Everything about Vladimir The Great totally explained
» For the 2006 Russian animated feature film, see Prince Vladimir (film).
Saint
Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great (c.
958 –
15 July 1015,
Berestovo) was the grand prince of
Kiev who converted to
Christianity in 988, and proceeded to
baptise the whole Kievan Rus.
His name may be spelled in different ways: in
Old East Slavic as
Volodimir (
Володимир), in modern
Ukrainian as
Volodymyr (
Володимир), in
Old Church Slavonic and modern
Russian as
Vladimir (
Владимир), in
Old Norse as
Valdamarr and the modern
Scandinavian languages as
Valdemar.
Way to the throne
Vladimir was the youngest son of
Sviatoslav I of Kiev by his housekeeper
Malusha, described in the
Norse sagas as a prophetess who lived to the age of 100 and was brought from her cave to the palace to predict the future. Malusha's brother
Dobrynya was Vladimir's tutor and most trusted advisor. Hagiographic tradition of dubious authenticity also connects his childhood with the name of his grandmother,
Olga Prekrasa, who was Christian and governed the capital during Sviatoslav's frequent military campaigns.
Transferring his capital to
Preslavets in 969, Sviatoslav designated Vladimir ruler of
Novgorod the Great but gave Kiev to his legitimate son
Yaropolk. After Sviatoslav's death (972), a fratricidal war erupted (976) between Yaropolk and his younger brother
Oleg, ruler of the
Drevlians. In
977 Vladimir fled to his kinsmen
Haakon Sigurdsson, ruler of
Norway in
Scandinavia, collecting as many of the
Viking warriors as he could to assist him to recover Novgorod, and on his return the next year marched against Yaropolk.
On his way to Kiev he sent ambassadors to
Rogvolod (Norse: Ragnvald), prince of
Polotsk, to sue for the hand of his daughter
Rogneda (Norse: Ragnhild). The well-born princess refused to affiance herself to the son of a bondswoman, but Vladimir attacked Polotsk, slew Rogvolod, and took Ragnhild by force. Actually, Polotsk was a key fortress on the way to Kiev, and the capture of Polotsk and
Smolensk facilitated the taking of Kiev (980), where he slew Yaropolk by treachery, and was proclaimed
konung, or
khagan, of all
Kievan Rus.
Years of pagan rule
In addition to his father's extensive domain, Vladimir continued to expand his territories. In
981 he conquered the Cherven cities, the modern
Galicia; in
983 he subdued the
Yatvingians, whose territories lay between
Lithuania and
Poland; in
985 he led a fleet along the central rivers of Russia to conquer the
Bulgars of the
Kama, planting numerous fortresses and colonies on his way.
Though
Christianity had won many converts since Olga's rule, Vladimir had remained a thorough going pagan, taking eight hundred concubines (besides numerous wives) and erecting pagan statues and shrines to gods. It is argued that he attempted to reform Slavic
paganism by establishing thunder-god
Perun as a supreme deity.
Baptism of Rus
The
Primary Chronicle reports that in the year
987, as the result of a consultation with his
boyars, Vladimir sent envoys to study the religions of the various neighboring nations whose representatives had been urging him to embrace their respective faiths. The result is amusingly described by the
chronicler Nestor. Of the
Muslim Bulgarians of the Volga the envoys reported there's no gladness among them; only sorrow and a great stench, and that their religion was undesirable due to its
taboo against
alcoholic beverages and
pork; supposedly, Vladimir said on that occasion: "Drinking is the joy of the Rus'." Russian sources also describe Vladimir consulting with
Jewish envoys (who may or may not have been
Khazars), and questioning them about their religion but ultimately rejecting it, saying that their loss of
Jerusalem was evidence of their having been abandoned by
God. Ultimately Vladimir settled on
Christianity. In the churches of the Germans his emissaries saw no beauty; but at
Constantinople, where the full festival ritual of the Byzantine Church was set in motion to impress them, they found their ideal:
"We no longer knew whether we were in heaven or on earth," they reported, describing a majestic
Divine Liturgy in
Hagia Sophia,
"nor such beauty, and we know not how to tell of it." If Vladimir was impressed by this account of his envoys, he was yet more so by political gains of the Byzantine alliance.
In
988, having taken the town of
Chersonesos in
Crimea, he boldly negotiated for the hand of the emperor
Basil II's sister, Anna. Never had a Greek imperial princess, and one
"born-in-the-purple" at that, married a barbarian before, as matrimonial offers of French kings and German emperors had been peremptorily rejected. In short, to marry the 27-year-old princess off to a pagan Slav seemed impossible. Vladimir, however, was baptized at Cherson, taking the Christian name of Basil out of compliment to his imperial brother-in-law; the sacrament was followed by his wedding with
Anna. Returning to Kiev in triumph, he
destroyed pagan monuments and established many churches, starting with the splendid
Church of the Tithes (989) and monasteries on
Mt. Athos.
Arab sources, both Muslim and Christian, present a different story of Vladimir's conversion.
Yahya of Antioch,
al-Rudhrawari,
al-Makin,
al-Dimashki, and
ibn al-Athir all give essentially the same account. In 987,
Bardas Sclerus and
Bardas Phocas revolted against the Byzantine emperor
Basil II. Both rebels briefly joined forces, but then Bardas Phocas proclaimed himself emperor on
September 14,
987. Basil II turned to the Kievan Rus' for assistance, even though they were considered enemies at that time. Vladimir agreed, in exchange for a marital tie; he also agreed to accept Orthodox Christianity as his religion and bring his people to the new faith. When the wedding arrangements were settled, Vladimir dispatched 6,000 troops to the Byzantine Empire and they helped to put down the revolt.
Christian reign
He now formed a great council out of his boyars, and set his
twelve sons over his subject principalities. With his neighbors he lived at peace, the incursions of the
Pechenegs alone disturbing his tranquillity. After Anna's death, he married again, most likely to a granddaughter of
Otto the Great.
He died at Berestovo, near Kiev, while on his way to chastise the insolence of his son, Prince
Yaroslav of Novgorod. The various parts of his dismembered body were distributed among his numerous sacred foundations and were venerated as
relics.
One of the largest Kievan cathedrals is dedicated to him. The
University of Kiev was named after the man who both civilized and Christianized Kievan Rus. There is the
Order of St. Vladimir in Russia and
Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in the
United States. The
Roman Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate the feast day of St. Vladimir on
15 July.
His memory was also kept alive by innumerable Russian folk ballads and legends, which refer to him as
Krasno Solnyshko, that is, the
Fair Sun. With him the
Varangian period of Eastern Slavic history ceases and the Christian period begins.
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