Rus hist 8-28

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A Tenth-Century ArabDescription ofRm

As does the history of many peoples, the early historyof Kievan Rus abounds in legends, but it is deficientin real historical evidence. To overcom e this problemit is imperative to study all the available foreignsources as well as native ones. Anlong the most usefulof foreign sources are the re corded im pressions ofArab merchants and anlbassadors who encounteredthe people of Rus a t various market places. One of

the most interesting of Arab accounts of Rus is thatby Ahmat Ibn-Fadhlan, who, as an ambassador ofthe Caliph of Bagdad, visited the Volga region earlyin the tenth century. Ibn-Fadhlan's description is atypical traveler's observation of th e life, customs, an dhabits of the pcople of Rus. As do all such travelogs,it obviously contains mistaken inlpressions along withthe factual inform ation. In spite of weaknesses, how-ever, it still is a source of paramount importance onthe early history of Kievan Rus.

I saw the Rus [people] when they came with their goods and

encamped along the Itil [Volga] River. I never saw bigger people thanthese. They look like palm trees. They are of reddish com plexion, andwear neither jackets nor coats. Their men wear large tunics, which they

wrap around their bodies in such a way that only one arm could be seen.

Each man always carries on his person a sword, a knife, and an axe.The ir swords are wide, with undulatory blades of Frankish craftsman-ship. From the tip to t he handle, each sword has engravings depicting

green trees or some other items. Each of their women carries a smallpurse that is fastened to her bosom. Some of these purses are made of

iron, som e of cop per, so me of silver, and som e of gold, (dep endin g on

From A. Ia. Harkavi, ed. Skazaniid musulmanskikh pisafelei o slavianakh i russkikh(s poloviny VII veka do kontsa X veka) ( Th e Accounts by Moslem Writers AboutSlavs and Russians (From th e Middle of th e VII Cen tury to th e End of th e XthCentury) . (St. Petersburg: 1870), pp. 93-102. Translation mine. Items in brackets

are mine.

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12 Kievan R u s

the position of the husba nd a nd his wealth. Each purse has a little ring

to which is attached a knife which each woman carries and which also

is fastened to her bosom. Around their necks women wear little chains

made ou t of silver or gold. Wh en a husband attains a fortune worth10,000 dirkhams [Arab silver coins] he presents his wife with a ch ain;

when he makes 20,000 he gives her two chains. Every time the husband

adds 10,000 dirkhams to his wealth he gives his wife a new chain, withthe result that one often encounters a woman who has many chainsaround her neck. Among the ornaments they prefer most are green beads

made out of clay-the same kind of beads that ships bring. The y use

every means to secure these beads and they pay a dirkham for one bead.They string these beads into necklaces for their wives.

These people are very dirty creatures of God. They never clean upafter excrement and never wash up after embracing [another person].

They really act like wild asses. They come from their native country,throw the anchor into the Itil, which is a very large river, and build large

wooden houses along its banks. Ten or twenty people, more or less, livein such a house. Every man has a shop where he stays, together with the

beautiful [slavc] girls he has for sale. Sometimes he has intercourse withone of his girls while his companions look on. Often, several men can

be seen in tha t position, each observing the act of others. S ometimes a

merchant comes to his shop to buy a girl onlv to find him in the midstof intercourse. He does not leave her until he finishes his affair.

Without fail, every day in the morning a girl brings [into the house]a large bucket of water and places it before her master, who washes his

hands, his face, and his hair in it. After he washes and combs his hairin this bucket, he blows his nose and spits into it. He does not leave outone dirty thing! Everything goes into that water! When he has finished

with everything he needs to do, the girl carries the bucket [with th e same

water] to the person sitting nearest to him, and he in turn does the

same thin^ as his comrade.-she then carries thc bucket to th e next in"

line, and so on until evewone in the house has washed up. Each manblows his nose and spits &t o tha t water, and each washesLhis face andhis hair in it!

After they dock their boats a t the ancho ring place, everyone disembarks.

Each ma n carries out bread, meat, m ilk, onions, and a poten t drink. Theygo to a high post that has been placed in the ground. That post has acarved out face that resembles a human being. It is surrounded by manysmaller figures. Behind these figures are high posts th at have been placed

in th e ground . Everyone comes before th e largest figure, falls down beforeit and savs: "Lord. I have come here from far awav and have with me

so many slaves, so many sables, and so many other furs," and he citeseverything he has brought with him. T he n he says: "I bring this gift for

you," and [having said this] he th en places [bread, meat, milk, onions,

Ten t h -Cen t u ry Arab Descrip t ion of Ru s 13

and the potent drink] before the high post, saying: "I hope you will

now send to me a m erchant with dinars [Arab gold coins] and dirkhams,who will buy from me everything I have for sale without cheating me

or haggling with me too much." If subsequently the transaction turnsout to be a difficult one and takes too much time, he returns [to the

high post] with another gift, and if there be a need he goes there the

third tim e. Should th e desired goal still elude him he then brings a giftto one of the smaller figures and pleads with it for intercession, saying:"These [slaves] are th e wives and daughters of our lord, and he does no t

want t o bypass any of th e figures. H e is bowing before you and is humblyasking you for intercession." Often times transactions are very easy for

them . Wh en a m an makes a sale he says: "Since my god has fulfilled

my wish he should be rewarded for it." He then takes a certain nu mbe rof homed cattle and sheep, slaughters them, gives a portion of meat toth e poor, and carries the rest and places it before the high po st and the

little figures that surround it. H e hangs t he heads of slaughtered cattlean d sheep on these posts. W he n darkness comes, [wild] dogs converge

on the place and devour everything. Later he who had made the offering

sa ys "M y god has been kind to me and has consumed my offering."W he n one of th em becomes ill they build for him a little cottage some

distance from the rest. They bring him there and provide him with some

bread and water. They do not, however, come close to him [while heis ill]; neither do they talk to him o r visit him, especially if he should

,

happen to be a poor man or a slave. If he recovers he rejoins them; if

he dies they cremate him. If he is a slave, they leave him there [in thecottage] where he is devoured by [wild] dogs and birds of prey.

W he n they apprehend a thief o r a bandit they bring him to a tall ,big tree, place a strong rope around his neck and hang him. H e hangsthere thusly until his remains fall down by virtue of natural decomposi-tion or are brought down by strong winds or a rain storm.

They also told m e what they do at funerals of their chiefs. T he leastceremonial affair is the cremation. I was very anxious to be present ata funeral when I learned that on e of their important men had died. They

placed his corpse in a grave, which they covered with a roof [made oftree branches and some dirt]. H e remained there in tha t state for ten

days, that is until they cut and sewed his clothes. They perform thefuneral in the following way: W he n a poor ma n dies, they simply make

a casket, place his corpse in it and crema te it. Wh en a wealthy m an diesthey divide his property into three parts. One part they give to the

family of the dead man; another part goes for the expenses connectedwith the preparation of the funeral; and the third part they use to pur-

chase potent beverages which thev consume on the day a [slave] girl of

th e dead man sacrifices herself an d is cremated along with her master.

They are addicted to wine and drink it day and night. Sometimes one

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K i ev an Ru s

of their men dies holding a drinking cup in his hand. W he n on e of theirchieftains dies, his f amily asks his [slave] girls and boys which of th em

would like [to volunteer] to die with him. Th en one [volunteers], saying

"I." Whoever says that is obliged to go through with the commitment.The re is no way he or she can retract. Even if one wanted to retract theywould not allow it. Usually a girl volunteers for this [affair].

Thus, when the above-mentioned [wealthy] man died they asked hisgirls which one of them wanted to die with him. One girl said she wanted

to. They appointed then two girls to watch her, and they went with herwherever she went. Sometimes they [the two girls] even washed her feetwith their own hands. Then the rest began to prepare clothes for the

dead man , and all the things he might need [in afterlife]. T he girl [whohad volunteered to die] drank and sang every day. She appeared veryhappy and joyful. When the day designated for the cremation of his

corpse and t hat of the girl approached, I went to the bank of the river

to the spot where his boat was anchofed. Alas! Th e boat was out of t hewater. They had prepared for it four supporting birch logs and placed

around them wooden figures resembling tall people. Then they placed theboat atop these logs and they moved back and forth saying something

I could not understand. The corpse of the dead man was still in thegrave, as they had not yet taken him out. Th en they brought his shop

and placed it aboard the boat and covered it with embroidered cloth,Roman cloth, and pillows made out of Roman c loth. Then came an old

woman they call the angel of death, who placed all the abovc mentioneditems inside the shop. She was in charge of sewing and preparing [the

clothes for the dead man] and was also responsible for sacrificing the girl.I saw her face, which was covered with dark, thick paint and had a meanlook about it.

Th en they came to the grave of the dead man , removed from it th edirt and the tree branches, and lifted the corpse in the cover in which

they had buried him earlier. I then saw him. T he cold of t he region had

darkened his skin slightly. Originally they had placed strong beverage,food, and a musical instrument with him in his grave. Now thev also

brought these items out. Except for a change in color of his skin he had

not altered a bit. They dressed him then in wide overalls, socks, a jacket,and a coat m ade out of good m aterial with gold buttons, placed on his

head a cap made of good material with sable trimming, and carried himinside the little shop they had placed aboard the boat. Thev laid him onthe hearth-rug and propped him up with pillows. Then they placed before

him potent drink, food, and fragrant herbs. They also brought in bread,meat, and onions, which they placed before him. Then they brought inall of his weapons and placed them beside him. Next, after a long chase,

they rounded up two horses, killed them, and th rew their carcasses aboard.

Then they brought two bulls, which they also slaughtered, and placed

Tenth-Century Arab Descrip t ion of Rris I 5

them aboard. Then they brought a cock and a hen, which they killed and

tossed aboard. [Meanwhile] the girl who was destined to die walked backand forth. She visited every one of their houses, where each man satisfied

her. After he had performed his service each man told he r: "Tell yourmaster I did this because I love you."

O n Friday afternoon they led the girl to a contraption they had built,

which resembled a door frame. She placed her feet in men's hands andthey lifted her up. She then said something in her language and thenthey lowered her down. Then they lifted her up again and she did the

same thing as the first t ime. Then they lifted her up the third time and

she did the same thing as on two earlier occasions. Then they handedher a chicken and she cut its head off and threw it away. They took thechicken and threw it aboard. I asked an interpreter to explain for me

her actions and he told me the following: "The first time she said: 'There,

I see my mother and my father!' . Th e second time she said: 'I see all of ,

my dead relatives!'. The third time she said: 'There, I see my mastersitting in paradise. Paradise is beautiful and green. With him are men

and young boys. He is calling for me. Please take me to him.' " Then theyled her to the boat. She took her wrist bands off and handed them to

the old woman they call the angel of death. That woman would laterkill her. Then she took the buckles off her feet and handed these to thetwo girls who had waited on her. They were daughters of the one they

call the angel of death. Then they lifted her aboard the boat but didnot take her inside the [dead man's] shop. Men with shields and clubscame aboard and handed her a cup of potent drink. She sang over it and

then she drank it. An interpreter told me that she was now saying good

bye to her girlfriends. Then they handed her another cup which she tookand sang a long song over it. The old woman urged her to finish the drinkfast and to go inside the shop to join her master. I noticed that the

girl then became confused. She wanted to go inside the shop but stuck

her head between th e shop and the bo at. T he old woman took her by her

head, pushed her inside the shop, and followed her there. The men thenbegan hitting their shields with clubs to drown out th e girl's cries in orderto prevent the other girls from hearing and thus being frightened and

later be unwilling to volunteer to die with their masters.Th en the six men went inside the sho p where they had intercourse

with her. When they finished they placed her alongside her dead master.Two men held her hands, wvhile two held her feet. Then the old woman,called th e angel of d eath, placed a rope around her [the girl's] neck and

gave the opposite ends of t he rope to th e two remaining m en t o pull. Sheherself approached the girl with a big knife and stabbed her several timeswhile the men pulled on the rope until the girl expired. Then a close

relative of th e dead m an picked u p a piece of wood, se t it on fire, and

approached the boat walking backwards. He held the burning piece of

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wood in one hand and held the other hand behind his naked back untilhe set fire to the wood that h ad been placed under th e boat. All this took

place after they had placed the dead girl alongside her dead master. Then

all other people carried burning pieces of wood which they tossed on thepile. T he fire first consume d th e wood, then the boat, an d finally the shop

witli the dead man and the dead girl and everything that was there. Then

a strong wind came. The fire bccame very intense and consumed every-thing.

Next to m e stood one of the men of Rus. I heard him talking to aninterpreter who stood beside him. I asked him what they talked about

and he replied th at the Rus man told him the following: "You Arabs area stupid people. You take your beloved and famous man and bury him

in the ground where he becomes prey to worms. We , on the other hand,cremate ours in fire so that in the wink of an eye he gets to paradise."Th en h e laughed heartily and said: "Because G od loved our lord he caused

a favorable wind and the fire consumed him in time." And really in lessthan one hour the boat, the wood, the dead man and the dead girl allturned into ashes. Then on the same spot where the boat stood after

they had pulled it out of th e water, they erected a round mo und and

placed in the middlc of it a large tree trunk on wliicli they inscribed thedate on which the man had died and the name of th e Rus ruler, an d thenthey departed.

T he following other custom s of th e Rus ruler sliould be noted. He hasin his castle some 400 brave men. Thcy are loyal to him; they accom-pany him wherever he goes; and they either die with him or are killed

alongside him. Every one of his men has a girl who waits on him, who

washes his head, and who prepares his food and his drink. He also hasanother girl with whom he has intercourse. These 400 men are at his

throne. His thronc is great and is adorned with precious stones. With him

on the throne are also 40 girls who have been selected for his bed. Some-times he has intercourse witli one of th e girls in the presencc of t he above-

mentioned warriors. Hc never leaves his throne. W he n he needs to per-form his [biological] necessities, hc does so in a washbasin. W i e n hewants to go horseback riding, they bring a horse to his thro ne an d hemounts it there. W he n h e wants to dismount, they bring the horse close

to the throne so he can dismount onto it. He has a governor who is incharge of his military forces, who leads them against enemies, and whoalso acts as his deputy am ong his subjects.

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38 Kievan Ru s

the cataracts of the Dnieper, and the general, Sveinald, advised him toride around the falls on horseback, for the Pechenegs were encamped inthe vicinity. Th e Prince did not heed him, b ut went on by boat. Th e

people of Pereyaslavetz informed the Pechenegs that Svyatoslav was re-

turning to Rus after seizing from the Greeks great riches and immense

booty, but that his troop was small. Wh en the Pechenegs heard this

news, they ambuscadcd the cataracts, so that when Svyatoslav arrivedit was impossible to pass them. So the Prince decided to winter in

Byelobereg, but the Russes had no rations, so that there was a severe

famine, and they paid as much as half a grivna* for a horse's head. But

Svyatoslav wintercd there nevertheless.

W he n spring came, in 6480 (9 72 ), Svyatoslav approached the cata-

racts, where Kurya, Princc of the Pechenegs, attacked him; and Svyato-

slav was killed. The nomads took his head, and made a cup out of his

skull, overlaying it with gold, and they drank from it.

The Acceptance

o f Christianity

Christianity was introduced into Kievan Rus longbefore Prince Vladimir (980-1015) adopted it asthe official religion of the state. There was, for in-stance, a Christian church in Kiev during the reignof Igor. As note d earlier, Igor's wife Olga, by em -

Reprinted by permission of the publishers from Samuel H. Cross, "The RussianPrimary Chronicle," Harvard Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature(Cambridge, Mass., Hanard University Press, 1930), vol. 12 , pp. 183-184,157-201,204-205,210-211, 213 .

* See the glossary.

T he Acceptance of Chris t ian i ty

bracing Christianity, became a saint of the Ortho-dox Church and many merchants, as well as war-riors of Kievan princes, were either converts to orhad an acquaintance with thc ncw faith.

T h e Primary ChronicIc rcports, in one narrative,many different legends concerning the adoption ofChristianity, as well as several traditional accounts

of the baptism of Prince Vladimir. It is ironic thatno one knows exactly where or even when Vladimirwas baptized, whether in 988 or 989. Following hisconversion, Vladimir imposed the ncw faith on hissubjccts. In some places this imposition was peace-ful; in othcrs, forcc had to bc used. The adoption ofChristianity from Constantinople opcncd Kiev towidespread Byzantinc cultural influence.

6 4 9 4 (9 8 6 ) . Vladinlir was visitcd by Bulgarians of Moham-

medan faith. . . . The n came the Germans, asserting that they were comeas emissarics of the Pope. . . . T h e Jewish Khazars heard of these m is-

sions, and camc themselves. . . . Then the Grceks sent to Vladimir ascholar. . . .

6 4 9 5 (9 8 7 ) . Vladimir summoncd togcther his vassals and the city

elders, and said to them, "Bchold, thc Bulgarians came before me urg-ing me to accept thcir religion. Thcn camc thc Germans and praisedtheir own faith; and after them came the Jews. Finally the Greeks ap-pcared, criticizing all othcr faiths but commending their own, and theyspoke at length, telling thc history of the whole world from its begin-ning. Their words werc artful, and it was wondrous to listen and plcasantto hear them. They preach the existence of another world. 'Whoeveradopts our religion and then dies shall arise and livc forcver. But who-soever embraces another faith, shall bc consumed with fire in the next

world.' W ha t is your opinion on this subject;and what d o you answer?"T h e vassals and th e elders rcplicd, "You know, oh Princc, that no m ancondemns his own posscssions, but praises them instead. If you desireto make certain, you have servants at your disposal. Send them to in-quire about th e ritual of each and how h e worships God."

Their counsel pleased the prince and all the people, so that they chosegood and wisc nicn to th c numbe r of te n, and dirccted them to go firstamong the Bulgarians and inspect their faith. The emissaries went theirway, and when thcy arrivcd at their destination thcy beheld the disgrace-ful actions of the Bulgarians and their worship in the mosque; then they

returned to thcir own country. Vladimir then instructed them to go

likewise anlong the Germans, and examinc their faith, and finally to visit

the Greeks. They thus went into Gcrmany, and after viewing the Ger-

; asil Dmytry~hyn~d., ~\fedievalRzrssia:-ISource Book, 900-1 700,

2nd ed. (Dryden Press, 1973).

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Kievan Rus

man ceremonial, they proceeded to Tsargrad, where they appeared be-fore the Emperor. He inquired on what mission they had come, andthey reported to him all that had occurred. When the Emperor heardtheir words, he rejoiced, and did them great honor on that very day.

O n the morrow, the Emperor sent a message to the Patriarch to in-form him that a Russian delegation had arrived to examine the Greek

faith, and directed him to prepare the church and the clergy, and toarray himself in his sacerdotal robes, so that the Russes might behold theglory of the Go d of the Greeks. W he n the Patriarch received these com-mands, he bade the clergy assemble, and they performed the customaryrites. They burned incense, and the choirs sang hymns. The Emperoraccompanied the Russes to the church, and placed them in a wide space,calling their attention to the beauty of the edifice, the chanting, andthe offices of the archpriest and the ministry of the deacons, while heexplained to them the worship of his God. The Russes were astonishedand in their wonder praised the Greek ceremonial. Then the EmperorsBasil and Constantine invited the envoys to their presence, and said,"Go hence to your native country," and thus dismissed them with val-uable presents and great honor.

-Thus they returned to their own country, and the Prince called to-

gether his vassals and the elders. Vladimir then announced the return ofthe envoys who had been sent out, and suggested that their report beheard. H e thus commanded them to s ~ e a k ut before his vassals. Th eenvoys reported, "When we journeyed among the Bulgarians, we beheldhow they worship in their temple, called a mosque, while they standungirt. The Bulgarian bows, sits down, looks hither and thither like onepossessed, and there is no happiness among them, but instead only sor-row and a dreadful stcnch. Their religion is not good. Then we went- among the Germans, and saw them performing many ceremonies in

their temples; but we bcheld no glory there. Then we went on to Greece,and the Greeks led us to the edifices where they worship their God, andwe knew not whether we were in hcavcn or on earth. For on earth thereis no such splendor or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describeit . W e only know that G od dwells there among m en, and their serviceis fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. For we cannot forget thatbeauty. Every man, after tasting something sweet, is afterward unwilling

to accept that which is bitter, and therefore we cannot dwell longerhere." Th en the vassals spoke and said, "If the G reek faith were evil, itwould not have been adopted by your grandmother Olga, who was wiserthan all other men." Vladimir then inquired where they should all acceptbaptism, and they replied that the decision rested with him.

After a year had passed, in 6496 ( 9 8 8 ) , Vladimir marched with anamied force against Kherson, a Greek city. . . . Vladimir and his retinue

' entered the city, and he sent messages to the Emperors Basil and Con-

Basil Dm~.trysh!n. ed , fedreval Rlcssra: .4 Solitre Book, 900-1 700,

2nd ed (Dndm Press, 1973).

Th e Acceptance of Christianity

stantine, saying, "Behold, I have captured your glorious city. I have alsoheard that you have an unwedded sister. Unless you give her to me to ,

wife, I shall deal with your own city as I have with Kherson." W he n t heEmperors heard this message, they were troubled, and replied, "It is notmeet for Christians to give in marriage to pagans. If you are baptized,you shall have her to wife, inherit the kingdom of God, and be our

companion in the faith. Unless you do so, however, we cannot give youour sister in marriage." W he n Vladimir learned their response, h edirected the envoys of the Emperors to report to the latter that he waswilling to accept baptism, having already given some study to their re-ligion, and that the Greek faith and ritual, as described by the emis-saries sent to examine it , had pleased him well. W he n the Em perorsheard this report, they rejoiced, and persuaded their sister Anna to con-sent to the match. They then requested Vladimir to submit to baptismbefore they should send their sister to him, but Vladimir desired that theprincess should herself bring priests to baptize him. The Emperors com-plied with his request, and sent forth their sister, accompanied by somedignitaries and priests. Anna, however, departed with reluctance. "It is

as if I were setting out into captivity," she lamented; "better were it

for me to die here." But her brothers protested, "Thro ugh your agencyGod turns the land of Rus to repentance, and you will relieve Greecefrom the danger of grievous war. Do you not see how much evil theRusses have already brought upon the Greeks? If you do not set out,they may bring on us the same misfortunes." I t was thus tha t they over-came her hes itation only with great difficulty. Th e Princess embarked up ona ship, and after tearfully embracing her kinsfolk, she set forth across thesea and arrived at Kherson. The natives came forth to greet her, andconducted her into the city, where they settled her in the palace.

By divine agency, Vladimir was suffering at that moment from adisease of t he eyes, and could see nothing, being in great distress. T h ePrincess declared to him tha t if he desired to be relieved of this disease,

he should be baptized with all speed, otherwise it could not be cured.W he n Vladimir heard her message, he said, "If this proves true, the n of

a surety is the G od of the Christians great," an d gave orders that h eshould be baptized. The Bishop of Kherson, together with the Princess'spriests, after announcing the tidings, baptized Vladimir, and as theBishop laid his hand upon him, he straightway received his sight. Uponexperiencing this miraculous cure, Vladimir glorified God, saying, "Ihave now perceived the one true God." W he n his followers beheld thismiracle, m any of them were also baptized.

Vladimir was baptized in the Church of St. Basil, which stands at

Kherson upon a square in the center of the city, where the Khersonianstrade. The palace of Vladimir stands beside this church to this day, and

the palace of the Princess is behind the altar. After his baptism, Vladimir

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44 K i ev an R u s

swered that he feared the sin entailed. They replied that he was ap-

pointed of God for the chastisement of malefactors and for the practice

of mercy toward the righteous, so that it was entirely fitting for him topunish a robber condignly, but only after due process of law. Vladimiraccordingly abolished wergild and set out to punish the brigands. Thebishops and the elders then suggested that as wars were frequent, thewergild might be properly spent for the purchase of arms and horses,

to which Vladimir assented. Thus Vladimir lived according to theprescriptions of his father and his grandfather. . . .

W he n the people heard of this [Vladimir's death on July 15, 10151,they assembled in multitudes and mourned him, the boyars as the de-fender of their country, the poor as their protector and benefactor. Theylaid him in a marble coffin, and preserved the body of the blessed Princeamid their mourning.

He is the new Constantine of illighty Rome, who baptized hinlselfand his subjects; for the Prince of Rus imitated the acts of Constantinehimself. . . . Vladimir died in the orthodox faith. He effaced his sinsby repentance and by almsgiving, which is better than all things else.

Sviatoslav's Conquests 37

out to Svyatoslav. It was reported to th e Prince th at Greeks had comebringing greetings, and he ordered that they should be introduced. They ,

then came near and greeted him, laying before him the gold and silks. -

. ,Svyatoslav, without noticing the presents, bade his servants keep them.

So the envoys returned before the Emperor; and the Emperor sum-,

.. .. moned his boyars. Then the envoys reported that when they had come

1;;<

, .; .beforc Svyatoslav and offered thcir gifts, he h ad taken no notice of them ,

. %.

:, z: . ..9 but had ordered them to be rctaincd. Then another courtier said, "Try.., him a second time; send hiin anns."

) . This suggestion was adopted, and they sent to Svyatoslav a sword and

i other accoutrements which were duly brought beforc him. The Prince

.ij . : accepted these gifts, which he praised and admired, and returned hisgreetings to the Emperor. The envoys wcnt back to the Emperor and

. , reportcd what had occurred. Thcn the boyars remarked, "This man m ust .::, be ficrcc, since he pays no hecd to riches, but accepts arms. Submit-to

tributc." Th e Emper or accordingly requested Svyatoslav to approach no

nearer, but to accept tribute instead. F or Svyatoslav had indeed almostreached Tsargrad. So the Greeks paid him tribute, and he took also the -

'

, . share of those Russes who had been slain, promising that their families

should receive it. He accepted many besides, and returned to

Percyaslavctz with great acclaim.Upon observing the small number of his troops, Svyatoslav reflccted

. that if haulv the Greeks attackcd him bv sururise. thev would kill his

Rasll D n i ~ t ry sh ~ n ,d.,Aledicval Russia: :l So~trrc ook, 900-1 700.1 2n d ed. (Dryden Press, 1973).

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14 THE EAST SLAVS AN D K I E V A N RUS

L I T E R A T U R E

I. V. DUBOVtheological con ~pl exe s anllo t ;llways he idell-

me hnic Histo,,, of~orth&mtifie~l y their ethnic or ig i~ ~s .

Rus', in the Ninth to Thirteenth l.et us begin with the Fillno-Ugria~~thnic

Centuries group, the Meria, stutly of wl ~ on ~egall al-rcadv in the middle of the past century.. . .

Vikings. of course, were not the only norl-

Slavic people to play :I p ar t in f a s h i o ~ ~ i ~ ~ g~ts'

society. Other peoples, however, have either

disappeared as a result of assinlilatio~~r de-

mographic disasters, or else they be q~ ~c at l~e d

us no written rcrortl of their earlier history.

Archeology has rescued the past of some of

these peoples, and the selection which follows

coricentrates upon Northrast Rus', whose cell-

ter lay in the upper Volga River valley. I. V.

Duhov finds evidence that Finnic peoples-

some of whose desc entl ants still live in this

arra-controlled the reg io~iwell before the

Slavs and Christianity arrived. The Viki~~gs,

too, had a presence here , as their hi~rial ield

at .Timerovo near Iaroslavl' demonstrates. Ew

idently drawn to the area by the prospect of

tr.dde with the the Scan t~inm ians irst

reached the Upper Volga River in the ninth

century, and had estahlishetl a small outpost

by the followingcenttrry. Overall, then, Duhov

finds evidence of a nunltiethn ic population liv-

ing together along the Volga and iw trihr~tarics

in the tenth and clc ve~ ~the~ltilries.

Although much information is already avail-

able on the his to^ of Northeast Rus' in the

pre-Mongol pcriotl, each year more and Inore

new archeological materials conlr to light. N1

the same, many problems of the history of

- ,

Until that time the Meri;l were know11 o ~ ~ l y

trorn tl~ecant written sollrres and ftoln local

legends and traditions. First mentioned i r ~he

works of Jordanrs, an historiar~of the sixth

century, the Mcria occasionally figlire in Rus-

sian chronicles a he people. who settlrd the

.shores of Lakes Rostov (N ero ) and Kle shchir~o

(Pleshcheevo). Under the year 8.59 the chro~l-

icle identifies the Meria as a tribe from whom

the Vikings took trihute. Thei r participation iu

some of the most important political events in

R~~ssia'sistory also earns rnention. For ex-

ample, the Meria took part wheu ill 882 Oleg

. .Northeast Kus', most of which were first posed

in the last century, remain unresolved. The Rltne stone (scconcl hall' of the eleventh cell-

complexity and ir~tricacy f proh le~ns f ethnic tury) from Skokloster. Sj~ista,Uppland, Swe-

history are co nnect ed with the fact that the rcl- d e ~ ~ .eprinted hy perniissiou of Antikv;~risk-

evantwritten sources are quite laconic, and as- Topogratiska hrkhivet, Stockholln.

T H E M U L U E T€<NI(PEC)IJlLNG C)F RUS 15

ultdertook his ~11111,xiguo estahlisl~ ~isILL-

thol-ity in Kiev, and in 907 when he went

against Byza~~liun~.speci;~lly n ter rst i~r ~rc

the notices aho l~l ebellions in th(: Suztlal'

land in 1024allrl tU T I.

Saints' lives and other sources c:o~~firrnhe

existence of a "Chud [M eria] borough" in the

city of Rostov Velikii up to tlie e11t1of the

twelfth centur y. 111 the 1070s a "stray C h~ ld "

killed the Kostov bishop Lxontii, who was thcri

canoni7,ed. In the fifteenth ar ~dixteerilh cen-

turies in Iaroslavl', sollrces st-call not or~ly

Churl population (Meria) which lived here be-

fort: thc com ing of the Slavs, but locals also

followetl various FinntrUgri;~r~nstorrls: they

worshipped a "lord"-a hear, ant1~ I Ihe duck

they saw tlle ancestor of the worlcl; they wor-

shipped stones, for ex;tn~ple the so-called

"blue" st.o~~ehich lay 011 tile shores of Lakc

Pleshcheevo. These "tlen ~onic teachings"

earne d crrrel l)ersecc~tion ro01 the 01-tho dox

Church, hut churchmen were not always

stron g enou gh to overcolne the influt.nce of'

ancient pagall tratlitions.In thc Tale of the Buildi~~gf the City of

Iaroslavl', a rat11e1-ate sollrcr (eightrenth c:eri-

fury) which all the same has an a~ ~r ir ntasis.

on e can se e es1,ecially clearly local Finno-

l ig r in l~ ~ i l t~~ra loots. In particula~.lie 'Tale

says: " i l ~ ~ dhere was a sr ttle~ne nt ill Iaros-

lavl'] called the Bear's Corner il l whic:h the

people who lived there were pagalls, evil hea-

then. . . They worshipl~ed ll idol of Volos,

tlie god of livestock." A statue o f Volos stootl

in a complex which irrcluded a sallcttlar).

where a sac~ificial ire hurnetl and wllcl-e rit-

uals a~itlacl.ifires were carried o u ~ . mong lo-

c ;~ lesitlc~~tshe sorcerers, who pwsidrd ovcr

these crrel~~onics,lijoyetl special honor arltl

respect. T l ~ e ale also tlescril)es the str- u~gle f

Priuce Iaroslav with thr ir~hahi~~ntsf the

Bear's Co rl ~r r. t first "these people swore 1v

Voles to live in peace with the pl-i~~cc,r~tIo

give hirn tril)ute, but they did not wish to con-

vert to C:l~ristianity." Tl~is 1oticr ~n~t lou hte tlly

attests to the unyieltlir~g pposition to C:liris-

ti;~niz;ttiorl ll this regiou iu the eleve r~th en-

tury. Consecp~ently,when L~roslav rrived il l

the Bear's Co rl~ er o collvert the paplns,

". . .t l~ e cople 1e1e;med tioln ;I barn sortlr

dogs ; I I I ~ a wild hmst to tear th e pri r~c e o

~)iecrsutl cat I I I I I I . I3ut the I.ord preservctl rile

k)ltssccl prin ce, ;i11t1 wit11 his ow11sword he (- ~I I-

queretl l h ~ , e;lst."

This "certain heast" was evidently a bear,

wl~ich he Meria po pula tio~~f the Upper

Volga worshipecl. It w.ts k ept i r ~I barn in tht,

settlrlnent. One rirust ren~ en~ herhat they fctl

the he;~ro as to prepare tor its rit~la l 1;lughter

at thc t in ~c f th' bear I~oliday.lltlging 1)y tile

Tale, th r culr of ( he war iri Lrroslavl'was conl-

billet1 with the worsl ~ip FVolos, th e livestock

got1 of the Novg(,rr,d Slovenes who settlrtl t11c.

Upper Vol p River basin in the ~t ir ~t hhrough

eleventlr centuries.

So o ~ ~ ean see I>oth Meria a ~ ~ t llavic ele-

ments in tlla paga ~~i smf this regior~. he last

wlitterl sources on the Meria come ~ I . O I I I he

end of thr rleventh celltlttv, after which tttis

trihe disapl)t:l~s fro111 th r rhror~irlcs, and

sc:holars Inust employ o ther sources. Th e sim-

ilarity of' the llalnes of. the Meria and Mari

((:l~eremiss), he frequent exchange h etw ec~ ~the letters "a" arid "e," and the appraranr e

of the root Mar-Mer ir ~ ile names of various

rivers, I;~kes, ntl settlrn~entsn the Volp-Oka

hasir1 . . . revealed ;I hroatl tcl.l.itory irll~ahited

by the Meria in tile e arly Micldle Ages, and r e-

vealed ;I dir-ect col ~rl ect in~ ~etweell the Mrria

of tlie chronicles anrl the Mari (Cherelniss).

On e point of view holds that the Meria were

h111o11c corilpo llrrlt of the peop les who nrade

up tile corltempol.aly M ari. Evidently, the

Mrria ant1 ancient Mari were related, sn that

one call speak a b o ~ ~ the prrselice in the early

Middle Ages of a k i ~ ~ df Fir~no-Ugrianconl-

1n111iity cre il l Northe;~st ub'. However there

is no I,;~sis o identify the Mcria with the corl-

t t :~n~~or;~rya s . . . .The l~l'ferencell thr fates

of thesc two t-tlr~~ic.rr)ups consistctl nrost of

all ill tile h1.t that one ot' tllc~u Meria) was

fully xssiu~il;~tedy t11e S1:tvs. 111 ror r~l ec tio n

wilh this lhe klrria tlis;~ppea~-edrom1 the

1);1ges of the chrc)n irles (a lthou gh one cau

trace tllern hv ;~rclleolo\gyor some t ime), ant1

the ot l~ er the Mari) survivetl and later consti-

tuted a nationality.

Arrhcc~logic;~lnorlilnlent.s of t l~ eMeria may

8/3/2019 Rus hist 8-28


16 THE EAST SLAVS AND KIEVAN RUSTHE MULTI - ETHNIC PEOPLING; OF RU S

17

he dividetl illto two chror~ ologi cal ayers. Th e

lirst includes the period from the sixth

t hr ou gh th e r ~ i ~ ~ t her~turies, tid seems rela-

tively "pure " from an ethnic p oint of biew; the

serontl, the period from the tenth through

the thirteenth centl~ ries, lemonstrates that

the Meria hecar~le one of the c onstituent

elerr~ents n old RLIS' rm~terialand spiritual

culture. . . .From the ninth century across the whole ter-

ritory of the Volgl-Oka River basin tlle assinl-

ilation of t hc Meria by the Slaviano-Russian set-

tlers who came here from the northwestern

lands proreeded swiftly.. . . But r~ ot very-

where ditl the process go quickly and fully.

Away From the maill paths the oltl traditious

and marly local characteristics survivcd up to

the twelfth an d thirteenth centuries. . . But in

the Volga area ;1ro1111dKostronra ouly in the

eleventh through thirteerlth cer~tc~riesas the

oltl RIIS' po p~~ la ce:~sl~ior~eds a result of mix-

ing local Meria with the migrar~tswho came

here from Iaroslavl' and tlirectly from the Nov-

gorod Ia~~d s .he process of incl utli~ ~ghe Kos-

trollla regiol~n Old Rus' was conlple trd by the

n~it ldlr f t he twelfth centilry.

Ljuriug the ninth to thirteenth centuries

there was a def nite renaissance of a~rr ien trzl-

dition i11 the culture of thc. Russian popr1l:lce

of th e Northeast, archeologic-aHy expressed il l

the n~ater ials of burial sites and settle-

ments. . . .This is connectrd with the fact that

the isolation of various group s within thia mul-

ticultural populace, characteristic- of tlris firht

stage of Slavic-Ri~ssian olonization of the re-

gion, alter nate d with active corltacts, with tl ~e

ir~tcrpenetr-atiou f cultures. Meria elentents

were orpu ~ira lly bsorbed by the new ethnic

group being formetl, anti thercfi)re rllrlst be

exan~i~rrcls an illseparable par t of the h~sio n

o S the di~r rr eli t thnic traditious in old Rus'

c u l t ~ ~ r e ,r ~ hich the Slavic coruponent played

a 1cadi11g ole.

Basin, was: often ret ll~c ed o a process of set-

tling this ter rit oq by Slavs, known in the lil-

erature as "colo~~ization."n the works of M.

P. Pogodin, S. M. Solov'ev, M. S. Hr~lshev'skh

and others, the fonl~atiorl f the Rus' natio~l-

ality in the Northeast enlergetl as a process of

ullinter-ru pted colonization of this region by

the Slovenes ant1 Krivichians. Kliuchevskii

noted that "settlers from various regiolls of

Kievan Rus', Iuving absorbed trative Finns,

F o ~ ~ ~ t d e dere a de~l se, ounogeneo~is nass . . .

which sewed as the g r i n of the Great Kussiarl

tribe." Solov'ev wrote that "the Slavic tribes

qained rnaterid and spiritual supremacy over

the Firlnic tribes, who therefore had to yield

to the Slavs." Many l~istor ians uggested that

the local Finno-Ugridns were quickly ~Ysimi-

bated by thc arriving Slavic populatio~~.his

process, they proposetl, bore a prin~arily

peaceful character. However there were also

oth er views, acro rding to which "the estahlish-

n~ en t t the Slavic newconlers, or, lo be Inore

precise, the weaker~ing f the Finns untler he

pressure of Novgorod's influence, did not pass

w i t h o ~ ~ tloodsllrrl." Similar views were ex-

pressed in t l~ e orks of archeologists and lead-

ing histori;~us f the past century. . .111ou r tirne archeologists have repeatetlly re-

turned to these qllestions. . . P. N. Tret'iakov

Iras treated the problem of the Slavic settle-

ment of the Volga-Oka River basin most co111-

prehensively. Originally he . .wrote that "in

the second half of the first mill cr~n i~ln~I, he

Upper V ol p constitutetl the outskirts of the

Slavic lantls. AL tllat ti me the Krivirhiar ~s c-

cupied all the upper rearhes of the Duieper

River, the upper bmnchcs of the Wester11

Dvina and ll ~ e aldai Plalea u. Along the Volgas e t t l e ~ n e ~ ~ t sf Krivichians reactled to tile

mouth of the Kotorosl', around which Inter

rose the city of Iaroslavl'. Here the territory of

thr Krivicl~iit~rson~tituted wedge into terri-

tory ocrupicd by other tribes." Later Tret'ia-

kov ~ronosetl northwest rr~overne~~tf Slavic- ,~ ,

The second part of our problern roncenls set t len~et~tn the laroslavl' region of theVolga,

the settleu~enty the Slavs of the forest zolle.although the basic. home of the Krivichia~~se-

I11 pre-revolutionary h istoriograph y the u nder-main ed tor him the soclthwest. The massive re-

standir~gofhe fonnat ion o f Old Rus ', a ~ ~ dl ~ e set t lerne~~tf thc Slavs in the lands of the

Great R~~ ss ia r~thnos in the Upper Vol q RiverMcria rook plare from1 tl ~e nd of he eighth

to ea~ ly r~he ninth ccutllry, which is why, in rot1 i nt o B e lo o ~e r o n d t he so u t h e ~ n r g i o ~ ~

his opinion, in its first stage the colonizing of the Volpa-Oka River hasin dire c~l yrorn thestrearrls went Erolll the Novgorotl lands along Upper ant1 Middle Dnieper . . . <:hronia.lethe larg est watc:r rout es . . sources do not say ar~ythirrg bout when ; u ~ d

So, in the ninth rentury on the territory of where the first SIavs appearetl ill the Volgn-the VolgaOka River basin, lhir~ ly ettletl by Ok:r River basin. However the fact tllat t l ~ eFinno-Ug~i;tns, he Slavs appeared, either es- northern Slavic g[.oups (Slovenes z~rrdKrivi-tal)lisl~ingnew srttlr~ucntsor illhabiting al- chixns) figure in the all-Rus' evellts of theready establishetl pk~ces. he basic means of ninth century, together with the Ves' andtravel of the Slavs were the rivers e~ np ty i~ ~gnt o Meria, sc~ggrstc hat the fin t waves of Slavic set-the Volga system; I)eg innir~ g rom that t in ~ehe tlers moved in to the Northeast ir ~ he 11i11thVolga was transti)nned from an internal water century. They c anle he re fro111 he re gions ofr o ~ ~ t rf t l~ e ir~r~o-Lrgriarlribes into a trade se l t l e l r~e~~ tf th e Sl;~vic ribes ;~lrcad ymell-r o u ~ eor Novgorotlian Slovenc:~n their ulove- tionetl.

n ~ e n tnto the forest lands. Originally the new In the eleventh to twelfth centuries in thepopulation w~ s entered in a small region; at Volga-Oka Rive1 basin d ~ elow of the pop~~la-any rate, only here , in the Volga-Oka River ha- tion from southwest Rt~s'swelled, and thesin are Sklviauo-Rus' antic61ities from the northwest tlirection of uiigration recedes intoniuth century kuo w~ . the barkgro~u~d.lthoug h the tr:~ditional ties

Historico-archeological observations coin- were preserved all the way to the severlteenthcitle with the concl~~siol~sf lingllists. It century.

emerges that the flow of ln ig ra n~ ~rom the The settlcn~entbyhe Sl;lvsof the forest lalldNovgorotl larrtls was heteroger~eous11 its eth- in various stages also had a d efir~ able orio-rc(>

nic co~npositior~.hey srttlrd ~nainly long the nol r~i c hara ctrr . Without a doubt this was re-left-bank of the V ol ~d , but a few groups of flected in the processes of ethnogenesis. So, inthem penetrated and settletl in sepamte the first stage in the n /nt h centllry tl ~e ppear-regi ons or1 the riglit 1m11k of he Volga, espe- ance here of the Slavs was tleperltlc~~t,vi-cially OII t l ~ r crri lory f present-day Iaroslavl' dently, most of all or1 trade and crafts. 'Thrls,ant1 p;~rtly ll the Ivanovo regiou." Th e mi- the new po pul;~t ion ippearetl first ritller ingrants brought with then1 n ~ ~ l r hhat wns new. cen trr s which occ~ lpietl key position alongIn the first place, plow agricultur e hrga n to the Volga route, or they created new centers.sprea d, wl~ic 1 prov oked its own k ind o f rev* which hzul analogous sigrrificance for trade.lution in cconon~irs. he Slavs and the Scan- The nrw settlers-Slavs-appe-ared in the oltldinavians who mule with them also included Meria tribal cerrters. . . .And inas~t~t~cl ls thethis area in th e spllere o f ir~terr~ationalrade. procebs of th e decay of the Fi1111trUgria11ribalThe new populace created ;I series of tratle- struc ture hat1 already gone Far, the Slavs, h v -

craft centers, the prototypes of rarlv Feutlal ing a higher material and spiritr~alcul t~lre,

RIIS' owms. (Zhz~nges lsr) occurl-ed in spiri t~ral rat her rapitlly occu pied th r dor11i1,ant po.5i-cul ture and ideolo,gy. A ~ ~ c wurial custonl- tion. The phenonlenon o S the forn~ationofthe burial n~ound-z~ppeared . Finally, the the old Rus' nationality was extraortli~~arilyrnair~material of protluctiorl I)r can ~eron , su p complicatetl a nd marly-sitlrtl. H e ~ ehe settle-plantir~g one.

merit of the Slavs, the assin~ilation f the local

In the tenth century the Slavs spread out Finno-Ugrians, and their accultc~ration dl

fro111 this region along the wl~o le Suzdal' playetl a role. Of co1c1se. it is itupossible to re-steppe all the way to the Kliai'~naRiver. At this duce this co~nplicatedpl.ocess to ally sinaIrtime the niot.rrnrnr ti.on1 the 1arosl;lvl' portion factor.

of tile Volga into Beloozero took place. Of

course, this scherne tloes not exclude t l~ e i- Another real problern of the eth ~~ icistory (,f

rect perletration of the migrants fro111Novgo- the torebt Lone is the role of the Scar~dir~asian

8/3/2019 Rus hist 8-28


18 THE EAST SI.AVS AN13 KIEVAN RUS'

e l e ~ r ~ e ~ ~ t sn the life of - this rrgi or~ n the early

Mitldle Ages. Sca~ldinavian cor ~~pl exe snd

sepnrritc a~.cheologi~.rtli~1d.s rc know11 from

.I( l ~ r ~ i rhe gre at nurn her of buria l sites in VI, I'and Iaroslavl', in rural xr ~dratle-crah centers,

and in cities.

The most tlreply stuclied among the Sca11-

dillavian antiquit ies are those hm nd in the Ti-

merevo co~nple x, here tl ~ey rr hroatlly rc y

resented by burials accomplishetl accor di~~ ):o

ScantLinavia~~itual, and by separa te objects of

nortl~t:rr~rigin in the bnrial site, and by the

typcs of structllres an d o ther fir~tls n the set-

tlc111eut.Elements of Nv ln ~a n ulture are also

visihlt: in th e forrn of Kufic coin hoards discov-

ered hrre.

On e of the first students of the Iaroslavl' ne-

cropolis. 'Tiktlonrirov, p o i ~ ~ t e dI I ~ hat the ha-

sic mass of graves in Tirnerrvo anel the Mik-

hailov burial gronnds near L~roslavl'helor~gs

to Vikings, and that th e buri21l mo un ~l radi-

tion itself was transferred to 1an)slavl' by the

Normans. St~ltlies f the Swedish ;~rcheologist

7'. Ar11r fully developed t he view ac cor tli ~~go

which th e Volga roltte at its origin was Viking

a r ~ dhat the Iaroslavl' lantls along the Vo lp

were a Scandinaviar~ olony.

The studies oflu. V. Got'? a nd A.P. Sn~iruov

treatetl tl ~e :on~plrxesnea r I;~n)slavl' xclu-

sively as trade celltcrs on thr Volga tratlc route,

which is why they co ~u ~e ct edhcir rise with the

nppeararlce in the Upp er Volga ot the Scan-

dinavians. Got'e suggested that the "settle-

ment ne;u. Iarnsl;~vl'wxs Slavic . . . 1 ~ 1 t ithin

it was a Norman colony, which co~,stitutrda

staging poil~tmitlway 01 1 thc routr fro111 the

Vikings to the East." J. Rra~r stcd igured that

emigrants from No~way ou~rdetl he " S ~ ~ I I -

tlinavian colony" near Iaroslarl'.

T l ~ e ost carc.ful assessment of Scandi~la-

1ia11 ~~ticllritiesn the Iaroslavl' r rgior~ elongs

to V. V. Sedov, who sllggests that the areas

around laroslavl' rep rrs r~~ tet lne of "two

I;~rgr .oncer~tmtio~~sf b urial 111ountlsof war--

rior-retai~~ersr ~he 11ol-theast portion of th r

East Slavic el-I-itory of that tirne. 80th regiot~s

were loc.;~teclat key points long the Baltic-

V r l l ~ ; ~ater rollle, con nrr ti~ lg hr states of

No1 tl~c rnmtl Wrsterr~ urope with the Eat."

EIe also (totes a decicledly Scnntlil~avian thnic

colnponellt in these graves. Objects of North

E u r o p e a ~ ~rigin also have bee11 tliscoveretl iu

the Tinlerevo settlrlne~lt.

M. V. Fekhnrr . . . argues against the view

wl~ich tle~~tifieshe Iaroslavl' necropolises as

burial grou~~dsor Sca~~tl in;~vianradiug sta-

tions. She says that "a small nu n~ be r f SC;III-

dirlavia~~raves in a give11 cem etel y proves

only that ill the tellttl century a snrall gro up of

Normans, wl~ oettled in Iaroslavl' in { he e11tl1

centu ry, eviclently were already in t he eleventh

cerltuly assirnilatetl hy the local po p~ ~l a -

tion". . . Fck l~ r~erdelltiti es 4% of the hul-ial

complexe s in Tirnctrevo as Scandinavian, 30%

a s F i ~ ~ r ~ i c ,nd 15% as Slavic; it was impossible

to deter~ninehe ethnic origins of 45% oS the

con~plexes.Such calculations, however, pro-

voketl doul)ts, and a new qu;urtitative analysis

was u ~ ~ d e r t a k e ~ ~ ,aving discartled those gnvcs

whose etlrnic origins were unknown. As a I-e-

sult, it appears that in the tenlh ce ~~ ti ~r y3%

of the burial sites belo~~geclo Scar~tlinavians,

75% to Films, an d 12% to Slavs; c;~rly n t he

eleventh century, 5.5% of the bt~rialswere

Sca~~ditx~vian,2.9% Fin~~ic,~ ~ t l4% Slavic-.

Prese~~ t lyll Ti~nerevomore than 30 1,urial

complexe s a1.e known, an d abo ut 5% of all the

excavated 1)11rial mo ~r nd s rected over the

collrse of' two centurie s be lo~ lge d o Scantli-

navians. This percent of conrse does not re-

tlect t l~ e ral nu111ber of Sca~~dinaviansho

were here, for lllally of whom the visit to Ti-

rnerevo was brief. Besides, 11nder sorrle of the

r ~ ~ o u ~ ~ t l sl~ight e buried the wives ofthc Scan-

tlinavi;~nswho ruight have had all entirely dif-

f e r r ~ ~ tt h ~ ~ i cr i g i ~ ~ .. .Altogether thr11, we get the following pic-

ture. In the ninth century, when the move-

n~ el lt f the Sl;nic ~)opu lation -orn the Nov-

gorot l l a ~~ dso t l~cUpper Volga be pn , there

carnc also groups of S c:tndi~~avia ns ith their

estzt)lisl~cd ilstom of burial (burial n~o tu ~t ls

with their characteristic ro1111rl tone pilrs). In

the tenth century the Scancli~~aviar~urial tra-

clitio~l-burial rl~antbcrs-WLS preservetl. Thc

p~.oport i~)nf things of northern origin sigr~if'

i ca~~ t lyrtcreasecl as a rt-s11lt of 't l~ erowir~sole

of t l l r Volga routr as a t r .a~~s-E~~ropca~~fitde

THh MULTI-ETHNIC

;Irtely. Northel-rr tratlitions also were recorled

in the house I,l~ildir~gsf Tirrlel.evo set tlen ~en t. . whir11 incl~~tledpes characteristic of the

Sca~~(linavi;morth.. . Several types of ce-

ran~icsliscovered at Tim?rrvo also have their

r o o 6 i r ~ candinavia, or at least have analogies

there. . . Altog etl~e r, however, objects of

Scancli~~avianrigirr const itr~t e miserly per-

cent of the total ofall finds, and nothing firmly

indicating a complete Norrna~~omplex has

yet been foultd.

Russo-Scantli~~avianies, tirst made in the

ninth centluy ant1 having reached their apo-

g r e i r ~ hr followir~g elltrrry, evidently tailed

I off in the eleventh century. Finds of norther n

origin fro111 archeolog ical layers dated to the

elrver~th entury are rare, and do not c o~~ fir m

a broad presenrr of Scandinavians in the Rus-

1 sian lands. . . .Tb e newest advances of archeological sci-I

ence in the area of Russo-Scanrli~~avianela-

I t i o ~ ~ sre surnmarized and analyzed in a series

of works recently publishetl. Not Ion& , g~ "3 0 D.

A. Avdusi~~a contemporary archeologist whodenies t l~a the Vikings had mu ch influe r~ct. n

Rus'] publishrtl an article devotetl to this

probl em. The auth or practically ignores Scan-

dinavian antiquities found in the Upper Volga,

and only in passing mentions materials from

the Iaroslavl' burial sites, the Scandinavian

conlporlerlts ofw hicl ~ ere analyzed above. . . .Avclusin suggests that 11e is correct ing " tt ~e

distortion" which, ill his view ;u.cheologisoI

have coni~~~it tedy exaggerating the role of

ScanclinavLuns n Rus' a nd by presen ting t he1 ' Scandinavian finds as more ancient than in! ' filct they are. . But the poi~rtwas not to al-

l lege some exclusive Scantlinavian rolr ill Rus'or an artiticial exaggeration of its sig~~ific;u~ce

in the historical processrs which took place in

thc early Mitltile Ages. On the contrary, the

I idea was to poi r~t ut the "fruitful and mlltu-

ally ;~dvanc;~geousharacter of R~cssoScandi-

naviau interaction." 'I'he secontl reproac:h of

Avdusir~ s alsc~ nacceptable. for no on e has

evrr trirtl to make the Scantlinavian tinds

oltler than in Fact they were. It is clearly de-

rnonstrable that these n~at erials re synchro-

nolls with the sartle fu ds in Scantlinavia

:PEOPLING OF RUS '

itself, mainly da ted ol?jcct.s like fibula s, ~ I I -

h r ~ t s ith the bamlrlers of Thor, swortls.

etc. . . .Accc~rrlil~go Avdusin, the pr esenc r oFSca11-

dinavians ill old Rus' urban centers "may I,e

explairlrcl not by their town-building n~ission,

but hy their participation il l the econon~ ic nd

political life of tlie old Rus' state." In this wa y

he hopes to show that the Vikings hacl no re-

lation to the appearance and developrne~~t.f

towns in old Rus'. But in his assel-tior~shere is

an internal c ontradiction, inasmuch as the rise

of towns ill Rus' was the result of ec o~ ~o m ic

ant1 political tleveloprnent. IT in these pro-

cesses Scandinavia~~sook part. this means that

they played adefini te rolr in the estahlish n~er~ t

of early ~rrbau enters, as can he seen from

Inany examples, inch~dingTi~nerevo,which

arose as a result of the mz~stering f the Volga

route by the Slavs, together with whom at this

early stage in the begir~r~ingf the ninth cen-

tury the Scantlinavians also were present.

Then in the tenth century the local Fillr~tr

'IJgrians-the Meria-also appe ared ill thecomposition of the poplrlatio~~f this impor-

tant trade-crafts center. Of course, olle coultl

not claim that t l~ e car~di~~avia nsere tl~e

founders of towns in Rus', but one also could

not tleny fully, as A\~tlusirl oes, their plrtiri-

pation ir ~he processes of found ing towr~s ll

the ninth ant1 tenth rer ~turies.

In Avdusin's opinion, Scandil~avians artic-

ipated only ir ~he tra~lsco~~tinentalrade. He

writes: "A considerable part of the trade ill

Rus' took place without the Scandinavians,

ruitl~out heir partic ipatior~." By that he evi-

d c ~ ~ t l yeant those reqions where scan din;^.

vians had never been . But it is clear t ha ~ can-dinavian goods canre into the ~lletlieval

heartlantl of R~ ~ss iaither tlirectly from Scan-

dinaviar~ nerch;mts or through i~ ~te rme dia r-

ies, as finds of Scantlinavian ohjects across the

extensive territory o t old Rus' confirm.

Qilestions ahout the ethnic hisror)..ofNorth-

east Rlts' in the early medieval epoch are far

from resolved. Mowevrr, the role of two main

rt h~ ii c components-Slavic ant1 F~IIII' F

Ugria~l-in the process of the forlnation of thr

8/3/2019 Rus hist 8-28


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8/3/2019 Rus hist 8-28


THE E R A OF V L A D I M I R I

In the year 980, an obscure prince landed on th e north ern shores of a

land that became kno wn as Ru s' and, later, Russia. Almost a decade

earlier his father, the ruler o f this land, had placed him in charge o fth earea surrounding one of its towns, the recently founded Novgorod.

But after his father died (972) and one of his elder brothers killed

the o ther (977), this prince, V ladimir (V olodimer) Sviatoslavich, fled

abroad. After several years of exile he now led a band of Varangians

(Norsemen) across the Baltic from Scan dinavia. His int entio n was to

depose his half-brother Iaropolk and assume the throne of k e v .

Upon landing in Rus', Prince Vladimir immedately sought allies

to join him against Iaropolk. H e turned to th e prince of Polotsk(Polatsk), Rogvolo d, a fellow Varangian but unrelated to Vladimir

and his family, and requested the hand of his daughter Rogneda in

marriage. But she haughtily refused him, calling him the "son o f a

slave" and indic ating a preference for Iaropolk. Vladimir responded by

le a ln g hls Varangian force, along with Slovenes, Ch ud', and Krivichi

from his form er domain of Novgo rod, against Polotsk. H e defeated

and killed Rogvolo d and his sons, captured Rog neda, and forced her

to become his bride. Polotsk was attached to the realm of Vladimir's

family, the Kiurikid dynasty.

Vladimir then marched toward his brother's capital, the city of

Kiev. Growing o ut o fsettlements established in th e sixth and seventh

8/3/2019 Rus hist 8-28


2 .bfedieval Russid , 980-1584 '

centurie s, Kiev was located far to the south of Nov gorod on hi&

overlooking the west or right bank of the Dniepe r River. By 980

it had b ec on ~e he political center of a domain, know n as Kievan

Ru s ' , that extended from N ovgorod on the Volkilov R iver south-

ward across the divide where the Volga, the West Dvina, and the

Ilnie per R ivers all had their or igh s, and dowll the Dn ieper just past

Kiev. It also included the lower reaches of the main tributaries of

the D nie per Arriving at the city, Vladimir entered int o negotiationswith his brother. But in the midst of their talks two of Vladin~iri

Varangians murdered Iaropolk. Vladinlir Sviatoslavich becarilethe

sole prince of Kievan Itus '.

Prince Vladimir's claim to the Kievall thm ne rested oilly in part on

the nlilitary force he used to secure it. it was also based or1 heritage.

Vladiniir was one of th e sons ofSviatoslav. prince ofK iev from 96 2 to

972. T h e Russian I'rinlary Chm llicle traces Sviatoslav's lineage back

through his father igor' and mother Olga to a Norseman named

Ri ur ik Th e legend of Riurik c la ims that in the ninth century a

group of quarreling easterrl Slav and Finnic tribes that had dwelled

in what is now i~orthw esternRussia invited R iur ik and his brothers

to co me to their lands, rule over them, an d bring peace and orde r to

their peoples.

While the chronicle accourrt incorporates myth and cannot be

taken literally, it does reflect t he fact that Sc andinavian Viking s, called

Ru s'. ' were present in the territories of the eastern Slav and Finnic

tribes by th e ninth century and that they eventually becallle rulers or

princes over the native population. Vladin nri allcestors, founders of

the dynasty that was later nanied after Riur ik, led o ne of those Viking

bands. Vladimir's victory over Rogvolod sibmaled the conlpletion of

the process pursued by Igor' and Sviatodav to elim inate rival bands

and establish exclusive ascendancy over en oug h of the native tribes to

fashion a cohesive principality out of their territories. Although the

Slav tribes shared a coillmo n language and there is some ev idence of

' The o r i g in o f t he t e rm "Rus '"a nd t he popu l a t l o~ ~ srid territories to w hich it refers

have been the subjects of lengthy and intense debate For the rake of-sinlplicin/

the te r~ n ill be used in this chapter to refer to the Scandinavians. including the

nlr~nbers f the Riurikid dynasty, who imposed their rule over the eastern Slavs.

In subsequent chapters the distinction between the Scandinavian Kus' and the

Slavs wi l l be dropped and the te rm wi l l he appl ied to the rulers n ~ dopulation of

"man R u s ' That te rn1 wil l be used broadly to mean those la nd subjec t to the

Kiurikid princes.

The era i$ Vladitnir I 3

federation a mo ng then1 prior to the establishment of Scat~dinavian

rule, it was their com nlon recognition o f the R iu ri hd dynasty that

bound them into the state that became known as Kievan Rus'.

C ( INSOL IDAT1ON O F POWER

The lands of Vlad imir' s rea lm were ~ o ~ u l a t e drimarily by east-ern Slav tribes. To the no rth w ere the Slovenes of the N ovgoro d

region 2nd the neighboring Krivichi, who occupied the territories

surrounding the headwaters of the West Dvina , Dniepe r, and Volga

Rivers. To the south in the area around Kiev were the Poliane, a

group of Slavicized tribes with Iranian origins. To their north the

Derevliane inhabited the lands west of the Dnieper extending to its

right tributary, the Pripiat' &ver (Pripet). O n the other side of the

Pripiat' were the Ilreyovichi. West of the Derevliane dwelled the

Volynians; south of them, i.e., southwest of Kiev, were the Ulichi

and Tivertsy tribes. East of th e Dn iepe r along its left tributary, t he

Desna River, were Severiane tribes; the Viatichi lived to their nor tharld east along the upper O ka River. Kievan Ru st was fringed in the

north by the Finnic Chud ' , and in the northeast by the M uroma and

Merya tribes that occupied the lands on the Oka and Volga Rivers.

To the so uth its forested lands settled by Slav agriculturalists gave way

to steppelmd s populated by nomadic herdsm en.

Within Kievan Kus' there were several noteworthy towns by the

late tenth century. Klev and Novgorod, its southern and northern

focal points , were the most important. In addit ion, Ibevan Rust

contained Snlolensk, a center of the Krivichi, located on the upper

Dnieper. wes t of Smolensk war the town of Polotsk, which V ladvrur

had seized from Rogvolod; i t was located o n the Polota k v e r whichflows into the West Dvina. South of Polotsk, on the Pripiat' k v e r ,

was the Dregovich ce nter of Turov (Turau). O n the east side of the

Dnieper Chernig ov (C hernihiv) , the major center of the Severiane

t ri be s, c o ~ ~ l m a n d e dhe Des na R iver . L'ereiaslavl', situate d southeast

of Kiev on the Trubezh River, another tr ibutary of the Dnieper,

was the town nearest the steppe frontier. Rostov, located on Lake

Nero in Merya country, had also been founded by the era of Prince

Vladimir.

Kievan Rus ' was coalescing amidst oth er organized states. To th e

east was Bulgar, located on th e mid-Volga R iver near its juncture with

the Kama. S ou th o f Bu lga r and sou theast o f l e v a n Rus ' were the

.* .

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8/3/2019 Rus hist 8-28


G Medieval Russia, 980-1584

Rus' ; in this way it also helped to secure their allegiance to Ke v and

the kurikid dynasty.

C O N V E R S I O N 'TO C H R I S T I A N I T Y

In addition to using force to consolidate his ruling position over the

tribes of his realm, Vladimir adopted another policy that served twingoals ofintegrating the diverse tribes into a single society and ofintro-

ducing an ideology that would legitimize his rule. That policy was the

introduction of a uniform conlnlon religion for his heterogeneous

population. In so doing Vladimir began a process of associating sec-

ular political authority with religious institutions and clergy, whose

authority and advice were eventually popularly respected. Conversely,

pagan priests and tribal leaders, who clung to their local gods, lost

their positions, prestige, and power.

Vladimir's first attenlpt at providing a single faith was undertaken

shortly after he assumed the throne in Kiev; it was based on thepagan religions of his subjects. Having witnessed the recent coUapse

of Khazaria, which had lacked religious unity, and evidently appre-

ciating the political advantages of identifying h in~s elfwith the broad

spectrum of gods worshipped by his diverse subjects, Vladin~ir pon-

sored the erection of a pagan temple on a hill at the very heights

of the city. The temple was dedicated to six gorlr; the idols repre-

sented several groups within the Kievan population. Perun, the god

of thunder and war, was a Norse god favored by n~mmers f the

prince's dnrzhina (military retinue). Others in the pantheon were the

Slav gods of the sky (Stribog) and of light and fertility (Dazhd' bogor Dazhboh); Mokosh', a goddess representing Mother Nature, was

worshipped also by Finnish tribes. In addition, Khors, a sun god, and

Simargl, another fertility god, both of which had Iranian origins,

were included, probably to appeal to the Poliane. For reasons not

explained in the chronicles, Vladilnir became dissatisfied with this

religious arrangement. The alternative he found provided the same

un ie ing advantages and ideological support for his political position.

He adopted Christianity.

Christianity had been known in Kirvan R u s for at least a century

Vladinir's grandmother , Olga, had been a Christian, and a Christianchurch, the Cathedral of St. Elias (Il'ya) had been functioning since

at least 944, when Christian retainers of Vladimiri grandfather, Igor',

were said to have sworn oaths there. Nevertheless, the selection of

Th e era of Vladimir I 7

Christianity was not a foregone conclusion. f ieva n Rus ' was famil-

iar not only with Christianity as practiced both in Byzantium and

Europe, but with the other monotheistic religions, Judaism and Islam.

A chronicle tale relates that Vladimir sent representatives to investi-

gate all the options available to the Rus'. The tale reflects not only

the wide range of cultural influences to which Kievan Rus' wasexposed, but also the culturally receptive, yet selective character of

tlus emerging state. it explains that Vladimir and his advisers rejected

Islam because, among other factors, Muslims were prohibited from

drinking alcoholic beverages. They considered Judaism unacceptable

because they found it inexplicable that the God of the Jews, if H e

were truly powertul and favored His people, would have allowed

them to be deprived of a country of their own. When comparing

the two versions of Christianity, Vladimir's emissaries reported they

found no glory in the ceremonies in the "German" or European

churches. But when they went to Constantinople and were led bythe emperor into "the edifices where they worship their God," they

were overconle with awe: "we knew not whether we were in heaven

or on earth," they informed their prince and his court. "For o n earth

there is no such spler~dor r such beaut): and we are at a loss how to

describe it. We know only that God dwells there among men, and

their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations."'

A continuation of the chronicle tale, however, indcates that the

process of adopting Christianity was more mundane and immersed

in politics and war. It describes how Vladimir led a campaign against

Cherson, a Byzantine commercial outpost o n the Crimean peninsula.He laid siege to' the town, which surrendered after its water supply

had been cut off. Vladimir then held it as ransom while he demanded

Emperor Basil's sister Anna in marriage. Despite her declaration that

she would prefer to die than wed Vladimir, the emperor agreed to

the prince's conditions. Anna reluctantly arrived in Cherson, where-

upon Vladimii was baptized, married the Byzantine princess, and

returned Cherson to Basil as his bridegroom's gift. Then, accom-

panied by his wife and Byzantine Christian clergy, he returned to

Kiev. Prince Vladimir destroyed the pagan idols that overlooked the

city, conducted a mass baptism of the Kievan population in the

The Russian Primary Chronicle, Laurentian Tert, trans, and ed. by Samuel Hazard

Cross and Olgerd f! Sherbowitz-Wetzor (Cambridge. Mass.: Medieval Academy

of America, 1953). p p 1 1 0 - I I I

8/3/2019 Rus hist 8-28


8 Medieval R~gssin,980-1584 'D n i e ~ e r and began the process of baptizing the rest o f bsubjects.

The chronicle tale, ail amalgam of legend and fact compiled

approximately a century after the events, contains numerous lapm

and inconsistencies that have compelled historians, drawing upon

s~ ppl em ent ary ources, to compose cohere nt narratives around theevents associated with the convenion. Staudard descriptions haw

clung to the chronicle's outline. They add, however, that at the tinleof

these events the Byzantine emperor Basil I I (976-1025)had recendy

suffered a defeat in Bulgaria and was losing control over Anatolia to

rebels. Desperate for military support, h e sent B delegation t o Vladimir

with a request for assistance. His need for a Varangian detach me nt to

confront th e dangers facing him was so great that the emp eror agreed

to arrange a marriage b etwe en his sister Anna and the Kievan prince.

Th e only conditions were that V iadimir send the troops, convert to

Christianity, and forsake his other wives.

As a result ofthes e negotiations, Vladimir did send reinfo rcen~e nuwith whose aid Emperor Basil successfully defended Constantinople

fm m th e rebels. By spring of 989. :he Varangians had finally crushed

Basil's opponents. B ut the emperor seemed to renege o n his agree-

ment. Marriage into the ruling house of the Byzantine Empire was

a singular honor, rarely granted, and therefore strikingly significant

in that it would bestow such high stature on a new addition to the

Christian wodd. The bride herself apparently balked at the idea of

marrying a northern barbarian. it was at this point that Vladin~ir,

impatient at the delays, attacked Cherson.3

Some scholars have offered variant scenarios. Andrzej Poppe, forexample, proposed that Emperor Basil and hi, sister Anna, rnoti-vated by political and military necessity, honor ed their co n~ m it m en t

to Vladimir in a timely manner. Anna and Vbdimir, according to

this reconstruction o f the events, had already married w hen the K us '

prince undertook his campaign against Cherson. The objective of

the campaign was then not to force the Byzantine enlperor to ful-fill his pledge, but to assist him, once again, by suppresnng rebels in

the tow n w ho suppor ted his enemies. Poppe jusafied his revision of

' For exanlpl- of [his version of rhe events, see Cc orge vrrnadik\,,

R,,~&,A H i ~ b r ~I/Ruaifl, vo l 11 (New Haven. C on n., a11d London: Yale U nive ruvPrcss~~ 9 4 8 ) ~p. 6 2 4 ~ ~nd Dimitri Obolensky l l i i B y r am t it le C b m m o t i w a l t h :

Earern E ~ w JO*J453 (Crntwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimlri Seminary Pnsi,1982).

PP. 254-258.

The era cf Vladimir II

the chronicle accou nt by des cr ib ~n g t as "a legend 'vested in his-

torical garnlents"' that had been compi led "over on e hundr ed years

d e r the conversion" not with the intention of accurately record ng

a chronology of facts, but of "present[ing] . . . a significant religious

rrcurrence" that required no "logical sequence of events" and there-

fore lacked on e.4Although the sources do not provide a consistent set of dates for

d he events, the year 98 8 has been accepted as the traditional date

of the formal conversion of %evan Ru s' t o Chr isti aniv It marked

a triumph for Byzantium and its Chu rch, which acquired potentid

access to the peoples dwelling as far north as the Gulf of Finland.

The achievement was even more dramatic against the background of

h e recent expansion of the Rom an Christian Church into northern.

central, and eastern Euro pe and Islam to the m id-Volga region, where

it had been adopted by the Bulgars in 922.

Although w ritten later by Christian m onks, the chronicles containcuriously scant information on the history of the Church from 988,

the time of the conversion, to 1036, when Vladmir's son Iaroslav

gained full author ity over the R us ' lands and renewed efforts to spread

and fortify the faith in his realm. T he lack of information has led to

so n~ e peculation about the status of the Ch urch during its early

years. It is generally accepted, however, that from the time of its

incep t ion the Or thod ox Church in Kievan Rus ' had the status of a

metropolitanate, whose chief prelate was appointed by the patriarch

of Constantinop le. It is also widely acknowledged that the seat of the

metropolitan was Kiev itself, although other possibilities have been

suggested.

Th e adop ion of Christianity had a major impact o n Kievan Rus' .

Th e Church became a second institution, a long with the Riurikid

dynasty, that gave shape and definition t o the emer ging state. It tur ned

the face of Kievan Rur' from the Muslin1 East. whose wealth had

originally drawn the Rus' to the lands of the eastern Slavs, toward

+ Andnej Poppr, T h e [J~kticalBackjround lo the Baptism d R u s ' : B y z a n t i n c R m i w t

R r l a t i ~ ~ n ~e i w e m .86-g89, l)un~barton Oaks Papen, no. 30 (Washingon, D.C.:

Dun~bartonOaks Center for Byzantine Studies, 1976), p. 21 -21 2 , 221. 224-228,' 241; reprinted in Poppe, The Risr c$ Chrb ti i ln Russia (London: Variorum

Reprints, 1982).The quoted ~hrases re taken h m Poppe's uticle, "How the

Conv ersion of Kus' Was Unde rstood in the Eleventh Century," HUS, vol. 11

8/3/2019 Rus hist 8-28


10 M e d i e v a l R u s s i a , 980-1584

Byzantium and served as a vehicle for the influx ofa range ofcultural

influences associated with Christianity into Kievan Rus'.

The most immediately dramatic and obvious impact of the adop-

tion of Christianity was the transformation of CevS architectural

landscape. Vladimir smashed the pagan idols and hilltop temple he

had builtjust a few years before; in their place arose a church dedicated

to St. Basil. Even more spectacular, however, was his construction ofan ensemble of buildings set on the central hill of Kiev, outside the

old fortifications. Vladimir ordered the gmundr of a cemetery that

had occupied the place of honor leveled. In a location visible to all

inhabitants of the city and with nmistakable symbolism, he built?he stone Church of the Holy Virgln, more coinmody known as

the Church of the Tithe, on the desecrated remains of the pagan

dead. T he foundations of the church were laid in 989 or gy I; it was

completed and dedicated in the year 996. The Church of the Tithe

has been considered by scholars to have been either the prince's royal

cathedral or the first residence of the metropolitan.' In either case

the grand stone edifice with its elegant interior, including its tile and

mosaic floors, its slate and marble detailing, and its vestries, icons,

and other religious symbols, was unique ainong the city's growing

number of wooden churches. Vladimir, as an additional confi rmation

of his commitment to Orthodoxy, pledged a tithe or one-tenth of

his revenue to support his new church.

Flanlung the Church of the Tithe and completing the ensemble

were two palatial structures, which served as Vladinlir's court build-

ings To surround this area that became known as "VladinurP city,"

the prince also built new fortifications, consisting of high ramparts

Arnong the scholars who have debated this issue, Andrzej Poppe concluded that

the Church of the Tithe was a royal chapel. He proposed that the metmpolitani

residence was a wooden church, dedicated to St. Sophia (Holy Wisdom). His

argunient was presented in "The Building of the Church of St. Sophia in Kiev,"

published in theJuunral ?fMe diev al History, vol. 7 (198r), and reprinted in his Rise

of Christian Russia, pp. IS , 24 ; a. N. Shchapov also concluded that the Church

of the Tithe was a royal church. His argument is outlined in State and Cl~urchn

Early Russia, loth-13th Centuries, trans. by Vic Schneierson (N ew Rochelle, N.Y ,

Athens, Moscow: Aristide D. Caratzas, 1993), pp. 15-34. The position that the

Church of the Tithe was the original seat of the metrop olion is represented by

Petro P. Tolochko in his article, "Religious Sites in Kiev during the'Reign of

Volodimer Sviatoslavich," H U S , vol. I I (1987). p. 322, and in his book, Drevniaid

Ru'. c h ~ r k i otsial'no-politicheskoi isturii [Ancient Rus': essays on socio-political

history] (Kiev: Naukova dumka, 19$7),p. 73 .

Th e era ?f W a d i m i r I I I

and a deep nioat that intertwined with the natural ravines cutting into

the hillside. These and other construction projects were of such mag-

nitude that with in decades of the adoption of Christianity Thietmar,

bishop of M.erseberg and, a contemporary of Vladimir I, recorded

a description of Kiev that proclaiined it to be an impressive city,

endowed with no fewer than forty churches and eight marketplaces.

The clergy who organized the Church and ministered to the newly

converted population were Greeks, sent from Byzantium. The archi-

tects andartisans who designed and built the structures, symboliz-

ing the glory of Christian Kievan Kus', were also Byzantine. Thus,

not only was the city's skyline reshaped, but its population received

an infusion of Greeks, who introduced their concepts and designs,

applied their teachings and technology, and began to transmit them

to native apprentices.

dhristian culture also influenced Kievan Rus' literature. Writ-

ten language and literacy existed in the Rus' lands during the tenth

century. East Slavonic, which was the main spoken language of theregion, was also preferred for practical, adnlinistrative, and personal

written applications. Church Slavonic (Old Church Slavonic before

c. I roo), which had earlier been adopted as a vehicle for translating

religious texts from Greek into Slavic for the Slav populations of the

Balkans, becaille the liturgical as well as the formal literary language

of Kievan Kus' . In Kievan Rus ' both used, primarily, the Cyrillic

alphabet, which was also borrowed from Bulgaria. Church Slavonic,

which drew upoil Slavic words and grammar but cast them into

Byzantine styles, was readily intelligible to speakers of East Slavonic.

Adoption of Christianity gave Kievan Rus' access to an array ofecclesiastical literature in a variety of genres. The new Church bor-

rowed earlier translations of some religious literature from the Bul-

garians. Clergymen who came from Cherson and other Byzantine

centers also brought with them copies of the Gospels, Psalms of the

Old Testament, various Byzantine liturgical texts, sermons and saints'

lives, and other ecclesiastical and secular literature, which they trans-

lated from Greek into Church Slavonic. Kievan Rus' also gained

access to Byzantine chronicles. From the middle of the eleventh cen-

tury, when literacy and the use ofwritten texts appear to have become

more widespread, clerics in Ru s' were using the Greek forms of lit-

erature as models for their own compositions, includng chronicles

that recorded the first written histories of the realm of Vladimir and

his heirs.

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12 Medieval Russia, 980-1584

Although Christian cul ture spread and penqtrated Slav society

slowly, when it d d , it gave all the tribes within Kievan Rus ' a conl-

morl cultural background. I t also furnished the Kiurikid dynasty with

an ideological foundation for its exclusive rule over IGevan Rus' . Th e

descendants of Vladimir were depicted as God's anointed princes, and

Vladimir himself was canonized, although not until the thirteenth

century.

D O M E S T I C P O L I TI C A L O R G A N I Z A T I O N

Although Vladimir had formally adopted Christianity for a11 the

lands he ruled and in some circles of society it served to bolster his

own legitimacy, among some tribes there was reluctance to accept

the new religion and even violent resistance to its introduction. In

Novgorod the arrival of Christian clergy, who removed the idol of

Perun and threw it in to the Volkhov River, provoked a popular rebel-

lion. The rebellion was quelled and a stately cathedral, made of oak,

surmounted by thirteen domes, and dedicated to St. Sophia, was built

under the guidance o f the city's first bishop. Nevertheless, the popu-

lace remained stubbornly pagan; only gradually through the eleventh

century did Novgorodian women, for example, replace the pendants

and amulets they wore on their breasts to ward off evil spirits with

crucifixes and small icons.

To facilitate the introduction of Christianity around his lands,

Vladimir reportedly placed his sons, each with his own druzhina,

in towns on the frontiers of Kievan Rus '. He thus assigmed Nov-

gorod to Vysheslav, Polotsk to Iziaslav, Turov to ~ v i a t o ~o l k ,nd

Rostov to Iaroslav. When Vysheslav, the eldest, died, the chroni-cle entry indicates that Iaroslav was transferred to Novgorod and

their younger brother Boris took his place in Rostov. At that time

Gleb was also seated in Murom. Sviatoslav ruled the Derevliane,

Vsevolod was the prince in Vladinlir (in Volynia), and Mstislav in

Tmutorokanl. Another chronicle version adds that bishops, priests,

and deacons acconlpanied each prince. T he iniplication of this nota-

tion is that Orthodoxy was formally established in each of the named

districts. Some of the towns, such as Novgorod, Polotsk, and Belgo-

rod (an alternate princely seat locatrd just south of Kiev), became the

centers of dioceses during Vlalrnir 's reign. Elsewhere the Christianpresence was probably little more than a small mission supplemented

by the prince, his retainers, and a few converts.

Tli e era qf M M i m i r I 1 3

One effect of this policy was to provide the missionaries repre-

senting the Church with the protection they would need when they

attempted to introduce the new religion, found their churches, and

convince local populations and their leaders to reject their traditional

gods in favor of the Christian Trinity. But the distribution of princes

around the country was probably more successful as a measure to

establish direct secular adniinistrative control over the diverse dis-tricts of the realm than it was to convert the population within them.

Although the two were linked, secular Riur ih d authority was more

readily accepted than Christianity, which the Slav tribes adopted at a

slow pace.

In each of their districts Vladimir's sons not only protected the

Christian clerics. They also served as nlilitary leaders, as defenders

of the frontier, and local administrators. One of their basic functions

in the last capacity was to raise revenue. Tribute from the tribes that

recopized their suzerainty was the princes' primary source of rev-

enue. When Vladimir's legendary ancestors initially appeared in theSlav and Finnic territories, they, like their Viking cousins who rav-

aged western Europe, had conducted raids on the native populations.

They took captives and robbed the populations oft hei r most valuable

goods, including furs, wax, and swords, as they made their way down

the Volga and Dnieper Rivers to sell their booty at the market centers

ofBulgar (on the Volga), Itil1 (in Khazaria), and Cherson. In return,

they received treasures of the great empires of the era, Arab, Persian,

and Byzantine: silks and brocades, glassware and jewelry, spices and

wine, and silver.

~ l t h o u g hhe precise 'stages of the transformation are not clear,some of the Scandinavian raiders, represented by Riurik in the

legend, eventually regularized their relations with the Slav tribal

society. They became the princes or rulers over the Slavs and

substituted .an annual collection of regular amounts of tribute for

sporadic and destructive raids. In return for those payments and

recognition of his suzerainty, a prince protected his subjects from

other raiders or competing princes, including other Varangians as

well as rulers of neighboring organized states, such as the Khazar

Empire, that had previously claimed tribute from the Slavs. Within

that framework the tribal societies had generally continued to con-

duct their internal affairs according to their own customs, laws, and

religious ethical codes, guided by their traditional tribal elders or

officials.

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Medievill Russia, 980-1584

The method used by the l\usl to collect tribute was described by

the Byzantine emperor Constant ine Porphyrogenitus in De A d m in i s -

trando Imperio, written in the middle o k l a tenth century. According

to his account, the prince with his druzhirla annually made rounds

(poliudie) through the subordinated lands and collected tributc6 The

Primary Chronicle suggests that Vladimir's grandmother Olga may

have altered that method. According to the chronicle, her husband

Igor' had been killed in 945 by the Derevliane, who were angered

when he attempted to collect more than the designated amount of

tribute from them. Olga, demonstrating a rare capacity for cunning,

exacted a terrible revenge as she resubjugated the tribe. Afiewdrd,

she apparently reformed the method of tribute collection. Rather

than rely on local chiefs and the system ofpol iudie , she appointed her

own off~cials o gather and deliver it from at least some regions in her

domain.

Prince Sviatoslav certainly did appoint his own agents, his sons, to

oversee portions of his domain. Shortly before his death in 972, he

had designated Iaropolk to rule in Kiev, Oleg among the llerevliane,

and Vladimir in Novgorod. That apportionment, however, did not

prove to be stable. As noted above, the brothers quarreled, after their

father's death. Iaropolk went to war first against Oleg, who fled from

his brother's advancing forces. As the chronicle graphically describes,

he and his forces retreated across a moat to gain the safety ofa fortified

town called Vruchii; Oleg fell from the bridge and died. I t was when

Vladimir heard about Oleg's fate that he fled froin Novgorod to

Scandinavia. Iaropolk appointed his own governor for Novgorod

and, as the chronicle notes, ruled the lands of Rus' alone.

When Vladimir took Iaropolk's place, he also ruled alone. But

with the assignment of his sons to various parts of his realm, herestored and expanded the administrative arrangement introduced by

his grandmother and father. His sons becallie responsible for rnain-

taining their family's authority over their districts and tribes and for

collecting tribute from them. They used a portiorl o f their revenues

to support their own d n e h i n y and meet other local expenses, and

turned the remainder over to their father in Kiev. But Vladimir's dis-

tribution of administrative responsibility was also unstable. His son,

"onstantille Porphyrogenitus, De Adrrrinistrarlilo Impcrio, Creek text edn. by Gy ,

Moravcsik with English translation by 1L. . H . Jenkins (Washington, D.C.:Durn-

barton O a k s Center for Byzantine Studies, 1967).p. 63 .

Iaroslav, prince in Novgorod, became dissatisfied with the division

of revenue. In 1014, he refused to send the required two-thirds of

his collections t o l e v ; war with his father was imminent and was

avoided only by Vladimir's death in I O I 5 .

K I E V AN C O M M E R C E A N D F O R E I G N R E L A T I O N S

Collection of tribute was not the only duty Vladimir assigned to his

sons. They were also responsible for maintaining order among their

subjects, defending the Ort hodo x missions, and protecting their bor-

ders. These functions as well as military engagements for conquest

.required each prince to have a military force at his disposal. As had

their forefathers, Vladimir and his sons each relied on a druxhina,

which they supported and maintained in permanent service. By &s-

persing his sons around the country Vladimir also ensured that their

military forces would be stationed at some distance from one another

where they could defend the frontiers of Kievan Rus' and also be less

likely to fight each other. By keeping his sons in positions subordinateto himself, however, he also maintained a capacity to combine his

sons' forces with his own if and when it became necessary to assem-

ble a large army. In pressing circumstances any one of the princes

could supplement his nlilitary force with auxiliary troops, drafted

from anlong the Slav population or hired from abroad.

Although Varangians were originally foot soldiers, the armed forces

of the Kievan Rus' princes increasingly became horsemen. Their

arinor included helmets, cuirasses, and shields; their weapons con-

sisted of swords and spears, rnaces and battle-axes. Bows and arrows

were also used, usually by auxiliary troops. Horses, weapons, and

equipment as well as general maintenance were costly. A prince'sability JQ support his retainers and to hire other troops when nec-

essary depended on more than the tribute or taxes he was able to

collect from his subjects.

The fur, wax, and honey that the princes collected from the Slav

tribes had limited domestic use. They could, however, be converted

into valuable items through trade. Commercial opportunities had

been one of the most compelling features that had initially attracted

the Varangians to the Slavic lands. As Thomas Noonan observed, it

was silver that originally drew Norsemen eastward through the Slav

lands and motivated them to take the captives and steal the fur pelts

and other products that they could exchange at the markets ofBulgar

8/3/2019 Rus hist 8-28


16 M e d i e v a l R u s s i a , 980-1584

and Itil'.7 Although they conducted their business in a more orderly

manner, Vladimir and his sons essentially followed the same pat tern.

They sold local products as well as prisoners taken in battle for silver

and for commodities that were more useful or valuable to them for

military purposes, as status synlbols, or, after 9 8 8 , in the conduct of

religious services and ceremonies. Vladimir and his sons were thus

vitally concerned with conlmerce and with the protection of the

trade routes that ran through their lands.The vast river system that stretched across Kievan Kus' formed

two main trade routes that connected the Baltic Sea in the north

with the Black and Caspian Seas in the south. .Both were demar-

cated and dominated by the major towns of Kievan Kus', whose

positions along those routes ex pl ai ~~he importance the Kus' princes

placed on controlling theln. Novgorod regulated traffic to and from

the Baltic through the Gulf of Finland and a series of rivers lead-

ing to the city; in a parallel rrlanner Polotsk guarded access to and

from the Baltic along the West Dvina. Smolensk, situated on the

upper Dnieper, controlled access from Novgorod or Polotsk to that

river and to kev, located downstream. Kiev itself commanded the

Dnieper and, correspondngly, all traaic that descended that river on

its way across the steppe to the Black Sea and to the Byzantine capital

and commercial emporium, Constantinople. The river system that

encompassed those centers and linked the Baltic and Black Seas via

the Dnieper River was known as the route "frorn the Varangians to

the Greeks."

A second route, one of the most important in eastern Europe,

followed the Volga Kiver. Long used by the Rus' but well traveled

even before their appearance in the region, it connected the forested

northlands with the Caspian Sea; by extension it linked the Scandi-navian peoples of the Baltic through the Rus' lands with the Muslin1

empires of the Middle East and Central Asia, located beyond the

Caspian. Novgorod controlled transport between the Baltic and the

upper Volga, which then flowed through the lands of Rostov toward

Bulgar, the main market center on the mid-Volga. From Bulgar the

' Thomas S. Noo nan . "Wh y the Vikings First C:arrle to Ru ssia,"JbfGO, vol. 34

(1986), pp. 340, 346; Noonan, "Ninth-Century Dirham Hoards from Europeari

Russia: A Preli~r~in arynalysis," in GSkirg-A'qe Coinnge in the Northern land^: Th e

Sixth Oxfo rd Symposiutn on Coinage arid Monetary History, ed. by M . A . S. Blackburn

an d D. M. Metcalf, DA K International Series 122/1 (Oxford: BAR, 1981). p. 52 .

The era of U a d i m i r I 17

route extended southward to the Caspian; an alternative land route

led from Bulgar to the bazaars of Central Asia.

Given their critical importance to commerce, it is not surprising

that the Rus' paid serious attention to relations with the Volga states,

with Byzantium and the steppe populations, and with Scandinavia.

Comnlercial interests also defined inany of the goals of Rus' foreign

policy. Vladinlir, like his forefathers, sought to subordinate tribes that

would deliver goods in tribute, to keep trade routes open and secure,

and to attain and preserve trading rights and privileges at foreign

markets.

On e of the main objects of Rus ' concern was the Khazar Empire,

which had disintegrated by the beginning of Vladimir's reign. Until

the middle of the tenth century, however, it had dominated south-

eastern Europe. Centered north of the Caspian Sea, the Khazar state

had consisted of a largely Muslim and Turluc-speaking population;

in contrast, its ruling class, including its ruler o r kagan, was Jewish. In

the ninth and tenth centuries Khazaria controlled territories extend-

ing from the North Caucasus to the mid-Volga. But the empire'ssignificance was only partially based on the range of its domain and

the tr ibute collected from its subject peoples. Its location also gave it

strategic importance: it preserved stability on the steppe. No traffic

of any note, be it river pirates trying to enter the Caspian and raid its

shores or mass migrations of nomads seeking fresh pastures west of

the Volga River, could cross the Khazar realm or disrupt the region.

Khazaria's geographic position also provided it with commercial

advantages. Its capital, Itil', located on one branch of the Volga delta,

was the point at which the Volga route leading to the Caspian Sea

intersected with a major east-west land route that ran across the

steppe. Merchants conling from both the Muslim and Christianworlds followed these routes from north and south, east and west

to reach Itil', which became a flourishing commercial center. By

the ninth century the Rus' were also coming to its bazaars. Blocked

by the Bulgars, who would not allow them to sail down the Volga

beyond their own markets, the Rus' reached Itil' by a circuitous

route, They traveled down the Dnieper River t o the Black Sea, then

sailed eastward along its northern coast, where they stopped to trade

at Cherson. Resunling their journey, they reached the Sea of Azov

and the mouth of the Don River. They then proceeded up the Don

to a point where it and the Volga were in closest proximity, crossed

over to. the Volga, and sailed down the river to Itil'.

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I 8 Medieval Russin, 980-1584

The formation and development of Gevan Rus' constituted a

direct challenge to Khazaria. The Poliane and the area of IGev itself

had, before the advent of the Kus', formed Khazaria's western fion-

tier. Some of th e other Slav tribes that entered Kievan Rus' , e.g., the

Viatichi whom Sviatoslav conquered in 966, had also been Khazar

tributaries. Furthermore, Khazaria controlled all access to the Caspian

Sea fiom the north, and in most instances denied that access to Rus'

merchants, adventurers, and pirates alike. Thus, despite their com-mercial accommodation to one another, the Rus' and the Khazars

were rivals. In 965, Prince Sviatoslav conducted m attack on Sarkel, a

Khazar fortress that stood o n the Don River guarding the approaches

to the Khazar Empire from the Black Sea, and on Khazar territories

in the North ern Caucasus. His victory is considered to have delivered

a fatal blow to Khazaria. which subsequently collapsed. Its demise,

recorded in both the Primary Chronicle and Islamic sources, shocked

and destabilized the entire region of the lower Volga, Caspian, and .North Caucasus.

Bulgar-on-the-Volga was among the states that, shaken by Khaz-

aria's collapse, competed among themselves even as they tried to

establish a new equilibrium. Subordinate to Khazaria until its disin-

tegration, the Volga Bulgars, acting with some local leaders of the

North Caucasus, partially restored order along the lower Volga and in

the northern Caspian region. They were, however, unable to reestab-

lish the control over the steppe that had been maintained by the

Khazars or prevent piracy on the Caspian. But Bulgar did continue

to provide R us ' merchants access to its markets. There the R us' sold

their goods for silver coin (until c. 1015) and other Oriental and

native products. Bulgart good relations with the Rus', built upon a

mutually favorable pattern of trade, remained consistent from its earlyencounters with the Varangian pirates throug-h the first centuries of

Gevan Rus' existence. Even Vladimir's campaign of 985 resulted in a

treaty that outlined mutual trading rights and served as the foundat ion

of stable, peaceful relations until the late eleventh century

Commercial interests also influenced Rus' relations with Byzan-

tium and with the peoples that occupied the steppe separating them.

The steppe is the tern1 given to the grassy expanse located directly

south of the forested zones settled by the Slav peoples ofKievan Ru s' .

As Khazar power diminished, the Pechenegs (known to the Byzan-

tines as Patzinaks and to the Arabs and Persians as Bajanaks) moved

The era of Madintir I 19

into the steppe from the east and occupied the area from the Danube

to the Don.ATurkic-speaking people that, although exposed to both

Islam' and Christiani ty, clung to their pagan gods, they were divided

into two win@, each of which was further subdivided to form a total

ofeight hordes. T he Pechenegs were nomads. The ir basic occupation

was animal husbandry, and they easily packed up and moved their felt

tents when it became necessary to move their herds of cattle, horses,

and sheep from summer to winter grazing areas and back again.

By the tenth century the Pechenegs were dominating the steppe.

Rus' relations with them were complex. O n the on e hand, trade

relations developed between these two peoples, whose economic

activities complelnented one another. The Rus' found the horned

cattle, horses, sheep, and other livestock raised by the nomads useful

for food and clothing, for hauling and transport, and for a variety

of secondary products such as leather goods. Horses were also par-

ticularly important as rrlounts for warriors. The grain raised by Slav

agriculturalists, on the other hand, provided a desirable supplement

to the Pecheneg diet of meat and dairy products. The mutual benefitto be derived from trade provided a basis for peaceful relations. From

the early tenth century the Primary Chronicle presents an image of

relatively tranquil relations between the two peoples; the Pechenegs

even joined the Rus' in 944 in a campaign against Byzantium.

Peaceful relations with the Pechenegs were important to the Rus '

not just for the opportunity to exchange their goods directly. They

were also essential for the princes to conduct their trade with the

Byzantines. Initially, the Norsemen had exchanged their booty at the

Byzantine colony of Cherson. Ru s' offensives against Constantinople

in 91I and 944 resulted in treaties that gave Rus' merchants the right

to trade in Constantinople as well, and also outlined their commercialrights and privileges. But to reach either Cherson or Constantino-

ple the Rus' had to cross the steppe controlled by the Pechenegs.

Emperor Constantirle recorded that after the be v an prince made his

rounds to collect tribute from the Slav tribes, he assembled a fleet of

river boats, tnanufactured in Novgorod, Smolensk, Chernigov, and

other towns, loaded his goods into them, and conducted thls flotilla

down the Dnieper River and alo ng the western coast of the Black Sea

to sell the products in Constantinople. Emperor Constantine empha-

sized that this practice depended upon peacefuI relations between

the Rus' and the Pechenegs. Well aware of the potential dangers

posed by. the Pechenegs, who had o n occasion attacked Cherson, he

8/3/2019 Rus hist 8-28


20 Aledietla1Russia, 980-1584 .obser ved that these nomads had sinlilarly raided Kievan Ru s' a nd were

quite capable of inflicting considerable damage on it. H e wen t on to

note:

No r c m the R i lss ians com e a t th is i~npe r ia l ity [Conr tant i iiople j . . . either

for wvar o r for trade, u ~iles shey are at peace with the Pechenegs, becnure when

the Russians co me with their ships to the barrages (rapids] of the [Dnieper]

river, and cannot pass through then1 uriless they l i f t their ships off the r iver

and carry th em past by portin g thmm on their shoulders, then th e me n of this

n a t io n o f t h e I'e ch en eg s s e t u p o ~ ~helii, and. s t he y [ t h i R u s '] o n n o t d o t w o

things at once, they.are easily routrd arid cut to pieces."

Shortly after the disintegration o f Khazaria in the second half of the

century, Rust-Pecheneg relations became more hostile. Pech ene g

raided the frontier of Kievan Ru s', seizing crops and captives wh o

were then sold as slaves. They also, as Emperor Constantine had

worried , attacked Rus ' comalercial caravans descerlding the Dniepe r

or crossing the steppe o n their way to and from B yzantine markets.

In 968, Pechenegs attacked the ilus' interior for the first t irne and

laid siege to Kiev. Vladimir's father Sviatoslav, who had not been inIOev at the time, was later killed during anoth er en counter with the

Pechenegs, who "made a cup o ut ofh is skull, overlaying it with gold,

an d . . . drank from it ."Y

Th e deterioration o f Rusl-l 'echeneg relations becallle even mor e

critical after Vladimir adopted Cliristiani~ he consequent estab-

lishment of closer t ies with Byzantium pu t a premium on th e inain-

tenance o f security along the transportation routes that crossed the

steppe and gave priority to a policy o f neutralizing the Pechenebs,who were becoming more aggressive. In response. Prince Vlarlimir

constructed a series of forts on the tribr~taripsof the Dnieper,

near and below Kiev, to guard the southern frontier; they weredefended by Slovenes, Krivichi. and Ch ud ' transferred fronl the

north . Almost immediately afterward, just as con~ mun icatio rl nd

interact ion between B yrant ium and Rus ' took on heightened impor-

tance, war broke o ut; i t was ll ighlighted by a series of Rc he nr g

attacks on Rus' territory (992, 995, and 997). In one battle (996).which ended in a humiliating defeat, Vladimir persondly avoided

capture or death only by hiding under a bridge. Aherward, again

relying on interregional cooperation, he collected another army in

ConsUntine Porphymgenitus. Dr Adni i t~ixfrondo mp~io, p. 4~ 3

* riteRussian Primary Chronicle, p. yo.

The era uf Vladimir 1 21

Novgomd and brought it south to continue the war, which penisted

through the rem ainder o f his reign. Just before his ow n death (101 5 ) .

Vladinur sent his son Boris to lead a can lp ai p against the Pechenegs;

on his return Boris was killed by his brother Sv iatopolk, wh o thereby

launched a blood y succession struggle, which will be discussed in the

next chapter.

Th e ne t result of Vladimir's defensive policies, howev er, was a suc-cess. The Pechenegs were driven deeper into the steppe away from

Kievan Rus' settlements; the width of the "neutral zone" was dou-

bled froln the distanck covered in o ne day's travel to two. Pecheneg

auxiliary forces, which began to be regarded as more effective than

Varangian foot soldiers, participated in th e war of succession fou ght

by Vladimir's sons after his death. But indep endent Pecheneg a tta ch

on the K us' lands relaxed.

As 'a result of his foreign policies, Vladinur secured his borders

as well as the trade routes run nin g thro ugh his lands. He was thus

able to sell the products he and his sons had collected as tribute from

the Slav tribes to the Pechenegs and to merchants at Bulgar andConstantinople. At the oth er end point o f the Rus ' t radmg network

Were the Scandinavian markets on the Baltic coast. Th e R us' retained

close ties with their Scandinavian com patriots. Vladimir had sou ght

refuge am ong then1 wh en he felt threatened by laropolk. H e had

beell able to raise a Varangian force to assist him wh en h e returne d

to o vertl~ row is brother. Kievan Kus ' similarly off'ercd sanctuary to

exiled Scandinavians. On e exam ple of this reciprocal arrangement is

reflected in the legend of the great Vik i~lg , laf Trygveson. After his

father had been murdered, Olaf was trying to escape to the safety

of Vladirnir's cou rt, where his uncle held high rank; wh de e n route,

however, he was captured by pirates. In a ddition to exchanging ex dedprinces, the lands of Rus' and Scandinavia also traded a variety of

goods. By the time of Vladilniri reign, silver coins, sdks, glassware.

and jewelry from Muslim and Byzantine lands as well as native Slav

products were reaching Scandinavian rnarket towns via the lands of

pus'. Sonle of these items were brought back by Varangian mer-

cenaries, wh o had been hi red by the Ru s' princes. But m uch of i t

arrived as the result of commercial exchanges that took place, mainly

at Novgorod, for a variety of European goods, including woolen

cloth, pottery, and weapons.

8/3/2019 Rus hist 8-28


22 A4 ~d i e l x z lR u s s i a , 980-1584

The achievements of Prince Vladimir, who died in IO I 5 , were

notable. H e overcame c ompe ting Varangian dynasties (Polotsk) and

thus sec ured the r ight o f his dynasty to rule exclusively in the lands o f

the eastern Slavs, Kievan It us' . H e also adopted Christianity for the

peoples dwelling in those lands. He thus established the tw o en during

institutions, dynasty and C hur ch, that would give definition not only

to Kievan Kus', but also to its successor states.Vladinlir prevented rival neighbo ring states from en croaching o n

his realm, and he gained recognition and legitimacy for his dynasty

from the powerful Byzantines and European Christian powers. With

the latter he maintained generally cordial relations. T he main excep-

tions had occurred early in his reign when he directed campaigns

against the Poles for control of Cherven, located southwest of Kiev

(g81), and against the Lithuanian tribe of Iativigians on th e N enian

(Nieme n) River to the northwest (983). After that, his relations with

the cen tral Europ ean states of Poland and Hu nga ry as well as his Scan-

dinavian neighbo rs were peaceful. T hey demolistrated their respect

and acceptance of the Kiurikids by intermarrying with Vladiinir'schildren. Sviatopolk married the daugh ter of King Boleslaw of

Poland, while his half-brother Iaroslav wed the daughter of the

Swedish king Olaf.

In conjunctioll with consolidating his personal and his dynasty's

position in Kievan Ku s' , Vladimir also successfully defen ded his realin

from external aggression. He placed his sons with their retinues on

the borders, he built forts to defend the southern frontier, and he

forced the most aggressive foe of the R us' , th e Pechenegs, to retreat.

By the end of his reign transit across the steppe was safer and the

Pecheneg threat to Kievan Kus' was reduced. Vladimir's adnlinistra-

tive and defensive measures also enabled him and his soris to collectthe revenue necessary to maintain the arm ed forces, required for both

internal stability and external defense, and to continue commercial

exchanges with the great empires of the region.

Vladimir's policies acconlplished inore than th e m inimu m neces-

sary for his imillediate political gods. The distribution of his sons

aroun d the co untry displaced tribal leaders and laid the groundw ork

for the fo rmation of a political organization based on joint dynastic

rule. Th e adoption of Christianity and dissemination of clerics wh o

accolnpanied his soris focused the entire population of his country

on a single set ofrelig ious principles, w hich also lent ideological sup-

port to his political authority, while the establishnlent of closer ties

'Th e e ra oJ Vl a d i rn i r I 2 3

to Byzantiun~ nd simultaneous maintenance of trade relations with

the Muslim East kept Kievan Ru s' open to a diverse array of cultural

influences and material goods. The transfer of personnel from the

nor th to m an th e south ern forts protecting Kiev reflected an ability

to mobilize resources from all over his lands for a single purpose and

thereby encourag ed a process o f social integration. Vladimir's poli-

cies thus laid the foundation for the transformation of his domainfrom a conglom eration o f tribes, each of which separately paid trib-

ute to him, into an integrated realm bound by a common religion

and cu ltural ties as well as the political struc ture prov ided by a shared

dynasty.

. ,

Rus hist 8-28

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