In the 9th century, the territory of Poland was controlled by dozens of tribal unions. By the beginning of the 10th century, two strongest tribal alliances had emerged: the Wislians ("people of the Vistula") around Krakow and the Lesser Poland region and the glade ("people of the fields") around Gniezno in the Greater Poland region.
It should be noted that during this period, the "people of the fields" - the Poles, were still part of a single ethnocultural, linguistic community of the super-ethnos of the Rus. They had common gods, a single spiritual and material culture, they spoke a single Rus language, which had only regional differences (adverbs). During wars and negotiations, Russians and Poles swore and made peace, negotiated, understood each other without translators, which speaks of extreme closeness, in fact, the unity of the Russian and Polish languages. Serious differences appeared only in a later period, under the influence of Christianization and the spread of Latin and German. In fact, the Polish language was deliberately distorted (according to the same scheme, the "Ukrainian language" is created) in order to separate it from Russian.
After the conquest of Lesser Poland by Great Moravia, Great Poland remained the center of the formation of the Polish state. So, in 960, they took up a glade led by Prince Meshko (Mecheslav) (922-992) from the Piast clan. According to legend, the founder of this dynasty was a simple peasant Piast. In 990, the Pope recognized Mieszko as king. True, his son Boleslav the Brave was considered only the Grand Duke, and received the royal title only in 1025, shortly before his death.
Under Mieszko, an important event took place, which determined the further fate of the “land of the meadows”. In 965 the Polish prince married the Czech princess Dubravka. She was a Christian and Mieszko was baptized according to the Latin rite. The Christianization of Poland began with the predominance of the Latin language. From that moment, Poland fell under the rule of the Western "matrix", became a part of Catholic Europe and European civilization, gradually breaking away from its Slavic roots (this was especially true of the Polish elite). This decision was dominated by political motives - Meshko wanted to get the support of the Czech Republic, the Holy Roman Empire and the Saxon princes. The Polish prince at this time was at war with another Slavic alliance - the lutichs (veletes). The alliance with the Christian states allowed Mieszko to defeat the Liutichi and annex Western Pomerania. Subsequently, Mieszko annexed Silesia and Lesser Poland, thereby including almost all Polish lands into his state. Poland has become a major state in Central Europe, playing an important role in European politics.
The first clash between Russia and Poland recorded in the annals took place in 981. True, it did not yet bore the character of a civilizational confrontation along the West-East line, like later wars. According to the Russian chronicle, Vladimir went with an army against the Poles (the Poles belong to the Lechite West Slavic group, which descended from the mythical progenitor Lech, the brother of Chech and Rus), and occupied Przemysl, Cherven and other cities. These cities of Chervonnaya (Red) Rus (hereinafter Galicia, Galician Rus) were part of the Rurik empire even under Oleg Veshch, but were occupied by the Poles during Igor's childhood. According to Russian chronicles, in 992, Prince Vladimir again fought with Meshko "for many of his opposition" and won a complete victory in the battle for the Vistula. The reason for this war, apparently, was the dispute over the Cherven towns. Boleslav the Brave, who took the Polish throne after the death of his father in 992, continued this war.
Boleslav the Brave. Painting by J. Matejko
War with Boleslav
Boleslav I the Brave or the Great (966 or 967 - 1025) was an outstanding Polish statesman and military leader. During his father's life, he ruled Lesser Poland. After the death of his father, he expelled his stepbrothers and stepmother from the country with "fox cunning", establishing control over the entire state. Began minting coins. He fought in the north with the lutichs and cheers in alliance with the Germans, with the Prussians, expanding his possessions to the Baltic Sea, subjugating part of the Pomor and Prussian tribes. In 1003 he temporarily took possession of Bohemia (Czech Republic), but could not keep it. He also conquered Moravia and the lands of the Slovaks up to the Danube. He fought stubbornly against the Holy Roman Empire, which was supported by the Czechs. After a long and stubborn struggle, which did not reveal a winner, peace was made in Budishin (Bautzen) in 1018. Poland retained the Luzhitskaya mark and Milsko (Milchan lands). The First Reich promised help in the war with Russia. From that moment on, Boleslav focused his attention on expanding his sphere of influence in the east.
Around 1008-1009 Boleslav made peace with the great Russian prince Vladimir. The world was sealed by a marriage union: Boleslav's daughter married Svyatopolk Vladimirovich, Prince of Turov. But this marriage union of the Polish and Russian rulers led not to peace, but to a series of wars. Together with the bride, the Kolobrezhsky bishop Rheinburn arrived at Svyatopolk, who set the Turov prince to rebellion against his father, the Kiev prince Vladimir. Prince Vladimir imprisoned Svyatopolk with his wife and Bishop Rainburn in prison. It is worth noting that the sons of Vladimir began to strive for autonomy during their father's lifetime. In particular, Yaroslav refused to pay tribute to Kiev in Novgorod. And Svyatopolk planned to get Boleslav's support in order to win independence from the Kiev throne. Boleslav, on the other hand, decided to take advantage of the beginning civil war in Russia in order to recapture the Cherven cities, to plant his protégé, Svyatopolk, in Kiev. It is possible that there were also deeper plans coming from the papal throne and the First Reich - to tear Russia away from Eastern Christianity (Orthodoxy), to subordinate it to Rome, the Western “matrix”. That is, Russia had to follow the path of Poland, at least part of it - Red Russia (Galicia) and Kiev.
According to the German chronicle of Titmar of Merseburg, Boleslav, having learned about the imprisonment of his daughter, hastily gathered troops, which included German knights and Pechenegs, and moved to Russia. Boleslav captured Kiev and freed Svyatopolk and his wife. According to the German chronicler, Svyatopolk remained in the Russian capital and ruled together with his father. Russian chronicles tell nothing about the last years of the life of Vladimir the Baptist. Obviously, Yaroslav "the Wise" (the success of his reign is greatly exaggerated) or his children, thoroughly edited the chronicles in their favor, in the periods that could not be rewritten, they were generally cut out.
Later, the churchmen and historians of the Romanovs created a beautiful myth to Vladimir I and Yaroslav "the Wise". The reality was completely different. Due to the paucity and inconsistency of sources, it is impossible to create an accurate picture. There is a version that Svyatopolk was not the son of Vladimir, but a nephew, the son of his brother Yaropolk, whose wife he took for himself (before baptism, Vladimir was distinguished by his extreme love of women, had hundreds of concubines). Perhaps this affected the actions of Svyatopolk, who fought for the throne, restoring "justice".
As a result, by 1015 Svyatopolk was, if not the sovereign ruler of Kiev, then at least a co-ruler with his sick father. By this time, a military-political crisis had ripened in Russia. In Polotsk, after the death of Izyaslav Vladimirovich, who was planted in the Polotsk land by his father, not the next oldest brother, as was customary then, sat on the throne, but the son of Izyaslav Bryachislav. That is, Polotsk received broad autonomy. Yaroslav Vladimirovich refused to pay tribute to Kiev, possibly because of the capture of his Boleslavs and the beginning of the reign of Svyatopolk. In Kiev, they begin to prepare a campaign against Novgorod. On July 15, 1015, the great Russian prince Vladimir died. The legal and actual heir was Svyatopolk. He was the eldest of the sons of Vladimir (Vysheslav is the eldest son of Vladimir, died before his father's death) and the legal heir to the throne.
And here very strange events begin. The Polotsk and Novgorod principalities are separated and are preparing for a war with Kiev. Yaroslav's rebellion was understandable, he became a rebel already under his father and simply continued this line. Apparently, he planned to get complete independence from Kiev. Another part of the descendants of Vladimir - Mstislav, Prince of Tmutarakan, Svyatoslav, Prince of Drevlyansky and Sudislav, Prince of Pskov, retained neutrality and autonomy. Only two youngest prince - Boris Rostovsky and Gleb Muromsky declared their loyalty to the new Kiev prince and pledged to "honor him as his father." And Svyatopolk, according to the official version, began his reign with the murder of two of his most loyal and only allies - Boris and Gleb. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, Svyatopolk sent the Vyshgorod husbands to kill Boris, learning that his brother was still alive, ordered the Varangians to finish him off. According to the chronicle, he called Gleb to Kiev in the name of his father and sent people to kill him on the way. At the same time, Boris and Gleb themselves are behaving more than stupidly. Both know that Svyatopolk sent the murderers, and they are just waiting for them, singing psalms. Then he killed the third brother. Drevlyansky prince Svyatoslav died trying to escape from the assassins to the West.
It is possible that the secret is revealed by the Scandinavian "Saga of Eimund", which spoke about the war between the king Yarisleif (Yaroslav) and his brother Burisleif. Boris faithfully served Kiev and led the army of the Pechenegs against Yaroslav. Then Yarisleif hires the Vikings to fight his brother and eventually wins. It turns out that the death of Boris is the work of the Varangians, sent by Yaroslav (in the future called "the Wise") in 1017. Everything is logical. Yaroslav eliminates the princes who are devoted to his enemy - Svyatopolk. Later, in order to whitewash the "Wise", who started the civil war, killed the brothers, eliminated the legitimate heir to the throne, and created the myth of Svyatopolk "the Cursed". The winners rewrote history in their favor, the dirty pages from the past were thoroughly edited or simply cut out.
Wedding of Svyatopolk and daughter of Boleslav the Brave. Painting by J. Matejko
Hike to Kiev
In 1016, the Novgorod prince Yaroslav moved with an army from Novgorodians and Varangians against Svyatopolk. At the end of 1016, he defeated the troops of Svyatopolk and the Pechenezh troops of Boris near Lyubech, and took Kiev. Boris fled to the Pechenegs. Svyatopolk was forced to flee to Poland, while his wife became the prey of Yaroslav. Svyatopolk asked the Polish king, his father-in-law, for help.
However, Boleslav at this time was busy fighting the First Reich, which was more important than the fate of his daughter. He even wanted to make friends with the new owners of Kiev. The widowed Polish bishop invited Yaroslav Vladimirovich to seal the union by marriage with his sister Predslava. Simultaneously, Boleslav was negotiating with the German nobility to free the forces bound by the war in the west. Yaroslav, having taken Kiev, considered himself a winner and rudely refused Boleslav in a dynastic and, accordingly, political union. He even made an alliance with the German emperor against Poland. However, Boleslav was able to defeat the enemy alliance. He ravaged Bohemia and offered peace to the German emperor. In January 1018, Poland and the German Empire made peace. Emperor Henry gave his consent to the marriage of Boleslav with Oda, daughter of the Margrave of Meissen.
In 1017 Svyatopolk with the Pechenegs (possibly with Boris) tried to recapture Kiev. The Pechenegs were even able to break into the city, but they were thrown back. According to one version, it was in this year that Yaroslav's Varangians killed Boris. In 1018, the Polish king Boleslav I the Brave, freed from the war in the west after the Budishin peace, moved to Volyn against Yaroslav Vladimirovich. Boleslav's army, in addition to the Poles, included 300 German knights, 500 Hungarians and 1000 Pechenegs. The Russian squad of Svyatopolk also marched with the Poles. Yaroslav led his troops to meet the Bug River, where a new battle took place. The two troops met in July on the Western Bug and for some time did not dare to cross the river. For two days the opponents stood opposite each other and exchanged pleasantries (the language was the same). Yaroslav told the Polish prince: "Let Boleslav know that he, like a boar, is driven into a puddle by my dogs and hunters." Boleslav replied: "Well, you called me a pig in a swamp puddle, because with the blood of your hunters and your dogs, that is, princes and knights, I will stain the legs of my horses, and I will destroy your land and cities like an unprecedented beast." The next day, voivode Yaroslav Buda (Fornication) mocked the fat Boleslav: “Look, we will pierce your fat belly with a stake, - for Boleslav was so big and heavy that he could hardly sit on a horse, but he was smart. And Boleslav said to his retinue: If this reproach is not bitter to you, then I will perish alone. He mounted a horse, he rode into the river, and his soldiers followed him. Yaroslav did not have time to fight, and Boleslav Yaroslav won. " The Russian regiments did not expect a sudden attack, they were confused and were defeated.
Yaroslav suffered a crushing defeat and fled with several soldiers to Novgorod. He even wanted to run across the sea, to the Varangians. The Novgorod mayor Konstantin, the son of Dobrynya, with his people cut the boats of Yaroslavov and said: "We want to fight with Boleslav and Svyatopolk as well." Yaroslav began to collect money for a new army: from her husband (a free member of an urban or rural community) 4 kunas from the elders, 10 from the elders, and 18 from the boyars. A large Varangian army was hired for money, and all the forces of the Russian North were collected.
Meanwhile, Boleslav and Svyatopolk occupied the West Russian lands. The cities surrendered without a fight. Titmar of Merseburg noted: "… the inhabitants everywhere greeted him with honor and great gifts." In August, the Poles and Svyatopolk's squad approached Kiev. Svyatoslav's garrison held out for a while, but then capitulated. On August 14, the allies entered the Russian capital. At the Cathedral of Sophia Boleslav and Svyatopolk “with honors, with the relics of saints and other all kinds of splendor,” the Kiev metropolitan met the victors. Polish sources claim that Prince Boleslav, having entered the conquered Kiev, struck with a sword at the Golden Gate of the Russian capital city. When asked why he did this, he laughed and said: “As at this hour my sword strikes the Golden Gate of the city, so next night the sister of the most cowardly of the kings will be dishonored, who refused to marry her to me. But she will unite with Boleslav not by legal marriage, but only once, as a concubine, and this will avenge the offense inflicted on our people, and for the Russians it will be a shame and dishonor."
In the Wielkopolska Chronicle of the XIII-XIV centuries. it said: “They say that an angel gave him (Boleslav) a sword, with which he, with the help of God, defeated his enemies. This sword is still in the storage of the Krakow church, and Polish kings, Polish kings, going to war, always took it with them … The sword of King Boleslav … received the name "scherbets", since he, Boleslav, came to Russia, by suggestion angel first hit them in the Golden Gate, which locked the city of Kiev in Russia, and the sword was slightly damaged."
Boleslav the Brave and Svyatopolk at the Golden Gate of Kiev. Painting by Jan Matejko
All the women from Yaroslav's family fell into the hands of Boleslav. His "stepmother" is apparently the last, unknown to Russian sources, the wife of Prince Vladimir the First, wife and nine sisters. Titmar wrote: "The old libertine Boleslav, illegally, having forgotten about his wife, married one of them, which he had previously sought (Predslava)." The Sofia First Chronicle tells more accurately: "Boleslav put on his bed Predslava, daughter of Vladimirova, sister of Yaroslavl." Boleslav took Predslava as his concubine. After that, the Polish prince tried to make peace with Yaroslav and sent a metropolitan to Novgorod. He raised the question of exchanging Yaroslav's wife for Boleslav's daughter (Svyatopolk's wife). However, Yaroslav did not want to put up, and he looked after himself a new wife.
Boleslav turned the locals against himself. Having violated the terms of surrender, the Polish prince gave Kiev to his mercenaries to plunder. Having surrendered the city to plunder, the Saxons and other Germans, Hungarians and Pechenegs returned home. Boleslav himself with part of the Polish army remained in Kiev and placed garrisons in other Russian cities. Further events are not known exactly. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, the Poles did a lot of evil to the people of Kiev, and Svyatopolk, tired of the burdensome alliance with Boleslav, ordered his squad: “How many Poles are in the cities, beat them. And they killed the Poles. Boleslav fled from Kiev, taking a lot of wealth, and took a lot of people with him, and took the city of Chervensky …”. However, in the chronicle of Titmar of Merseburg, on the contrary, it is said about the successful return of Boleslav from the campaign. Titmar of Merseburg is echoed by Gallus Anonymous, who writes that “[Boleslav] put in his place there in Kiev one Russian who became related to him, and he himself began to gather in Poland with the remaining treasures. Boleslav took with him a rich booty, Kiev treasures and many prisoners, including Yaroslav's wife and his sister Predslava.
Apparently, Boleslav calmly left with the main part of the army, took out the treasures and noble hostages. And the abandoned Polish garrisons were killed by order of Svyatopolk and the outraged townspeople. Svyatopolk received full power and began to mint his own silver coin. Meanwhile, Yaroslav "Wise", considering himself single, sent matchmakers to the Swedish king Olaf and married Ingigerda (she took the name Irina). The Swedish princess brought in additional forces of the Varangians as a dowry. And Yaroslav handed over to the Swedish relatives the city of Ladoga and the district. The Russian princes managed to return Ladoga only in the second half of the 11th century. In 1019, Yaroslav with a large army (up to 40 thousand soldiers) moved to Kiev.
The Kiev prince Svyatopolk was not ready to confront such a large army and fled to the Pechenegs, to gather his army. “Svyatopolk came with the Pechenegs in a heavy force, and Yaroslav gathered many soldiers and went against him to Alta. They went against each other, and the Altin field was covered with a multitude of warriors. … and at sunrise both sides met, and there was an evil slaughter, which had not happened in Russia. And, clutching hands, chopped and converged three times, so that the blood flowed along the lowlands. In the evening, Yaroslav dressed, and Svyatopolk fled. Svyatopolk once again fled to the West, where he died.
True, the civil war in Russia with the flight of the "Cursed" Svyatopolk and his death did not end there. The new Prince of Kiev Yaroslav Vladimirovich had to fight with his nephew Bryachislav Polotsky and his brother Mstislav Tmutarakansky. Yaroslav "the Wise" actually recognized the partition of Rus. In 1021, peace was made with his nephew. Kiev recognized the complete independence of the Polotsk principality and ceded the cities of Vitebsk and Usvyat to it. In 1025 Yaroslav made peace with Mstislav. The brothers divided the Russian land along the Dnieper, as Mstislav wanted. Yaroslav received the western side, with Kiev, Mstislav - the eastern, with the capital in Chernigov.
