The first Russian princes

1. The first Russian princes

2.

The reign of Oleg
After the capture of Kiev in 882, Oleg subdued the Drevlyans, Northerners,
Radimichs, Croats, Tivertsy. Oleg successfully fought with the Khazars. In
907 he laid siege to Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium, and in 911 he
concluded a profitable trade agreement with it.

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Igor's reign
After the death of Oleg, the son of Rurik, Igor, became the Grand
Duke of Kiev. He subdued the Eastern Slavs who lived between the
Dniester and the Danube, fought with Constantinople, and was the
first of the Russian princes to face the Pechenegs. In 945 he was
killed in the land of the Drevlyans while trying to collect tribute from
them again.

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Princess Olga, reign of Svyatoslav
Igor's widow Olga brutally suppressed the uprising of the
Drevlyans. But at the same time, she determined a fixed amount
of tribute, organized places for collecting tribute - camps and
churchyards. Thus, a new form of tribute collection was
established - the so-called "wagon". Olga visited Constantinople,
where she converted to Christianity. She ruled during the
childhood of her son Svyatoslav.

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In 964, Svyatoslav, who had reached the age of majority, entered
the reign of Rus. Under him, until 969, the state was largely ruled
by Princess Olga herself, since her son spent almost his entire life
on campaigns. In 964-966. Svyatoslav freed the Vyatichi from the
Khazars' power and subjugated them to Kiev, defeated the Volga
Bulgaria, the Khazar Kaganate and took the capital of the
Kaganate, the city of Itil. In 967 he invaded Bulgaria and settled at
the mouth of the Danube, in Pereyaslavets, and in 971, in alliance
with the Bulgarians and Hungarians, he began to fight against
Byzantium. The war was unsuccessful for him, and he was forced
to make peace with the Byzantine emperor. On the way back to
Kiev, Svyatoslav Igorevich died at the Dnieper rapids in a battle
with the Pechenegs, warned by the Byzantines about his return.

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Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich
After the death of Svyatoslav, a struggle for rule in Kiev began
between his sons. The winner was Vladimir Svyatoslavovich. By
campaigns against Vyatichi, Lithuanians, Radimichi, Bulgarians,
Vladimir strengthened the possessions of Kievan Rus. To organize
defense against the Pechenegs, he established several defensive lines
with a system of fortresses. To strengthen the princely power,
Vladimir made an attempt to turn popular pagan beliefs into a state
religion and for this he established in Kiev and Novgorod the cult of
the main Slavic guardian god Perun. However, this attempt was
unsuccessful, and he turned to Christianity. This religion was
declared the only all-Russian religion.

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Vladimir himself adopted Christianity from Byzantium. The
adoption of Christianity not only equated Kievan Rus with
neighboring states, but also had a huge impact on the culture, life
and customs of ancient Rus.

11.

Yaroslav the Wise
After the death of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, a fierce struggle for
power began between his sons, which ended in the victory of
Yaroslav Vladimirovich in 1019. Under him, Russia became one of
the strongest states in Europe. In 1036, Russian troops inflicted a
major defeat on the Pechenegs, after which their raids on Russia
ceased.Under Yaroslav Vladimirovich, nicknamed the Wise, a single
judicial code for the whole of Russia began to take shape - "Russian
Truth". This was the first document regulating the relationship of the
prince's warriors among themselves and with the inhabitants of
cities, the procedure for resolving various disputes and compensating
for damage.

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Important reforms under Yaroslav the Wise were carried out in the
church organization. In Kiev, Novgorod, Polotsk, the majestic
cathedrals of St. Sophia were built, which was supposed to show the
church independence of Russia. In 1051, the Kiev metropolitan was
elected not in Constantinople, as before, but in Kiev by a council of
Russian bishops. Church tithes have been determined. The first
monasteries appear. The first saints, the brothers princes Boris and
Gleb, were canonized. Kievan Rus under Yaroslav the Wise reached its
highest power. Many of the largest states of Europe were looking for
support, friendship and kinship with it.