:
For the cruiser see Russian armoured cruiser Vladimir Monomakh, for the submarine see RFS Vladimir Monomakh
Vladimir Monomakh (
Ukrainian: Володимир Мономах;
Russian: Владимир Мономах; Christian name
Vasiliy, or
Basil) (
1053–May 19, 1125) was undoubtedly the best loved
Velikiy Kniaz (Grand Prince) of
Kievan Rus'. He was the son of
Vsevolod I by an anonymous daughter of Emperor
Constantine IX Monomachos, from whom he takes his nickname of
Monomakh ("One who fights alone").
Through his maternal grandmother's family, Vladimir was apparently a descendant of the
Argyros and
Skleros families of Byzantium, and thus could have traced his bloodline to several other emperors such as
Romanus I and
Leo V. These Greek connections played an important role in his foreign affairs.
In his famous
Instruction to his own children, Monomakh mentions that he conducted 83 military campaigns and 19 times made peace with the
Polovtsi. At first he waged war against the steppe jointly with his cousin
Oleg of Chernigov, but after Vladimir was sent by his father to rule Chernigov and Oleg made peace with the Polovtsi to retake that city from him, they parted company. Since that time, Vladimir and Oleg were bitter enemies who would often engage in internecine wars. The enmity continued among their children and more distant posterity.
From
1094, his chief patrimony was the Southern town of
Pereyaslav, although he also controlled
Rostov, Suzdal, and other Northern provinces. In these lands he founded several towns, notably his namesake,
Vladimir, the future capital of Russia. In order to unite the princes of
Rus' in their struggle against the Great Steppe, Vladimir initiated three princely
congresses, the most important being held at
Lyubech in
1097 and
Dolobsk in
1103.
When
Sviatopolk II died in 1113, the Kievan populace revolted and summoned Vladimir to the capital. The same year he entered Kiev to the great delight of the crowd and reigned there until his death in
1125. As may be seen from his
Instruction, he promulgated a number of reforms in order to allay the social tensions in the capital. These years saw the last flowering of
Ancient Rus, which was torn apart 10 years after his death.
Vladimir was married three times: firstly to
Gytha of Wessex, daughter of
Harold of England who fell at
Hastings, and Edith Swan-Neck, then to a Byzantine noblewoman and finally to a daughter of the
Kipchak khan. By his first marriage he had
Mstislav, his illustrious heir. Among the children by his second wife were
Yuri Dolgoruki, the founder of
Moscow, and two daughters: Eufemia, who married King
Coloman of
Hungary, and Maria, married to the Byzantine pretender who called himself
Leon Diogenes. Vladimir's sister
Eupraxia became notorious all over
Europe for her divorce from
Emperor Henry IV on the grounds that he had attempted a
black mass on her naked body.
Vladimir Monomakh is buried in the
Saint Sophia Cathedral in
Kiev. Succeeding generations often referred to his reign as the golden age of that city. Numerous legends are connected with Monomakh's name, including the transfer from
Constantinople to Rus of such precious relics as the
Theotokos of Vladimir and the Muscovite crown called
Monomakh's Cap.
