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I.Vladimir Rurik-házi Kijevi nagyherceg


Preferred Parents:
Father: I.Svyatoslav Igorevich Rurik-házi Kijevi nagyherceg, b. 0943. március in Kiev, Kievan Russia   d. 26 MAR 972 in Khortytsa Island, Dnieper, Kievan Rus
Mother: Malusha Malkovna de Lubeck Grand Duchess of Kiev, b. 934 in Liubeck, Kiev, Kieven Rus   d. 1002 in Brestova, Kievan Rus

Family 1: Malfryda ,      
Family 2: Dama de Bulgaria ,    b. aproximadamente 0970 in Bulgaria   
Family 3: Olava Allogia Eriksdottir DE NORVEGE,    b. 960 in Kyiv, Ukraine    d. in Kyiv, Ukraine
Family 4: Irina Görög apáca,      
Family 5: Rogneda of Polotsk ,    b. 962 in Polack, Vitebsk, Belarus    d. 1002 in Kyiv, Ukraine
  1. Izyaslav Vladimirovich Rurikid, b. 978 in Kiev     d. 1001 in Kyiv, Kyiv city Ukraine
  2. Yaroslav of Kiev I, b. 978 in Pereiaslav Uyezd, Kiev     d. 20 FEB 1054 in Vyshgorod, Kiev Uyezd, Kiev
Family 6: Anna Porphyrogenita Princess of the Byzantine Empire,    b. 13 MAR 963 in Constantinople, Anatolia, Byzantine Empire    d. 1011 in Berestovo, Ukraine
  1. Dobronega Maria Vladimirovna Rurikid, b. ABT 1011 in Kiev, Ukraine     d. 13 DEC 1087 in Kraków, Małopolskie Poland
  2. Arlogia Of Orkney, b. 1015 in Russia, Soviet Union     d. 10 DEC 1046 in Orkney Islands, Orkney, Scotland
Sources:
  1. Title: Wikipedia PL
    Publication: Name: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82odzimierz_I_Wielki;
  2. Title: Russiapedia - Prominent Russians: Vladimir I - Russiapedia
    Note: Vladimir I, Grand Prince of Kiev and of all Russia, was an outstanding political figure in ancient Russia. During his rule, Christianity was adopted in Russia. He is also known as St. Vladimir, Vladhttp://russiapedia.rt.com/admin/prominent-russians/edit/1641imir the Baptist and Vladimir the Red Sun. Early years and struggle for power. Vladimir I was born around 956. His father was Svyatoslav I, Grand Prince of Kiev, who died in 972. Vladimir was the youngest of three sons. According to legend, his mother Malusha was a housekeeper for Vladimir’s grandmother Olga. Despite the family’s relatively high status in the court, Malusha was a slave. As a natural son on Svyatoslav, Vladimir was considered to be his rightful heir. Vladimir spent his childhood with his grandmother Olga; by the time he was born, she was one of the first in Kievan Rus to have been baptized into the Orthodox Christianity. This proved to be of great importance later, when Vladimir had to choose a new religion for Russia. Following Svyatoslav’s death, an internecine war broke out between his potential successors. At that time, Vladimir was Prince of Novgorod (a city in the northern part of ancient Russia). The eldest son, Svyatoslav Yaropolk, was Prince of Kiev. He was a very overbearing man who wanted to rule all of Russia. He expelled Vladimir from Novgorod, and was forced to flee to Scandinavia. There, he began to muster an army to retake the throne from Yaropolk. Vladimir returned to Russia in 979 and declared war on Yaropolk. On his way to Kiev, Vladimir also seized the town of Polotsk, where he married Yaropolk’s fiancée Rogneda against her will. In 980, Vladimir besieged Kiev. He lured Yaropolk out, supposedly for negotiations, and then killed him. Yaropolk’s wife became a concubine in Vladimir’s harem. After Yaropolk’s death, Vladimir had no other rivals for the throne – middle brother Oleg had died in 977. He became the independent sovereign of the entire Kievan Rus. Grand Prince of the Kievan Rus The new Prince of Kiev took steps to move the country towards paganism. He erected a temple in the capital displaying idols of six major Slavic pagan gods. He also introduced the practice of human sacrifice. The shift towards paganism is assumed to have been a response to his rival brother Yaropolk, who was known to favor Christianity. At the time, Vladimir was a zealous pagan. He was infamous as a vindictive and bloodthirsty warrior. He was also known as a libertine, for having five wives and some 800 concubines. Vladimir was an expert commander. During his reign, Russia's borders were well-protected. The Prince of Kiev managed to subdue hostile neighboring tribes. He also undertook a successful campaign against the Poles, Latvians and Bulgars. As a result of these campaigns, the Kievan Rus made significant territorial gains. But Russia’s main struggle in the second half of the 10th century was the adoption of a single, monotheistic religion. The move was intended to unite the people of the country, and strengthen the international renown of the Kievan Rus as no longer a wild, barbaric country. Holy Vladimir According to legend, Vladimir had to choose between three religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. It was also important to decide what kind of Christianity was better for Russia: The so-called Latin Orthodox – Catholicism – or the Eastern Orthodox. When neighboring nations heard about Prince Vladimir’s intention to adopt a national religion, they sent ambassadors to persuade the Prince to adopt their faith. Vladimir listened carefully to them all. The very first messengers came from the Volga Bulgars, who had already accepted Islam. But Vladimir saw their prohibition laws as a strain on the Russian soul. The ambassadors of the Western Catholic Christians also failed, because their faith had been rejected once already by Vladimir’s ancestors. Judaism was rejected as “the religion which did not even help the Jews to keep their own land.” Vladimir finally chose Eastern Byzantine Christianity. For many decades, Russia and Byzantine had close political and commercial relations. Vladimir began a military campaign in Byzantine in 988. The Prince captured Korsun (Chersonese in the modern Crimea), and demanded to marry Anna, a sister of the Byzantine Emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII, or else he would attack Constantinople. The Emperors agreed, but demanded the baptism of the Prince in return, because their sister was only to marry a man of the same religion. Vladimir agreed to the conditions. The Byzantines sent Anna to Korsun with priests. There, Vladimir and his warriors were baptized by the Bishop of Korsun. Vladimir and Anna then married according to Christian tradition. When Vladimir returned to Kiev, he ordered the destruction of the temple’s pagan idols. On September 1, 988, Vladimir gathered the citizens of Kiev on the banks of the Dnieper River. They were all solemnly baptized. This year is considered to be the official date of the baptism of Russia. This baptism was accompanied by the establishment of the church hierarchy. Russia became a metropolis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In Kiev, the baptisms passed peacefully. But in Novgorod, the second greatest city in Russia after Kiev, the people rebelled. This uprising was suppressed with troops, but the old pagan cult would continue to be practiced in Russia for centuries. The date of the Baptism of Russia is traditionally considered to be the year 988. However, historical evidence points to 987 as the year of the baptism of Prince Vladimir, and 989 as the year of the Baptism of Russia. The issue continues to be controversial. Social and political heritage of Vladimir As a politician, Vladimir only signed laws after consulting with his Counsel. It consisted of his brigade – military commanders – and the elders – representatives of different cities. Vladimir also began minting coins, which reproduced the Byzantine designs of the era. The coins were not issued to serve economic goals, but rather political ones: The currency served as a further sign of the sovereignty of the Christian ruler. Vladimir minted gold and silver coins. Most of the coins depicted Prince Vladimir sitting on the throne. These coins were the first issued in the territory of Kievan Rus. It also served as one of the few recorded images of Vladimir: A man with a small beard and a long mustache. Vladimir made great contributions to the development of Russian cultural and social life. During his reign, literacy began to spread across the Kievan Rus, with Byzantines and Bulgarians as teachers. Under Vladimir, large-scale stone construction projects began, and the foundations of church art and architecture were laid. Vladimir was also renowned for his generosity. He held feasts every Sunday for the citizens of Kiev, and even ordered his servants to deliver food and drinks to the sick and infirm. His generosity was preserved in folk epics and fairy tales, where he was immortalized as Vladimir the Kind Sun. In the last years of his life, Vladimir likely intended to name his beloved son Boris as successor. His two oldest sons, Sviatopolk Turovsky and Yaroslav of Novgorod, revolted against their father in 1014. Vladimir imprisoned his elder son Svyatopolk, and was readying for war with Yaroslav when he suddenly fell ill and died on July 15, 1015. Historians estimate that Vladimir had around 800 concubines, and a number of wives. In 995, Vladimir divided the Kievan Rus for inheritance, to be ruled among of his sons. Historians believe that this was a fatal mistake on Vladimir’s part, which led to civil war and the fragmentation of the Kievan Rus into three separate kingdoms. Vladimir and his wife Anna were buried in Kiev. During the Mongol invasion in later centuries, the church where they were buried was destroyed, and Vladimir’s remains were lost. Vladimir stands as a central figure in Russian history. The Orthodox Church named him "Holy" for introducing Christianity to the country. Among his people, he earned the name "Great" for his rulership. Written by Leonid Laparenok, RT
  3. Title: Find a Grave - Vladimir Sviatoslavich Rurikid
    Author: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV28-5MF2 : 11 January 2022), Vladimir Sviatoslavich Rurikid, ; Burial, Kyiv, , City of Kyiv, Ukraine, Church of the Tithes; citing record ID 66482963, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
    Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV28-5MF2;
    Page: Ancestry
  4. Title: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy - Vladimir "the Great" Sviatoslavich
    Publication: Name: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/RUSSIA,%20Rurik.htm#VladimirIdied1015B;
    Note: VLADIMIR Sviatoslavich, son of SVIATOSLAV I Grand Prince of Kiev & his mistress Malusha [Malfred] ([960]-Berestov 15 Jul 1015). The Primary Chronicle names Yaropolk, Oleg and Vladimir as grandsons of Olga[78]. The Primary Chronicle names Malusha, stewardess of Olga and sister of Dobrinya, as mother of Sviatoslav's son Vladimir, when recording that his father sent him to Novgorod in 970 with his maternal uncle after the inhabitants had demanded a prince of their own[79]. After the death of his half-brother Oleg, Vladimir fled "beyond the seas" and governors were assigned to Novgorod. With support mustered in Scandinavia, Vladimir regained control of Novgorod. He captured Polotsk after killing Rogvolod Prince of Polotsk, who had refused Vladimir's offer to marry his daughter (whom he married anyway)[80]. He then moved southwards towards Kiev to attack his half-brother Iaropolk, who fled to Rodnia but was murdered when he returned to Kiev to negotiate with Vladimir. He thereby succeeded in [980] as VLADIMIR I "Velikiy/the Great" Grand Prince of Kiev. In 981, Vladimir invaded Polish territory and conquered Czerwień, "Peremyshl" and other cities[81]. After actively promoting the worship of pagan idols, he was baptised in [987/88] as part of an agreement to help Emperor Basileios II to defeat a rebellion. He increased his own personal prestige by marrying the emperor's sister and imposed Christianity on his people by force. He sought to rule his diverse territories by nominating his various sons to rule in different towns, although at the end of his reign he was faced with the rebellions of his son Iaroslav and his adopted son Sviatopolk. Vladimir died while preparing for war with Novgorod following the suspension of payment of tribute by his son Iaroslav[82]. Vladimir was described as "fornicator immensus et crudelis" by Thietmar[83]. According to the Primary Chronicle, Vladimir had 300 concubines at Vyshgorod, 300 at Belgorod and 200 at Berestovo[84]. The Primary Chronicle records the death of Vladimir at Berestovo 15 Jul 1015[85]. He was later esteemed to be a saint, his feast day being 15 July. m firstly ([977], divorced 986) as her second husband, ROGNED of Polotsk, widow of --- Jarl in Sweden, daughter of ROGVOLOD Prince of Polotsk & his wife --- ([956]-[998/1000]). The Primary Chronicle names Rogned, daughter of Rogvolod Prince of Polotsk, recording that she at first refused to marry Vladimir, preferring his half-brother Yaropolk[86]. She became a nun in [989]. The Primary Chronicle records the death of Rogned in [998/1000][87]. m secondly (Khersones 988) ANNA of Byzantium, daughter of Emperor ROMANOS II & his second wife Theophano [née Anastasia] (13 Mar 963-[1008/11] or [1022], bur Kiev, church of the Palace). Cedrenus records that "filiam…Annæ" was born two days before the death of Emperor Romanos II[88]. The Primary Chronicle names Anna, sister of Emperors Basil and Constantine, recording that her brothers agreed to her marriage to Vladimir if he accepted baptism, and her arrival and marriage at “Kherson”[89]. An earlier passage in the same source identifies the place as “Kherson, a Greek city”[90]. This suggests that the place in question was the Greek colony of Khersones, west of Sebastopol in Crimea[91]. Zonaras records that "Uladimero ducem [Russorum]" married "sorore Anna" (referring to Basileios and Konstantinos)[92]. The marriage marked the start of increased influence for the Greek Orthodox church in Russia, as the new Russian church reported to the Patriarch of Constantinople. The sources are contradictory regarding the dating of Anna´s death. The Primary Chronicle records the death of Anna wife of Vladimir in [1008/11][93]. Cedrenus records that "Anna imperatoris sorore" died "in Rossia", adding that her husband had already died, in a passage following the record of events dated to [1022], adding that "Chrysochir quidam Bladimeri cognatus" (not yet identified) sailed for Constantinople after she died but was defeated and killed at Lemnos by "Davido Achridensi Sami præfecto ac Nicephoro Cabasila duce Thessalonicæ"[94]. m thirdly (after 1011) [ADELIA] [von Öhningen, daughter of KONRAD Duke of Swabia & his wife Richlind ---] (-after 14 Aug 1018). The Genealogia Welforum refers to the four daughters of "Chuno comes [et] filia Ottonis Magni imperatoris", specifying that the third (unnamed) married "regi Rugorum"[95]. The Historia Welforum refers to the four daughters of "Couno comes" and "filia Ottonis magnis imperatoris…Richlint", specifying that they married "una Roudolfo isti [=Welforum], alia cuidam de Rinveldin, parenti Zaringiorum, tercia regie Rugiorum, quarta comiti de Diezon"[96]. As noted in the document SWABIA DUKES, these two sources are unreliable in their recording of the sons of Konrad I Duke of Swabia, so should not be assumed to be any more precise in recording his daughters. The primary source which confirms her name has not yet been identified. Grand Prince Vladimir & his first wife, Rogned, had six children: 1. IZIASLAV Vladimirovich (-1001). 2. IAROSLAV Vladimirovich ([978]-20 Feb 1054). 3. MSTISLAV Vladimirovich "the Brave" (978-[1034/36], bur Church of the Redeemer). 4. VSEVOLOD Vladimirovich (-1015). 5. daughter (-after 1018). 6. daughter (-after 1018). Grand Prince Vladimir had one illegitimate son by Mistress (wife of IAROPOLK Sviatoslavich) (1): 7. SVIATOPOLK Vladimirovich ([980]-1019). Grand Prince Vladimir had one illegitimate son by Mistress, Olga (2): 8. VYSHESLAV Vladimirovich (-1010). Grand Prince Vladimir had nine illegitimate children by unknown Mistresses (3) to (9): 9. SVIATOSLAV Vladimirovich (-killed in battle 1015 after 15 Jul). The Primary Chronicle names (in order) Vysheslav, Izyaslav, Yaroslav, Sviatopolk, Vsevolod, Sviatoslav, Mstislav, Boris, Gleb, Stanislav, Pozvizd and Sudislav as the twelve sons of Vladimir, recording that his father established Sviatoslav in Dereva after the death of his brother Vysheslav[131]. Prince of the Derevlians. He was killed on the orders of his cousin Sviatopolk I Grand Prince of Kiev while trying to escape to Hungary[132]. 10. BORIS Vladimirovich ([990]-murdered 24 Jul 1015, bur Lto river, transferred 1072 to Vishgorod[133]). The Primary Chronicle names (in order) Vysheslav, Izyaslav, Yaroslav, Sviatopolk, Vsevolod, Sviatoslav, Mstislav, Boris, Gleb, Stanislav, Pozvizd and Sudislav as the twelve sons of Vladimir, recording that his father established Boris in Rostov after the death of his brother Vysheslav[134]. His father appointed him Prince of Rostov and Novgorod in 1010. His father sent him on campaign against the Pechenegs. He was murdered on the orders of his cousin Sviatopolk I Grand Prince of Kiev while camped by the river Alta[135]. He was canonised with his brother Gleb in 1072. 11. GLEB Vladimirovich (-murdered 5 Sep 1015, bur Lto river, transferred 1072 to Vishgorod[136]). The Primary Chronicle names (in order) Vysheslav, Izyaslav, Yaroslav, Sviatopolk, Vsevolod, Sviatoslav, Mstislav, Boris, Gleb, Stanislav, Pozvizd and Sudislav as the twelve sons of Vladimir, recording that his father established Gleb in Murom after the death of his brother Vysheslav[137]. His father appointed him Prince of Murom in 1010. He was lured by deceit from Murom and murdered on the orders of his cousin Sviatopolk I Grand Prince of Kiev[138]. He was canonised with his brother Boris in 1072. 12. POZVIZD Vladimirovich (-after 1015). The Primary Chronicle names (in order) Vysheslav, Izyaslav, Yaroslav, Sviatopolk, Vsevolod, Sviatoslav, Mstislav, Boris, Gleb, Stanislav, Pozvizd and Sudislav as the twelve sons of Vladimir[139]. 13. SUDISLAV Vladimirovich (-Kiev [1062/63], bur Church of St George). The Primary Chronicle names (in order) Vysheslav, Izyaslav, Yaroslav, Sviatopolk, Vsevolod, Sviatoslav, Mstislav, Boris, Gleb, Stanislav, Pozvizd and Sudislav as the twelve sons of Vladimir[140]. Prince of Pskov. He was imprisoned by his half-brother Iaroslav Grand Prince of Kiev in [1034/36][141]. The Primary Chronicle records his release from prison after 24 years in 1059 by Izyaslav, Sviatoslav and Vsevolod and his taking the monastic habit, and his death in [1062/63] and place of burial[142]. 14. STANISLAV Vladimirovich (-before 1015). The Primary Chronicle names (in order) Vysheslav, Izyaslav, Yaroslav, Sviatopolk, Vsevolod, Sviatoslav, Mstislav, Boris, Gleb, Stanislav, Pozvizd and Sudislav as the twelve sons of Vladimir[143]. Prince of Smolensk. 15. PREMISLAVA Vladimirovna (-[1015]). Baumgarten names the wife of Duke László and gives her origin but only cites one secondary source in support[144]. The primary source which confirms her parentage and marriage has not yet been identified. m ([1000]) LÁSZLÓ "Szár/the Bald" Prince of Hungary, Duke between March and Gran, son of MIHÁLY Prince of Hungary Duke between March and Gran & Adelajda [Adleta] of Poland (-1029). 16. DOBRONEGA MARIA Vladimirovna (before 1012-1087). The Primary Chronicle records the marriage of "Yaroslav's sister" to Kazimierz of Poland in 1043 but does not name her[145]. The Annales Polanorum state that "Kazimirum duxit ex Russia Mariam" in 1025[146], although the date is clearly inaccurate. The Chronicæ Polanorum refers to the wife of King Kazimierz as "de Rusia nobilem"[147]. The Chronica principum Polonie records that "Kazimirus" married "Dobrognewam"[148]. The Annales Capituli Cracoviensis record the death in 1087 of "Dobronega uxor Kazimir"[149]. m (1043) KAZIMIERZ I KAROL "Odnowiciel/the Renewer" Prince of Poland, son of MIESZKO II Lambert King of Poland & his wife Richeza [Ezzonen] (25 Jul 1016-19 Mar 1058). 17. [--- Vladimirovna . Baumgarten states that the wife of Markgraf Bernhard was the illegitimate daughter of Grand Prince Vladimir Sviatoslavich. He c
    Page: Ancestry
  5. Title: Wikipedia -Vladimir the Great
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_the_Great;
    Note: Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych (Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь;[a][b] c. 958 – 15 July 1015), also known as Vladimir the Great or Volodymyr the Great,[8] was Prince of Novgorod, Grand Prince of Kiev, and ruler of Kievan Rus' from 980 to 1015.[9][10] Volodymyr's father was Prince Sviatoslav I of Kiev of the Rurikid dynasty.[11] After the death of his father in 972, Vladimir, who was then prince of Novgorod, was forced to flee to Scandinavia in 976 after his brother Yaropolk murdered his other brother Oleg of Drelinia, becoming the sole ruler of Rus'. In Sweden, with the help of his relative Ladejarl Håkon Sigurdsson, ruler of Norway, he assembled a Varangian army and reconquered Novgorod from Yaropolk.[12] By 980, Vladimir had consolidated the Rus realm from modern-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to the Baltic Sea and had solidified the frontiers against incursions of Bulgarians, Baltic tribes and Eastern nomads. Originally a follower of Slavic paganism, Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988[13][14][15] and Christianized the Kievan Rus'.[11] He is thus also known as Saint Volodymyr. Rise to power Born in 958, Volodymyr was the natural son and youngest son of Sviatoslav I of Kiev by his housekeeper Malusha.[16] Malusha is described in the Norse sagas as a prophetess who lived to the age of 100 and was brought from her cave to the palace to predict the future. Malusha's brother Dobrynya was Vladimir's tutor and most trusted advisor. Hagiographic tradition of dubious authenticity also connects his childhood with the name of his grandmother, Olga of Kiev, who was Christian and governed the capital during Sviatoslav's frequent military campaigns. Transferring his capital to Pereyaslavets in 969, Sviatoslav designated Vladimir ruler of Novgorod the Great but gave Kiev to his legitimate son Yaropolk. After Sviatoslav's death at the hands of the Pechenegs in 972, a fratricidal war erupted in 976 between Yaropolk and his younger brother Oleg, ruler of the Drevlians. In 977, Vladimir fled to his kinsman Haakon Sigurdsson, ruler of Norway, collecting as many Norse warriors as he could to assist him to recover Novgorod. On his return the next year, he marched against Yaropolk. On his way to Kiev he sent ambassadors to Rogvolod (Norse: Ragnvald), prince of Polotsk, to sue for the hand of his daughter Rogneda (Norse: Ragnhild). The high-born princess refused to affiance herself to the son of a bondswoman (and was betrothed to Yaropolk), so Vladimir attacked Polotsk, slew Rogvolod, and took Ragnhild by force, slaying her parents.[16][17] Polotsk was a key fortress on the way to Kiev, and capturing Polotsk and Smolensk facilitated the taking of Kiev in 978, where he slew Yaropolk by treachery and was proclaimed knyaz of all Kievan Rus.[18] Years of pagan rule Volodymyr continued to expand his territories beyond his father's extensive domain. In 981, he seized the Cherven towns from the Poles; in 981–982, he suppressed a Vyatichi rebellion; in 983, he subdued the Yatvingians; in 984, he conquered the Radimichs; and in 985, he conducted a military campaign against the Volga Bulgars,[19][20] planting numerous fortresses and colonies on his way.[16] Although Christianity had spread in the region under Oleg's rule,[citation needed] Vladimir had remained a thoroughgoing pagan, taking eight hundred concubines (along with numerous wives) and erecting pagan statues and shrines to gods.[21] He may have attempted to reform Slavic paganism in an attempt to identify himself with the various gods worshipped by his subjects. He built a pagan temple on a hill in Kiev dedicated to six gods: Perun—the god of thunder and war, "a Norse god favored by members of the prince’s druzhina (military retinue)"; Slav gods Stribog and Dazhd'bog; Mokosh—a goddess representing Mother Nature "worshipped by Finnish tribes"; Khors and Simargl, "both of which had Iranian origins, were included, probably to appeal to the Poliane."[22] Open abuse of the deities that most people in Rus' revered triggered widespread indignation. A mob killed the Christian Fyodor and his son Ioann (later, after the overall Christianisation of Kievan Rus', people came to regard these two as the first Christian martyrs in Rus', and the Orthodox Church[citation needed] set a day to commemorate them, 25 July). Immediately after the murder of Fyodor and Ioann, early medieval Rus' saw persecutions against Christians, many of whom escaped or concealed their belief.[c] However, Prince Volodymyr mused over the incident long after, and not least for political considerations. According to the early Slavic chronicle, the Tale of Bygone Years, which describes life in Kievan Rus' up to the year 1110, he sent his envoys throughout the world to assess first-hand the major religions of the time: Islam, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, and Byzantine Orthodoxy. They were most impressed with their visit to Constantinople, saying, "We knew not whether we were in Heaven or on Earth… We only know that God dwells there among the people, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations."[23] Christianization of the Kievan Rus' The Primary Chronicle reports that in the year 987, after consultation with his boyars, Vladimir the Great sent envoys to study the religions of the various neighboring nations whose representatives had been urging him to embrace their respective faiths. The result is described by the chronicler Nestor. Of the Muslim Bulgarians of the Volga the envoys reported there is no gladness among them, only sorrow and a great stench.[16] He also reported that Islam was undesirable due to its prohibition of alcoholic beverages and pork.[24] Vladimir remarked on the occasion: "Drinking is the joy of all Rus'. We cannot exist without that pleasure."[24] Ukrainian and Russian sources also describe Vladimir consulting with Jewish envoys and questioning them about their religion, but ultimately rejecting it as well, saying that their loss of Jerusalem was evidence that they had been abandoned by God. His emissaries also visited pre-schism Latin Rite Christian and Eastern Rite Christian missionaries.[citation needed] Ultimately Vladimir settled on Eastern Christianity. In the churches of the Germans his emissaries saw no beauty; but at Constantinople, where the full festival ritual of the Byzantine Church was set in motion to impress them, they found their ideal: "We no longer knew whether we were in heaven or on earth", they reported, describing a majestic Divine Liturgy in Hagia Sophia, "nor such beauty, and we know not how to tell of it." Vladimir was impressed by this account of his envoys.[16] In 988, having taken the town of Chersonesos in Crimea, he boldly negotiated for the hand of emperor Basil II's sister, Anna.[25] Never before had a Byzantine imperial princess, and one "born in the purple" at that, married a barbarian, as matrimonial offers of French kings and German emperors had been peremptorily rejected. In short, to marry the 27-year-old princess to a pagan Slav seemed impossible. Vladimir was baptized at Chersonesos, however, taking the Christian name of Basil out of compliment to his imperial brother-in-law; the sacrament was followed by his wedding to Anna.[when?] Returning to Kiev in triumph, he destroyed pagan monuments and established many churches, starting with a church dedicated to St. Basil,[26] and the Church of the Tithes (989).[16]
  6. Title: Catholic Encyclopedia - St. Vladimir the Great
    Publication: Name: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15497a.htm;
    Note: (VLADIMIR or VOLODOMIR). Grand Duke of Kieff and All Russia, grandson of St. Olga, and the first Russian ruler to embrace Christianity, b. 956; d. at Berestova, 15 July, 1015. St. Olga could not convert her son and successor, Sviatoslav, for he lived and died a pagan and brought up his son Vladimir as a pagan chieftain. Sviatoslav had two legitimate sons, Yaropolk and Oleg, and a third son, Vladimir, borne him by his court favourite Olga Malusha. Shortly before his death (972) he bestowed the Grand Duchy of Kieff on Yaropolk and gave the land of the Drevlani (now Galicia) to Oleg. The ancient Russian capital of Novgorod threatened rebellion and, as both the princes refused to go thither, Sviatoslav bestowed its sovereignty upon the young Vladimir. Meanwhile war broke out between Yaropolk and Oleg, and the former conquered the Drevlanian territory and dethroned Oleg. When this news reached Vladimir he feared a like fate and fled to the Varangians (Variags) of Scandinavia for help, while Yaropolk conquered Novgorod and united all Russia under his sceptre. A few years later Vladimir returned with a large force and retook Novgorod. Becoming bolder he waged war against his brother towards the south, took the city of Polotzk, slew its prince, Ragvald, and married his daughter Ragnilda, the affianced bride of Yaropolk. Then he pressed on and besieged Kieff. Yaropolk fled to Rodno, but could not hold out there, and was finally slain upon his surrender to the victorious Vladimir; the latter thereupon made himself ruler of Kieff and all Russia in 980. As a heathen prince Vladimir had four wives besides Ragnilda, and by them had ten sons and two daughters. Since the days of St. Olga, Christianity, which was originally established among the eastern Slavs by Sts. Cyril and Methodius, had been making secret progress throughout the land of Russ (now eastern Austria and Russia) and had begun to considerably alter the heathen ideas. It was a period similar to the era of the conversion of Constantine. Notwithstanding this undercurrent of Christian ideas, Vladimir erected in Kieff many statues and shrines (trebishcha) to the Slavic heathen gods, Perun, Dazhdbog, Simorgl, Mokosh, Stribog, and others. In 981 he subdued the Chervensk cities (now Galicia), in 983 he overcame the wild Yatviags on the shores of the Baltic Sea, in 985 he fought with the Bulgarians on the lower Volga, and in 987 he planned a campaign against the Greco-Roman Empire, in the course of which he became interested in Christianity. The Chronicle of Nestor relates that he sent envoys to the neighbouring countries for information concerning their religions. The envoys reported adversely regarding the Bulgarians who followed (Mohammedan), the Jews of Khazar, and the Germans with their plain missionary Latin churches, but they were delighted with the solemn Greek ritual of the Great Church (St. Sophia) of Constantinople, and reminded Vladimir that his grandmother Olga had embraced that Faith. The next year (988) he besieged Kherson in the Crimea, a city within the borders of the eastern Roman Empire, and finally took it by cutting off its water supply. He then sent envoys to Emperor Basil II at Constantinople to ask for his sister Anna in marriage, adding a threat to march on Constantinople in case of refusal. The emperor replied that a Christian might not marry a heathen, but if Vladimir were a Christian prince he would sanction the alliance. To this Vladimir replied that he had already examined the doctrines of the Christians, was inclined towards them, and was ready to be baptized. Basil II sent this sister with a retinue of officials and clergy to Kherson, and there Vladimir was baptized, in the same year, by the Metropolitan Michael and took also the baptismal name of Basil. A current legend relates that Vladimir had been stricken with blindness before the arrival of Anna and her retinue and had recovered his sight upon being baptized. He then married Princess Anna, and thereafter put away his pagan wives. He surrendered the city of Kherson to the Greeks and returned to Kieff in state with his bride. The Russian historian Karamsin (Vol. I, p. 215) suggests that Vladimir could have been baptized long before at Kieff, since Christians and their priests were already there; but such an act would have humbled the proud chieftain in the eyes of his people, for he would have accepted in a lowly manner an inconspicuous rite at the hands of a secret and despised sect. Hence he preferred to have it come from the envoys of the Roman Emperor of Constantinople, as a means of impressing his people. When Vladimir returned to Kieff he took upon himself the conversion of his subjects. He ordered the statues of the gods to be thrown down, chopped to pieces, and some of them burned; the chief god, Perun, was dragged through the mud and thrown into the River Dnieper. These acts impressed the people with the helplessness of their gods, and when they were told that they should follow Vladimir's example and become Christians they were willingly baptized, even wading into the river that they might the sooner be reached by the priest for baptism. Zubrycki thinks this readiness shows that the doctrines of Christianity had already been secretly spread in Kieff and that the people only waited for an opportunity to publicly acknowledge them. Vladimir urged all his subjects to become Christians, established churches and monasteries not only at Kieff, but at Pereyaslav, Chernigoff, Bielegorod, Vladimir in Volhynia, and many other cities. In 989 he erected the large Church of St. Mary ever Virgin (usually called Desiatinny Sobor, the Cathedral of the Tithes), and in 996 the Church of the Transfiguration, both in the city of Kieff. He gave up his warlike career and devoted himself principally to the government of his people; he established schools, introduced ecclesiastical courts, and became known for his mildness and for his zeal in spreading the Christian faith. His wife died in 1011, having borne him two sons, Boris and Glib (also known as Sts. Roman and David, from their baptismal names). After this his life became troubled by the conduct of his elder children. Following the custom of his ancestors, he had parcelled out his kingdom amongst his children, giving the city of Novgorod in fief to his eldest son Yaroslav; the latter rebelled against him and refused to render either service or tribute. In 1014 Vladimir prepared to march north to Novgorod and take it away from his disobedient son, while Yaroslav invoked the help of the Varangians against his father. Vladimir fell ill and died on the way. His feast in celebrated on 15 July in the Russian Orthodox and Ruthenian Greek Catholic calendars, and he has received the name of Ravnoapostol (equal to the Apostles) in the title of the feast and the troparion of the liturgy. The Russians have added in their service books words referring his conversion and intercession to the present Russian Empire (rossiiskaya zemlya), but the Ruthenians have never permitted these interpolations.
    Page: Ancestry
  7. Title: Encyclopedia Britannica - Vladimir I grand prince of Kiev
    Publication: Name: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vladimir-I;
    Note: Vladimir I, in full Vladimir Svyatoslavich or Ukrainian Volodymyr Sviatoslavych, byname Saint Vladimir or Vladimir the Great, Russian Svyatoy Vladimir or Vladimir Veliky, (born c. 956, Kyiv, Kievan Rus [now in Ukraine]—died July 15, 1015, Berestova, near Kyiv; feast day July 15), grand prince of Kyiv and first Christian ruler in Kievan Rus, whose military conquests consolidated the provinces of Kyiv and Novgorod into a single state, and whose Byzantine baptism determined the course of Christianity in the region. Vladimir was the son of the Norman-Rus prince Svyatoslav of Kyiv by one of his courtesans and was a member of the Rurik lineage dominant from the 10th to the 13th century. He was made prince of Novgorod in 970. On the death of his father in 972, he was forced to flee to Scandinavia, where he enlisted help from an uncle and overcame Yaropolk, another son of Svyatoslav, who attempted to seize the duchy of Novgorod as well as Kyiv. By 980 Vladimir had consolidated the Kievan realm from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea and had solidified the frontiers against incursions of Bulgarian, Baltic, and Eastern nomads. Although Christianity in Kyiv existed before Vladimir’s time, he had remained a pagan, accumulated about seven wives, established temples, and, it is said, taken part in idolatrous rites involving human sacrifice. With insurrections troubling Byzantium, the emperor Basil II (976–1025) sought military aid from Vladimir, who agreed, in exchange for Basil’s sister Anne in marriage. A pact was reached about 987, when Vladimir also consented to the condition that he become a Christian. Having undergone baptism, assuming the Christian patronal name Basil, he stormed the Byzantine area of Chersonesus (Korsun, now part of Sevastopol) to eliminate Constantinople’s final reluctance. Vladimir then ordered the Christian conversion of Kyiv and Novgorod, where idols were cast into the Dnieper River after local resistance had been suppressed. The new Rus Christian worship adopted the Byzantine rite in the Old Church Slavonic language. The story (deriving from the 11th-century monk Jacob) that Vladimir chose the Byzantine rite over the liturgies of German Christendom, Judaism, and Islam because of its transcendent beauty is apparently mythically symbolic of his determination to remain independent of external political control, particularly of the Germans. The Byzantines, however, maintained ecclesiastical control over the new Rus church, appointing a Greek metropolitan, or archbishop, for Kyiv, who functioned both as legate of the patriarch of Constantinople and of the emperor. The Rus-Byzantine religio-political integration checked the influence of the Roman Latin church in the Slavic East and determined the course of Russian Christianity, although Kyiv exchanged legates with the papacy. Among the churches erected by Vladimir was the Desiatynna in Kyiv (designed by Byzantine architects and dedicated about 996) that became the symbol of the Rus conversion. The Christian Vladimir also expanded education, judicial institutions, and aid to the poor. Another marriage, following the death of Anne (1011), affiliated Vladimir with the Holy Roman emperors of the German Ottonian dynasty and produced a daughter, who became the consort of Casimir I the Restorer of Poland (1016–58). Vladimir’s memory was kept alive by innumerable folk ballads and legends.
    Page: Ancestry
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