Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, Prince of Pereyaslavl, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Novgorod, Grand Duke of Kiev and Vladimir is a remarkable personality in all respects. Determined and aggressive, energetic and enterprising, irreconcilable towards enemies, loyal to allies, in achieving his goals, he always showed consistency and perseverance, and in the right cases, flexibility and the ability to seek and find the necessary compromises. In modern historiography, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich often remains in the shadow of his son, Alexander Nevsky, although his personal services to the Russian state, in my opinion, are no less. To a certain extent, this article can be regarded as an attempt to restore "historical justice" in relation to one of the outstanding figures of Russian history.
Yaroslav was born on February 8, 1190 or 1191 in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. The confusion with the prince's year of birth is explained by the peculiarities of the chronicle calendar - it is not always clear which account a particular chronicler used - March (new year began on March 1), ultramart (new year - March 31) or September (new year - September 1), we, for convenience of presentation, we will consider the year of birth of Yaroslav 1190.
Yaroslav's father was the Grand Duke of Vladimir Vsevolod the Big Nest, and his mother was Princess Maria Shvarnovna, the daughter, supposedly, of the "prince of Bohemia." Yaroslav was the grandson of Yuri Dolgoruky, the great-grandson of Vladimir Monomakh and was the tenth generation of Rurik.
The date of Yaroslav's princely tonsure is precisely known - April 27, 1194, which took place in the capital Vladimir.
In total, Yaroslav had eleven brothers and sisters, but two brothers (Boris and Gleb) died before his birth. His brother Konstantin was four years older than Yaroslav, and Yuri was two years older. Vladimir, Svyatoslav and Ivan were two, six and seven years younger, respectively. The elder sister of Yaroslav Verkhuslav was married to Prince Rostislav Rurikovich, from the powerful and at that time very active dynasty of Smolensk Rostislavichi.
In order to better understand the conditions and environment in which the young prince grew up, it is necessary to briefly explain what, in the opinion of the most authoritative researchers, was the ancient Russian state at the turn of the XII-XIII centuries. We have all heard about "feudal fragmentation", but not everyone can imagine exactly how this "fragmentation" manifested itself in Russia.
So, by the end of the XII century. The ancient Russian state actually consisted of seven independent territorial entities - from north to south, their listing would look like this: Principality of Novgorod, Smolensk and Vladimir-Suzdal principality, Chernigov principality, Volyn, Kiev and Galich principality. Some researchers include the Polotsk and Ryazan princedoms in this series, but it should be noted that in fact they did not have state sovereignty - the Polotsk principality was subjected to serious pressure from Lithuania and depended on Smolensk, and the Ryazan princes were under the strong influence of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, ruled by a heavy by the hand of Vsevolod the Big Nest.
Four of these seven principalities had their own local dynasties - Vladimir-Suzdal, Smolensk, Volyn and Chernigov. The Vladimir-Suzdal principality was ruled by Yuryevichs - the descendants of Yuri Dolgoruky, the youngest son of Vladimir Monomakh, Smolenskoye - by the Rostislavichs, the descendants of Rostislav Mstislavich, the third son of Mstislav the Great, who, in turn, was the eldest son of Monomakh, Volynskoe - the son of Iziaslav Mstislavich, descendants Great. The Chernigov principality was ruled by the Olgovichi - the descendants of Oleg Svyatoslavich, grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, cousin of Vladimir Monomakh.
Three principalities - Novgorod, Kiev and Galicia did not acquire their own dynasties, turning into "collective" possessions of the Rurik dynasties, which could be claimed by a representative of any branch of the dynasty. Thus, the Novgorod, Kiev and Galicia principalities were the eternal subject of strife among the princes, who, relying on their domains, in turn tried to take possession of one or another "common" table. Of the "collective" possessions, the most significant (and the most significant in Russia as a whole) was Kiev, which was an all-Russian center, Novgorod and Galich - the richest trading cities - were, albeit large, but still regional centers with developed democratic institutions - the boyar council -oligarchic elite and vechem, significantly limiting the princely power.
By the end of the XII century. Vsevolod the Big Nest managed to secure Novgorod for himself, the Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich firmly held Galich, and for Kiev there was an incessant struggle between all more or less significant princes, as a result of which representatives of all princely dynasties visited the Kiev table at different times. The people of Kiev are so accustomed to the constant change of power that they treated all the vicissitudes of the political struggle with some indifference and did not show any will of their own, unlike Novgorod and Galich.
According to the rules of the then political game (if the word "rules" is applicable to politics in principle), the princes did not claim each other's ancestral possessions. It was absolutely unthinkable that a representative, for example, of the Izyaslavichi, would try to take a table in the Chernigov principality, the domain of the Olgovichi. There were cases when strife broke out between representatives of one dynasty and neighbors intervened, helping this or that applicant to occupy one or another table, but there were practically no attempts to tear away any inheritance from one ancestral land in favor of another. "Let everyone keep his fatherland."
Vsevolod the Big Nest in the period under review was probably the most powerful prince in Russia, extending his influence to Ryazan, Novgorod and Kiev, where his protege, his cousin and son-in-law, Prince Rostislav Rurikovich, was sitting.
In 1201, the eleven-year-old son of Vsevolod Yaroslav, whom his father sent to reign in Pereyaslavl (Pereyaslavl-Russkiy or Yuzhny, now Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky, Ukraine), received his first inheritance. In this southern city, on the border with the steppe, constantly exposed to Polovtsian raids, Yaroslav's adolescent years passed - from 1201 to 1206.
In 1204, fourteen years old, Yaroslav, as part of a coalition of southern Russian princes (Rurik Rostislavich of Kiev, Roman Mstislavich Galitsky, both with their sons, and other princes, a complete list of which is not given in the chronicles) made his first military campaign at the head of his own squad to the Polovtsian steppe. The campaign turned out to be successful, and in 1205 Yaroslav, probably to consolidate the peaceful intentions of the parties that emerged as a result of this campaign, married the daughter of the Polovtsian Khan Yuri Konchakovich, the granddaughter of the same Khan Konchak, the hero of The Lay of Igor's Campaign.
In 1205, as a result of the death of Prince Roman Mstislavich Galitsky, a new strife began in the south of Russia for his inheritance and, first of all, for the Galician principality. There were many contenders for the possession of rich Galich; Yaroslav also appeared on their list for some time, who was invited to the Galician table by none other than the Hungarian king Andras II, who was pursuing his interests in this game. However, it was not possible to take the Galician table from Yaroslav; it was unfortunate that he was outstripped by the Olgovichi - the sons of Igor Svyatoslavich (again, remember "The Lay of Igor's Regiment") Vladimir, Roman and Svyatoslav. They ruled in Galich in such a way that the last two - Roman and Svyatoslav - were executed by Galicians in 1211 in front of the entire city by hanging (!), Which was considered somewhat too much even at that time. The strife for Galich will continue for almost forty years with one short (1219 - 1226) break during the reign of Mstislav Udatny, without interruption even during the Mongol invasion, and will end only in 1245 after Daniel Galitsky defeated the united Polish - Hungarian army, led by the son of Mikhail of Chernigov Rostislav. In the meantime, in 1205, Yaroslav was forced to return to his Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny from the middle of the journey.
In 1206, the Kiev table was once again captured by the Olgovichi and Prince Vsevolod Chermny politely "asked" Yaroslav to leave the territory of Pereyaslavl, replacing him on this table with his son Mikhail (the future Mikhail of Chernigov, who died at the headquarters of Khan Batu in 1245 and subsequently canonized) … This is how the first clash of interests of Yaroslav and Mikhail took place, who for the next almost forty years will be irreconcilable enemies, regardless of any changes in the political arena of the ancient Russian state.
At the beginning of 1207, Yaroslav and his young wife came to his father in Vladimir and was just in time for the big campaign, which was organized by his father, announcing to everyone that he was going against the Olgovichi to Chernigov. However, when the army was assembled, Vsevolod unexpectedly sent it to Ryazan, as he received information that the Ryazan princes were going to "set aside" from him and "lay down" behind the Olgovichi. Ryazan was brought to submission, six Ryazan princes were captured and taken to Vladimir. In 1208, Yaroslav became the governor of Vsevolod in Ryazan.
In Ryazan, Yaroslav first showed his tough and decisive character. Probably, he severely infringed on something, or tried to infringe on the Ryazan nobility, so that less than a year had passed, as in 1209 an uprising arose in Ryazan, Yaroslav's people were seized and chained "in iron", Yaroslav himself managed to escape with his family from the city and give the message to my father. Vsevolod reacted immediately - he organized a campaign, during which Ryazan was burned. The Ryazan princes were finally brought to submission and they were allowed to return to their ruined principality.
The campaign to Ryazan in 1209 had one very unpleasant consequence for Vsevolod. On the orders of Vsevolod, the Novgorod squads, led by mayor Dmitry Miroshkinich, who supported the interests of the Suzdal party in Novgorod, took part in the campaign. During the siege of Pronsk, preceding the capture of Ryazan, Dmitry would have been seriously wounded and after a while died in Vladimir. At the end of the campaign, Vsevolod sent the Novgorod squad "with honor" home together with the mayor's body. In the absence of Dmitry, his political opponents in Novgorod managed to win the veche over to their side, which was all the more easy after receiving news of Dmitry's death. In Novgorod, a rebellion broke out, Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich's younger brother Yaroslav, who was acting as governor there, the Novgorodians took into custody, and invited the Toropets prince Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny, a representative of the Smolensk Rostislavichs, to reign. The nickname "Udatny" does not mean "Udatny", as you can sometimes find in literature, but "Lucky", that is, "lucky".
Mstislav did not hesitate both in making decisions and in actions. With a small squad, he quickly, in exile, captured Torzhok, the southern suburb of Novgorod, taking into custody the local mayor - a supporter of the Suzdal party, fortified the city and quickly went to Novgorod to gather troops, as he understood that a confrontation with the mighty Vsevolod the Big Nest was inevitable. Mstislav Udatny was an experienced warrior who long ago entered the time of courage - in 1209 he should have been about thirty-five years old (the exact date of his birth is unknown), he had numerous campaigns and battles behind him, he was a very dangerous enemy.
However, he was lucky this time too. Vsevolod fell ill and instead of himself in the campaign against Torzhok sent his three eldest sons - Konstantin, Yuri and Yaroslav, learning about the active preparations of Mstislav for war, decided not to risk it and offered him peace, under the terms of which the Novgorod reign remained with Mstislav, captured Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich returned with his family to his father, and Novgorod merchants detained in the Vladimir principality returned “with goods” to Novgorod. In fact, Vsevolod admitted his defeat in the struggle for Novgorod, as he hoped, temporary. However, he was no longer destined to resume the struggle for influence in this headstrong and capricious, but very rich city, which owned, in fact, all overseas trade. The business of conquering Novgorod and keeping it in the orbit of the Old Russian state will be continued by his third son, Yaroslav.
In 1212 Vsevolod the Big Nest, anticipating his imminent demise, divided his principality, as usual, into fiefdoms. Konstantin, the elder, got Rostov, Yuri - Suzdal, Yaroslav - Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Svyatoslav - Yuryev-Polsky (from the word "field", not "Poland", that is, the city "among the fields"), Vladimir - Moscow, Ivan - Starodub (it is from Prince Ivan Vsevolodovich that the dynastic line of the princes of Starodub will go, from which the famous Prince Dmitry Pozharsky will emerge). Probably, according to Vsevolod's plan, after his death, the eldest son Konstantin was to receive the main city of the principality of Vladimir, in the second most important Rostov Yuri was supposed to sit and all the other brothers should move up the ladder of inheritance, as it was established by the law of law. However, Konstantin, while his father was still alive, opposed his will and declared that he would not leave Rostov, wishing, thus, to concentrate in his hands the possession of the two most important cities of the Vladimir-Suzdal land. Vsevolod tried to personally talk to his eldest son, for which he summoned him from Rostov to Vladimir, however, Konstantin, referring to his illness, did not come to his father. The angry Vsevolod deprived Constantine of his seniority among the brothers and bequeathed the great Vladimir table to his second son Yuri, bypassing the eldest. Constantine, however, did not accept.
So a conflict arose between the brothers, which flared up and was destined to be resolved after the death of their father, which happened in April 1212.
References:
PSRL, Tver annals collection, Pskov and Novgorod chronicles.
A. R. Andreev. Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich Pereyaslavsky. Documentary biography. Historical chronicle of the XIII century.
A. V. Valerov. "Novgorod and Pskov: Essays on the political history of North-Western Russia XI-XIV centuries."
A. A. Gorsky. "Russian lands in the XIII-XIV centuries: ways of political development."
A. A. Gorsky. "Russian Middle Ages".
Yu. A. Limonov. "Vladimir-Suzdal Rus: essays on socio-political history."
Litvina A. F., Uspensky F. B. “The choice of the name of the Russian princes in the X-XVI centuries. Dynastic history through the prism of anthroponymy”.
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