Theme 1. The Emergence and Development of the Southern Slavonic Tribes and Establishment of Kyivan Rus between the 2nd and the 11th Centuries

The purpose of this theme is to give an idea of the development of the early Slavic people and the formation of the early Slavic State Kyivan Rus.

The theme covers main topics on the first written evidences about the Slavs; hypothesis of Slavs' homeland; the Great Migration of the Slavs; the appearance of the Sclaveni and the Antes; the early Slavic archeological cultures; the living of the early Slavs; the Southern Slavic unions and establishment of Kyivan Rus; the theories of the Slavic State formation; the reigns of the first Kyivan Princes.

The first written evidences of the Slavs. The first evidences of the Slavonic tribes were found in the Greek-Roman sources of the 1st and the 2nd centuries A.D. The first, who wrote about the Slavs, seems to be the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus. Some information of Slavs he put in his work "De origine et situ Germanorum" (Concerning the origin and location of the Germans), commonly called the "Germania" or "Germany". There he named the Slavs Venethi. After him the name Venethi was mentioned by the Roman Pliny the Elder (in his work "The Natural History"), and the Greek geographer Ptolemy (in his work "The Geography") [2; 3].

The comparing of the written evidences and archeological data reveals Venethi's artifacts may belong to Zarubintsy culture, the area of which included the territories of modern Ukraine and Belarus. Among Zarubintsy artifacts a lot of Baltic and Germanic ones have been found [2].

The hypothesis of Slavs’ homeland. Until present-day in the historio­graphy three main hypothesis of Slavs' homeland has been put forward. The oldest hypothesis is grounded on the information of Nestor the Chronicler (1056 - 1114), the author of Primary Chronicle, who wrote the Slavs originally inhabited the Danube region, where now Hungary and Bulgaria are.

In the early 20^th century a Czech Slavist Lubor Niderle proposed the Dnieper-Oder hypothesis that was illustrated with new data of archeology, and was also based on written sources, and linguistics. According to the hypothesis, the Slavs originally settled the area between the Vistula River and the Dnieper River. The key proponents of this point of view were M. Fasmer, N. Shakhmatov, V. Petrov, and F. Filin [2].

In the first half of the 20^th century the Polish scholars Jozef Kostrzevsky and Tadeusz Lehr-Splavinsky worked out the Vistula-Oder hypothesis. They and other proponents of their point of view suggested the Slavs' homeland was the territory between the Vistula River and the Oder River [2].

The Great Migration of the Slavs. During the 5^th - 7^th century the so- called Great Migration of the Slavs to the Danube, the Balkan Peninsula, the Elbe River and the Baltic coast, the upper reaches of the Don River and the Volga River took place.

The Great Migration caused the forming of three branches of the Slavic peoples (Eastern, Western, and Southern).

Today the Southern Slavs consist of the Montenegrins, the Bulgarians, the Macedonians, the Croats, the Serbs, the Bosnians, and the Slovenes. The branch of the Western Slavs includes the Czechs, the Poles, and the Slovaks. The Ukrainians, the Belarusians, the Russians are considered to be the Eastern Slavs [3; 5; 6; 7; 10; 17].

The Sclaveni and the Antes. In the 6^th century the Byzantine (Greek) author Procopius of Caesarea (the book "Gothic War") and the Gothic chronicler Jordan (the chronicle "Getica"), mentioned the names of large Slavic tribal unions "Sclaveni¹' and "Antes". Probably in the 4^th century the Slavs joined into the two alliances, the Sclaveni and the Antes. The chronicler Jordan affirmed the Antes included nearly 70 tribes.

The early Slavic archeological cultures. Archeologists dated artifacts, which belong to the archaeological culture named the Cherniakhivska, by the 5^th century. The area of the Cherniakhivska culture covered the most eastern and southern Ukraine. Other than Slavic artifacts, the Cherniakhivska culture included artifacts of the Goths, the Scythians, the Sarmatians, the Thracians, and the Celts.

Another Slavic archaeological culture of the 5^th - 7^th century is

suggested to be the Prague Korchatska one. Its area originally included the territories of modern Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine (Volyn region).

The Slavic Penkivska archaeological culture (the 5^th - 7/8^th centuries) covered the southern and northern territories of the modern Ukraine, the closest to Ukraine regions of Moldova and Russia.

The Kolochynska archeological culture (the 5^th - 7^th centuries) covered the Upper Dnieper area, the Desna area and the Seym area [2].

The living of the Slavs. The data from all the early Slavs' settlements indicates that the Slavs lived in small dug-outs or semi-dug-outs with wooden or wattle walls. The Slavs used farming to provide a steady food supply. They cultivated wheat, rye, barley, oats, flax, hemp, peas, turnips, onions, and garlic.

They also raised livestock (sheeps, goats, cattle and pigs), and were engaged in hunting, fishing, and beekeeping. There were many craftsmen among the Slavs. Such crafts as casting, blacksmithing, weaving, pottery, glass blowing, manufacturing and decoration tools were commonly used.

Being pagans the Slavs believed in many gods, among which they especially honoured Dazhboh or Jari (the sun-god), Stryboh (the wind-god), Perun (the god of thunder and lightning), Veles (the god of stock and wealth), Mokosh (the goddess of fertile lands), and Rod (the god of harvest and family) [3; 5; 6; 7; 10; 17].

The Slavic unions. From time to time Slavic tribes united into tribal unions. By the 8^th century a number of smaller unions of Slavic tribes had appeared, instead of the former large unions the Sclaveni and the Antes, about which we said above.

Seven unions inhabited the territory of Ukraine. There were the Polians (deriving from the Slavic word pole, or field), the Derevlians (from drevo, or tree), the Siverians (from siver, or north), the Dulibs (of unclear derivation), the Uliches, the Tyvertses and the White Croats.

The Polians inhabited the middle of the Dnieper area. A closer western neighbours were the Derevlianes, who lived in area between the rivers Sluch and Dnieper, Pripyat and Teterev. Westward, up to the Western Buh River and the Horyn River, the Dulib tribes (also known Buzhans and Volynians) lived. To the north from the Polians' lands the lands of the Siverians were, at the left feeders of the Dnieper River. In the Southern parts of Ukraine, along the Dnieper, territories of the Ulich and the Tiverts tribes were. The White Croats used to live in Zakarpattia.

By the late 8^th century these tribal unions had begun evaluating into the tribal principalities and, then, to the state Kyivan Rus. To some degree this process was intensified by an invading of foreigners, the Varanges (also known as Vikings, Normans) and the Khozars [3; 5; 6; 7; 10; 17].

The theories of the Slavic state formation. In the 18^th century German historians Hotlib Byer, Herhard Miller and August Ludwig, the members of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences, worked out the so-called Norman theory. Grounded on the evidences of "The Tale of Bygone Years", they argued that the Varangians (the German-Scandinavian people, also known as the Vikings or the Normans) had founded the Kyivan Rus in the 9^th century.

The warm opponent of the Norman theory was Mykhailo Lomonosov. He proved Kyivan Rus had been only formed by the Slavs because by the 9^th century the Slavs already had the social organization - the tribal unions, and the tribal aristocracy.

Later on, the Normanists, debating with the anti-Normanists, offered arguments that the word "Rus" derived from the word "Ruotsi", the old Finish name for the Swedes; the most names of Kyivan envoys, mentioned in the Treaties of the Kyivan Princes and the Byzantine Emperors, are the Scandinavian ones (Karl, Ineheld, Farlof and so on); Muslim travellers and geographers of the 9^th and the 10^th century always distinguished the Slavs from the Russes.

In return, the anti-Normanists argued the following: the word "Rus" has the Slavic roots, like the names of rivers Ros, Rusa, Rostavytsia, in the Central Ukraine; in Scandinavia any evidences about the people of Rus had not been found by researchers; the Muslim writer Ibn-Khordadberh (nearly 840 - 880) definitely called the Russes the Slavic tribe; the archeological artefacts, which were excavated from the places of former towns and trade routes, indicate that Varangian culture very little influenced on the Slavic one.

The debates between the Normanists and anti-Normanists continued throughout the 19^th and 20^th centuries [5].

Kyivan Rus and its first rulers. According to "The Tale of Bygone Years", in 862 two Varangian leaders Askold and Dir with troops sailed from Novgorod, where the Varangian Prince Riuryk was ruling, down by the Dnieper river and seized the town of Kyiv. The news about their success reached Novgorod. By this time Riuryk had died. His son Ihor was young to be at the head of the army. Hence, Oleh, who was a relative of Riuryk, gathered army, took Ihor, and went to Kyiv. Askold and Dir were swindled out of the town and killed under accusation in power usurpation.

The reign of Oleh. The Prince Oleh (882 - 912) established the Kyivan state in 882. He conducted military expeditions against Byzantine towns. In 907 Oleh, heading a great army of 80 000 men, sacked Constantinople, the capital of Byzantine.

Being defeated the Byzantine Emperor ransomed Constatinople. He gave 12 hryvnas (the silver bars) to each Russian crew of each Russian ship (Oleh had 2 000 ships), as well as he paid goods to Rus town dwellers (Kyiv, Chernihiv, Pereiaslav, Polotsk and some other Rus towns). The Byzantine Empire obliged to pay Oleh an annual tribute, as well as allowed Russian merchants to be dealing in Constantinople without paying a duty. The Emperor was also forced to maintain the Rus merchants at his own expense during the six months in Constantinople, and allow them a free bath. The Russes, in turn, obliged to help Byzantine in its wars against the Arabs and other nomads. The Treaty was endorsed by written agreement, which seems to be the oldest preserved political document of Kyivan Rus. Its text is in "The Tale of Bygone Years". For marking the victory Oleh nailed his shield upon the gates of Constantinople. One modern historian suggests it may be the sign showing the desire to protect the Greek Empire. However, in 911, when the Greeks did not accomplish their obligations, Oleh again besieged Constantinople.

The later fate of Oleh is unclear, but it is known he died in 912 [1; 3; 5; 6; 7; 10; 12; 14; 17; 18; 23; 28; 30; 32; 38].

The reign of Ihor. In 912 Oleh was followed by the Prince Ihor (912 - 945). At the beginning of his rule the tribes of Ulitches (capital is Peresichen) and the Derevlians (capital is Iskorosten) revolted. The Derevlians were quickly subordinated by the large army of Ihor, but the Ulitches continued to resist. According to the legend, the Ulitches were strong enough having 318 towns. For three years Ihor's druzhyna (troops) had been besieging the Ulitches' capital Peresichen. After the long war, the Ulitches went out of their native lands to west and got at Danube. In the mean time Byzantine began to set against the Russes the Pechenihs, the eastern nomadic tribes. In 941 Ihor invaded Byzantine at the head of troops on 10 000 ships, but the Greeks burned his fleet with the so-called "Greek fire". In 943 Ihor fought with Byzantine allies at the southern-western coast of the Caspian Sea. During the campaign the Russes robbed towns of Derbent and Berdaa, the capital of Albany. Next year, Ihor made an unfortunate attempt to seize Constantinople. The new agreement was finally endorsed. According to it Rus merchants were deprived their privileges and right of free-duty trade in Constantinople. Besides this, Ihor was obliged to defend the territories of Byzantine in the Crimea.

Because of failure of campaign against Byzantine Ihor's troops were left without any booty. They murmured. In order to calm his troops in 945 Ihor went for extra tribute to the Derevlians, to their capital Iskorosten. The Derevlyans, in return, revolted and put Ihor to death [1; 3; 5; 6; 7; 10; 12; 14; 17; 18; 23; 28; 30; 32; 38].

The reign of Olha. Ihor's wife Olha (945 - 957) avenged Derevlians. Her troops killed Derevlians' envoys, which suited for her marriage with their prince Mal, and then her warriors slaughtered a lot of the Derevlians and burnt their capital Iskorosten.

According to "The Tale of Bygone Years", in 957 Olha with the escort of over 100 persons peaceably visited Constantinople. There she was baptized taking the Christian name Elena, after the reigning Empress Helena Lekapena. Her father-in-law was the Byzantine Emperor named Constantine Porphyrogenitus. Some historians hold an opinion that Olha was baptized in the times of the Emperor Roman, who ruled from 920 to 944. This statement is based on the short account of the one German chronicler. However, the Emperor Constantine VII in his book "De Ceremoniis" and the author of "The Tale of Bygone Years" considered Olha was baptized in 957.

The Germanic anonymous author told that in 959 Russian envoys had visited the court of German Emperor Otton the First with the proposition to send to Rus his bishops and other priests for baptizing the Rus people. In 961 the Emperor send to Kyivan Rus the mission under the bishop Adalbert, instead of previously appointed Libuci, who had died shortly before. The mission of Adalbert ended by failure. Germanic envoys were forced to rescue their life, escaping from evil Slavic pagans.

According to the legend, Olha ordered to built the church of Saint Nicholas on the tomb of Askold. However, it is unclear due to lack of evidences.

Later on, after her death Olha was proclaimed a saint, for her efforts to spread the Christian religion in the country. However, she failed to convert into Christianity her son Sviatoslav. The saint relics of Olha's body were lost in 1240 when Mongols seized Kyiv.

Olha implemented first "reforms" in Kyivan Rus. The reforms clearly defined lands, the population of which from time to time had to render tributes to Olha. She also established the definite size of tribute and duties by way of introducing the fixed rates "ustavs", "obroks", and "uroks". The places of tribute rendering were marked along the coastal line of the Dnieper. At the same time these places ("pohosts" or "stanovyshches") became the locations of Princess' officers.

For her wise rule the chronicler called Olha "the wisest of all people". In 964 she established her son Sviatoslav on the throne [1; 3; 5; 6; 7; 10; 12; 14; 17; 18; 23; 28; 30; 32; 38].

The reign of Sviatoslav. Ihor's and Olha's son Sviatoslav ended the heroic period of Kyivan Rus formation (962 - 972). He became the romantic hero of annalistic tradition. He was the brave and easy-to-handle Prince, who did not take in campaign carts and cauldrons. Also he did not hide in tent at night. He just slept with his army in the open air, putting a saddle under the head. Sviatoslav did not attack the enemy unexpectedly, but always threw down a challenge: "Idu na Vy!" (literally "I am going against You!", which was sounded like "Attack you!").

Sviatoslav was non-Christian like his druzhyna, unless his mother was a pagan.

During the period between 964 and 968 years Sviatoslav submitted the Viatiches, another Slavic tribal union, and destroyed the Volga Bulgars and the Burtases (today they are known as Mordvinians), the allies of Khazars.

Then his army defeated the Khazars and robbed their capital Itil. Having reached the Northern Caucasus, the Russes under Sviatoslav submitted Finish tribes of Yases and Kasoges.

In 968 Sviatoslav agreed to help the Byzantines in their war against Danube Bulgaria. Soon after, his army captured the Bulgarian capital Pereiaslavets and Sviatoslav made it his residence. Meanwhile, he captured 80 towns along the Danube. The Byzantines wondered when they had heard the following news. Sviatoslav wanted to make Pereiaslavets the capital of Rus. At once the Greeks provoked the Pechenihs against Sviatoslav. When Pechenihs had besieged Kyiv, Sviatoslav returned to defend the town. In Pereiaslavets Sviatoslav left the troops under the voivode (general) Vovk.

Sviatoslav secured Kyivan Rus by way of dividing its lands among his three sons.

The elder son Yaropolk received the capital Kyiv. The second son Oleh possessed the Derevlian land. The smaller son Volodymyr was given Novgorod, the great Northern city. Leaving Kyiv for Novgorod Volodymyr took on the way his uncle Dobrynia, which long after became the hero of bylinas (Russian ballads) describing him as the bohatyr (a man of exaggerated power).

In 969s Sviatoslav again invaded Danube Bulgaria. By that time voivode Vovk had retreated to the river Dniester after the lossing of Pereiaslavets, which was taken by the Bulgarians. On arriving, Sviatoslav returned Pereiaslavets' and seized the Bulgarian towns of Great Preslav and Dorostol as well as the Greek city of Philipol. Sviatoslav's army was going to Constantinople, when at Adrianople his way was closed by a Greek army led by the Emperor John Tzimisces.

After hours-long battle Sviatoslav was forced to retreat to Dorostol. In spring of 971 the Greeks besieged the town. For three months the Russes had been defending on the walls. Before the general battle Sviatoslav inspired his warriors: "Won't disgrace the Rus Land, but let's fall in the field of the battle here, because all dead have no sense of shame!" In that fight 16 000 of the Russes were killed. According to the later treaty Sviatoslav was obliged to make no war against Byzantine. He also leaved for Byzantine Danube Bulgaria and Crimea. However, shortly after, when Sviatoslav was on his way to Kyiv, the Byzatines provoked against him Pechenihs. In spring of 972, while Rus druzhyna had been crossing the Dnieper rapids, the Pechenihs led by the Khan Kuria attacked them and killed Sviatoslav.

Commemorating the victory Kuria made out the Sviatoslav’s skull a cup for wine [1; 3; 5; 6; 7; 10; 12; 14; 17; 18; 23; 28; 30; 32; 38].

The first internecine war. After Sviatoslav had died Kyivan Rus came to a political crises. The strives between the Rurikids for the state power were broken out. Probably in a clash for the right to gather tributes, Yaropolk killed his middle brother Oleh. Young Volodymyr, the son of Sviatoslav and the key keeper Maklusha, escaped to Scandinavia. In several years he came back at the head of Varangian forces and broke out a war against Yaropolk, in which Yaropolk was murdered by two Varangians. Prince Yaropolk ruled in Kyiv only for two years (972 - 980) [1; 3; 5; 6; 7; 10; 12; 14; 17; 18; 23; 28; 30; 32; 38].

The reign of Volodymyr the Great. Volodymyr the Great ruled Kyivan Rus from 980 to 1015.

Namely in his times the territory formation of Kyivan Rus was entirely completed. The reign of Volodymyr was supported by local nobles. Volodymyr was the first Prince, who formed druzhyna from the Slavs, not from the Varangians. For the service Volodymyr used to give lands.

Another task which Volodymyr decided was the difficult relations with the old tribal nobility, which wanted to make independent policy. Before the ruling of Volodymyr the Great, the Kyivan Princes had to conquer the neighbour tribes once and again. When chronicle says that predecessors of Volodymyr conquered Slavic tribes, it practically means they had only gathered some tributes from these tribes.

Volodymyr removed local tribal Princes and gave their lands to his 12 sons. Vseslav possessed Novgorod, Iziaslav - the town of Polotsk, Sviatoslav - the town of Turov, Yaroslav - the town of Rostov, Hlib - the town of Murom, other Sviatoslav - the town of Iskorosten, Mstyslav - the town of Tmutarakan, etc. In every local centre Volodymyr placed his officials with troops in order to control local nobles. In this way by 988 Volodymyr had controled all the tribes, which Kyivan Rus included. In Volhynia he founded the town of Volodymyr, the great administrative centre and fortress.

Volodymyr also subdued the Slavic tribes of Radimiches and Vytiches and made unfortunate attempt to conquer the White Croats, who lived in Zakarpattia. Volodymyr married his son Sviatoslav to the daughter of the Polish King Boleslaw the Brave. On the whole, during his ruling Volodymyr had established relations with Hungary, Germany and Czech. He had to defend Rus from raids of the Pechenihs, the nomads living in the steppes of the northern Black Sea region. The greatest battles between the Russes and the Pechenihs were in the 990, 992, 996, 997 and 1001. In 992 in the battle of Pereiaslav the leather-maker Kozhumiaka became famous. His name was saved by bylinas. During the battle he killed the powerful Pechenih. In order to defend the borders from the nomads Volodymyr built so-called "Zmiiv val" (the Serpent rampart), the earth rampart along the left coastal line of the Ros River and the Stugna River, eastward from the Dnieper River.

Volodymyr sought to make a religion reform in order to make Kyiv the religion centre and to consolidate the power in such a way. In 980 Volodymyr established a number of pagan idols in the centre of Kyiv and proclaimed them the main gods of all Rus. There were high wooden idols of Perun, Hors, Dazhboh, Striboh, Simargl and goddess Mokosh. However, that reform was failed because many local tribes continued to worship their local gods and ghosts.

Later on, Volodymyr turned to the monotheism. While choosing the monotheistic religion he sent envoys to Bulgaria, Germany and Byzantine. On returning the envoys reported that they were impressed by the Byzantine Christianity as well as the strong authority of the Byzantine Emperor. Volodymyr, of course, knew about the Christianity of his grandmother Olha. All these factors seems to led him to choose the Christianity. In addition there were favourable conditions in the foreign affairs with Byzantine.

The Emperor Basil II asked Volodymyr for the help against rebels. In turn, Volodymyr requested for the marriage with the Byzantine princess Anne. The Emperor agreed on the condition that Volodymyr accepted the Orthodox Christianity. In 987 Volodymyr was baptized in Chersonese, in Crimea, and then in 988s he forced to Christianity many of Kyivan people. At the same time, when Volodymyr had known that Basil II sought to refuse the agreement on marriage, he captured Chersonese in 989s and forced the Emperor to fulfill the promise and to send Anna into Chersonese for the wedding with Volodymyr.

Later on, Volodymyr started the first coinage of gold and silver. The coins were called "zlatnyky" and "sriblianyky" (the "gold coins" and "silver coins"). On the one side of the coins the portrait of Jesus Christ was depicted. On the opposite side there was a full-face portrait of Volodymyr seating on the throne, with the Cross in his hand. Some of the coins had the picture of the trident - Volodymyr’s Coat-of-Arms, today known as the state emblem of Ukraine.

During his ruling Volodymyr founded the new fortifications in the centre of Kyiv, which were called the City of Volodymyr. He ceased the death penalty. The prohibition of such penalty was actual until the time of Mongol conquest in the first half of the 13^th century.

In general, the accepting of the Christianity started the new period in the history of Kyivan Rus, the period of deep transformations in the Slavic culture and mentality. Through the Christianity the alphabet was intorduced, and the literature, arts, and stone architecture developed.

Later on, Volodymyr had some problems with his sons. One of them named Yaroslav, being in possession of Novgorod, refused to render tribute to Kyiv. In 1015 while preparing for the campaign against the son Volodymyr died [1; 3; 5; 6; 7; 10; 12; 14; 17; 18; 23; 28; 30; 32; 38].

The second internecine war. The death of Volodymyr caused an internal war between his sons. With the support of the Poles the elder son of Volodymyr Sviatopolk (alias Damned) attacked his younger brothers Borys and Hlib and killed them.

Later on, the war between Sviatopolk and Yaroslav started. Yaroslav defeated Sviatopolk in the battle at the town of Liubech in 1015. In turn, Sviatopolk won Yaroslav at Kyiv in 1018. In 1019 Yaroslav took the victory on a coast of the Alta River and Sviatopolk run away to Poland. Soon after, the war against Yaroslav was proclaimed by his brother Mstyslav the Brave, the ruler of Tmutarakan. Near the hamlet Listven by the town of Chernihiv he defeated the army of Yaroslav. Both brothers resolved to divide lands between themselves. Yaroslav possessed Kyiv and the regions to the west of the Dnieper, Mstyslav took Chernihiv and regions to the east of the river [1; 3; 5; 6; 7; 10; 12; 14; 17; 18; 23; 28; 30; 32; 38].

The reign of Yaroslav the Wise. After the death of Mstyslav in 1036 Yaroslav became the single ruler of Rus. He had been ruling from 1036 to 1054. Later on, Yaroslav was known as the Wise for his cultural and political affairs. The army of Yaroslav retook towns of Cherven, in the western part of Rus, before seized by the Poles led by the King Boleslaw the Brave. In the western part Yaroslav founded the town of Yaroslav, then he turned northward, re-conquering the Finish tribes of Chiuds and Yatviags and founding the city of Yuriev. At the same time he had to defend Rus from the nomads. In 1036 Yaroslav finally defeated the Pechenihs in front of the Kyiv fortifications. On the coasts of the Ros River the new strongholds were built. With due time Kyivan Rus became the largest state in the Medieval Europe.

During his ruling Yaroslav implemented so-called marriage diplomacy through marrying his children to children of European rulers. His own wife was Ingigerda (Irina), the daughter of the Swedish King. One of Yaroslav’s sisters was married to the King of Poland, other was the wife of the Prince of the Byzantine Empire. Three of his daughters became the wives of the Kings of Norway, France and Hungary. The Yaroslav’s son Iziaslav married to the sister of the Polish King Casimir.

Under a supervision of Yaroslav Ruska Pravda (the Rus Justice, the Truth of Yaroslav) - the legal code of Kyivan Rus and the subsequent Russian principalities during the times of the feudal disunity - was composed. The Pravda banned the death penalty and established a ransom as the main punishment. However, its rate varied depending on social status of a victim. For example, the ransom for killing peasant was only 5 hryvnias and the penalty for killing a warrior of the Prince was accounted to be 80 hryvnias - unequally enough.

In times of Yaroslav the Wise a lot of churches and cathedrals were built. Contemporaries numbered more than 40 Christian temples throughout the whole Kyivan Rus. The greatest of them was the Sophia's Cathedral, in Kyiv, the temple built between 1011 and 1037. In 1051 monks Anthony and Theodosius finished the building of the Pecherskyi Monastery (Caves Monastery) in Kyiv [1; 3; 5; 6; 7; 10; 12; 14; 17; 18; 23; 28; 30; 32; 38].

In 1051 Yaroslav implemented the election of the first Slavic Kyivan Metropolitan Hilarion, who was also blessed by the Patriarch of Constantinople.

After his predecessors, Yaroslav divided the country between his sons in order to avoid the internal war after his death. That is why Yaroslav bequeathed his eldest son Iziaslav the town of Kyiv, the Derevlian land, the land of Turovo-Pinsk and Novgorod; Yaroslav gave the second son Sviatoslav the town of Chernihiv, the lands of the Slavic tribes Radymyches and Viatyches, and the town of Tmutarakan; the third son Vsevolod got Pereiaslav, Rostov, Suzdal, Biloozero and Volga region. Thus, three eldest sons got in their possession large lands from their father. The younger one, Ihor possessed the town of Volodymyr-Volynskyi, the youngest one, Viache- slav got the town of Smolensk. New state strongly ranged from the eldest son down to the youngest one [23].

In addition, Yaroslav mentioned in the Will his grandsons and great grandsons. He gave the towns of Cherven and Halychyna to Rostyslav, the son of the eldest son Volodymyr, who died in 1053. The town of Polotsk was bequeathed to Vseslav, the grandson of Iziaslav, who became the eldest after the death of Volodymyr.

Later on, above described division of Kyivan Rus became one of the reasons, which led to the collapse and decline of this great medieval state [1; 3; 5; 6; 7; 10; 12; 14; 17; 18; 23; 28; 30; 32; 38].

Questions

1. What is the homeland of the Slavs? What hypothesis (conceptions) do you know?

2. What have you learned about the terms "Venethi", "Sclaveni", and "Antes"?

3. Describe the living of the early Slavs.

4. What are the Normanist and anti-Normanist conceptions?

5. Analyse the foreign and domestic policy of the Kyivan Princes. What caused the formation and development of Kyivan Rus?

6. Make a short report about Kyivan Rus.

7. Define the key aspects of the reigns of Volodymyr the Great and Yaroslav the Wise.