Prince Yaropolk Svyatoslavovich. Russian history. Yaropolk Svyatoslavich Why was Yaropolk killed?

Yaropolk Svyatoslavich
Reign: 972-978

Years of life: 945-978

He was the eldest son of Grand Duke Svyatoslav I Igorevich. Grand Duke of Kiev (972-978). Nothing is known about Yaropolk's mother.

Name Yaropolk consists of 2 parts. Yaro- (ardent in the concept of “bright, sparkling”) and -regiment (regiment in Old Church Slavonic means “people, crowd”), that is, the name is interpreted as “shining among the people.”

Yaropolk Svyatoslavich briefly about his relatives

During his father's frequent campaigns, Yaropolk lived with his grandmother, Princess Olga in Kyiv. The name of Yaropolk Svyatoslavich was first mentioned in 968 in the “Tale of Bygone Years”, when during the Pecheneg raid on Kyiv, Princess Olga locked herself in Kyiv with three grandchildren, one of whom was Yaropolk.

At this time, Yaropolk turned 11 years old. The boyars from his entourage were able to assure the boy that Prince Oleg, his brother, who ruled at the behest of his father in the Drevlyansky land, had insulted him by killing the son of one of his close associates Yaropolk Svyatoslavich. It was from then on that irreconcilable enmity began between the two brothers. In 977, when Yaropolk was 16 and Oleg was 15 years old, Yaropolk set out on a campaign against his brother’s domain, following the slander of vovevoda Sveneld.

During this war, Oleg Svyatoslavich died. During the retreat to his capital Ovruch, Oleg was pushed into a common ditch in a general stampede and he was crushed in the ditch by falling horses. The chronicle writes that Yaropolk greatly lamented the death of his brother, who was killed against his will.
After these events, Yaropolk became the ruler of all Kievan Rus.

Yaropolk Svyatoslavich - foreign and domestic policy

The reign of Yaropolk Svyatoslavich was a time of diplomatic contacts with Otto II, the German emperor. There is information that Yaropolk was engaged to Cunegonde, a relative of the emperor. The Nikon Chronicle testifies that ambassadors from the pope from Rome came to Yaropolk Svyatoslavich.

The Joachim Chronicle reports a certain sympathy of Yaropolk for Christianity: “Yaropolk was a meek and merciful man to everyone, loving Christians, and although he himself was not baptized for the sake of the people, he did not forbid anyone... Yaropolk is not loved by people, because he gave Christians great freedom.”

The second brother of Yaropolk Svyatoslavich, Vladimir, having learned about the civil strife and its consequences, fled from his inheritance - Novgorod. But he could not forgive the death of his brother and in 980 he returned to Rus' with the Varangian squad. First he conquered Novgorod, then he took Polotsk and then moved on Kyiv, intending to besiege it.

Murder of Yaropolk Svyatoslavich

In the immediate circle of Yaropolk Svyatoslavich there was a traitor, voivode Blud, who entered into an agreement with Vladimir. The voivode persuaded Prince Yaropolk Svyatoslavich to leave Kyiv and take refuge in the fortified city of Rodnya on the river. Ros. Vladimir besieged him in Rodna as well. After a long siege, famine began in the city, and this forced Yaropolk Svyatoslavich, under pressure from Blud, to begin negotiations with his brother Vladimir.

When Yaropolk came to negotiate with Vladimir, 2 Varangians “raised him with their swords under their bosoms.” The Tale of Bygone Years dates the death of Yaropolk and the enthronement of Vladimir to the year 980. And an earlier historical document “Memory and Praise to Prince Vladimir” (Life of Prince Vladimir from the monk Jacob) gives the exact date of Vladimir Svyatoslavich’s reign—June 11, 978. Historians, based on specific chronological information, recognize that the second date is more likely. Most likely, the murder of Prince Yaropolk Svyatoslavich occurred on June 11.

Son of Yaropolk Svyatoslavich

Yaropolk was married to a former Greek nun, who was kidnapped for him by his father during one of his many campaigns. After the death of Yaropolk, Prince Vladimir took her as a concubine, and soon the Greek woman gave birth to a son, Svyatopolk - the child of “two fathers” (as it was written in the chronicle).

From historical sources of those years, it is not entirely clear whether the widow was pregnant before the death of Yaropolk Svyatoslavich, or became pregnant by Vladimir Svyatoslavich after she was captured. According to indirect evidence, Prince Svyatopolk still considered Yaropolk his father, and hated Vladimir (it is known that Svyatopolk took Yaroslav Vladimirovich’s “stepmother and sisters” hostage, and this would be strange if Svyatopolk also considered himself one of Vladimir’s heirs).

Yaropolk Svyatoslavich - Grand Duke of Kiev, eldest son of the prince. Belongs to the Rurik family. Yaropolk did not rule the Old Russian state for long - only 8 years - from 972 to 980. This time was marked by bloody internecine wars. Having become the murderer of his own brother Oleg, Yaropolk himself fell at the hands of his half-brother.

Childhood and youth

The exact date of birth of Yaropolk is unknown, but historians suggest that it was 945. There is an opinion that, after all, he was born 10 years later - in 955. What is confusing is that in 945 his father Svyatoslav Igorevich was only 3 years old. But many chronicles were destroyed, so it is difficult to talk about the accuracy of the dates.

Yaropolk's father, Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich, was a great commander, he was of little interest in family life. That’s why his mother, Princess Olga, chose his wife. According to some reports, she was the daughter of a Kyiv boyar. But historian Vasily Tatishchev claims that the Ugric princess Predslava became Svyatoslav’s wife. They had two sons - Yaropolk and Oleg.

During military campaigns, Svyatoslav Igorevich was accustomed to achieving his goals at any cost. He did not strive to maintain marital fidelity. Therefore, the prince brought more than one captive wife from his campaigns. Yaropolk's brother Vladimir was his step-brother - he was born by Princess Olga's slave, housekeeper Malusha.

The name of Yaropolk Svyatoslavich first appeared in the Tale of Bygone Years in 968. It described the moment of the Pechenegs’ attack on Kyiv. Allegedly, then Princess Olga locked herself in the city with three grandchildren.

In 970, their father again went on a military campaign, and entrusted the rule of Kiev to his eldest son, Yaropolk. After 2 years, it became known that the Grand Duke of Kiev Svyatoslav fell in battle with the Pechenegs, and Yaropolk became the rightful ruler of the Old Russian state. Brother Oleg got the Drevlyansky lands, and Vladimir got the Novgorod ones.

Konstantin Bogdanov wrote that all three brothers were raised separately, each had their own mentors, they were never close. Every year the distrust of each other only grew.

Governing body

Presumably, at the beginning of his reign, Yaropolk was 27 years old. There were plenty of advisers around him. But since childhood, his main mentor was Voivode Sveneld. The Tale of Bygone Years describes the incident that started the internecine war between the brothers.

Svineld's son was hunting in Oleg's forests, and the young Prince Drevlyansky killed him, either accidentally or intentionally - history is silent about this. Svineld, dreaming of avenging his son’s life, convinces Yaropolk to go with an army against Oleg. But there is an opinion that this passage was inserted into the “Tale” much later than the main text and is purely a legend.

One way or another, in 977 Yaropolk went to war against his brother. Yaropolk had the advantage, and Oleg had to flee. While retreating to the capital of his lands, Oleg fell into a ditch and was crushed by the bodies of people and horses. Yaropolk did not want his brother to die and was extremely saddened by his tragic death. Oleg's lands came into the possession of Yaropolk.

When Vladimir found out about what had happened, he left Novgorod for the Varangian lands. In his absence, Yaropolk sent his own man to Novgorod. But soon Vladimir returned, and not alone, but with an army. He quickly removed his protege from the Novgorod lands and went to Kyiv. Of course, Vladimir’s goal was not just revenge for the death of his brother, but also the desire to become the head of Kievan Rus.

By his nature, Yaropolk was merciful; he pursued a soft internal policy, for example, the prince gave free rein to Christians. Plus, he married a Greek Christian woman. It is precisely for these reasons that some chronicles note the people’s dislike for the prince. After all, the bulk of the people were pagans.

Yaropolk was the first to mint his own coins in Kievan Rus. They resembled Arab dirhams, later they were nicknamed “pseudo-dirhams of Yaropolk.” But in any case, this was a big step forward for the Old Russian state.

Yaropolk Svyatoslavich also coped well with foreign policy. He managed to establish relations with the German Emperor Otto II. In 973, he sent ambassadors to Germany, and there is even a version that the prince was engaged to Otto’s relative, Cunegonde. His alliance with Germany was carefully thought out by him - it was created to confront Poland and the Czech Republic. He did not forget his father’s bloody wars with Byzantium, so Yaropolk concluded a new peace treaty.

Personal life

The Tale of Bygone Years says that Yaropolk married a former Greek nun. She was captured by Yaropolk's father. He was not at all embarrassed by the woman’s monastic status; he “undressed” her and took her as his wife. But, according to the Pereyaslavl-Suzdal Chronicle, Yaropolk’s wife became a nun only after Yaropolk’s death, and Vladimir “cut her hair”, seduced by her beauty.

Her name has been lost. But after it was released on screens, the name Irina began to be attributed to her.

After the murder of Yaropolk, Vladimir made the woman his own concubine. According to some reports, at that time she was pregnant and gave birth to a son, Svyatopolk. But this issue is causing great debate. Some chroniclers believe that Svyatopolk’s father was Vladimir. At least, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich called him his legitimate son. And in history he remained as Svyatopolk Vladimirovich. Later they began to say that the son of a Greek woman was born from “two fathers.”

There is also information that during Yaropolk’s marriage to Irina, he was wooed. The conclusion comes naturally - at that time polygamy was legal. This is also reported by. By the way, when Vladimir marched on Kyiv, he also captured Polotsk. Knowing about Rogneda's matchmaking with Yaropolk, he forcibly took the girl as his wife, raping her in front of her parents, and then killed them and her brothers.

Death

In the conquest of the capital, Vladimir Svyatoslavich was helped by a traitor surrounded by Yaropolk - governor Blud. By agreement with Vladimir, he convinced the prince to leave Kyiv and take refuge in the city of Rodna. The siege was so painful that famine began in the city, and Yaropolk decided to negotiate with his brother.

Moreover, Blud assured the prince that he was in no danger and Vladimir had no plans to harm his brother. Of course, there were people around Yaropolk who convinced him otherwise, but he believed in Blud’s words and went to meet Vladimir, where he was immediately killed.

Two Varangians plunged sharp swords into his chest. Presumably this happened on June 11, 978. So Vladimir avenged Oleg’s death and became the Grand Duke of Kyiv.

In 1044, he dug up the remains of his uncles - Yaropolk and Oleg - and baptized their bones. After that, he reburied them next to Vladimir. True, according to Christian canons, such actions are prohibited.

Memory

• 1870 – Khmyrov M.D. “Yaropolk I Svyatoslavich”
• 2004 – “The Saga of the Ancient Bulgars. Vladimir's Ladder "Red Sun" as Yaropolk
• 2006 – cartoon “Prince Vladimir”
• 2007 – “History of the Russian State”, episode 11
• 2013 – Bogdanov K. “Vikings and Rus'. Conquerors or allies?
• 2016 – “Viking”, in the role of Yaropolk

While the Pechenegs killed Svyatoslav, his eldest son, Yaropolk, was only 12 years old, and Yaropolk’s brothers Oleg and Vladimir, therefore, were even younger, and therefore they themselves could not judge in their principalities, command the army and collect tribute. For this purpose, each of them had a boyar, he was called the breadwinner and managed everything like a prince. Vladimir’s breadwinner was his uncle Dobrynya; It is unknown who the breadwinners of the other two princes were, but only from Yaropolk Sveneld received greater power, even when Yaropolk grew up, he obeyed Sveneld. The Russian princes were very fond of animal hunting, and each prince had his own protected forests, that is, those in which no one dared to hunt without the owner’s permission. Lyut, the son of Sveneld, was hunting, drove into Oleg’s reserved forest and met there with the prince himself. When the prince found out that this was Sveneld’s son, he ordered to kill him. Sveneld was very angry with Oleg for killing Lyut and persuaded Yaropolk to fight with his brother for this. Their battle took place near the city of Ovruch; Yaropolk's squad prevailed, Oleg's soldiers ran to the city gates, through the ditch, along the bridge, and there were so many of them crowded that they pushed each other into the ditch, they pushed Oleg too, and he died there. When the corpse of his brother was brought to Yaropolk, he wept bitterly and said to Sveneld: “Rejoice now, your wish has come true.” And Yaropolk took the principality of Olevo for himself. Vladimir heard about all this, got scared and fled from Novgorod across the sea, to the Varangians. Yaropolk sent his governor to Novgorod and began to reign over the entire Russian land. Only in Polotsk did a special prince Rogvold reign, who had a beautiful daughter named Rogneda. Yaropolk wooed her.

Vladimir hired many Varangians, returned to Novgorod and expelled the governor Yaropolk from there. The people of Novgorod were happy about this because they loved Vladimir. He also sent Rogneda to marry him. Rogvold did not know which of the two princes to choose as his son-in-law, and asked his daughter who she wanted to marry. She said: “I will not marry the son of a slave.” Then Rogvold betrothed her to Yaropolk. The ambassadors of Vladimir and Dobrynya got angry, gathered a large army, went to Polotsk, took it, killed Rogvold and his sons and forced Rogneda to marry Vladimir. Then they went to Kyiv. Sveneld was no longer there; Yaropolk obeyed another boyar named Blud in everything. Vladimir sent to tell Blud that if he helps destroy Yaropolk, Vladimir will consider him for this instead of his father. Blud believed and began to advise Yaropolk to commit evil. Yaropolk’s squad was small, he could not fight with Vladimir in an open field and therefore locked himself in Kyiv, and Vladimir stood in front of this city with an army. Blud planned evil against his prince and knew that the people of Kiev would not help him in this plan, he began to tell Yaropolk that the people of Kiev were exiled with Vladimir, and that it was better to leave them. Yaropolk listened to him and fled to the city of Rodnya. Vladimir besieged this city. Blud again began to say to Yaropolk: “You see how many troops your brother has; we cannot defeat them, it is better to make peace with him.” One faithful warrior from Yaropolk’s squad named Varyazhko advised his prince to better go to the Pechenegs and ask for their help, but Yaropolk listened to Blud and went to Vladimir; Blud closed the doors behind him and did not order his men to follow him, and two Varangians from Vladimir’s squad attacked Yaropolk and pierced him with swords.

The Varangians began to boast greatly that they had helped Vladimir conquer Kyiv and demanded rich tribute; he told them that tribute was being collected, and he himself gathered an army. When they saw that he had troops and that there were enough of them, they did not dare to make a fuss and went to Constantinople. Vladimir released them, wrote to the Greek emperor so that he would send them to different cities, and not send them back to the Russian land, which had enough warriors even without them. Dobrynya went as governor to Novgorod.

Vladimir began to reign in Kyiv. He married Yaropolk's widow. Then the Russian princes lived just like the Turkish sultans now, they married many wives. Vladimir had 800 of them. Rogneda was very sad, so even she was nicknamed Gorislava. And great evil took her against Vladimir; She remembered the death of her father and brothers, and the fact that he almost completely abandoned her. She no longer lived in Kyiv, but near this city, in the village of Predislavina. Once Vladimir went there after a hunt and fell asleep soundly. Rogneda decided to take revenge for everything at once, took out a knife and raised her hand over the prince’s chest. But he woke up, grabbed the knife from her, told her to dress as she was dressed on her wedding day and wait for him. In fear, she taught her little son Izyaslav what to do. Vladimir had just entered with a sword in his hand to kill her, when Izyaslav approached him and said: “Do you think that you are alone here?” “Who knew that you were here too!” - Vladimir told him this, threw the sword, left the room and asked the boyars what to do with Gorislava. The boyars said: “Have mercy on her for the sake of the child.” Vladimir gave her and Izyaslav the city of Polotsk. There they died. The Izyaslav family began to reign in Polotsk.

The people loved Vladimir. He did not give offense to the Russians, defeated the Poles, took the cities from them, which were called Cherven, and also defeated the Bulgarians who lived along the Volga. Dobrynya was also on this campaign. The Bulgarians wanted to pay tribute, but Dobrynya looked at them and said to Vladimir: “No, leave them, they will not be tributaries; you see, they are wearing boots, and we will look for better bast shoes.” Vladimir also pleased the people by the fact that he greatly honored idols; he placed an idol of Perun in Kyiv, wooden, with a silver head and a golden mustache, and Dobrynya placed an idol of Perun in Novgorod.

Vladimir also defeated the Yatvingians, and when he returned from this campaign, the Kyiv elders said: “We’ll cast lots for whom to sacrifice to Perun.” The Slavs then had the custom of sometimes sacrificing people, that is, slaughtering them in front of idols. The lot fell on a young Varangian named John. John and his father Theodore were Christians. The people sent to Theodore so that he would hand over his son as a sacrifice. But Theodore said to them: “You have not gods, but wood; today they exist, but tomorrow they will rot; they do not eat, do not drink, do not speak, people made them. There is only one God. He created the sky, and the sun, and the stars, and the month "And what have these gods done? They themselves are made. I will not give my son as a sacrifice to demons." The people got angry, rushed to the Varangian’s house, broke the fence; Theodore stood in the hallway with his son. The people shouted: “Give a son to the gods.” And Theodore said to them: “If they are gods, then let them take it themselves.” The people became even more furious and killed both of them. Both of them are saints.

Many Russians thought about Theodore's words. And as they thought, they could not help but admit that the Varangian was telling the truth. Vladimir himself began to think and saw that faith in Perun was wrong. Here, by the way, neighboring peoples began to persuade Vladimir to convert to their faith. Ambassadors came from the Kama Bulgarians, from German Catholics, from Jews and from Greeks. The Bulgarians were of Mohammedan faith. They began to tell Vladimir about her, saying that in the next world every Mohammedan would have several wives in heaven who would never grow old. Vladimir liked this, but didn’t like the fact that Mohammedans were not allowed to drink wine or eat pork. German Catholics began to talk to him about their faith. But he said that he would not accept faith from the pope. In addition to those Slavic tribes that lived in Russia, there were also their tribes: the Poles in Poland, the Czechs in Bohemia, the Moravians, the Sorabes, the Obrits and the Pomeranians in Germany and others. Those Slavs who lived in Germany were forcibly converted by Catholics and were greatly oppressed. So, maybe that’s why Vladimir didn’t want to have anything to do with Catholics. Jews also praised their faith. But Vladimir asked them: “Where is your fatherland?” They said: “In Jerusalem, but the Lord in anger has scattered us to foreign countries.” Vladimir replied: “And if God rejected you and squandered you, how dare you preach your faith?” The Greek messenger told Vladimir how the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth for our salvation, how he would come a second time to judge the living and the dead. The envoy showed the prince a picture of the Last Judgment. Vladimir thought for a moment and said: “Good for the good and woe for the evil!” And the Greek answered him: “Be baptized and you will be in heaven with the good.” However, he did not want to rush, he was afraid of making a mistake in such an important matter. I consulted with the boyars. They told him: “Everyone praises his faith, but it is better to send to different lands to find out where the faith is better.” Vladimir sent ten of the smartest boyars to the Bulgarians, Germans and Greeks. Among the Bulgarians they found poor churches, dull prayers, sad faces; The Germans have many rituals, but without beauty and grandeur. Finally they arrived in Constantinople. The emperor learned about this and said: “Let them see the glory of the Most High.” In Constantinople there was the Church of St. Sophia, where the emperor ordered to show the Russians the ministry of the patriarch. Many clergy served with the patriarch, the iconostasis shone in gold and silver, incense filled the church, singing poured into the soul. When they came out with a great exit, the people fell on their faces, saying: “Lord, have mercy!” It seemed to the Russians that angels appeared and together with the people praised God. When the ambassadors returned to Kyiv, they said: “After eating something sweet, a person will not want something bitter; so do we: having seen the Greek faith, we do not want another.” Vladimir once again called the boyars to consult. They said: “If the Greek faith had not been better than everyone else, wise Olga would not have accepted it.”

Then Vladimir decided to be baptized, but he did not want to ask the Greeks about it, he was afraid to humiliate himself by doing this, but he wanted to force them. Probably everyone has heard about Sevastopol? So, almost in the same place where Sevastopol is now, stood at that time the rich city of Kherson, or Korsun, subject to the Greek emperor. Vladimir approached this city. The Kherson residents fought back for a long time. He ordered a rampart to be built around the city in order to beat the Khersonians from there, but they themselves dug under the wall and every night they carried away the earth that the Russians had poured during the day for the rampart. But there was, however, between them a friend of Vladimir named Anastas. He shot an arrow into Vladimir’s camp, on which was written: “Behind you from the east are the wells from which water flows into the city, take it.” Vladimir did just that. The Kherson people surrendered. He wrote to the then Greek emperors Vasily and Constantine: “If you do not give up your sister for me, then the same thing will happen to Constantinople as to Kherson.” They answered: “You cannot marry a Christian woman to a pagan, but if you are baptized, you will receive both our sister and the kingdom of heaven together.” Vladimir agreed, saying that he had liked their faith before. The emperors’ sister Anna was very sad and said: “I’m going to the fullest, it would be better for me to die here.” But her brothers consoled her that through her the Lord would enlighten the Russian land. Greek boyars and priests came with her to Vladimir. At this time his eyes hurt and he could not see anything. The princess told him: “Be baptized quickly if you want to be healed.” The Bishop of Korsun baptized Vladimir, the prince immediately received his sight and exclaimed: “Now only I have recognized the true God!” Seeing this, many of the squad were baptized. Vladimir married Anna and returned with her to the Russian land, and gave Kherson to the Greeks.

A.O. Ishimova, 1866

Prince Russian

Yaropolk Svyatoslavich, the eldest son of Prince S. Igorevich and an unknown (according to non-chronicle data, a Hungarian or Bulgarian princess); in order of succession to the throne - the fourth Grand Duke.

According to non-chronicle data, he was born around 953 in Kyiv. It is first mentioned in sources in 969. In the spring of the same year, when the Pechenegs besieged Kyiv, he was with his brothers in the city with his grandmother, Princess Olga. On July 11 of the same year, she mourns her death with her father and brothers.

In the autumn of the same year, before finally leaving Kyiv, his father distributed the reign to his children and placed Yaropolk on the Kiev table. In the spring of 972, his father Svyatoslav died on the Dnieper rapids, and his governor Sveneld returned to Kyiv with the remnants of his squad.

In the spring of 973, Yaropolk sent an embassy with rich gifts to southern Saxony to the imperial congress in the city of Quedlinburg to the court of the German Emperor Otto II (died December 7, 983), meaning the subsequent conclusion of a military-political alliance.

In 975, enmity broke out between him and his brother, Prince Oleg, the owner of the Drevlyan land, due to the murder of Oleg Lyut, the son of the governor Sveneld. Sveneld persuades Yaropolk to take revenge on Oleg and take the volost from him.

In 976, Yaropolk went on a campaign against the Pechenegs, defeated them and imposed tribute on them.

In 977, Yaropolk begins a war with Oleg. In the battle near Vruchy, Oleg’s army is defeated, and Oleg himself dies. Yaropolk finds the body of his brother and, with tears, betrays him to the ground. The chronicle conveys the words with which Yaropolk addressed the governor Sveneld: “See, this is what you wanted?” In the same year, having learned about the death of Oleg, another brother of Yaropolk, Prince Vladimir of Novgorod, fled overseas. Yaropolk places his mayors in Veliky Novgorod and “ b in old her united in Rus'." Presumably, Yaropolk's matchmaking with the Polotsk princess Rogneda dates back to the same time.

In the same year, ambassadors from Byzantium came to him to conclude peace; and “yessing him for tribute", like his father and grandfather. At the same time, ambassadors from Pope Benedict VII (died July 10, 983) came to Yaropolk.

In 978 (according to the chronicle, in 980), his brother Vladimir Svyatoslavich returned to Veliky Novgorod with the Varangians and expelled the mayors of Yaropolk from the city, instructing them to tell his brother to prepare for battle. In the same year, Yaropolk learns that Vladimir captured Polotsk, killed Rogneda’s father, Prince Rogvolod, with his two sons, and took Rogneda herself by force as his wife.

Soon Vladimir sets out for Kyiv. Not having enough strength to fight in the open field, Yaropolk secluded himself in Kyiv. Vladimir enters into secret negotiations with the governor of Yaropolk, Blud, and wins him over to his side. Blud is plotting to kill his prince, but he fails due to the mood of the Kievites. Then Blud persuades Yaropolk to leave Kyiv. Having listened to his advice, Yaropolk flees from Kyiv and secludes himself in the city of Rodna (at the mouth of the Ros River). Here Vladimir besieges him again. Experiencing terrible hunger and again succumbing to the entreaties of Blud, Yaropolk surrenders to his brother, although his other governor, Varyazhko, persistently advises the prince to flee to the Pechenegs.

Vladimir receives his brother in his father’s castle courtyard. When Yaropolk passes through the door, two Varangians attack him and And(his. - D.V. Donskoy) ... swords under pasus ѣ» ; Voivode Varyazhko, who became an involuntary witness to the death of his prince, runs away to the Pechenegs.

The prince was buried as a pagan. The original burial place is unknown, but in 1044, under Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise, the remains of Yaropolk and his brother Oleg were baptized. This case is not only unprecedented in Russian history, but also unacceptable from the point of view of the canonical rules of the Christian Church. The ban was introduced by rule 18 (26) of the Carthage Local Council in 419. Nevertheless, the remains of the princes were transferred to Kyiv and buried according to Christian rites in the Church of the Holy Mother of God of the Tithes. It is obvious that the ceremony was performed in the absence of the Greek Metropolitan Theopemtus (40s of the 11th century) by one of the bishops with the participation of the Kyiv clergy. According to later sources, this rite is performed by three archimandrites who arrived from Byzantium.

Yaropolk Svyatoslavich was married to a Greek woman, a former nun (according to non-chronicle data, Predslava), whom his father brought from Greece “for the sake of beauty.” her face" (According to some non-chronicle data, she died in 1034). Yaropolk's only son, Svyatopolk, was born after his father's death and was adopted by his father's half-brother, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich.

D.V. Donskoy

“Rurikovich. Historical Dictionary"

Yaropolk Svyatoslavich(d. June 11, 978) - Grand Duke of Kiev (972-978), eldest son of the prince and Predslava. Fell victim to civil strife.
After the death of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav, three sons remained: the eldest Yaropolk, the middle Oleg, and the youngest Vladimir. The first two were of noble origin. Vladimir was the son of Svyatopolk from Olga’s slave, Malusha. Even during Svyatopolk’s life, his children were endowed with power. The Grand Duke divided his lands between his sons, and they ruled the country while Svyatoslav was on campaign. Yaropolk ruled Kyiv. Oleg - the territory of the Drevlyans. The youngest son, Vladimir, ruled Novgorod. The Novgorodians themselves elected Vladimir as their prince.

From “The Tale of Bygone Years”

In year 6481 (973) . Yaropolk began to reign.
In year 6483 (975) . One day Sveneldich, named Lyut, left Kyiv to hunt and chased an animal into the forest. And Oleg saw him and asked his friends: “Who is this?” And they answered him: “Sveneldich.” And, attacking, Oleg killed him, since he himself was hunting there. And because of this, hatred arose between Yaropolk and Oleg, and Sveneld constantly persuaded Yaropolk, trying to avenge his son: “Go against your brother and seize his volost.”
In year 6485 (977) . Yaropolk went against his brother Oleg in Derevskaya land. And Oleg came out against him, and both sides became angry. And in the battle that began, Yaropolk defeated Oleg. Oleg and his soldiers ran to a city called Ovruch, and a bridge was thrown across the ditch to the city gates, and people, crowded on it, pushed each other down. And they pushed Oleg off the bridge into the ditch. Many people fell, and horses crushed people. Yaropolk, entering the city of Oleg, seized power and sent to look for his brother, and they looked for him, but did not find him. And one Drevlyan said: “I saw how they pushed him off the bridge yesterday.” And Yaropolk sent to find his brother, and they pulled the corpses out of the ditch from morning until noon, and found Oleg under the corpses; They took him out and laid him on the carpet. And Yaropolk came, cried over him and said to Sveneld: “Look, this is what you wanted!” And they buried Oleg in a field near the city of Ovruch, and his grave remains near Ovruch to this day. And Yaropolk inherited his power. Yaropolk had a Greek wife, and before that she was a nun; at one time his father Svyatoslav brought her and married her to Yaropolk, for the sake of her beauty. When Vladimir in Novgorod heard that Yaropolk had killed Oleg, he got scared and fled overseas. And Yaropolk planted his mayors in Novgorod and alone owned the Russian land.
In year 6488 (980) . Vladimir returned to Novgorod with the Varangians and told the mayors of Yaropolk: “Go to my brother and tell him: “Vladimir is coming at you, get ready to fight him.” And he sat down in Novgorod.
And he sent to Rogvolod in Polotsk to say: “I want to take your daughter as my wife.” The same one asked his daughter: “Do you want to marry Vladimir?” She replied: “I don’t want to take off the shoes of the slave’s son, but I want it for Yaropolk.” This Rogvolod came from across the sea and held his power in Polotsk, and Tury held power in Turov, and the Turovites were nicknamed after him. And the youths of Vladimir came and told him the whole speech of Rogneda, the daughter of the Polotsk prince Rogvolod. Vladimir gathered many warriors - Varangians, Slovenians, Chuds and Krivichs - and went against Rogvolod. And at this time they were already planning to lead Rogneda after Yaropolk. And Vladimir attacked Polotsk, and killed Rogvolod and his two sons, and took his daughter as his wife. And he went to Yaropolk.
And Vladimir came to Kiev with a large army, but Yaropolk could not come out to meet him and shut himself up in Kiev with his people and Blud, and Vladimir stood, entrenched, on Dorozhych - between Dorozhych and Kapic, and that ditch exists to this day. Vladimir sent to Blud, the governor of Yaropolk, saying cunningly: “Be my friend! If I kill my brother, then I will honor you as a father, and you will receive great honor from me; It wasn’t I who started killing my brothers, but he. I, being afraid of this, opposed him.” And Blud said to the Vladimirov ambassadors: “I will be with you in love and friendship”….
Blud shut himself up (in the city) together with Yaropolk, and he, deceiving him, often sent to Vladimir with calls to attack the city, plotting at that time to kill Yaropolk, but because of the townspeople it was impossible to kill him. Blud could not destroy him in any way and came up with a trick, persuading Yaropolk not to leave the city for battle. Blud said to Yaropolk: “The people of Kiev are sending to Vladimir, telling him: “Approach the city, we will betray Yaropolk to you.” Run away from the city." And Yaropolk listened to him, ran out of Kiev and shut himself up in the city of Rodna at the mouth of the Ros River, and Vladimir entered Kiev and besieged Yaropolk in Rodna. And there was a severe famine there, so the saying has remained to this day: “Trouble is like in Rodna.” . And Blud said to Yaropolk: “Do you see how many warriors your brother has? We can't defeat them. Make peace with your brother,” he said, deceiving him. And Yaropolk said: “So be it!” And he sent Blud to Vladimir with the words: “Your thought has come true, and when I bring Yaropolk to you, be ready to kill him.” Vladimir, having heard this, entered his father’s courtyard, which we have already mentioned, and sat down there with the soldiers and his retinue. And Blud said to Yaropolk: “Go to your brother and tell him: “Whatever you give me, I will accept.” Yaropolk went, and Varyazhko told him: “Don’t go, prince, they will kill you; run to the Pechenegs and bring soldiers,” and Yaropolk did not listen to him. And Yaropolk came to Vladimir; when he entered the door, two Varangians lifted him with their swords under his bosoms. Fornication shut the doors and did not allow his followers to enter after him. And so Yaropolk was killed. Varyazhko, seeing that Yaropolk was killed, fled from the courtyard of that tower to the Pechenegs and fought for a long time with the Pechenegs against Vladimir, with difficulty Vladimir attracted him to his side, giving him an oath promise, Vladimir began to live with his brother’s wife - a Greek, and She was pregnant, and Svyatopolk was born from her. From the sinful root of evil comes fruit: firstly, his mother was a nun, and secondly, Vladimir lived with her not in marriage, but as an adulterer. That is why his father did not like Svyatopolk, because he was from two fathers: from Yaropolk and from Vladimir.

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