By Viktor HUSEV, Yuri KALYNTSEV, Candidates of Sciences (History)
The Day continues to carry materials of the album 100 Portraits
from Ukraine's History to be published soon. Today the authors tell
us about Kyivan Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise.
The rapid pace of the transformations initiated by Prince Volodymyr
required deep and successful reforms in public life and further strengthening
of the unity and might of the Old Rus state. The solution of these problems
is connected with the name of the Grand Prince Yaroslav. As the chronicles
say, Volodymyr plowed the field, Yaroslav sowed the seeds, and we (i.e.,
succeeding generations) reap the fruits. What, then, is meant by Yaroslav's
"sowing," what do we know about the grand prince?
Medieval sources report the birth of Yaroslav in 978. His mother was
the Polovetsian princess Rohneda. Like his father before him, he became
the ruler of the Novgorod land at a young age. In 1019, ascending the grand
prince's throne after a bitter internecine fighting, Yaroslav began to
press ahead with the reforms Prince Volodymyr had started.
Under Yaroslav's rule (1019-1054) Kyiv Rus reached the apogee of its
development. The grand prince continued to expand and strengthen the borders
of Rus: he won back the western lands seized by the Poles in time of domestic
troubles, and conquered the western bank of Chud Lake, where he founded
the town of Yuryev. Yaroslav constantly reinforced his state's new frontiers
and decisively opposed the Pechenegs. In 1036 his troops finally routed
the Pecheneg hordes near Kyiv, after which they never again threatened
Rus.
An important role in strengthening the state was played by Yaroslav's
bringing all the then existing laws into a single integral system. The
grand prince rendered an outstanding service to the country by enacting
the Ruskaya pravda, the first written code of laws. This legal code laid
down the principal juridical standards of the early feudal epoch. The grand
prince also made painstaking efforts to develop trade and set up the state's
financial system.
Continuing Prince Volodymyr's administrative reform, Yaroslav divided
the lands between his sons, introducing the principle of seniority within
the clan. As soon as the throne became vacant at one of the steps of the
princely pyramid of power, each brother, as conceived by Yaroslav, was
to rise a level higher until they reached, by turns, the summit of the
system, the post of grand prince. Thus enabling all his sons to rule in
Kyiv, Yaroslav hoped to avoid internecine conflicts and preserve the integrity
of his state.
Of paramount importance were Yaroslav's efforts to enhance the prestige
and centralizing function of Kyiv. Under the grand prince, the city of
Yaroslav grew to seven times the size of Volodymyr's city. The Kyiv of
the early eleventh century was a city of magnificent churches, beautiful
princely palaces, boyar residences, well-built houses for commoners, and
mighty defensive structures. It was no accident that Western chronicler
Adam of Bremen called the capital of Rus "the gem of East" and "rival of
Constantinople." Indeed, while the Byzantine capital was famous for St.
Sophia's Cathedral, Kyiv also had its own St. Sophia's built; both cities'
defensive fortifications had their main Golden Gates. And this is the result
of a true rivalry between Kyiv and Constantinople rather than a simple
aping of Byzantine standards.
Yaroslav's name lies behind the upsurge of medieval Rus's culture, science
and education, the development of chronicle-writing, and rapid growth in
the cultural level of the populace.
All European states in the eleventh century strove to establish friendly
relations with Kyivan Rus. In the Middle Ages, the might of a ruling house
was measured by the readiness of other ruling dynasties to enter into marital
ties with it, marriages playing an important role in the strengthening
of political, economic, and cultural ties between states. By this yardstick,
Grand Prince Yaroslav's prestige was extremely high. He himself married
a daughter of the King of Sweden, his sister was the Queen of Poland, his
three daughters were the Queens of Hungary, Norway, and France, respectively,
his son was married to the Polish King's sister, a grandson was wedded
to a Polish King's daughter, and a granddaughter was the wife of the German
King.
Does it not testify to the international prestige of Kyivan Rus, as
an advanced and mighty state that came into being under the eyes of a surprised
Europe over the life-span of two generations? This is how Volodymyr plowed
and Yaroslav sowed! The magnitude of Yaroslav's deeds, who placed Old Rus
on a par with all other civilized states, allowed the coming generations
to imprint his name forever in the people's memory and dub him Wise.






