Prince Vladimir and the Problem of Choice of Religion in Kievan Rus

Prince Vladimir and the problem of choice of religion in Kievan Rus

Introduction

At the dawn of history, religion, as the main form of ideology, had a significant impact on the formation of ethnic and later national cultures. Thanks to Greek Christianity, Russian nation has got its own unique national character that is often played not the last role in the historical process. All our history: our wars, reforms, the regime of state administration, numerous revolutions, the civil position of the people - all this can be indirectly or directly justified by the specifics of the Russian soul.

We all know who was the Baptist of Russia. And, as follows from the above, the choice of Vladimir the Saint significantly influenced the fate of the Russian, as well as the Belarusian and Ukrainian people.

Thus, the theme of the abstract is Prince Vladimir and his choice, the choice of monorail. Religion, which will unite and enlighten his people, will form a new system of values and put Russia on the expanse of world history as a civilized Christian country.

In this work the following main questions will be considered: What are the reasons of Vladimir's appeal to Christianity? Who baptized the Prince himself? When was the Christianization of Russia? What are the circumstances of baptism? How has the life of the people changed after baptism?

The purpose of the abstract is to give answers to all these questions, to make a more or less complete picture of Christianization, its prerequisites and results, to assess the influence of the personality of Prince Vladimir.

The study was based on the materials of the most famous historians of the Russian Church. Among them: Golubinsky E. E., Kartashev A.V., Nikitin V. A., Nikolsky N. M, Parkhomenko V., Skrynnikov R. G. and others.

1. Prince Vladimir before baptism: his life, work, ideas

1.1. The beginning of the reign

Vladimir was the illegitimate son Svyatoslav from the housekeeper Malusha. After the death of the father was in control of the land of Novgorod. His brother Yaropolk began to reign in Kiev, and Oleg - in "Trees", Drevlyansky land. Soon, Jaropolk, following in the footsteps of his predecessors, tries to unite under his rule all the Russian lands. And on the way to his unity are brothers - Oleg and Vladimir. In 977 Yaropolk wage war with Oleg and splits his army under the Ovruch and the Prince himself is killed in a stampede during the retreat of citizens to the gates of the city. Probably Yaropolk was going to do the same with Vladimir, but that, frightened by the news of these events, along with his uncle, Dobrynia fled across the sea to Scandinavia, and his brother, meanwhile, put his Posadnik in Novgorod and rules "United Rus".

But Vladimir wasn't going to give up. Soon, with a detachment of mercenaries-the Vikings, he comes back and banishes mayor Yaropolk, with a warning about the impending war.

Before going to March on Kiev Vladimir unites under his rule the Russian North: the Vikings, the Slovenes, the Krivichi Chud and. Then, conquers Polotsk, and tended to Kiev. Victories followed one after another, revealing Vladimir's undoubted advantage. Yaropolk, aware of his imminent defeat, was forced to surrender to his brother, and was killed.

Sowing to reign in Kiev, Vladimir hastened to get rid of the influx of Varangian soldiers, sending them to Constantinople, and stopped their attempt to host in the city, which they were inclined to consider as their military production.

Vladimir, unlike his father Svyatoslav was not sought in foreign lands, to found a fabulously rich, but illusory, "the Empire in the far South". His land was Russia - the Russia of Kiev and Chernigov, Novgorod and Polotsk, Smolensk and Pereyaslavl, Rus, in the broadest sense of the word, where he lives and works "slovenesk language."

Vladimir's activity outside Russia is determined by his plans for the internal structure and life of the Russian state. Vladimir starts its activities with the unification of the lands of the Eastern Slavs, with the strengthening of the Russian statehood, which almost crumbled after the death of Svyatoslav.  In 981 Vladimir makes a campaign on "Lyakhov", as a result of which the Prince seized the Western cities of Przemysl, Cherven and others. Thus, he extended his rule to Cherven grads, firmly and permanently incorporated them into the old Russian state, by associating their population with the rest of Eastern Europe, political community, public life, and subsequently, a common religion, which undoubtedly had a great importance in the future and monasteries. Then, Vladimir won a victory over the Bulgars and the Khazars.

In 992, according to the chronicle, Vladimir made a campaign to" Croats", but it was not the main goal. Gildesgame the annals report that in that time, the Polish king Boleslaw was busy with a big war with Russia, from which it follows that Vladimir was actually at war with Poland. The campaign was successful and the Western borders of Russia, stretching from the Carpathians to Prussia, were strengthened.

But the greatest danger at this time for Russia was represented by Pechenegs. Danger from the predatory and warlike nomads forced Vladimir to put border fortifications, consisting of rubble, trees and tinov the gate. It is for the fight against Pechenegs Vladimir lays Belgorod on the river Irpen, strengthens Pereyaslav. His energetic activity on the defense of the southern borders Vladimir secured the Kiev land from the attacks of Pechenegs, but the danger itself was not eliminated, and continued to hang over the Russian land until the time of Yaroslav.

During these years Vladimir is taking trips to Vyatichi and Radimichi, whose lands lay at the great waterway "from the Varangians to the Greeks", after which the unification of the Russian lands along this important highway was completed.

The unification of all the Eastern Slavs into a single state of Kiev was completed. Russian lands were United under one power, now it was necessary to unite them by unity of management, laws, orders, culture, ideology, religion.

First Vladimir tried to amass more direct authority over the Russian land, for that he planted in cities of his sons is the local "light princes". Sons of Vladimir was not durable, for a lifetime associated with a particular city or land. They only ruled parts of Russia on behalf of the Grand Duke of Kiev. And the father could at any moment throw them to the other end of the state. Neither the abundance of the princely family, nor the presence of Vladimir 12 sons, nor their planting in different cities could not yet lead to Feudal fragmentation.