The Great Kyiv Prince Vladimir Monomakh went down in history as a talented statesman, thinker and writer. He managed to temporarily stop civil strife and the disintegration of the state into small principalities, protect it from the Polovtsian raids and raise its status in the international arena. His age was quite long for those times. The prince ruled from the age of 20 to 71. The sons of Vladimir Monomakh, who occupied princely tables in the largest and most strategically important cities, played a big role in maintaining the integrity of the state.
Wives of Vladimir Monomakh
Historians are sure that Vladimir Monomakh was married at least twice. His first wife was the English princess Gita of Wessex, the daughter of King Harold II. After the death of her father, she fled with several brothers and sisters to Flanders and then to Denmark. In 1074 she was married to V. Monomakh. The Russian historian and philologist Nazarenko A. V. suggests that she took part in the first crusade, died and was buried in Palestine around 1098. According to another version, this happened in Smolensk in 1107. To say which sons of Vladimir Monomakh were born from first marriage is not possible. Historians are sure only about Mstislav, Izyaslav and Svyatoslav. It is likely that Yaropolk, Roman and Vyacheslav are also sons of Gita of Wessex.
Approximately in 1099, V. Monomakh remarried. As for who the second wife was, there are different versions. According to one of them, her name was Efimia and she had Greek roots. According to another, the Swedish princess Christina could become the second wife of Monomakh. Historians believe that from the second marriage, the prince had two sons: Yuri and Andrei, as well as three daughters.
Mstislav the Great
Mstislav the Great, known in Europe under the name of Harold, is the Rostov-Suzdal prince, the son of Vladimir Monomakh from Gita of Wessex. He was born on June 1, 1076. Like his father, he was a major statesman and commander, for which he received the title of Great during his lifetime. From a young age (13-14 years old) by our standards, he owned Novgorod the Great. In 1093-95. held the Rostov and Smolensk lands under his rule. The period of his reign in Novgorod was marked by the development of the city: the expansion of the citadel, the laying of the Church of the Annunciation on Gorodische, the Nikolo-Dvorishchensky Cathedral. In 1117 Mstislav, son of VladimirMonomakh was transferred to Belgorod. The place in Novgorod was taken by his eldest son Vsevolod Mstislavovich.
Mstislav inherited the great reign after the death of his father in 1125. This fact did not cause discontent and opposition from the Chernigov princes. His seniority was recognized by all brothers unconditionally. However, initially only Kyiv was under his direct control. The first wife of the prince was the daughter of the Swedish king Christina. The marriage produced ten children. The second wife of Mstislav was the daughter of the Novgorod mayor Lyubava Dmitrievna, presumably she gave birth to two sons and a daughter to the prince.
Vladimir Monomakh and his son Mstislav adhered to the same line of foreign policy - protection from enemies. The military power of the principality was undeniable. Mstislav, using marriage alliances with Scandinavia and Byzantium for political purposes, strengthened his position in the international arena. Contemporaries chroniclers spoke of the Grand Duke of Kiev as a brave and respectable man in the army, he was terrible to all his neighbors, and merciful and reasonable to his subjects. According to them, it was a great justice, during which all Russian princes lived in silence and did not dare to offend each other.
Izyaslav Vladimirovich
The second son of Vladimir Monomakh from an English princess was supposedly born after 1076, and by the time of his death on September 6, 1096, he was only a teenager. Little is known about him.
After the outbreak of civil war in 1097 betweenprinces Svyatopolk Izyaslavovich and Vladimir Vsevolodovich on the one hand and the sons of Svyatoslav Yaroslavovich on the other, the subsequent capture of Chernigov and Smolensk Izyaslav left Kursk at the behest of his father. He settled in Murom - the patrimony of Oleg Svyatoslavovich. The latter gathered an impressive army and asked the offspring of Vladimir Monomakh to leave the city for the possession of his father. Izyaslav did not agree and decided to defend himself. In the battle under the walls of Murom, he died, and Oleg occupied the city. The body of the young prince was taken by the eldest son of Vladimir Monomakh Mstislav, the burial took place in the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral. There is no information about Izyaslav's wife and offspring. Most likely, Prince Kursk and Murom did not have time to start a family.
Svyatoslav Vladimirovich
About one of the eldest sons of V. Monomakh, Svyatoslav, practically no historical information has been preserved, and those that are are often questioned by scientists. It is known that the prince of Smolensk, and later - Pereyaslavsky, died on March 6, 1114
For the first time his name is mentioned in the annals of 1095 in the story of the arrival of two Polovtsian khans to V. Monomakh in Pereyaslavl, whose purpose was to conclude peace. In 1111, Svyatoslav, in all likelihood, participated with his father in a campaign against the Polovtsy, which ended in the defeat of the barbarians. Two years later, in 1113, Svyatoslav took the reign in Pereyaslavl, where he was sent from Smolensk by Vladimir Monomakh. The son of the Kyiv prince did not rule for long. He died in 1114 in Pereyaslavl and was buried there in the church of St. Michael. Information about the wives and children of Svyatoslav is notpreserved.
Roman Vladimirovich
Historians suggest that Roman is the fourth oldest of the sons of Vladimir Monomakh. The exact date of his birth is unknown. There is practically no information about Prince Volynsky.
In 1117, a conflict arose between V. Monomakh and the son of Svyatopolk Izyaslavovich, the cause of which was probably the transfer of the eldest of the sons of the Kyiv prince to Belgorod from Novgorod. A year later, Roman was planted to reign in Vladimir-Volynsky. The reign, as in the case of Svyatoslav, was short-lived. The prince died in 1119. Andrey the Good, the governor, who was appointed by Vladimir Monomakh himself, the son presumably from his second marriage, sat in Volhynia.
Roman Vladimirovich was married to the daughter of Prince Zvenigorodsky. No children are known from this marriage.
Yaropolk Vladimirovich
Yaropolk was born in 1082, presumably in Chernigov, where his father reigned at that moment. At twenty-one, he first took part in a campaign against the Polovtsians. He inherited the princely throne in Pereyaslavl after the death of his elder brother Svyatoslav in 1114. In this capacity, he repeatedly opposed the Polovtsy, and also, together with his father, against Prince Gleb of Minsk. The annals mention that he maintained good relations with his elderly father and repeatedly led his army along with his older brother Mstislav.
In history, Yaropolk is known as the ruler of a disintegrating state. He became the Grand Prince of Kyiv after the death of Mstislav in 1132, on thatAt the moment he was already at an advanced age for those times - 49 years. Under his direct control was only Kyiv with the surrounding territory. Yaropolk was a brave warrior, a capable commander, but at the same time a very weak politician. He failed to stop the process of disintegration of the state into separate principalities. Having become too cautious in making decisions in old age, he could not take the initiative in the struggle of his younger brothers against the Olgovichi and Mstislavovichi. The last time the sons of Vladimir Monomakh united against Vsevolod Olgovich was in 1138, when he declared war on Yaropolk. The troops gathered under the banners not only of Kyiv, but also of Rostov, Pereyaslavl, Smolensk, Galich, Polotsk and an impressive Hungarian army sent by King Bella II.
Yaropolk was married to an Alan woman named Elena. In marriage, the son Vasilko Yaropolkovich was born. He died in 1139, passing the throne to his brother Vyacheslav. At that time, Polotsk, Chernigov and Novgorod were already outside the control of Kyiv.
Vyacheslav Vladimirovich
Vyacheslav (Prince of Smolensk, son of Vladimir Monomakh) was supposedly born in 1083. From a young age, he took an active part in the political life of the country. In 1097, together with his elder brother Mstislav, he took part in the battle on Koloksha. Father Vyacheslav was planted in Smolensk to reign, in connection with his transition to Kyiv. Since 1127, he has already been mentioned in chronicles as the Prince of Turov. He inherited the throne in Kyiv after the death of Yaropolk in February 1139. However, already in March of the same year, heoverthrew Prince Vsevolod Olgovich of Chernigov.
In 1142, he received the Principality of Pereyaslav after the death of the youngest of the sons of V. Monomakh Andrei. However, this did not entirely suit him. As a result, in 1143 he returned to where he started - in Turov. When Vsevolod died, the prince tried to return to the political arena. By this time Yuri Dolgoruky had expelled his nephew Izyaslav from Kyiv. The latter decided to unite with Vyacheslav and elevate him to the throne. However, everything turned out the way he did not expect. Yu. Dolgoruky (Prince of Suzdal), the sixth son of Vladimir Monomakh Vyacheslav united and won a joint victory over his nephew. Yuri wanted to transfer the principality, but he was dissuaded by the boyars. As a result, Vyacheslav was imprisoned in the strategically important Vyshgorod, located just outside Kyiv.
The prince died in 1154 and was buried in St. Sophia Cathedral. The name of his wife is unknown. According to the chronicle, Vyacheslav had a son, Michael, who died in 1129
Yuri Dolgoruky
Yuri Dolgoruky is the son of Vladimir Monomakh from his second wife. At least, this opinion is shared by most historians. Tatishchev V. N. in his works announced that Dolgoruky was born in 1090 and, thus, is the son of Gita of Wessex. However, this opinion contradicts the information contained in the "Instruction" of Vladimir Monomakh to his sons. According to this literary source, Yuriev's mother died in 1107. This fact does not allow her to be identified with Gita, whose death probably happened in 1098. Yuri's exact date of birth remains open to this day.
Yu. Dolgoruky is perhaps one of the most controversial figures in Russian history. Being the son of the ruler of the Kyiv principality, from an early age he did not want to be content with little. He always aspired to conquer new lands, destinies and, of course, Kyiv itself. In fact, for such greed, he was nicknamed "long-armed".
A very young prince was sent to Rostov to reign together with his elder brother Mstislav. From 1117 he remained the sole ruler in the city. Since 1147, he has been actively involved in internecine princely strife in an attempt to take Kyiv from his own nephew (son of Mstislav Izyaslav). He repeatedly attacked the city and even took possession of it three times, but in total he did not sit on the throne of Kiev even for three years.
The prince was married twice. His first wife was the daughter of the Polovtsian Khan, she bore him eight children. Almost nothing is known about Yuri's second wife. In 1161, together with her children, she fled to Byzantium. Based on this fact, it is speculated that she was Greek.
If you believe the chronicle sources, Yuri Dolgoruky (son of Vladimir Monomakh) did not enjoy the respect of the people of Kiev. He was considered domineering, greedy, mercenary and cruel. However, his third attempt to occupy the city, made in 1155, was crowned with success. Until his death in 1157, he ruled as the Prince of Kyiv. Despite this, Yuri Dolgoruky remained in the memory of his descendants as the founder of Moscow. It was on his orders that in 1147 on the very outskirts of North-Eastern Russia was foundeda small settlement to guard the borders.
Later, the princedom of Kyiv was ruled by Yuri's offspring from his first marriage - Andrey Bogolyubsky. The son of Vladimir Monomakh could not become famous as the ruler of Russia, but one of the brightest destinies was prepared for his grandson. The photo shows a reconstruction of the appearance of the skull.
During his reign, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality was the strongest in Russia, it reached power, and eventually became the core of the future state. The role of Kyiv as a center was gradually fading away. Having received the grand-ducal throne, Andrei retired to Vladimir. V. Klyuchevsky writes in his writings that Andrey was prudent, alert every minute and had a desire to bring order to everything, which strongly resembled his grandfather Vladimir Monomakh.
Andrey Vladimirovich
In August 1102, the youngest of all the known sons of Vladimir Monomakh was born, who received the name Andrei at baptism. In 1119, the young man, by order of his father, took the throne in the Vladimir-Volyn principality after the death of his elder brother Roman. Then, from 1135, he reigned in Pereyaslavl and kept the table from the encroachments of Vsevolod Olgovich. The younger son of the Grand Duke of Kyiv died at the age of 39 in 1141, the remains were buried in the Church of St. Michael.
Andrey was married to the granddaughter of the famous Polovtsian Khan Tugorkan. It is reliably known that two sons were born in the marriage: Vladimir and Yaropolk. Historians also suggest that Prince Andrei had a daughter.
Daughters of Vladimir Monomakh
To the worldnot only the sons of Vladimir Monomakh are known, but also his three daughters. According to historians, they were born in the second marriage of the Grand Duke. The eldest princess was called Maria. She was given in marriage to False Diogenes II.
In the 12th c. a man appeared in Russia posing as Leo Diogenes, the son of the emperor of Byzantium, who died in 1087 in a battle with the Pechenegs. The impostor Vladimir Monomakh recognized and decided to support his claims, if not the throne, then at least a couple of cities. To seal the union, he gave his eldest daughter in marriage to him. However, the impostor failed to establish himself on the Danube, he was killed. Maria, together with her young son, returned to her homeland, where she spent the rest of her life in a monastery in Kyiv. The princess died in 1146, her son was killed in 1135 during one of the civil strife.
Less tragic, but still very sad was the fate of the middle daughter of Vladimir Monomakh Euphemia. She was born around 1099 and at the age of 13 was given in marriage to the Hungarian king Kalman I the Scribe, who was at least 25 years older than her. He convicted her of treason and sent her home. Already in Kyiv, Euphemia gave birth to a son, who, although he claimed the Hungarian throne, was not recognized by Kalman as his own son. After a while, the princess went to the monastery, where she spent the rest of her life. Euphemia died in 1139
Little is known about the youngest daughter of Vladimir Monomakh. Historians suggest that she was born between 1103 and 1107. In 1116, she was married to Prince Vsevolod Davydovich of Goroden, whose origin is not exactly known. Marriedtwo daughters were born. There is a chronicle record of their marriage in 1144. Historians claim that Vsevolod Olgovich was involved in the arrangement of marriage, on the basis of which they conclude that the girls, most likely, were already orphans by this time.
