-987- Vladimir, son of Sviatoslav, was now knyaz of the Rus!!
-However, the Varangians from Novgorod (who had helped Vladimir win the throne) now demanded payment for their services.
-Knowing that this would just make Kievan Rus' into a tributary state of the Varangians, Vladimir instead suggested that the Varangians hit up the Byzantines instead, who were a far wealthier nation. This actually worked!
-Vladimir was not the first Christian Russian ruler, but he is known as the bringer of Christianity to the masses of Kievan Rus'.
-Bro loved sex; it was recorded that he had six wives and over 800 concubines!
-His wives were not just from Kievan Rus', but also consisted of Vikings, non-Kievan Rus' Slavs, Greeks, Bulgars, etc.
-His main wife was Rogneda of Polotsk (located in modern-day Belarus), a noblewoman (possibly Viking royalty).
-Before they were married Vladimir was really into her, but she had been really in love with Yaropolk I (Vladimir's brother) and wasn't feeling Vladimir. So, Vladimir raised an army and invaded Polotsk, conquered it, and killed Rogneda's parents and brothers (and probably also raped Rogneda). Then Vladimir took her back to Novgorod and married her.
-Until 988, Vladimir was a pagan.
-Erected statues to the gods Perun, Svarog, Stribog, etc.
-Human sacrifice was indeed practiced during this time, too.
-However, Vladimir was interested in exploring other religions, too.
-He had emissaries sent to different places to bring to him different religious missionaries who would present their religions to him so he could learn about them.
-During this time in Kiev there were a wide variety of religious faiths visible in the city- Khazar Jews, Christians, Muslims, pagans, etc.
-Anyway, there are conflicting reports as to what actually happened, but it appears as if during this time in the Byzantine Empire there was a rebellion by some Byzantine generals against Emperor Basil II (AKA Basil the Porphyrogenitus / Basil the Young) and that Basil II called upon Kievan Rus' for help, and Vladimir agreed to help crush the rebellion in exchange for Basil II's sister's (Anna Porphyrogenita) hand in marriage. Additionally, Christianity got thrown into the deal and Vladimir agreed to convert to Christianity and help spread the religion to the masses in Kievan Rus'.
-Another version states that Vladimir also invaded the Byzantine-held city of Chersonesus (outside of modern-day Sevastopol, Crimea) in order to hold it as collateral in case the Byzantines decided to back out of the deal after he had crushed the generals' rebellion.
-According to this version, Vladimir was baptized at Chersonesus Cathedral (AKA St. Vladimir's Cathedral) in Chersonesus.
-Additionally, because Vladimir had already been exposed to/studied other popular religions he knew that Christianity (specifically, Eastern Orthodoxy) was much more preferable over Islam (no fun, no alcohol, no pork, too many Bulgars and their ugly (in his opinion) mosques), Judaism (why would God kick out his own people from the Holy Land?!), Roman Catholicism (too many rules and he would have to concede authority to the Vatican), etc.
-Also, with Eastern Orthodoxy, the ruler of a kingdom was also the head of its church, so that worked for Vladimir.
-Last, Constantinople during this time was a beautiful, magnificent city, and when the nobles of Kievan Rus' came to visit it they felt like they were in Heaven.
-So, in 988 Vladimir was baptized as a Christian in the Eastern Orthodox Church, he was married to Anna Porphyrogenita, and then they returned to Kiev.
-Upon returning they immediately began converting the masses to Christianity and removing all the pagan statues and shit.
-Mass was held in old East Slavic (AKA Old Russian), the language of Kievan Rus'. Also, Vladimir made this version of Eastern Orthodoxy his own, which resulted in the birth of Russian Orthodox Christianity.
-Unfortunately, this would also be one of the biggest reasons why Russia would be isolated from from Catholic Europe over time (especially during the Renaissance).
-After religious reforms, Vladimir introduced education reforms.
-Built schools and promoted reading.
-Vladimir also got rid of all of his wives and concubines and shit once he converted, but he still had an unquenchable thirst for power and conquest, and continued to fight with neighbors (especially the Pechenegs) and invade enemy territory.
-Speaking of the Pechenegs, who is actually were these people?
-The Pechenegs were a semi-nomadic, warlike Turkic horde which inhabited a khanate next to Kievan Rus'.
-Kievan Rus' always had problems with them.
-1015- Vladimir the Great finally croaks.
-With no clear heir (or at least one that could secure power), Kievan Rus' plunged into civil war between various factions led by Vladimir's sons.
-The main instigator (and eventual victor) was one of Vladimir's sons, Sviatopolk (AKA Sviatopolk I; Sviatopolk the Accursed), who quickly had had three of his brothers (Boris, Gleb, and Sviatoslav) killed and seized control of Kiev. However, it should be noted that this is according to the "Primary Chronicle" (AKA "The Tale of Past Years"), compiled by the Orthodox monk Nestor the Chronicler c. 1113 AD.
-Fun fact: Boris (AKA Roman) and Gleb (AKA David) were actually the first two saints from Kievan Rus' to be canonized in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
-After Sviatopolk killed off Boris, Gleb, and Sviatoslav, war broke out between him and his remaining brothers Mstislav and Yaroslav.
-Yaroslav immediately began to raise an army to invade Kiev and its surrounding territories. After doing so and taking the capital, Sviatopolk fled to the Polans (a West Slavic tribe occupying what would become the Kingdom of Poland) and while he was there petitioned Duke Bolesław (AKA Bolesław I the Brave; Bolesław I the Great) of the Piast dynasty, for help in fighting off Yaroslav's army.
-Why would Poland bother to get involved?
-Perhaps they were looking for an opportunity to expand their options or manipulate the situation to work in their favor in the region, or it's also possible that they wanted to spread Catholicism there.
-Sviatopolk was surprisingly successful in convincing the Piast dynasty to raise an army and liberate Kiev, and soon Sviatopolk was back on the throne. However, he allowed for the Piast dynasty's army to stay and defend the city, but in order to accommodate these new troops he ordered for the citizens of Kiev to house them in their own homes!
-Obviously, this pissed off just about everyone who lived in Kiev, so they began to murder the Polish warriors while they were sleeping. Realizing that they were in great danger staying in Kiev, the Polish army made the wise decision to GTFO of the city.
-1019- Of course, Sviatopolk was weak without the help of the Piast dynasty, so he appealed to the Pechenegs for help when Yaroslav inevitably invaded again.
-Unfortunately for Sviatopolk, he was defeated by Yaroslav's forces, and so he once again fled to the Piast dynasty for help but died on the way there.
-Yaroslav (AKA Yaroslav I; Iaroslav; Yaroslav the Wise; etc.) was now the new grand prince of Kievan Rus'!
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