1.
Old East Slavic
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Old East Slavic, Old Ruthenian, Old Rusian was a language used in the 10th–15th centuries by East Slavs in Kievan Rus and states which evolved after the collapse of Kievan Rus. Dialects of it were spoken, though not exclusively, in the area occupied by Belarus, central and northern Ukraine. Linguists from each of the three East Slavic countries tend to treat Old East Slavic as the predecessor of their own language. The Russian drevnerusskij jazyk means Old Rus’ian as well, Rusian is similarly used by some western scholars such as Horace Lunt. The language was a descendant of the Proto-Slavic language and faithfully retained many of its features, a striking innovation in the evolution of this language was the development of so-called pleophony, which came to differentiate the newly evolving East Slavic from other Slavic dialects. For instance, Common Slavic *gordъ settlement, town was reflected as OESl. gorodъ, Common Slavic *melko milk > OESl. moloko, other Slavic dialects are differed by resolving the closed-syllable clusters *eRC and *aRC as liquid metathesis, or by no change at all. Since extant written records of the language are sparse, it is difficult to assess the level of its unity, in consideration of the number of tribes and clans that constituted Kievan Rus, it is probable that there were many dialects of Old East Slavonic. Nonetheless, by 1150 it had more unity than any other branch of Slavic, with time, it evolved into several more diversified forms, which were the predecessors of the modern Belarusian, Russian, Rusyn and Ukrainian languages. The Ukrainian branch split away first, between 1200 and 1500, whereas Russian later separated from Belarusian by 1700, each of these languages preserves much of the Old East Slavic grammar and vocabulary. The Old Church Slavonic language was introduced, documentation of the language of this period is scanty, making it difficult at best fully to determine the relationship between the literary language and its spoken dialects. There are references in Arab and Byzantine sources to pre-Christian Slavs in European Russia using some form of writing, although the Glagolitic alphabet was briefly introduced, as witnessed by church inscriptions in Novgorod, it was soon entirely superseded by the Cyrillic. The following excerpts illustrate two of the most famous literary monuments, the spelling of the original excerpt has been partly modernized. The translations are best attempts at being literal, not literary,1110, from the Laurentian Codex,1377, Early language, fall of the yers in progress or arguably complete. South Slavic features include времѧньнъıх bygone, modern R прошлых, modern Ukr минулих, correct use of perfect and aorist, єсть пошла is/has come, нача began Note the style of punctuation. 1200, from the Pskov manuscript, fifteenth cent, illustrates the sung epics, with typical use of metaphor and simile. The Old East Slavic language developed a certain literature of its own, though much of it was influenced as regards style, the earliest dated specimen of Old East Slavic must be considered the written Slovo o zakone i blagodati, by Hilarion, metropolitan of Kiev. In this work there is a panegyric on Prince Vladimir of Kiev and this subtle and graceful oration admirably conforms to the precepts of the Byzantine eloquence. It is rivalled by another panegyric on Vladimir, written a decade later by Yakov the Monk, from the writings of Theodosius we see that many pagan habits were still in vogue among the people
2.
Kievan Rus'
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Kievan Rus was a loose federation of East Slavic tribes in Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century, under the reign of the Rurik dynasty. The modern peoples of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia all claim Kievan Rus as their cultural ancestors, according to Russian historiography the first ruler to start uniting East Slavic lands into what has become known as Kievan Rus was Prince Oleg. He extended his control from Novgorod south along the Dnieper river valley to protect trade from Khazar incursions from the east, Sviatoslav I achieved the first major expansion of Kievan Rus territorial control, fighting a war of conquest against the Khazars. Vladimir the Great introduced Christianity with his own baptism and, by decree, extended it to all inhabitants of Kiev and beyond. Kievan Rus reached its greatest extent under Yaroslav the Wise, his sons assembled and issued its first written legal code, the state declined beginning in the late 11th century and during the 12th century, disintegrating into various rival regional powers. The state finally fell to the Mongol invasion of the 1240s. During its existence, Kievan Rus was known as the land of the Rus, in Greek as Ῥωσία, in Old French as Russie, Rossie, in Latin as Russia, and from the 12th century also Ruthenia. Various etymologies have been proposed, including Ruotsi, the Finnish designation for Sweden, and Ros, the term Kievan Rus was coined in the 19th century in Russian historiography to refer to the period when the centre was in Kiev. Later, the Russian term was rendered into Belarusian and Ukrainian as Кіеўская Русь Kijeŭskaja Rus’ and Ки́ївська Русь Kyivska Rus’, prior to the emergence of Kievan Rus in the 9th century AD, the lands between the Baltic Sea and Black Sea were primarily populated by eastern Slavic tribes. In the northern region around Novgorod were the Ilmen Slavs and neighboring Krivichi, who occupied territories surrounding the headwaters of the West Dvina, Dnieper, to their north, in the Ladoga and Karelia regions, were the Finnic Chud tribe. In the south, in the area around Kiev, were the Poliane, a group of Slavicized tribes with Iranian origins, the Drevliane to the west of the Dnieper, and the Severiane to the east. To their north and east were the Vyatichi, and to their south was forested land settled by Slav farmers, controversy persists over whether the Rus’ were Varangians or Slavs. This uncertainty is due largely to a paucity of contemporary sources, attempts to address this question instead rely on archaeological evidence, the accounts of foreign observers, legends and literature from centuries later. To some extent the controversy is related to the myths of modern states in the region. According to the Normanist view, the Rus were Scandinavians, while Russian and Ukrainian nationalist historians generally argue that the Rus were themselves Slavs. Normanist theories focus on the earliest written source for the East Slavs, nevertheless, archaeological evidence from the area suggests that a Scandinavian population was present during the 10th century at the latest. On balance, it likely that the Rus proper were a small minority of Scandinavians who formed an elite ruling class. Liutprand of Cremona, who was twice an envoy to the Byzantine court, identifies the Russi with the Norse, leo the Deacon, a 10th-century Byzantine historian and chronicler, refers to the Rus as Scythians and notes that they tended to adopt Greek rituals and customs
3.
Kiev
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Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population in July 2015 was 2,887,974, Kiev is an important industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural centre of Eastern Europe. It is home to many industries, higher education institutions. The city has an infrastructure and highly developed system of public transport. The citys name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, during its history, Kiev, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of great prominence and relative obscurity. The city probably existed as a centre as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, Kiev was a tributary of the Khazars, until seized by the Varangians in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the city became a capital of the Kievan Rus, completely destroyed during the Mongol invasion in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. It was a capital of marginal importance in the outskirts of the territories controlled by its powerful neighbours, first the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, followed by Poland. The city prospered again during the Russian Empires Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century, in 1917, after the Ukrainian National Republic declared independence from the Russian Empire, Kiev became its capital. From 1919 Kiev was an important center of the Armed Forces of South Russia and was controlled by the White Army. From 1921 onwards Kiev was a city of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was proclaimed by the Red Army, during World War II, the city again suffered significant damage, but quickly recovered in the post-war years, remaining the third largest city of the Soviet Union. During the countrys transformation to an economy and electoral democracy. Kievs armament-dependent industrial output fell after the Soviet collapse, adversely affecting science, Kiev emerged as the most pro-Western region of Ukraine where parties advocating tighter integration with the European Union dominate during elections. As a prominent city with a history, its English name was subject to gradual evolution. The early English spelling was derived from Old East Slavic form Kyjev, the name is associated with that of Kyi, the legendary eponymous founder of the city. Early English sources use various names, including Kiou, Kiow, Kiew, on one of the oldest English maps of the region, Russiae, Moscoviae et Tartariae published by Ortelius the name of the city is spelled Kiou. On the 1650 map by Guillaume de Beauplan, the name of the city is Kiiow, in the book Travels, by Joseph Marshall, the city is referred to as Kiovia
4.
East Slavs
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The East Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking East Slavic languages. Formerly the main population of the state of Kievan Rus. Researchers know relatively little about the Eastern Slavs prior to approximately 859 AD, zealous Christian missions burned and destroyed all evidences of history of the people before that. The Eastern Slavs of these early times apparently lacked a written language, the few known facts come from archaeological digs, foreign travellers accounts of the Rus land, and linguistic comparative analyses of Slavic languages. Very few native Rus documents dating before the 11th century have survived, the earliest major manuscript with information on Rus history, the Primary Chronicle, dates from the late 11th and early 12th centuries. There is no consensus among scholars as to the urheimat of the Slavs, in the first millennium AD, Slavic settlers are likely to have been in contact with other ethnic groups who moved across the East European Plain during the Migration Period. Between the first and ninth centuries, the Sarmatians, Huns, Alans, Avars, Bulgars, although some of them could have subjugated the regions Slavs, these foreign tribes left little trace in the Slavic lands. The Early Middle Ages also saw Slavic expansion as an agriculturist and beekeeper, hunter, fisher, herder, by the 8th century, the Slavs were the dominant ethnic group on the East European Plain. By 600 AD, the Slavs had split linguistically into southern, western, the East Slavs practiced slash-and-burn agricultural methods which took advantage of the extensive forests in which they settled. This method of agriculture involved clearing tracts of forest with fire, cultivating it, the East Slavs flooded Eastern Europe in two streams. Another group of East Slavs moved from Pomerania to the northeast, the same Slavic population also settled the present-day Tver Oblast and the region of Beloozero. Having reached the lands of the Merya near Rostov, they linked up with the Dnieper group of Slavic migrants. Roughly in the period, the Ilmen Slavs and Krivichs were dominated by the Varangians of the Rus Khaganate. The earliest tribal centres of the East Slavs included Novgorod, Izborsk, Polotsk, Gnezdovo, archaeology indicates that they appeared at the turn of the tenth century, soon after the Slavs and Finns of Novgorod had rebelled against the Norsemen and forced them to withdraw to Scandinavia. The reign of Oleg of Novgorod in the tenth century witnessed the return of the Varangians to Novgorod. From this base, the mixed Varangian-Slavic population launched several expeditions against Constantinople, at first the ruling elite was primarily Norse, but it was rapidly Slavicized by the mid-century. Sviatoslav I of Kiev was the first Rus ruler with a Slavonic name, the disintegration, or parcelling of the polity of Kievan Rus in the 11th century resulted in considerable population shifts and a political, social, and economic regrouping. This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http, //lcweb2. loc. gov/frd/cs/
5.
Leo Mol
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Leonid Molodoshanin, known as Leo Mol, OC OM was a Ukrainian Canadian stained glass artist and sculptor. Born Leonid Molodozhanyn in Polonne, Russian Empire, he learned the art of ceramics in his fathers pottery workshop, Mol studied sculpture at the Leningrad Academy of Arts from 1936 to 1940. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union he moved to Germany where he was influenced by Arno Breker, in 1945, he moved to The Hague, and in December,1948, he and his wife, Magareth, emigrated to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1948. In 1949, he held his first ceramics exhibition in Winnipeg, Mol was known for his sculptures of square dancers, skiers, aboriginals, and wildlife. Mol also completed more than 80 stained-glass windows in churches throughout Winnipeg, more than three hundred of Mols works are displayed in the 1.2 hectare Leo Mol Sculpture Garden in Winnipegs Assiniboine Park which comprises a gallery, a renovated studio, and an outdoor display. The garden was unveiled on June 18,1992 and has expanded twice since. It is supported by donations, and Mol personally donated 200 bronze sculptures to the city of Winnipeg. The sculptures are of religious leaders, prominent people, the human form, Mol died July 4,2009, at the Tache Centre medical facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 2002, his bronze sculpture Lumberjacks, which now stands in Assiniboine Park was featured on a 48¢ Canadian postage stamp in the sculptors series. Mols small bronze sculpture of lumberjacks was his inspiration for a bronze sculpture. He was always known as a prolific artist and some of his most famous works include likenesses of three different Popes which stand in museums in the Vatican. He also has a sculpture of Taras Shevchenko on display on Washington’s Embassy Row, other important subjects who Mol sculpted include members of the Group of Seven, A. J. Casson, A. Y. Mol also sculpted Sir Winston Churchill 1966, Winnipeg editorial cartoonist Peter Kuch, Dwight D. Eisenhower 1965, John F. Kennedy 1969, Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook ca. The maquette of Sir William Stephenson C. C. is displayed in a place of honour within CIA Headquarters, Langley, VA, USA In 1989, in 2000, he was awarded the Order of Manitoba. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and he received honorary degrees from the University of Winnipeg, the University of Alberta and the University of Manitoba. Mol was also made an academician of the Canadian Portrait Academy in 2000. LeoMol. ca Stained Glass in the Cathedral of Sts
6.
Nestor the Chronicler
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In 1073, Nestor became a monk of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev. The only other detail of his life that is known is that he was commissioned with two other monks to find the relics of St. Theodosius of Kiev, a mission which he fulfilled successfully. It is also speculated that he supported the reigning prince Svyatopolk II and his chronicle begins with the Deluge, as did those of most Christian chroniclers of the time. The compiler appears to have been acquainted with the Byzantine historians, he makes use especially of John Malalas and he also likely had other Slavonic language chronicles to compile from, which have since been lost. Many legends are mistakenly attributed to Nestors Chronicle, the style is occasionally so poetic that perhaps he incorporated bylinas that are now lost. As an eyewitness, Nestor could only have described the reigns of Vsevolod I and Svyatopolk II, many of the ethnological details given by Nestor of the various tribes of the Slavs are of the highest value. The name of the hegumen Sylvester is affixed to several of the manuscripts as the author, the language of his work, as shown in the earliest manuscripts just mentioned, is Palaeo-Slavonic with many examples of Russianism. St. Nestor died around 1114 and was buried in the Near Caves and he has been glorified as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church. The body of the ancient chronicler may be seen among the preserved in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. His feast day is celebrated on October 27 and he is also commemorated in common with other saints of the Kiev Caves Lavra on September 28 and on the Second Sunday of Great Lent
7.
Byzantium
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Byzantium was an ancient Greek colony that later became Constantinople, and later still Istanbul. Byzantium was colonised by the Greeks from Megara in c. 657 BC, the etymology of Byzantion is unknown. It has been suggested that the name is of Thraco-Illyrian origin and it may be derived from a Thracian or Illyrian personal name, Byzas. Ancient Greek legend refers to a king Byzas, the leader of the Megarian colonists, the form Byzantium is a Latinisation of the original name. Much later, the name Byzantium became common in the West to refer to the Eastern Roman Empire and this usage was introduced only in 1555 by the historian Hieronymus Wolf, a century after the empire had ceased to exist. During the time of the empire, the term Byzantium was restricted to just the city, the European side featured only two fishing settlements, Lygos and Semistra. The origins of Byzantium are shrouded in legend, the traditional legend has it that Byzas from Megara founded Byzantium in 667 BC when he sailed northeast across the Aegean Sea. The tradition tells that Byzas, son of King Nisos, planned to found a colony of the Dorian Greek city of Megara, Byzas consulted the oracle of Apollo at Delphi, which instructed Byzas to settle opposite the Land of the Blind. Leading a group of Megarian colonists, Byzas found a location where the Golden Horn and he adjudged the Chalcedonians blind not to have recognized the advantages the land on the European side of the Bosphorus had over the Asiatic side. In 667 BC he founded Byzantium at their location, thus fulfilling the oracles requirement and it was mainly a trading city due to its location at the Black Seas only entrance. Byzantium later conquered Chalcedon, across the Bosporus on the Asiatic side, Byzantium was besieged by Greek forces during the Peloponnesian War. As part of Spartas strategy for cutting off supplies to Athens. The Athenian military later took the city in 408 BC, after siding with Pescennius Niger against the victorious Septimius Severus, the city was besieged by Roman forces and suffered extensive damage in 196 AD. Byzantium was rebuilt by Septimius Severus, now emperor, and quickly regained its previous prosperity and it was bound to Perinthos during the period of Septimius Severus. The location of Byzantium attracted Roman Emperor Constantine I who, in 330 AD, after his death the city was called Constantinople. This combination of imperialism and location would affect Constantinoples role as the nexus between the continents of Europe and Asia and it was a commercial, cultural, and diplomatic centre. With its strategic position, Constantinople controlled the trade routes between Asia and Europe, as well as the passage from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea. On May 29,1453, the city fell to the Ottoman Turks, and again became the capital of a powerful state, the Turks called the city Istanbul, the name derives from eis-tin-polin
8.
George Hamartolos
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George Hamartolos or Hamartolus was a monk at Constantinople under Michael III and the author of a chronicle of some importance. It is a common form among Byzantine monks, krumbacher protests against the use of this epithet as a name and proposes the form Georgios Monachos. Nothing is known about him except from the evidence of his work. The chronicle consists of four books, the chronicle is the only original contemporary authority for the years 813–842, and therefore so far indispensable. As usually in the case of medieval chronicles, the only part to be taken seriously is the account of more or less contemporary events. The rest is interesting as an example of Byzantine ideas on the subjects, George describes his ideal and principles in the preface. But of so great a mass of material he has chosen only what is most useful, in effect, the questions that seemed most useful and necessary to ecclesiastical persons at Constantinople in the ninth century are those that are discussed. There are copious pious reflections and theological excursuses and he writes of how idols were invented, the origin of monks, the religion of the Saracens, and especially of the Iconoclast controversy that had just ended. Like all monks he hates iconoclasts, the violence with which he speaks of them shows how recent the storm had been and how the memory of iconoclast persecutions was still fresh when he wrote. He writes out long extracts from Greek Fathers, the first book treats of an astonishingly miscellaneous collection of persons — Adam, Nimrod, the Persians, Chaldees, Brahmins, Amazons, etc. In the second book, too, although it professes to deal with Bible history only, he has much to say about Plato, Hamartolus ended his chronicle with the year 842, as a colophon in most manuscripts attests. In these additions, religious questions are relegated to the background, more attention is devoted to history. Still further continuations of little value go down to 1143 and it was soon translated into Church Slavonic and also in Georgian by Arsen of Iqalto. In these versions it became a sort of fountain-head for all early Slavonic historians, in Maxima bibliotheca Paris,1685, reprinted, Venice,1729. The last part of Book IV of the chronicle and the continuation, georgii monachi, dicti Hamartoli, Chronicon ab orbe condito ad annum p. chr.842 et a diversis scriptoribus usq. ad ann.1143 continuatum. The first edition of the whole work and it does not represent the original text, but one of the many modified versions, and is in many ways deficient and misleading. Reprint of the edition, with a Latin translation. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles
9.
Bylina
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Bylina or Starina is a traditional East Slavic oral epic narrative poem. Byliny songs are based on historical fact, greatly embellished with fantasy or hyperbole to create their songs. The word Bylina is derived from the past tense of the verb “to be”, later scholars believe that Sakharov misunderstood the word bylina in the opening of Igor’ Tale as “an ancient poem. ”The folk singers of byliny called these songs stariny or starinki meaning “stories of old”. Byliny incorporate elements of history from several epochs into their stories, for example, byliny singers refer to many of the enemies of the Kievan people as Tartars though the stories originally referred to other steppe peoples in conflict with Kievan Rus’. The character of Prince Vladimir refers to a generalized “epic Vladimir” rather than an allusion to a specific historical Vladimir, byliny have been collected in Russia since the seventeenth century, initially they were published for entertainment in prose paraphrases. The Cossack Kirsha Danilov compiled the most notable of the collections in the Ural region for the mill owner Prokofi Demidov in the middle of the eighteenth century. A storm stranded Rybnikov on an island in Lake Onega where he heard the sound of a bylina being sung, he persuaded the singer to repeat the song and wrote down his words. He proceeded to collect several hundred bylina, all of which he recorded from spoken paraphrase, another influential collector, Alexander Gilferding, published one collection entitled Onega Bylinas Recorded by A. F. Gilferding in the Summer of 1871. He improved upon Rybnikov’s work by transcribing the byliny directly from the performance rather than the spoken retellings. There are several ways to categorize bylina, and scholars disagree on which classification to use, scholars from the mythological school differentiate between byliny about ‘older’ and ‘younger’ heroes. The ‘older’ heroes resembled mythological figures, while the ‘younger’ heroes resembled ordinary human beings, the historical school classifies byliny based on the principality in which the story took place, as in Kivan, Novgorodian, and Galician-Volhynian cycles. The mythological byliny of giants and the like probably originated long before the Kievan state was founded, scholars of the historical school often consider mythological byliny separately. Other scholars group byliny based on content, including heroic, fairy tale type, novella type, most scholars prefer classification based on principalities. Because of their nature as performed pieces, byliny singers employ basically linear, byliny structure typically includes three basic parts, introduction, narrative portion and epilogue. The introduction sometimes includes a verse to entice the audience to listen, introductions often describe heroes at a feast being given a task or setting out on a mission. The narrative portion relates the adventure with exaggerated details and hyperbole to make the more exciting. The epilogue refers to the reward for the mission, a moral or a reference to the sea, to help listeners grasp the story, singers used ‘tag lines’ to preface speeches or dialogues, setting up for the audience who is talking to whom. Singers may use their telling of these scenes in many of their songs, christian beliefs mixed with pre-Christian ideas of magic and paganism in byliny, for instance, saints would appear to defend mortals against darkness
10.
Saga
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They were written in the Old Norse language, mainly in Iceland. The tales are usually realistic, except legendary sagas, sagas of saints, sagas of bishops and they are sometimes romanticised and fantastic, but always dealing with human beings one can understand. The term saga originates from the Norse saga, and refers to what is said, statement or story, tale and it is cognate with the English word saw, and the German Sage. Icelandic sagas are based on traditions and much research has focused on what is real. The accuracy of the sagas is often hotly disputed, most of the manuscripts in which the sagas are preserved were taken to Denmark and Sweden in the 17th century, but later returned to Iceland. Classic sagas were composed in the 13th century, scholars once believed that these sagas were transmitted orally from generation to generation until scribes wrote them down in the 13th century. However, most scholars now believe the sagas were conscious artistic creations, however, this clothing is not contemporary with the events of the saga as it is a closer match to the clothing worn in the 12th century. There are plenty of tales of kings, everyday people and larger than life characters, the sagas describe a part of the history of some of the Nordic countries. The British Isles, northern France and North America are also mentioned and it was only recently that the tales of the voyages to North America were authenticated. Most sagas of Icelanders take place in the period 930–1030, which is called söguöld in Icelandic history, the sagas of kings, bishops, contemporary sagas have their own time frame. Norse sagas are generally classified as, the Kings sagas, sagas of Icelanders, Short tales of Icelanders, Contemporary sagas, Legendary sagas, Chivalric sagas, Saints sagas, Kings sagas are of the lives of Scandinavian kings. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries, family Sagas, are stories of real events, passed in oral form till they eventually were recorded, mostly in the 13th century. These are the highest form of the classical Icelandic saga writing, some well-known examples include Njáls saga, Laxdæla saga and Grettis saga. The material of the Short tales of Icelanders sagas is similar to Íslendinga sögur, the narratives of the Contemporary Sagas are set in 12th- and 13th-century Iceland, and were written soon after the events they describe. Most are preserved in the compilation Sturlunga saga, though some, Legendary Sagas blend remote history with myth or legend. The aim is on a narrative and entertainment. Scandinavias pagan past was a proud and heroic history for the Icelanders, Chivalric sagas are translations of Latin pseudo-historical works and French chansons de geste as well as native creations in the same style. While sagas are generally anonymous, a literary movement in the 14th century involves sagas, mostly on religious topics, with identifiable authors
11.
Sviatopolk II of Kiev
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Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich was supreme ruler of the Kievan Rus for 20 years, from 1093 to 1113. He was not a prince, and his reign was marked by incessant rivalry with his cousin Vladimir Monomakh. Upon his death the Kievan citizens raised a rebellion against the Jewish merchants and Varangian officials who speculated in grain, Sviatopolk was the son of Iziaslav Iaroslavich by his concubine. During his brother Iaropolks life, Sviatopolk was not regarded as a claimant to the Kievan throne. In 1069 he was sent to Polotsk, a city taken by his father from the local ruler Vseslav. Upon his brothers death he succeeded him in Turov, which would remain in possession of his descendants until the 17th century, when Vsevolod Iaroslavich died in 1093, Sviatopolk was acknowledged by other princes as the senior son of Veliki Kniaz and permitted to ascend the Kievan throne. Although he participated in the princely congresses organized by Vladimir Monomakh, for instance, he sided with his cousin David of Volhynia and his son-in-law Bolesław III Wrymouth in capturing and blinding one of Galician princes. He also sided with Vladimir Monomakh in several campaigns against the Kypchaks but was defeated in the Battle of the Stugna River, Sviatopolks Christian name was Michael, so he encouraged embellishment of St Michaels Abbey in Kiev, which has been known as the Golden-Roofed up to the present. The history now known as the Primary Chronicle was compiled by the monk Nestor during Sviatopolks reign, Sviatopolk married firstly a Bohemian princess, probably a daughter of Duke Spytihněv II. They had three children, Zbyslava, married to king Boleslaw III of Poland on November 15,1102, predslava, married to Prince Álmos of Hungary on August 21,1104. Iaroslav, Prince of Volynia and Turov was married three times - to Hungarian, Polish Sophia, and Kievan princesses, in consequence of Iaroslavs early death, his descendants forfeited any right to the Kievan throne and had to content themselves with Turov and Pinsk. Secondly, in 1094 Sviatopolk married to a daughter of Tugor Khan of the Kypchaks and they had four children, Anna, married to Sviatoslav Davydych from Chernihiv who turned into a monk upon her death and later became Saint Nikolai Svyatoslav Davydych of Chernihiv. Maria, married Piotr Włostowic, castellan of Wroclaw and Polish palatine, bryachislav, possibly dethroned Iaroslav as the Prince of Turov in 1118. Izyaslav, possibly the Prince of Turov in 1123, some sources claim that Sviatopolk used to have an out of wedlock son Mstislav who ruled Novgorod-Sieversky in 1095–1097 and later Volyn. It seems that he later was murdered in Volodymyr-Volynski, there are little or no information on most of Svitopolks children except Iaroslav and Zbyslava. Iaroslav and his children continued to rule the Principality of Turov. List of Ukrainian rulers List of Russian rulers Detailed biography
12.
Varangians
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According to the 12th century Kievan Primary Chronicle, a group of Varangians known as the Rus settled in Novgorod in 862 under the leadership of Rurik. Before Rurik, the Rus might have ruled an earlier hypothetical polity, Ruriks relative Oleg conquered Kiev in 882 and established the state of Kievan Rus, which was later ruled by Ruriks descendants. Engaging in trade, piracy, and mercenary activities, Varangians roamed the river systems and portages of Gardariki and they controlled the Volga trade route, connecting the Baltic to the Caspian Sea, and the Dnieper and Dniester trade route leading to the Black Sea and Constantinople. Attracted by the riches of Constantinople, the Varangian Rus initiated a number of Rus-Byzantine Wars, at least from the early 10th century many Varangians served as mercenaries in the Byzantine Army, constituting the elite Varangian Guard. Eventually most of them, both in Byzantium and in Eastern Europe, were converted from paganism to Orthodox Christianity, culminating in the Christianization of Kievan Rus in 988. Coinciding with the decline of the Viking Age, the influx of Scandinavians to Rus stopped. Some scholars seem to assume a derivation from vár with the common suffix -ing, the reduction of the second part of the word could be parallel to that seen in Old Norse foringi leader, correspondent to Old English foregenga and Gothic
13.
Askold
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Askold was a prince of Kiev and founder of the first Eastern Slavic state formation in Dnieper Ukraine. According to the Nikon Chronicle Askolds name was spelled out as Oskold, nonetheless, Askold is widely popular however after the Primary Chronicle where he along with another voivode Dir were of Ruriks clan in the 870s. That chronicle implies that they were neither his relatives nor of noble blood, the Primary Chronicle relates that Askold and Dir were sanctioned by Rurik to go to Constantinople. When travelling on the Dnieper, they saw a settlement on a mountain and they were told that it was Kyiv and had been built by three brothers named Kyi, Schek and Khoriv, who were the ancestors of the inhabitants, who were now paying tribute to the Khazars. Askold and Dir settled in the town and gathered a number of fellow Varangians and began to rule the town. The chronicle also states that they were killed by Oleg the Seer around 882, according to the Primary Chronicle he tricked and killed Askold and Dir using an elaborate scheme. Vasily Tatischev, Boris Rybakov and some other Russian and Ukrainian historians interpreted the 882 coup détat in Kiev as the reaction of the pagan Varangians to Askolds baptism, Tatischev went so far as to style Askold the first Russian martyr. According to the Tale of Ragnars Sons, Askold was the son of Hvitserk, and the grandson of Ragnar Lodbrok, Hvitserk was a contemporary of Rurik, and was said to have waged a war of conquest in Eastern Europe. The only foreign source to one of the co-rulers is the Arab historian Al-Masudi. According to him, king al-Dir was the first among the kings of the Saqaliba and it seems that in Old East Slavic it was originally askold Dir and not Askold i Dir as it is known from the Primary Chronicle. The Russian Varangians later forgot the meaning of óskyldr so Nestor wrote about two rulers of Kiev—about Askold and Dir. The Rus attack on Constantinople in June 860 took the Greeks by surprise, like a thunderbolt from heaven, although the Slavonic chronicles tend to associate this expedition with the names of Askold and Dir, the connection remains tenuous. A Kievan legend identifies Askolds burial mound with Uhorska Hill, where Olga of Kiev later built two churches, devoted to Saint Nicholas and to Saint Irene, today this place on the steep bank of the Dnieper is marked by a monument called Askolds Grave. Russian screw frigate Askold Russian cruiser Askold List of Ukrainian rulers Book of Veles Guide to Askolds Grave Askold at Find a Grave Yasterbov, the reign of the princes Askold and Dyr, beginnings of the mighty Kyivan state
14.
Oleg of Novgorod
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Oleg of Novgorod was a Varangian prince who ruled all or part of the Rus people during the early 10th century. He also launched at least one attack on Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, according to East Slavic chronicles, Oleg was supreme ruler of the Rus from 882 to 912. The nature of Olegs relationship with the Rurikid ruling family of the Rus, according to the Primary Chronicle, Oleg was a relative of the first ruler, Rurik, and was entrusted by Rurik to take care of both his kingdom and his young son Igor. Oleg gradually took control of the Dnieper cities, seizing the power in Kiev by tricking and slaying Askold and Dir, the new capital was a convenient place to launch a raid against Constantinople in 907. According to the chronicle, the Byzantines attempted to poison Oleg, having fixed his shield to the gate of the imperial capital, Oleg won a favourable trade treaty, which eventually was of great benefit to both nations. Although Byzantine sources did not record these hostilities, the text of the treaty survives in the Chronicle, the Novgorod First Chronicle does not give the date of the commencement of Olegs reign, but dates his death to 922 rather than 912. Scholars have contrasted this dating scheme with the reigns of roughly thirty-three years for both Oleg and Igor in the Primary Chronicle. The Primary Chronicle and other Kievan sources place Olegs grave in Kiev, in the Primary Chronicle, Oleg is known as the Prophet, an epithet alluding to the sacred meaning of his Norse name. According to the legend, romanticised by Alexander Pushkin in his ballad The Song of the Wise Oleg, to defy the prophecies, Oleg sent the horse away. Many years later he asked where his horse was, and was told it had died and he asked to see the remains and was taken to the place where the bones lay. When he touched the skull with his boot a snake slithered from the skull. Oleg died, thus fulfilling the prophecy, in Scandinavian traditions, this legend lived on in the saga of Orvar-Odd. According to the Primary Chronicle, Oleg died in 912 and his successor, Igor of Kiev, the Schechter Letter, a document written by a Jewish Khazar, a contemporary of Romanus I Lecapenus, describes the activities of a Rus warlord named HLGW, usually transcribed as Helgu. For years many scholars disregarded or discounted the Schechter Letter account, zuckerman posited that the early chronology of the Rus had to be re-determined in light of these sources. In contrast to Zuckermans version, the Primary Chronicle and the later Kiev Chronicle place Olegs grave in Kiev, where it could be seen at the time of the compilation of these documents. Furthermore, scholars have pointed out that if Oleg succeeded Rurik in 879, he could hardly have been active almost 70 years later and it has also been suggested that Helgu-Oleg who waged war in the 940s was distinct from both of Ruriks successors. He could have one of the fair and great princes recorded in the Russo-Byzantine treaties of 911 and 944 or one of the archons of Rus mentioned in De administrando imperio. Georgy Vernadsky even identified the Oleg of the Schechter Letter with Igors otherwise anonymous eldest son, however, the academic mainstream has not endorsed either of these theories
15.
Olga of Kiev
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Saint Olga was a ruler of Kievan Rus as regent for her son, Svyatoslav. Because of this, Olga is venerated as a saint, while her birthdate is unknown, it could be as early as AD890 and as late as 5 June 925. Olga, a woman from Pskov, married the future Igor of Kiev, arguably in 903, the Primary Chronicle gives 879 as her date of birth, which is unlikely, given the birth of her only son probably some 65 years after that date. After Igors death, Olga ruled Kievan Rus as regent on behalf of their son Svyatoslav and she was, hypothetically, of Varangian extraction. Old Norse, Helga The following account is taken from the Primary Chronicle, Princess Olga was the wife of Igor of Kiev, who was killed by the Drevlians. At the time of her husbands death, their son Svyatoslav was three years old, making Olga the official ruler of Kievan Rus until he reached adulthood. The Drevlians wanted Olga to marry their Prince Mal, making him the ruler of Kievan Rus, the Drevlians sent twenty of their best men to persuade Olga to marry their Prince Mal and give up her rule of Kievan Rus. Then she sent word to Prince Mal that she accepted the proposal, the Drevlians sent their best men who governed their land. Upon their arrival, she offered them a welcome and an invitation to clean up after their long journey in a bathhouse. After they entered, she locked the doors and set fire to the building, burning them alive, with the best and wisest men out of the way, she planned to destroy the remaining Drevlians. She invited them to a funeral feast so she could mourn over her husbands grave, after the Drevlians were drunk, Olgas soldiers killed over 5,000 of them. She returned to Kiev and prepared an army to attack the survivors, the Drevlians begged for mercy and offered to pay for their freedom with honey and furs. She asked for three pigeons and three sparrows from each house, since she did not want to burden the villagers any further after the siege and they were happy to comply with such a reasonable request. Now Olga gave to each soldier in her army a pigeon or a sparrow, when night fell, Olga bade her soldiers release the pigeons and the sparrows. So the birds flew to their nests, the pigeons to the cotes, the dove-cotes, the coops, the porches, and the haymows were set on fire. There was not a house that was not consumed, and it was impossible to extinguish the flames, the people fled from the city, and Olga ordered her soldiers to catch them. Thus she took the city and burned it, and captured the elders of the city, some of the other captives she killed, while some she gave to others as slaves to her followers. The remnant she left to pay tribute, in 947, Princess Olga launched a punitive expedition against the tribal elites between the Luga and the Msta River
16.
Igor of Kiev
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Igor I was a Varangian ruler of Kievan Rus from 912 to 945. Information about Igor comes mostly from the Primary Chronicle and this document has Igor as the son of Rurik, the first ruler of Kievan Rus, 6378–6387. On his deathbed, Rurik bequeathed his realm to Oleg, who belonged to his kin, Oleg set forth, taking with him many warriors from among the Varangians, the Chuds, the Slavs, the Merians and all the Krivichians. He thus arrived with his Krivichians before Smolensk, captured the city, thence he went on and captured Lyubech, where he also set up a garrison. He then came to the hills of Kiev, and saw how Askold and he hid his warriors in the boats, left some others behind, and went forward himself bearing the child Igor. Askold and Dir straightway came forth, then all the soldiery jumped out of the boats, and Oleg said to Askold and Dir, You are not princes nor even of princely stock, but I am of princely birth. Igor was then brought forward, and Oleg announced that he was the son of Rurik and they killed Askold and Dir, and after carrying them to the hill, they buried them there, on the hill now known as Hungarian, where the castle of Olma now stands. In 913 and 944 the Rus plundered the Arabs in the Caspian Sea during the Caspian expeditions of the Rus, Igor was killed while collecting tribute from the Drevlians in 945. Igors wife, Olga of Kiev, avenged his death by punishing the Drevlians, the Primary Chronicle blames his death on his own excessive greed, indicating that he tried to collect tribute for a second time in a month. As a result, Olga changed the system of gathering in what may be regarded as the first legal reform recorded in Eastern Europe. Drastically revising the chronology of the Primary Chronicle, Constantin Zuckerman argues that Igor actually reigned for three years, between summer 941 and his death in early 945. He explains the epic 33-year span of his reign in the chronicle to be the result of its authors faulty interpretation of Byzantine sources, indeed, none of Igors activities are recorded in the chronicle prior to 941. List of Ukrainian rulers List of Russian rulers
17.
Drevlians
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To the west, the Drevlians territories reached the Sluch River, where the Volynians and Buzhans lived. To the north, the Drevlians neighbors were the Dregovichs and their name is derived from Slavic drevo/древо or derevo/дерево, meaning wood and tree, because they lived in the forests. Their name may be rendered the dwellers in the forest, nestor the Chronicler mentioned that those Slavs who settled in open fields had been called Polyani, and those in forest areas Drevlyani. The principal city of the Drevlians was Iskorosten, where one can see a group of compact ancient settlements. After the Kievan Rus conquered the Drevlians, Iskorosten was burned to the ground, by the end of the first millennium, the Drevlians already had well-developed farming and handicrafts. The Drevlians initially fervently opposed the Kievan Rus, according to a number of chronicles, in the times of Kyi, Schek and Khoriv the Drevlians had their own princely rule and were frequently at war with the Polyani. In 883, Prince Oleg of Novgorod made the Drevlians pay tribute to Kiev, in 907, the Drevlians took part in the Kievan military campaign against the Eastern Roman Empire. After Olegs death in 912 the Drevlians stopped paying tribute, the Varangian warlord Sveneld made them pay tribute to himself. Olegs successor Igor attempted to levy the tribute after Sveneld, igors widow Olga avenged her husbands death in an extremely harsh manner, killing Drevlian ambassadors and nobility, burning their capital of Iskorosten to the ground and leveling other towns. After having subjugated the Drevlians, Olga transformed their territories into a Kievan appanage with the center in Vruchiy, the last contemporary mention of the Drevlians occurred in a chronicle of 1136, when Grand Prince Yaropolk Vladimirovich of Kiev gifted their lands to the Church of the Tithes
18.
Saints Cyril and Methodius
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Saints Cyril and Methodius were two brothers who were Byzantine Christian theologians and Christian missionaries. Through their work influenced the cultural development of all Slavs. They are credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic, after their deaths, their pupils continued their missionary work among other Slavs. Both brothers are venerated in the Orthodox Church as saints with the title of equal-to-apostles, in 1880, Pope Leo XIII introduced their feast into the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints of Europe, the two brothers were born in Thessalonica, in present-day Greece – Cyril in about 827–828 and Methodius about 815–820. Cyril was reputedly the youngest of seven brothers, he was born Constantine, Methodius was born Michael and took the name Methodius upon becoming a monk at Mysian Olympus, in northwest Turkey. Their father was Leo, a droungarios of the Byzantine theme of Thessalonica, the exact ethnic origins of the brothers are unknown, there is controversy as to whether Cyril and Methodius were of Slavic or Byzantine Greek origin, or both. The two brothers lost their father when Cyril was fourteen, and the powerful minister Theoktistos, who was logothetes tou dromou, one of the ministers of the Empire. Cyril was ordained as priest some time after his education, while his brother Methodius remained only a deacon until 867/868, Cyrils mastery of theology and command of both Arabic and Hebrew made him eligible for his first state mission. He was sent to the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil to discuss the principle of the Holy Trinity with the Arab theologians and this mission was unsuccessful, as later the Khagan imposed Judaism on his people as the national religion. It has been claimed that Methodius accompanied Cyril on the mission to the Khazars, the account of his life presented in the Latin Legenda claims that he learned the Khazar language while in Chersonesos, in Taurica. In 862, the brothers began the work which would give them their historical importance and that year Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia requested that Emperor Michael III and the Patriarch Photius send missionaries to evangelize his Slavic subjects. His motives in doing so were more political than religious. Rastislav had become king with the support of the Frankish ruler Louis the German, Rastislav is said to have expelled missionaries of the Roman Church and instead turned to Constantinople for ecclesiastical assistance and, presumably, a degree of political support. The Emperor quickly chose to send Cyril, accompanied by his brother Methodius, the request provided a convenient opportunity to expand Byzantine influence. Their first work seems to have been the training of assistants, in 863, they began the task of translating the Bible into the language now known as Old Church Slavonic and travelled to Great Moravia to promote it. They enjoyed considerable success in this endeavour, however, they came into conflict with German ecclesiastics who opposed their efforts to create a specifically Slavic liturgy. For the purpose of mission, they devised the Glagolitic alphabet
19.
Slavs
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Slavs are the largest Indo-European ethno-linguistic group in Europe. They are native to Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Northeastern Europe, North Asia, Slavs speak Slavic languages of the Balto-Slavic language group. From the early 6th century they spread to inhabit most of Central, states with Slavic languages comprise over 50% of the territory of Europe, therefore it is the largest ethno-linguistic group in Europe by land area. Present-day Slavic people are classified into West Slavs, East Slavs, there are an estimated 360 million Slavs worldwide. The Slavic autonym is reconstructed in Proto-Slavic as *Slověninъ, plural *Slověne, the oldest documents written in Old Church Slavonic and dating from the 9th century attest the autonym as Slověne. The word slovo and the related slava and slukh originate from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱlew-, cognate with Ancient Greek κλῆς, whence comes the name Pericles, Latin clueo, some other theories have limited support. The English term slave eventually derives from the ethnonym Slav, Slavs were captured and enslaved by the Muslims of Spain during the ninth century AD. The Slavs under name of the Antes and the Sclaveni make their first appearance in Byzantine records in the early 6th century. Procopius wrote in 545 that the Sclaveni and the Antae actually had a name in the remote past. He described them as barbarians, who lived under democracy, and that believe in one god. They lived in scattered housing, and constantly changed settlement, regarding warfare, they were mainly foot soldiers with small shields and battleaxes, lightly clothed, some entering battle naked with only their genitals covered. And they live a life, giving no heed to bodily comforts. Jordanes described the Sclaveni having swamps and forests for their cities, another 6th-century source refers to them living among nearly impenetrable forests, rivers, lakes, and marshes. Menander Protector mentions a Daurentius that slew an Avar envoy of Khagan Bayan I. The Avars asked the Slavs to accept the suzerainty of the Avars, he declined and is reported as saying, Others do not conquer our land. The relationship between the Slavs and a called the Veneti east of the River Vistula in the Roman period is uncertain. The name may refer both to Balts and Slavs, perhaps some Slavs migrated with the movement of the Vandals to Iberia and north Africa. Around the 6th century, Slavs appeared on Byzantine borders in great numbers, the Byzantine records note that grass would not regrow in places where the Slavs had marched through, so great were their numbers
20.
Vladimir the Great
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Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great or Volodymyr was a prince of Novgorod, grand prince of Kiev, and ruler of Kievan Rus from 980 to 1015. Vladimirs father was prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty, in Sweden, with the help from his relative Ladejarl Håkon Sigurdsson, ruler of Norway, he assembled a Varangian army and reconquered Novgorod from Yaropolk. Originally a follower of Slavic paganism, Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988, born in 958, Vladimir was the natural son and youngest son of Sviatoslav I of Kiev by his housekeeper Malusha. 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, malushas brother Dobrynya was Vladimirs tutor and most trusted advisor. His place of birth is identified by different authors either as Budyatychi or Budnik, transferring his capital to Pereyaslavets in 969, Sviatoslav designated Vladimir ruler of Novgorod the Great but gave Kiev to his legitimate son Yaropolk. After Sviatoslavs death at the hands of the Pechenegs in 972, 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, prince of Polotsk, to sue for the hand of his daughter Rogneda. The high-born princess refused to affiance herself to the son of a bondswoman, so Vladimir attacked Polotsk, slew Rogvolod, Vladimir continued to expand his territories beyond his fathers extensive domain. Although Christianity spread in the region under Olegs rule, Vladimir had remained a pagan, taking eight hundred concubines. He may have attempted to reform Slavic paganism by establishing the thunder-god, Perun, open abuse of the deities that most people in Rus revered triggered widespread indignation. A mob killed the Christian Fyodor and his son Ioann, immediately after the murder of Fyodor and Ioann, early medieval Rus saw persecutions against Christians, many of whom escaped or concealed their belief. However, Prince Vladimir mused over the incident long after, 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 he also reported that Islam was undesirable due to its taboo against alcoholic beverages and pork. Vladimir remarked on the occasion, Drinking is the joy of all Rus and we cannot exist without that pleasure. His emissaries also visited Roman Catholic and Orthodox missionaries, ultimately Vladimir settled on Eastern Orthodox Christianity. If Vladimir was impressed by this account of his envoys, he was more attracted by the political gains of the Byzantine alliance. In 988, having taken the town of Chersonesos in Crimea, he negotiated for the hand of emperor Basil IIs sister. Never before had a Byzantine imperial princess, and one born in the purple at that, married a barbarian, as offers of French kings
21.
Perun
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In Slavic mythology, Perun is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of thunder and lightning. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, the oak, iris, eagle, firmament, horses and carts, weapons and he was first associated with weapons made of stone and later with those of metal. Of all historic records describing Slavic gods, those mentioning Perun are the most numerous, as early as the 6th century, he was mentioned in De Bello Gothico, a historical source written by the Eastern Roman historian Procopius. While the name of the god is not mentioned explicitly, 20th century research has established beyond doubt that the god of thunder. To this day the word perun in a number of Slavic languages means thunder and we find the same form of confirmation of a peace treaty by prince Igor in 945. In 980, when prince Vladimir the Great came to the throne of Kiev, Perun was chief among these, represented with a silver head and a golden moustache. Vladimirs uncle Dobrinja also had a shrine of Perun established in his city of Novgorod, after the Christianization of Kievan Rus, this place became a monastery, which, quite remarkably, continued to bear the name of Perun. This could be a reference to Perun, but since he is not named, nor any of his attributes mentioned. Moreover, the name of Perun is also found in Southern Slavic toponymy. The Bulgarian and Macedonian people believe that the name of the Bulgarian mountain Pirin, there are also places called, Perun, Perunac, Perunovac, Perunika, Perunička Glava, Peruni Vrh, Perunja Ves, Peruna Dubrava, Perunuša, Perušice, Perudina and Perutovac. It must be noted that the word Pero means feather and the names of mountains and these names today mostly represent mountain tops, but in medieval times, large oaks, sacred groves and even entire villages or citadels were named Perun. Also, as mentioned already, in Ukrainian perun and in Polish piorun means thunderbolt, among South Slavs, a mountain plant Iris germanica is known in folklore as perunika and sometimes also as bogisha, and was believed to grow from ground that had been struck by lightning. Also the Serbian surname Peruničić and the Macedonian Перуновски are derived from Perun, the root *perkwu originally probably meant oak, but in Proto-Slavic this evolved into per- meaning to strike, to slay. The Lithuanian word Perkūnas has two meanings, thunder and the name of the god of thunder and lightning, artifacts, traditions and toponyms show the presence of the cult of Perun among all Slavic, Baltic and Ugro-Finnic peoples. The cult of Perun in this territory, populated since the 5th century by Slavs, Perun pursued Veles around the earth, attacking him with his lightning bolts from the sky. In the end, Perun managed to kill Veles, or to him back down into his watery underworld. The supreme god thus reestablished order in the world, which had been disrupted by his chaotic enemy and he then returned to the top of the World tree and proudly informed his opponent down in the roots Well, there is your place, remain there. This line came from a Belarusian folk tale, the earliest supreme god was probably Rod, it is unclear precisely how and why his worship as the head of the pantheon evolved into the worship of Perun
22.
Hegumen
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Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia or ihumenia, the term means the one who is in charge, the leader in Greek. Initially the title was applied to the head of any monastery, after 1874, when the Russian monasteries were secularized and classified into three classes, the title of hegumen was reserved only for the lowest, third class. The head of a monastery of the second or first class holds the rank of archimandrite, in the Greek Catholic Church, the head of all monasteries in a certain territory is called the protohegumen. The duties of both hegumen and archimandrite are the same, archimandrite being considered the senior dignity of the two, in the Russian Orthodox Church the title of Hegumen may be granted as an honorary title to any hieromonk, even one who does not head a monastery. A ruling hegumen is formally installed in a ceremony by the bishop, among the Russians, the pastoral staff for a Hegumen tends to be of wood, rather than metal. The hegumen is awarded the gold pectoral cross by the bishop, during divine services the hegumen wears a simple black monastic mantle, while the higher ranking archimandrite wears a mantle similar to one worn by a bishop. An archimandrite also wears a similar to one worn by a bishop. A hegumen may carry his pastoral staff in processions and when giving blessings in the church, when outside the church, a hegumen may use a wooden walking stick similar to that used by a bishop or archimandrite, only not adorned with a silver knob. In the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria the rank is used in the capacity of an archpriest, on the other hand, the rank of archimandrite fell into disuse in the Church of Alexandria from the late 16th century. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Brockhaus
23.
Vladimir II Monomakh
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For the cruiser see Russian cruiser Vladimir Monomakh, for the submarine see Russian submarine Vladimir Monomakh Vladimir II Monomakh reigned as Grand Prince of Kievan Rus from 1113 to 1125. He was the son of Vsevolod I and Anastasia, daughter of the Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, contemporary Byzantine naming practice allowed the adoption of a maternal surname if the mothers family was perceived to be of a more exalted origin than that of the father. Eupraxia of Kiev, a half-sister of Vladimir, became notorious all over Europe for her divorce from the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV on the grounds that he had attempted a mass on her naked body. In his famous Instruction to his own children, Monomakh mentions that he conducted 83 military campaigns and 19 times made peace with the Polovtsi, since that time, Vladimir and Oleg were bitter enemies who would often engage in internecine wars. The enmity continued among their children and more distant posterity, from 1094, his chief patrimony was the southern town of Pereyaslav, although he also controlled Rostov, Suzdal, and other northern provinces. In these lands he founded several towns, notably his namesake, Vladimir, in order to unite the princes of Rus in their struggle against the Great Steppe, Vladimir initiated three princely congresses, the most important being held at Lyubech in 1097 and Dolobsk in 1103. In 1107 he defeated Boniak, a Cuman khan who led an invasion on Kievan Rus, when Sviatopolk II died in 1113, the Kievan populace revolted and summoned Vladimir to the capital. The same year he entered Kiev to the delight of the crowd. As may be seen from his Instruction, he promulgated a number of reforms in order to allay the social tensions in the capital and these years saw the last flowering of Ancient Rus, which was torn apart 10 years after his death. Vladimir Monomakh is buried in the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, succeeding generations often referred to his reign as the golden age of that city. Some sources cite his first wife as Gytha of Wessex, illegitimate daughter of Harold of England who had fallen at Hastings in 1066 and of Edith Swannesha. Problems exist in that none of the sources citing this are contemporary, married Leon Diogenes, a pretender to the throne of the Byzantine Empire who claimed to be a son of Romanos IV and who rose to the rank of khan of the Cumans in Ossetia. Vladimirs second wife, Eufimia, is considered to have been a Byzantine noblewoman, the Primary Chronicle and the Testament of Vladimir Monomakh record her date of death as 7 May 1107. However the Chronicle does not mention her name and this marriage produced at least six children, Roman, Prince of Volhynia Eufemia of Kiev. Married Vsevolod Davidovich, Prince of Gorodno and her husband was a son of David Igorevich, Prince of Volhynia. Yuri, later known as Yuri Dolgoruki, vladimirs third marriage is thought to have been to a daughter of Aepa Ocenevich, Khan of the Cumans. Her people belonged to the Kipchaks, a confederation of pastoralists, however the Primary Chronicle identifies Aepa as father-in-law to Yuri Dolgoruki, with Vladimir negotiating the marriage in name of his son. Whether father and son married sisters or the identity of intended groom was misidentified remains unclear, List of Ukrainian rulers List of Russian rulers Council of Liubech Kazhdan, Alexander
24.
Mstislav I of Kiev
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Mstislav I Vladimirovich the Great was the Grand Prince of Kiev, the eldest son of Vladimir II Monomakh by Gytha of Wessex. He figures prominently in the Norse Sagas under the name Harald, taken to allude to his grandfather, as his fathers future successor, Mstislav reigned in Novgorod the Great from 1088–93 and from 1095–1117. Thereafter he was Monomakhs co-ruler in Belgorod Kievsky, and inherited the Kievan throne after his death and he built numerous churches in Novgorod, of which St. Nicholas Cathedral and the cathedral of St Anthony Cloister survive to the present day. Later, he would also erect important churches in Kiev, notably his family sepulchre at Berestovo, mstislavs life was spent in constant warfare with Cumans, Estonians, Lithuanians, and the princedom of Polotsk. In 1096, he defeated his uncle Oleg of Chernigov on the Koloksha River, Mstislav was the last ruler of united Rus, and upon his death, as the chronicler put it, the land of Rus was torn apart. In 1095, Mstislav wed Princess Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden, daughter of King Inge I of Sweden and their children were, Vladimir III Mstislavich Euphrosyne of Kiev, married King Géza II of Hungary in 1146. Through Euphrosyne, Mstislav is an ancestor of both Philippa of Hainault and King Edward III of England, hence of all subsequent English and British monarchs. Through his mother Gytha, he is part of a link between Harold II of England and the line of English kings founded by William the Conqueror. List of Ukrainian rulers List of Russian rulers List of people known as The Great His listing in Medieval lands by Charles Cawley
25.
Laurentian Codex
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The codex was copied by the Nizhegorod monk Laurentius for the Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich in 1377. The original text he used was a lost codex compiled for the Grand Duke Mikhail of Tver in 1305, the account continues until 1305, but the years 898–922, 1263–83 and 1288–94 are for some reason omitted. The manuscript was acquired by the famous Count Musin-Pushkin in 1792 and subsequently presented to the Russian National Library in St Petersburg
26.
Nizhny Novgorod
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Nizhny Novgorod, colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is a city in the administrative center of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and Volga Federal District in Russia. From 1932 to 1990, it was known as Gorky, after the writer Maxim Gorky, the city is an important economic, transportation, scientific, educational and cultural center in Russia and the vast Volga-Vyatka economic region, and is the main center of river tourism in Russia. In the historical part of the city there are a number of universities, theaters, museums. Nizhny Novgorod is located about 400 km east of Moscow, where the Oka empties into the Volga, the city was founded in 1221 by Prince Yuri II of Vladimir. In 1612 Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky organized an army for the liberation of Moscow from the Poles, in 1817 Nizhny Novgorod became a great trade center of the Russian Empire. In 1896 at a fair, an All-Russia Exhibition was organized, during the Soviet period, the city turned into an important industrial center. In particular, the Gorky Automobile Plant was constructed in this period, then the city was given the nickname Russian Detroit. During the World War II Gorky became the biggest provider of equipment to the front. Due to this, the Luftwaffe constantly bombed the city from the air, the majority of the German bombs fell in the area of the Gorky Automobile Plant. Although almost all the sites of plant were completely destroyed. After the war, Gorky became a city and remained one until after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1990. At that time the city was renamed Nizhny Novgorod once again, in 1985 the metro was opened. In 2016 Vladimir Putin opened the new 70th Anniversary of Victory Plant which is part of the Almaz-Antey Air, the Kremlin – the main center of the city – contains the main government agencies of the city and the Volga Federal District. Originally the name was just Novgorod, but to distinguish it from the other, older and well-known Novgorod to the west and this land was named lower because it is situated downstream, especially from the point of view of other Russian cities such as Moscow, Vladimir and Murom. Later it was transformed into the name of the city that literally means Lower Newtown. Later a major stronghold for border protection, Nizhny Novgorod fortress took advantage of a moat formed by the two rivers. With the agreement of the Mongol Khan, Nizhny Novgorod was incorporated into the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality in 1264, after 86 years its importance further increased when the seat of the powerful Suzdal Principality was moved here from Gorodets in 1350. Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich sought to make his capital a rival worthy of Moscow, he built a stone citadel, the earliest extant manuscript of the Russian Primary Chronicle, the Laurentian Codex, was written for him by the local monk Laurentius in 1377
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Dmitry of Suzdal
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Dmitri Konstantinovich of Suzdal was a powerful Prince of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod who dominated Russian politics during the minority of his son-in-law, Dmitri Donskoi. The famous Shuisky family descends from his eldest son, Vasily Kirdyapa, a senior descendant of Vsevolod the Big Nest and also of Alexander Nevsky, he inherited Suzdal in 1359 and Nizhny Novgorod in 1365. His policy towards Tatars was conciliatory for the most part, as his lands were continuously exposed to their attacks. After some rivalry with Dmitri of Moscow, he was installed by the Khan of the Golden Horde as the Grand Duke of Vladimir in 1360. During his reign, he quarreled with the Novgorod Republic over the raids of Novgorodian pirates who looted his own capital. Three years later he was dethroned and had to make peace with Dmitri by marrying him to his daughter, joining his army with Dmitris, he led an allied assault on Volga Bulgars and Mordovia. In 1377, the armies were defeated by the Tatars on the Pyana River. However, in 1382 Dmitry Konstantinovich took the side of Khan Tokhtamysh in taking over Moscow and sent his sons to serve in the Tatar army
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Mikhail of Tver
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It can also refer to Mikhail II of Tver and to Mikhail III of Tver. Mikhail Yaroslavich, also known as Michael of Tver, was a Prince of Tver who ruled as Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1304 until 1314 and he was canonized and counted among the saints of the Russian Orthodox Church. Mikhail Yaroslavich was the son of Yaroslav III, the younger brother of Aleksandr Nevsky. His mother Xenia was the spouse to Yaroslav III and is known as the saint Xenia of Tarusa. He was confirmed in office by Tokhta, Khan of the Golden Horde, after granting Yury the iarlyk or patent of office, the Khan sent his army under the Mongol general Kavgadii to help Yuri in his struggle with Mikhail Yaroslavich. December 22,1317 Mikhail defeated Yuri at a village called Bortenevo, Mikhail captured Yuris wife, who was the Khans sister. When she died in Mikhails custody, he was blamed for her death and he released Kavgadii, who returned to Sarai and accused Mikhail of murdering the Khans sister, withholding tribute, and warring against his Mongol overlord. As a result, Mikhail was summoned to the Horde by the Khan, Mikhail also alienated the Church, particularly Metropolitan Petr. When Metropolitan Maksim died in 1305, Mikhail nominated another candidate, Petr sided with Moscow and opposed Mikhail on several occasions. In 1309, he appointed David as Archbishop of Novgorod and David was instrumental in the argument that led Mikhail to withdraw his lieutenants, in 1314, Novgorod called on Yury to be named grand prince and for Mikhail to be deposed. Thus the support of the Church aided Yury to Mikhails detriment, despite his having been unfavored by the Russian Orthodox Church during his lifetime, the Church later declared Mikhail a saint. In 1294 Mikhail married Princess Anna of Rostov, daughter of Dimitry of Rostov, Mikhails wife took the veil in Kashins nunnery and died there on October 2,1368. She is commemorated as Anna of Kashin by the Russian Orthodox Church and was canonized in 1677, rulers of Russia family tree Biography Canonical biography
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Aleksei Musin-Pushkin
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Aleksei Ivanovich Musin-Pushkin, count since 1797, statesman, historian and art collector. Musin-Pushkin is credited with discovering in Yaroslavl the manuscript The Tale of Igors Campaign and his vast collection of antiquities also included the Laurentian Codex of the Russian Primary Chronicle and the earliest manuscripts of Zadonshchina. Musin-Pushkins entire library was burned in the great Moscow fire of 1812, Musin-Pushkin House List of Russian historians The House of Count Aleksei Musin-Pushkin in St. Petersburg. Here was stored the Tale of Igors Campaign
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National Library of Russia
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The National Library of Russia in St Petersburg, is not only the oldest public library in the nation, but also the first national library in the country. The NLR is currently ranked among the major libraries. It has the second richest library collection in the Russian Federation, a treasury of national heritage, over the course of its history, the Library has aimed for comprehensive acquisition of the national printed output and has provided free access to its collections. It should not be confused with the Russian State Library, located in Moscow, the Imperial Public Library was established in 1795 by Catherine the Great. It was based on the Załuski Library, the famous Polish national library built by Bishop Zalusky in Warsaw, the idea of a public library in Russia emerged in the early 18th century but did not take shape until the arrival of the Russian Enlightenment. The plan of a Russian public library was submitted to Catherine in 1766 but the Empress did not approve the project for the library until 27 May 1795. A site for the building was found at the corner of Nevsky Avenue and Sadovaya Street, the construction work began immediately and lasted for almost fifteen years. The building was designed in a Neoclassical style by architect Yegor Sokolov, the Polish-language books from the library were returned to Poland by the Russian SFSR in 1921. For five years after its foundation, the library was run by Comte Marie-Gabriel-Florent-Auguste de Choiseul-Gouffier, the stocks were arranged according to a specially compiled manual of library classification. In 1810, Emperor Alexander I approved Russia’s first library law stipulating, among other things, the Library was to be opened for the public in 1812 but, as the more valuable collections had to be evacuated because of Napoleon’s invasion, the inauguration was postponed for two years. Under Count Alexander Stroganov, who managed the library during the first decade of the 19th century, the Rossica project was inaugurated, the Imperial Public Library was inaugurated on 14 January 1814 in the presence of Gavrila Derzhavin and Ivan Krylov. The librarys third, and arguably most famous, director was Aleksey Olenin and his 32-year tenure at the helm, with Sergey Uvarov serving as his deputy, raised the profile of the library among Russian intellectuals. Librarianship progressed to a new level in the 1850s, the reader community grew several times, enlarged by common people. At the same time, many gifts of books were offered to the library, consequently, collection growth rates in the 1850s were five times higher than the annual growth rate of five thousand new acquired during the first part of the century. In 1859, Vasily Sobolshchikov prepared for the library the first national manual of library science entitled Public Library Facilities, by 1864, the Public Library held almost 90 per cent of all Russian printed output. The influx of new visitors required a larger reading room in the new building closing the court along the perimeter. An avalanche-like growth of attendance persisted in the part of the 19th century. Library cards and attendance grew tenfold between 1860 and 1913, the public principle triumphed when the class barriers maintained until the mid-19th century were abolished and the petty bourgeois, peasants and even women were often seen among the visitors
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Saint Petersburg
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Saint Petersburg is Russias second-largest city after Moscow, with five million inhabitants in 2012, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. It is politically incorporated as a federal subject, situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 271703. In 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, in 1924 to Leningrad, between 1713 and 1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of imperial Russia. In 1918, the government bodies moved to Moscow. Saint Petersburg is one of the cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. A large number of consulates, international corporations, banks. Swedish colonists built Nyenskans, a fortress, at the mouth of the Neva River in 1611, in a then called Ingermanland. A small town called Nyen grew up around it, Peter the Great was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he intended to have Russia gain a seaport in order to be able to trade with other maritime nations. He needed a better seaport than Arkhangelsk, which was on the White Sea to the north, on May 1703121703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured Nyenskans, and soon replaced the fortress. On May 271703, closer to the estuary 5 km inland from the gulf), on Zayachy Island, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. The city was built by conscripted peasants from all over Russia, tens of thousands of serfs died building the city. Later, the city became the centre of the Saint Petersburg Governorate, Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712,9 years before the Treaty of Nystad of 1721 ended the war, he referred to Saint Petersburg as the capital as early as 1704. During its first few years, the city developed around Trinity Square on the bank of the Neva, near the Peter. However, Saint Petersburg soon started to be built out according to a plan, by 1716 the Swiss Italian Domenico Trezzini had elaborated a project whereby the city centre would be located on Vasilyevsky Island and shaped by a rectangular grid of canals. The project was not completed, but is evident in the layout of the streets, in 1716, Peter the Great appointed French Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond as the chief architect of Saint Petersburg. In 1724 the Academy of Sciences, University and Academic Gymnasium were established in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great, in 1725, Peter died at the age of fifty-two. His endeavours to modernize Russia had met opposition from the Russian nobility—resulting in several attempts on his life
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Halych
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Halych is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. Today Halych is a town located only on one spot of the territory of former Halycian capital although it preserved its former name. It is also the center of Halych Raion of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. It lies 26 km north of the oblast capital, Ivano-Frankivsk, the citys name, though spelled identically in modern East Slavic languages, is pronounced Halych in Ukrainian and Galich in Russian. The Russian transliteration should not be confused with the Russian town of Galich, in Polish the name is rendered Halicz, in the Yiddish language Helitsh or Heylitsh, in Latin, Galic, in Hungarian, Halics, in Romanian, Halici. Local folk legend would have it that the name Halych comes from a legendary Prince Halychyna, the first ruler of these lands. In fact, a referred to by locals as Halychynas tomb, excavated in 1996, contained a ritual cremation site. Another version of the Slavic toponym Halych is after the Khwalis/Kaliz/Khalisioi who occupied the area from the time of the Magyars, the Russian toponym/ethnonym Khvalis may also be related. Historians formerly believed it was Celtic, related to many place names found across Europe such as Galaţi, Galatia, Gaul. Also Halych postulates from hals, salt, as the trade was a substantial economic factor in the medieval history of Halych. Max Vasmer and modern Slavists generally agree that Halych is a derived from the East Slavic word for jackdaw. This bird featured in the coat of arms when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The oldest archaeological artifacts from the territory of Halych are classified to Paleolithic period 40,000 years ago. More systematic findings from a number of archaeological cultures dated from 5500 BC till nowadays indicate that population of local terrains was virtually perpetual for some past 7,000 years. According to excavated finds, the population of Halych became especially significant from 8-9 c, written mention of Halych by Slavic chronicles dates back to 1138. The most comprehensive records about Halych are found in the Hypatian Codex of the Primary Chronicle, interestingly, local officials attribute the first written mention of Halych to the year 896. The opinion is supported by a record found in the Gesta Hungarorum, the chronicles describe a stay of Hungarian tribes led by Prince Álmos in Halych on their way through Slavic land to Pannonia. The claim is not supported by serious scholars, similarly, another curious date for the first written mention,290 AD is not accepted by majority
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Ipatievsky Monastery
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The Ipatiev Monastery —sometimes translated into English as Hypatian Monastery—is a male monastery, situated on the bank of the Kostroma River just opposite the city of Kostroma. It was founded around 1330 by a Tatar convert, Prince Chet, whose descendants include Solomonia Saburova and Boris Godunov. In 1435, Vasily II concluded a peace with his cousin Vasily Kosoy there, at that time, the cloister was a notable centre of learning. It was here that Nikolay Karamzin discovered a set of three 14th-century chronicles, including the Primary Chronicle, now known as the Hypatian Codex, during the Time of Troubles in Russia, the Ipatiev Monastery was occupied by the supporters of False Dmitriy II in the spring of 1609. In September of that year, the monastery was captured by the Muscovite army after a long siege. On March 14,1613, the Zemsky Sobor announced that Mikhail Romanov, most of the monastery buildings date from the 16th and 17th centuries. The Trinity Cathedral is famous for its painted interior. A smaller church was demolished by the Soviet authorities, there are plans to reconstruct it and consecrate it to the New Martyrs of the Romanov family. The main entrance from the riverside was designed by the celebrated Konstantin Thon, a private house of Mikhail Romanov was restored on the orders of Alexander II of Russia, but even Konstantin Pobedonostsev questioned the authenticity of this reconstruction. The Ipatiev Monastery was disbanded after the October Revolution in 1917 and it has been a part of the historical and architectural preservation, but recently the authorities decided to return it to the Russian Orthodox Church, despite strong opposition from museum officials. In September 2002 one of the most prominent museum exhibits, the wooden church from Spas-Vezhi village, was destroyed by fire. Media related to Ipatiev Monastery at Wikimedia Commons
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Kostroma
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Kostroma is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian towns, it is located at the confluence of the Volga and Kostroma Rivers. The city was first recorded in the chronicles for the year 1213, like other towns of the Eastern Rus, Kostroma was sacked by the Mongols in 1238. It then constituted a small principality, under leadership of Prince Vasily the Drunkard, a younger brother of the famous Alexander Nevsky. Upon inheriting the grand ducal title in 1271, Vasily didnt leave the town for Vladimir, as one of the northernmost towns of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, Kostroma served for grand dukes as a place of retreat when enemies besieged Moscow in 1382,1408, and 1433. In 1375, the town was looted by Novgorod pirates, the spectacular growth of the city in the 16th century may be attributed to the establishment of trade connections with English and Dutch merchants through the northern port of Archangel. Boris Godunov had the Ipatiev and Epiphany monasteries rebuilt in stone, the construction works were finished just in time for the city to witness some of the most dramatic events of the Time of Troubles. Kostroma was twice ravaged by the Poles, it took a six-month siege to them from the Ipatiev monastery. The heroic peasant Ivan Susanin became a symbol of the resistance to foreign invaders. The future Tsar, Mikhail Romanov, also lived at the monastery and it was here that an embassy from Moscow offered him the Russian crown in 1612. It is understandable why the Romanov Tsars regarded Kostroma as their special protectorate, the Ipatievsky monastery was visited by many of them, including Nicholas II, the last Russian Tsar. The monastery had been founded in the early 14th century by a Tatar prince, the Romanovs had the magnificent Trinity Cathedral rebuilt in 1652, its frescoes and iconostasis are a thing of beauty. A wooden house of Mikhail Romanov is still preserved in the monastery, there are also several old wooden structures transported to the monastery walls from distant districts of the Kostroma Oblast. Town status was granted to Kostroma in 1719, in 1773, Kostroma was devastated by a great fire. Afterwards the city was rebuilt with streets radiating from a focal point near the river. They say that Catherine the Great dropped her fan on the city map, one of the best preserved examples of the 18th century town planning, Kostroma retains some elegant structures in a provincial neoclassical style. These include a palace, a fire tower, a rotunda on the Volga embankment. The First Workers Socialist Club based in Kostroma was one of the best documented workers clubs run by Proletkult, as an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the city of oblast significance of Kostroma—an administrative unit with a status equal to that of the districts
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Aleksey Shakhmatov
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Alexei Alexandrovich Shakhmatov was a Russian philologist and historian credited with laying foundations for the science of textology. Born in Narva, present-day Estonia, Shakhmatov was brought up by his uncle near Saratov and he went to a public school in Moscow and developed interest for Old Russian language and literature at an early age. At the age of 16, his articles started to appear in the most authoritative journal of Slavic studies of that time, Shakhmatov furthered his education at the Moscow University, later delivering lectures in the same institution. His first monograph, published in 1886, examined the language of ancient Novgorod charters, in 1891 he became so enthusiastic about zemstvo that he gave up his scholarly pursuits for three years and held a minor administrative office in his native village. In 1894, Shakhmatov returned to Moscow and won acclaim for his Ph. D. dissertation. Five years later, he was admitted to the Russian Academy of Sciences, in 1909, Shakhmatov moved to work at Saint Petersburg University as a professor. By that time, he had been elected doctor honoris causa by the Charles University, Berlin University, Polish Academy of Sciences, Shakhmatov participated in the Commission for the Study of the Tribal Composition of the Population of the Borderlands of Russia set up in February 1917. He also helped prepare sweeping reforms of Russian orthography, which would be implemented by the Bolsheviks in 1918, Shakhmatov refused to leave Petrograd for the West, a fatal decision that led to his premature death from malnutrition and exhaustion in 1920. The Academy subsequently cherished his memory and instituted a special Shakhmatov Prize, to be awarded for the best works in science, textology. Shakhmatov is best remembered for having pioneered textological research of early Russian chronicles and he established with a great degree of precision the stages of evolution of that key document, even attempting to reconstruct the postulated proto-version of Nestors chronicle. His research proved seminal for subsequent generations of historians, Shakhmatov was also responsible for publication and pioneering studies of minor or derelict Slavic languages. His studies of Slavic etymology revolved around the idea of close contacts, in particular, Shakhmatov was convinced that Prekmurje Slovene, spoken in Prekmurje and the Slovene March, contains Celtic elements due to its front rounded vowels ü and ö. In fact, Prekmurje Slovene is simply dialect of Slovene, hungarian nationalists employed this theory of Shakhmatov against the Slovenes as part of magyarization of the Slovene March
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Dmitry Likhachov
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Dmitry Sergeyevich Likhachov was an outstanding Russian Medievalist, Linguist, and concentration camp survivor. During his lifetime, Likhachov was considered the worlds foremost scholar of the Old Russian language and he was revered as the last of old St Petersburgers, and as, a guardian of national culture. Due to his profile as a Soviet dissident during his later life. Dmitry Likhachyov was born in Saint Petersburg, from his early childhood he had a passion for literature, even though his parents did not approve of this interest. In a 1987 interview with David Remnick, Likhachov recalled how he had, watched the February, in 1923, at only 16 years old, Likhachyov entered the Department of Linguistics and Literature of Leningrad State University. He attended the Roman-Germanic and Slavic-Russian sections at the same time, at the university the young Likhachyov met many outstanding scientists and developed his own way of thinking. After his arrest, Likhachyov was confronted with the paper by a Soviet secret police interrogator, perhaps we wont even have any language at all under Socialism. After nine months in jail, the young scientist was unlawfully exiled without trial and spent five years in the USSRs first concentration camp, at the camp, hard work, poor living conditions and illness dramatically damaged Likhachyov’s health, but he survived. On the Solovetsky Islands he met both exiled Russian intellectuals and real criminals, who happened to save his life, as Dmitry Likhachyov said many years later, At the Solovki, I understood that every person is a person. On the night of 28 October 1929, he was summoned from a visit with his parents, wishing to spare his parents the trauma, Likhachyov told them that he had been summoned for night work and that they should not wait for him. He then hid behind a pile and listened as the three hundred prisoners were shot and thrown into a mass grave. The next morning, Likhachyov returned from his place as a completely different man. In a 1987 interview with David Remnick, Likhachyov recalled the events of that night and concluded, The executioner is older than me, from 1931, Likhachyov was a worker on the construction of the Stalin White Sea–Baltic Canal until his release. Dmitry Likhachyov wrote his first scientific article, Card Games of Criminals and he didnt play cards himself, but was a keen observer. He also gathered material about the language of thieves and later published articles. Having returned to Leningrad, Likhachyov worked for five years as a proofreader in the house of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. In 1936, thanks to petitions by the president of the Academy of Sciences, Aleksandr Karpinsky, in 1938 the talented scientist was noticed and invited to the Department of Old Russian Literature of the Institute of Russian Literature. Dmitry Likhachyov worked here until the end of his life, in 1941 Likhachyov presented his thesis The Novgorod Annalistic Corpus of the 12th Century
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Yaroslav the Wise
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Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise or Iaroslav the Wise was thrice grand prince of Veliky Novgorod and Kiev, uniting the two principalities for a time under his rule. Yaroslavs Christian name was George after Saint George, a son of the Varangian Grand Prince Vladimir the Great, he was vice-regent of Novgorod at the time of his fathers death in 1015. Subsequently, his eldest surviving brother, Sviatopolk I of Kiev, Yaroslav, with the active support of the Novgorodians and the help of Varangian mercenaries, defeated Svyatopolk and became the Grand Prince of Kiev in 1019. Under Yaroslav the codification of customs and princely enactments was begun. During his lengthy reign, Kievan Rus reached the zenith of its cultural flowering, the early years of Yaroslavs life are shrouded in mystery. He was one of the sons of Vladimir the Great, presumably his second by Rogneda of Polotsk. It has been suggested that he was a child out of wedlock after Vladimirs divorce from Rogneda and marriage to Anna Porphyrogenita. Yaroslav figures prominently in the Norse sagas under the name Jarisleif the Lame, in his youth, Yaroslav was sent by his father to rule the northern lands around Rostov but was transferred to Veliky Novgorod, as befitted a senior heir to the throne, in 1010. While living there, he founded the town of Yaroslavl on the Volga River and his relations with his father were apparently strained, and grew only worse on the news that Vladimir bequeathed the Kievan throne to his younger son, Boris. In 1014 Yaroslav refused to pay tribute to Kiev and only Vladimirs death, in July 1015, during the course of this struggle, several other brothers were brutally murdered. However, the name is given there as Burizaf, which is also a name of Boleslaus I in the Scandinavian sources. It is thus possible that the Saga tells the story of Yaroslavs struggle against Svyatopolk, Yaroslav defeated Svyatopolk in their first battle, in 1016, and Svyatopolk fled to Poland. But Svyatopolk returned in 1018 with Polish troops furnished by his father-in-law, seized Kiev, Yaroslav at last prevailed over Svyatopolk, and in 1019 firmly established his rule over Kiev. One of his first actions as a prince was to confer on the loyal Novgorodians, numerous freedoms. Thus, the foundation of the Novgorod Republic was laid, for their part, the Novgorodians respected Yaroslav more than they did other Kievan princes, and the princely residence in their city, next to the marketplace was named Yaroslavs Court after him. It probably was during this period that Yaroslav promulgated the first code of laws in the lands of the East Slavs, a less appealing side of his personality is revealed by his having imprisoned his youngest brother Sudislav for life. Yaroslav and Mstislav then divided Kievan Rus between them, the area stretching left from the Dnieper River, with the capital at Chernihiv, was ceded to Mstislav until his death in 1036. In his foreign policy, Yaroslav relied on the Scandinavian alliance, in 1030, he reconquered Red Ruthenia from the Poles and concluded an alliance with King Casimir I the Restorer, sealed by the latters marriage to Yaroslavs sister, Maria
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Freising manuscripts
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The Freising manuscripts are the first Latin-script continuous text in a Slavic language and the oldest document in Slovene. The manuscripts were bound into a Latin codex. Four parchment leaves and a quarter of a page have been preserved. They consist of three texts in the oldest Slovene dialect, linguistic, stylistic and contextual analyses reveal that these are church texts of careful composition and literary form. The precise date of the origin of the Freising Manuscripts cannot be exactly determined, in this liturgic and homiletic manuscript, three Slovene records were found and this miscellany was probably an episcopal manual. The Freising Manuscripts in it were created between 972 and 1039, most likely before 1000, the main support for this dating is the writing, which was used in the centuries after Charlemagne and is named Carolingian minuscule. During the time of the writing of the two manuscripts, Bishop Abraham was active in Freising and it is believed that the manuscripts were written in the Möll River Valley in Carinthia. The manuscripts were discovered in Freising, Bavaria, the Slovene name Brižinski spomeniki was coined by the Carinthian Slovene philologist Anton Janežič, who Slovenized the German name Freising to Brižinj in 1854. In 1803, the manuscript came to the Bavarian State Library in Munich, the texts were translated into modern Slovene in 1854 by the philologist Anton Janežič. Before World War II, a facsimile of the Freising Manuscripts was published by Silvester Škerl at Akademska založba in Ljubljana, the manuscripts are still kept at the Bavarian State Library in Munich and have left it only twice. In the 1970s, they were exhibited in the Vatican Museums, in May and June 2004, they were exhibited at the National and University Library in Ljubljana. Scholarly Digital Editions of Slovenian Literature, scientific Research Centre, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Contains a historical overview of the manuscripts, a series of studies and commentaries, presents the manuscripts and contains links to the digitised versions kept by the library
