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With the Financial Support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation
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The Russian Military and Historical Society
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present
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The Birth of a Nation
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He woke up suddenly, as if from a blow.
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Korsun, 988
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Somebody was by his side.
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He couldn’t see him. He didn’t see anything. He was blind.
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He, Prince Vladimir of Kiev, a winner, a ruler, a warrior
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challenged the Eastern Roman Empire.
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Ancient Korsun fell under his attack.
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However, what was all the glory in the world worth if he was blind?
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Somebody whom he didn’t know was standing close to him.
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The darkness thinned out like before the dawn.
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The words he had heard in his early childhood came to his mind:
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“You’re the resurrection and life”.
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Episode Three. The Daybreak
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“It happened by the village of Bututin
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when little prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovitch turned four.
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When playing on a river’s bank, he stumbled and fell into the water,
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into the fast current. The river was dragging him like a chip,
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and he was crying and calling but nobody heard him.
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The death seemed unavoidable, but a huge stone appeared on his way,
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and he clang to that rock and saved himself.”
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He sat on the huge rock for ages, trembling from cold and the recent fear.
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Suddenly he realized with absolute clearness – he was alone.
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If he wanted to survive, the only person he could count on was himself.
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At the age of three, Vladimir was taken away from his mother.
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He barely saw his father as Svyatoslav was almost constantly at war.
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His brothers Yaropolk and Oleg were not his blood brothers, just half-brothers.
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His mother Malusha wasn’t Svyatoslav’s wife, just a concubine
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although she held an important position of a key-keeper
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at the court of Princess Olga. Officially, Vladimir enjoyed the same rights
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as his brothers Oleg and Yaropolk. He was the Prince’s son.
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In practice, he was a “rabichich”, “a son of a slave” which was a stigma.
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Vladimir’s uncle Dobrynya became the only close person at the Prince’s court.
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Soon after the death of his mother Princess Olga
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Svyatoslav prepared another military campaign in the southern lands,
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at the border of the Eastern Roman Empire. Before that,
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when he was absent from Kiev, Princess Olga ruled the state.
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Now that she was gone Svyatoslav decided to involve his sons.
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"They were not mature enough. The eldest barely turned 12; "
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however, a general was assigned to each of them.
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In 970, Svyatoslav sent Yaropolk to Kiev and Oleg to the Drevlians.
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The residents of Novgorod came asking to assign a prince for them.
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“And Svyatoslav said to them: “Ask Vladimir.”
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And the residents of Novgorod accepted Vladimir.”
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So, he went to Novgorod together with this uncle Dobrynya.
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The lands of Novgorod that were the cradle of the Rurik kin
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seemed a far-away province to Vladimir.
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He thought that he was sent so far because he wasn’t needed closer.
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He thought that the residents of Novgorod were rude and loud.
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The Varangians who guarded him were a far cry
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from the well-dressed Kiev soldiers. They had long beards,
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faces painted with weird patterns and numerous amulets.
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Vladimir craned his neck looking back at Kiev for as long as he could see it.
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He dreamt of returning to that city one day – when he was adult
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and strong like his father, followed by his enormous army.
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Life in Novgorod turned out to be much more interesting
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than Vladimir had expected. It was not a province at all.
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A bright crowd at the market was talking different languages.
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There were foreigners with bandit-like faces,
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red-bearded Iranians in silk turbans, francs in velvet coats.
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Everybody was there! Vladimir got used to the local customs quickly
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and was on the best terms with the residents of Novgorod.
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He studied the martial art of the Varangians vigorously
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leaving the ruling to his uncle Dobrynya.
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On that day, Vladimir got caught up in a combat.
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Dobrynya called for the Prince thrice for him to come
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to deliver the judgement. The defendant was a boy
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not much older than the Prince himself. He killed an unknown man
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at the market with an axe in the broad daylight.
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According to the laws of Novgorod, anybody who killed a man
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who hadn’t been convicted should be executed. The case was simple.
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The only thing that the Price had to do was to approve the sentence.
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However, Vladimir kept silence glancing at the murderer and.
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The boy awaited his fate calmly and didn’t beg for mercy.
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The name of the murderer was Olaf, a born Norwegian.
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He was forced to flee from his country with his mother and his caregiver.
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At the sea, the northern pirates of Esta captured their ship
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and sold them into slavery. Klerkon became their host.
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He treated them very cruelly. He killed Olaf’s caregiver
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who was like a father for him with an axe. At that time,
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Olaf was too young to revenge. After that, the boy’s uncle,
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a soldier from Novgorod found him.
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He bought him out of the slavery and brought him to Novgorod.
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The murdered caregiver remained unrevenged for many years.
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And that day, Olaf accidentally bumped into Klerkon
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at the Novgorod’s market and crushed his skull with an axe.
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Olaf reminded Vladimir of himself.
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However, Vladimir would probably be unable
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to revenge his offender with such advert bravery.
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Prince said the following: because the murdered caregiver
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was like a father to the defendant,
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that murder should be considered blood vengeance.
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The law wasn’t violated. Prince ruled to release the defendant
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and enrol into the junior soldier squad. At that time,
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Vladimir didn’t know that he saved a life of a man
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who would become his only friend.
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At that time, in thousands of miles from Novgorod
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Vladimir’s father Svyatoslav started a war with Byzantium.
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The commander of the Greek army, an experienced war leader Bardas Phocas
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was avoiding an open battle instead luring the barbarians
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deeper into the Empire’s interior.
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Svyatoslav believed that the Greeks were cowardly fleeing
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at the sight of his troops. In 120 km from the capital
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Bardas Phocas stopped and gave battle.
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The forces were more or less equal.
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However, the Greeks were on their own land.
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Too late did Svyatoslav realize that he had been lured into a trap
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but he had nowhere to retreat.
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Svyatoslav said: “We have no choice.
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No matter whether we want it or not, we have to fight.
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Let’s not put the Russian land to shame but leave our bones here
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for the dead feel no shame. Let’s stand strong, and I’ll lead you.
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If my head falls, care for yours on your own.”
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The soldiers replied:
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”We’ll fall where you fall”.
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The battle started with the powerful advance of the Russian regiments.
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Prince Svyatoslav fought alongside his soldiers.
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The Russian were fighting with the courage of the desperate,
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and that alone instilled fear. Only the heavy cavalry managed to stop
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the mad onslaught of the barbarians.
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The parties were fighting well until the darkness
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but neither of the parties got the upper hand.
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The battles went on for a year
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until the Emperor John I Tzimiskes himself didn’t lead the army.
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After a couple of bloodbaths the Russian troops were exhausted
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beyond any measure. Svyatoslav and John engaged in negotiations.
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According to the treaty of 971, the Russians were to leave Bulgaria
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and the Greeks were to provide the Russian army with food for two months.
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Rus and Byzantium concluded a peace treaty,
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became military allies and restored trade relations.
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Svyatoslav went back with his thinned-out army,
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no more than a third from its initial number.
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He didn’t know that John I Tzimiskes concluded a treaty on peace
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and mutual cooperation not only with him but with the Pechenegs too
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bolstering it with a huge amount of gold.
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Svyatoslav went to the rapids in his boats. One general told him:
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“Prince, pass the rapids by on the horseback
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for the Pechenegs are standing by the rapids”.
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But the Prince didn’t heed his advice and took the boats.
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“Kirya, the Prince of the Pechenegs attacked him, and Svyatoslav was killed.
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A jar was made out of his skull
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bound round with metal, and they drank from it.”
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Dobrynya said that he no longer had a father.
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Vladimir remembered that moment for the rest of his life.
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His elder son Yaropolk, Prince of Kiev, avenged on the Pechenegs for his father.
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He started a military campaign against them
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and damaged their ranks so badly that the Pechenegs even agreed
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to pay tribute to Kiev. Svineld was an old general assigned to Yaropolk
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who once campaigned with his grandfather Igor and his father Svyatoslav.
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The Prince was married to a Greek woman,
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a former nun from a Greek monastery whom Svyatoslav brought
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from his campaign many years ago as a prisoner and married to his son
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because of her rare beauty.
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Yaropolk didn’t care that his wife was a Christian.
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There were a lot of Christians in his milieu.
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Kiev was one step away from baptizing.
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The ambassadors from the Pope arrived to Yaropolk.
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However, neither the missionaries nor the Pope’s ambassadors
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had the time to do anything.
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A war started in Rus.
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Prince Oleg was at his traditional hunting trip in the Drevlians’ woods.
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He was extremely surprised and then angry
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when he saw another hunting party riding about in his forests.
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Oleg was on his land, in his estate.
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The arrival of strangers was not just an impertinence but a sacrilege.
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The Prince’s hunting was a sacred custom
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that was assigning the power of the land-bound gods over those lands
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and their beasts. Lyut Svinelditch, the son of the Kiev general,
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openly demonstrated to Oleg that he considered those lands to be his.
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Oleg accepted the challenge. Together with his people,
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he caught up with the other hunting party
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and killed all the participants, up to the last man.
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According to the law, Oleg was right.
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But Kiev just couldn’t leave that murder alone.
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Svineld, the father of the cheeky Lyut,
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was one of the most influential Yaropolk’s nobles.
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On finding out about his son’s death he demanded
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that Yaropolk should declare war on Oleg. Yaropolk refused.
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Lyut wasn’t his relative,
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so the law of blood vengeance couldn’t be implemented.
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Oleg, however, was Yaropolk’s blood brother.
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The confrontation between the Prince and his general went on for two years.
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Finally, the old Varangian Svineld who campaigned in a half of Europe
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and outlived two Princes won over Yaropolk. In spring of 975,
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the Kiev’s army invaded the lands of the Drevlians.
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In his turn, Oleg summoned his troops and went to meet Yaropolk halfway.
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That feudal war was the first to be fought between the Rurik kin members.
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It was the first time when a brother declared war against a brother.
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The parties began the battle, and in it, Yaropolk defeated Oleg.
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Oleg and his troops ran to the city.
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A bridge was thrown across the moat from the city gates.
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People who were crowding on it were pushing each other.
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Oleg was pushed down from the bridge.
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"Yaropolk entered the city and seized the power;
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then he sent to look for his brother.
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People looked for him but failed to find.
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“One Drevlian said: “I saw him being pushed from the bridge yesterday”.
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So, Yaropolk sent people to look for his brother.
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They were pulling the bodies out from the morning
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until noon and found Oleg under the bodies.
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They brought him out and put him on a carpet.
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Yaropolk came, cried over him and said to Svineld:
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“Look! This is what you wanted”. Svineld kept silence.
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That was how Yaropolk became a fratricide, even if reluctant.
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According to the law of blood vengeance,
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the younger brother Vladimir was to revenge on him.
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The war would go on and if Svineld was lucky
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the brothers would exterminate each other.
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All they could do at that time was to wait from Vladimir’s arrival
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from Novgorod. However, he didn’t come.
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Vladimir found out about those awful events in a month.
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The Prince of Novgorod had to take the first independent decision
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in his life. He didn’t really have a choice.
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Svyatoslav had only three sons.
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One of them was murdered, and he had to be revenged for.
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That was a centuries-old custom.
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Vladimir didn’t feel any warm emotions towards Oleg
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who had in essence been a stranger to him.
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However, it didn’t mean anything.
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From that moment on, Yaropolk became a blood enemy to him.
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The law of blood vengeance was implacable.
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If Vladimir wanted to be a Prince, if he wanted to remain a ruler
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in the eyes of his people and, finally, if he wanted to become a man
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in his own eyes, he had to revenge.
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In summer of 976, he left Novgorod. Vladimir took a desperate step.
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He took the Prince’s treasury, some court members
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and his loyal Dobrynya and went behind the sea.
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Two people were sitting on the bow of the ship.
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They were almost of the same age: a young Prince of Novgorod
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and a former slave, a descendant of the Norwegian royals
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and his confidant. Both were approaching the land of their forefathers,
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the land of the Northern gods and heroes.
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At that moment those two exiles were sailing towards the unknown.
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When the difficult voyage ridden with storms was nearing its end
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and they were passing the rocky shores of the Norwegian fjords,
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water suddenly bubbled on their right.
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The leaden waves rushed around, and the foamy abyss opened wide.
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The rowers rushed to the oars and with one powerful movement
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threw the boat further from the spot where the terrible hole
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00:20:28,192 --> 00:20:30,788
was already sucking the boiling sea in.
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Vladimir shook imagining himself inside of that whirlpool,
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approaching death with every circle. People said that the whirlpool
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would sometimes spit out what it had swallowed.
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It was possible to get out with one’s life even from that abyss;
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but for that, one had to pluck up one’s courage and face the death.
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The residents of Novgorod didn’t like to remember about Prince Vladimir.
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00:21:17,938 --> 00:21:20,345
A year ago, he fled behind the far seas like a beaten dog,
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and they hadn’t heard from him since.
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He must have perished; serves him right.
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00:21:26,055 --> 00:21:29,305
What kind of Prince would run away from a war?
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A man appointed by Yaropolk of Kiev was ruling in Novgorod.
255
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The life was going on.
256
00:21:35,381 --> 00:21:39,107
Everything was well except for the unclear alarming rumours –
257
00:21:39,502 --> 00:21:41,971
the Urmans were allegedly stirring again.
258
00:21:42,241 --> 00:21:44,740
A mean squad was wreaking havoc in the Norwegian sea;
259
00:21:44,968 --> 00:21:48,734
it was robbing everybody without discretion, and nobody could stop it.
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When dragon’s faces appeared
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out of the fog one chilly autumn morning, the city succumbed to panic.
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00:21:58,417 --> 00:22:01,418
The dragons moored one by one.
263
00:22:02,692 --> 00:22:05,692
A young king was standing on the first of them.
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Nobody seemed to be willing to maraud. Tall men, armed to their teeth,
265
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like peas in a pod were calmly going out to the shore.
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They carefully brought out a lady of heavenly beauty,
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with a thick silver braid and a huge pregnant tummy.
268
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If the king brought his wife, it meant he was planning to stay for long.
269
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The residents of Novgorod moved their ranks closer.
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The king turned, and Novgorod gasped.
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It was the long-lost Prince Vladimir.
272
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Instead of a cowardly puppy, a young wolf returned.
273
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Vladimir
274
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Vladimir escaped behind the seas with a handful of men,
275
00:22:58,057 --> 00:23:00,363
but he returned with a strong army.
276
00:23:00,961 --> 00:23:04,760
They were the powerful northern bandits, the Vikings.
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00:23:05,419 --> 00:23:07,894
A war with Yaropolk was imminent.
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Preparing for a large-scale war, Vladimir found powerful allies.
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00:23:19,791 --> 00:23:20,826
In future,
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00:23:21,049 --> 00:23:24,117
that would become a characteristic trait of Vladimir as a war leader.
281
00:23:24,284 --> 00:23:26,174
He was thinking everything over without a rush,
282
00:23:26,355 --> 00:23:29,219
preparing for everything thoroughly and only then engaging in battles,
283
00:23:29,395 --> 00:23:32,412
but attacking swiftly and mercilessly.
284
00:23:32,778 --> 00:23:37,865
Many people from Novgorod volunteered to fight for Vladimir’s army.
285
00:23:38,808 --> 00:23:42,071
People came from afar, even from the forests of Murom.
286
00:23:42,336 --> 00:23:44,282
The Prince was preparing a campaign against Kiev,
287
00:23:44,587 --> 00:23:45,918
and they expected huge gains.
288
00:23:46,182 --> 00:23:50,040
Vladimir’s enormous army was going to Kiev along the ancient route
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00:23:50,250 --> 00:23:53,210
from the Varangians to the Greeks, the one which over a hundred years ago
290
00:23:53,358 --> 00:23:56,245
Oleg the Prophet took too. The rumours about the Prince
291
00:23:56,479 --> 00:23:59,690
were running in front of him as of a man who knew neither fear nor mercy.
292
00:24:00,848 --> 00:24:03,649
On the way from Novgorod to Kiev in the land of the Kriviches
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00:24:03,916 --> 00:24:08,932
a rich town of Polotsk was situated. Kiev didn’t exercise any power over it.
294
00:24:09,259 --> 00:24:12,803
The ruler of Polotsk Rogvalod was of the Scandinavian descend,
295
00:24:13,023 --> 00:24:16,848
didn’t depend on the Rurik Princes and wasn’t connected to them in any way.
296
00:24:17,058 --> 00:24:19,875
When the Northern Rus declared war on the Southern Rus,
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00:24:20,082 --> 00:24:22,586
Polotsk had to make a choice.
298
00:24:22,837 --> 00:24:26,928
Each of the party was looking for a strategic partner to form a coalition.
299
00:24:27,159 --> 00:24:30,458
The decision of Polotsk that was on the crossroads between Kiev and Novgorod
300
00:24:30,708 --> 00:24:33,277
would determine the distribution of forces.
301
00:24:34,058 --> 00:24:37,901
The decision that could ensure Polotsk’s support was easy.
302
00:24:38,817 --> 00:24:42,158
Besides two sons, Rogvalod had an unmarried daughter.
303
00:24:42,367 --> 00:24:45,998
Her name was Rogneda. In autumn of 976,
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00:24:46,261 --> 00:24:49,556
envoys from both Vladimir and Yaropolk arrived in Polotsk.
305
00:24:49,980 --> 00:24:53,128
It was customary for the father to seal his daughter’s fate.
306
00:24:53,307 --> 00:24:54,866
But it wasn’t the case with Rogneda.
307
00:24:55,056 --> 00:24:58,508
Being her father’s favourite, she always did what she wanted.
308
00:24:59,290 --> 00:25:03,054
“I’ll marry Yaropolk, I won’t marry Vladimir”, Rogneda said.
309
00:25:03,318 --> 00:25:05,673
“I won’t take the shoes off a slave’s son”.
310
00:25:06,038 --> 00:25:09,204
Everybody knew that Vladimir’s mother was a slave.
311
00:25:09,412 --> 00:25:11,729
The offense was intended and public.
312
00:25:18,625 --> 00:25:21,066
Vladimir calmly watched his uncle raging
313
00:25:21,273 --> 00:25:24,250
when telling him about Rogneda’s words.
314
00:25:24,537 --> 00:25:29,941
“I can’t let Kiev and Polotsk conclude an alliance”, he thought.
315
00:25:30,136 --> 00:25:34,448
“Uncle is offended. This is bad. The girl has a character. This is good.”
316
00:25:34,871 --> 00:25:37,528
Dobrynya couldn’t understand why Vladimir was keeping silence.
317
00:25:37,825 --> 00:25:41,283
Maybe he didn’t hear well? “She said “I don’t want
318
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:45,491
to take the shoes off a slave’s son” about you, Prince!”
319
00:25:45,690 --> 00:25:48,029
“Let it be so, then”, Vladimir replied calmly.
320
00:25:49,071 --> 00:25:51,711
“If the bride doesn’t want it, we won’t take our shoes off”.
321
00:25:53,124 --> 00:25:57,056
He smiled with a smile that made Dobrynya shudder.
322
00:25:59,435 --> 00:26:01,818
Everything was upside down in the Prince’s palace.
323
00:26:02,375 --> 00:26:03,580
The envoys from Kiev were soon to come
324
00:26:03,826 --> 00:26:06,267
and take Rogneda to the wedding with Yaropolk.
325
00:26:06,695 --> 00:26:08,308
Shouts and the trampling of hoofs were heard behind the window.
326
00:26:08,464 --> 00:26:11,770
“They have arrived!” Rogneda pushed the servants aside
327
00:26:11,905 --> 00:26:14,363
and rushed to the window, stumbling over dresses lying on the floor.
328
00:26:14,535 --> 00:26:19,605
And she recoiled. People entering the yard were not from Kiev.
329
00:26:19,807 --> 00:26:22,031
They were the bearded Varangians
330
00:26:22,261 --> 00:26:25,136
whose horses were trampling the murdered Polotsk soldiers.
331
00:26:26,296 --> 00:26:30,059
“Vladimir seized the city and captured Rogvalod himself,
332
00:26:30,471 --> 00:26:34,516
and his wife, and his daughter. He had sex with her
333
00:26:34,778 --> 00:26:39,351
in front of her father and mother. Then Vladimir killed her father
334
00:26:39,568 --> 00:26:45,569
and took her for a wife and gave her a name of Goreslava.”
335
00:26:48,607 --> 00:26:51,576
The wedding custom of taking the shoes off the groom
336
00:26:51,869 --> 00:26:55,565
signified the bride’s acceptance of her husband’s power over her.
337
00:26:56,299 --> 00:26:59,954
Vladimir’s cruelty and Rogneda’s stubbornness turned that ritual
338
00:27:00,153 --> 00:27:03,125
into a terrible bloody reality.
339
00:27:03,696 --> 00:27:07,737
He raped a virgin girl in front of her parents,
340
00:27:08,005 --> 00:27:10,974
and then killed them in cold blood after the end of her ordeal –
341
00:27:11,256 --> 00:27:15,883
it was a bit too much even for the heartless times of Prince Vladimir.
342
00:27:20,558 --> 00:27:25,770
Vladimir burnt Polotsk to the ground. He seized the lands of the princedom.
343
00:27:27,044 --> 00:27:30,814
Poor Rogneda, who was disgraced in front of her parents,
344
00:27:31,032 --> 00:27:36,468
didn’t only become Vladimir’s wife but even bore four sons for him.
345
00:27:37,401 --> 00:27:39,269
By the time of the war with Yaropolk
346
00:27:39,491 --> 00:27:42,768
Vladimir had already been married and had his firstborn Vysheslav.
347
00:27:43,286 --> 00:27:47,551
Polygamy was a normal occurrence in Rus as well as in other pagan states.
348
00:27:48,028 --> 00:27:52,798
The more wives a man could have, the more influence and power he had
349
00:27:53,002 --> 00:27:57,813
in the other people’s eyes. Vladimir was gaining more power,
350
00:27:58,009 --> 00:28:01,074
and with his power, his harem grew too.
351
00:28:01,443 --> 00:28:04,974
Personal relations of Vladimir and Rogneda were tumultuous
352
00:28:05,277 --> 00:28:09,798
during all their life together.
353
00:28:10,846 --> 00:28:13,136
For long years, they felt both passionate love
354
00:28:13,397 --> 00:28:16,500
and hatred tied together with blood.
355
00:28:18,250 --> 00:28:21,406
Rogneda gave birth to Vladimir’s son Izyaslav.
356
00:28:21,656 --> 00:28:24,644
He had many wives by that time, so she got indignant.
357
00:28:24,827 --> 00:28:28,829
“One day he came to sleep with her, and after he fell asleep
358
00:28:29,006 --> 00:28:30,759
she wanted to kill him with a knife.
359
00:28:30,838 --> 00:28:33,985
But he woke up and caught her hand.
360
00:28:34,066 --> 00:28:36,306
And she reproached him:
361
00:28:36,538 --> 00:28:40,039
“You killed my father and seized his lands,
362
00:28:40,249 --> 00:28:43,211
and now you love neither me nor this child”.
363
00:28:43,426 --> 00:28:47,182
He ordered her to put her bridal gown on and sit on a clean bed
364
00:28:47,432 --> 00:28:52,243
in her chamber to execute her. She did it.
365
00:28:52,490 --> 00:28:56,202
But she put a naked sword into the hand of her Izyaslav.
366
00:28:56,459 --> 00:29:01,047
Vladimir came and cried: “Who could have thought you will be here!”
367
00:29:01,321 --> 00:29:03,724
and threw his sword aside.
368
00:29:07,655 --> 00:29:12,085
He summoned the nobles and told everything to them.
369
00:29:12,432 --> 00:29:17,598
The nobles said: “Don’t kill her for the sake of the boy.
370
00:29:17,832 --> 00:29:21,691
Give her back her lands and pay her back with your son”.
371
00:29:23,941 --> 00:29:32,687
Vladimir founded a city and gave it to them. He called it Izyaslavl.”
372
00:29:38,508 --> 00:29:40,528
When Vladimir approached Kiev,
373
00:29:40,789 --> 00:29:43,755
people there already knew about the bloody wedding in Polotsk.
374
00:29:44,018 --> 00:29:45,913
The city prepared for the siege well.
375
00:29:46,659 --> 00:29:49,581
However, Vladimir had no intention either to spend months
376
00:29:49,845 --> 00:29:52,644
by Kiev’s wall or to storm it.
377
00:29:53,740 --> 00:29:57,943
He didn’t want to ruin the free Kiev, the magical city of his dreams.
378
00:29:58,849 --> 00:30:04,468
All he wanted was Yaropolk. He sent his scouts to the city to find a traitor
379
00:30:04,673 --> 00:30:08,047
among the people closest to Prince Yaropolk.
380
00:30:08,813 --> 00:30:12,156
General Blud agreed to betray his Prince. Since recently,
381
00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:17,122
he had taken Svineld’s place and was enjoying Yaropolk’s complete trust.
382
00:30:18,251 --> 00:30:21,803
Vladimir promised Blud a place in his court and more influence.
383
00:30:22,275 --> 00:30:25,234
Blud convinced his Prince to leave Kiev to prevent the deaths
384
00:30:25,536 --> 00:30:32,041
of innocent people. So, Yaropolk and his army fled to the town of Rodin.
385
00:30:41,490 --> 00:30:46,419
Prince Vladimir entered Kiev solemnly, without haste.
386
00:30:48,107 --> 00:30:51,893
At the gates, he remembered his childhood dream –
387
00:30:52,209 --> 00:30:55,817
to return there being strong and powerful like his father,
388
00:30:56,126 --> 00:30:59,695
followed by his enormous army.
389
00:31:01,511 --> 00:31:04,885
He got everything that he had ever wanted.
390
00:31:05,164 --> 00:31:08,442
Any of his wishes were coming true. He was a chosen one,
391
00:31:08,707 --> 00:31:13,048
the gods’ favourite. Who dared confront him?
392
00:31:20,431 --> 00:31:26,379
Blud said to Yaropolk: “Do you see how many warriors your brother has?
393
00:31:26,662 --> 00:31:31,260
We won’t be able to defeat them. Make peace with your brother!”
394
00:31:32,471 --> 00:31:36,923
And Yaropolk agreed with him: “Let it be so”.
395
00:31:37,601 --> 00:31:43,522
So, Blud sent his people to Vladimir. “Your dream has come true.
396
00:31:43,769 --> 00:31:52,128
I’m bringing Yaropolk to you.” And Yaropolk came to Vladimir.
397
00:31:52,424 --> 00:31:55,950
When he was entering the door, two Varangians lifted him up
398
00:31:56,204 --> 00:31:58,332
with their swords under his armpits.
399
00:31:58,557 --> 00:32:02,443
Blud closed the doors and didn’t let his people follow him.
400
00:32:02,795 --> 00:32:05,769
That was how Yaropolk was slained.”
401
00:32:09,196 --> 00:32:12,370
“Finally, we met, brother”.
402
00:32:13,965 --> 00:32:17,320
Yaropolk didn’t even have time to realize what had happened.
403
00:32:18,380 --> 00:32:22,497
Infinite surprise lapped in his eyes, and stayed there.
404
00:32:24,647 --> 00:32:27,281
Vladimir performed the act of blood vengeance.
405
00:32:28,105 --> 00:32:30,153
He was at the peak of the power.
406
00:32:32,593 --> 00:32:37,169
He could be rightfully proud of himself.
407
00:32:42,045 --> 00:32:44,705
Vladimir awarded traitor Blud generously in front of the entire Kiev
408
00:32:44,897 --> 00:32:49,822
and honoured him for three days in a row. On the fourth,
409
00:32:49,980 --> 00:32:53,722
he ordered to capture and to judge him, in public as well.
410
00:32:54,569 --> 00:32:56,548
Prince said to surprised Blud:
411
00:32:57,228 --> 00:33:00,947
“I honoured you like my comrade as I promised.
412
00:33:01,641 --> 00:33:05,939
But now I’m judging you as a traitor and a murderer of your lord.”
413
00:33:06,682 --> 00:33:08,872
And he handed him over to the executioners.”
414
00:33:09,527 --> 00:33:11,651
Vladimir’s Varangian warriors decided
415
00:33:11,857 --> 00:33:17,625
that it was fair and laughed at their Prince’s bandit humour.
416
00:33:18,653 --> 00:33:22,926
They adored him. A chief like him who was blessed with luck
417
00:33:23,198 --> 00:33:28,238
and didn’t stop at any obstacles was a pride of any Viking.
418
00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:36,844
Kiev, the golden dream of his childhood, was now undividedly his.
419
00:33:37,615 --> 00:33:41,335
The young Prince learnt the lessons of his troubled youth well.
420
00:33:41,578 --> 00:33:44,428
Strength is what decided the outcome of anything.
421
00:33:44,613 --> 00:33:47,216
To be an authoritative ruler, one needed to fight,
422
00:33:47,351 --> 00:33:51,569
and be successful at wars. In the course of the first eight years of his rule,
423
00:33:51,718 --> 00:33:55,534
Vladimir organized at least a dozen of large-scale campaigns.
424
00:33:56,013 --> 00:33:58,369
He was at war even more often than his father.
425
00:33:58,714 --> 00:34:01,612
But as opposed to Svyatoslav, his aim was not to capture
426
00:34:01,799 --> 00:34:05,658
the far-away lands. The routes of almost all Vladimir’s campaigns
427
00:34:05,797 --> 00:34:09,931
were within a wide circle with Kiev in its centre.
428
00:34:11,820 --> 00:34:15,737
By 985, the following cities were under the direct authority
429
00:34:15,896 --> 00:34:19,497
of Vladimir Svyatoslavovitch, Price of Kiev: Kiev, Pereslavl,
430
00:34:19,688 --> 00:34:24,424
Lyubech, Chernigov, Peremyshl, Turov, Polotsk, Smolensk,
431
00:34:24,603 --> 00:34:29,767
Pskov, Novgorod, Rostov, Murom, Tmutarakan, and Belaya Vezha.
432
00:34:30,804 --> 00:34:37,025
The tribes of the Yatvyagi, Ves, Chudi, Miri, Vyatichi, Radimichi,
433
00:34:37,190 --> 00:34:39,931
Lendzyan were paying tribute to him.
434
00:34:40,150 --> 00:34:42,621
He founded the cities of Suzdal and Vladimir-Volynskiy.
435
00:34:45,230 --> 00:34:49,143
In all the cities he controlled, Vladimir put his representatives in charge –
436
00:34:49,396 --> 00:34:52,472
the most influential and experienced of the generals,
437
00:34:52,648 --> 00:34:56,028
nobles and senior warriors. They had no connections
438
00:34:56,195 --> 00:34:58,760
with the tribes of the lands which they had to rule
439
00:34:58,909 --> 00:35:02,596
and were personally loyal to Prince Vladimir.
440
00:35:07,010 --> 00:35:08,880
After putting his lands in order,
441
00:35:09,170 --> 00:35:12,246
Vladimir decided to put the higher spheres in order too.
442
00:35:12,603 --> 00:35:15,943
He wanted to transform Kiev into a sacral center of all the lands of Rus.
443
00:35:16,282 --> 00:35:21,952
On a hill close to the Prince’s palace a heathen with giant idols was erected.
444
00:35:23,179 --> 00:35:27,007
Vladimir chose the gods for Perun’s Hill personally.
445
00:35:31,896 --> 00:35:36,612
Vladimir defined the part of the secular and religious authorities in the state.
446
00:35:36,884 --> 00:35:40,871
In essence, it was an attempt to transform the beliefs into a state religion.
447
00:35:41,168 --> 00:35:42,909
The establishment of the hierarchy of gods
448
00:35:43,157 --> 00:35:46,931
with Perun as the top god was the first step towards monotheism.
449
00:35:48,239 --> 00:35:50,449
Of course, Vladimir didn’t know about that.
450
00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:54,873
He was simply strengthening his power – on the land, under the ground
451
00:35:55,106 --> 00:35:56,161
and above the skies.
452
00:35:56,240 --> 00:35:58,668
To dissuade people from doubting his authority,
453
00:35:58,936 --> 00:36:02,777
he assumed the position of the higher priest as well.
454
00:36:03,891 --> 00:36:07,744
Now Prince Vladimir led all the important sacrifices at the Perun’s Hill
455
00:36:07,911 --> 00:36:12,326
which were carried out in the presence of the entire Kiev.
456
00:36:13,559 --> 00:36:15,740
All folk, from the youngest to the oldest,
457
00:36:15,918 --> 00:36:19,025
could see how closely Prince Vladimir resembled God Perun…
458
00:36:19,262 --> 00:36:23,123
or maybe it was God Perun who closely resembled Prince Vladimir?
459
00:36:25,018 --> 00:36:28,047
“He also held a feast in his chambers once a week
460
00:36:28,277 --> 00:36:31,375
with all the nobles and people, warriors and managers,
461
00:36:31,605 --> 00:36:36,005
best men at the Prince’s court and beyond it.
462
00:36:36,376 --> 00:36:40,005
Much meat was served at those feasts – beef and poultry,
463
00:36:40,188 --> 00:36:43,523
and expensive fish, and vegetables and butter,
464
00:36:43,677 --> 00:36:49,958
and other food cooked by hand, and the drinks – various wines and brews.”
465
00:36:51,164 --> 00:36:54,115
In the eyes of his people, Vladimir wanted to pose as generous
466
00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:57,143
as the sun pouring its warmth and light.
467
00:36:57,351 --> 00:36:59,527
His army held special importance to him.
468
00:36:59,733 --> 00:37:02,874
Each soldier was to be personally loyal to the Prince.
469
00:37:03,105 --> 00:37:05,092
Each had to feel his paternal care,
470
00:37:05,233 --> 00:37:09,676
even if that warrior was old enough to be the young Prince’s father.
471
00:37:12,351 --> 00:37:15,090
Vladimir loved those feasts with all his heart.
472
00:37:15,657 --> 00:37:19,396
"He was young; all his actions were large-scale and powerful,
473
00:37:19,706 --> 00:37:21,831
including his battles and his banquets.”
474
00:37:22,103 --> 00:37:26,643
He was a winner by all scores, and the winner takes it all.
475
00:37:27,260 --> 00:37:29,818
The life was no longer dragging him like a chip.
476
00:37:30,059 --> 00:37:31,869
The life was intoxicating,
477
00:37:32,059 --> 00:37:36,130
and he was ladling it with a full scoop, enjoying its sweetness.
478
00:37:36,769 --> 00:37:40,322
And in time, his thirst intensified.
479
00:37:41,487 --> 00:37:44,603
"It was lust to women that brought Vladimir down;
480
00:37:44,815 --> 00:37:48,385
he had many wives. From Rogneda, he had four sons:
481
00:37:48,632 --> 00:37:52,800
Izyaslav, Mstislav, Yaroslav and Vsevolod, and two daughters;
482
00:37:52,989 --> 00:37:56,536
from a Greek, he had Svyapolk, from a Check – Vysheslav,
483
00:37:56,693 --> 00:38:00,106
and from another wife – Svyatoslav and Mstislav,
484
00:38:00,282 --> 00:38:02,721
and from a Bulgarian – Boris and Gleb.
485
00:38:02,927 --> 00:38:06,777
He had 300 concubines in Vyshgorod, 300 in Belgorod
486
00:38:06,958 --> 00:38:11,080
and 200 in Berestov. And he was unstoppable in his lust,
487
00:38:11,288 --> 00:38:15,056
having sex with married women and disgracing virgins.”
488
00:38:15,456 --> 00:38:18,034
The incredible voluptuousness of the Prince of Rus
489
00:38:18,210 --> 00:38:20,588
became the staff of legends in Europe. For Kiev,
490
00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:24,275
the Vladimir’s male power and temperament were a cause for pride
491
00:38:24,463 --> 00:38:29,784
and one more evidence of the fact that their Prince was indeed the best.
492
00:38:30,023 --> 00:38:34,394
Maybe he wasn’t a human at all but a god in a human image.
493
00:38:37,215 --> 00:38:40,679
Only Vladimir himself knew that excessive feasts,
494
00:38:41,003 --> 00:38:46,003
endless pleasures of the flesh, grandioso events at the Perun’s Hill
495
00:38:46,239 --> 00:38:51,176
were nothing more but attempts to dull the incomprehensible anguish
496
00:38:51,447 --> 00:38:56,402
that had recently settled in his heart. The more time passed,
497
00:38:56,583 --> 00:39:00,806
the clearer it became that it was impossible to forget it
498
00:39:00,974 --> 00:39:04,399
either with the wine nor with bloody sacrifices.
499
00:39:05,079 --> 00:39:07,347
The scales as if fell from his eyes.
500
00:39:10,733 --> 00:39:13,892
It turned out that nobody needed either the grandioso idols
501
00:39:14,050 --> 00:39:18,408
or the solemn feasts except maybe the Magi.
502
00:39:18,976 --> 00:39:22,354
“The folk came to the Perun’s Hill only when forced to do so
503
00:39:22,539 --> 00:39:27,536
on official holidays. Many soldiers, both the Varangians and the Slavs,
504
00:39:27,751 --> 00:39:30,226
had no faith either in Thor or Perun anymore
505
00:39:30,387 --> 00:39:33,699
and believed only in their swords and luck in battles.
506
00:39:33,894 --> 00:39:38,210
They would only come to witness the sacrifice to go to the banquet after it.”
507
00:39:39,266 --> 00:39:43,231
Vladimir seemed to be carrying a heavy load which nobody needed.
508
00:39:43,780 --> 00:39:47,400
More and more often, he realized deep in his heart
509
00:39:47,594 --> 00:39:52,418
that even he himself didn’t need that load anymore.
510
00:39:52,592 --> 00:39:54,885
Even the closest people didn’t want to take part
511
00:39:55,086 --> 00:39:56,713
in the Prince’s ceremonial rituals.
512
00:39:56,793 --> 00:40:00,519
His old Norwegian friend Olaf never sacrificed anything to the idols,
513
00:40:00,599 --> 00:40:04,509
was indifferent to them and even despised them.
514
00:40:06,063 --> 00:40:09,468
“It was a tradition to often follow the king into the temple.
515
00:40:09,750 --> 00:40:14,454
Once king talked to him, and Olaf replied:
516
00:40:14,695 --> 00:40:18,605
“I’ll never get scared of the gods who have neither eyesight,
517
00:40:18,811 --> 00:40:23,806
nor hearing nor consciousness. From that, I may draw a conclusion
518
00:40:24,041 --> 00:40:27,806
on their nature, my Lord. I always imagine you
519
00:40:28,063 --> 00:40:34,311
with a nice face expression except when you’re there
520
00:40:34,510 --> 00:40:39,105
and making sacrifices for them.
521
00:40:39,297 --> 00:40:43,445
When you’re there, you always seem unhappy to me.
522
00:40:43,601 --> 00:40:45,798
From that I conclude
523
00:40:45,909 --> 00:40:50,287
that the gods whom you worship must be ruling the darkness.”
524
00:40:52,447 --> 00:40:57,376
In summer of 983, Prince Vladimir returned from his campaign
525
00:40:57,559 --> 00:41:00,477
against the Yatvyags. His victory was absolute. Before that,
526
00:41:00,619 --> 00:41:03,460
no Prince of Kiev had managed to conquer the lands
527
00:41:03,657 --> 00:41:06,288
of that fierce Lithuanian tribe.
528
00:41:06,737 --> 00:41:09,370
The Yatvyags were incredibly freedom-loving.
529
00:41:09,615 --> 00:41:13,076
Their land was squeezed between the lands of Poland, Prussia
530
00:41:13,387 --> 00:41:19,035
and the Western Slavs. That region was crucial for the entire Southern Baltic.
531
00:41:19,394 --> 00:41:22,525
As always, the Prince of Kiev made a long-sighted cast.
532
00:41:25,038 --> 00:41:28,733
At that war, the gods were gracious to Rus again.
533
00:41:29,317 --> 00:41:32,576
As customary, that victory had to be honoured with a sacrifice
534
00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:38,606
on the Perun’s Hill. The Prince was the Slavs’ higher priest.
535
00:41:38,867 --> 00:41:43,936
Vladimir had to thank the gods personally in the pagan temple
536
00:41:44,106 --> 00:41:49,600
he had built. But that time, Perun got nothing.
537
00:41:50,753 --> 00:41:54,254
“The nobles and the Magi said: ”Let’s cast a lot
538
00:41:54,456 --> 00:41:57,173
for a young boy and a girl. We’ll kill those who will be chosen
539
00:41:57,342 --> 00:42:01,283
to be sacrificed to the gods”. There was one Varangian.
540
00:42:01,500 --> 00:42:05,530
He came from the Greek lands and was secretly a Christian.
541
00:42:05,844 --> 00:42:09,844
He had a son with a beautiful face and a beautiful soul.
542
00:42:10,077 --> 00:42:13,627
And so, the lot fell on him.
543
00:42:14,865 --> 00:42:19,092
The people sent to Theodor and told him: “The gods chose your son.
544
00:42:19,307 --> 00:42:25,304
Let’s sacrifice him to the gods”. And the Varangian said:
545
00:42:25,516 --> 00:42:28,821
“They are not the gods, it’s the wood. It is there today
546
00:42:29,028 --> 00:42:32,378
but will rot tomorrow. There is only one God.
547
00:42:32,590 --> 00:42:37,519
He created the heaven, the earth, humans, and stars, and the Sun,
548
00:42:37,827 --> 00:42:40,605
and the Moon. He created life on the Earth.
549
00:42:40,842 --> 00:42:44,557
And what did those gods do? They are made themselves.
550
00:42:44,788 --> 00:42:47,911
I won’t hand my son over to the demons. If they are gods,
551
00:42:48,161 --> 00:42:51,644
let them come on their own and take my son.
552
00:42:52,192 --> 00:42:55,239
What do you serve them for?”
553
00:42:55,489 --> 00:42:58,611
They shouted and cut the floor under them,
554
00:42:58,818 --> 00:43:00,894
and that was how they killed them.
555
00:43:01,146 --> 00:43:03,019
Nobody knows where they were buried”.
556
00:43:04,556 --> 00:43:07,099
The name of the baptized Varangian was Theodor.
557
00:43:07,356 --> 00:43:10,799
His son’s name was John. Vladimir knew the father well,
558
00:43:11,027 --> 00:43:14,684
and he knew his son too. Theodor’s house was built
559
00:43:14,911 --> 00:43:18,718
within the fortress’s walls. Theodor was a noble,
560
00:43:18,880 --> 00:43:23,387
a member of the nobles’ council, he attended the Prince’s feasts.
561
00:43:23,612 --> 00:43:25,906
He didn’t take part in the pagan ceremonies,
562
00:43:26,137 --> 00:43:31,874
but then many people didn’t. Theodor the noble was a well-known
563
00:43:32,043 --> 00:43:35,375
and east-to-understand person… until that morning.
564
00:43:37,474 --> 00:43:41,498
The act of Christian Theodor impressed Prince Vladimir.
565
00:43:41,976 --> 00:43:44,170
No, not with his resolve to die.
566
00:43:44,425 --> 00:43:47,757
Vladimir saw a lot of decisiveness and deaths in his lifetime.
567
00:43:47,996 --> 00:43:51,623
What impressed him was his calm certainty in his rightness.
568
00:43:52,458 --> 00:43:56,086
In that, Vladimir couldn’t be mistaken. He knew people well.
569
00:43:57,856 --> 00:44:01,121
Theodor also impressed him with something else –
570
00:44:01,420 --> 00:44:06,288
something incomprehensible but so grand that it was too big to encompass.
571
00:44:06,521 --> 00:44:08,574
His grandmother Princess Olga was Christian.
572
00:44:08,795 --> 00:44:11,679
His Greek wife Yaropolka was Christian.
573
00:44:11,918 --> 00:44:15,893
Some of his warriors were Christians. He knew the Christians…
574
00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:18,219
or didn’t he?
53662
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