An article by: Jordan Maragh
Kiev was the first state developed among eastern Slavs. The story goes, The state became the capital for the Rus after the people of the land invited the Vikings to rule over them. A viking named Rurik became leader and moved the capital to Kiev and began the history of Kiev Rus. People who believed this were called- normanists, while anti-normanists believe that the Vikings had no role in starting up Kievan Rus. In 1242 CE Kiev fell to the Mongols, eventually splitting into the modern states of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The most interesting thing about Kiev, was its rulers. While most were fairly boring, others were very significant, for example Vladimir the Great, Oleg the prophet, and Olga: the wife of Igor of Kiev.
Vladimir the Great
The first ruler is Vladimir the Great, who introduced Christianity to Kiev. Vladimir was the son of the previous ruler Sviatoslav I, who was assassinated in 972 CE. He was one of three sons, the others being Oleg and Yaropolk I. After their father’s death the brothers began fighting for the crown. Oleg was killed and Yaropolk took power, causing Vladimir to flee to Norway. There, he gathered an army, and eventually killed his brother in an ambush. After he took power, he went on various military campaigns. Throughout his campaign he built shrines to various gods. In 978 CE the Byzantine Empire asked Vladimir for military aid. He agreed to send in exchange for the rulers sister’s hand in marriage. The marriage was approved on the account that Vladimir converted to Christianity, which he agreed to. Vladimir quickly took to Christianity, and embraced its best values. He made provisions for the poor, and made himself available to help anyone, despite their social status. He improved the lives of his people, and increased Kiev’s economy. Vladimir also made multiple churches around the kingdom. His crowning achievement was the church of the holy virgin. He later died of natural causes in 1015 CE.
Oleg the Prophet
The second ruler was Oleg the prophet, who died in an unfortunate fashion. Oleg the prophet took power in 879 CE, and began a military campaign which conquered the surrounding lands. He was called the prophet because of a prophecy that said he would be killed by a beautiful horse he owned. After hearing this, he sent the horse away, with orders to keep it well fed. He then proceeded to go and conquer more of the surrounding areas, and made a lot of treaties, mostly with Constantinople. He felt confident in his reign, and no longer believed in the prophecy. He asked about what had happened to the horse, and was told that it had died. He asked to be taken to the horses bones, and once there, he laughed at the prophecy and stomped on the horses skull, which alerted a nearby snake that bit him on the foot, ending his life. While the horse itself technically didn’t kill him, it did end up causing his death.
Olga of Kiev
The third ruler was Olga of Kiev, who was the wife of Igor of Kiev. Igor of Kiev was a greedy ruler, who decided to increase the tribute tribes had to give him. One of the tribes, called the Drevlians, assassinated him for it in 945 CE. His son, Sviatoslav was too young to take the throne, so his wife, Olga, led the kingdom until the boy was old enough. Olga only had one thought on her mind, and that was the slaughter of the Drevlians. The Drevlians asked her to marry their prince, and she seemed to agree, on the condition that they send emissaries. When they emissaries arrived, she put them on a boat, and buried them alive. She then asked for the wise men of the tribe to come visit her, and invited them to bathe. She then burned the bath house down with them inside. Despite this, the tribe wasn’t suspicious yet, so she told them to prepare a feast to get them drunk, she then had her soldiers kill them all. The survivors hid in a city, which she failed to breach, so she promised to spare them if they gave 3 pigeons and 3 sparrows from each home. When they arrived she then attached a piece of hot sulfur to each bird, and then let them return to their nests in the city. The city was consumed with flames, and Olga either killed or enslaved the survivors. In 963 CE she stepped off the throne and let her son take her place as ruler.
Kiev’s monarchy was interesting because most kings seemed to have been assassinated instead of dying to natural causes, and even though one family could rule for a while, multiple sons of the king would frequently fight for the throne. Some kings were seemingly assassinated for no reason, and some died due to angering the tribes they ruled over. While Kiev itself may not be as interesting as other empires of the time it was around, its kings were a very interesting aspect of it.
Sources
Web source 1: Mark, Joshua J. “Kievan Rus.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 22 Oct. 2019, www.ancient.eu/Kievan_Rus/.
Web source 2: Martin, Janet. “Kievan Rus.” .", Encyclopedia.com, 24 Oct. 2019, www.encyclopedia.com/history/modern-europe/russian-soviet-and-cis-history/kievan-rus.
Text source: “Kievan Rus.” Dictionary of the Middle Ages, by Joseph R. Strayer, Scribner, 1982.
Your introduction did not really catch my eye. Overall, your article is good but you could've made it more interesting.
The article should catch the readers eye more, you should have a stronger introduction to get the readers attention, and go more in dept about your information so they know what you are taking about. You also have a few grammar mistakes