Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich from 970 to 988 was the Prince of Novgorod. In 978 he took possession of Kyiv and ruled there until 1015. Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich, whose biography is quite vividly described in the annals, carried out the baptism of Russia. In the face of the saints he was glorified as equal to the apostles. In Russian Orthodoxy, on the day of memory - July 15, Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich is revered.
Historical portrait
In baptism, the prince was named Vasily. Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich in epics is known as the Holy, Red Sun. His mother, according to legend, was the housekeeper Malusha, originally from the city of Lyubech. In accordance with pagan traditions, the son of a slave could be the heir to his father-prince. The exact year in which Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich was born is unknown. His father was born, according to the chronicles, in 942. The eldest son of Vladimir, Vysheslav, was born around 977. Based on this, researchers of the ancient period derive the year of the birth of the Red Sun - 960.
According to Nestor's Tale, Vladimir wasthe third oldest son of Svyatoslav after Yaropolk and Oleg. However, there is another hypothesis. According to some reports, he was the second son, because before his father left for Byzantium, he received the princely table in important Novgorod in 970. And Oleg, in turn, remained in the Drevlyane land, the center of which was Ovruch. Dobrynya was chosen as a mentor for Vladimir.
In the Scandinavian sagas there is an interesting story about how Olaf I Tryggvason (the future Norwegian king) spent all his childhood and youth in the Novgorod land. His mother was forced to flee from the murderers of her husband to King Vladimir (Valdemar). Sigurd, her brother, served with him at that time. However, Estonian robbers captured her and her child. Sigurd was just responsible for collecting taxes in this country. By chance, he met Olaf and ransomed him. The boy was brought to Novgorod. Here he grew up under the auspices of Vladimir. Later, Olaf was accepted into the squad, where he became very popular among the warriors.
Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich: short biography
After the death of his father in 972, brother Yaropolk became prince in Kyiv. Between him and the remaining brothers in 977 began an internecine war. Oleg in the battle with Yaropolk during the retreat was crushed by falling horses in the ditch. Vladimir managed to escape to the Varangian lands. So Yaropolk began to rule all of Russia. Meanwhile, Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich, together with Dobrynya, gathered an army in Scandinavia. In 980, he returned to Novgorod and drove out the posadnik Yaropolk. Then he captures Polotsk,went over to the side of Kyiv. At the same time, Princess Rogneda was forcibly taken as his wife.
Yaropolk meanwhile hid in Kyiv. Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich, together with a fairly large Varangian army, headed for the walls of the city. As the chronicle testifies, the governor of Yaropolk was bribed. He convinced the prince to flee to the small town of Roden. Here Vladimir lured his brother to negotiations, at which two Varangians "lifted him under their bosoms with swords." He took Yaropolk's pregnant wife as a concubine. After a while, the Vikings demanded payment for the service. Vladimir first promised them tribute, but then refused. He sent part of the army to Constantinople, advising the emperor of Byzantium to disperse him to different places. Vladimir kept some of the Scandinavians with him.
Pagan rule
Vladimir built a temple in Kyiv, where the idols of 6 main gods were installed: Perun, Mokosh, Stribog, Khors, Dazhdbog, Semargl. There is evidence that the prince carried out human sacrifices, like the Scandinavians. The former Prince Yaropolk established connections with the Latin West and was interested in Christianity. From this, the researchers conclude that the struggle against the previously established Orthodox faith in Kyiv was quite logical. During the period of persecution, the Vikings Ivan and Fedor, one of the first martyrs in Russia, died.
Baptism
In the chronicle there is a description of the "choice of faiths" by Vladimir. He called preachers of Judaism, Islam, Catholicism to the court. However, after talking with the "Greek philosopher", hedecides to convert to Christianity. According to the chronicle, in 987, at the boyar council, the prince made a decision on baptism. As Orthodox sources testify, after that Vladimir freed all pagan wives from marital duties. Rogneda offered to choose a husband, but she refused, taking monastic vows.
In 988, the prince seized Korsun, demanding his wife Anna, the sister of the Byzantine emperors Constantine VIII and Basil II. The rulers, fearing an invasion by Vladimir's troops, agreed. However, the emperors demanded his baptism so that Anna would marry a fellow believer. After receiving consent from Vladimir, they sent the sister with the priests to Korsun. The prince and his entire squad underwent the ceremony, after which the marriage ceremony was performed.
Christianization in Russia
After that, Vladimir returned to Kyiv and ordered to immediately overturn all the idols. An earlier source indicates that the prince's baptism took place in 988, and he took Korsun three years later, and only after that began to demand a wife from the emperors of Byzantium. In Kyiv, the conversion of the people to the new faith took place relatively peacefully. In Novgorod, the leadership of baptism was carried out by Dobrynya. The adoption of a new faith was accompanied here by popular uprisings, which were suppressed by force. The Rostov-Suzdal land was relatively autonomous due to its remoteness. In this regard, paganism dominated here until the XII century.
Military campaigns
What made Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich famous? Internal andThe foreign policy of the prince was aimed mainly at conquering the neighbors and joining their territories to Ancient Russia. Most of his campaigns were quite successful and allowed to significantly expand the borders of the state. So, in 981 (according to other sources in 979) he fought with Mieszko I, the Polish ruler. As a result of the battles, Vladimir captured Przemysl and Cherven. In 981-982. the prince annexed the territories of the Vyatichi. In 983, Vladimir established his dominion over Sudovia, subduing the Yotvingian tribe. This opened the way for Russia to the B altic.
In 984, the prince completely conquered the Radimichi. In 985 Vladimir fought together with the nomadic Torks against the Bulgarians. As a result, a peace favorable to Russia was concluded. In 988, the city of Korsun was captured. According to sources, the city fell after a long siege, when combatants dug up pipes with water coming from wells. In 991, as a result of a campaign in the Carpathian lands, they were included in Russia. In 1000, 6 thousand warriors took part in the Byzantine offensive against Armenia. During his reign, Vladimir was able to conclude many lucrative agreements with Poland, Byzantium, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
Pechenegs
Their raids created constant problems for the prince. In 996, an unsuccessful battle took place near Vasilev. In 997, the Pechenegs attacked Kyiv. In 1001 and 1013 there was a major Polish-Pecheneg invasion. A century later, memories of these events took the form of a folk epic. So, for example, there is a legend about Nikita Kozhemyak,Belgorod kissel, etc. To protect against the Pechenegs, several fortresses were built along the southern border of Russia. Along the southeastern and southern borders, on the left and right sides of the Dnieper, rows of outposts and earthen trenches were withdrawn.
In 1006-1007. Bruno of Querfurt (a German missionary) traveled through Kyiv. He went to the Pechenegs to preach the gospel. Vladimir, hosting him, tried to dissuade him from the trip. However, the prince failed to convince the missionary. Then Vladimir volunteered to escort him with his retinue to the borders. Here Bruno saw a palisade, the length of which was about 800 km.
Children and family
Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich in epics is known as "the great libertine". This is also evidenced by the records of Timar of Merseburg (German chronicler). In addition, the prince was in several pagan marriages. Among his wives were Rogneda, "Chekhina" (according to some evidence, Vladimir needed this union to fight Yaropolk), "Bulgarian" (it is not known whether the wife was from the Danube or the Volga). According to one source, Gleb and Boris were the sons of the latter. In addition, Vladimir had a pregnant widow of Yaropolk, who was kidnapped during one of his campaigns, as his concubines. After a while, she gave birth to Svyatopolk - a son "from two fathers." At the same time, Vladimir considered him his heir. Svyatopolk himself recognized Yaropolk as the father. He considered Vladimir a usurper.
After the adoption of Christianity, the prince, presumably, was in two more Christian marriages. The first was with Anna, the Byzantine princess. She died in 1011. After her death, there was another wife, the unknown "stepmother of Yaroslav". In total, Vladimir had 13 sons and at least 10 daughters.
Images of the Prince
Since 988, pieces of silver and gold coins were minted, on which Vladimir 1 Svyatoslavovich was depicted. The photo of the prince is also on four different Ukrainian 1 hryvnia banknotes. (1995-2007). His image is used on coins of 1 and 10 UAH. In addition, the image was used on the Soviet commemorative coin of 100 rubles. It was issued in 1988 in honor of the 1000th anniversary of ancient Russian coinage. The image of the prince is present on some postal envelopes and stamps.
