was driven out by the Rostislavichi of Smolensk in April 1172, enthroning Rurik Rostislavich. Andrey was most displeased when he heard about this, and assembled another coalition army under his son Yury to militarily enforce his will on Kiev.
References
↑ Kevin Alan Brook (2006). The Jews of Khazaria (2nded.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p.154. ISBN978-1-442203-02-0.
↑ Александров А. А. Ольгинская топонимика, выбутские сопки и руссы в Псковской земле // Памятники средневековой культуры. Открытия и версии. СПб., 1994. С. 22—31.
↑ Kovalenko, Volodymyr. "Young years of Volodymyr Svyatoslavych: the path to the Kyiv throne in the light of the theories of A. Adler - E. Erikson". Bulletin of the Chernihiv National Pedagogical University. Series: Historical sciences. 2015 (134): 10–18.
↑ John Channon, Robert Hudson. The Penguin historical atlas of Russia. Viking. 1995. p. 23.
↑ "Although Christianity in Kiev existed before Vladimir's time, he had remained a pagan, accumulated about seven wives, established temples, and, it is said, taken part in idolatrous rites involving human sacrifice." (Encyclopædia Britannica)
↑ Janet, Martin (2007). Medieval Russia, 980–1584 (2nded.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.6. ISBN9780511811074. OCLC761647272.
↑ William Humphreys, "Agatha, mother of St. Margaret: the Slavic versus the Salian solutions - a critical overview", Foundations, 1(1):31-43; Joseph Edwards, "Editorial", Foundations, 1(2):74; William Humphreys, "Agatha ‘the Greek’ – Exploring the Slavic solution", Foundations, 1(4):275-288.
↑ Arrignon, Jean Pierre (1983). Les relations diplomatiques entre Bizance et la Russie de 860 à 1043. Revue des études slaves 55. pp. 133-135.
↑ Валерий Борисович Перхавко (2006). Воители Руси: IX-XIII [Warriors of Russia IX-XIII centuries]. - M .: Veche, 2006. p. 64. - ISBN5-9533-1256-3
1 2 Shepherd, Jonathan (2003). "Marriages Towards the Millennium". In Magdalino, Paul (ed.). Byzantium in the Year 1000. BRILL. pp. 25–26. ISBN978-90-04-12097-6. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
↑ Henryk Paszkiewicz. The making of the Russian nation. Greenwood Press. 1977. Cracow 1996, pp. 77–79.
↑ С. В. Шевченко (ред.). К вопросу о дате основания г. Владимира, ТОО "Местное время", 1992. (S. V. Shevchenko (ed.). On the foundation date of Vladimir. in Russian)
↑ Volkoff, Vladimir (2011). Vladimir the Russian Viking. New York: Overlook Press.
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Golden, P. B. (2006) "Rus." Encyclopaedia of Islam (Brill Online). Eds.: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill.
Franklin, Simon (1991). "Ilarion's "Sermon on Law and Grace"". Sermons and Rhetoric of Kievan Rus'(PDF). University of Toronto (SLA 218 Ukrainian Literature and Culture). p.30. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
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