Prince Yaroslav the Wise short biography. Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise: biography, board, interesting facts and photos

Each historical milestone corresponds to some outstanding personality. So, at the dawn of the formation of Russia, princes are known who united the people and territories, baptized the Russian people and strengthened the Christian faith. The name of Yaroslav Vladimirovich, Prince of Kiev, is associated with the appearance of Russkaya Pravda, a document that determines according to what laws the Russian state should exist, the foundations of the future legislation of the state. It is known that he was born around 972 and died on February 2, 1054.

Son of Vladimir Red Sun

Grand Duke Vladimir is popularly called the Baptist for his deeds connected with the emergence of Christianity in Russia. The people called him the red sun because, according to N.I. Karamzin, he was a father for the poor people.
George, and that was the name of Yaroslav I at birth, was born a concubine, and then the wife of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich Rogneda. The son of the Polotsk princess, Yaroslav was one of the many children of the Grand Duke of Kiev. And just like other sons, he received a fiefdom in which he could reign - the city of Rostov, later called Yaroslavl. Yaroslav also reigned in Novgorod as a recalcitrant prince. Being the unloved son of Vladimir, he did not obey his will, refusing to pay tribute. The father's plans were to punish the disobedient son, but this was prevented by the death of Vladimir.

Yaroslav - Grand Duke

The main throne of Russia, Kyiv, was to go to the beloved sons of Prince Vladimir, Boris and Gleb. But the nephew of Vladimir the Red Sun - Svyatopolk Yaropolkovich, called the Accursed by the people, became the prince of Kiev. By cunning, having risen to the throne, he treacherously killed the beloved sons of Vladimir, after which they were canonized by the church as saints - the first saints in Russia.
The same fate awaited Yaroslav, but he, having united with his brother Mstislav, called the Udaly by the people, conquered Kyiv. In this he was helped by the inhabitants of Novgorod, outraged by the actions of Svyatopolk. Interestingly, the Novgorodians did not always treat Yaroslav with respect, resenting his preference for warriors - the Varangians. This was due to the fact that the prince's wife, baptized by Irina, was the daughter of the king of Norway. Novgorodians changed and began to support Yaroslav after he changed his attitude towards the inhabitants of free Novgorod.
With the funds collected by the townspeople, Yaroslav hired the Varangians, which decided the fate of the Kiev throne after the battle with Svyatopolk. A few years later, after the death of the nephew of Vladimir the Baptist, Yaroslav became a full-fledged sovereign of Kiev. Yaroslav's brother Mstislav remained in Novgorod, he did not interfere with the sole power of the Kiev prince.
Changes in domestic and foreign policy during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise
The first achievements of Yaroslav are considered to be his complete victory over the Pechenegs. In honor of this event, a cathedral was erected in Kyiv, called Sophia. This was followed by the conquest of the Chud tribes and the erection of the city of Yuryev. Not only by the sword was the return of the former lands and the annexation of new ones. The prince wisely conducted foreign policy, without unnecessary bloodshed, using his family ties. Yaroslav was a relative of many rulers of Western countries thanks to his wife Ingegerda and his second wife, Anna, a Byzantine princess. But he also strengthened family ties through marriages between his children and the children of the Swedish, Norwegian and Polish rulers.

Prince Achievements

The reign of Yaroslav Vladimirovich led to the flourishing of Kievan Rus, a time when Rus became the strongest European state. Powerful states sought an alliance with Kievan Rus, and Rus itself was catching up with other states in the development of social, political and cultural relations.
Under Yaroslav, the first Christian monasteries of Russia appeared: Kiev-Pechersky and Yuryev Novgorod. By order of the prince, a stone wall was erected around Kyiv, and the Golden Gate was erected near it.
The prince appointed Hilarion, the creator of the Sermon on Grace and Law, as metropolitan.
The acts of Yaroslav the Wise contributed to the growth of the literacy of the people in Russia, thanks to the opening of the first monastic schools.
The prince was married twice and had nine children. Having lived for 73 years, having ruled for 37 years, Yaroslav was buried in the Kiev St. Sophia Cathedral, but it is currently unknown where his remains are.
In the annals, the prince is characterized as a man with a good mind and brave in the army. A man who loved to read, did a lot for the appearance of books for Russians, copied from the Greek language by monks.
The people nicknamed the commander and prince of Kyiv the Wise, that is how all his deeds can be called, including the structure of the Russian state and the place of honor of Kievan Rus among other countries.

Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise

A. Kivshenko. "Reading to the people" Russian Truth "in the presence of Grand Duke Yaroslav"

Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, where the tomb is located Yaroslav the Wise

1035 years ago, Yaroslav the Wise was born, the fourth son of the great Kiev prince Vladimir, nicknamed the Red Sun among the people, and the Polotsk princess Rogneda. Yaroslav's childhood was difficult - his legs hurt, he learned to walk later than other children. The boy learned to read and write, he loved to read books.

In the sixth year of life committed over Yaroslav the rite of tonsure: they cut off a lock of hair - as a sign that the prince has matured and will henceforth be brought up not by his mother, but by a mentor. Every year he became stronger and wiser in the presence of Grand Duke Yaroslav. Yes, only the lameness remained from the previous illness, for which he received the prince's nickname - lame.

And at the age of 11 he was sent by his father to reign in the city of Rostov, and then to Novgorod. And paid Yaroslav father, Prince of Kiev, an annual tribute of 2,000 hryvnias of silver. In 1014, he ceased to obey his father, and after 5 years he himself became the Grand Duke of Kiev.

During his reign, he united almost all Russian lands. He successfully fought with Poland, defeated the tribes of the Yotvingians, Lithuanians, Mozovshans, defeated the Pechenegs.

At Yaroslav the Wise the first written laws appeared on the Slavic land. By order of the prince, those customs were collected and written down, by which they were judged in Russia. Yaroslav knew well the church and civil charters that were in force in the Russian principalities. So in 1020 the first collection of laws "Russian Truth" was written. It was a list of punishments and fines for certain misconduct, offenses and crimes.

The prince was very educated. He founded the first state library in Russia. It was not only a repository of books, but also a book-writing workshop: translators, artists, parchment masters, and jewelers worked here.

Yaroslav took care of the education of children. To spread the letter, he ordered the clergy to educate children and set up a school for 300 boys in Novgorod.

The prince founded the cities of Yaroslavl, Yuryev (now Tartu), decorated Kyiv with many buildings, built new stone walls, arranging the famous Golden Gate in them.

Yaroslav occupied a place of honor among European sovereigns. Under him, Russia was known in all parts of the world. The rulers of the first countries of the world sought the friendship of the Russian prince and considered it an honor to intermarry with him. The daughter of Prince Anastasia became the Queen of Hungary, Elizabeth - of Norway, and Anna - of France, the son of Izyaslav married a Polish princess, Vsevolod - a Byzantine one.

For the mind and erudition, for the construction of cities and temples, for the wisdom in managing the Russian lands, the prince was called "Wise". Yaroslav Vladimirovich ruled Kievan Rus for 37 years - until 1054 - and made his country one of the largest, strongest and most cultured states in Europe.

Yaroslav was buried in a marble tomb in the Kiev Sophia Cathedral.

The material was prepared by the Central Children's Library. Yaroslav the Wise, Yaroslavl

Yaroslav is the son of Princess Rogneda of Polotsk and Vladimir Svyatoslavich. Already in 987, the Rostov lands were given to him as reigning. But after the death of the eldest son of the Grand Duke Vysheslav, the reign of Yaroslav began in Novgorod. The death of the great Kiev prince Vladimir provoked a violent struggle for power between his children. The throne of Kyiv was seized by Svyatopolk, who received the nickname Cursed among the people. He killed his brothers Boris and Gleb, who reigned respectively in the Rostov and Smolensk lands, and Svyatoslav, planted by his father in the lands of the Drevlyans. Only Yaroslav, who after that became the Grand Duke, was able to defeat Svyatopolk. But he failed to cope with the prince of Tmutarakan Mstislav. All the lands of Russia again came under the rule of Kyiv only after the death of Mstislav in 1036. The characterization of Yaroslav the Wise and the entire period of his reign is ambiguous, but all historians agree that the prince fully justified his nickname.

The prince was married to Ingigerd, the daughter of the king of the Swedes. The annals mention two names of Yaroslav's wife - Irina and Anna. Historians conclude that she received the name Irina at baptism, and Anna - after leaving the monastery.

During the reign of Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054), the state of Kievan Rus reached its peak. It has become one of the strongest in Europe. The activity of Yaroslav the Wise was aimed at strengthening not only the capital city, but also all its vast possessions. Under him, several new cities were founded.

Thanks to the prudent foreign policy of Yaroslav the Wise, the authority of the state in the international arena has grown significantly. The prince was also lucky in military affairs. Successful were the campaigns he made against Poland, the Principality of Lithuania, in the lands that belonged to the Finnish peoples. One of the most important for Russia was the victory over the nomads - in 1036.

The last time Kievan Rus under Yaroslav the Wise clashed with Byzantium. The conflict ended with the signing of a peace treaty, backed by a dynastic marriage. The son of Prince Vsevolod married the Byzantine princess Anna. Yaroslav used dynastic marriages as a means of strengthening peace. Other sons of Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise: Svyatoslav, Vyacheslav and Igor - married German princesses. Eldest daughter Elizabeth was the wife of Harald, a Norwegian prince. Anna, his second daughter, married the king of France, Henry 1st, and Anastasia married the Hungarian king Andrew 1st.

The reforms of Yaroslav the Wise covered almost all spheres of society. The Grand Duke gave great importance education, and the internal policy of Yaroslav the Wise was aimed at improving education and literacy. The prince built a school where the boys were taught "church work". Under Yaroslav, a metropolitan of Russian origin appeared for the first time in Russia. To strengthen the position of the church in the possessions of Yaroslav, the payment of tithes, previously established by Vladimir, was resumed. The violent activity of the prince markedly changed Kievan Rus. Stone monasteries and temples were built, architecture and painting developed rapidly. Of great importance is the publication of the first code of laws, called. Under Yaroslav the Wise, this document regulated the amount of tribute (vira) and punishments for various violations. A little later, a set of church laws appeared - the Pilot Book (Nomocanon).

The answer to the question why Yaroslav was nicknamed the Wise lies not only in the prince's love for books and the church, but also in his great deeds that made Russia one of the strongest states. True, this nickname appeared relatively recently, in the second half of the 19th century. During his reign, the prince was known as Khromets. He really was chrome, but this flaw was considered a sign of special strength and intelligence. And a brief biography of Prince Yaroslav the Wise confirms that these qualities were fully inherent in him. The prince lived a long life and died in 1054 at the age of 76. After his death, another bloodshed ensued.

The year when Yaroslav baptized the Volga, the pagan inhabitants of the tract Medvezhiy Ugol released the "Holy Bear" against him, but the prince, armed with an ax, defeated the beast.

Foreign relations

Yaroslav still had to make many campaigns against external enemies - almost all of his reign was filled with wars. In the year he successfully repelled the attack of the Pechenegs on Kyiv and then fought with them, as with the allies of Svyatopolk the Accursed. In the year of the annals, the siege of Kyiv by the Pechenegs is noted, in the absence of Yaroslav, who had gone to Novgorod. Having received news of this, he hastened to help and utterly defeated the Pechenegs under the very walls of Kyiv. After this defeat, the attacks of the Pechenegs on Russia ceased. Yaroslav's campaigns are known to the north, against the Finns. In a year, he went to Chud and established his power on the shores of Lake Peipus, where he built a city and named it Yuryev, in honor of his patron saint. In the year Yaroslav sent his son Vladimir on a campaign to the pit. The campaign was successful, but Vladimir's squad returned almost without horses, due to a case. There is news of a Russian campaign under Yaroslav to the Ural Range, led by Uleb in the year. On the western borders, Yaroslav waged wars with Lithuania and the Yotvingians, to stop their raids, and with Poland. In the year Yaroslav went to besiege Brest; in the year he took Belz (in northeastern Galicia; the next year, with his brother Mstislav, he returned the Cherven cities to Russia and brought many Polish captives, whom he resettled along the Ros River in towns to protect the lands from the steppe nomads. He finally conquered Brest in the year Several times Yaroslav went to Poland to help King Casimir to pacify the rebellious Mazovia; the last campaign was in the year. The reign of Yaroslav was also marked by the last hostile clash between Russia and the Greeks. One of the Russian merchants was killed in a quarrel with the Greeks after which, without receiving satisfaction for resentment, Yaroslav sent a large fleet to Byzantium in the year, under the command of the eldest son of Vladimir of Novgorod and the governor Vyshata. The storm scattered the Russian ships. Vladimir destroyed the Greek fleet sent to pursue him, but Vyshata was surrounded and captured at Varna. In the year he was imprisoned peace; prisoners on both sides are returned, and friendly relations are sealed by the marriage of Yaroslav's beloved son, Vsevolod , with a Byzantine princess.

Although he had to wage war almost constantly, according to the chronicler, he did not like to fight. In foreign policy, Yaroslav, like his father, relied more on diplomacy and mutually beneficial relations than on weapons. His time was the era of active relations with the states of the West. Yaroslav was related to the Normans: he himself had been married for a year to the Swedish princess Saint Ingigerda, baptized Irina, and the Norwegian prince Harald the Bold received the hand of his daughter Elizabeth. Yaroslav's four sons, among them Vsevolod, Svyatoslav and Izyaslav, were also married to foreign princesses. Foreign princes, such as Olaf the Holy, Magnus the Good, Harald the Bold, the English princes Edmund Ætheling and Edward the Exile, and noble Normans found shelter and protection from Yarsoslav, and Varangian merchants enjoy his special patronage. Sister Yaroslav Dobrogrev-Maria was married to Casimir of Poland, his second daughter Anna - to Henry I of France, the third, Anastasia - to Andrew I of Hungary.

Internal management

The significance of Yaroslav in Russian history is based mainly on his work on the internal structure of the Russian land. Yaroslav was the prince-"dresser" of the land, its benefactor. Like his father, he populated the steppe spaces, built new cities like Yuryev (now Tartu) and Yaroslavl, continued the policy of his predecessors to protect borders and trade routes from nomads and to protect the interests of Russian trade in Byzantium. He fenced off the southern border of Russia with the steppe with fences and in the year began to set up cities here - Yuryev (now Belaya Tserkov), Torchesk, Korsun, Trepol and others.

Yaroslav's capital, Kyiv, appeared to Western foreigners as a rival to Constantinople; its liveliness, caused by intensive trading activity for that time, amazed the foreign writers of the century - it is significant that the son of Yaroslav, Vsevolod, without leaving Kyiv, learned five languages. Decorating Kyiv with many new buildings, he circled it with new stone walls ("the city of Yaroslav"), arranging the famous Golden Gates in them, and above them - a church in honor of the Annunciation. Yaroslav founded in Kyiv, on the site of his victory over the Pechenegs, the Church of St. Sophia, magnificently decorating it with frescoes and mosaics, and also built here the monastery of St. George and the monastery of St. Irina (in honor of the angel of his wife). The prototypes of these buildings were the architectural structures of Constantinople and Jerusalem. The completion of the construction coincided with the creation of the great monument of ancient Russian literature, The Sermon on Law and Grace, which was delivered by the future Saint Hilarion on March 25 of the year. At the same time, the first Russian chronicle was written - the so-called. "Ancient Vault".

The core of the inner activity of the holy prince was the promotion of the spread of Christianity in Russia, the development of the education necessary for this purpose, and the training of Russian clergy. Both in Kyiv and in other cities, Yaroslav did not spare money for church splendor, inviting Greek masters for this. Under Yaroslav, church singers came to Russia from Byzantium and taught the Russians how to sing in octagon. The chronicler Nestor noted that under Yaroslav the Christian faith began to "be fruitful and expand, and the Chernorizians began to multiply and monasteries to appear." When at the end of his reign it was necessary to appoint a new metropolitan to the Kiev Metropolis, Yaroslav in the year ordered the council of Russian bishops to appoint St. Hilarion, the first archpastor of the Russian metropolis, born in Russian, as metropolitan.

In order to instill in the people the beginnings of the Christian faith, Yaroslav ordered the translation of handwritten books from Greek into Slavonic and bought a lot of them himself. Gathering scribes and translators everywhere, he multiplied the number of books in Russia and gradually introduced them into widespread use. Yaroslav put all these manuscripts in the library he built at St. Sophia Cathedral for general use. To spread the letter, Yaroslav ordered the clergy to teach children, and in Novgorod, according to later chronicles, he set up a school for 300 boys.

Finally, Yaroslav remained the most famous as a legislator. Already in Novgorod, when he was appointed governor there, he was called Pravosud - it was there that the development of the written laws of Russia began. Yaroslav is credited with the oldest Russian monument of law - "Russian Truth" (also referred to as the "Charter" or "Court of Yaroslavl"), which is a collection of laws and customs in force, an oral "Russian Law", which was mentioned in the treaties of Russia with Byzantium. Russkaya Pravda was given to Novgorod in the year and was the first written code of laws - criminal, civil and administrative. He dealt primarily with issues of public order. Under Yaroslav, the Church Charter or Pilot Book appeared, compiled on the basis of the Byzantine Nomocanon. In it, for the first time, the concepts of sin and crime were distinguished: every crime is a sin, but not every sin is a crime.

Character and death

According to the review of the chronicle, the Grand Duke "was lame, but he had a kind mind and was brave in the rati." Describing his character, the chronicler speaks of intelligence, prudence, compassion for the poor, courage. Yaroslav's temper was strict, and his life was modest, unlike his father, who loved merry feasts. Contemporaries noted that Yaroslav himself was a well-read person in liturgical books and owned a large personal library. He, according to the chronicler, considered the books "rivers capable of drinking wisdom." The noble prince was distinguished by diligence in faith. According to one of the legends, he ordered the bones of princes Yaropolk and Oleg to be dug up and, having baptized them, buried them in the Kiev Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, hoping by this to save their souls from eternal torment and death.

The faithful Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise died on February 20 in his country residence Vyshgorod, near Kiev. They buried him in a marble coffin in the Kiev St. Sophia Cathedral he founded. One of the subjects of the prince scratched the inscription on the wall of the temple: "In the summer of the 6562 month of February, the 20th, the Assumption of our Tsar ...". Dividing the lands among his sons and transferring the throne of Kyiv to his eldest son Izyaslav, he left them the following will:

“Here I am departing from this world, my children. Love one another, for you are brothers, from one father and one mother. If you live in love with each other, then God will be with you. He will subdue all your enemies and you will live in peace. If you begin to hate each other, quarrel, then you yourself will perish, and destroy the land of your fathers and grandfathers, which they acquired with their great labor. .

Memory, appreciation and veneration

The reign of Yaroslav was marked by the flourishing of the capital city of Kyiv and the strengthening of economic and cultural ties between the individual parts of the state. It was the era of the highest prosperity of Kievan Rus. With his activities, Yaroslav so exalted himself that over time, the nickname “Wise” was assigned to him.

The name of the Right-believing Grand Duke Yaroslav was included in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia on December 8 of the year.

Family

Father: St. equal to ap. Vladimir Svyatoslavich (c. -), led. book. Kyiv.
Mother: Rogneda Rogvolodovna, baptized Anastasia, Prince. Polotsk.
Wife: Rev. Ingigerda Olafovna, baptized Irina, monastic Anna, blgv. princess of Sweden.

Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise(years of life 978-1054; reign time: in Rostov (987-1010), in Novgorod (1010-1034), Grand Duke of Kyiv (1016-1018, 1019-1054)), son of the baptist of Russia, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich (from the Rurik dynasty ) and the Polotsk princess Rogneda Rogvolodovna, in baptism received the name George (or Yuri). This is one of the most famous ancient Russian princes.

In 987, being nine years old, he was sent by his father to reign in the city of Rostov. In 1010 he became the Prince of Novgorod. It is believed that it was at the end of his reign in the city of Rostov in 1010 that he founded Yaroslavl.

There is little information about this period of the prince's life and they are legendary. It is known that, being the prince of Novgorod, Yaroslav wanted to break all dependence on Kyiv and in 1014 refused to pay his father an annual tribute of 2000 hryvnias, as all Novgorod posadniks did. Novgorodians, who were burdened by dependence on South Russia, supported the prince. This episode is reflected in the annals.

Angry at his son, Vladimir prepared to personally go against him, but soon fell ill and died. Power in Kyiv passed to the eldest in the family Svyatopolk, who, fearing Boris, beloved by the people of Kiev and wanting to protect himself from the claims of other brothers to the grand throne, killed three of them - Boris, Gleb and Svyatoslav. The same danger threatened Yaroslav.

In an evil slaughter, Yaroslav defeated Svyatopolk near the city of Lyubech, entered Kyiv and occupied the grand prince's table (1016). The struggle between the brothers continued with varying success, and only in 1019, after the death of Svyatopolk, Yaroslav was able to establish himself on the throne of Kiev.

In 1036, the chronicles speak of the siege of Kyiv by the Pechenegs, in the absence of Yaroslav, who had gone to Novgorod. Having received news of this, Yaroslav hastened to help and defeated the Pechenegs under the very walls of Kyiv. After this defeat, the attacks of the Pechenegs on Russia ceased. In 1030, Yaroslav went to Chud and established his power on the shores of Lake Peipsi; he founded a city here and named it Yuriev, in honor of his angel (the Christian name of Prince Yuri). Now it is the city of Dorpat.

Having won military victories, Yaroslav begins work that was grandiose for that time. On the site of his victory over the Pechenegs, he laid a new architectural ensemble, the center of which was the St. Sophia Cathedral. He built the Kyiv church of St. Sophia in imitation of the Constantinople church, splendidly decorating it with frescoes and mosaics.

Yaroslav did not spare money for church splendor, inviting Greek masters for this. He decorated Kyiv with many buildings, built new stone walls, arranging in them the famous Golden Gate (in imitation of the same Constantinople), and above them - the Church of the Annunciation.

In an effort to eliminate the dependence of the Russian Orthodox Church on Byzantium, he took steps due to which in 1054 the first metropolitan not from the Greeks, but from the Russians, Hilarion, became the head of the church.

In order to instill in the people the principles of the Christian faith, Yaroslav ordered that handwritten books be translated from Greek into Slavonic. Yaroslav was very fond of books and often read them. He multiplied the number of books in Russia and gradually introduced them into use. Since that time, book wisdom has firmly established itself among Russians. To spread the letter, Yaroslav ordered the clergy to teach children. In Novgorod, he set up a school for 300 boys.

Under Yaroslav the Wise, the first Russian monasteries appeared, including Kiev-Pechersk, who played a big role in the development of Russian literature and chronicles. Yaroslav remained the most famous to posterity as a legislator: the code of laws "Russian Truth" is attributed to him.

In foreign policy the prince relied more on diplomacy than on weapons. At that time, dynastic marriages were the main way for this. And the leaders of European states were not averse to intermarrying with the ruler of Kievan Rus. Yaroslav himself married Ingigerda (in Orthodoxy - Irina), the daughter of the Norwegian king Olaf.

Son Vsevolod was married to a Greek princess, two more sons - to German princesses, the Polish prince Casimir was married to the sister of Prince Dobrognev; and Yaroslav's son Izyaslav married Kazimir's sister. The Norwegian king Harald was married to the daughter of Yaroslav Elizabeth, the Hungarian king Andrei married his daughter Anastasia, the French king Henry I married his third daughter, Anna Yaroslavna. So the prince of Kyiv was the father, grandfather and uncle of many rulers of Europe.

Appearance of Yaroslav the Wise

A detailed description of the appearance of Yaroslav the Wise chronicle was not left to us. Having opened the tomb of the prince, a group of Russian anthropologists led by M. Gerasimov recreated his appearance.

Here, in the picture, you can see it. It is clear that this reconstruction gives a very approximate idea of the appearance of Yaroslav the Wise.

The character of Yaroslav the Wise

Describing the character of Yaroslav the Wise, the chronicler speaks of prudence, intelligence, diligence in the Orthodox faith, courage, compassion for the poor. The prince's temper was strict, and his life was modest. In this he differed from his father, who loved merry feasts.

At the same time, the character of Yaroslav the Wise was far from simple. Controversial figure: brutal dictator and wise book lover; crafty politician and inspired builder; the creator of the first set of Russian laws - "Russian Truth" and a man who does not know gratitude, who could punish with an iron hand even faithful associates who did a lot for the principality and for him personally, and even close relatives.

Yes, and it is difficult to imagine calmness and Russian good nature in the character of Yaroslav the Wise. After all, his mother was a Polovtsian, and he himself was half Polovtsian. The hot and furious blood of the inhabitants of the Polovtsian steppes flowed in his veins.

What cities were founded by Yaroslav the Wise

In order to strengthen his power, Yaroslav the Wise founded cities in different parts of Kievan Rus. Often they bore the name of the prince. These cities include:

. The fact that the prince founded this city is not indisputable.

Yuriev (now Tartu) was founded in 1030 during the military campaign of the squad of Yaroslav the Wise against the Estonians, which ended with the annexation of part of their lands to the Old Russian state. On these lands, the prince founded a city, which he gave the name Yuryev (this is the Christian name of the prince, given to him at baptism). Now Tartu is the second most populous city in Estonia after Tallinn.

Yaroslav was founded in 1031. The city of that time is called the "Princely City". Near Yaroslav in 1245, the Battle of Yaroslavl took place. Since the XIV century as part of Poland. Now it is included in Poland in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Yaroslavl County. It stands on the river San.

One more Yuriev was founded by Yaroslav the Wise in 1032. It was one of the fortress cities included in the Poros defensive line, built to defend against the invasions of the steppe nomads of the Kiev principality. It was destroyed in 1240, during the Mongol-Tatar invasion, only the ruins of the church remained from the city, near which the city was reborn. now this White church- a city of regional subordination in the Kiev region of Ukraine.

Some historians associate foundation of Novgorod-Seversky with the conquest campaign of Yaroslav the Wise in 1044. However, according to archaeologists, the first fortified settlement on the site of the city appeared at the end of the 10th century, during the reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavich. Now Novgorod-Seversky is a city in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine, the administrative center of Novgorod-Seversky district.

By his deeds, this prince earned from his descendants nickname Wise. The reign of Yaroslav the Wise was the longest - 37 years.

He died in 1054 and was buried in a marble coffin that has survived to our time in St. Sophia Cathedral.

Veneration in Christianity

For the first time, as a Holy Prince, it is mentioned by Adam of Bremen, who in the “Acts of the High Priests of the Hamburg Church”, dated 1075, calls Grand Duke Yaroslav Vladimirovich a saint.

However, formally Yaroslav the Wise was not among the saints of the Russian Orthodox Church. In connection with the 950th anniversary of his death on March 9, 2004, he was included in the calendar of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the MP, and on December 8, 2005, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, the day of February 20 (March 5) was included in the calendar as the day of memory of the blessed prince Yaroslav the Wise.

Interesting facts about Yaroslav the Wise

The sarcophagus of Yaroslav the Wise was opened three times in the 20th century: in 1936, 1939 and 1964.

In 1936, they found a pile of mixed bones in the sarcophagus and determined that there were two skeletons: a male, a female, and several bones of a child.

The ashes themselves were taken out only in 1939. Then the remains were sent to Leningrad, where, with a high degree of probability, scientists from the Institute of Anthropology established for the first time that one of the three skeletons found in the burial belongs to Yaroslav the Wise. Then, using the found skull, the great Soviet archaeologist and anthropologist Mikhail Gerasimov restored the alleged appearance of Yaroslav the Wise.

In 2009, the tomb in St. Sophia Cathedral was reopened, and the remains were sent for examination. The decision to open the sarcophagus was taken by a high-ranking commission, consisting of scientists and representatives of the Ukrainian government. It's no joke, the remains of Yaroslav are the most ancient of the surviving remains of the Rurik family. The sarcophagus was opened to determine the appearance, exact age, illnesses of the prince, and with the help of DNA to establish: the Rurik family belongs to the Scandinavians or Slavs. But it turned out that the remains of the prince were not there. The autopsy revealed the Soviet newspapers Pravda and Izvestia dated 1964. In March 2011, the results of a genetic examination were published, according to which not male, but only female remains rest in the tomb. Interestingly, these female remains belong to two women, one of them lived in the era of Kievan Rus, and the other a thousand years earlier, that is, during the time of the Scythian settlements. The remains of the Kiev time belong to a woman who during her lifetime was engaged in a lot of hard physical labor, that is, she was clearly not of a princely family. According to historians, the remains of the Grand Duke should also be sought in the United States.

The Library of Yaroslav the Wise, which is often compared with the Library of Ivan the Terrible, has become legendary.

In 2008, Yaroslav the Wise took first place in the television project Great Ukrainians.

There is an opinion of historians that the wife of Prince Ingigerd was the real ruler of Russia, actively influencing political processes.

As a dowry, Ingigerda received the city of Aldeygyuborg (Staraya Ladoga) and a fairly large area around Lake Ladoga, named Ingermanlandia (Ingigerda's land) in her honor. St. Petersburg was founded on the territory of Ingermanland in 1703.

In Kyiv, on the initiative of Ingigerda, the first convent was built at the Church of St. Irina (after baptism, Ingigerda took the name Irina). Until the middle of the twentieth century, one of the columns of the cathedral of this monastery towered. Now only the name of a quiet street Irininskaya in the center of Kyiv reminds of the temple.

At the end of her life, Ingigerda took the veil as a nun, taking the name of nun Anna. Her remains are in Novgorod.

In 1439, Archbishop Evfimy canonized Ingigerda-Irina-Anna and her son Vladimir as saints. She became the heavenly patroness of Novgorod. This also testifies to the enormous moral, at least, significance that this woman had. After all, her husband Yaroslav the Wise was officially canonized only in the 21st century.