Encyclopedia of Russian History

In 1094 Oleg Svyatoslavich and the Polovtsy evicted Monomakh from Chernigov, forcing him to occupy his father’s patrimony of Pereyaslavl. Because Oleg refused to join him and Svyatopolk against the nomads, the two drove him out of Chernigov. After Oleg fled to Murom, where he killed Monomakh’s son Izyaslav, Monomakh wrote him an emotionally charged letter (the text of which survives) pleading that he be pacified. Oleg responded by pillaging Monomakh’s Suzdalian lands. In response, Monomakh’s son Mstislav of Novgorod marched against Oleg, defeated him, and forced him to attend a congress of princes in 1097 at Lyubech, where Oleg submitted to his cousins. Soon afterward, Svyatopolk broke the Lyubech agreement by having Vasilko Rostislavich of Tere-bovl blinded. Monomakh therefore joined his cousins, the Svyatoslavichi of Chernigov, against Svyatopolk, and the princes met at Uvetichi in 1100 to settle the dispute. After that, all the cousins, led by Monomakh, campaigned successfully against the Polovtsy in 1103, 1107, and in 1111, when they inflicted a crushing defeat on the nomads at the river Don.

After Svyatopolk died in 1113, Monomakh hesitated to occupy Kiev, but the citizens rioted, allegedly forcing him to assume power. He thus preempted the Svyatoslavichi who were higher in seniority. After occupying the throne he issued laws, the so-called “Statute of Vladimir Monomakh,” to alleviate exorbitant interest rates on loans and to stop other abuses. During his twelve-year reign Monomakh continued his campaigns against the Polovtsy, and in 1116 he captured three of their towns on the river Don. He also waged war against the Poles, the Chud, the Lithuanians, and the Volga Bulgars. He devoted much of his energy to consolidating his rule by evicting disloyal princes

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RUSSIAN HISTORY

from their domains and replacing them with his men. Thus, before his death, in addition to Kiev he controlled Pereyaslavl, Smolensk, Suzdalia, Novgorod, Vladimir in Volyn, Turov, and Minsk. Moreover, he hoped to secure his family’s supremacy in Rus by persuading the Kievans to accept his eldest son Mstislav and his heirs as their hereditary dynasty. By doing so, he attempted once again to break the system of lateral succession to Kiev allegedly instituted by Yaroslav the Wise. He died on May 19, 1125. See also: GRAND PRINCE; KIEVAN RUS; NOVGOROD THE GREAT; POLOVTSY; YAROSLAV VLADIMIROVICH

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dimnik, Martin. (1994). The Dynasty of Chernigov, 1054-1146. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. Franklin, Simon, and Shepard, Jonathan. (1996). The Emergence of Rus, 750-1200. London: Longman. Vernadsky, George. (1948). Kievan Russia. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

MARTIN DIMNIK

VLADIMIR, ST.

(d. 1015), grand prince, best known for his role in the Christianization of Kievan Rus.

Sources about Vladimir are scanty, and the most comprehensive one (generally though inaccurately called the Russian Primary Chronicle) is full of spurious material. Still the following cautious sketch of the prince’s career is probably accurate for the most part. Vladimir’s male ancestors, though Scandinavian, had been ruling the largely Slavic-speaking land of Rus for at least two generations by the time of his birth. His grandmother Olga had been baptized, probably in Constantinople at some time during the 950s, but had failed to convince his father Svyatoslav to follow her lead. In 970 Svyatoslav installed Vladimir (perhaps still a child) as his subordinate prince in Novgorod. Two years later Svyatoslav died, leaving Vladimir’s brother Yaropolk to become grand prince. In 976 a power struggle between Yaropolk and a third brother, Oleg, led to Oleg’s death and caused Vladimir to flee Novgorod for Scandinavia. Vladimir returned to Novgorod in 980, presumably with Scandinavian troops, and marched against Yaropolk. In the

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same year he or his advisers ordered the assassination of Yaropolk at a peace conference. Yaropolk’s death left Vladimir in undisputed control of the Kievan realm.

In the year that he came to power, Vladimir erected several idols in Kiev and allegedly authorized that humans be sacrificed to them. He remained a pagan for roughly the first eight years of his reign, during which time he, like his father, expanded and consolidated his power through a series of wars against neighboring tribes. He also fathered several sons including Boris and Gleb, Russia’s two most important native saints, and Yaroslav the Wise, who would eventually succeed him.