Personality paradox: Vladimir Krasnoe Solnyshko - pagan voluptuary and great Baptist of Russia

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The stone gates of ancient Chersonesos (they can still be seen in Crimea today), into which Prince Vladimir entered, divided his life into two parts. In the pagan, sacrifices, murders and a harem with hundreds of concubines remained, and in the Christian - he did alms, led a pious family life with his only legal wife, Anna, did not disdain to share a meal with the beggars. For those who could not come to the prince's court due to illness, food was delivered on carts. At some point, a merciless pagan in the past even abandoned the death penalty with the words "I'm afraid of sin." For such dramatic changes, the people began to call him "the affectionate prince" and the Red Sun.

Life before Baptism

It is not known for certain when the Grand Duke was born. Historians call the date of birth of the grandson of St. Olga in the period between 957 and 962. Somewhere in the province of the Pskov province, the youngest son of the stern warrior Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich and his concubine, housekeeper Malusha, was born. However, there is an opinion that Malusha was a Drevlyan princess, then the case appears in a completely different light. Her marriage to Prince Svyatoslav ceases to be a banal love adventure, but turns into an important state and political act of legitimizing the ruling Varangian dynasty.

Vladimir was incredibly lucky that he was born in pagan times, and therefore had the right to inherit the throne. The Kiev prince divided power between his three sons. At the behest of his father, Novgorod was assigned to Vladimir. The brothers began to feud for the right of sole ownership, and the mentor Dobrynya took 12-year-old Vladimir away from his native places, to the Varangians. After 3 years, they returned, and after bloody civil strife, Vladimir's autocratic reign began, which lasted a full 37 years in Russia.

Vladimir, according to the legend of the chroniclers, was distinguished by special cruelty, hot temper and imperiousness. He was passionately fascinated by the rituals of sacrifice, war and the strengthening of statehood. The prince made victorious campaigns against Poland, Vyatichi, Radimichi and others.

And his main weakness was the female sex. He was surrounded by an incredible pantheon of women of different classes and religions. He was simultaneously in 5 pagan marriages and owned a harem of hundreds of concubines. He had 13 sons and 11 daughters. You can't erase a word from a song. Moreover, from the "Tale of Bygone Years": "".

End of pagan tyranny

Vladimir did not come to Orthodoxy at once. He considered both Judaism and even Islam, whose adherents insisted that religion approves of polygamy. Which, based on the behavior of the prince, was a weighty argument for them. But the ruler gave preference to Christianity. Someone claims that a certain astute Greek philosopher, with whom he had a fascinating and lengthy conversation, had made him do this, and someone prefers to remind that Vladimir was the grandson of the Grand Duchess Olga, who was baptized in Constantinople back in 957 and tried instill in your grandson love and respect for the Christian faith.

The adoption of Christianity was also politically motivated. The key stumbling block was the issue of establishing trade relations with Byzantium. The supreme and significant figures of the Christian world were reluctant to negotiate with an ardent champion of paganism, avoided and tried to go aside. Vladimir made the decision to be baptized, and began to "actively convert" his subjects.

The baptism of the sovereign according to the Byzantine tradition, according to the generally accepted version, took place in Chersonesos in 988. In exchange for this decision, the prince was promised to marry the sister of Emperor Basil II, Anna. There is a legend that while the prince of Russia with his retinue was traveling to the baptism ceremony, he went blind. But as soon as he was baptized, he saw the "true God" and received his sight.

He was given the church name Vasily. Prince Vladimir the Saint began to be called by the people the Clear Sun. Upon arrival in Kiev, Vladimir began to destroy the pagan attributes and baptize his retinue without exception.

And in 989, the construction of the first stone church began in Kiev. It got its name Tithe because the sovereign allocated 1/10 of his expenses for the maintenance of the church, that is, “tithe”.

In 1853, a monument to Prince Vladimir was erected in Kiev. It was from this hill, according to legend, that the Equal-to-the-Apostles prince looked at the baptism of the Kievites in the waters of the Dnieper. The oldest monument in Kiev, harmoniously and effectively executed by architects from St. Petersburg, from the moment of its foundation to the present day, is one of the symbols of Kiev. On an octagonal pedestal in the form of a Byzantine temple, Prince Vladimir rises above the Dnieper. In the dark, the cross in his hand shines with illumination, and the tradition of illuminating the cross has been preserved for a long time. Only initially, the cross of Vladimir was illuminated with the help of gas burners, later - with electricity, now - with modern searchlights.

There are legends about the monument to Vladimir: about how church treasures are hidden under the pedestal; or that the pedestal serves as a cover for an underground well, which has only to be disturbed - and a huge stream of water will wash away the entire city. The statue of Vladimir itself is a complete mystery, because there is no place in the city from which, without special equipment, you can see the face of the saint.

Great warrior and statesman

During the years of his reign, Prince Vladimir made many campaigns. He also proved to be a skilled negotiator and diplomat. He successfully established himself in the political arena, having concluded lucrative treaties and agreements with the Byzantine emperor Basil II, the Czech king Boleslav II, the Hungarian king Stephen II and Pope Sylvester II.

It was under Vladimir that the era of coinage began - silver and gold coins, the so-called "silver coins" and "gold coins". They were originally copied from Byzantine prototypes. Many coins were decorated with the image of the prince on the throne, or with his calligraphic name given to him at his baptism.

Thanks to archaeological excavations, it was possible to find old coins and restore what was the appearance of the king - a handsome stately man with a long mustache and a short-cropped beard.

The mystery of the relics of the Baptist of Russia

Prince Vladimir was buried in a marble reliquary in the chapel of the Tithe Church, once erected by his efforts. The relics of Prince Vladimir, like Princess Olga, shared the tragic fate of the Tithe Church, destroyed by the Horde in 1240. In 1635, the Metropolitan of Kiev discovered two sarcophagi, one of which, according to his assumption, contained the relics of St. Vladimir. Only the head and the right hand were removed from the coffin. Where the rest of the body went remains a mystery. Subsequently, the prince's head was placed in the main church of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra in the name of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, the brush was placed in the Kiev Sophia Cathedral.

Part of the holy relics ended up in Moscow, in the Assumption Cathedral. True, modern researchers question the authenticity of this find.

The story of Vladimir and one of his wives, Rogneda, is on an interesting list 10 divorces of heads of state that are significant for world history.