Kyivan Rus at the Peak of Its Might

Kyivan state reached its prominence in the 10^th and 11^th centuries, especially during the reigns of Volodymyr the Great (980-1015) and Iaroslav the Wise[18] (1019-1054). It was the largest state in Europe from the mid-9^th till the mid-13^th centuries, stretching from the Baltic to the Black sea and from the Carpathian mountains to the Volga River. Volodymyr’s greatest achievement was Christianization of his vast empire (in AD 988). Christianity existed in Kyivan Rus before the reign of Volodymyr. His famous grandmother princess Olha was a Christian and she established the Church of St. Irene in Kyiv. Princes Askold and Dir were also Christians. Volodymyr’s “merit” was that he compulsory imposed Christianity on all his subjects. According to the Chronicle of Bygone Years he baptized his people “with fire and a sword”. The introduction of Christianity was motivated first of all by considerations of prestige. All major countries had stopped to be pagan by this time. It was shameful for Volodymyr to remain a backward pagan among civilized Christian rulers. Besides, a single religion could also stimulate the unification of various tribes, that worshiped different gods before.

Of the two types of Christianity (Byzantine Orthodox and Roman Catholic) Volodymyr chose the Byzantine one. The decision is partly explained by the fact that the Byzantine model gave priority to civil power (the power of prince) over spiritual power (the power of the church).[19] Another important reason was the close economic ties between the two countries. And the last but not least, the Byzantine Empire at the time was the most powerful of all the states known to Volodymyr. Thus, it looks quite natural that Volodymyr chose Orthodox faith.[20]

The adoption of Christianity opened the way for Byzantine cultural influences in all fields of life. One of the major results was the spreading of literacy since it was necessary for conducting church services and reading religious books. Two Byzantine monks Cyril and Methodius worked out a special alphabet Kirillitsa (Cyrillic) for the Slavic peoples.[21] Ukrainian is still written in the Cyrillic alphabet, named in honor of one of those monks. Many Byzantine architects and craftsmen arrived to create and decorate churches and other major buildings. Byzantine artists taught the East Slavs the arts of painting icons[22], frescos[23], and making mosaics[24]. The church music of Kyivan Rus was also based on Byzantine samples. The Kyivan Rus clergy was divided into two categories according to the Byzantine model: the “white” clergy or batiushkas,who were allowed to have families, and the “black” clergy, who were monks and from whom high church officials were chosen. (In contrast, all Roman Catholic priests are celibate).

Christianity improved the attitude to the poor, especially slaves. It also led to the disappearance of polygamy and blood revenge. Polygamy was widespread before Christianity; for example Volodymyr the Great had five official wives and 300 concubines. The church set limits for the marriage age: 15 years for men and 13 years for women.[25]

The major enemy of the church was the pagan beliefs of the people. The clergy fought against them for a long time but failed to eradicate them completely. As a result many pagan practices were adopted by the church and the religion became half-pagan and half-Christian at the same time. This phenomenon came to be known as dvoviria (religious dualism) and still exists. For example the Ivan Kupala festival means a combination of a Christian (St. Ivan) and a pagan (god Kupala) beliefs. Christian saints took over the functions of former pagan gods. St. Vlasii, for instance, became responsible for cattle’s health. People started praying to him (instead of pagan god Veles) when their cattle was sick. Illia the Prophet replaced the ancient god Perun, St. Paraskeva replaced goddess Moksha, etc.

After the adoption of Christianity Kyivan Rus was not considered a barbaric country anymore and was accepted into the civilized world as equal partner. Numerous intermarriages between Kyivan Rus princes and the royalty of Western Europe and Byzantine Empire testify to that. For example, Iaroslav the Wise was married to a Swedish princess; one of his sisters married a Polish king and another – a Byzantine prince; three of his sons acquired European princesses as wives (from Byzantine, Poland, and Germany), while three of his daughters were married to the kings of France, Norway, and Hungary respectively. No wonder the nickname of Prince Iaroslav the Wise was the father-in-law of Europe.

Education, art, architecture, and music were predominantly religious. Naturally all these aspects of cultural life followed Byzantine models. The church was the center of culture. It opened schools and created libraries, many chronicles were written by monks. A major center of cultural life was the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, built in Byzantine style and named after the main church in Constantinople. (“Sofia” means “wisdom” in Greek). It served as metropolitan residence and possessed the largest library in the country. The Cathedral was started by Volodymyr the Great in 1011 and finished by Iaroslav the Wise in 1018. Kyiv could also boast of the largest monastery in the country - Kyivo-Pecherska Lavra (“lavra” means “large monastery” in Greek), founded by monk Antonii in 1051, during the reign of Iaroslav the Wise. Another impressive Kyivan architectural structure of the Iaroslav times is the Golden Gate, named after the major gate in Constantinople.

Kyivan Rus was notable for a large number of educated people. Archeologists found many artifacts which bear names of common people (for example various inscriptions on pottery). In comparison, the level of literacy in Western Europe in X-XI centuries was lower than in Kyivan Rus. For example, King of France Henri I put a cross while signing official documents; his wife Queen Anna, who came to France from Kyivan Rus, put her signature. She could read and write since literacy was widespread among Kyivan Rus noble girls.[26] There was even a special school for noble girls in Kyiv. Bishop Gautier Saveraux, Henri I’s envoy to Kyiv, reported home about Kyivan Rus: “This land is more unified, happier, stronger and more civilized than France herself.” Similar views were expressed by a Scandinavian monk Theophil in his book On various crafts (11-12 centuries), where he, analyzing the development of European crafts, placed our country only behind the Byzantine Empire.

The Rus also had a common system of customary law, codified in the eleventh-century by Iaroslav the Wise and his sons. It was called Rus’ka Pravda (Rus Justice). The large number of surviving copies suggests that it was in wide use. The code was notable for its relative humanity, with fines more common than capital or corporal punishment. This code also replaced wide-spread blood revenge with monetary payments. The code indicates to social and gender inequality in Kyivan Rus society. For example, the fine for raping an ordinary girl was 5 silver hrivnas while for raping a noble girl – 5 golden hrivnas. The fine was paid to a male relative (father, husband, uncle, or brother) as a compensation for the damage to his ‘property.’ The law code stimulated the growth of law culture among the Rus people and contributed to the development of civilized thinking.

Many historians (Ukrainian and foreign) suppose that Kyivan Rus’ culture and civilization in the 1000s was at the same or even higher level than Western European civilization at the same time.

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