Yaroslav the Wise

1015

July 1015 saw the death of Kiev’s Grand Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, the man who, as Vladimir Fair Sun, would later become a major figure in byliny, traditional epic tales of Russian heroes, and be revered as St. Vladimir, after being canonized by the Orthodox Church for having brought Christianity to Rus.

Alas, his death unleashed a time of internecine bloodletting. If the primary source for much of what we know about his period, the Tale of Bygone Years (Повесть временных лет), or simply “the chronicle” (летопись) is to be believed, Vladimir’s adopted son Svyatopolk attempted to hide his father’s death long enough to seize power and keep his father’s favorite son, Boris, from the throne.

Princes Boris and Gleb refused to fight their older brother, yet this did not save them from being killed by Svyatopolk. They subsequently became two of Orthodoxy’s most venerated saints.

Yaroslav, another of Vladimir’s sons, was of a different frame of mind altogether. At the time of his father’s death, he was far to the north, in Novgorod, where he had been plotting to unleash an army against his father. To this end, Yaroslav had summoned Varangian mercenaries, and he was just getting ready to launch his campaign when the Varangians became embroiled in conflict with the Novgorodians.

As the chronicle describes it, the Varangian soldiers insulted the wives of Novgorod, and their incensed husbands took revenge by killing some of the mercenaries. Yaroslav’s reaction was to invite a number of prominent Novgorodians to come see him, at which point he ordered that they be beaten. That very night he received a message from his sister, informing him that Svyatopolk had seized power. Yaroslav was then forced, with tears in his eyes, to beg forgiveness of the Novgorodians, who took pity on him and gave him funds to hire new mercenaries. So began the four-year war between Yaroslav and Svyatopolk.

In 1019 Yaroslav captured Kiev and began a long reign that would earn him a place of glory in Russian history and the moniker “the Wise.”

Today, some historians have chosen to reject the chronicle’s portrayal of Svyatopolk as cruel and treacherous. They have also voiced suspicions that the peaceable Boris and Gleb may have been killed by Yaroslav, not Svyatopolk. Indeed, it should be born in mind that the chronicle was written at a time when Kiev was ruled by Yaroslav’s grandson, Vladimir Monomakh.

How much credibility can be placed in this key historical document? That is an important question.