Vladimir the Great
Saint Vladimir the Great
(c. 958 – 1015) was the
grand prince of Kiev who
converted to Christianity
in 988, and baptized the
whole Kievan Rus. After
his father Sviatoslav's
death, Vladimir won a war
with his brother Yaropolk
and was proclaimed Prince
of all Kievan Rus. Though
Christianity gained many
converts, Vladimir was a
pagan, taking numerous
wives and erecting pagan
statues and shrines to
gods. In 988, he boldly
negotiated for the hand of
the emperor Basil II's
sister. Never had a Greek
imperial princess, and one
"born-in-the-purple" at
that, married a barbarian
before.Vladimir, however,
was baptized, followed by
his wedding with Anna.
Returning to Kiev in
triumph, he destroyed
pagan monuments and
established many
churches.
Yaroslav the Wise
Yaroslav I the Wise (c.
978 - 1054) was thrice
Grand Prince of Novgorod
and Kiev, uniting the two
principalities for a time
under his rule. During his
lengthy reign, Kievan Rus'
reached a zenith of its
cultural flowering and
military power. He was
one of the numerous sons
of Vladimir the Great.
After Vladimir’s death,
Yaroslav waged a
complicated and bloody
war for Kiev against his
half-brother Sviatopolk. In
1019, Yaroslav eventually
prevailed and established
his rule over Kiev. One of
his first actions as a grand
prince was to create the
first code of laws in the
East Slavic lands, the
Yaroslav's Justice, better
known as Russkaya
Pravda.. Nestor and later
Russian historians often
represented him as a
model of virtue and
styled him the Wise.
Alexander Nevsky
Saint Alexander Nevsky
(1220? – 1263) was the
Grand Prince of Novgorod
and Vladimir during some
of the most trying times in
Rusia's history. Regarded
as a key figure of medieval
Russia, Alexander rose to
legendary status due to his
military victories over the
German invaders while
employing shrewd policies
towards the powerful
Golden Horde. On July 15,
1240 he defeated Swedish
invaders. This victory,
coming just a year after
the disastrous Mongol
invasion of Russia,
strengthened Nevsky’s
political influence. Nevsky
then defeated the
crusading Livonian
Knights during the Battle
of the Ice on April 5, 1242.
Alexander's victory was an
important milestone in the
development of Muscovite
Russia. Alexander was
installed as Grand Prince
of Vladimir (i.e., supreme
Russian ruler) in 1252.