The significance of the reign of Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise in the history of Rus' can hardly be overestimated. He expanded the borders of the state, issued the Church Charter, "Russian Truth" - a code of laws of the Russian feudal state, under him monasteries, schools were opened, books were copied. After years of many years of unrest, Yaroslav the Wise established autocracy. But after his death, the country broke up into specific principalities. Who ruled after Yaroslav the Wise?
The united and strong state left by Yaroslav the Wise, after his death, slowly disintegrated into separate principalities that were at enmity with each other, bringing the weakening and decline of Rus'. Formally, the state remained united, but the principalities were connected only by a single faith and a common clan. They were in constant strife and struggle for Kievan rule. Over time, the alienation became more and more. The culprits for this were those who ruled after Yaroslav the Wise - his sons and the order of inheritance, according to some scientists, established by the Grand Duke himself.
The consequence of this confusion was the weakening of the Kievan state: both economic and political. Having defeated the Pechenegs under Yaroslav, now Rus' could not gather a sufficient army to repulse the new nomadic people - the Polovtsy, who appeared in the southern steppes from the middle of the 11th century. They ravaged the Russian land: they plundered, created obstacles to trade, capturing all the routes to the south and east. What could have happened, what was the cause of this disaster?
The fault was the established order of succession to the throne of Kyiv, the so-called ladder, which determined those who ruled Russia after Yaroslav the Wise. According to some reports, the Grand Duke himself distributed all the cities that were part of Kievan Rus among his sons, of whom he had five. The eldest son, Izyaslav, inherited Kyiv and Novgorod, the next most important city of Chernigov went to Svyatoslav, Vsevolod following them - Pereyaslavl. Two others, according to some sources, had died by this time.
The eldest son ruled Kyiv and Novgorod. He was considered the first among the brothers, but each ruled his city independently. The order of succession was as follows: upon the death of the prince of Kyiv, his children inherited a city. The prince of Chernigov became the ruler of Kyiv. If he died before reaching the rank of Grand Duke of Kyiv, then his children lost the right to inherit in the same way as the children of other princes, except for Kyiv. The ruler of Chernigov was the prince next in seniority from the brothers, and so on.
With such an order, without a strong centralized authority, the separation of the principalities of Kievan Rus from year to year became more and more noticeable, which led to a deplorable state. Quarrels and strife began among those who ruled after Yaroslav the Wise and their children, grandchildren of the Grand Duke. For example, Prince Izyaslav was expelled from Kyiv twice, first by the townspeople, and then by his brothers. The title of the Grand Prince of Kyiv, with the help of the army, was given to Svyatoslav, who ruled the city until his death.
After him, Vsevolod received the title of Grand Duke, who gave way to her older brother Izyaslav. At the same time, according to the established rules of inheritance, the children of Svyatoslav did not have the right to the throne of one of the principalities of Kievan Rus, since their father was not legally considered the Grand Duke, due to the fact that his elder brother Izyaslav was alive.
The first years of activity of those who ruled after Yaroslav the Wise - his sons - were marked by stability in the country and successful joint military campaigns, as a result of which new lands were annexed. The brothers tried to keep their father's covenant - to live in peace and help each other. At the same time, some provisions of Yaroslavskaya Pravda are being revised. It was supplemented by a ban on blood feuds. Instead, large fines were introduced. The protection of Russian property was also reflected in the law, and much attention was paid to it. The additions also affected the security of the inhabitants of Kievan Rus. This important document was called "The Truth of the Yaroslavichs".
At the initial stage of the reign of the sons who were after Yaroslav the Wise, two important events occurred that negatively affected Kievan Rus:
— Invasion of the Polovtsians. In 1061 they made a terrible and devastating raid on Pereyaslavl. Inspired by the first victory and not receiving a proper rebuff, they continued to rob and enslave the Russians, which brought significant harm to the state.
- The rebellion of Rostislav, the son of Prince Vladimir, who died under Yaroslav the Wise. He captured the Tmutarakan principality in the southern lands and expelled its legitimate ruler Gleb.
As noted above, the reign of Prince Izyaslav in the early years was quite productive, but during the years of his reign there were wars with the Polovtsians. The Polovtsy, led by Prince Vseslav, captured and plundered Novgorod in 1068 and moved on. Yaroslavichi, in response to this, went on a campaign to Minsk - the capital of the Polovtsians. Having captured the city, they killed the entire male population in it and captured Prince Vseslav, who was taken to Kyiv.
In response to this, the Polovtsians defeated the Yaroslavich army. This failure made each of the brothers fear for their lands, which gave rise to indecision in common actions. The people of Kyiv, seeing this inaction, began to demand that they be given weapons. Not having received it, he raised a rebellion, expelled Izyaslav and planted Vseslav in his place. Seven months later, the Yaroslavichi laid siege to Kyiv. The prince of Polotsk fled, and the rebellion was brutally suppressed.
Considering Izyaslav a weak ruler, his brothers, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod, forgetting the established rule about who rules after Yaroslav the Wise, united against him and expelled him from Kyiv. He fled to the Germans. Svyatoslav became the ruler of Kyiv. His reign was short. After his death, Vsevolod, not wanting to break the rules, cedes the rule of Kyiv to his elder brother Izyaslav, who dies in the war with his nephews - the sons of Svyatoslav.
In 1078 Vsevolod became the Grand Duke of Kyiv. To stop the enmity between the Rurik family, he redistributes the destinies. This had the opposite effect, new deprived heirs appeared. The sons of Svyatoslav began to unite with the Polovtsy, trying to go together to Kyiv, but the Polovtsy took the side of Vsevolod.
The son of Vsevolod - Vladimir Monomakh fought with the Vyatichi rebels. A terrible disaster was the famine of 1092. Following him, a series of epidemics swept through Kievan Rus, which significantly reduced the population of the country.
Less than 100 years after the death of Yaroslav the Wise, internecine strife turned the once mighty Kievan Rus into several disparate parts. The Kiev principality was in poverty and desolation. There was no centralized authority capable of bringing together all the principalities. The reason for this was the ladder order of inheritance, which did not suit the heirs, who consider themselves deprived.
Internecine strife weakened the state, made it accessible to attack from outside. In order to realize the fallacy of the ladder order of inheritance, which in principle led to the fragmentation of the state, a difficult path had to be traveled, and at that time it was far from that.
The history of Rus' goes back more than a thousand years, although even before the advent of the state, a variety of tribes lived on its territory. The last ten-century period can be divided into several stages. All the rulers of Russia, from Rurik to Putin, are people who were true sons and daughters of their eras.
Historians consider the following classification to be the most convenient:
- the reign of the Novgorod princes (862-882);
- the reign of the Great Kyiv princes (882-1263);
- the reign of princes in Vladimir (1157-1425);
- Grand Duchy of Moscow (1283-1547);
- the period of kings and emperors (from 1547 to 1917);
- the period of the USSR (1917 - 1991);
- board of presidents (1991-until now).
This classification will tell a lot even to a reader who is not strong in the history of the country. The characteristics of the rulers of Russia of a particular period largely depend on their contemporary era. The main centers of the political life of Rus' changed their location several times. Until 1547, princes ruled in Rus', then the period of monarchization of the state began, which ended tragically in 1917. Almost the entire 20th century was marked by the hegemony of the Communist Party, as well as the emergence of new independent states on the territory of the former USSR.
The results of studies of historical materials of this period make it possible to trace the order in which the princes were in power. It was also possible to establish the dates of the reign of all the rulers of Russia in the specified period. So:
- Rurik ruled from 862 to 879;
- Prophetic Oleg was in power from 879 to 912;
- Igor was in the princely field for the next 33 years, he was killed in 945;
- Olga, Grand Duchess (945-964);
- Warrior Prince Svyatoslav (son of Igor and Olga) ruled for 8 years until his death on the battlefield;
- Yaropolk Svyatoslavovich (972-980);
- Yaroslav the Wise (1016-1054);
- from 1054 to 1068, Izyaslav Yaroslavovich was in power;
- from 1068 to 1078, the list of rulers of Russia was replenished with several names at once (Vseslav Bryachislavovich, Izyaslav Yaroslavovich, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod Yaroslavovichi, in 1078 Izyaslav Yaroslavovich ruled again)
- 1078 was marked by some stabilization in the political arena, until 1093 Vsevolod Yaroslavovich ruled;
- Svyatopolk Izyaslavovich was on the throne from 1093 to 1113;
- Vladimir, nicknamed Monomakh (1113-1125) - one of the best princes of Kievan Rus;
- from 1132 to 1139, Yaropolk Vladimirovich had power.
All the rulers of Russia from Rurik to Putin, who lived and ruled during this period and up to the present, saw their main task in the prosperity of the country and strengthening the country's role in the European arena. Another thing is that each of them went to the goal in his own way, sometimes in a completely different direction than his predecessors.
During the feudal fragmentation of Rus', changes on the main princely throne were frequent. None of the princes left a serious mark on the history of Rus'. By the middle of the XIII century, Kyiv fell into absolute decline. It is worth mentioning only a few princes who ruled in the XII century. So, from 1139 to 1146, Vsevolod Olgovich was the prince of Kyiv. In 1146, Igor II was at the helm for two weeks, after which Izyaslav Mstislavovich ruled for three years. Until 1169, such people as Vyacheslav Rurikovich, Rostislav Smolensky, Izyaslav Chernigov, Yuri Dolgoruky, Izyaslav the Third managed to visit the princely throne.
The period of formation of late feudalism in Rus' was characterized by several manifestations:
- the weakening of the Kyiv princely power;
- the emergence of several centers of influence that competed with each other;
- Strengthening the influence of the feudal lords.
On the territory of Rus', 2 largest centers of influence arose: Vladimir and Galich. Galich is the most important political center of that time (located on the territory of modern Western Ukraine). It seems interesting to study the list of rulers of Russia who reigned in Vladimir. The importance of this period of history has yet to be assessed by researchers. Of course, the Vladimir period in the development of Rus' was not as long as the Kyiv period, but it was after it that the formation of monarchical Rus' began. Consider the dates of the reign of all the rulers of Russia of this time. In the first years of this stage in the development of Rus', the rulers changed quite often, there was no stability that would appear later. For more than 5 years, the following princes have been in power in Vladimir:
- Andrew (1169-1174);
- Vsevolod, son of Andrei (1176-1212);
- Georgy Vsevolodovich (1218-1238);
- Yaroslav, son of Vsevolod (1238-1246);
- Alexander (Nevsky), the great commander (1252-1263);
- Yaroslav III (1263-1272);
- Dmitry I (1276-1283);
- Dmitry II (1284-1293);
- Andrei Gorodetsky (1293-1304);
- Michael "Saint" of Tver (1305-1317).
The transfer of the capital from Vladimir to Moscow roughly coincides chronologically with the end of the period of feudal fragmentation of Rus' and the strengthening of the main center of political influence. Most of the princes were on the throne longer than the rulers of the Vladimir period. So:
- Prince Ivan (1328-1340);
- Semyon Ivanovich (1340-1353);
- Ivan the Red (1353-1359);
- Alexei Byakont (1359-1368);
- Dmitry (Donskoy), a famous commander (1368-1389);
- Vasily Dmitrievich (1389-1425);
- Sophia of Lithuania (1425-1432);
- Vasily the Dark (1432-1462);
- Ivan III (1462-1505);
- Vasily Ivanovich (1505-1533);
- Elena Glinskaya (1533-1538);
The decade before 1548 was a difficult period in the history of Russia, when the situation developed in such a way that the princely dynasty actually ended. There was a period of stagnation when boyar families were in power.
Historians distinguish three chronological periods in the development of the Russian monarchy:
before the accession to the throne of Peter the Great, the reign of Peter the Great and after it. The dates of the reign of all the rulers of Russia from 1548 to the end of the 17th century are as follows:
- Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible (1548-1574);
- Semyon Kasimovsky (1574-1576);
- again Ivan the Terrible (1576-1584);
- Fedor (1584-1598).
Tsar Fedor had no heirs, so the Rurik dynasty was interrupted. 1598-1612 is one of the most difficult periods in the history of our country. Rulers changed almost every year. Since 1613, the country has been ruled by the Romanov dynasty:
- Mikhail, the first representative of the Romanov dynasty (1613-1645);
- Alexei Mikhailovich, son of the first emperor (1645-1676);
- Fedor Alekseevich ascended the throne in 1676 and ruled for 6 years;
- Sophia, his sister, ruled from 1682 to 1689.
In the 17th century, stability finally came to Rus'. The central government has been strengthened, reforms are gradually beginning, which have led to the fact that Russia has grown territorially and strengthened, the leading world powers began to reckon with it. The main merit in changing the face of the state belongs to the great Russian Tsar Peter I (1689-1725), who simultaneously became the first emperor.
The reign of Peter the Great is the heyday of the Russian state, when the empire acquired its own strong fleet and strengthened the army. All the rulers of Russia, from Rurik to Putin, understood the importance of the armed forces, but few were able to realize the huge potential of the country. An important feature of that time was the aggressive foreign policy of Russia, which manifested itself in the forcible annexation of new regions (Russian-Turkish wars, the Azov campaign).
The chronology of the rulers of Russia from 1725 to 1917 is as follows:
- Ekaterina Skavronskaya (1725-1727);
- Queen Anna (1730-1740);
- Ivan Antonovich (1740-1741);
- Ekaterina Petrovna (1741-1761);
- Pyotr Fedorovich (1761-1762);
- Catherine the Great (1762-1796);
- Pavel Petrovich (1796-1801);
- Alexander I (1081-1825);
- Nicholas I (1825-1855);
- Alexander II (1855 - 1881);
- Alexander III (1881-1894);
- Nicholas II - the last of the Romanovs, ruled until 1917.
This ends a huge period of development of the state, when the kings were in power. After the October Revolution, a new political structure appeared - the republic.
The first few years after the revolution were difficult. Among the rulers of this period, Alexander Fedorovich Kerensky can be distinguished. After the legal registration of the USSR as a state and until 1924, Vladimir Lenin led the country. Further, the chronology of the rulers of Russia looks like this:
- Dzhugashvili Joseph Vissarionovich (1924-1953);
- Nikita Khrushchev was the First Secretary of the CPSU after Stalin's death until 1964;
- Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982);
- Yuri Andropov (1982-1984);
- Konstantin Chernenko, General Secretary of the CPSU (1984-1985);
- Mikhail Gorbachev, the first president of the USSR (1985-1991);
— Boris Yeltsin, leader of independent Russia (1991-1999);
- the current head of state Putin - President of Russia since 2000 (with a break for 4 years, when Dmitry Medvedev was in charge of the state)
All the rulers of Russia from Rurik to Putin, who have been in power over the entire more than a thousand-year history of the state, are patriots who wished the flourishing of all the lands of a vast country. Most of the rulers were not random people in this difficult field and each made his own contribution to the development and formation of Russia. Of course, all the rulers of Russia wanted goodness and prosperity for their subjects: the main forces were always directed to strengthening borders, expanding trade, and strengthening defense capabilities.
All the supreme rulers in Rus' put a lot into its development. Thanks to the power of the ancient Russian princes, the country was built, territorially expanded, and provided with protection to fight the enemy. Many buildings were built, which today have become an international historical and cultural landmark. Rus' was replaced by a dozen rulers. Kievan Rus finally disintegrated after the death of Prince Mstislav.
The collapse took place in 1132. Separate, independent states were formed. All territories have lost their value.
The first princes in Rus' (the table is presented below) appeared thanks to the Rurik dynasty.
Rurik ruled the Novgorodians near the Varangian Sea. Therefore, he had two names: Novgorod, Varangian. After the death of his brothers, Rurik remained the only ruler in Rus'. He was married to Efanda. His assistants. They looked after the economy, arranged courts.
The reign of Rurik in Rus' fell in the period from 862 to 879. After, he was killed by two brothers Dir and Askold, they took the city of Kyiv into power.
Dir and Askold did not rule for long. Oleg was Efanda's brother, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Oleg was famous throughout Rus' for his intelligence, strength, courage, dominance. He captured the city of Smolensk, Lyubech and Constantinople in his possession. He made the city of Kyiv the capital of the Kievan state. Killed Askold and Dir. Igor, became the adopted son of Oleg and his direct heir to the throne. In his state lived the Varangians, Slovaks, Krivichi, Drevlyans, northerners, glades, Tivertsy, streets.
In 909, Oleg met a wise sorcerer who told him:
- You will soon die from a snake bite, because you will abandon your horse. It so happened that the prince abandoned his horse, exchanging it for a new, younger one.
In 912, Oleg learned that his horse had died. He decided to go to the place where the remains of the horse lay.
Oleg asked:
- From this horse, I will accept death? And then, a poisonous snake crawled out of the horse's skull. The snake bit him, after which Oleg died. The prince's funeral lasted several days with all honors, because he was considered the most powerful ruler.
Immediately, after the death of Oleg, the throne was taken by his stepson (Rurik's own son) Igor. The dates of the reign of the prince in Rus' vary from 912 to 945. His main task was to preserve the unity of the state. Igor defended his state from the attack of the Pechenegs, who periodically made attempts to take over Russia. All the tribes that were in the state regularly paid tribute.
In 913, Igor married a young Pskovian girl, Olga. He met her by chance in the city of Pskov. During his reign, Igor suffered quite a few attacks and battles. While fighting the Khazars, he lost all his best army. After that, he had to re-create the armed defense of the state.
Read more about how the warrior was in Rus'
After the death of her husband Igor, his wife Olga took the throne. Despite the fact that she was a woman, she was able to manage the entire Kievan Rus. In this not an easy task, she was helped by intelligence, quick wit and masculinity. All the qualities of a ruler gathered in one woman and helped her to cope perfectly with the rule of the state. She took revenge on the greedy Drevlyans for the death of her husband. Their city Korosten soon became part of her possession. Olga is the first of the Russian rulers who converted to Christianity.
Olga waited a long time for her son to grow up. And having reached the age of majority, Svyatoslav fully became the ruler in Rus'. The years of the reign of the prince in Rus' from 964 to 972. Svyatoslav, already at the age of three, became the direct heir to the throne. But since he could not physically manage Kievan Rus, his mother, St. Olga, replaced him. All childhood and adolescence, the child learned military affairs. Studied courage, militancy. In 967, his army defeated the Bulgarians. After the death of his mother, in 970, Svyatoslav staged an invasion of Byzantium. But the forces were not equal. He was forced to sign a peace treaty with Byzantium. Svyatoslav had three sons: Yaropolk, Oleg, Vladimir. After Svyatoslav returned back to Kyiv in March 972, the young prince was killed by the Pechenegs. From his skull, the Pechenegs forged a gilded bowl for pies.
After the death of his father, the throne was taken by one of the sons, the prince of Ancient Rus' (table below) Yaropolk.
Despite the fact that Yaropolk, Oleg, Vladimir were brothers, they were never friends. Moreover, they were constantly at war with each other.
All three wanted to rule Russia. But Yaropolk won the fight. Sent his siblings out of the country. During the reign, he managed to conclude a peaceful, eternal treaty with Byzantium. Yaropolk wanted to make friends with Rome. Many were not happy with the new ruler. There was a lot of permissiveness. The pagans, together with Vladimir (Yaropolk's brother), successfully seized power into their own hands. Yaropolk had no choice but to flee the country. He began to live in the city of Roden. But some time later, in 980, he was killed by the Vikings. Yaropolk decided to make an attempt to seize Kyiv for himself, but it all ended in failure. During his short reign, Yaropolk failed to make global changes in Kievan Rus, because he was famous for his peacefulness.
Prince Vladimir of Novgorod was the youngest son of Prince Svyatoslav. Ruled by Kievan Rus from 980 to 1015. He was warlike, courageous, possessed all the necessary qualities that the ruler of Kievan Rus should have had. He performed all the functions of a prince in ancient Rus'.
During his reign,
Thanks to his great contribution to the development and prosperity of Kievan Rus, he received the nickname "Vladimir the Red Sun." He had seven sons: Svyatopolk, Izyaslav, Yaroslav, Mstislav, Svyatoslav, Boris, Gleb. He divided his lands equally among all his sons.
Immediately after the death of his father in 1015, he became the ruler of Rus'. He was not enough part of Rus'. He wanted to take over the entire Kyiv state and decided to get rid of his own brothers. To begin with, on his orders, it was necessary to kill Gleb, Boris, Svyatoslav. But this did not bring him happiness. Without causing the approval of the people, he was expelled from Kyiv. For help in the war with his brothers, Svyatopolk turned to his father-in-law, who was the king of Poland. He helped his son-in-law, but the reign of Kievan Rus did not last long. In 1019 he had to flee from Kyiv. In the same year, he committed suicide, as his conscience tormented him, because he killed his brothers.
He ruled Kievan Rus from 1019 to 1054. He was nicknamed the Wise, because he had an amazing mind, wisdom, masculinity, inherited from his father. He built two large cities: Yaroslavl, Yuryev. He treated his people with care and understanding. One of the first princes who introduced a code of laws called “Russian Truth” into the state. Following his father, he divided the land equally between his sons: Izyaslav, Svyatoslav, Vsevolod, Igor and Vyacheslav. From birth, he brought up in them peace, wisdom, love of the people.
Immediately after the death of his father, he took the throne. He ruled Kievan Rus from 1054 to 1078. The only prince in history who could not cope with his duties. His assistant was his son Vladimir, without whom Izyaslav would have simply ruined Kievan Rus.
The spineless prince took over the reign of Kievan Rus immediately after the death of his father Izyaslav. Ruled from 1078 to 1113.
It was difficult for him to find a common language with the ancient Russian princes (table below). During his reign, there was a campaign against the Polovtsy, in the organization of which Vladimir Monomakh helped him. They won the battle.
After the death of Svyatopolk, Vladimir was elected ruler in 1113. He served the state until 1125. Smart, honest, brave, reliable, courageous. It was these qualities of Vladimir Monomakh that helped him rule Kievan Rus and fall in love with the people. He is the last of the princes of Kievan Rus (table below), who managed to preserve the state in its original form.
All wars with the Polovtsy ended in victory.
Mstislav is the son of Vladimir Monomakh. He took the throne of the ruler in 1125. He was similar to his father not only outwardly, but also in character, in the way of ruling Russia. The people treated him with respect. In 1134, he handed over the reign to his brother Yaropolk. That served as the development of unrest in the history of Russia. Monomakhovichi lost the throne. But soon there was a complete disintegration of Kievan Rus into thirteen separate states.
The Kyiv rulers did a lot for the Russian people. During their reign, everyone diligently fought against the enemies. There was a development of Kievan Rus as a whole. Many buildings were completed, beautiful buildings, churches, schools, bridges that were destroyed by enemies, and everything was built anew. All the princes of Kievan Rus, the table below, did a lot to make history unforgettable.
Before his death, Yaroslav the Wise called his sons together and gave them inheritances. The eldest, Izyaslav, Yaroslav Vladimirovich left Novogorod, Kyiv and the grand throne. The remaining children received: Svyatoslav - Chernigov, Vsevolod - Rostov, Beloozero and Suzdal, Vyacheslav - Smolensk, and Igor - Vladimir-Volynsky. Yaroslav ordered the children not to quarrel, and Izyaslav was especially punished: "Help the offended if the brothers do not get along with each other."
And a new era began in the life of the state ...
At first, the Yaroslavich brothers managed to comply with their father's orders. Two of them soon died, and the inheritances were redistributed, but peacefully, without disputes. Izyaslav, Vsevolod and Svyatoslav remained to rule the Russian lands. From their joint deeds, successful military campaigns can be noted, when a number of new territories were annexed to the Russian state, in which neighboring tribes lived. The second important work accomplished by the brothers is the revision and addition of Russkaya Pravda. The new code of laws, which saw the light in the period when Izyaslav occupied the grand prince's table, was called "The Truth of the Yaroslavichs." The document contained a ban on blood feuds, which has now been completely replaced by fines. A lot of attention in the new "Pravda" was paid to the protection of the property of the Russians, as well as ensuring the personal safety of the inhabitants of the Russian principality.
In 1061, instead of the Pechenegs pacified by Yaroslav, a new enemy came to Rus', no less sophisticated in battles, brave and tireless - the Polovtsy. They made a devastating raid on Pereyaslavl. At the same time, the first strife occurred, which was caused by the grandson of Yaroslav from the son of Vladimir, who died during the life of Yaroslav. He arbitrarily seized the Tmutarakan principality, driving out Gleb, who ruled there.
However, the Greeks intervened in the matter - the neighborhood of such a warlike prince seemed dangerous to them. As the chronicles testify, the Greeks poisoned Rostislav - on this the first military conflict of relatives - the Ruriks was exhausted.
The Polovtsy, inspired by an easy victory in 1061, again made a large-scale attack on Rus' in 1068. Prince Vseslav of Polotsk, having captured Novgorod, then moved his army against the Yaroslavichs, who, in response to the sack of Novgorod, killed all the men in the city of Minsk, one of the largest cities in Polotsk principalities. There was a major battle, as a result of which Vseslav was captured in Kyiv.
Only a few months have passed, and now the army of the Yaroslavichs has already been utterly defeated by the Polovtsians. The princes were inactive, not daring to do anything. The people of Kiev demanded that they be given weapons so that they could defend themselves. In the end, the indignant people raised an uprising, captured the princely palace, freed Vseslav and installed him as prince.
After 7 months of ruling Kyiv, after a bloody battle, Vseslav fled to Polotsk, leaving the people of Kiev. Kyiv surrendered. The rebellion was brutally suppressed by the Yaroslavichs.
Conflicts also began between the sons of Yaroslav the Wise. Svyatoslav teamed up with Vsevolod, slandering his older brother. Together they opposed Izyaslav. He tried to win over the Poles and Germans, but failed. At this time, the grown-up nephews of the Yaroslavichs declared themselves, desiring to seize the grand prince's throne. Izyaslav died in the battle with them. Now his brother Vsevolod became the head of state.
Vsevolod accepted the principality in 1078. He redistributed the destinies, and, of course, this caused discontent among those who considered themselves deprived. As a result, one of the sons of Svyatoslav, united with the Polovtsy, tried to oppose Vsevolod. But the Polovtsy went over to the side of the Grand Duke.
Vsevolod's son Vladimir Monomakh, meanwhile, fought with the rebellious Vyatichi, with the tribes of Torks, captured the Polotsk leaders. However, there was no single political line in the state, each of the princes and princelings stood for himself, civil strife continued. The situation was aggravated by a famine that began in 1092. That year there was a very dry summer, and the crops died.
Drought, famine and the epidemics that followed him greatly weakened Rus'. Forest fires blazed. Vsevolod practically ceased to take part in the affairs of government, fell into apathy and soon died.
The sons of Yaroslav the Wise tried to follow the precepts of their father and live without quarrels, being satisfied with the destinies that they got. For quite a long time they managed to jointly rule Kievan Rus. A good memory among the people was left by their common work - "The Truth of Yaroslavichi".
However, the stairway right of inheritance, adopted in Rus', could not but lead to the fact that from time to time power-hungry rulers appeared among the princes, striving to seize the central power and believing that this would be absolutely legal. There were too many contenders for the throne of the Grand Duchess. The first civil strife began to weaken the state, making it vulnerable to attacks from outside. Under such conditions, it was difficult to solve the internal problems of the principality. It was necessary to streamline the system of distribution of power and bring it to some common denominator. But before that it was still very far away.
From all of the above, we can draw a fairly simple conclusion - power corrupts everyone. Over time, the Yaroslavichis began to squabble over power, forgetting even about blood relationship and a promise to their father, they sank to meanness and slander. The people began to live in poverty, wandering like a homeless kitten, hungry and without a master. The author of the article quite colorfully and vividly described that time. And why does it seem like nothing has changed since then?
It is also worth mentioning the important victory won by Svyatoslav over the Polovtsians. Near Snovsk, he defeated a 12,000-strong Polovtsian army. At the same time, under the command of Svyatoslav himself there were only 3 thousand soldiers. Having defeated the Polovtsian army, Svyatoslav essentially repulsed the first large-scale invasion of the Polovtsians.
Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise(years of life 978-1054; reign time: in Rostov (987-1010), in Novgorod (1010-1034), Grand Duke of Kyiv (1016-1018, 1019-1054)), son of the baptist of Rus', Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich (from the Rurik family) ) and the Polotsk princess Rogneda Rogvolodovna, in baptism received the name George (or Yuri). This is one of the most famous ancient Russian princes.
In 987, being nine years old, he was sent by his father to reign in the city of Rostov. In 1010 he became the Prince of Novgorod. It is believed that it was at the end of his reign in the city of Rostov in 1010 that he founded Yaroslavl.
There is little information about this period of the prince's life and they are legendary. It is known that, being the prince of Novgorod, Yaroslav wanted to break all dependence on Kyiv and in 1014 refused to pay his father an annual tribute of 2000 hryvnias, as all Novgorod posadniks did. Novgorodians, who were burdened by dependence on South Rus', supported the prince. This episode is reflected in the annals.
Angry at his son, Vladimir prepared to personally go against him, but soon fell ill and died. Power in Kyiv passed to the eldest in the family Svyatopolk, who, fearing Boris, beloved by the people of Kiev and wanting to protect himself from the claims of other brothers to the grand throne, killed three of them - Boris, Gleb and Svyatoslav. The same danger threatened Yaroslav.
In an evil slaughter, Yaroslav defeated Svyatopolk near the city of Lyubech, entered Kyiv and occupied the grand prince's table (1016). The struggle between the brothers continued with varying success, and only in 1019, after the death of Svyatopolk, Yaroslav was able to establish himself on the throne of Kiev.
In 1036, the chronicles speak of the siege of Kyiv by the Pechenegs, in the absence of Yaroslav, who had gone to Novgorod. Having received news of this, Yaroslav hastened to help and defeated the Pechenegs under the very walls of Kyiv. After this defeat, the attacks of the Pechenegs on Rus' ceased. In 1030, Yaroslav went to Chud and established his power on the shores of Lake Peipsi; he founded a city here and named it Yuriev, in honor of his angel (the Christian name of Prince Yuri). Now it is the city of Dorpat.
Having won military victories, Yaroslav begins work that was grandiose for that time. On the site of his victory over the Pechenegs, he laid a new architectural ensemble, the center of which was the St. Sophia Cathedral. He built the Kyiv church of St. Sophia in imitation of the Constantinople church, splendidly decorating it with frescoes and mosaics.
Yaroslav did not spare money for church splendor, inviting Greek masters for this. He decorated Kyiv with many buildings, built new stone walls, arranging in them the famous Golden Gate (in imitation of the same Constantinople), and above them - the Church of the Annunciation.
In an effort to eliminate the dependence of the Russian Orthodox Church on Byzantium, he took steps due to which in 1054 the first metropolitan not from the Greeks, but from the Russians, Hilarion, became the head of the church.
In order to instill in the people the principles of the Christian faith, Yaroslav ordered that handwritten books be translated from Greek into Slavonic. Yaroslav was very fond of books and often read them. He multiplied the number of books in Rus' and gradually introduced them into use. Since that time, book wisdom has firmly established itself among Russians. To spread the letter, Yaroslav ordered the clergy to teach children. In Novgorod, he set up a school for 300 boys.
Under Yaroslav the Wise, the first Russian monasteries appeared, including Kiev-Pechersk, who played a big role in the development of Russian literature and chronicles. Yaroslav remained the most famous to posterity as a legislator: the code of laws "Russian Truth" is attributed to him.
In foreign policy the prince relied more on diplomacy than on weapons. At that time, dynastic marriages were the main way for this. And the leaders of European states were not averse to intermarrying with the ruler of Kievan Rus. Yaroslav himself married Ingigerda (in Orthodoxy - Irina), the daughter of the Norwegian king Olaf.
The son Vsevolod was married to a Greek princess, two more sons were married to German princesses, the Polish prince Casimir was married to the sister of Prince Dobrognev; and Yaroslav's son Izyaslav married Kazimir's sister. The Norwegian king Harald was married to Yaroslav's daughter Elizabeth, the Hungarian king Andrei married his daughter Anastasia, the French king Henry I married his third daughter, Anna Yaroslavna. So the prince of Kyiv was the father, grandfather and uncle of many rulers of Europe.
A detailed description of the appearance of Yaroslav the Wise chronicle was not left to us. Having opened the tomb of the prince, a group of Russian anthropologists led by M. Gerasimov recreated his appearance.
Here, in the picture, you can see it. It is clear that this reconstruction gives a very approximate idea of the appearance of Yaroslav the Wise.
Describing the character of Yaroslav the Wise, the chronicler speaks of prudence, intelligence, diligence in the Orthodox faith, courage, compassion for the poor. The prince's temper was strict, and his life was modest. In this he differed from his father, who loved merry feasts.
At the same time, the character of Yaroslav the Wise was far from simple. Controversial figure: brutal dictator and wise book lover; crafty politician and inspired builder; the creator of the first set of Russian laws - "Russian Truth" and a man who does not know gratitude, who could punish with an iron hand even faithful associates who did a lot for the principality and for him personally, and even close relatives.
Yes, and it is difficult to imagine calmness and Russian good nature in the character of Yaroslav the Wise. After all, his mother was a Polovtsian, and he himself was half Polovtsian. The hot and furious blood of the inhabitants of the Polovtsian steppes flowed in his veins.
In order to strengthen his power, Yaroslav the Wise founded cities in different parts of Kievan Rus. Often they bore the name of the prince. These cities include:
By his deeds, this prince earned from his descendants nickname Wise. The reign of Yaroslav the Wise was the longest - 37 years.
He died in 1054 and was buried in a marble coffin that has survived to our time in St. Sophia Cathedral.
For the first time, as a Holy Prince, it is mentioned by Adam of Bremen, who in the “Acts of the High Priests of the Hamburg Church”, dated 1075, calls Grand Duke Yaroslav Vladimirovich a saint.
However, formally Yaroslav the Wise was not among the saints of the Russian Orthodox Church. In connection with the 950th anniversary of his death on March 9, 2004, he was included in the calendar of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the MP, and on December 8, 2005, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, the day of February 20 (March 5) was included in the calendar as the day of memory of the blessed prince Yaroslav the Wise.
Period of princely strife. Sons of Yaroslav the Wise
Here is what A. Nechvolodov says about this (official version).
“Before his death, Yaroslav divides power over the Russian land between his five sons. “Here I am departing from this world, my children! - he bequeathed to them before his death. - Love each other, because you are all brothers, from one father and one mother. If you live in love with each other, then God will be with you. He will subdue all your enemies, and you will live in peace; if you begin to hate one another, then you yourself will perish and destroy the land of your fathers and grandfathers, which they acquired with their great labor. So live peacefully, obeying each other. Kyiv - I entrust my table to my eldest son Izyaslav instead of myself. Listen to him as you listened to me. Let him be your father. I give Chernigov to Svyatoslav, Pereyaslavl to Vsevolod, Smolensk to Vyacheslav, Vladimir to Igor; let each one be pleased with his part; if anyone wants to offend his brother, then you, Izyaslav, help the offended.
After the death of his father, his sons came into possession of Russia.
Izyaslav, as the elder, received the Kyiv table with all the volosts that belonged to Kyiv, and with it Novgorod, that is, both Russian ends of the Great Waterway from the Varangians to the Greeks; Svyatoslav - the land of Chernigov, as well as Tmutarakan, Ryazan, Murom and the country of the Vyatichi; Vsevolod, except for Pereyaslavl, - Rostov, Suzdal, Beloozero and the Volga region, or the banks of the Volga; Vyacheslav - the Smolensk region, and Igor - the city of Vladimir-Volynsky.
Two years later, Vyacheslav died, and the brothers, according to the ladder ascent, transferred the youngest, Igor from Vladimir, to the opened table in Smolensk; Igor also soon died, after which his volost went to his three older brothers.
Thus, after the death of Vyacheslav and Igor, all Russian lands were concentrated in the hands of these three Yaroslavichs, except for the land of Polotsk, given to the offspring of the eldest son of St. Vladimir from Rogneda - Izyaslav; in this land at the time described, the grandson of Izyaslavov, Vseslav Brechislavich, reigned.
Great silence and love reigned between our princes in the first ten years after the death of Yaroslav, since they still sacredly kept the covenant given to them by their dying father.
At the same time, they made a number of successful campaigns against some border aliens: golyads who lived in the corner between the Protva and Oka rivers; the sosols who lived near Kolyvan, or present-day Revel, and, finally, against the Torks, a tribe akin to the Pechenegs and living in the neighborhood of the Pereyaslav volost; they were utterly smashed.
Soon, however, various kinds of disasters, both from outside and within the country, broke out over the Russian land.
The beginning of these disasters was preceded, according to the chronicler, by a series of miraculous signs: the Volkhov River, probably due to a strong accumulation of ice in the lower reaches, went up five days in a row; then in the course of a week a large star appeared in the west with rays of a bloody color, and the sun for some time lost its brilliance and rose without rays like a moon; finally, the Kyiv fishermen pulled a baby out of the river with a net, such a disgusting freak that they immediately threw him back into the water.
Following these signs, disasters began.
In the steppes, the Pechenegs, utterly defeated by Yaroslav the Wise in 1036 near Kyiv, were replaced by a new ferocious and extremely predatory Asian nomadic people - the Polovtsy.
The Polovtsians partly destroyed, partly pushed out the remnants of the Pechenegs and Torks, and firmly occupied the Black Sea coast right up to the Dniester River. They made their first devastating raid on Russia in the winter of 1061, attacking Pereyaslav land, heavily plundered it and, capturing a rich full, retired to the Don.
This raid began our fierce struggle with the new steppe predators - the Polovtsy, which lasted almost without interruption for two centuries - until the invasion of the Tatars.
Three years after the described first Polovtsian raid, in 1064, the first princely strife began.
The reason for this strife was dissatisfaction with the fate of the outcast prince Rostislav Vladimirovich, the son of the eldest of the Yaroslavichs, Vladimir, the glorious builder of the Novgorod church of St. that is why his son Rostislav, as an outcast, was excluded from the general queue of seniority and deprived of his uncles in the distribution of volosts.
This prince Rostislav, a brave, enterprising and intelligent man, moreover, as kind-hearted and generous as his late father, burdened by his position, managed to gather in Novgorod, where he had lived since childhood, daring comrades and unexpectedly attacked Tmutarakan, inherited like we saw Svyatoslav of Chernigov.
Here, at that time, the young son of Svyatoslav Gleb was sitting on the reign and was peacefully measuring the width of the strait from the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov to the Black on the ice, when his cousin Rostislav suddenly flew at him and expelled him from Tmutarakan.
Of course, Svyatoslav was not slow to set out on a campaign in order to regain Tmutarakan. Rostislav, respecting his uncle, the chronicler says, gave him the city without resistance, but as soon as Svyatoslav left, he again sat down to reign in it, and very quickly subjugated the Kasogs and other neighboring Caucasian peoples, taking advantage of the fact that Svyatoslav was at that time busy with a new strife raised by the Polotsk prince Vseslav. However, Rostislav was soon deprived of his life, and, moreover, in the meanest way. His rapid conquest of the surrounding Caucasian peoples aroused strong fears against him among the Greeks, who owned the city of Korsun on the Crimean coast; in order to get rid of Rostislav, they sent one of their noble people to him, who managed to sneak into the confidence of the Russian prince, and one day, when Rostislav treated him, the Greek, pouring a cup of wine, proclaimed the health of the owner and then, having drunk half, handed it to Rostislav, so that he drank it to the bottom, and during this transfer he quietly released a strong poison from under the nail, from which the gullible Rostislav died on the sixth day, leaving three orphan sons: Rurik, Volodar and Vasilko; his place in Tmutarakan was again taken by Gleb Svyatoslavich.
So with the death of Rostislav, the first strife between the descendants of Yaroslav ended by itself; but at that time another strife was already going on in Rus', and, moreover, much more cruel, between the three Yaroslavichs on the one hand and Vseslav, Prince of Polotsk, on the other, who also considered himself in the position of an outcast due to the fact that his grandfather Izyaslav was completely isolated from the rest of the family of St. Vladimir and planted with his mother in the Polotsk land, and already the son of this Izyaslav, Brechislav, had a feud with the Grand Duke Yaroslav in 1020.
Now the son of Brechislav, Vseslav, again took up arms.
This prince, unmerciful, according to the chronicler, to bloodshed, sick with some kind of ulcer on his head, which he constantly hid under a bandage, and allegedly born from sorcery, left a memory of himself as a sorcerer for the extraordinary art of extremely quickly and secretly making his campaigns .
In 1065, probably taking advantage of the fact that the attention of the Yaroslavichs was diverted by Rostislav to Tmutarakan, Vseslav began to unexpectedly besiege Pskov. But he failed to take Pskov; then in the next year, 1066, he unexpectedly approached, following the example of his father, to Novgorod, captivated many inhabitants with their wives and children, and removed the bells from Hagia Sophia.
Outraged by this, the Yaroslavichi gathered troops and, having entered the terrible cold into the possessions of Vseslav, approached Minsk. Residents of Minsk, loyal to their prince, did not let them in and shut themselves up. Then the brothers took the city by storm, and their troops in a rage cut down many of the inhabitants. Soon, Vseslav came out against the Yaroslavichs, and their meeting took place on the Nemiza River, probably not far from Minsk. Here, on March 3, 1067, despite heavy snow, an evil battle took place, in which many people fell on both sides, but the victory remained with the Yaroslavichs, and Vseslav had to flee.
To put an end to him, Izyaslav and his brothers resorted to the following a few months later: they invited Vseslav for negotiations, promising not to cause any harm; when he arrived and entered Izyaslav's tent, he was immediately seized with his two sons and taken to Kyiv, where they were put in a cut (prison).
This treachery did not bring happiness to the Yaroslaviches, but, on the contrary, as we shall see, it was the source of many disasters.
In the following year, 1068, the Polovtsians approached the borders of the Russian land in huge numbers.
Izyaslav, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod went out to meet them on the banks of the Alta River, but they had too few troops and were utterly defeated.
After this defeat, Izyaslav and Vsevolod returned to Kyiv with the remnants of their soldiers, and Svyatoslav returned to Chernigov.
In Kyiv, the news of the pogrom on Alta caused great excitement; general indignation flared up against the thousandth Kosnyachok, the governor of the city and rural regiments, who was blamed for all our failures. The inhabitants noisily demanded that they be given more weapons and horses and be led to fight against the Polovtsy again. Soon the excitement of the crowd turned against the Grand Duke Izyaslav; part of the people went to his tower, and part to the cut, where Vseslav and his sons were imprisoned. The indecisive Izyaslav hesitated, did not know what to do, and, finally, seeing general displeasure against himself, decided to flee to Poland; behind him left the city and Vsevolod; at the same time, the crowd led Vseslav out of the cut, proclaimed him the prince of Kyiv, and then rushed to rob Izyaslav's yard.
While Izyaslav hurried to Poland to his cousin King Boleslav II, the son of the daughter of Yaroslav the Wise - Dobrogneva, and Vseslav, who unexpectedly found himself the Grand Duke in defiance of all the rules of ladder climbing, started his own order in Kyiv, the Polovtsy dispersed to our border regions and mercilessly devastated them. When they began to approach Chernigov, Svyatoslav, who had not yet recovered from the defeat on Alta, nevertheless gathered as many troops as he could and went out to meet them to the Snova River. There were twelve thousand Polovtsians, while Svyatoslav had no more than three thousand.
But this prince, together with the most extensive education, combined in himself true military prowess. He was not embarrassed, lined up regiments and, turning to them with the same words with which his ancestor, the great Svyatoslav, once addressed his squad: “Let's pull, brethren. We already have nowhere to go, ”rapidly rushed to the Polovtsians. This unexpected and bold offensive by Svyatoslav was crowned with the most complete victory: many Polovtsians were killed and drowned in the Snova River, and after the defeat they left us alone for some time.
But let's leave A. Nechvolodov and describe further events based on scientific facts.
In 1068, Izyaslav was forced to leave Kyiv as a result of popular indignation, and the Polotsk prince Vseslav Bryachislavich ascended the throne in the capital of Rus'.
And although Izyaslav managed to return to Kyiv in the next year, 1069, he did not stay in it for long and in 1073 he was again expelled - now by his brothers Svyatoslav and Vsevolod (Svyatoslav took the Kyiv table). After the death of Svyatoslav in 1076, returning a second time to Kyiv, ceded to him by the peace-loving Vsevolod, Izyaslav died in 1078 in a battle with his nephews Oleg Svyatoslavich and Boris Vyacheslavich.
Much of the events of that dramatic period was brought to us by The Tale of Bygone Years and other ancient Russian sources - much, but not all. Around 1040, Izyaslav Yaroslavich was married by his father to the sister of the Polish prince Casimir I, and during the reign of Izyaslav in Kyiv, Kazimir's son Boleslav II (1058–1079, king from 1076) ruled in Poland. Therefore, it is not surprising that the paths of the exile led him precisely to Poland and that, first of all, his foreign policy ties were oriented towards Poland. The brothers of Izyaslav had to look for allies in Western Europe capable of neutralizing the warlike Polish prince (thus reminiscent of his namesake and great-grandfather Boleslav G). The once unified foreign policy of Rus' was fragmented. We can follow the intricacies of the changeable military-political alliances of the opposing groups of Russian princes only from Western European sources, the data of which sometimes make it possible to better understand what was actually happening in Rus'.
Izyaslav's first exile was short-lived; real military intervention of Boleslav II was not required, and on May 2, 1069, leaving the Polish army somewhere in Volhynia, Izyaslav entered Kyiv, according to the Tale of Bygone Years, "with Boleslav, we will drink few Poles." Apart from the Tale, Polish sources also testify to this episode, but the value of their information for the historian is very limited: the scarcity of facts in them is compensated by verbose panegyric anecdotes from the life of the invincible Polish princes, moreover, incorrectly interpreted. Here is what Anonymous Gall tells about the plot of interest to us: “So, King Boleslav II, like the great Boleslav I, entered the capital of the Russian Kingdom (Ruthenorum regnum), the main city of Kyiv (Kygow), as an enemy and left a memorial sign with a blow of his sword at the Golden Gate. He also approved there on the royal throne one Russian from his relatives, to whom the kingdom belonged, and removed all those who rebelled against him from power. Oh, the brilliance of earthly glory, about the courage and firmness of the military, about the greatness of royal power! The king, appointed by him, asked the generous Boleslav to go out to meet him and give him the kiss of peace, so that his people would honor him (Izyaslav) more. The Pole, although he agreed, but on condition that the Russian would give whatever he (Boleslav) wished. And so, after they counted the number of steps of Boleslav the Generous horse from the camp to the meeting place, the Russian laid out the same amount of hryvnias of gold (in this case, the hryvnia corresponded to 200 grams. - Auth.). And then, finally, without getting off his horse, Boleslav, with a smile, pulled him by the beard and gave him a kiss that was dear to him. Since then, Rus' seems to have been paying tribute to Poland.
What can be learned from this story? It characterizes its author more than the events. The public kissing described by Anonymous may have been in reality, but the essence of the ceremony is not understood by the chronicler: pulling the beard is not a patronizing gesture of the winner, but a symbolic fastening of the contract, known since the time of the Vikings. Vincenty Kadpubek, not having anything to add in essence, however, cannot simply leave everything as it is; as a result, the comedy of the situation increases: “Having grabbed the approaching king by the beard, he ruffles it and pulls it repeatedly, saying: “Let this head tremble, before which you should tremble.” Pulling harder and harder again and again, he adds: “Here is a man whom we honor with our mercy.”
In the stories cited, everything is fine, except for their authenticity: the chronicle casually reports how the people of Kiev “beat the Poles otai (secretly)” (“The Tale of Bygone Years”, p. 75).
So Boleslav probably had no great desire to interfere in Russian affairs, when Izyaslav in 1073 came to him a second time, somewhat naively relying on the seized treasury. “I will get warriors with this,” the chronicler conveys the prince’s intentions (“The Tale of Bygone Years”, p. 79). Boleslav took away the money, but did not give “wars”, “showing” Izyaslav “the way from himself”, but simply speaking, expelling him. Polish authors about this act of Boleslav "Generous" and "Brave", of course, are silent, but Izyaslav's ordeals with his family during his second exile are well reflected in German and papal sources.
The first in their series should rightfully be put a lengthy message from 1075 in the "Annals" by Lampert of Hersfeld. Lampert worked on his "Annals" in Hersfeld Monastery in the late 70s of the XI century, and for the period after 1040, and especially from the end of the 1060s, they serve as an invaluable source, although noticeably tendentious: in the outbreak of 1075 In the year of the investiture dispute between King Henry IV (1056–1106, Emperor from 1084) and Pope Gregory VII (1073–1085), the annalist was Henry's opponent. However, in the fragment that occupies us, this tendentiousness is not traced.
“A few days after Christmas in 1074 in Mainz (on the Rhine, at the confluence of the Main) to Henry IV “the king of Rus' (Ruzenorum those) named Demetrius appeared, brought him innumerable treasures - gold and silver vessels and extremely expensive clothes - and asked for help against his brother, who by force expelled him from the kingdom and himself, like a ferocious tyrant, seized the royal power. To negotiate with the lawlessness that he had committed with his brother, and in order to convince him to continue to leave the illegally seized power, otherwise he would soon have to experience the power and strength of the German kingdom, the king immediately sent Burchard, rector of the Trier church. Burchard therefore seemed suitable for such an embassy, because the one to whom he was sent was married to his sister, and Burchard himself, for this reason, with the most urgent requests sought from the king not to take any more severe decision regarding that (that is, Svyatoslav). Before the return of the embassy, the king (that is, Henry) entrusted the King of Rus' to the care of the Saxon margrave Dedi, accompanied by him and arrived here.
And here is the finale, which played out already in Worms (on the Rhine, slightly higher than Mainz) upon the return of Henry IV from the next campaign against the rebellious Saxons: “Burchard, rector of the Trier church, sent with a royal embassy to the king of Rus', returned, bringing the king so much gold and silver and precious fabrics, that one cannot remember that such a multitude had ever been brought to the German kingdom at once before. At such a price, the king of Rus' wanted to buy one thing: that the king would not help his brother, who had been expelled from the kingdom, against him. Indeed, he could well have received this for free, for Henry, busy with internal domestic wars, had no opportunity to wage external wars with peoples so far away. The gift, dear and in itself, turned out to be all the more valuable because it was made at the right time. For the great expense of the last war (against the Saxons) emptied the royal treasury, while the army expressed great discontent, insistently demanding payment for the campaign just completed. If its demands had not been met with royal generosity, then there was no doubt that it would not have been so obedient, and yet the rest of the case (the Saxon war), as one should fear, was no doubt larger.
The general intonation of Lampert's story is marked by undisguised irony in relation to Henry IV (his immoderate and impracticable threats against Svyatoslav, an empty treasury as a result of an unreasonable internal war), but this does not affect the presentation of the outline of events. It is curious that the brief message of the French chronicler of the early XII century, Sigebert of Gemblacensis chronicon, is sustained in approximately the same vein: “Since two brothers, the kings of Rus' (regee Russorum), entered the struggle for the kingdom, one of them, Deprived of participation in royal power, he persistently asked Emperor Henry, to whom he promised to submit himself and subjugate his kingdom if he became king again with his help. But it was all in vain; after all, the most difficult turmoil in the Roman Empire forced him (Henry) to take care of his own more than to get someone else's. For the Saxons, indignant at many great injustices and iniquities on the part of the emperor, rebelled against him.
There is no doubt that we are dealing with the same German embassy, which is also referred to in The Tale of Bygone Years (there it is dated 1075), and, by an amusing coincidence, the chronicler does not spare gloomy sarcasm, describing the boast of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich before the German ambassadors.
So, not having received the expected support from the Polish prince Boleslav II, Izyaslav Yaroslavich, through the Thuringian brand of Margrave Dedi, went to the German king. Curious details emerge along the way. Firstly, Boleslav's reaction, it turns out, was not at all as impulsive as one might think, reading the ancient Russian chronicle: Izyaslav spent more than a year and a half in Poland, since, having been expelled in March 1073, he arrived at Henry IV only in the very beginning of 1075. Consequently, Boleslav had enough time to weigh all the pros and cons, and he preferred an alliance with Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, tempted by Russian military assistance. Indeed, in 1076 (or, possibly, at the end of 1075), the Russian army, led by the young princes Oleg Svyatoslavich and Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh, fought on the side of Poland in the Czech Republic against the Czech prince Bratislava 11 (1061–1092, king from 1085 ), a staunch ally of Henry IV. In addition (again clarifying the picture drawn by The Tale of Bygone Years), it becomes obvious that not all of Izyaslav's "estate" was taken away in Poland, since his offerings could make such an impression in Germany. Something is wrong here, and the chronicler presents the matter clearly in a simplified way, although, I think, through no fault of his own. No wonder the heartfelt words about the fate of Izyaslav - “wandered in foreign lands, deprived of his estate” - were put into his mouth by him, the Caves chronicler.
Izyaslav. The latter, at the end of his life, was a frequent visitor to the Pechersk Monastery, and there is hardly any doubt that the information about his ordeals abroad goes back to his own stories. The prince could, of course, exaggerate somewhat. It is no coincidence that the same myth about the selected treasures was presented by him at the other end of Europe - to Pope Gregory VII.
Izyaslav, of course, understood that one could not count on real military assistance from Henry IV, that only the Polish prince could provide it. But how to change the position of Bolesław II? In those years, the Polish prince was at enmity with the German king, it remained to turn to another authority - the Pope, with whom Boleslav was just negotiating to grant him the royal title (which took place in 1076). Already from Germany, but without waiting for the return of Burchard's embassy, Izyaslav sent his son Yaropolk to Rome with a seemingly strange proposal: to accept Rus' under the protection of the papal throne, as Mieszko I once gave the Old Polish state under the protection of Rome (compare, however, this is with the assertion of Sigebert of Gembloux that Izyaslav promised to subordinate Rus' to Henry IV). But what else could seduce Gregory VII? The calculation turned out to be correct. Gregory praised Izyaslav and reprimanded Boleslav. We learn about all this from two letters of Pope Gregory VII to Izyaslav Yaroslavich and Boleslav II, dated April 1075.
Bishop Gregory, a servant of the servants of God, wishes Demetrius, the King of Rus' (rex Ruscorum), and the Queen, his wife, good health and sends an apostolic blessing. Your son, having visited the tombs of the apostles, came to us with humble prayers, desiring to receive the named kingdom from our hands as a gift from St. Peter and expressing proper fidelity to the named blessed Peter, the prince of the apostles. He assured us that you will no doubt agree and approve this request of his and will not rescind it if the gift of apostolic authority will secure your favor and protection. In the end, we met these vows and requests, which seem to us just, considering both your consent and the piety of the one who asked, and in the name of blessed Peter we handed over to him the reins of government of your kingdom, moved by the intention and merciful desire that blessed Peter protect you , your kingdom and all your property with his intercession before God, and made you peacefully, honorably and gloriously own the named kingdom until the end of your life, and at the end of this war he asked for you eternal glory from the King on high.
The message is kept in streamlined terms, and it is difficult to understand from it what exactly happened in the spring of 1075 in Rome. This is understandable: for specific negotiations with the prince about “what is not in the letter,” Gregory VII sent his ambassadors to him, one of whom was his (the prince’s) well-known and faithful friend (hence, Izyaslav did not deal with Rome for the first time? ). At the end of the letter to the Polish prince, among general moral instructions, we suddenly read: “... and among other things, you need to observe mercy, against which (no matter how unpleasant it is for us to talk about it) you seem to have sinned by taking money from the king of Rus'. Therefore, sympathizing with you, we most convincingly ask you out of love for God and Saint Peter: order to return everything that was taken by you or your people, for know that according to our faith, he who illegally steals the good of someone else, if he does not correct himself, having the opportunity to correct himself, will never be honored with Kingdom of Christ of God".
It is difficult to say how the Polish prince reacted to the exhortations of the Pope. Of course, he could not openly ignore them. But his participation in the return of Izyaslav to Kyiv in the spring of 1077 could also be explained by a change in the political situation - the sudden death of Svyatoslav in December 1076 (an irony of fate: the prince fell victim not to his enemies, whom he was so afraid of, but to an unsuccessful surgical operation - "from cutting the stomach" , that is, tumors, as the chronicler notes). One way or another, but in 1076 Izyaslav, as one might think, was already in Poland again, because it was at this time that the inscription on the cover on the shrine of St. servo tuo Izaslaw duci Russia ob remissionem peccaminum et regni celestes Imperium. Amen. Fiat Domine in nomine Tuo.
With the stay of Izyaslav Yaroslavich in Germany, another event is connected, the political background of which will become clear only from what follows. We have already spoken of the predilection of the Saxon Annalist for genealogy. In order to have a better idea of the degree of detail to which medieval genealogies sometimes reached and how the eyes of historians diverge in such cases, we will cite the fragment we need without reducing it too much. In connection with the announcement of the death in 1062 of the Thuringian margrave Wilhelm, the author goes into his genealogy: “The mark was received by his (Wilhelm) brother Otto from Orlamünde. They, that is, Wilhelm and Otto, had a brother Poppon, who had a son Ulrich, who married the sister of the Hungarian king Vladislav (Laszlo I the Holy, 1077–1095), who bore him Ulrich the Younger, who married the daughter of Ludwig, count palatine Thuringians ... Otto's wife was Adela from Brabant, from a castle called Louvain, who bore him three daughters: Oda, Kunigunde and Adelheid. Margrave Eckbert Jr. of Brauschweig married Oda and died childless. Kunigunda married the king of Rus' (rex Ruzorum) and gave birth to a daughter, whom one of the Thuringian nobility named Gunther married and gave birth to Count Siplo from her. After his (husband's) death, she returned to her homeland and married Kuno, Count of Beichpingen, son of Duke Otto of Northeim (in the 60s of the 11th century, Otto was for some time the Duke of Bavaria), and bore him four daughters. After his death, Vipert Sr. became her third husband. Adelheida married Adalbert, Count of Wallenstedt," and so on.
After some hesitation, historians found the right solution: Yaropolk Izyaslavich was the "King of Rus'" and Kunigunda's husband. After the death in 1067 of Otto of Orlamund Adela (Adelheid), Brabantskaya married the same Dedi (who, along with her hand, received the Thuringian brand), who took care of Izyaslav Yaroslavich. But what was the calculation of Izyaslav, who married his son to the stepdaughter of Margrave Dedi? Or was it already a gesture of desperation? It is impossible to get an answer without delving into the foreign policy of that time, which was carried out by Izyaslav's rivals in Rus' - Svyatoslav and Vsevolod Yaroslavich. Before moving on to it, let us finally get acquainted with an exceptional monument of its kind, without which the circle of sources related to the expulsion of Izyaslav Yaroslavich would be far from complete.
We have in mind the so-called prayer book of Gertrude, the wife of Izyaslav (this is the only source that reports the name of the princess). The prayer book is written on sheets woven into Gertrude's "Psalter", an illuminated (that is, equipped with miniatures) manuscript of the 10th century of Trier origin, and the prayer book should not be confused, as is sometimes done, with Gertrudine or "Egbertine (after the name of the 10th century Archbishop of Trier, Egbert ) Psalter. The texts of the prayers probably belong to the daughter of Sack II herself (who, according to some information, was also distinguished by her outstanding education) and are addressed, in addition to Christ and the Mother of God, most often to St. Peter (the name of Yaropolk in baptism) and St. Elena (obviously, the Orthodox name of Gertrude was Elena). The princess prays for "our king" (that is, presumably, for her husband, Prince Izyaslav), but more often for Peter-Yaropolk, whom she calls her "only son."
By the way, these words of hers allow us to think that another Izyaslavich - Svyatopolk (the future Kyiv prince) was not a son from Gertrude. Since Izyaslav married early, and died before his wife, the conclusion is inevitable: Svyatopolk was from a concubine (the case in the princely family is not so rare). However, some intonations of Gertrude's prayers also give rise to conjectures that not everything was going smoothly in Izyaslav's family life.
Prayers for the Pope and the Emperor (!) allow us to conditionally date them to the time of the exile of Izyaslav Yaroslavich (however, the texts at the end of the prayer book - there are about ninety prayers in total - clearly date back to the reign of Yaropolk in Volhynia, to 1078-1086). The magnificent miniatures, which, like the Psalter, are supplied with the prayer book, seem to speak of the same thing; of these, at least two deserve mention in connection with our subject. One is like a direct illustration of the visit of Yaropolk Izyaslavich to Rome; on it, Gertrude (her figure has the Cyrillic inscription “M[ate]r[b] Yaropl[cha]”) falls at the feet of the chief of the apostles, St. Peter (whose successors as Roman bishops, as you know, are considered to be the Popes), and Yaropolk turns to him in a pleading gesture; behind Yaropolk is his wife Kunigunda-Irina. Another miniature depicts Yaropolk with his German wife being crowned by Christ (a fairly common plot); Next to the prince and princess, interceding for them, are their patron saints, St. Peter and St. Irina.
However, back to the official version.
“The next year, in 1076, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod sent Boleslav to help against the Czechs an auxiliary army under the command of their eldest sons, young princes - Oleg Svyatoslavich and Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh, nicknamed by the last name in honor of his maternal grandfather, the Greek Tsar Konstantin Monomakh. The news of the movement of the Russian auxiliary army forced the Czechs to hasten to ask Boleslav for peace, which they received from him for a thousand hryvnias of silver, after which Boleslav informed Oleg and Vladimir about this, asking them to return back. But according to the concepts of that time, having once set out on a campaign, it was considered dishonorable to return from it with nothing, and therefore our princes answered Boleslav that they could not, without shame before their fathers and the land, return back without doing anything, and moved forward to "take your part." After four months of walking around the Czech land, the Czech prince asked them for peace and also paid a thousand hryvnias of silver for it. Of course, this campaign of Oleg and Vladimir Monomakh was extremely disliked by Boleslav; meanwhile, in the same year 1076, Grand Duke Svyatoslav died from his constant illness - zhelvey, or tumors on the body. Then Boleslav decided to help Izyaslav again and gave him several thousand Poles to go to Kyiv, where Vsevolod sat down after Svyatoslav.
Vsevolod with an army went out against his older brother, and they met in Volhynia, but here, instead of a battle, the brothers made the most cordial reconciliation, after which the Poles were released home, Izyaslav went to Kyiv, and Vsevolod was supposed to land in Chernigov.
This reconciliation of the two surviving sons of Yaroslav the Wise, however, did not bring peace to the Russian land.
The strife was raised again by outcast princes. We saw that the younger sons of Yaroslav, Vyacheslav and Igor, did not long outlive their father, and the volosts where they sat were transferred after their death to the three older Yaroslavichs. Now the children of Vyacheslav and Igor, having remained outcasts after the death of their fathers, have grown up and began to earn their own volosts themselves.
At the very time when the touching reconciliation of the old princes Izyaslav and Vsevolod was taking place in Volyn, their young nephew, the son of the late Vyacheslav, Boris unexpectedly attacked Chernigov with a retinue gathered by him and took possession of it. Then, after sitting in it for eight days, he fled to Tmutarakan to his cousin Roman Svyatoslavich, as he learned about the reconciliation of Izyaslav and Vsevolod and, of course, realized that both old uncles, acting together, would not let him stay in Chernigov.
Sitting again after his second exile in Kyiv, Izyaslav, apparently, could not forget the insults inflicted on him by his late brother Svyatoslav, as he began to transfer his anger to his sons. Soon Gleb Svyatoslavich was expelled from Novgorod and then died far to the north, in the country of Chud Zavolotskaya, and Oleg was taken out by Izyaslav from Vladimir-Volynsky, where he had been sitting before.
Prince Gleb Svyatoslavich, who enjoyed common love during his lifetime, can serve as a clear example of the numerous exploits of our princes and the ease with which they were transported along with their squads from one end of Rus' to the other. After Prince Rostislav Vladimirovich occupied Tmutarakan for the second time, Gleb was planted in Murom, and then in Novgorod, from where he made several successful campaigns against small Chud tribes. Here he became famous for a special feat; during a mutiny once raised by a sorcerer who blasphemed the Christian faith (moreover, the crowd took the side of this sorcerer and was ready to tear to pieces the bishop who came out with a cross to denounce him), Gleb boldly stepped forward, approached the sorcerer and asked him: “Do you know what will it be today?" “I know,” the sorcerer answered him confidently, “I will perform great miracles.” Then Gleb quickly raised the ax that he was holding and hit the sorcerer with it, who immediately expired. The crowd, struck by this, immediately realized that they were dealing with a deceiver, and the rebellion immediately subsided.
Rice. 100. The prince kills the sorcerer. Drawing from the Radziwill Chronicle
A. Nechvolodov continues: “Then Oleg went to his uncle Vsevolod in Chernigov; he was very friendly with the son of Vsevolod - Vladimir Monomakh and was the godfather of his eldest sons Mstislav and Izyaslav; besides, his father Svyatoslav lived until his death in full agreement with Vsevolod; all this gave Oleg full reason to count on a good reception in Chernigov. However, Vsevolod did not want or could not give Oleg any volost against the will of Izyaslav, and as a result, being burdened to live in his uncle's house idle and in the position of a freeloader, Oleg also soon went to his brother Roman in Tmutarakan.
Having expelled the sons of Svyatoslav, Izyaslav disposed of the vacated volosts as follows: he planted his eldest son Svyatopolk in Novgorod, his next son, Yaropolk, in Vygshgorod, and his nephew, Vladimir Monomakh, in Smolensk.
The outcast princes, having gathered in Tmutarakan, did not want to sit still; they were actively preparing to enter into a fight with their uncles, and in 1078 Oleg Svyatoslavich and Boris Vyacheslavich, leading large crowds of Polovtsy, went to Chernigov against Vsevolod. Vsevolod went out to meet them, fought and was defeated, and the Polovtsians killed many noble Russian people in this section. Then Oleg and Boris entered Chernigov, and Vsevolod went to Kyiv to complain to Izyaslav about his misfortune.
“Brother,” Izyaslav answered him, touched by his grief, “do not grieve, remember what happened to me myself! Firstly, were they not exiling me and plundering my property? Then, what was my fault, but I was expelled by you, my brothers? Have I not wandered through foreign lands, robbed, and did not know any evil behind me? And now, brother, let's not grieve; if we have a part in the Russian land, then both, if we lose it, then both together; I will lay down my head for you."
After these words, Izyaslav began to hastily gather a large army, young and old, and went to Chernigov with his son Yaropolk from Vyshgorod. Vsevolod also joined them, to whom Vladimir Monomakh from Smolensk hastily came to the rescue.
When Izyaslav and Vsevolod with their sons approached Chernigov, Oleg and Boris were not in the city - they went to gather an army against their uncles; however, the Chernigovites did not let Izyaslav and Vsevolod come to them and shut themselves up behind the city walls, of which there were two: external and internal.
Soon Vladimir Monomakh repulsed the eastern gates and, having set fire to the houses that stood between both walls, he began to prepare for the attack of the inner city, where the inhabitants had taken refuge. But at that time the news came that Oleg and Boris were approaching with the assembled army. Izyaslav, Vsevolod, Vladimir and Yaropolk lifted the siege of Chernigov early in the morning and moved towards their nephews. They began to consult, what should they do? Oleg was a brave and warlike man, but at the same time reasonable; he told Boris: “We cannot stand against the four princes; let's send it better to the uncles with a request for peace. But to this, the ardent Boris answered him dismissively: “If you want, then just stand and look; I alone will go against them all."
After that, their regiments went forward, and on October 3, 1078, they met with their uncles at Nezhatina Niva.
The battle was very evil. The imprudent Boris was killed at the very beginning, and then the old Izyaslav fell; he was standing among his foot regiments, when suddenly one of the enemy soldiers ran into him and inflicted a fatal blow with a spear on the shoulder. Despite the killing of two princes on both sides, the battle continued for a long time; finally Oleg ran and could hardly escape to Tmutarakan.
When the body of Prince Izyaslav arrived in Kyiv, the whole city came out to meet him and saw him off with great weeping, sincerely pitying the deceased. Thus ended his earthly journey, full of vicissitudes, the eldest son of the Wise Yaroslav, having fulfilled his father's covenant at the end of his days - to help the offended brother, and at the same time laid down his head. This beautiful death disposed all hearts to his memory, especially since Izyaslav had many good spiritual qualities: he was very pious and kind-hearted, and only the lack of a strong will was the main reason for his life mistakes.
Rice. 101. Vsevolod Yaroslavich. According to "Titular"
After Izyaslav, according to the rules of stair climbing, Vsevolod sat down to the great reign.
There is a legend that Yaroslav, before his death, gave Vsevolod, who was his beloved son, a special blessing: “It is good for you, my son,” he told him, “that you rest my old age, and I rejoice in your meekness. God willing, after your brothers, you will take the Kyiv Grand Duke's table - with the truth, and not with violence.
When you die, let your bones lie next to mine, in Kyiv, near Hagia Sophia, because I love you more than your brethren. This blessing turned out to be prophetic - Vsevolod really took the Kyiv table with truth after his brothers.
“His great reign was one of the most restless, since cruel strife did not stop all the time.
As we have seen, all the strife under Izyaslav occurred due to the fact that the orphaned nephews did not receive volosts and turned into outcasts, and Izyaslav, after his second return to Kyiv, turned the sons of Svyatoslav into the same outcasts, taking away from them the volosts that they owned with his father. Of course, this was done by Izyaslav under the influence of anger at Svyatoslav for his second expulsion from Kyiv, and, of course, Izyaslav had every reason to consider Svyatoslav's achievement of the Kyiv table illegal, and therefore his children were deprived of the right to further participation in the next order of possession of the Russian land.
But it is also undoubted that Vsevolod, who himself helped Svyatoslav to expel Izyaslav and sit on the Kyiv throne, and who until the very death of Svyatoslav considered him the legitimate Grand Duke, could no longer, after sitting on the senior table, turn off his children from the next order of succession.
However, despite this, Vsevolod, feuding with the young Svyatoslavichs for the recent expulsion from Chernigov, having taken the Kyiv table, also did not want to give them parts in the Russian land, and thus, of course, created a new great strife both for himself and for his offspring.
Sitting down for a great reign, Vsevolod took for himself all the volosts belonging to the Kyiv table; he planted the son of Vladimir Monomakh in Chernigov, Yaropolk Izyaslavich - in Vladimir-Volynsky, giving him Turov, and Svyatopolk Izyaslavich - in Novgorod.
The offended nephews, all enterprising and warlike people, left their uncle alone for a while.
The first to take up arms against Vsevolod was Roman Svyatoslavich the Red, who was still sitting quietly in Tmutarakan, so nicknamed for his beauty. He hired the Polovtsy and in 1079 entered the Russian land with them. Vsevolod went out to meet him, stood at Pereyaslavl and managed to conclude peace with the Polovtsy, inclining them to his side, of course, with gold; having made peace, the Polovtsy retreated, and when Roman started a quarrel with them about this, he was killed by them. Then, returning to Tmutarakan, the Polovtsy captured Oleg Svyatoslavich and sent him to Greece, where he was imprisoned on the island of Rhodes; probably the Greek emperor did this to please Vsevolod, who was married to a Greek princess. In place of the murdered Roman and the imprisoned Oleg, the Grand Duke sent a posadnik, the boyar Ratibor, to Tmutarakan.
But Tmutarakan did not remain long without princes. The following year, Ratibor appeared and expelled: David, the son of the late Prince Igor Yaroslavich, and Volodar, one of the three sons of Prince Rostislav Vladimirovich, who was poisoned in Tmutarakan by the Korsun Greek in 1066.
However, these two princes also managed to stay in Tmutarakan for a short time. After two years of imprisonment on the island of Rhodes, in 1080, Oleg was lucky to escape; he approached Tmutarakan and, with the help of the people brought with him, took possession of it; then, having executed all those who could be captured from the persons involved in the murder of brother Roman, he invited David and Volodar to leave Tmutarakan.
Hegumen Daniel in his "Journey" calls "Prince Oleg-Michael" between David Svyatoslavich and Pankratiy Yaroslav Svyatoslavich, that is, surrounded by his brothers - the Chernigov princes. Additional arguments in favor of the fact that he was a Tmutarakan prince can be silver coins with the image of the Archangel Michael and the inscription: “Lord, help your servant Michael”, determined by the time of the reign of Oleg Svyatoslavich in Tmutarakan, as well as a series of Novgorod seals, which we attribute to his son Oleg Svyatoslavich - Nikolai-Svyatoslav Olegovich. On these seals, the patronal image of Svyatoslav himself (St. Nicholas) is combined with the patronal image of his father (Archangel Michael).
Prince Oleg-Mikhail Svyatoslavich was born in the middle of the 11th century. The first mention of him in the annals dates back to 1076, when he was already at the head of the army. Until that time, for some period (but not earlier than 1073) he was a Volyn prince, about 1076 he was taken out of Vladimir-Volynsky by Vsevolod Yaroslavich. In 1078, Oleg briefly captured Chernigov, but after the battle on Nezhatina Niva he was forced to flee to Tmutarakan. The following year, he was taken away by the Khazars "over the sea" to Constantinople and until 1083 was in Byzantium. Abbot Daniel at the beginning of the 12th century heard stories of local residents in Rhodes about the stay of the Russian prince Oleg among them for two years and two winters. In 1083, upon his return from Byzantium, Oleg captures Tmutarakan and reigns there until 1094, then he besieges Vladimir Monomakh in Chernigov and returns the Chernigov throne. In 1095-1096, during the war with Monomakh, Oleg subjugates Murom and Ryazan. By decision of the Lyubetsky Congress of 1097, Novgorod Seversky and Kursk were assigned to him as estates. Oleg Svyatoslavich died in 1115.
Sources do not provide details either about the wife of Oleg Svyatoslavich, or about the time of birth of his five sons. In this regard, it seems correct to give the most general dating according to the seals of Theophano Mouzalon (the last third of the 11th - the beginning of the 12th century).
Theophania Muzalon calls herself during the period of possession of Tmutarakan by her husband, Oleg Svyatoslavich of Chernigov, archontissa of Russia.
They say that Oleg handed over the city of Russia to his wife, which is opposite Tmutarakan on the Crimean coast (this is where the “Tmutarakan stone” will be found).
On the seal of Oleg Mikhail, when he, having settled on the shores of the Bosporus, concluded an anti-Russian alliance with the nomads and opposed himself to the coalition of Russian princes, it is written: "Archon of Matarkha, Zikhia and Khazaria." This means that Oleg was the All-Khazar Khan.
Associating, following A.V. Solovyov, the seal of Archon Michael with Prince Oleg Svyatoslavich, we cannot fail to note the originality of his title, captured in the legend of the bull. By choosing this title, which is so different from the traditional title of archon of Russia, Oleg Svyatoslavich, as it were, placed himself outside the community of Russian princes, emphasizing the special position of his Tmutarakan possessions in the system of Russian lands.
Yaroslav is known in history not only as the creator of St. Sophia Cathedral, the founder of many churches and cities, but also as a scribe. No wonder he was called the Wise, that is, a scientist, smart, educated. This sickly man, lame from birth, loved and collected books that the monks translated for him from Greek and copied in a special workshop. The chronicler respectfully wrote about him as a ruler who read books "often both at night and during the day." Rus' of Yaroslav with Europe was connected not only by trade and cultural relations, but also by family ties of rulers. Yaroslav himself married Ingigerda, daughter of the Swedish king Olaf. He married his son Vsevolod to Mary - the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh, the son of Izyaslav - to the daughter of the Polish king Gertrude. Son Svyatoslav became the husband of Oda, the daughter of a German count. Yaroslav's three daughters immediately married European monarchs. Elizabeth was married off to the king of Norway and Denmark, Anastasia - to the Hungarian Duke Andrew, who, with the help of Yaroslav, took the royal throne in Hungary. Anastasia gave birth to two sons - Solomon (Shalamon) and David. After the death of her husband, Yaroslav's daughter ruled Hungary under the infant king Shalamon. Finally, Anna Yaroslavna, who became the French queen, married Henry I in 1049, is more famous than others. After the death of her husband in 1060, she became regent of France with her 7-year-old son Philip I.
After the death of Yaroslav, as before, after the death of his father Vladimir, discord and strife reigned in Rus'. As N. M. Karamzin wrote: “Ancient Russia buried its power and prosperity with Yaroslav.” But this did not happen immediately. Of the five sons of Yaroslav (Yaroslavich), three survived his father: Izyaslav, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod. Dying, Yaroslav approved the order of succession to the throne, according to which power passes from the elder brother to the younger. At first, the children of Yaroslav did just that: the golden table went to the eldest of them, Izyaslav Yaroslavich, and Svyatoslav and Vsevolod obeyed him. They lived together with him for 15 years, together they even supplemented Yaroslav's Pravda with new articles, focusing on increasing fines for encroachment on princely property. This is how Pravda Yaroslavichi appeared.
But in 1068 the peace was broken. The Russian army of the Yaroslavichs suffered a heavy defeat from the Polovtsians. The people of Kiev, dissatisfied with them, expelled the Grand Duke Izyaslav and his brother Vsevolod from the city, plundered the princely palace and declared Prince Vseslav of Polotsk, released from the Kyiv prison, as the ruler - he was captured during a campaign against Polotsk and brought as a prisoner to Kyiv Yaroslavichi. The chronicler considered Vseslav bloodthirsty and evil. He wrote that Vseslav's cruelty came from the influence of a certain amulet - a magical bandage that he wore on his head, covering an unhealed ulcer with it. Exiled from Kyiv, Grand Duke Izyaslav fled to Poland, taking the prince's wealth with the words: "This way I will find warriors," meaning mercenaries. And soon he really appeared at the walls of Kyiv with a mercenary Polish army and quickly regained power in Kyiv. Vseslav, without putting up resistance, fled home to Polotsk.
After the flight of Vseslav, a struggle began already within the clan of Yaroslavichs, who had forgotten the commandments of their father. The younger brothers Svyatoslav and Vsevolod overthrew the elder Izyaslav, who again fled to Poland, and then to Germany, where he could not find help. The middle brother Svyatoslav Yaroslavich became the Grand Duke in Kyiv. But his life was short lived. Active and aggressive, he fought a lot, had immense ambitions, and died from the knife of a clumsy surgeon, who in 1076 tried to cut out some kind of tumor from the prince.
The younger brother Vsevolod Yaroslavich, who came to power after him, married to the daughter of the Byzantine emperor, was a God-fearing and meek man. He also ruled for a short time and ingenuously ceded the throne to Izyaslav, who had returned from Germany. But he was chronically unlucky: Prince Izyaslav died on Nezhatina Niva near Chernigov in 1078 in a battle with his nephew, Svyatoslav's son Oleg, who himself wanted to take his father's throne. The spear pierced his back, therefore, either he fled, or, most likely, someone struck the prince with a treacherous blow from behind. The chronicler informs us that Izyaslav was a prominent man, with a pleasant face, had a rather quiet disposition, and was soft-hearted. His first act on the Kiev table was the abolition of the death penalty, replaced by vira - a fine. His gentleness was, apparently, the cause of his misfortunes: Izyaslav Yaroslavich all the time longed for the throne, but was not cruel enough to establish himself on it.
As a result, the Kyiv golden table again went to the youngest son of Yaroslav Vsevolod, who ruled until 1093. Educated, endowed with intelligence, the Grand Duke spoke five languages, but he ruled the country poorly, unable to cope with either the Polovtsy, or hunger, or the pestilence that devastated Kyiv and surrounding lands. On the magnificent Kiev table, he remained a modest appanage prince of Pereyaslavsky, as great father Yaroslav the Wise made him in his youth. He was not able to restore order in his own family. The grown-up sons of his siblings and cousins quarreled desperately for power, constantly fighting each other over lands. For them, the word of their uncle - Grand Duke Vsevolod Yaroslavich - no longer meant anything.
The strife in Rus', now smoldering, now breaking out into war, continued. Intrigues and murders became common among the princely milieu. So, in the autumn of 1086, the nephew of the Grand Duke Yaropolk Izyaslavich was suddenly killed during a campaign by his servant, who stabbed the master in the side with a knife. The reason for the villainy is unknown, but, most likely, it was based on a feud over the lands of Yaropolk with his relatives, the Rostislavichs, who were sitting in Przemysl. Prince Vsevolod's only hope was his beloved son Vladimir Monomakh.
The reign of Izyaslav and Vsevolod, the feuds of their relatives took place at a time when for the first time a new enemy came from the steppes - the Polovtsians (Turks), who expelled the Pechenegs and began to attack Rus' almost continuously. In 1068, in a night battle, they defeated the princely regiments of Izyaslav and began to boldly plunder the Russian lands. Since then, not a year has passed without Polovtsian raids. Their hordes reached Kyiv, and once the Polovtsy burned down the famous princely palace in Berestov. The Russian princes, warring with each other, for the sake of power and rich destinies, entered into agreements with the Polovtsians and brought their hordes to Rus'.
July 1093 turned out to be especially tragic, when the Polovtsians on the banks of the Stugna River defeated the united squad of Russian princes, who acted unfriendly. The defeat was terrible: the entire Stugna was filled with the corpses of Russian soldiers, and the field was smoking from the blood of the fallen. “The next morning, on the 24th,” writes the chronicler, “on the day of the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb, there was a great cry in the city, and not joy, for our great sins and iniquities, for the multiplication of our iniquities.” In the same year, Khan Bonyak almost captured Kyiv and destroyed its previously inviolable shrine - the Kiev Caves Monastery, and also set fire to the surroundings of the great city.
DESCENDANTS OF YAROSLAV THE WISE
Let us turn to the generation of sons and grandsons of Yaroslav.
Izyaslav Yaroslavich(1024-1078). The second son of Yaroslav after Vladimir, who died in 1052. He was left by his father to reign in Kyiv and remained the Grand Duke until 1068, when the people of Kiev, dissatisfied with his indecision in the fight against the Polovtsy, rebelled, forced Izyaslav to flee to Poland, and put his cousin Vseslav Bryachislavich on the Kyiv table. Seven months later, with Polish help, Izyaslav regained Kyiv, but in 1073 he was expelled from the capital by his brothers Svyatoslav and Vsevolod. In 1077, after the death of Svyatoslav, Izyaslav again becomes the Grand Duke of Kyiv, but not for long - in 1078, during an internecine war with his nephew Oleg Svyatoslavich, he dies.
Izyaslav was married to Gertrude, daughter of the Polish king Mieszko II.
Source: PVL.
Lit .: Rapov. Princely possessions. pp. 44-45.
Svyatoslav Yaroslavich(1027-1076). The third son of Yaroslav. He received the Chernigov Principality from his father, but then in 1073 he took the Kyiv table from Izyaslav, on which he sat for three years. Svyatoslav died after a surgical operation. The prince was married to Oda, daughter of Leopold, Count of Stadensky.
Source: PVL.
Lit .: Rapov. Princely possessions. pp. 45-46.
Vsevolod Yaroslavich(1030-1098). Yaroslav's younger son. He reigned in Pereyaslavl (southeast of Kyiv), and then in Chernigov. He also owned the outlying Rostov-Suzdal land. From 1078 until his death he was the Grand Duke of Kyiv. Vsevolod was married to the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomakh; according to his son Vladimir, Vsevolod knew five languages, and among them, undoubtedly, Greek.
Source: PVL.
Lit .: Rapov. Princely possessions. pp. 46-47.
Svyatopolk Izyaslavich(1050-1113). Son of Izyaslav Yaroslavich. He reigned for a short time in Polotsk, then from 1078 to 1088 - in Novgorod, from 1088 to 1093 - in Turov. After the death of Vsevolod Yaroslavich, he became - as the eldest son of the eldest of the Yaroslavichs - the Grand Duke of Kyiv. He stayed on the grand prince's table until his death in April 1113. In 1097, Svyatopolk stained himself with complicity in the massacre of the Terebovl prince Vasilko Rostislavich: a separate story is dedicated to this event, which is included in the PVL under 1097. Svyatopolk, together with Vladimir Monomakh, participated in victorious campaign against the Polovtsians in 1103.
Svyatopolk was married to a Polovtsian princess, the daughter of Tugorkhan, and then to Princess Barbara from the Byzantine Komnenos dynasty.
Source: PVL.
Lit .: Rapov. Princely possessions. pp. 84-85.
Oleg Svyatoslavich(d. 1115). Son of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich. In 1078 he was in Chernigov with his uncle Vsevolod, from where he fled to Tmutarakan and, inviting the Polovtsy to help, attacked Vsevolod. In the battle on the Nezhatina field, Oleg was defeated and again fled to Tmutarakan. A year later, he was captured and sent into exile in Constantinople. Subsequently, he lived on the Greek island of Rhodes, where he married a noble Greek woman, Theophano Mouzalon. In 1083, returning from Byzantium, Oleg captured Tmutarakan, and in 1094, with Polovtsian help, moved to Chernigov, expelled Vladimir Monomakh from there and sat down to reign there, stubbornly refusing to appear at the princely congress to resolve dynastic disputes. In 1096, Oleg killed the son of Vladimir Monomakh - Izyaslav, who captured Oleg's Murom, but in the Rostov land, where Oleg then went, he was defeated in the battle on Koloksha by Monomakh's son - Mstislav. Where did Oleg reign later - in Murom, in Tmutarakan? Sources give conflicting information. Militant Oleg, who brought Polovtsian help to Rus' at least three times, is recalled by the “Lay of Igor’s Campaign”: “Then, under Olza, Gorislavlichi will come together and stretch out strife, perish the life of Dazhdbozh’s grandson, in princely sedition, the vezi will shrink as a man.” After his marriage to Feofano, Oleg was married to a Polovtsian princess, the daughter of Khan Osoluk.
Source: PVL.
Lit .: Rapov. Princely possessions. pp. 100-102.
Vladimir Vsevolodich Monomakh(1053-1125). The son of Vsevolod Yaroslavich from the "Queen of the Greeks", hence the prince's nickname - Monomakh. Vladimir was one of the most authoritative and politically sophisticated princes, who persistently fought against fratricidal strife, organized and participated in campaigns in the Polovtsian steppe. We know his life and views better than any other of his contemporary princes thanks to the autobiographical "Instruction" and the preserved letter of Monomakh to his cousin, Oleg Svyatoslavich. In adolescence, Vladimir was appointed to reign in Rostov, then, perhaps, he reigned in Smolensk and undoubtedly - in Chernigov (from 1078 to 1094), and then - in Pereyaslavl Russian (from 1094). In 1113, after the death of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, Monomakh was invited by the Kyiv boyars to the grand prince's table and remained on it until his death in 1125. Vladimir was married to Gita, the daughter of the last Anglo-Saxon king Harald.
Source: PVL.; Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh // PLDR: XI-beginning of the XII century. pp. 392-413 and other publications.
Lit.: Likhachev D.S. Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh // Likhachev D.S. Great heritage. M., 1979. S. 141-162; Rapov. Princely possessions. pp. 137-139; Rybakov. The world of history. pp. 196-214.
