9781422285893

were rejected as well. Vladimir’s repre- sentatives were most impressed by the Orthodox Christians of the Byzantine Empire, based in Constantinople. Vladimir led a military campaign into the Byzantine Empire, where he demanded to marry the sister of the Byzantine emperor Basil II. The emperor insisted that he be baptized into Ortho- doxy. Vladimir promptly agreed, and his conversion was complete. He and his new bride returned to Kiev and began to purge the city of all pagan elements. In September 988, he had the population of Kiev baptized in the Dnieper River. Kievan Rus’ was officially Orthodox, a decision that would shape the life of the Russian people for centuries to come.

This 1890 fresco painting by Viktor Vasnetsov depicts Vladimir’s baptism.

VLADIMIR THE SAINT For his contributions to the spread of Christianity, Vladimir I was canonized (made a saint) by the Russian Orthodox Church in the years following his death. He is the patron saint of Russian Catholics, and his feast day is celebrated on July 15. In the eleventh century, Kievan Rus’ reached its apex under the reign of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. This was a period of great achievement in architecture, church and social life, and legal studies. Despite this, the state began to splinter after Yaroslav’s death. Smaller tribal clans began to assert more power. This left Kie- van Rus’ open to invasion by the Mongol Empire by the middle of the thirteenth century. The Mongols (as well as their allies, the Tatars) ruled over Kievan Rus’ until 1480. During this time the city of Moscow surpassed Kiev as the center of political power. Ivan IV, then the grand duke of Moscow, made himself the first tsar in 1547. Known as “Ivan the Terrible,” he consolidated the power of

11

CHAPTER ONE: HISTORY, RELIGION, AND TRADITION