Prince Svyatopolk happened to be born in an era of cardinal changes in Kievan Rus when the country was first plunged into princely strife. In that fierce struggle for primacy, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich won.
Svyatopolk's grandfather, the Grand Duke of Kyiv Svyatoslav Igorevich, hatched the idea of creating a powerful Russian state centered on the Danube. In the plans of this brilliant commander, Russia was assigned the role of the eastern outskirts of the new state. In 971, Svyatoslav divided the Fatherland into three destinies between his sons Yaropolk, Oleg and Vladimir, thereby violating the already established state structure Kievan Rus. None of the new rulers of the Russian land had supremacy over others, which gave rise to a bloody struggle of the heirs of Svyatoslav for possession of the throne in Kyiv - "the mother of Russian cities."
Svyatopolk was only son Prince Yaropolk, the handsome, educated and mild-mannered ruler of Kyiv, but by the will of fate he turned out to be the stepson of the cruel and power-hungry Vladimir Svyatoslavich, who did not stop at nothing in his struggle for dominance in Russia. Raised by a Christian mother, Svyatopolk gravitated towards Orthodoxy, but already in young age witnessed the establishment by Prince Vladimir of a pagan pantheon, designed to unite the beliefs of people in equal parts of the Russian land. When an attempt to turn paganism into a state religion failed, Vladimir carried out a new religious reform, as a result of which Kievan Rus adopted Christianity along the Byzantine model.
The marriage of Svyatopolk to the daughter of the Polish prince Boleslav from the Piast dynasty led him to take an active part in international politics countries of Western Europe. Svyatopolk began to take an interest in the Roman Church, thinking to withdraw his specific Turov land from the Kyiv state and establish his own state. However, he failed to become an independent ruler. After the death of Prince Vladimir, Svyatopolk tried to seize power in Kyiv, for which he committed numerous atrocities. Defeated by his half-brother Yaroslav, he died ingloriously.
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
1015-1019 The internecine struggle of the sons of Vladimir Svyatoslavich for the Kyiv table.
1015-1016, 1018-1019 Reigning in Kyiv Svyatopolk (Cursed).
July 24, 1015 The murder on the Alta River by the henchmen of Svyatopolk, Prince of Rostov Boris Vladimirovich.
September 5, 1015 Murder near Smolensk on the orders of Svyatopolk, Prince Gleb Vladimirovich of Murom.
1015 autumn Murder in Carpathian mountains mercenaries of Svyatopolk, Prince of the Drevlyane land Svyatoslav Vladimirovich.
1016 The campaign of the Novgorod prince Yaroslav against Svyatopolk. Yaroslav's victory near the city of Lyubech. Flight of Prince Svyatopolk to Poland. Acceptance by Yaroslav Vladimirovich of the great reign in Russia.
1018 The campaign of Svyatopolk and the Polish prince Boleslav the Brave against the Grand Duke of Kyiv Yaroslav. The defeat of the troops of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Yaroslav on the Western Bug River. Flight of Grand Duke Yaroslav to Novgorod.
1018 August 14 The capture of Kyiv by the united army of Svyatopolk and Boleslav the Brave. Boleslav's capture of the grand ducal treasury and the capture of his mother, sisters and wife of Yaroslav.
1019 Battle on the Alta River between the troops of Yaroslav and Svyatopolk. Defeat of Svyatopolk. His flight and death in the Bohemian mountains.
ADDITIONALLY
In 978 he took his pregnant widow, a Greek woman, as his concubine. In 979, she gave birth to a son, Svyatopolk, who was adopted by the now great Kyiv prince Vladimir. He raised Svyatopolk along with his other 11 sons and gave him an inheritance in Turov. Chroniclers call Svyatopolk the son of two fathers.
In 1013, after Prince Vladimir concluded a peace treaty with Poland, Svyatopolk married the daughter of the Polish prince Boleslav I the Brave. There is a version that Svyatopolk was chosen for this union because the Turov lands bordered on Poland.
Incited by his wife and her confessor, Bishop Reinburn, Svyatopolk began to prepare an uprising against his father, Prince Vladimir of Kyiv, in order to seize power. The Polish prince Boleslav also provided his support. But the plot was uncovered, and Prince Svyatopolk Vladimirovich, along with his wife and bishop, were sent to prison. Around the same time, another eldest son of Vladimir, Prince Yaroslav of Novgorod, rebelled against his father.
Shortly before the death of Vladimir in 1015, Svyatopolk was released, having received Vyshgorod as an inheritance. Upon learning of the death of his stepfather, Prince Svyatopolk Vladimirovich hurried to Kyiv and, as the eldest son, took the throne. In order to win over the people of Kiev, he began to generously distribute gifts. Despite this, the soul of the people did not lie to Svyatopolk, and he knew that his position was precarious.
Then Prince Svyatopolk planned to exterminate all the sons of Vladimir and take possession of their inheritances. First, the people sent by him killed Boris on the Alta River while he was praying, then the killers overtook Gleb near Smolensk. Boris and Gleb, the beloved sons of St. Vladimir, were distinguished by their extraordinary kindness and Christian piety. The Church recognized them as Saints.
Then Svyatoslav Drevlyansky was also killed. After the massacre of relatives, Prince Svyatopolk Vladimirovich received the nickname "Cursed".
Having learned about the murder of the brothers, Yaroslav (in the future the Wise), with the support of the Novgorodians and Varangian warriors, went to war against Svyatopolk. Both armies met on the Dnieper. Yaroslav attacked when Svyatopolk was feasting with his soldiers, pushed his army back to the lake, on which there was still thin ice, and many of Svyatopolk's soldiers drowned. Svyatopolk the Accursed fled to Poland for the help of his father-in-law.
With the support of Polish and Pecheneg warriors in 1017, he won the throne, and Yaroslav fled back to Novgorod. When the Poles left Kyiv, Yaroslav again attacked Svyatopolk. In the battle on the Alta River, Yaroslav won, and Prince Svyatopolk the Accursed, wounded, fled to Poland and on the way, abandoned by everyone, died in 1019.
According to some researchers, Svyatopolk is called the Accursed undeservedly, because. the story of the murder of Boris and Gleb was inserted into the chronicle much later. According to some reports, Boris dies in an internecine war with Yaroslav. Varangian mercenaries, having killed Boris, brought his head to Yaroslav.
About the death of Svyatoslav Drevlyansky, as well as about himself, we do not know anything, except for the fact that he was killed near Mount Ugorskaya. But he had a squad capable of protecting his prince, while Svyatopolk did not have it.
Prince of Turov (988-1015) and Grand Duke of Kyiv (1015-1019) Svyatopolk Vladimirovich, known in ancient Russian historiography as Svyatopolk the Accursed, was born around 979. At baptism he was given the name Peter.
Svyatopolk is the son of Yaropolk Svyatoslavich, his mother Julia was a Greek woman, a nun. As the chronicle says, at one time Svyatoslav brought her as a prisoner and gave her for Yaropolk.
The chronicler reports that after the murder of his brother Yaropolk, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich married his widow, who was already pregnant by Yaropolk. Soon she gave birth to a son, Svyatopolk, whom Vladimir raised along with his children. Therefore, in some sources Svyatopolk is called the son of Yaropolk, in others - the son of Vladimir.
Around 988, Vladimir gave Svyatopolk an inheritance in Turov.
Around 1013, Svyatopolk married the daughter of the Polish prince Boleslav the Brave. Together with the young princess, her confessor, Bishop Reinburn, arrived in Turov, who obviously had the intention of tearing the Russian Church away from Constantinople and resubordinating it to Rome.
Svyatopolk, dissatisfied with Vladimir and incited by his wife and bishop, began to prepare an uprising against Prince Vladimir, enlisting the support of his father-in-law. But the plot was uncovered, and Vladimir imprisoned Svyatopolk, along with his wife and Reinburn.
Vladimir died in 1015 while preparing to attack Novgorod against another rebellious son, Yaroslav. The prince did not have time to make any orders regarding the heir, and therefore Svyatopolk was released and took the throne without any difficulty.
In The Tale of Bygone Years, Svyatopolk is accused of organizing the murder of Boris and Gleb, who are canonized as saints, as innocently killed. First of all, Svyatopolk decided to deal with Vladimir's favorite, the Rostov prince Boris, who had at his disposal the grand ducal squad. Svyatopolk sent loyal people to Boris. During matins, the murderers made their way to the prince's tent and stabbed him with spears. Wounded, but still alive, Boris was brought to Svyatopolk, and already there he was hacked to death with a sword. Then Svyatopolk sent messengers to Gleb of Murom, inviting him to visit his allegedly seriously ill father, whose death Gleb did not yet know. On the way, assassins sent by Svyatopolk attacked Gleb, and one of Gleb's people, a cook named Torchin, stabbed his master to death on the orders of the villains. The third brother, Svyatoslav Drevlyansky, having learned about the death of Boris and Gleb, fled to Hungary, but on the way Svyatopolk's people overtook him and also killed him.
After the reprisals against his relatives, Svyatopolk received the nickname "Cursed" from his contemporaries.
Having learned about the murder of the brothers, the Novgorod prince Yaroslav, with the support of the Varangians and Novgorodians, in 1016 went to war against Svyatopolk. A struggle for power began between Svyatopolk and Yaroslav. The troops met on the Dnieper at Listven. Yaroslav went on the attack, taking advantage of the moment when Svyatopolk and his retinue were having a feast. The troops of Svyatopolk the Accursed were defeated and thrown into the river. Yaroslav seized the throne in Kyiv.
Prince Svyatopolk fled to Poland and called for help from King Boleslav I the Brave, his father-in-law. In 1017, with the support of the Pecheneg and Polish troops, they marched on Kyiv. The meeting of the squads took place on the Bug, Yaroslav was defeated and fled to Novgorod.
The throne of Kyiv again belonged to Svyatopolk. In order not to support the troops of his father-in-law Boleslav, who were stationed in Russian cities, he expelled the Poles. Together with Boleslav the Brave, most of the Kyiv boyars also left.
Meanwhile, with the money collected by the Novgorodians, Yaroslav hired a new army from the Varangians and went to Kyiv. left without military force Svyatopolk fled to other allies - the Pechenegs. There he recruited a new army and moved to Russia. In 1019, Yaroslav met him on the Alta River, not far from the place where Boris was killed. The Pecheneg army was defeated, and Svyatopolk himself was seriously wounded. He fled to Poland, then to the Czech Republic.
The chroniclers wrote: "... and relaxing his bones are not able to be gray, they carry them on a stretcher." Abandoned by everyone, he died in 1019 on the road somewhere between Poland and the Czech Republic.
Hatred is an active feeling of discontent; envy is passive. It is not surprising that envy quickly turns into hatred.
Goethe Johann Wolfgang
In 1015, a new internecine war broke out in Kievan Rus. The reason for this was the death of Grand Duke Vladimir. After himself, he left twelve children, who began to share the throne among themselves. Vladimir's adopted son, Svyatopolk, was the first to declare his rights to power. Quickly taking advantage of the opportunity given to him, he independently gathered the Kiev Veche and named himself the ruler of Kievan Rus.
The murder of Boris and Gleb
At this time, Prince Boris was returning to Kyiv from a campaign with his retinue. On the Alt River, he was told the sad news of the death of his father and that his brother had seized power in Kyiv. The squad, led by Boris, which consisted mainly of the old warriors of Vladimir, suggested that the young prince take power by force. Education and fraternal feelings did not allow young man draw a weapon on the older brother. This behavior of the young prince was perceived as cowardice and cowardice, so most of Boris's squad went to Kyiv to serve the local prince.
Svyatopolk, meanwhile, went to Izhgorod to personally verify the loyalty of the local boyars. Not believing in simple words, he demanded that the boyars bring him the head of Boris as proof of their loyalty. The boyars agreed and went to the Alt River, where Boris's camp was. The young prince prayed in his tent. The killers waited until he fell asleep and killed him. The body was wrapped in sheets and sent to Svyatopolk. So Boris was killed by his own brother.
Svyatopolk the Accursed continued his atrocities. After the murder of Boris, he sent messengers to Murom, which was ruled by his other brother, Gleb. The messengers gave the prince the news that Vladimir was seriously ill and wanted to see his son. The deception worked, and Gleb went to Kyiv with a small army. Svyatopolk ordered to organize an ambush and kill his brother. Not far from Smolensk, Gleb and his retinue were stopped by the envoys of Yaroslav, who told him the news of the death of his father and the betrayal of his brother. Gleb mourned his father. At this time, he was surrounded by assassins. The small squad could not save the prince, he was killed by his own cook, hoping to please the Kyiv ruler. The murder of Boris and Gleb was a vile step, and the brothers themselves were later canonized by the Orthodox Church as saints. Svyatopolk himself was dubbed "cursed" by the people for these atrocities.
New atrocities
The Drevlyan prince Svyatoslav, having learned about what had happened, fell into despair. Seeing no way to resist Svyatopolk, he decided to flee to the Hungarian state. However, Svyatopolk foresaw this and his army had already moved into the possession of Svyatoslav. Near the Carpathians, they caught up with the prince and, as the chroniclers testify, brutally killed him. Thus, the accursed Svyatopolk, as the people began to call him, had already killed three of his brothers. He did not feel guilty, but he knew that the people might not forgive him. Therefore, he often gathered people and gave them money, furs and clothes, trying to buy their respect.
Confrontation between Svyatopolk and Yaroslav
In 1016, Yaroslav went to punish his brother. For the first time they met near the city of Lyubech. The forces were equal, the accursed Svyatopolk hired the Polovtsians for the war. However, Yaroslav, a competent tactician, defeated his brother and entered Kyiv as a victor. Svyatoslav fled to Poland and asked for help from the local king Boleslav. The Polish king agreed to provide his army and personally went on a military campaign against Kyiv. Near the Buga River, Yaroslav met the enemy with his army. The Poles, whose army consisted mainly of German and Hungarian mercenaries, fought bravely and defeated the Russians. With a small handful of soldiers, Yaroslav managed to get to Novgorod. From there, the young prince wanted to go to Sweden in order to find comrades-in-arms there in the fight against Boleslav and Svyatopolk. Novgorodians dissuaded him from fleeing. At the same time, Boleslav with his army approached Kyiv. The city did not resist for long and on August 14, 1018, the people of Kiev surrendered. Boleslav, king of Poland, entered Kyiv to proclaim Svyatopolk the new prince of Kyiv.
The Polish king, finding the task solved, sent all the mercenary troops home. The Poles from his squad were quartered along southern cities. Boleslav did not yet know about the deceit and betrayal of his "protege", who, fearing for the encroachment of the Poles on his throne, secretly gave the order to kill all the soldiers with whom the Polish king came. The massacre was terrible. Almost all the hired Polish military was destroyed, only Boleslav managed to escape.
At this time, Yaroslav gathered a new army and went with him to Kyiv. Svyatopolk the Accursed did not believe in the devotion of the people of Kiev, and he no longer had an allied army of the Poles. This forced him to flee to the Polovtsy, among whom he recruited his new army, with which he went to Russia. The two armies converged on the river Alt in 1019, on the very spot where the killers, instigated by the insidious Svyatopolk, killed Prince Boris. During the battle, Svyatopolk was forced to retreat, but was overtaken by one of the Varangians, who delivered his head to Yaroslav.
Svyatopolk the Accursed - a controversial figure in history Ancient Russia. There are many dark spots in his fate, which were filled with various conjectures and legends. The exact date of the prince's birth is unknown, it is generally accepted that he was born in 979, immediately after Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko began to reign in Kyiv.
Childhood and youth
Contradictory facts in his biography appeared even before birth. According to one of the legends, his father was Yaropolk, brother of Prince Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko. The confrontation of the brothers ended with the death of Yaropolk, his Greek wife Yulia, who may have been pregnant, Vladimir took to his concubine. There is no evidence that Prince Vladimir did not love him as a child, rather, on the contrary, at the age of 9 he was appointed to reign in the Principality of Turov, the territory of modern Belarus. Where he ruled until 1016. Later, Vladimir also entrusted him with the Drevlyane lands.
But the young Svyatopolk never loved the Grand Duke, who considered him his son, he considered himself the son of Yaropolk. Historians consider this fact one of the important ones that influenced the deterioration of relations between Vladimir and Svyatopolk.
Governing body
Despite the fact that the reign of Svyatopolk the Accursed was short, he managed to commit such acts in order to remain in history for many centuries. In 1013, Svyatopolk marries the daughter of Boleslav the Brave, a Polish prince. Her name is unknown, however, she had a significant impact on the history of Ancient Russia. According to historians, she, along with her spiritual mentor, Bishop Reinburn, persuaded Svyatopolk to overthrow Vladimir from the throne and take his place. Vladimir, having learned about these plans, imprisoned all three of them.
But the imprisonment of Svyatopolk did not last long, in 1015 Prince Vladimir died. Having been released from prison, Svyatopolk, with the support of the boyars and the common population, takes the princely place. But his reign lasted only a year, during which time he managed to kill his three blood brothers. Two of them, Boris and Gleb, became the first Russians to be canonized as saints.
He killed all of them by deception, calling them to Kyiv so that they would recognize his authority. To protect himself, Svyatopolk ordered to kill them on the way to the capital. This happened with Boris and Gleb, but Svyatoslav managed to escape, he was killed on the border with Hungary.
After that, his power was overthrown in 1016. , the eldest son of Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko, with the support of the Varangians, drove Svyatopolk out of Kyiv and took his place. Svyatopolk, not wanting to put up with this situation, turned to his father-in-law for help, and also enlisted the support of the Pechenegs. In 1018, he again managed to take control of Kyiv, though not for long. Not wanting to feed his father-in-law's army, he broke off the military alliance with Poland and sent her soldiers home. Having learned about this, Yaroslav with his army, along with the Varangians, defeated the detachment of Svyatopolk with the Pechenegs. The further fate of the deposed prince is unknown.
Alternative biography
Takova short biography Svyatopolk the Accursed. He appears in many historical documents as a bright negative figure of that time, however, there are alternative points of view. Some historians argue that the murder of the brothers was in the hands of Yaroslav. Many facts point to this. So, according to the customs of the Rurikoviches, the names that have tarnished their family are deleted from the family names. But after the death of Svyatopolk, many representatives of this family were named after him. Many historians today speak in favor of changing the information about this ruler, as they consider the official version to be false.
