The representative of the Rurik dynasty - Izyaslav Mstislavich - was the son of Mstislav the Great and the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh. His father and grandfather were princes of Kyiv. With the direct order of succession, Izyaslav could also count on the throne in the Mother of Russian cities. However, he was born in 1097, and his entire adult life fell on the 12th century - the era of ongoing civil strife and political fragmentation of his native country.
Youth
Izyaslav Mstislavich until the end of his days was forced to prove his right to leadership in the fight against numerous uncles and other older relatives from the Rurik dynasty. He received the first experience of reigning in Kursk, where in 1125-1129. was his father's lieutenant. Then Mstislav sent his son to Polotsk. This city has long belonged to a separate branch of the Rurikovich, briefly expelled from there after the lost war.
Mstislav the Great, who ruled in Kyiv, had several sons, and Izyaslav Mstislavich was the second of them. His elder brother Vsevolod received Novgorod, and the younger - Rostislav - inherited Smolensk.
There is no doubt that Mstislav wanted to transfer Kyiv to one of his sons, even despiteestablished order, according to which the main city of Russia passed to the eldest member of the entire dynasty. To this end, the monarch entered into an agreement with his younger brother Yaropolk. The agreement was as follows. After the death of Mstislav, the childless Yaropolk received Kyiv and promised to transfer the throne to one of his nephews. Time has shown that such arrangements were then unviable.
In Novgorod
Mstislav died in 1132, and his son Izyaslav Mstislavich received from Yaropolk first Pereyaslavl, and then Turov, Pinsk and Minsk instead. However, it was not possible to stay in the new place for a long time. Just a couple of years later, the prince was kicked out by his other uncle, Vyacheslav.
Deprived of power, Izyaslav went to Novgorod to his elder brother Vsevolod. At the same time, the prince enlisted the support of the Olgovichi, the rulers of the Chernihiv land. The Mstislavichs, dissatisfied with their share, demanded large destinies from their uncles. In an effort to prove the seriousness of their intentions, the brothers at the head of the Novgorod army invaded North-Eastern Russia, which belonged to the youngest son of Monomakh, Yuri Dolgoruky.
Vsevolod wanted Prince Izyaslav Mstislavich to occupy the Rostov Principality. However, it was impossible to start a war with an uncle, declaring such a goal. A plausible reason was found very quickly. Traditionally, Novgorodians did not make bread, but bought it from their neighbors. On the eve of the Mstislavichs' campaign, Suzdal merchants significantly increased the prices of their goods, which caused indignation of Vsevolod's subjects.
At the end of 1134, the Novgorod army, led byMstislavichi, invaded the possessions of Yuri Dolgoruky. The squad moved along the banks of the Dubna and Kubri rivers. The Mstislavichs were going to establish control over the waterway in order to cut off the southern cities of their uncle from the northern ones.
January 26, 1135 Izyaslav Mstislavich, the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, led an army into the battle near Zhdana Gora. The Novgorodians had an advantage - they were the first to occupy a strategically important height. To crush the Suzdalians, the squad rushed down, but at that moment it turned out that part of the troops of Yuri Dolgoruky carried out a deceptive maneuver and went into the rear of the Mstislavich regiments. Novgorodians were defeated, the flower of their army and aristocracy perished, including the thousandth Petrilo Mikulich and the posadnik Ivanko Pavlovich. Vsevolod subjects accused of cowardice and flight from the battlefield. In 1136, as a result of the uprising, he lost power. Izyaslav had nothing to lose from the very beginning, and after the defeat he continued the struggle for power with redoubled energy.
Volyn and Pereyaslav Prince
Besides brother Vsevolod, Izyaslav's allies were Olgovichi from Chernigov. Together with them, he, returning from North-Eastern Russia, went on a raid to Pereyaslav and Kyiv land. This trip turned out to be more successful than the previous one. Not wanting war, Yaropolk yielded to his nephew Vladimir-Volynsky. Izyaslav ruled there in 1135-1142
In 1139 Prince Yaropolk died. The throne of Kyiv was seized by Vsevolod Olgovich, who had previously ruled Chernigov. Yaropolk's long-standing promise to Mstislav about the transfer of power to his nephew did not come true. Besidestime Izyaslav became the eldest of the living sons of Mstislav. His brother, expelled from Novgorod, died shortly before Yaropolk.
Vsevolod Olgovich was married to Maria Mstislavovna, Izyaslav's sister. Allied relations between them did not work out. Nevertheless, in 1135, Izyaslav ceded Vladimir-Volynsky to the Olgovichi, and in exchange received Pereyaslavl. The proximity of this city to Kyiv soon played into the hands of the prince.
Beginning of government in Kyiv
Vsevolod of Kyiv died in 1146. Shortly before his death, he forced Izyaslav to swear that he would not take the throne from his younger brother Igor. However, as soon as Vsevolod died, riots broke out in Kyiv. The townspeople did not like the Olgoviches and wanted to be ruled by a descendant of Monomakh. Soon Izyaslav took possession of the city. Igor tried to defend himself. He marched against the opponent with an army, but was defeated and caught bogged down in a swamp.
The fact that Izyaslav Mstislavich is the Grand Duke of Kyiv angered his uncles. Vyacheslav, who once expelled his nephew from Turov, declared his rights, but now he himself was deprived of his inheritance. Pereyaslavl, where Izyaslav ruled until Kyiv, also remained under his control. In Turov, he planted his son Yaroslav as governor. Pereyaslavl received the senior heir Mstislav.
Meanwhile, a drama broke out in Kyiv. Deprived of power, Igor Olgovich was sent by Izyaslav to a monastery. There he became a monk and led a quiet life. But even Igor's sincere humility did not save him from the angry crowd. In 1147, a group of Kyivans again staged riots in the city andbroke into the monastery where the disgraced prince lived. Igor was torn to pieces, and his body was publicly abused. Izyaslav was not bloodthirsty, he did not organize this cruel massacre, but it was he who had to bear responsibility for it.
Approaching civil strife
The murdered Igor left his brother Svyatoslav Seversky. Having received news of the terrible fate of a relative, he became an implacable enemy of the Kyiv prince. Izyaslav II Mstislavich had other opponents. Yuri Dolgoruky remained the most active of them. The younger son of Monomakh continued to rule Rostov and Suzdal. Sent to the far north-eastern Zalesye by his father, from an early age he was dissatisfied with his share. Yuri was annoyed at his nephew, who happened to be near Kyiv at the moment when the people of Kiev staged a rebellion against the Olgovichi.
Dolgoruky got his nickname for a reason. His ambitions from the Rostov-Suzdal land extended to the whole of Russia. Yuri gathered a whole coalition against Izyaslav. The already mentioned Svyatoslav Seversky, as well as Vladimirko Galitsky (he wanted to preserve the independence of Galicia from Kyiv), entered the union. Finally, on the side of Dolgoruky were the Polovtsy, whose dubious services he always used without any hesitation.
Izyaslav in the approaching war was supported by his younger brother Rostislav Smolensky, Vladimir Davydovich Chernigov, Rostislav Yaroslavich Ryazan and Novgorodians. He was also occasionally helped by the kings of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland.
War for dominance
At the first stage, civil strife sweptChernihiv land. The Davydovichs sought to deprive Svyatoslav of his lot. While Prince Izyaslav Mstislavich and Yuri Dolgoruky were deciding the fate of Kyiv, other Rurikovichs also tried to act according to their own interests. Everyone was at war with everyone. Izyaslav sent his son Mstislav with the Berendeys and Pereyaslavtsy to Novgorod-Seversky besieged by the Davydovichs. It was not possible to take the fortress.
Then Izyaslav Mstislavich, the Grand Duke of Kyiv, himself with his retinue advanced to Novgorod. Svyatoslav first retreated to Karachev, and then, together with Yuri, attacked the Smolensk possessions. The turning point in the war took place after the Davydovichi reconciled with the Seversk prince. Izyaslav II Mstislavich, in short, was not happy with what had happened. In 1148, together with the Hungarian army, he invaded the Chernigov possessions. The general battle never happened. After standing near Lyubech, the Kyiv prince retreated.
Defeat
In 1149, Izyaslav 2 Mstislavich made peace with both the Davydovichs and Svyatoslav Seversky. In addition, one of the sons of Yuri Dolgoruky, Rostislav, came to his service, dissatisfied with the fact that his father deprived him of his inheritance. After that, Izyaslav, together with Rostislav of Smolensk and the Novgorodians, set off on a campaign in North-Eastern Russia. The coalition army robbed many of Yuri's possessions. 7 thousand people were taken prisoner.
On his return to Kyiv, Izyaslav quarreled with Rostislav Yurievich, accusing him of treason and depriving him of his inheritance. Dolgoruky took advantage of the fact that his son fell into disgrace and, having received anothera fair excuse for attacking the enemy, went on a march to the south. In the decisive battle near Pereyaslavl in August 1149, the Kyiv prince was defeated. Yuri Dolgoruky fulfilled his old dream and took possession of the ancient capital. It seemed that Izyaslav Mstislavich (1146-1149) would no longer regain control of Kyiv, but he did not even think of giving up.
Volyn campaign
Having lost Kyiv, Izyaslav retained Volyn. It was there that the internecine war moved. Here, in the west of Russia, the support of the kings of the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary was especially useful to him. Yuri's army laid siege to the fortress of Lutsk, the defense of which was led by Vladimir Mstislavich.
Izyaslav, together with his Western allies, came to the rescue of the city when it already felt a lack of water. The battle, however, did not happen. The opponents agreed that Izyaslav would renounce his claims to the throne of Kyiv, and Yuri would give him the selected Novgorod tribute. As usual in that turbulent era, these agreements were never de facto implemented.
Return to Kyiv
In 1151, Izyaslav, joined by a Hungarian detachment sent by King Geza II, again occupied Kyiv. During this campaign, the main threat to him was Vladimirko Galitsky, from whom he managed to break away with the help of a deceptive maneuver. Yuriy left Kyiv, actually surrendering it without any struggle. Volodymyrko Galitsky, angry with the inaction of the allies, also stopped the war.
So, in Kyiv, the years of the reign of Izyaslav Mstislavich continued again(1151-1154). This time he compromised and invited Vyacheslav to his place, with whom he had formally reigned since then. The relationship between uncle and nephew cannot be called good: they suffered many quarrels and mutual insults. Now the princes finally reconciled. The nephew, as a symbolic gesture, gave up the palace to his uncle and treated him like a father. At the same time, virtually all decisions were made by Izyaslav Mstislavich. The domestic and foreign policy of the prince was completely dependent on the war. There has never been a single long period of peace during his reign.
Yuri Dolgoruky, who returned to the Rostov-Suzdal land, was not going to give up his own ambitions. In 1151, he again went south with his retinue. Yuri was supported by the princes of Chernigov and the Polovtsians. To attack Kyiv, it was necessary first to force the Dnieper. The first crossing attempt took place near Vyshgorod. Izyaslav prevented her by sending a fleet of many rooks there.
The squad of the Suzdal prince did not retreat and again tried their luck on another section of the river. Having crossed the Zarubinsky ford, she approached Kyiv. The advance detachment, which consisted mainly of Polovtsy, was destroyed in the vicinity of the city. Khan Bonyak died in the battle. Yuri Dolgoruky, hoping for the help of Vladimir Galitsky, retreated to the west, but was soon defeated in a battle on the Ruta River. The battle cost the life of the Chernigov prince Vladimir Davydovich. Izyaslav could triumph. Yuri Dolgoruky had only Kursk left in the south of Russia.
Recent years
Civil strifeprevented the princes from fighting against the real threat - the Polovtsians. Having gained a foothold in Kyiv, Izyaslav twice sent his sons with squads to the steppe. The trips were successful. Kyiv land for several years forgot about the destructive invasions. In 1152, the allied Izyaslav Mstislavich Izyaslav Davydovich was besieged by Dolgoruky in Chernigov. The prince of Kyiv at the head of the army went to his rescue. Yuri had to retreat.
Izyaslav's opponent also remained Vladimirko Galitsky. In 1152, the Hungarians defeated it on the San river. Then Izyaslav himself went to Galicia. Vladimirko made peace with him and soon died. His son and heir, Yaroslav Osmomysl, recognized Izyaslav as senior, but in fact pursued an independent policy, which led to an armed conflict. The Kyiv prince defeated him near Terebovl. This was the last major battle of the commander.
Izyaslav Mstislavich (or Vladimirovich, or rather, Monomashevich - that is, the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh) died in 1154 in Kyiv. His death caused great grief among the townspeople. Izyaslav liked people's love, he regularly feasted with common people and spoke at a common meeting like his glorious ancestor Yaroslav the Wise. The prince was buried in the monastery of St. Theodore, built by his father Mstislav the Great.
After the death of Izyaslav, the long internecine war did not stop. Kyiv passed from hand to hand. In 1169, it was burned and plundered by the heir of Yuri Dolgoruky Andrei Bogolyubsky, after which it lost its importance as a key political center of Russia. The descendants of Izyaslav entrenched themselves in Volhynia. His grandson Danil Romanovichunited all of Southwestern Russia and even bore the title of King of Russia.
