Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich: a historical portrait

Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich from 970 to 988 was the prince of Novgorod. In 978, Mr .. Kiev took over and ruled there until the 1015th. Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich, whose biography is sufficiently vividly described in the annals, carried out the baptism of Rus. In the face of the saints was glorified as the Equal-to-the-Apostles. In Russian Orthodoxy on the day of remembrance - on July 15, Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich is revered.

Historical portrait

In baptism, the prince was called Basil. Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich in the bylinas is known under the name of Saint, Krasnoe Solnyshko. His mother, according to legend, was the housekeeper Malusha, originally from Lyubech. In accordance with pagan traditions, the son of a slave could be the heir to the father-prince. The exact year in which Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich was born is unknown. His father was born, according to the chronicles, in 942. Vladimir's eldest son, Vysheslav, was born approximately in 977. Based on this, researchers of the ancient period deduce the year of the birth of the Red Sun, 960.

In accordance with "The Story" Nestor, Vladimir was the third oldest son of Svyatoslav after Yaropolk and Oleg. However, there is one more hypothesis. According to some reports, he was the second son, since before his father left for Byzantium he received in 970 a princely table in important Novgorod. And Oleg, in turn, remained in the Drevlyan land, the center of which was Ovruch. As a mentor for Vladimir, Dobrynya was chosen.

In the Scandinavian sagas there is an interesting story about how Olaf I Tryggvason (the future Norwegian king) spent all his childhood and youth in the Novgorod land. His mother was forced to flee from the murderers of her husband to the king Vladimir (Valdemaru). He was at that time served Sigurd - her brother. However, she was captured by the robbers of Estonia. Sigurd was in charge of collecting taxes in this country. By chance, he met Olaf and bought it. The boy was brought to Novgorod. Here he grew up under the patronage of Vladimir. Later, Olaf was accepted into the squad, where he became very popular among the soldiers.

Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich: short biography

After the death of his father in 972, Prince Yaropolk became the prince in Kiev. Between him and the remaining brothers in 977 an internecine war broke out. Oleg in the battle with Yaropolk during the retreat was crushed by the fallen horses in the ditch. Vladimir managed to escape to the Varangian lands. So Yaroslavl began to rule the whole Rus. Meanwhile Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich together with Dobrynia gathered in the Scandinavian army. In 980, he returned to Novgorod and expelled the posadnik Yaropolk. Then he captures Polotsk, which passed to the side of Kiev. At the same time, Princess Rogneda was forcibly taken as his wife.

Yaropolk meanwhile hid in Kiev. Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich, along with a large enough Varangian army, went to the walls of the city. As the chronicle testifies, voivod Yaropolk was bribed. He persuaded the prince to flee to the small town of Roden. Here, Vladimir lured his brother to the negotiations, in which two Varangians "raised his swords in his bosom". Pregnant wife Yaropolk, he took in a concubine. After a while, the Varangians demanded payment for the service. Vladimir first promised them a tribute, but then refused. He sent part of the troops to Constantinople, advising the Emperor of Byzantium to divorce him in different places. Some of the Scandinavians Vladimir left with him.

Pagan rule

Vladimir built a temple in Kiev, where the idols of the 6 main gods were installed: Perun, Mokoshi, Stribog, Khors, Dazhbog, Semargla. There is evidence that the prince performed human sacrifices, like the Scandinavians. The former prince Yaropolk established ties with the Latin West and was interested in Christianity. From this, researchers conclude that the fight against the previously established Orthodox faith in Kiev was entirely logical. During the persecution, the Varangians John and Fyodor died, one of the first martyrs in Russia.

Epiphany

In the annals there is a description of the "choice of faith" by Vladimir. He called to the court preachers of Judaism, Islam, Catholicism. However, after talking with the "Greek philosopher", he decides to adopt Christianity. According to the annals, in 987 on the boyar council the prince decided to baptize. As Orthodox sources testify, Vladimir after that freed all pagan wives from their conjugal duties. Rogneda offered to choose his husband, but she refused, taking monastic vows.

In 988, the prince captured Korsun, demanding his wife Anna - sister of the Byzantine emperors Constantine VIII and Basil II. The rulers, fearing the invasion of Vladimir's army, agreed. However, the emperors demanded his baptism that Anna should marry a co-religionist. After receiving consent from Vladimir they sent a sister with the priests to Korsun. The prince and his whole squad passed a ceremony, after which the ceremony of marriage took place.

Adoption of Christianity in Russia

After that, Vladimir returned to Kiev and ordered immediately overturning all the idols. An earlier source indicates that the prince's baptism was passed in 988, and he took Korsun three years later and only after that began to demand a wife from the emperors of Byzantium. In Kiev, the people's conversion to the new faith was relatively peaceful. In Novgorod, baptism was administered by Dobrynia. The adoption of a new faith was accompanied here by popular uprisings, which were suppressed by force. Rostov-Suzdal land was relatively autonomous due to its remoteness. In this regard, paganism prevailed up to the XII century.

Military campaigns

What glorified Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich? Domestic and foreign policy of the prince was directed mainly at subjugation of neighbors and the annexation of their territories to Ancient Rus. Most of his campaigns were quite successful and allowed to significantly expand the state's borders. So, in 981 (according to other sources in 979) he fought with Mieszko I - the Polish ruler. As a result of the battles, Vladimir captured Przemysl and Cherven. In the years 981-982. Princes were joined by the territory of Vyatichi. In 983, Vladimir established his dominion over the Judgment, subduing the Yatvingi tribe. This opened Russia's way to the Baltic.

In 984, the prince completely conquered the Radimichi. In 985, Vladimir fought along with nomadic torments against the Bulgarians. As a result, the world was beneficial to Russia. In 988, Mr .. Korsun was captured. According to sources, the city fell after a long siege, when the guardsmen dug up the pipes with water coming from the wells. In 991, as a result of a march to the Carpathian lands, they were included in the composition of Rus. In 1000, 6,000 vigilantes took part in the Byzantine offensive against Armenia. During his reign, Vladimir was able to conclude many profitable treaties with Poland, Byzantium, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

Pechenegi

Their raids created constant problems for the prince. In 996, Vasilev had an unsuccessful battle. In 997 the Pechenegs attacked Kiev. In 1001 and 1013 there was a major Polish-Pecheneg invasion. After a century, the memories of these events took the form of a folk epic. For example, there is a legend about Nikita Kozhemyak, Belgorod Kisele, etc. To protect from the Pechenegs, several fortresses along the southern border of Russia were built. On the south-eastern and southern limits, on the left and right sides of the Dnieper were drawn rows of guard posts and earth trenches.

In 1006-1007 years. Bruno of Querfurt (a German missionary) was traveling through Kiev. He was going to the Pechenegs to preach the Gospel. Vladimir, taking it with him, tried to dissuade him from the trip. However, the prince failed to persuade the missionary. Then Vladimir volunteered to spend it with his team to the frontiers. Here Bruno saw a palisade, the length of which was about 800 km.

Children and family

Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich in the epics is known as the "great libertine". This is also evidenced by the records of Timur Merseburgsky (German chronicler). In addition, the prince was in several pagan marriages. Among his wives were Rogneda, "Chekhov" (this union, according to some testimonies, was needed by Vladimir to fight Yaropolk), "Bulgarian" (it is not known which of the Bulgarians had a wife - Danube or Volga). According to one source, Gleb and Boris were sons of the latter. In addition, in concubines Vladimir had a pregnant widow Yaropolk, who was abducted during one of the campaigns. After a while she gave birth to Svyatopolk - a son "from two fathers". At the same time, Vladimir considered him his heir. Svyatopolk himself acknowledged the father of Yaropolk. Vladimir, he considered a usurper.

After the adoption of Christianity, the prince, presumably, was still in two Christian marriages. The first was with Anna, the Byzantine princess. She died in 1011. After her death, there was another wife, an unknown "stepmother of Yaroslav". In total, Vladimir had 13 sons and at least 10 daughters.

Images of the prince

From 988 on, srebreniki and zlatniks were minted, on which Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich was depicted. The photo of the prince is also present on four different Ukrainian banknotes in UAH 1. (1995-2007). Its image is used on coins in 1 and 10 UAH. In addition, the image was used on a Soviet jubilee coin of 100 rubles. It was released in 1988 in honor of the 1000th anniversary of the Old Russian coinage. The image of the prince is present on some postal envelopes and stamps.