On July 28, Orthodox Christians remember great deeds Prince Equal to the Apostles Vladimir and honor his blessed memory. The name of Vladimir is associated with an epoch-making event that became the most significant in the formation of the Christian faith in Rus' - the Baptism of Rus'. It was he who became the progenitor of the Russian state as an Orthodox state, it was his life and worldview that transformed the spiritual history of Rus', its further development, as well as political and diplomatic relations with other countries and internal state self-determination.
Since 2010, this date has officially been given the status of the Day of the Baptism of Rus'. The Day of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, whom the people called Vladimir the Red Sun, harmoniously combines a holiday of Orthodoxy, culture and state.
On Saint Vladimir's Day,
I want to congratulate you.
May the heavenly patron
He won't leave you for an hour.
Gives peace, health, joy,
Protects from troubles and insults.
And the flow of light energies,
Let it be open for you.
Happy great day of Vladimir,
We sincerely congratulate you,
And joy, prosperity,
We sincerely wish.
Let sorrows, bad weather, -
They go away
Success and only happiness,
Yours protects peace.
We wish you health,
Love and warmth,
And the most cherished ones -
Let your dreams come true!
Happy Vladimir Day. I wish that your guardian angel will be with you always and everywhere, that you, Volodya, will submit to any peak and any depth. I wish you health and love, brave Vladimir, as well as eternal courage of the heart, harmony of the soul and happiness in life.
I love you, Volodya, today
Congratulations from the bottom of my heart.
Celebrating name days
Let the days be good.
May your heavenly intercessor
It will help in difficult times.
May you be sad and sad
It never gnaws.
At St. Vladimir's
Ask for health.
Life is full, let there be peace,
Affection and love.
Happy Prince Vladimir Day! Let this date
Add fun to a good life.
And the soul will become rich in kindness.
To do this, just smile now!
May the angel protect you from misfortunes and grief,
The Lord helps, giving hope.
So that happiness is carefree and mischievous
Always shone like a star for you!
Happy Vladimir Day
All Slavic people
After all, once upon a time Prince Vladimir
Gave us Christianity.
Still standing with a cross
On the Dnieper it’s steeper,
Protects his people
Mighty faith.
I wish everyone on this day
I am kind and strong
So that faith in Christ
She saved our world.
Saint Vladimir is your protector
Let him show you the way.
To the world, casting aside all doubts,
Let's look at it with joy.
May this day give you hope,
Joy, dream come true.
Life will be better than before.
Let everything be as you want.
Pride in the name Vladimir,
Power over the world and fate.
You will be joyful, loved,
Angel next to you!
May he give you success
Quiet wisdom comfort!
And your health will be good,
Let all sorrows go away.
You own the world, Vladimir.
And so, the Day of the Angel has come.
Through life on your own
May you acquire all the blessings!
I wish you, Volodya,
Just as strong and cool
Let the money come to you
And your path will be golden.
I want to meet the princess
The one you deserve!
Let fate caress you,
And all dreams come true!
I continue the series of publications about the greats historical figures our Motherland! Today I would like to talk about
Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich (or Vladimir the Red Sun - as the people affectionately called him and glorified him in epics). And you can read my article about Princess Olga.
So let's begin!
The life of Prince Vladimir is divided into two periods - before and after baptism. The first period was very short (up to the age of 25). During this time, Vladimir lived like a pagan. But he quickly matured spiritually. In the second period (until old age), he, like a father, cares about the spiritual and material welfare of his fatherland.
Vladimir, the grandson of Saint Olga, was born around 962. His father was Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich - the grandson of Rurik (but he was the illegitimate son of Svyatoslav). The mother was Malusha Malkovna, daughter of Malk Lyubechanin, whom historians identify with Mal, Prince of Drevlyansky. Having brought the rebel Drevlyans to submission and having taken possession of their cities, Princess Olga ordered the execution of Prince Mal, for whom they tried to woo her after the murder of Igor, and took his children, Dobrynya and Malusha, with her. Dobrynya grew up to be a brave, skilled warrior, possessed a state mind, and was subsequently a good assistant to his nephew Vladimir in matters of military and government administration.
Dobrynya Nikitich and Malusha - concubine of Svyatoslav Igorevich, mother of the future Prince Vladimir (Baptist of Rus')
Malusha, a Christian who, however, retained in herself the mysterious darkness of the pagan Drevlyan forests, fell in love with the stern warrior Svyatoslav. She became Princess Olga's housekeeper, i.e. guardian of furs, silver, coins and other valuables. The chronicles say that, angry with her slave, Olga exiled her to the remote village of Budutina. There a boy was born, named by the Russian pagan name Vladimir - who owns the world, who has a special gift of peace. Soon Vladimir was taken away from his mother.
Sergey Efoshkin. Mother and son. Malusha says goodbye to Vladimir
He was brought up in Kyiv, at the court of his grandmother, Princess Olga. But for a long time the contemptuous nickname “robichich,” that is, “son of a slave,” will haunt him.
In 970, Svyatoslav, setting off on a campaign from which he was never destined to return, divided the Russian land between his three sons. Yaropolk reigned in Kyiv, Oleg reigned in Ovruch, the center of the Drevlyansky land, and Vladimir reigned in Novgorod.
After the death of Svyatoslav, civil strife began between his children. Sixteen-year-old Yaropolk in 975 marched against his brother Oleg and Oleg died in the battle near the city of Ovruch. Then Yaropolk moved to Novgorod. It is absolutely clear that he wanted to reign alone, without competitors. Vladimir was only 12 years old at that time, and Dobrynya took him “overseas” (to present-day Sweden). Three years later he returned to Novgorod with a foreign army.
Thus began the war between Vladimir and his brother Yaropolk. He led a campaign, in which all pagan Rus' sympathized with him, against Yaropolk the Christian, or, in any case, according to the chronicle, “who gave great freedom to Christians.” In addition, the enmity between the brothers intensified due to the fact that the daughter of the Prince of Polotsk Rogneda, whose hand Vladimir asked for, refused him with these words: “I don’t want to take off my shoes (to take off the groom’s shoes is a wedding ritual; to take off my shoes instead is to get married) to the son of a slave,” reproaching him for his low maternal origin, and was going to marry Yaropolk. Insulted, Vladimir captured Polotsk, dishonored Rogneda in front of her father and mother, and then killed both parents. Following this, in the summer of 978, he besieged Kyiv. Yaropolk is locked in the town of Rodnya. After almost two years of siege, hunger forced Yaropolk to surrender to the mercy of his brother. But when Yaropolk entered Vladimir’s chambers, two Varangians standing in the doorway lifted him up with their swords “under their bosom.”
Sergey Efoshkin. Prince Vladimir and Prince Yaropolk
With this villainous murder, Vladimir’s autocratic reign in Rus' began, which lasted for 37 long years.
The chroniclers deliberately do not spare black colors, depicting Vladimir before he accepted Christianity, in order to more clearly indicate the miraculous effect of the grace of baptism, presenting the same prince in the brightest form. He was cruel, vindictive and generally endowed with a variety of vices, among which, first of all, is exorbitant voluptuousness. Vladimir had five wives at that time. One of them is the Polotsk princess Rogneda (mother of Yaroslav the Wise).
Vladimir and Rogneda with their son. ROGNEDA of Polotsk (c. 960 - c. 1000) - daughter of Prince Rogvolod from the city of Polotsk. She was very beautiful. She was going to marry Yaropolk Svyatoslavovich. She refused Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich and insulted him, calling him the son of a slave. In 979, Vladimir captured Polotsk, killed her relatives, and made her his wife. In 981 she gave birth to a son, Izyaslav. Around 987 she made an attempt on her husband's life. For this, Vladimir ordered her to dress smartly and wait in the room. She realized that she was in danger, called her son and hid him. When the prince entered with a sword in his hand, little Izyaslav stood up for his mother. Vladimir did not kill Rogneda. He sent her and her son to the city of Svisloch (Izyaslavl). Now this is the city of Zaslavl not far from Minsk. In total, she gave birth to Vladimir 4 sons (among them Yaroslav the Wise) and 3 daughters. In 1000, shortly before her death, she became a monk under the name of Anastasia.
Another wife of Vladimir was the widow of Yaropolk, whom he killed, a certain Greek woman who had previously been a nun and was brought to Kyiv by Prince Svyatoslav, struck by her beauty. From her, by the way, Svyatopolk the Accursed was later born - the murderer of the holy brothers Boris and Gleb. In addition to his legal wives, the prince had hundreds of concubines. “He was insatiable in fornication, bringing to himself married wives and corrupting girls,” this is how the chronicler wrote condemningly about Vladimir. As they say, “lived to the fullest.”
Temple by the lake
In addition, Vladimir was at first a convinced pagan and an ardent opponent of Christianity. Soon after entering Kiev, he built a real pagan pantheon on a hill near his palace - he placed statues of pagan gods: Perun, Khors, Dazhbog, Stribog, Simragl and Mokosha.
“And people worshiped them, calling them gods, and brought their sons and daughters, and made sacrifices to demons... And the Russian land and that hill were defiled with blood,” the chronicle says.
Boris Olshansky. Oath of Svarozhich
Statues of Perun, who by the will of Vladimir became the main deity of ancient Rus', were installed in other ancient Russian cities. In 983, after one of Vladimir’s campaigns, it was decided to organize human sacrifices on “Perunov Hill”. The lot fell on the court of a certain Christian Varangian, and the Kyiv pagans demanded that his son be sacrificed. The Varangian did not submit to them and did not give his son to be slaughtered to demons. In retaliation, the Kievans swept away his entire yard and cut down the entryway where he stood with his son, and so killed them. These Christian Varangians (late church tradition calls their names: Theodore and his son John) became the first martyrs for the faith in the Russian land.
Sergey Efoshkin. The first Russian martyrs Fyodor and John before their death
The introduction of a single state cult of Perun for the entire country was supposed to personify unity Old Russian state, the primacy of Kyiv and the Kyiv prince.
Pagan temple. The ceremony takes place in the temple. In the center of the temple there are 4 domes Svetovit
With all this, Vladimir during these years shows every concern for strengthening the state. He makes several successful campaigns to the west and east (against the Poles, Yatvingians, Volga Bulgarians, Khazars), subjugates a number of East Slavic tribes (Radimichi, Vyatichi) to the power of Kiev, and annexes the so-called. Cherven cities (Volyn). Various areas The Russian state is held together by stronger bonds than before. He “grazed his land with truth, courage and reason,” like a kind and zealous owner, if necessary, he expanded and defended its borders with force of arms, and returning from a campaign, he arranged generous and cheerful feasts for the squad and for all of Kiev.
Vasnetsov. Vladimir the pagan
However, the pagan reform, which changed only the external appearance of the old gods, could not satisfy Vladimir. Personal search for faith coincided with the demands of the times. Rus' was finally losing the features of the previous military federation of individual tribes, turning into single state, which played an increasingly important role in European and world politics. All this required changes in the sphere of ideology.
Filatov. The choice of Vera by Prince Vladimir
It was not long before Vladimir came to his faith. The chronicle says that at first the prince received ambassadors from the Volga Bulgarians (Muslims), Latins and Khazar Jews, who invited him to accept their law. Prince Vladimir listened carefully to everyone and asked questions.
Being a Muslim, Vladimir seemed to like the possibility of polygamy both in this life and in the future. It was no coincidence that the Mohammedans emphasized precisely this point of their creed: they were clearly trying to adapt to the morals of Vladimir the pagan. But they did not know that Vladimir had already turned away from paganism in the depths of his soul. Moreover, he could “indulge in all fornication” without converting to another faith...
But Vladimir, after a conversation with the “Greek philosopher,” settled on Orthodoxy.
Choosing Faith
According to the chronicle, Prince Vladimir, called by God's Providence to be the baptist of Rus', was already ready to accept Orthodox faith from the Greeks, but, being a wise leader, he prepared the people for baptism through frequent conversations about faith at the princely court, by testing faith and sending embassies to other countries. And it was decided to send ambassadors and test each faith on the spot, and for this they chose ten men, “kind and intelligent.” Sending an embassy, he introduced the Russians to the faith, the state of trade, the army, life, and the life of peoples.
And these ambassadors observed in Bulgaria how Muslims pray in the mosque: “Standing there without a belt, making a bow, (the person) sits and looks here and there like a madman, and there is no joy in them, only sadness and a great stench. Their law is not good." The Germans “saw various services in churches, but did not see any beauty.” In Byzantium, in the Constantinople Church in the name of Sophia the Wisdom of God, they contemplated the festive patriarchal service at full light chandelier, with the singing of cathedral choirs.
The ambassadors of the Kyiv prince were stunned by what they saw
“We didn’t know whether we were in heaven or on earth,” the ambassadors said upon returning to Kyiv, “for there is no such spectacle and such beauty on earth, and we don’t know how to tell about it, we only know that God is there with people, and Their service is better than in all other countries. We cannot forget that beauty, for every person, if he tastes the sweet, will not then take the bitter, so we can no longer remain here in paganism.” After listening to them, the boyars said to Prince Vladimir: “If the Greek law had been bad, then your grandmother Olga would not have accepted it, and she was the wisest of all people.”
In 987, at a council of boyars, Vladimir decided to be baptized “according to Greek law.”
According to legend, in exchange for this decision, he was even promised the hand of the sister of the ruling Byzantine Emperor Vasily II Anna, who by this time was already 26 years old. But the promise was not fulfilled, and therefore Vladimir I had to seek Anna’s hand by military force.
According to the chronicle, in the next 988, Prince Vladimir captured Korsun (Chersonese in the Crimea, then belonging to Byzantium) with a 6,000-strong army and demanded a wife Byzantine princess Anna, threatening otherwise go to Constantinople. Emperor Vasily II was forced to agree, demanding in turn that the prince be baptized so that his sister could marry a fellow believer. Having received Vladimir's consent to accept holy baptism, the Byzantines sent Anna with priests to Korsun. But having achieved his goal, Vladimir forgot his promise. And then something happened to him that changed his whole life. He suddenly went blind!!! Vladimir walked and moaned for several days. The prince’s screams were terrible when he realized that he could remain disabled forever. Princess Anne then reminded him of his promise and advised him to quickly receive holy baptism. In fear of the Christian God, Vladimir and his squad underwent the rite of baptism. At baptism, Vladimir took the name Vasily, in honor of the ruling Byzantine emperor Vasily II, according to the practice of political baptisms of that time. The miracle of returning vision happened after baptism. The world has changed for him.
Sergey Efoshkin. Prince Vladimir. Baptism
Prince Vladimir showed a striking change in his own life, his spiritual and moral state. From a passionate, proud pagan, he was reborn into a chaste, meek, unusually merciful and kind person. He even seriously intended to introduce an innovation hitherto unheard of in human history - to abolish death penalty for robbers, fearing sin.
Before the adoption of Christianity, polygamy was common in Rus'. The Kyiv prince Vladimir had 5 legal wives. Orthodox sources claim that after baptism, the prince released all former pagan wives from marital duties. He offered to choose a husband for Rogneda, but she refused and took monastic vows.
Vladimir himself, after baptism, was married according to Christian rites with the Byzantine princess Anna (+1011). With this marriage, Vladimir achieved that Rus' ceased to be considered in Byzantium barbarian people. The dynastic prestige of the Kyiv princes also increased. Subsequently, Anna actively participated in the spread of Orthodoxy in Rus', “building many churches.” Her tomb was in the church Holy Mother of God in Kyiv near the tomb of St. Vladimir the Baptist.
The baptism of Prince Vladimir with the boyars and retinue in Korsun (Chersonese) was the beginning of the baptism of the entire Russian land! Accompanied by his squad, boyars, and clergy, Prince Vladimir moved towards Kyiv. In front they carried crosses, icons, and holy relics.
Upon returning to Kyiv, Prince Vladimir gathered 12 of his sons and, having prepared them to accept the holy faith of Christ, baptized them in the spring, which forever received the name Khreshchatyk. Together with them, his entire household was baptized, as well as some boyars, probably from those who had not been to Chersonesos.
Perov V.G. Baptism of Rus'.
Then Vladimir ordered mass baptism to begin. The baptism of Kiev residents took place in the waters of the Dnieper by Korsun priests. In Kyiv, the baptism of the people took place relatively peacefully, while in Novgorod, where Dobrynya led the baptism, it was accompanied by uprisings of the people and their suppression by force. In the Rostov-Suzdal land, where local Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes retained a certain autonomy due to their remoteness, Christians remained a minority even after Vladimir (until the 13th century, paganism dominated among the Vyatichi).
Prince Vladimir ordered the destruction of pagan idols everywhere: some were burned, others were chopped up. And the main idol of Perun with a silver head and golden mustache was ordered to be tied to the tail of a horse, dragged to the Dnieper, beaten with sticks for public desecration, and then escorted to the rapids so that no one could pull it out and take it. There they tied a stone around the idol’s neck and drowned it. Russian paganism has sunk into the water...
His alms to the poor knew no bounds. The Russian people nicknamed Vladimir “Red Sun”. The famous feasts of St. Vladimir were also a means of Christian preaching; on Sundays and major church holidays after the liturgy, abundant festive tables, bells rang, choirs praised, even, according to legend, he ordered food and drink to be transported on carts for the weak and sick.
Prince Vladimir
At the same time, the prince continued to remain a victorious commander, a courageous warrior, a wise head and builder of the state. Under the holy prince Vladimir, Kievan Rus flourished and its influence spread far beyond its borders.
Under Vladimir, large-scale stone construction began in Rus'. The cities of Vladimir (990), Belgorod (991), Pereyaslavl (992) and many others were founded.
Vladimir began to build God's temples. From the first centuries of Christianity, the custom began to erect temples on the ruins of pagan sanctuaries or on the blood of holy martyrs. Following this rule, Saint Vladimir built the temple of Saint Basil the Great on the hill where the altar of Perun was located, and founded the stone temple of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Church of the Tithes) on the site of the martyrdom of the holy Varangian martyrs.
Sergey Efoshkin. At the Tithe Church
The church was built by masters from Byzantium. The Church of the Tithes was most likely built on the model of the Pharos Church at the Great Imperial Palace in Constantinople, where Anna loved to go to prayer services. And although neither the Faros nor the Tithe churches survived, archaeologists managed to recreate them appearance. The church, 27 meters long and 18 wide, was crowned with five large domes. It was decorated with frescoes and mosaics made of multi-colored glass, as well as jasper. Due to the abundance of marble on the floor and soaring columns with carved capitals, contemporaries called the Tithe Church “marble”. The parapets near the choir, the altar barrier and the cornices at the main windows were decorated with marble. The floor of the altar, in addition to multi-colored marble tiles, was made of tiled tiles. The building itself was made of flat thin bricks covered with white plaster.
In 1007, Saint Vladimir transferred the relics of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga to the Church of the Tithes. And four years later, in 1011, his wife, an associate of many of his endeavors, blessed Queen Anna, was buried there.
The times of Vladimir were marked by the beginning of the spread of literacy in Rus' - which is associated with Epiphany. Like many other progressive reforms in the Russian land, it was carried out by force. The first teachers in Rus' were both Byzantines and Bulgarians, including those who studied on Mount Athos.
The last years of Vladimir Svyatoslavich’s life were overshadowed by enmity with his eldest sons. In 1013, a conspiracy by Svyatopolk the Accursed against Vladimir, his adoptive father, was discovered. Svyatopolk and his wife and their accomplice, a Polish bishop, were arrested and taken into custody. In 1014, another son of Vladimir, Yaroslav of Novgorod, rebelled, refusing to pay tribute to Kyiv. Then Prince Vladimir announced a campaign against Novgorod, but became seriously ill and died on July 15, 1015. He ruled the Russian state for 37 years (978-1015), of which he lived 28 years in holy baptism.
The holy relics of Vladimir were placed in a marble shrine, placed in the Klimentovsky chapel of the Tithe Assumption Church next to the same marble shrine of Queen Anna.
During the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the honorable remains of Saint Prince Vladimir were buried under the ruins of the Tithe Church. In 1635 they were found, the venerable head of Saint Prince Vladimir rested in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, small particles of holy relics rested in different places. In the second half of the 19th century, a temple was built in Kyiv in the name of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, which is currently cathedral. And in 1853 a monument was erected.
The name and work of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir is connected with the entire subsequent history of the Russian Church. “By them we have become deified of Christ, True Life, have come to know,” St. Hilarion testified. His feat was continued by his sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, who owned the Russian land for almost six centuries: from Yaroslav the Wise, who took the first step towards the independent existence of the Russian Church, to last Rurikovich, Tsar Theodore Ioannovich, under whom in 1589 the Russian Orthodox Church became the fifth independent Patriarchate.
The celebration of Saint Vladimir Equal to the Apostles was established by Saint Alexander Nevsky after on May 15, 1240, with the help and intercession of Saint Vladimir, he won the famous Nevsky victory over the Swedish crusaders.
In the near future, the fate of the monument to Prince Vladimir should be decided, which, after active protests from Muscovites, was decided not to be erected on the observation deck of Moscow State University - now the monument the size of a 10-story building will have to find a new home in the capital. The 1000th anniversary of the death of the prince is celebrated on a grand scale - his relics are touring the regions of Russia these days (or rather, what is called his relics), this year several churches will be built in his honor (including in Moscow), in key Russian museums will host exhibitions dedicated to him, filming has already begun feature film, where Vladimir will be played by Danila Kozlovsky.
Meanwhile, based on the facts of Vladimir’s biography, it would be possible to make not just a film, but an entire “Game of Thrones”. Sergey Prostakov reminds readersThe Insidersome interesting episodes from the life of Vladimir Svyatoslavich, including brutal murder brother, the destruction of Christian churches, the rape of a prince's daughter in front of her parents, a harem of hundreds of concubines, a war against her son and many other educational historical details.
Almost a bastard
Probably, the Kiev prince Vladimir - the baptist of Rus' and the conqueror of the Pechenegs - is the most mysterious of the great rulers of Russian history. Hypotheses about the date of his birth vary greatly - from 942-955 to the 960s, but the very circumstances of his birth are even more curious. It is known that Prince Vladimir was born to the housekeeper of his grandmother Princess Olga, whose name was Malusha. Fragmentary information about this woman states that she was the daughter of a certain Malk Lyubechanin and the sister of one of the governors of Prince Svyatoslav Dobrynya. According to the laws of ancient Rus', key keepers, that is, servants who carried the master’s personal keys, due to the characteristics of their responsible profession, became personal slaves.
Princess Olga sent the housekeeper who became pregnant from Kyiv to a certain village of Budutino. There, Vladimir, who was born, according to Slavic custom, was raised until the age of three by his mother, whom Prince Svyatoslav, who was not getting out of the wars on the Danube at that time, seemed to have forgotten.
Being “from a slave” had a huge impact on Vladimir’s entire life. In many of the prince’s actions related to the conquest and retention of power, one can discern his desire to erase the memory of his origin. For opponents, the birth of a prince from a slave will be an important argument in challenging Vladimir’s right to own the gigantic eastern outskirts of the European world.
Later in medieval Europe the concept of a “bastard” - an illegitimate child of a monarch - was developed. But it is already characteristic of a fully Christianized continent. For still pagan Rus', polygamy was the norm, not to mention the presence of many illegitimate children for any prominent ruler. But Prince Vladimir was lucky: at the age of three, Princess Olga took him into his care, tearing his son away from his mother forever.
Traces of Malushi are lost in the darkness of history. According to one of the later legends, when Vladimir reigned in Novgorod, Malusha would live there as a famous witch and soothsayer throughout the European north, revered by the Slavs, Varangians and Chukhnos.
In the name of Perun
The name of Vladimir was first mentioned in connection with the events of 969. As already mentioned, Svyatoslav preferred military huts on the Danube to the Kyiv mansions, where for years he waged wars with others Slavic princes and the Basileus of Constantinople. There he founded his new capital- Pereyaslav (today's Bulgarian city of Preslav). The Pechenegs, who were then roaming the Donetsk steppes, did not fail to take advantage of this. Kyiv found itself under siege, where “Olga shut herself up in the city with her grandchildren, Yaropolk and Oleg and Volodymer.” This foray did not bring the Pechenegs any military or diplomatic success, and they were forced to return home with nothing.
And in the same year, a message from Novgorod came to Svyatoslav on the Danube: local residents asked the descendant of Rurik to send them family tradition ruler Svyatoslav's choice fell on his youngest son Vladimir. The young prince, if we accept one of the named dates for the birth of Vladimir - just a boy, accompanied by his uncle Dobrynya, should have gone to the distant northern region.
Distant cold ground very different from the southern warm Kyiv. The Slavs came here not from the south, but from the west, through the Baltic states. Local cities and fortresses had much closer ties with Scandinavia than with the Dnieper lands. Largely because of this, there were almost no Christians here, although there were many representatives of various non-Slavic nationalities. The Normans who inhabited Scandinavia, who were called Varangians in Rus', were still northern pagans who kept the rest of Europe in fear for several centuries.
The city where Vladimir had to rule was the first Slavic fortress on the way “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” In these truly wild lands, the prince’s task was to demonstrate the presence of Kyiv power. However, news from the south to the north rarely reached, and mostly from second or third hands. The young prince was little worried about his father’s distant war on the Danube. But he made a large number of acquaintances among noble Varangian families, which in the future would allow him to take possession of the Russian south.
In the meantime, Vladimir, for the first time in his life, decides to religious reform. The harsh climate and gloomy population required appropriate gods. Upon arrival in Novgorod, the young prince ordered the construction of a new temple for the thunder god Perun on the banks of the Ilmen River. For several decades to come, he will become the main deity of Vladimir’s entourage, with whose name on their lips they will burn cities and elevate their prince to the throne.
Brother's murder
Perun's patronage was needed very soon.
In 972, Prince Svyatoslav died: he and his squad ran into a Pecheneg ambush, which is believed to have been organized by agents of Constantinople. As soon as rumors of his death reached Kyiv, the eldest son of the murdered prince Yaropolk formally received political seniority among the other brothers.
Svyatoslav, who had little interest internal affairs, chose to distribute the lands under his control to his sons, each of whom began to feel like the sole master of their territories. After the death of his father, Yaropolk stopped his father’s war on the Danube, returned the status of “capital city” to Kyiv, and decided to demonstrate to his brothers who was the boss on Russian soil. Already in 975, Yaropolk went to the “Drevlyan lands” (modern Belarus), where Svyatoslav’s middle son Oleg ruled. The reason for the war between the brothers was the murder by Oleg of one of Yaropolk’s friends while hunting. This war did not last long. The Drevlyan army was completely defeated in the first battle, and Prince Oleg died in a stampede on a bridge near the fortress wall of the city of Ovruch.
News of the conflict reached Novgorod. It seems that Vladimir was impressed by Yaropolk’s quick victory, so he chose not to tempt fate and immediately fled to Scandinavia to join his friends. Yaropolk occupied Novgorod without resistance. In just a few months, the goal of the entire century that had passed since Rurik’s calling was achieved - all of Rus' was under the command of the Kyiv prince.
Danila Kozlovsky as Prince Vladimir
Perhaps this would have been the beginning of a glorious reign, about which we would now know much more than about the unfortunate youngest son Svyatoslav and slaves. But history decreed differently. The long friendship with the Varangians was not in vain for Vladimir: in Scandinavia the fugitive prince quickly found allies. With the Varangian army he returned to Rus'. Novgorod was quickly taken. Vladimir did not execute Yaropolk’s governors, but together with them conveyed a message to his brother: “Vladimir is coming at you, prepare to fight against him.”
Having a good political sense, Vladimir sets off with his army not directly to Kyiv, but to the Drevlyan lands, whose inhabitants had reason to dislike Yaropolk. There, the squad of the rich Polotsk went over to his side. On the wave of success, Vladimir decides to put aside military affairs for the sake of marriage. The decision was far-sighted: in order to gain a foothold among the Drevlyans, the young prince needed to become related to a local noble family. He chooses Rogneda, his beautiful daughter, as his next wife. Prince of Polotsk Rogvolda.
At this moment, Vladimir's plans Once again could have gone to waste. Rogneda refused the Novgorod prince in the most humiliating way. She publicly called him the son of a slave, which, as a representative of a noble Scandinavian family, did not stop her from marrying a bastard. But she wanted to marry his older brother, Yaropolk. Rogvold did not oppose this decision of his daughter: he was rich and had many allies to pay attention to Vladimir.
Vladimir did not forgive this. The once allied Polotsk was taken by his army and destroyed.
Following the advice of his mentor, Vladimir raped Rogneda in front of her parents.
The fate of the ruling dynasty in Polotsk was terrible. Rogvolod, his wife and sons were killed. But before doing this, Vladimir’s uncle and mentor, Dobrynya, decided to humiliate and dishonor them in retaliation for the insult. “And Dobrynya reviled Rogvolod and his daughter, and called her a little maid, and ordered Vladimir to be with her before his father and mother,” the Laurentian Chronicle reports. And, following the advice of his mentor, Vladimir raped Rogneda in front of her parents. “And he called her name Gorislava.”
Excited by the Polotsk failure, Vladimir did not waste time and set off with his Varangian army to Kyiv. Yaropolk was not ready for battle, so he closed himself in the city, hoping to wait out the siege. Vladimir, in turn, was not ready for a long siege: the newcomer Varangians fought only for the opportunity to plunder the captured cities. Therefore, I had to resort to cunning. Vladimir bribed the governor Yaropolk Blud. He persuaded Yaropolk to flee from Kyiv to the town of Roden, where Vladimir’s ambush awaited him. Yaropolk and his retinue were returned to Kyiv, brought to the tower courtyard of his father and, more recently, his own, but now Vladimir was in charge there. When Yaropolk entered the doors leading to Vladimir’s chambers, two Varangians standing in the doorway lifted him “under their bosom” onto their swords. Blud, who relentlessly followed the prince, quickly closed the doors, preventing Yaropolk’s people from breaking in.
After the death of Yaropolk, most of his warriors Yaropolk resignedly went over to the side of Vladimir. Yaropolk, as it turned out, had only one faithful confidant - governor Varyazhko, who, after the death of the prince, went to the Pechenegs. During the reign of Vladimir Varyazhko led the Pechenegs to Rus' to plunder and burn cities, avenging Yaropolk.
Vladimir forcibly made Yaropolk’s pregnant wife his concubine. The fact that she was pregnant is important; her son, Svyatopolk, who was born to her, will still play a role in the last years of Vladimir’s life.
Perunization of Rus'
Vladimir reached Kyiv with an army of Varangians and an almost equally numerous army of concubines. The Varangians reached Kyiv with him only because he allowed them to plunder Slavic lands. Giving Kyiv up for plunder meant that he would once again be reminded of his origins, casting doubt on his inheritance right, and this would be an excellent reason for an uprising of the townspeople. Vladimir got out of the situation quite cleverly: he lured the most intelligent and far-sighted Varangians into his service, and deceived the rest into Constantinople, promising them quick work there. But ahead of the Varangian ships, Vladimir’s message to the Byzantine basileus flew: “Don’t keep them in the city, they will do evil, scatter them separately to different places and, most importantly, don’t let a single one back.” Thus, Vladimir shifted the solution of his problems to Constantinople, and at the same time helping him military assistance.
“He was insatiable in fornication, bringing to himself married wives and corrupt girls”
He distributed hundreds of his concubines, collected in Novgorod, in Scandinavia and during the road to Kiev, among his residences: “300 in Vyshgorod, and 300 in Belgorod, and 200 in Berestovoy, in the village.” Even having such a harem at his disposal (and this in addition to five legal, or, as they said in ancient Rus', “led” wives), he could not (or did not want) to pacify his lust: “He was insatiable in fornication, bringing married wives to himself and corrupting maidens,” a chronicler monk wrote with undisguised condemnation about the Baptist of Rus' in the 11th century.
He built pagan temples from destroyed temples, mosques, and synagogues.
Paganism not only enabled Vladimir to lead a lifestyle so pleasing to him (polygamy was a sign of strength and status, and noisy feasts played a largely ritual role), it also helped him strengthen his power. The Joachim Chronicle (beginning of the 11th century) clearly gives the answer why Vladimir’s brother lost relatively quickly: “Yaropolk was unloved by people because he gave Christians great freedom.” Vladimir waged war on Christianity, Judaism and Islam, whose preachers then traveled throughout Rus' from end to end. He built pagan temples from destroyed temples, mosques, and synagogues.
Vladimir decided to reform the Slavic pantheon. The essence of this attempt was that idols of all significant pagan gods from different lands under his control were installed in Kyiv: Perun, Khors, Dazhdbog, Stribog, Simargl and Mokosha. The gods of the Slavic tribes seemed to be equalized, but Vladimir, who strived for autocracy, especially singled out, as was said, Perun.
Descriptions wooden idol with a silver head, towering over the Dnieper, reached us. Perun was depicted as a man with a long mustache, which was considered a sign of princely dignity. Vladimir was not particularly shy about comparing himself to the thunder god.
The first ten years of Vladimir's reign are the time of transformation of Rus' into a state with many of its characteristic attributes: clear borders, fixed taxes, horizontal and vertical management verticals. These ten years are a time of military victories. The Poles were expelled from the western borders of Rus'. The rebellious Radimichi and Vyatichi submit to Kyiv. Vladimir's army is attempting to expand its influence in the Baltic states. An honorable peace was achieved with the Muslim Volga Bulgars.
But the “Perunization” of Rus' failed. Communication between the regions of Rus' had certain difficulties in those days, so the installation of idols of all significant gods in Kyiv meant little for Polotsk, Novgorod and Rostov. And the idols of Perun, installed throughout Rus', were rightly perceived as an attempt by Kyiv to impose its will. Considerations of international prestige and the spread of Kyiv's influence on neighboring countries in turn, they demanded the adoption of one of the major religions that were popular among Vladimir’s subjects.
Baptism by fire and sword
Christianity was best suited - it was already professed by many at that moment Slavic peoples, Vladimir’s mother - Princess Olga - was a Christian, and in general the Russian lands had a lot in common with Christian Byzantium - both politically and economically. This connection could be used to advantage. Shortly before his baptism, Vladimir sent a large army to Byzantium, thanks to which the Byzantine government defeated the rebellious commander Varda Phocas. In exchange for this help, the prince demanded that the Byzantine princess Anna marry him. In response, a counter-demand was put forward: the groom must be baptized. Vladimir made the decision to change his faith easily. The Greek priest Paul came to Kyiv and performed the baptismal ceremony. The newly converted Christian received the name Vasily.
But at that moment the famous Byzantine treachery made itself known: they “forgot” to send the bride to Kyiv. In response to this, God's servant Vasily led an army to Crimea, where the Greek city of Korsun-Chersonese was then located in the area of modern Sevastopol. There he defiantly demanded that the local mayor give up his daughter for him instead of the princess. Vladimir’s logic was simple: if Constantinople refuses to baptize Rus', then let Korsun-Chersonese, incomparably less influential in Kyiv and more independent of the basileus, do it. But even here in Crimea, the prince received another refusal from a woman.
The mayor's family was executed in full, and he gave his daughter to one of the people who opened the gates for his army
As we know, Vladimir took such refusals painfully. The city was placed under a long siege. When the famine began, among the townspeople there were many supporters of immediate surrender. The gates were open. The old Polotsk scenario was repeated almost exactly: the mayor’s family was executed in its entirety, and he gave his daughter to one of the people who opened the gates for his army.
In the western part of the city, near the so-called “basilica on the hill”, an entire cemetery, including a complex mass graves with mass graves (a total of about ten graves of 30-40 people each). According to one version, victims of the siege of Korsun are buried in the graves. It is noteworthy that one of the excavated graves is filled mainly with skulls. If archaeologists’ assumption about the connection of this necropolis with Vladimir’s Korsun campaign is correct, then these are traces of the massacre committed by Vladimir’s soldiers against the inhabitants of the city: pagan Rus threw the heads of executed Chersonites into the grave.
After the capture of Korsun, Vladimir again demanded that Byzantium give him Anna as his wife, threatening that otherwise Constantinople would be dealt with in the same way as Korsun. Byzantium gave in. Princess Anna was married to Vladimir in 988. (All these events are for current Russian authorities serve as a reason to assert that Rus' was baptized from Crimea).
The baptism of Rus' did not take place calmly everywhere; in some places residents showed resistance. In 991, Vladimir sent his thousand-man Putyata to Novgorod to pacify the rebels.
According to the Joachim Chronicle, he managed to break into the city and capture the leaders of the uprising, but by then the entire city had already risen - Putyata was surrounded and the churches began to be burned. Dobrynya came to the rescue - in order to divert the attention of the rebels, he set the city on fire. For the residents the fire was worse than war, so they rushed to save their homes. Dobrynya freed Putyata from the siege without interference, and soon Novgorod ambassadors came to the governor asking for peace. From here I went folk proverb: “Putyata should be baptized with a sword, and Dobrynya with fire.” It’s just that what is true from this chronicle, and what is fiction is unknown. However, archaeologists managed to find out that in 989 - that is, in the very year when, apparently, the baptism of Novgorodians took place - a severe fire actually raged in the city, during which the houses of Christians living on the Sofia side of the city were damaged. Archaeologists also discovered treasures of coins buried in a hurry by Christian Novgorodians; these treasures were never dug up by the owners, who apparently died in the fire. Traces of a fire were also found near Volkhov - where, according to the Joachim Chronicle, Dobrynya landed with his people. Thus, it can be argued that the baptism of Novgorod was indeed accompanied by riots, fires and pogroms, in which both Christians and pagans suffered.
Northeastern Rus' was finally baptized only a century and a half after the death of Prince Vladimir
In the lands of northeastern Kievan Rus, where in a few centuries it will begin to take shape modern Russia, Christianity took root for a long time and reluctantly. Little is known about these events; we are mainly informed about them by later chronicles, written after the emergence of the Moscow state. So Nikon Chronicle XVI century claims that in 991 Prince Vladimir personally went to Suzdal land, “and there he baptized everyone.” “And Vladimir founded a city there in his name on the river on the Klyazma, and in it he built a wooden church of the Most Pure Mother of God.” But these testimonies of a 16th century chronicler modern historians do not inspire confidence, since they mention clergy who lived before or much later than the events described: the legendary Kyiv metropolitans Michael and Leon, Patriarch Photius, bishops Nikita of Belgorod and Neophyte of Chernigov. All these historical distortions in the 16th century they were needed for the sole purpose of ancientizing the Christian history of the young Moscow state. Today, researchers are inclined to believe that northeastern Rus' was finally baptized only a century and a half after the death of Prince Vladimir.
Most of Vladimir's sons, when they sat down to reign in the cities, brought with them a whole staff of clergy. But they were not always able to persuade local residents to even outwardly accept the faith. For example, the Rostov land was never baptized either by the first Rostov prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, or by his brother Boris, whom Vladimir put in charge when he sent Yaroslav to Novgorod. The first Rostov bishops Theodore and Hilarion fled the city, unable to bear the hostility local population. In the middle of the 11th century, Bishop Leonty came under attacks from the pagans, and was eventually executed by them after one of the anti-Christian uprisings.
In the Life of one of the Rostov ascetics, Abraham, who lived in the 12th century, it is reported interesting fact. In Rostov, a stone idol of the god Veles continued to stand, which was quite openly worshiped by local residents with the full connivance of the authorities.
A similar situation occurred in Murom. Christian preaching was also not popular here. And the future first Russian holy prince Gleb Vladimirovich fled from the city, since it was inhabited entirely by pagans. Only Vladimir’s descendant, Prince Konstantin, made considerable efforts to ensure that by the end of the 12th century the population of Murom became Christian, for which he was subsequently canonized.
Things were no better in the Oka basin. The Vyatichi who lived along its banks were also baptized en masse only in the 12th century. At the beginning of this century, the Vyatichi killed the local priesthood for their zeal in Christian preaching.
The first Christian in Rus'
It is now quite difficult to accurately understand the reasons for the change in Vladimir’s personal behavior after the events of 988. Believers will call this insight, the acquisition of true faith. To critics of religion, this may seem like a well-orchestrated political spectacle, or even madness. But the fact remains: Vladimir spends the next quarter century of his reign as a fanatical supporter of Christianity. The extent to which the zeal of the Christian neophyte reached is demonstrated by an episode captured in the “Chronicle” of Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg, who notes that after baptism the prince specially collected doctors who were supposed to curb his flesh without resorting to the most radical method.
Vladimir also decided to give a tenth of his, and therefore state, income to the benefit of the church. This custom was preserved by Vladimir’s numerous heirs until the Mongol-Tatar invasion in the middle of the 13th century. The prince actively distributed land for the ownership of churches, monasteries and bishops' houses, which, given the general socio-economic rise in Rus' at the beginning of the 11th century, allowed the church to quickly grow rich. It is fair to note that these processes also contributed to the spread of education and the development of engineering and art.
However, the end of Vladimir’s life was marked by Rus'’s involvement in yet another civil strife. From his previous riotous lifestyle, he had 11 recognized sons, each of whom claimed his own part of the power. The situation was aggravated by the fact that in the last years of his life, Vladimir was probably going to change the principle of succession to the throne and bequeath power to his beloved son Boris (in any case, it was Boris who he entrusted with his squad). The two eldest surviving sons - Svyatopolk and Yaroslav - almost simultaneously rebelled against their father.
In 1014, Svyatopolk set out to oppose his father. He was married to the daughter of the Polish prince Boleslav (this dynastic marriage was the result of peace agreements that ended the war with Poland in 1013). Svyatopolk, thus, in his speech against his father could hope for the support of Poland, and besides, he had direct grounds to lay claim to the throne, because his real father, as we remember, was Yaropolk, Vladimir’s elder brother. At the time of his birth, according to the traditions of that time, he was considered the son and heir of Vladimir. But by appealing to Christian traditions, he could still declare himself the son of Yaropolk, which means he could have more rights to the throne.
One way or another, the conspiracy was discovered. Vladimir hastened to take Svyatopolk and his Polish wife into custody. But the very next year another son spoke out against him.
The elderly baptist of Rus' was gathering a large army for war against his son.
In 1015, his son Yaroslav (the son of that same raped Rogneda) rebelled in Novgorod, who did not want to pay tribute to distant Kyiv. The elderly baptist of Rus' was gathering a large army for war against his son. The son began to gather an army in response, calling on the Varangians for this (exactly as this father once did, declaring war on his older brother). Numerous Scandinavian mercenaries - Danes, Swedes, Norwegians - arrived in Novgorod and were waiting for the signal to march. It is difficult to predict in whose favor the battle would have ended, but it never took place. At the beginning of 1015, Vladimir fell ill and died on July 15. Ancient Rus' plunges into a period of bloody civil strife.
Canonization
There is no exact data on the time of canonization of Prince Vladimir. Only in the 14th century in the lands of the former Kievan Rus did they begin to venerate Vladimir as an equal-to-the-apostles saint. This had its own political conjuncture. Byzantium was rapidly declining, and the holiness of the Russian prince, one of the founders of the dynasty, made it possible to lay claim to the sanctification of the royal power of the Rurikovichs. However, the cult of Vladimir did not go much beyond the walls of the princely chambers. The people recognized as saints those who experienced miracles during their lifetime - none were documented for Vladimir.
Only in 1635 did the Kiev Metropolitan Peter Mohyla acquire the “imperishable” relics of the prince. And in Kyiv itself, throughout the 17th century, his name was actively distributed in liturgical books.
Since the Ukrainian priesthood was much more enlightened than the Russian one, its influence, starting from the events Pereyaslavl Rada and until 1917, it turned out to be very significant on the domestic church history. Thanks to their efforts, the image of the holy prince begins to spread throughout the Russian Empire. The statement that in Kyiv everyone was baptized future Russia will become a strong tool in the fight against the nationalism of the peoples of the western outskirts of the empire.
However, the first large-scale celebrations in honor of St. Vladimir took place only in 1888 in honor of the 900th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'. His memory day, July 15, was turned into one of the most important Russian religious holidays - for this purpose the Synod issued a special resolution. In fact, Vladimir was truly revered as a saint at the state level only those three decades before the revolution. Now, after the annexation of Crimea, the state has again elevated him to the status of the main saint in Russian history, but for how long is an open question.
Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, Vladimir the Great, Vladimir the Clear Sun - the most important character in national history, a fierce warrior and talented politician who made a huge contribution to the unification of Russian lands. Baptist of Rus'.
The exact date and place of birth of the Grand Duke has not been established; he was presumably born in 955 - 960 in the village of Budyatin near Kiev. Vladimir is a descendant of the great Rurik family, the illegitimate son of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich and housekeeper Princess Olga Malushi.
The angry princess, having learned about the adultery of her slave with her son, sent the pregnant Malusha away out of sight, but did not abandon her grandson - “robichich”, the slave’s son. When Vladimir was three years old, she took him to Kyiv and gave him to be raised by her brother, Voivode Dobrynya.
Novgorod
Prince Svyatoslav spent all his time on military campaigns and had little interest in the internal affairs of the lands under his control. Therefore, he distributed the territories belonging to him to his sons. Yaropolk got Kyiv, Oleg got the Drevlyansky region (modern Belarus), and Vladimir got Novgorod.
In 972, Svyatoslav Igorevich died in a battle with the Pechenegs, and his heirs became the rightful owners of their possessions. But soon an internecine war began between the brothers. The reason was the death of Yaropolk's comrade-in-arms at the hands of Oleg. The angry Yaropolk decided to punish his brother and take away the Drevlyan lands from him. In the very first battle, Oleg’s army was defeated, and he himself died, crushed on the bridge by warriors fleeing in panic. Yaropolk annexed the captured lands to his possessions and turned his gaze to Novgorod.
Sensing danger, Vladimir fled to his friends the Varangians in Scandinavia, and Yaropolk became the sole ruler of all Rus'. But not for long. Vladimir did not sit idle across the sea. He quickly found allies, gathered an army and two years later regained Novgorod. Locals They greeted the prince with delight and joined the ranks of his squad. Feeling his strength, Vladimir decided to continue to conquer Russian lands from his brother.
To begin with, he sent his army to the Drevlyan lands captured by his brother from Oleg. The calculation turned out to be correct; the residents did not really favor Yaropolk’s governors and quickly went over to Vladimir’s side. In order to finally gain a foothold in these possessions, the prince decided to marry the daughter of the influential Polotsk prince Rogvold Rogneda. However, the beauty refused Vladimir, publicly calling him “the son of a slave,” and preferred to see Yaropolk as her husband. The revenge of the angry Vladimir was terrible. His squad captured and destroyed Polotsk to the ground, and Rogvold and his family were brutally killed. And before that, Vladimir, on the advice of Dobrynya’s faithful mentor, raped Rogneda in front of her parents.
Immediately after this, he sent his troops to Kyiv. The frightened Yaropolk was not ready for battle and, having fortified the city, prepared for a long siege. But this was not part of the plans of the determined Vladimir, and he figured out how to lure his brother out of the city by cunning. The prince bribed the governor Yaropolk Blud, who convinced him to flee to Roden. There, Vladimir, under the pretext of negotiations, lured his brother into an ambush and killed him. He took as his wife the pregnant wife of Yaropolk, who soon gave birth to a son, Svyatopolk, and became the sole ruler of Rus'.
Prince of Kyiv
Having added Yaropolk’s warriors to his army, Vladimir entered Kyiv. He already had enough of his own warriors to refuse the help of the Varangians, who were also accustomed to plundering the captured lands. But Vladimir was not going to give Kyiv up for plunder. Therefore, leaving himself the most devoted and talented comrades, he sent the rest to Constantinople, promising them “mountains of gold” and new opportunities for enrichment. And he himself asked the Byzantine emperor to take them into his service and take them to different places, thereby providing him with military assistance.
The reign of Vladimir in Kyiv. Miniature from the Radzivilov Chronicle Having reformed his army, the prince began to strengthen his own power. He decided to take pagan religion as a basis, which was supposed to justify his usual riotous lifestyle (the prince had five legal wives and about a thousand concubines).
Vladimir built a temple in Kyiv, where huge idols of the main pagan gods were built. Rituals and sacrifices were regularly held there, which, according to the prince, were supposed to strengthen his power. The image of the main god Perun with a human head in a helmet and a mustache, personifying, apparently, Prince Vladimir himself, has survived to this day.
The first ten years of his rule over Russia were marked by numerous victories over external enemies and the unification of Russian lands into a single state.
But with the expansion of borders to the west, the issue of changing religion to one of the more widespread and advanced became more and more urgent. Vladimir was a far-sighted politician and understood that paganism was becoming an obstacle to further development Rus'. A large number of adherents of Christianity had long appeared in his lands, among whom was Vladimir’s grandmother, Princess Olga.
Having carefully weighed the pros and cons, talked with influential representatives of various faiths and consulted with wise elders and nobles, Vladimir decided to opt for Christianity, the adoption of which would promise additional benefits for Rus' in relations with Byzantium.
Personal life
Vladimir more than once provided military assistance to the rulers of Constantinople, so he decided to ask their sister as a wife. The emperors agreed with the condition that the Russian prince accept Christianity. However, the princess categorically opposed the brothers' decision and refused to marry a barbarian and a bastard. Angry, Vladimir sent his warriors to Taurida and besieged the city of Korsun (now Chersonesus in Sevastopol). After this, he again asked for the princess's hand, this time threatening that if he refused, the same fate would befall Constantinople. The emperors had no choice but to persuade Anna and send her to the groom, accompanied by priests.
The luxurious wedding flotilla soon arrived in Korsun, where Vladimir’s baptism took place. According to legend, the prince, who by that time was almost blind, regained his sight during the baptismal ceremony, and, imbued with God’s grace, immediately baptized his boyars and warriors. There, in Korsun, the marriage of Anna and Vladimir took place, who received the name Vasily at baptism in honor of one of the bride’s brothers. As a token of gratitude to the emperors of Constantinople, the prince returned rich wedding gifts to them and generously gave them Korsun.
Returning to Kyiv, Vladimir immediately baptized his sons, and after a while the inhabitants of the city, gathering them on the banks of the Dnieper. Having become a zealous Christian, the prince ordered the destruction of the temple of pagan idols and the construction of the Church of St. Basil on this site. At the same time, with the participation of Byzantine craftsmen, the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was erected, named Tithe in honor of the tenth of state revenues, which Vladimir ordered to be given to the church.
The prince sent priests and educators to all his lands, who were called upon to spread the new faith in Rus'. Vladimir renounced his previous wives and concubines and recognized Anna as the only wife given to him by the Lord. With her help, he began educational activities, organizing special educational establishments for Russian priests, and issued a new church charter, which was called the Pilot's Book. He generously distributed land for the construction of churches and monasteries and acquired a monastery on Mount Athos for Russian monks.
Under Vladimir, the first Russian gold and silver coins were minted, thanks to which the lifetime images of the prince have reached us. As a true Christian, he cared for the poor and suffering, opened hospitals and schools, and distributed aid to the poor and hungry.
But in the rest of the Russian lands the process of Christianization did not go as smoothly as in Kyiv. Some areas refused to follow the new faith, which caused popular riots and uprisings that had to be suppressed by force. Otherwise, the prince adopted a rather peaceful policy, stopping conquests and turning all attention to strengthening the borders of the state. During this period, many fortified cities were built, in which his sons ruled.
Only the endless raids of the Pechenegs forced Vladimir to periodically take up arms.
Enmity between sons
The last years of the Grand Duke were overshadowed by a conflict between his sons, which resulted in a new internecine war. Vladimir had twelve sons, each of whom owned his own lands. The younger Boris and Gleb were his father's favorites, so when Vladimir decided to bequeath the throne to Boris towards the end of his life, this caused the indignation of the eldest sons Svyatopolk and Yaroslav.
Svyatopolk, the son of the widow of Yaropolk, adopted by Vladimir, from childhood hated the prince who killed his father. Having married the daughter of a Polish prince and enlisted the support of the Poles, he decided to lay claim to the throne against the will of Vladimir. The plot was discovered, and Svyatopolk was imprisoned in a fortress.
After a while he rebelled Novgorod prince Yaroslav, refusing to pay tribute to Kyiv. Vladimir personally led the army and went to battle with his son, but on the way he fell ill and died unexpectedly. Svyatopolk took advantage of the moment and decided to claim the vacated throne.
However, the people of Kiev rebelled and began to demand that Boris be placed on the throne. Then Svyatopolk decided to get rid of competitors and insidiously sent to Boris and Gleb assassins. The next victim of the bloody Svyatopolk was his brother Svyatoslav, ruler of the Drevlyan lands. Yaroslav had to deal with his presumptuous brother. He chose a time when Svyatopolk did not have the support of the Polish army, and moved his squad towards Kyiv. Svyatopolk did not enjoy the love and support of the townspeople, so he was forced to flee. During the battle on the Alt River, the prince was killed.
Memory
For the greatest merits of Prince Vladimir in the creation of the Russian state, he was canonized. Every year on July 15 in Rus' they celebrate the day of his memory, which is a great religious holiday. Monuments to the Baptist of Rus' were erected in Kyiv, Belgorod, Sevastopol and many other cities, and a majestic temple was built in his honor on the territory of Chersonesos.
Monument to Vladimir Svyatoslavich in Moscow On November 4, 2016, the world's largest monument to Prince Vladimir was inaugurated in Moscow, dedicated to the millennium of his death.
Prince Vladimir the red sun
A foreign land will not become your homeland.
Goethe Johann Wolfgang
Prince Vladimir the Red Sun, that’s what the people called this ruler, was born in 948. During the lifetime of his father, Svyatoslav, Vladimir ruled Novgorod. The glorious deeds of the young ruler, who was loved by the people, began in this city.
Beginning of reign
In 980, the prince became the full-fledged ruler of all Kievan Rus. This happened as a result of the first internecine war in the history of Russia between the heirs of Prince Svyatoslav. The people revered and loved this man. It is difficult to overestimate his services to Russia. As a result of the policies that accompanied the reign of this man, the people began to call him nothing less than the Great. For his services to the church, he was awarded the title “equally apostolic.”
At the beginning of his reign, Vladimir the red sun religiously was aimed at paganism, because he himself was a convinced pagan. Having come to power, this ruler even ordered new idols of the Slavic God of Thunder - Perun - to be erected in the center of Kyiv. He also had five wives, who bore him twelve sons and several daughters. Trying to divide power between his sons, Vladimir makes each of them the head of one of the twelve largest cities Kievan Rus. With this decision, he actually began the division of the country, as well as the preconditions for new internecine wars.
Military campaigns
In 981, Prince "Red Sun" went on a campaign to Volyn, which was under the yoke of the Poles. As a result of this military campaign, the cities of Cherven and Przemysl were annexed to the possessions of Kievan Rus. In addition, to strengthen his own influence in this region, the winner lays down a city called Vladimir-Volynsky. This campaign began numerous wars to strengthen and expand the borders of their own state. In 981, new campaigns took place, this time against the Vyatichi. Twice over the years the Kievan Rus squad went on the offensive until victory was won. Next year marked by campaigns against the Yatvingians, who submitted to Rus' and pledged to pay tribute to Kyiv. After this, it was the turn of another constant enemy - Volga Bulgaria. As a result of this campaign, a peace agreement was signed between the Bulgars and Russians. A little later, Volga Bulgaria was conquered by the Golden Horde and became part of it. Batu Khan became the conqueror of the Bulgars. The city of Kazan was later built to collect tribute in this region. In 982, Prince Vladimir went to the Carpathians, where he managed to conquer the Croatian tribes.
Baptism of Rus'
One of the main decisions of Vladimir, as the prince of Rus', was the decision to be baptized himself and to baptize the whole Kievan Rus. The prince's reign was majestic. He won many glorious victories, which allowed him to feel his own superiority and the superiority of his country over its neighbors. Therefore, he did not want to ask the ruler of Byzantium for baptism. The plan was different - to conquer Byzantium and, as the winner, convert to Christianity. Thus began a new military campaign, this time against Byzantium. In 988, having gathered an army, Vladimir set off along the Dnieper to the Byzantine city of Chersonesus, located in Crimea. Russian ships surrounded the city, setting up a naval blockade. The troops landed on the shore and prepared for the assault. Residents of Chersonesos did not interfere with the landing, since they were confident in the inaccessibility of the city. Russian troops attacked the fortress twice, but to no avail. Then a long siege of the city began. One day, an arrow fell at Vladimir’s feet, apparently fired from the besieged city. A parchment was attached to the arrow, which said that not far from the camp there was a well that fed the Kherson people with water. After this, according to the chroniclers, Prince Vladimir said: “If it comes true, I will be baptized!” He ordered to dig in the indicated place. The pipe was found and destroyed. Thirst forced the inhabitants of Chersonesus to surrender, which allowed Rus' to capture the city.
After the capture of Chersonesos, Vladimir sent a message to Byzantium that he wanted to marry the emperor’s sister Anna. The Byzantines gave the go-ahead, but only if the Russian prince accepted Christianity. Then Prince Vladimir announced his desire to be baptized. All of Rus' was baptized along with Vladimir. Prince Vladimir died in 1015.