Message about the saint. Svyatoslav the Brave

Svyatoslav Igorevich (dr. Russian Svѧtoslav Igorevich). Born in 942 - died in March 972. Prince of Novgorod in 945-969, prince of Kyiv from 945 to 972, commander.

According to the ancient Russian chronicles, Svyatoslav was the only son of the Kyiv prince Igor and.

The exact year of his birth is not known. According to the Ipatiev list, Svyatoslav was born in 942, but there is no such entry in other lists of the Tale of Bygone Years, for example, Lavrentiev. Researchers are alarmed by the omission of such important information scribes, although it does not contradict other reports.

In the literature, 920 is also mentioned as the year of birth of Svyatoslav, but this contradicts the known information about the reign of Svyatoslav.

Svyatoslav - the first reliably known Kyiv prince with a Slavic name, while his parents had names with presumably Scandinavian etymologies.

In the Byzantine sources of the 10th century, his name is recorded as Sfendoslavos (ancient Greek Σφενδοσθλάβος), from where historians, starting with Tatishchev, make an assumption about the combination of the Scandinavian name Sven (Dan. Svend, other Scandinavian Sveinn, modern Swedish Sven ) with a Slavic princely ending -slav.

However, other Slavic names in Svyat- begin with Svent- in a foreign language transmission, for example, the name of Svyatopolk (in the sources of the ancient German Zwentibald - Zventibald, or lat. Suentepulcus - Sventipulk), the prince of Great Moravia in 870-894 years, or the Kyiv prince of 1015-1019 Svyatopolk Vladimirovich (lat. Suentepulcus by Titmar of Merseburg).

According to Fasmer's etymological dictionary, the initial part of these names goes back to Praslav. *svent-, which, after the loss of nasal vowels, gives the modern East Slavic holy - holy. Nasal vowels have survived to the present in Polish(Polish święty - saint).

In the past, it was noted that the first part of the name Svyatoslav in meaning correlates with the Scandinavian names of his mother Olga and the prince (Old Scandinavian Helgi - saint, other Scandinavian Helga - holy), and the second - the name of Rurik (Old Scandinavian . Hrorekr - mighty glory), which corresponds to the early medieval tradition to take into account the names of other members of the princely family when naming. However, more modern researchers question the possibility of such a translation of names from one language to another. Women's version named after Svyatoslav - Svyatoslav - was worn by the sister of the Danish and English king Knud I the Great, whose mother was from the Polish Piast dynasty.

In 1912 on the territory tithe church in Kyiv, D. V. Mileev conducted excavations. At the same time, a lead hanging seal was found, on which, in addition to the image of the prince's bident, the Greek spelling of the name Svyatoslav was preserved.

The first mention of Svyatoslav in a synchronous historical document is contained in the Russian-Byzantine treaty of Prince Igor of 944.

Prince Igor Rurikovich, according to the chronicle version, was killed in 945 by the Drevlyans for exacting exorbitant tribute from them. His widow Olga, who became regent under three year old son, went the next year with an army to the land of the Drevlyans. The battle was opened by the four-year-old Svyatoslav: “... [threw] a spear at the Drevlyans, and the spear flew between the ears of the horse and hit the horse on the legs, for Svyatoslav was still a child. And Sveneld [voivode] and Asmud [breadwinner] said: “The prince has already begun; follow, squad, for the prince "(The Tale of Bygone Years).

Igor's squad defeated the Drevlyans, Olga forced them into submission, and then traveled around Russia, building a system of government.

According to the chronicle, Svyatoslav spent all his childhood with his mother in Kyiv, which contradicts the remark of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (circa 949): “The monoxyls coming from outer Russia to Constantinople are one of Nemogard, in which Sfendoslav, the son of Ingor, the archon of Russia, sat.”

In Nemogard, Constantine is usually seen as Novgorod, which the sons of the Kyiv princes traditionally owned later. Constantine mentions the name of Svyatoslav without a title also when describing Olga's visit to Constantinople (957).

Princess Olga was baptized in 955-957 and tried to convert her son to Christianity. But Svyatoslav remained a pagan to the end, explaining that a Christian would not enjoy the authority of the squad. The chronicler quotes the Apostle Paul: "Christian faith is foolishness for unbelievers."

During Olga’s embassy to Constantinople, her delegation also included “Svyatoslav’s people”, who received even less gifts at the first reception than Olga’s slaves, and were not mentioned at all in the protocol of the second reception. A.V. Nazarenko suggests that one of the goals of Olga’s negotiations was the marriage of Svyatoslav with the Greek princess, and that after the refusal of such a marriage, “Svyatoslav’s people” were offended and left Constantinople after the first reception, and Svyatoslav decided to remain in paganism.

The Western European chronicle of the Continuer of Reginon reports under the year 959 about the ambassadors of Olga, the “Queen of the Rug”, to the King of Germany, Otto I the Great, on the issue of the baptism of Russia. However, in 962 the mission sent by Otto I to Kyiv failed due to the resistance of Svyatoslav.

The Tale of Bygone Years tells about the first independent steps of Svyatoslav from 964: When Svyatoslav grew up and matured, he began to gather many brave warriors, and he was fast, like a pardus, and fought a lot. On campaigns, he did not carry carts or cauldrons with him, he did not cook meat, but, thinly slicing horse meat, or animal meat, or beef and roasting it on coals, he ate it like that; he did not have a tent, but slept, spreading a sweatshirt with a saddle in his head - the same were all his other soldiers. And he sent [messengers, as a rule, before declaring war] to other lands with the words: “I’m coming to you!”.

Appearance of Prince Svyatoslav

Leo the Deacon left a colorful description of Svyatoslav's appearance at his meeting with Emperor Tzimiskes after the conclusion of peace: “Sfendoslav also appeared, sailing along the river on a Scythian boat; he sat on the oars and rowed along with his entourage, no different from them. This was his appearance: of moderate height, neither too tall nor too short, with thick eyebrows and light blue eyes, snub-nosed, beardless, with thick, excessive long hair above the upper lip. His head was completely naked, but on one side a tuft of hair hung down - a sign of the nobility of the family; a strong nape, a broad chest and all other parts of the body are quite proportionate, but he looked gloomy and stern. He had a gold earring in one ear; it was adorned with a carbuncle framed by two pearls. His attire was white and differed from the clothes of his associates only by noticeable cleanliness.

Some details of the description of the appearance of Svyatoslav by Leo Deacon allow for ambiguous interpretation. So, instead of lat. barba rasa - beardless, let's say a translation with a sparse beard, and a tuft of hair can hang not from one, but from two sides of the head. This is exactly how Svyatoslav appears on the pages of S. M. Solovyov’s “History” with a rare beard and two braids.

A flat nose, not a snub nose, is indicated in the first translation into Russian by Popov D.

Noteworthy is the comment of M. Ya. Syuzyumov and S. A. Ivanov regarding the description of the appearance given by the Deacon: “Leo Deacon describes the peace negotiations as if he himself was their eyewitness. But this is hardly the case. He, perhaps, correctly - according to eyewitnesses - draws the appearance of Svyatoslav, but his narrative does not inspire confidence because of his particular predilection to imitate ancient authors. In this case, as shown by Gaze (489), the description of Svyatoslav's appearance resembles the description of Attila by Priscom.

Khazar campaign of Prince Svyatoslav

The Tale of Bygone Years notes that in 964 Svyatoslav "went to the Oka River and the Volga, and met the Vyatichi." It is possible that at this time, when the main goal of Svyatoslav was to strike at the Khazars, he did not subdue the Vyatichi, that is, he had not yet imposed tribute on them.

In 965 Svyatoslav attacked Khazaria: “In the summer of 6473 (965) Svyatoslav went to the Khazars. Having heard, the Khazars went out to meet him with their prince kagan and agreed to fight, and Svyatoslav the Khazars defeated them in the battle, and took their city and the White Tower. And defeated the yas and the kasogs"(The Tale of Bygone Years).

A contemporary of the events, Ibn-Khaukal, refers the campaign to a slightly later time and also reports on the war with the Volga Bulgaria, the news of which is not confirmed by other sources: “Bulgar is a small city, there are no numerous districts in it, and it was known for being a port for the states mentioned above, and the Rus devastated it and came to Khazaran, Samandar and Itil in the year 358 (968/969) and set off immediately after to the country of Rum and Andalus ... And al-Khazar is a side, and there is a city in it, called Samandar, and it is in the space between it and Bab al-Abwab, and there were numerous gardens in it ... but then the Russians came there, and there were no grapes or raisins left in that city.”(Novoseltsev A.P.).

According to one version, Svyatoslav first took Sarkel on the Don (in 965), then conquered Itil and Semender with the second campaign in 968/969. According to another version, there was one big campaign in 965, the Russian army was moving down the Volga and the capture of Itil preceded the capture of Sarkel. Svyatoslav not only crushed the Khazar Khaganate, but also tried to secure the conquered territories for himself. On the site of Sarkel, a Slavic settlement Belaya Vezha appeared. Perhaps, at the same time, Northern Crimea and Tmutarakan passed under the authority of Kyiv. There is information that Russian detachments were in Itil until the early 980s.

Under the year 966, after the defeat of the Khazars, the Tale of Bygone Years reports a second victory over the Vyatichi and the imposition of tribute on them.

Bulgarian campaigns of Prince Svyatoslav

In 967, a conflict broke out between Byzantium and the Bulgarian kingdom, the cause of which the sources state in different ways.

In 967/968, the Byzantine emperor Nicephorus Foka sent an embassy to Svyatoslav. The head of the embassy, ​​Kalokir, was given 15 centinaries of gold (approximately 455 kg) to send the Rus to raid Bulgaria. According to the most common version, Byzantium wanted to crush the Bulgarian kingdom by proxy, and at the same time weaken Kievan Rus, which, after the annexation of Khazaria, could turn its gaze to the Crimean possessions of the empire.

Kalokir agreed with Svyatoslav on an anti-Bulgarian alliance, but at the same time asked for help to take the Byzantine throne from Nicephorus Foka. For this, according to the Byzantine chroniclers John Skylitsa and Leo the Deacon, Kalokir promised "great, countless treasures from the state treasury", and the right to all the conquered Bulgarian lands.

In 968, Svyatoslav invaded Bulgaria and, after the war with the Bulgarians, settled at the mouth of the Danube, in Pereyaslavets, where "tribute from the Greeks" was sent to him. During this period, relations between Russia and Byzantium were most likely tense, but the Italian ambassador Liutprand in July 968 saw Russian ships in the Byzantine fleet, which looks somewhat strange.

By 968-969, the Pechenegs attacked Kyiv. Svyatoslav returned with his cavalry to defend the capital and drove the Pechenegs into the steppe. Historians A.P. Novoseltsev and T.M. Kalinina suggest that the Khazars contributed to the attack of the nomads (although there are reasons to believe that Byzantium was no less beneficial), and Svyatoslav in response organized a second campaign against them, during which Itil was captured , and the opponents of Svyatoslav in Khazaria were finally defeated.

During the stay of the prince in Kyiv, his mother, Princess Olga, who actually ruled Russia in the absence of her son, died. Svyatoslav arranged the administration of the state in a new way: he put his son Yaropolk on the reign of Kiev, Oleg - on the Drevlyansk, Vladimir - on the Novgorod. After that, in the fall of 969, the Kyiv prince again went to Bulgaria with an army. The Tale of Bygone Years conveys his words: “I don’t like to sit in Kyiv, I want to live in Pereyaslavets on the Danube - for there is the middle of my land, all the good things flow there: from the Greek land, gold, curtains, wines, various fruits; from the Czech Republic and from Hungary silver and horses; from Russia, furs and wax, honey and slaves ".

The chronicle Pereyaslavets has not been accurately identified. Sometimes it is identified with Preslav or referred to the Danube port of Preslav Maly. According to unknown sources (according to Tatishchev), in the absence of Svyatoslav, his governor in Pereyaslavets, voivode Volk, was forced to endure a siege by the Bulgarians.

Byzantine sources sparingly describe Svyatoslav's war with the Bulgarians. His army on boats approached the Bulgarian Dorostol on the Danube and after the battle captured him. Later, the capital of the Bulgarian kingdom, Preslav the Great, was also captured, after which the Bulgarian king entered into a forced alliance with Svyatoslav.

War of Prince Svyatoslav with Byzantium

Faced with an attack by Svyatoslav, the Bulgarians asked for help from Byzantium. Emperor Nikifor Foka, greatly worried about the invasion of the Rus, decided to secure the alliance with the Bulgarian kingdom by a dynastic marriage. Brides from the royal Bulgarian family had already arrived in Constantinople, when, as a result of a coup on December 11, 969, Nicephorus Foka was killed, and John Tzimisces was on the Byzantine throne (the marriage plans never materialized).

In the same year 969, the Bulgarian Tsar Peter I abdicated the throne in favor of his son Boris, and the western committees came out of the power of Preslav. While Byzantium hesitated to provide direct armed assistance to the Bulgarians, their old enemies, they entered into an alliance with Svyatoslav and subsequently fought against Byzantium on the side of the Rus.

John tried to convince Svyatoslav to leave Bulgaria, promising tribute, but to no avail. Svyatoslav decided to firmly establish himself on the Danube, thus expanding the possessions of Russia. Byzantium hastily transferred troops from Asia Minor to the borders of Bulgaria, placing them in fortresses.

In the spring of 970, Svyatoslav, in alliance with the Bulgarians, Pechenegs and Hungarians, attacked the possessions of Byzantium in Thrace. The Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon estimated the number of allies at more than 30,000 soldiers, while the Byzantine commander Varda Sklir had at hand from 10 to 12 thousand soldiers. Varda Sklir avoided fighting in the open field, conserving strength in fortresses.

The army of Svyatoslav reached Arcadiopol (120 km from Constantinople), where the general battle took place. According to Byzantine sources, all the Pechenegs were surrounded and killed, and then the main forces of Svyatoslav were defeated. The Old Russian chronicle tells the events differently: according to the chronicler, Svyatoslav won a victory, came close to Constantinople, but retreated, only taking a large tribute, including on the dead soldiers. According to Syuzyumov M. Ya. and Sakharov A. N., the battle, which the Russian chronicle tells about and in which the Russians won, was separate from the battle of Arcadiopol. It also happened in 970, the Byzantine army was commanded by the Patrician Peter, who was not mentioned at Arkadiopolis, but that part of the Russian army that did not fight along with the allies near Arkadiopolis opposed him.

One way or another, in the summer of 970, large fighting on the territory of Byzantium ceased, Varda Sklir with an army was urgently recalled to Asia Minor to suppress the uprising of Varda Foki. The raids of the Rus on Byzantium continued, so after the successful suppression of the uprising in November 970, Varda Sklir was again transferred to the borders of Bulgaria.

In April 971, Emperor John I Tzimisces personally opposed Svyatoslav at the head of a land army, sending a fleet of 300 ships to the Danube to cut off the retreat of the Rus. On April 13, 971, the Bulgarian capital Preslav was captured, where the Bulgarian Tsar Boris II was captured. Part of the Russian soldiers, led by the governor Sfenkel, managed to break through to the north to Dorostol, where Svyatoslav was with the main forces.

On April 23, 971, Tzimisces approached Dorostol. In the battle, the Rus were thrown back into the fortress, a three-month siege began. The parties suffered losses in continuous skirmishes, the leaders of Ikmor and Sfenkel died among the Rus, the commander John Kurkuas fell among the Byzantines. On July 21, another general battle took place, in which Svyatoslav, according to the Byzantines, was wounded. The battle ended inconclusively for both sides, but after it Svyatoslav entered into peace negotiations.

John Tzimiskes unconditionally accepted the conditions of the Rus. Svyatoslav with an army had to leave Bulgaria, the Byzantines provided his soldiers (22 thousand people) with a supply of bread for two months. Svyatoslav also entered into a military alliance with Byzantium, trade relations were restored. Under these conditions, Svyatoslav left Bulgaria, greatly weakened by the wars on its territory.

The Bulgarian Tsar Boris II laid down the signs of royal power and was elevated to the rank of master by John Tzimisces. All eastern Bulgaria was annexed to Byzantium, only the western regions retained their independence.

Prince Svyatoslav ( documentary)

Death of Prince Svyatoslav

Upon the conclusion of peace, Svyatoslav safely reached the mouth of the Dnieper and set off on boats to the rapids. Voivode Sveneld told him: “Go around, prince, the thresholds on horseback, for the Pechenegs are standing at the thresholds.”

Svyatoslav's attempt to climb the Dnieper in 971 failed, he had to spend the winter at the mouth of the Dnieper, and in the spring of 972 he decided to try again. However, the Pechenegs still guarded the Rus. In the battle, Svyatoslav died: “When spring came, Svyatoslav went to the rapids. And Kurya, the prince of the Pechenegs, attacked him, and they killed Svyatoslav, and took his head, and made a cup from the skull, bound him, and drank from him. Sveneld came to Kyiv to Yaropolk ”(The Tale of Bygone Years).

The death of Svyatoslav in battle with the Pechenegs is also confirmed by Leo the Deacon: “Sfendoslav left Doristol, returned the prisoners according to the agreement and sailed with the remaining associates, directing his way to his homeland. On the way, they were ambushed by the Patsinaks, a numerous nomadic tribe that devours lice, carries dwellings with them and spends most of its life in wagons. They killed almost all [the Ross], killed Sfendoslav along with others, so that only a few of the huge army of the Ross returned unharmed to their native places.

Some historians suggest that it was Byzantine diplomacy that convinced the Pechenegs to attack Svyatoslav. The book of Constantine Porphyrogenitus “On the Governance of the Empire” speaks of the need for an alliance [Byzantium] with the Pechenegs to protect against the Rus and the Hungarians (“Strive for peace with the Pechenegs”), and also that the Pechenegs pose a serious danger to the Rus, overcoming the rapids. Based on this, it is emphasized that the use of the Pechenegs to eliminate the hostile prince occurred in accordance with the Byzantine foreign policy guidelines of that time.

Although the Tale of Bygone Years names Pereyaslavtsy (Bulgarians) as the organizers of the ambush, and John Skilitsa reports that the Byzantine embassy, ​​on the contrary, asked the Pechenegs to let the Rus through.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" explains the death of Svyatoslav by his mother's refusal, who wanted to baptize him (i.e., a violation of the traditional legal principle submission to parental authority): “He did not obey his mother, continuing to live according to pagan customs. If someone does not listen to his mother, he will fall into trouble, as it is said: "If someone does not listen to his father or mother, then he will accept death."

Sons of Prince Svyatoslav

Known sons of Svyatoslav Igorevich:

Yaropolk Svyatoslavich, Prince of Kyiv;
Oleg Svyatoslavich, prince of the Drevlyansk;
, prince of Novgorod, prince of Kyiv, baptizer of Russia.

History did not preserve the name of the mother of Yaropolk and Oleg, unlike the mother of Vladimir Malusha (Svyatoslav was not officially married to her, she was only a concubine).

John Skylitsa also mentions "the brother of Vladimir, the son-in-law of Basileus" Spheng, who in 1016 helped the Byzantines suppress the uprising of George Tsul in Chersonese. In ancient Russian chronicles and other sources, the name of Sfeng is not found. According to the hypothesis of A.V. Solovyov, this refers not to the brother, but to the son of Vladimir and the grandson of Svyatoslav Mstislav.

The image of Prince Svyatoslav in art

For the first time, the personality of Svyatoslav attracted the attention of Russian artists and poets during the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, the actions of which, like the events of Svyatoslav's campaigns, unfolded on the Danube. Among the works created at that time, it should be noted the tragedy "Olga" by Ya. B. Knyazhnin (1772), the plot of which is based on Olga's revenge for the murder of her husband Igor by the Drevlyans. Svyatoslav appears in it as the main character. Knyaznin's rival N.P. Nikolaev also created a play dedicated to the life of Svyatoslav.

In the painting by I. A. Akimov “ Grand Duke Svyatoslav, kissing his mother and his children upon his return from the Danube to Kyiv, "the conflict between military prowess and loyalty to the family, reflected in Russian chronicles, is shown:" You, prince, are looking for someone else's land and take care of it, but you left yours, and we almost they took the Pechenegs, and your mother, and your children.

In the 19th century, interest in Svyatoslav somewhat decreased. A.F. Veltman’s story “Rayna, the Bulgarian Princess” (1843), dedicated to the Bulgarian campaigns, was published by Ioakim Gruev in Bulgarian in 1866 in Vienna, Dobri Voinikov staged the drama “Raina the Princess” in Bulgaria on its basis, and performed illustrations for "Raina ..." (1860-1880) by the artist Nikolai Pavlovich entered the classics of Bulgarian fine art.

A little earlier, the episode with Svyatoslav was included by Veltman in the novel “Svetoslavich, an enemy pet. Wonder of the times of the Red Sun of Vladimir" (1837).

Around 1880, K. V. Lebedev painted a picture illustrating Leo Deacon's description of the meeting between Svyatoslav and Tzimiskes.

At the beginning of the 20th century, E. E. Lansere created the sculpture “Svyatoslav on the way to Tsar-grad”.

In 1910, in memory of the death of Svyatoslav Igorevich, a memorial sign was erected at the Dnieper threshold of Nenasytetsky. It is a cast-iron memorial slab (about 2 m² in area) mounted on a massive granite boulder. The boulder is crowned with a vase mounted on a stylized antique column. This is one of the rarest surviving pre-revolutionary monuments dedicated to Ancient Russia.

The poems of Velimir Khlebnikov and Valery Bryusov, the historical novel "Svyatoslav" (1958) by the Ukrainian writer Semyon Sklyarenko and the story "The Black Arrows of Vyatich" by V.V. Kargalov are dedicated to Svyatoslav. The image of Svyatoslav was created by Mikhail Kazovsky in his historical novel The Empress's Daughter (1999).

In Alexander Mazin's novels A Place for a Battle (2001) (the end of the novel), Prince (2005) and Hero (2006), Svyatoslav's life path is described in detail, starting from the battle with the Drevlyans in 946, and ending with death in battle with the Pechenegs.

In the novel by Sergei Alekseev “I know God!” Svyatoslav's life path, his struggle with the Khazar Khaganate and his death on the Dnieper rapids are described in detail.

The image of Svyatoslav is popular in neo-pagan literature and art. In 2003, the publishing house "White Alvy" published a book by Lev Prozorov "Svyatoslav Khorobre. I'm coming for you!" In subsequent years, the book was reprinted several times.

Svyatoslav Igorevich is dedicated to the musical album “Following the Sun” (2006) by the pagan metal band Butterfly Temple. The Ivan Tsarevich bands and the Ukrainian pagan metal band Dub Buk released albums with the same name - "I'm coming at you!". The album is dedicated to the victory of Svyatoslav over the Khazar Khaganate. The image of Svyatoslav is used in the song “In the Early Morning” by the Kalinov Most group. The group "Reanimation" dedicated a song to the death of the prince called "The Death of Svyatoslav". Also, the pagan metal band Pagan Reign dedicated the song "Epic about Svyatoslav" to the image of Svyatoslav.

The portrait of Svyatoslav is used in the emblem of the ultras of the Kyiv football club "Dynamo", the name "Svyatoslav" is also used by the printed edition of the fans of Kyiv "Dynamo".

Director Yuri Ilyenko in 1983 made a feature film "The Legend of Princess Olga", in the role of Svyatoslav - Les Serdyuk.

Prince Svyatoslav - the great Kyiv prince from 945 to 972, was born in 942, the son of the Kyiv prince Igor and the famous princess Olga.
Prince Svyatoslav became famous as great commander, to a lesser extent political figure. After the death of his father, he became a prince, but his mother, Princess Olga, ruled. When Svyatoslav was able to rule the country himself, he was engaged in military campaigns, and in his absence, his mother ruled.

early years
The young prince was the only son of Prince Igor and his wife Princess Olga and became the legal heir of his father, having no other competitors for the throne. There is an opinion that Svyatoslav was born in 942, but there is no exact confirmation of the birth of the prince in this year.
Svyatoslav is a Slavic name, and Prince Svyatoslav became the first prince with a Slavic name, before that his ancestors had Scandinavian names. The first mention of the future prince dates back to the Russian-Byzantine treaties of 944.
The following year, his father, Prince Igor, was killed by the Drevlyans. And already in 966, Princess Olga, together with her four-year-old son, went to war against them. As the chronicles say, before the battle with the Drevlyans, little Svyatoslav threw a spear at the enemy, but it did not reach the goal. Seeing this, the squad began to attack, saying "The prince has already begun, it would be time for the squad to join."
Having defeated the Drevlyans, the princess returned to the capital with her son. Russian chronicles say that Svyatoslav spent all his childhood next to his mother, but there are also refuting records from Byzantium.

Svyatoslav's reign
Having ascended the throne, Svyatoslav refused to accept paganism, as his mother did, believing that such a gesture would deprive him of the loyalty of his squad. The Tale of Bygone Years says that the prince himself began to rule only in 964. Prince Svyatoslav began his reign from a military campaign. The Vyatichi and the Khazar Khaganate became his target.
In 965, his army attacked the Khazar Khaganate, and before that they imposed a large tribute to the Vyatichi. Svyatoslav wanted to annex the territories of the kaganate to the territory of his state. On the site of the former capital of the kaganate, the Russian village of Belaya Vezha appeared. Returning to the capital, the prince once again defeated the Vyatichi and again imposed tribute on them.
In 967, Russia declares war on the Bulgarian kingdom, as an ally of the Byzantine Empire. The very next year, Svyatoslav and his army attacked the territory of the Bulgarian kingdom. In 966, the Pechenegs attacked Kyiv, to which Svyatoslav reacted. Together with his retinue, he returned to defend the capital and successfully drove the Pechenegs back to the steppe. To prevent this from happening again, Svyatoslav immediately opposed the Pechenegs on a campaign, after which he completely defeated them and captured their capital, Itil.
During these years, Princess Olga dies, and now there is no one to rule the country in the absence of Prince Svyatoslav, he himself was not much involved in public affairs, but preferred to fight. His sons began to rule the country: Yaropolk, Oleg and Vladimir. And the prince himself went on a new campaign against the Bulgarians.
There is practically no information about this war, but it is known that Svyatoslav won a number of very important victories over the Bulgarians and even captured their capital. Due to catastrophic defeats, the Bulgarians were forced to conclude a peace that was humiliating for them, but beneficial for Svyatoslav.
At this moment, the allies of the Bulgarians, the Byzantines, intervened, they offered tribute to Prince Svyatoslav in exchange for the fact that he would leave the Bulgarian kingdom with an army. But Svyatoslav refused to comply with these demands. Svyatoslav wanted not only to plunder the Bulgarian kingdom, but also to make these lands his own.
In response to this, the Byzantines begin to accumulate their troops on the border with the Bulgarian kingdom. Not expecting an attack by the Byzantines, Svyatoslav himself went to war against them, attacking Thrace. In 970 there was a battle at Arcadiopolis. Sources differ on the outcome of the battle. The Byzantines say that they won the battle, and Svyatoslav was defeated. Russian chronicles say that he won and almost approached Constantinople, but then returned and imposed tribute on Byzantium.
Then Svyatoslav continued to attack the Bulgarian kingdom and won several big victories. The Byzantine king led a campaign against Svyatoslav personally. After several battles with the Russians, the Byzantines began to talk about peace. The battles were of mixed success and both sides lost many soldiers - peace here was the best option for both sides.
The peace was signed successfully and Svyatoslav left Bulgaria, trade was resumed with Byzantium, and she was obliged to provide for the Russian army during this retreat.

Death of Svyatoslav
Returning home, at the mouth of the Dnieper, Prince Svyatoslav was ambushed by the Pechenegs, as a result of which he died. Having only his squad at his disposal, he did not expect a siege, and was defeated by more numerous Pechenegs.
There are opinions that Byzantium had a hand in the murder of Svyatoslav, because they wanted to get rid of this threat once and for all, and took advantage of the Pechenegs for their own purposes.
After his death, he left three sons, which were mentioned above. The name of his wife is unknown to historians, as there are no documents left of her existence.
I remember Prince Svyatoslav as a great Russian commander and a brave warrior. He earned the greatest respect in the ranks of his squad and warriors. As a politician, he was not marked by special talent, he was little interested in state affairs. But as a result successful trips he managed to significantly expand the territory of Kievan Rus.

Svyatoslav the Brave is known from chronicles as the ruler of Russia in 945-972. He distinguished himself as a brave commander. The biography of Svyatoslav is full of interesting facts that we will consider.

Origin

Old Russian chronicles tell that Svyatoslav the Brave is the son of Princess Olga and Prince Igor. There is no exact information about the date of his birth. Some sources indicate the year 942, others - 920.

In the history of Ancient Russia, Svyatoslav the Brave is considered the first leader to have a Slavic name. His ancestors are of Scandinavian origin.

In some sources, the name of the prince is mentioned as Sfendoslavos. Experts suggest that the Scandinavian name Sven merged with the Slavic ending -slav. But not all scientists agree with this interpretation, because many Slavic names have the prefix Svent-, which, after the loss of sounds, gives the Slavic syllable “svyat”, which means “holy”.

Childhood

In the historical chronicles, the first mention of Svyatoslav is in 944. This is an agreement between Prince Igor and Byzantium. According to chronicle documents, Prince Igor was killed in 945 for collecting huge tribute. Olga, who had a young child, spoke out against the Drevlyans.

The campaign was successful, and Olga, having won, conquered the Drevlyans and began to rule them.

Chronicles inform that Svyatoslav spent all his childhood with his mother in Kyiv. Olga in 955-957 became a Christian and tried to baptize her son. His mother told him about the happiness of being a Christian. Svyatoslav did not prevent others from converting, but he himself treated Christianity with disrespect and believed that the squad would not understand him.

Having matured, the prince was inflamed with a desire to distinguish himself as a commander. He was truly noble and always declared war on the nations first, then attacked.

Some experts believe that Olga's delegation to Constantinople was undertaken in order to negotiate the marriage of Svyatoslav and the princess from Greece. Having been refused, the man was offended and firmly decided to remain a pagan.

Adulthood

O adulthood Svyatoslav chronicle speaks from 964. At this time, the young man matured. The reign of Svyatoslav Igorevich began with the fact that he drove out all the Christian priests who had come at the insistence of Olga's mother. For Svyatoslav, who did not want to accept Christianity, this was a fundamental step.

Kyiv prince gathered a squad of warriors and actively participated in campaigns. The Tale of Bygone Years says that he did not take boilers and carts with him, but cut pieces of meat and cooked on coals, and slept under the open sky, putting a saddle under his head.

Svyatoslav the Brave began campaigns in 964, first he went to the Vyatichi living on the Oka and Volga, then to Khazaria. He managed to defeat the Khazars.

Historical sources report various information about the capture of Khazaria. Some say that at first Svyatoslav managed to take the city of Sarkel, then Itil. Others believe that during a large military campaign, Svyatoslav managed to conquer Itil, and then Sarkel.

Prince Svyatoslav was able to destroy the Khazar Khaganate, later he secured the conquered lands for himself. Instead of Sarkel, Belaya Vezha was formed.

After the capture of Khazaria in 966, Svyatoslav took over the Vyatichi for the second time and imposed tribute on them.

Anti-Bulgarian Union

In 967, Byzantium and Bulgaria came into conflict. The Byzantine ruler sent delegates to Svyatoslav with a request to go to Bulgaria. That is how Byzantium wanted to take Bulgaria and weaken Russia. Kalokir, the head of the delegation, signed an anti-Bulgarian alliance with Svyatoslav and expressed his desire to take the throne in Byzantium. In return, he promised the Russian prince untold wealth.

In 968, Svyatoslav went to Bulgaria, and after the hostilities he remained at the mouth of the Danube, where Greek tribute was sent to him.

In 968-696 Kyiv was attacked by the Pechenegs, and Svyatoslav returned there. At the same time, Olga died, Svyatoslav distributed the reins of government between his sons. Then he went on a campaign against Bulgaria and crushed it. The Bulgarians had to ask for protection from Byzantium, which was slow to provide assistance. As a result, the Bulgarian tsar signed an alliance with Svyatoslav, and later Bulgaria already fought together with the Rus against Byzantium.

Attack on Byzantium

After establishing a partnership with the Bulgarians, Svyatoslav remained on the Danube. So he expanded his own lands.

In 970, Svyatoslav attacked the Byzantine territories in Thrace. He, along with the army, reached the outskirts of Constantinople, where the final battle took place. Historians interpret his results in different ways. Some documents say that the allied forces of Svyatoslav were crushed, and then his forces. In others, it is reported that Svyatoslav managed to win, but he withdrew, collecting tribute.

In any case, the battles in Byzantium were over by the summer of 970, although the Rus' raids were not over.

The crushing of Bulgaria

In 971, Emperor John I Tzimiskes opposes Svyatoslav, sends a fleet to the Danube to cut off the Rus.

Soon the Bulgarian capital Preslav was taken, the king was taken prisoner. Russian soldiers break through to Dorostol, Svyatoslav is also located there. The courage of Svyatoslav grows along with the dangers. According to the testimony of Byzantine historians, the Rus behaved bravely. When they could not escape, they themselves stabbed themselves in the heart. Their wives behaved like real Amazons, participating in battles. Being taken prisoner, the Russians kept their composure, burned their dead brothers at night and hardened captives over them, and babies were allowed into the waters of the Danube.

John comes to Dorostol, the Russians leave the fortress, besieged for three months. Luck leaves the Russians. Their fatherland is very far away, the neighboring peoples are on the side of the Greeks. The army of Svyatoslav was weakened from wounds and hunger, while the Greeks did not need anything.

Svyatoslav gathers a squad. Some want to run at night, others offer peace. But the prince decides to try his luck, so as not to fall into contempt of the neighboring peoples. The army goes into battle. The prince encourages the soldiers and gives the order to lock the gates of the city so that no one escapes.

The battle begins in the morning, by noon the Greeks are exhausted and begin to retreat. Soon the battle resumed. Tzimiskes was amazed at the courage of the enemy and decided to end the war. After that, the fight continues. The Greeks really wanted the death of Svyatoslav. The knight Anemas crushed the prince and threw him off his horse, but the helmet did not allow Svyatoslav to die.

Svyatoslav, having lost many strength and being seriously wounded in the final battle, decides to demand peace. John Tzimiskes is delighted and accepts the conditions of the Rus, in turn Svyatoslav leaves Bulgaria and concludes an alliance with Byzantium. After the approval of peace, the emperor provides the Russians with food supplies and sees them off. The military resources of Svyatoslav after the battles were sharply reduced, the army weakened.

Historians of those times analyze the war as successful for the Greeks, but Svyatoslav did not demand anything for Russia. Eastern Bulgaria joins Byzantium, only the western territories manage to maintain their independence.

The friendship between Svyatoslav and Tzimiskes can be assessed in different ways. Svyatoslav with a small army retreated to his fatherland. And Tzimiskes sent ambassadors to the Pechenegs, who were dissatisfied with the reconciliation of the Russians and Greeks. Perhaps the Greeks themselves informed the Pechenegs about the return of the weakened Russian army. The Pechenegs were waiting for the Russians at the rapids of the Dnieper.

Doom

After the declaration of peace, Svyatoslav approached the Dnieper. The governor warned him that the Pechenegs were nearby. But Svyatoslav was not afraid and decided to spend the winter on the Dnieper. Exhausting hunger and need accompanies the Rus at this time.

In the spring Svyatoslav the Brave goes to dangerous path home. In another fight, he was mortally wounded. He was attacked by the prince of the Pechenegs Kurya, cut off his head and drank from the skull of Svyatoslav. Only a few Russians managed to escape. Thus died a courageous commander, possessing amazing generosity. A monument to Svyatoslav Igorevich was erected at the place of his death in Zaporozhye (Ukraine). On the monument, a warrior is depicted with a sword.

Historians believe that the Pecheneg warriors stormed Svyatoslav at the insistence of the Byzantines. Byzantium strove for friendship with the Pecheneg peoples to protect them from the Rus and Hungarians. The crushing of Svyatoslav was necessary for the Greeks. Although the chronicle calls the initiators of the ambush the Bulgarians, not the Greeks.

The Tale of Bygone Years indicates the reasons for the death of Svyatoslav in that he did not obey his mother, who dreamed of making a Christian out of her son. In any case, the example of Sfendoslav is the image of a brilliant commander and an example of the great sovereign of the Russian land, who captivated many contemporaries by the strength of his character. Svyatoslav Igorevich, whose biography we have examined, even after his death, terrified neighboring peoples with his image for a long time.

About appearance

The Greek writer of that time, Leo the Deacon, vividly draws the prince of Kyiv. Sfendoslav was of restrained stature, had thick eyebrows and Blue eyes, mustache, a tuft of hair twisted on a bald head, which indicated a noble origin. The prince's expression was stern. In the ear was a golden earring with stones. The clothes were white and clean.

Some sources call the prince beardless, others - with a rare beard. Sometimes he is described with one tuft of hair, as well as with two braids. The nose of the prince, according to the descriptions of that time, is sometimes snub-nosed, sometimes flat.

Descendants

History knows the children of Svyatoslav Igorevich, these are:

• Yaropolk, who ruled Kyiv;
• Oleg, prince of the Drevlyans;
• Vladimir, who baptized Russia.

Sometimes Sfeng is mentioned, whom A. V. Solovyov considers not the son, but the grandson of Sfendoslav.

So, the policy of Svyatoslav Igorevich differed sharply from the reign of his mother Olga. The ruler paid more attention foreign wars. He defeated the Khazar Khaganate and undertook several successful campaigns against the Bulgarians.

1045 years ago, in March 972, the great Russian prince, one of the founders of the Russian state (the First Russian Empire), Svyatoslav Igorevich, died. According to the official version, Svyatoslav was returning with a small detachment after the war with Byzantium, fell into a Pecheneg ambush and died.

The Russian chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years” reports: “When spring came, Svyatoslav went to the thresholds. And Kurya, the prince of the Pechenegs, attacked him, and they killed Svyatoslav, and took his head, and made a cup from the skull, bound him, and drank from him. Sveneld came to Kyiv to Yaropolk.

The Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon writes about the same in his: “Sfendoslav left Doristol, returned the prisoners according to the agreement and sailed with the remaining associates, directing his way to his homeland. On the way, they were ambushed by the Patsinaks, a numerous nomadic tribe that devours lice, carries dwellings with them and spends most of its life in wagons. They killed almost all [the Ross], killed Sfendoslav along with others, so that only a few of the huge army of the Ross returned unharmed to their native places.

Starting with N. M. Karamzin, it was generally accepted that it was Byzantine diplomacy that convinced the Pechenegs to attack Svyatoslav: “The then policy of the Emperors did not know generosity: foreseeing that Svyatoslav would not leave them alone for a long time, it was almost the Greeks themselves who instructed the Pechenegs to take advantage of weakness Russian troops"("History of the Russian State. Vol. 1).

Svyatoslav

Russian Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich is one of the most prominent rulers and commanders of Russia-Russia. It was not for nothing that he was seriously hurt by liberal (supporters of the pro-Western, "classical" version of history) and Marxist historians, who called him a warrior prince, an "adventurer" who put his personal glory, the search for prey for the squad above the state, national interests of Russia. Like, as a result, his adventurous campaigns led to a heavy defeat from the Roman (Byzantine) army and the death of the prince himself.

The general conclusion was made as follows: “Svyatoslav was a model of a warrior, but not an example of a sovereign. He left the Russian land for remote deeds, glorious for him, but not always useful for Russia. He was almost never a prince in his own land; his mother ruled for him. Svyatoslav broke away from Russia, acted only with his squad, and did not rally the combined forces of all the tribes, which he could have, with the great talent of Svyatoslav himself, great importance for the fate of the Kievan state, and possibly for the whole of Eastern Europe” (“Pages of the Government of the Russian State”, 1990).

Obviously, this is a superficial view of military-political activity Prince Svyatoslav. It fits into the Westerners' version of the history of Russia-Russia, according to which the history of Russia is secondary and peripheral in relation to the history of Western Europe. Like, Russia is "Asia", a "barbarian country", which was introduced to civilization by the "Viking-Swedes" (Scandinavians, Germans). Then the invasion of the "Mongol-Tatars" again threw Russia into the past, and only Peter I "cut a window to Europe." And only by following the Western path of development (Western matrix) will Russia ever reach the level of development and prosperity, for example, Poland or Portugal. Therefore, it is necessary to discard "Great Russian chauvinism", urgently repent of the sins of the "bloody" Alexander Nevsky, Ivan the Terrible, Joseph Stalin and other Russian rulers and statesmen. Forget about the great Russian history, which allegedly did not exist. Allegedly, the whole history of Russia is full of mistakes, blunders, adventurism, blood, dirt, ignorance and drunkenness. The story of the "prince-adventurer" Svyatoslav, who "left his homeland for the sake of glory and exploits," quite fits into this line.

However, there is another way of looking at state activity Svyatoslav. As one of the leading Soviet and Russian historians, specialist in the history of diplomacy, foreign policy and the ideology of Ancient Russia A. N. Sakharov: “It is amazing, but the whole life of Svyatoslav, as we know it from the Russian chronicle, according to Byzantine sources, appeared in the form of one continuous challenge to the Byzantine Empire, a fierce and uncompromising challenge, which became his glory and his tragedy. All his campaigns, barely taking over and leading the Kyiv squad, he eventually directed to fight against the empire. It would be naive to think that this struggle was explained only by the personal feelings of Svyatoslav. Behind the confrontation between the two countries were their common socio-economic and political interests, the laws of social development.

The military-strategic, socio-economic interests of Russia also stood behind the uncompromising struggle of Svyatoslav against the Khazars, which the Russian chronicle (written already in the Christian era and edited in the interests of the Christianized elite of Russia) characterizes very briefly and dispassionately: "Svyatoslav go to the goats." As A. N. Sakharov writes: behind the laconic and impassive phrase from the annals “there is whole era liberation of the East Slavic lands from the yoke of the Khazars, the transformation of the confederation of East Slavic tribes into a single Old Russian state. It was a time of consolidation and self-affirmation, new foreign policy contacts and the search for new trade routes, and Khazaria has traditionally been an enemy in this formation of Russia, a constant, stubborn, cruel and insidious enemy. ... Everywhere, wherever possible, Khazaria resisted Russia, closed her way to the East, forming here a powerful anti-Russian bloc consisting of the Volga Bulgaria, the Burtases, other Pook and Volga tribes, and some peoples North Caucasus. As before, the East Slavic tribe of the Vyatichi was dependent on the kaganate ... The struggle of Russia against the eternal rival, behind which Byzantium stood for many decades, was difficult. We had to endure the Sarkel fortress near our borders, we had to endure insidious attacks on the return routes from the East. For more than a hundred years, step by step, the Khazar Khaganate pushed Russia aside from its destinies, but even until the middle of the 10th century, Khazaria, although weakening and isolated, was one of the main enemies of the rising Slavs.

“... The campaign was over: the main goal was achieved - Khazaria was crushed. The Russian army drew a huge triangle in these parts between the points Itil - Semender - Sarkel, between the mouth of the Volga, the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, and the lower reaches of the Don. In the north were the defeated Bulgars and Burtases. With its eastern corner, this triangle faced the Sea of ​​Azov, the Taman Peninsula, the Cimmerian Bosporus - the Kerch Strait, where Russian settlements have long been located. From here it was a stone's throw to the Crimean possessions of Byzantium. ... In essence, Svyatoslav spent three years on a campaign and during this time he subjugated a vast territory from the Oka forests to the grape Semender to his influence. ... The campaign of Svyatoslav finally put an end to the Khazar yoke over the Eastern Slavic lands, freed the Vyatichi tribe from the influence of the Khazars, removed a powerful military barrier that closed the way for Russian merchants to the East, eliminated the force that was always ready to strike Russia in the back during its military enterprises in the south and east. Now in the Northern Black Sea region, near the mouth of the Dnieper, on the Taman Peninsula, Russia could not be afraid of pressure from the Khazars. The Volga and North Caucasian allies of Khazaria also received a very clear military lesson. The whole situation in the region has changed dramatically. Russia came to the fore here, regaining the positions lost during the numerous steppe invasions ”(A.N. Sakharov. “We are from the Russian family ...”. L., 1986.).

And the activity of Prince Svyatoslav was very impressive: “the huge Khazar empire was defeated and disappeared forever from political map Europe. The paths to the East were cleared; Volga Bulgaria ceased to be a hostile barrier and, in addition, Sarkel and Tmutarakan, two most important cities in the southeast, became Russian centers. The balance of power in the semi-Byzantine, semi-Khazar Crimea also changed, where Kerch (Korchev) also became a Russian city ”(B. A. Rybakov.“ The Birth of Rus ”. M., 2012.). A hundred years later, the Russian prince Gleb, Svyatoslav's great-great-grandson, measured the frozen Kerch Strait and left a famous inscription about how he "measured the sea on ice from Tmutarakan to Korchevo."

Then Svyatoslav continued the struggle, solving national tasks of strengthening in the Northern Black Sea region and the Balkans (in the distant future, the Russian tsars and Secretary General Stalin will solve the same tasks, showing that rulers can change, but the strategic tasks of Russian civilization and people remain the same). The assessment of the war between Russia and Byzantium (the Eastern Roman Empire) was already distorted at that time, which was due to the incompleteness of the information in the Russian chronicles and the extreme bias of the Greek (Byzantine) sources, which sought to portray the Russians as "wild barbarians", "Tauro-Scythians", enemies of the Bulgarians, who invaded Bulgaria, and the Byzantines (Romans) as friends and liberators of the Bulgarians. Greek sources are full of omissions, contradictions, obvious lies (for example, the loss of Russ and Romans in battles, when hundreds and thousands of killed Russ and other "barbarians" accounted for one defeated Roman) and a clear unwillingness to recognize the anti-Byzantine alliance of Russians with Bulgarians. Although this alliance was revealed already at the first appearance of Russian squads on the Danube, when 80 Bulgarian cities went over to the side of Svyatoslav. These principles of the policy of the rulers of the West have been unchanged for more than a thousand years. Westerners are rewriting history in their own interests, turning black into white and white into black.

Svyatoslav expanded the possessions of Russia to Pereyaslavets on the Danube, the “island of the Rus”, formed by a bend and a great delta European river, the sea and the "Trayanov Val", where the Rus-Ulichi lived (one of the predecessors of the late Cossacks). Svyatoslav himself was very pleased with the new land, where he moved in 967-969. “Not everyone is living in Kiev,” Svyatoslav said to his mother Olga and the boyars. - I want to live Pereyaslavtsi in the Danube, as if that is the environment of my land ... ". Thus, Svyatoslav founded the new residence of the Grand Duke on the Danube, securing a new, very advantageous position at the crossroads of different paths.

Russian and Bulgarian troops, with the support of the allies (Pechenegs, Hungarians), drove the Roman Byzantines out of Bulgaria, and also defeated the treacherous pro-Byzantine Bulgarian party. Then the allies went on a broad offensive along the entire northern border of the Byzantine Empire. Svyatoslav's troops crossed the Balkans, crossed the Byzantine border and took Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv). One of the decisive battles in Thrace, when the soldiers of Svyatoslav met with superior enemy forces, was vividly described by a Russian chronicler: “Let us not shame the Russian land, but lie down with bones, dead for shame is not an imam. If we run away, shame on the imam. Do not run away to the imam, but we will stand strong, but I will go before you; if my head lies down, then think for yourself. And Russia was filled, leaned, and Svyatoslav overcame, and the Greeks fled.

True, another part of the army, dominated by Russian allies - Bulgarians, Pechenegs and Hungarians, was defeated near Arcadiopol. But it was not this battle that decided the outcome of the war in 970. All sources telling about the Russian-Byzantine war: the Tale of Bygone Years, Leo the Deacon, and other Byzantine chronicles unanimously report that in the summer of 970 the Greeks asked for peace. It is obvious that the winners of the world do not ask. If the core of Svyatoslav's army had been defeated and fled near Arcadiopol, it is clear that the Greeks (Romans) would have no reason to seek a peace agreement with the Russian prince. Tzimiskes was supposed to organize the pursuit of the defeated enemy, to finish him off. In terms of finishing off an already defeated enemy, the Romans were great masters and did not know mercy for the defeated.

Thus, Svyatoslav won the decisive battle. And he moved “to the city, fighting and breaking the city ... And calling the king of the Bolarias to his floor, and saying to them:“ What are we doing, as if we can’t stand against him? The Byzantines decided to ask for peace. And this meant that Svyatoslav defeated the main forces of the enemy, and moved to Tsargrad-Constantinople, "breaking" other "towns" along the way. At first the Romans failed. Svyatoslav promised to set up his tents "in front of the Byzantine gates." Then the Greeks offered the Russian prince gold and curtains, but Svyatoslav showed indifference to them. John Tzimisces again sends his people to the prince and prays for peace. This time the ambassadors, according to Russian sources, offered weapons as gifts. Svyatoslav was delighted with such gifts. This made it possible to stop the advance of Russian troops on Constantinople. The Russians were only 4 days away from Tsargrad. The Romans agreed with the consolidation of Svyatoslav on the Danube and with the need to pay tribute. Svyatoslav: “Take many gifts, and return to Pereyaslavets with great praise.”

The Romans deceived and did not keep the peace. Taking advantage of the respite, they mobilized new forces (Tzimiskes withdrew troops from the Middle East), prepared the fleet, and in 971 launched a counteroffensive. And Svyatoslav sent the allied troops, and was not ready for a new campaign. Obviously, Svyatoslav did not expect the enemy to recover from defeat so quickly and immediately violate the agreement. Passages in the mountains turned out to be open, they were not guarded. Whose miscalculation it was - the Bulgarians or the Russian garrison in the Bulgarian capital Preslav, is unknown. Perhaps the pro-Byzantine group worked in Bulgaria itself. Outcome is known. A huge and well-armed Byzantine army calmly surrounded Veliky Preslav, where the Bulgarian Tsar Boris and the Russian detachment led by Sveneld were located. After a desperate assault, the Romans broke the resistance of a small Russian-Bulgarian garrison and took the city. At the same time, part of the squad of Sveneld managed to break out of the encirclement.

Byzantine army began the occupation of Bulgaria. Tzimisces gave the Bulgarian capital and many other cities and fortresses to be plundered by his army. Then the Greeks went to the Danube, where Svyatoslav stood in the fortress of Dorostol with a small army. This time the enemy had the full advantage: ground troops blocked the fortress from the land, the fleet from the side of the river. A number of major battles took place here, and in some cases literally a miracle (natural element) saved the Romans from defeat. For more than two months, the army of Tzimiskes unsuccessfully besieged Dorostol. Both armies were exhausted in fierce battles, and did not achieve victory. Then negotiations began. Tzimiskes, fearing problems in the rear and new battles with the Russians, who even fought on equal terms with the enemy in small numbers, gladly signed peace. The world was honorable. Svyatoslav pledged not to fight with Byzantium and left with big booty. More in the articles:; ; .

With the departure of Svyatoslav from Bulgaria, the independence of the Eastern Bulgarian kingdom fell (Western Bulgaria retained its independence). The Romans occupied the main cities, renamed them, humiliated the Bulgarians and deprived them of their statehood. Tsar Boris was overthrown, together with his brother Roman, whom the Greeks castrated, he was taken to Constantinople and took part in the solemn triumph that Tzimiskes arranged for himself. The crown of the Bulgarian kings was given to the church of St. Sophia, then in the imperial palace, Boris laid down the royal insignia - precious clothes, royal shoes. Split, drenched in blood, robbed and humiliated, Bulgaria lost its independence for two centuries. All this was the result of the treacherous policy of the pro-Byzantine ruling circles.

Obviously, Svyatoslav was not an "adventurer" who "wandered" the steppes in search of glory. He solved the main national tasks of Russia. As B. A. Rybakov noted: “His Volga-Khazar campaign was vital for the young state of Russia, and his actions on the Danube and the Balkans were a manifestation of friendship and solidarity with the people of Bulgaria, whom Svyatoslav helped to defend both his capital and his king, and political independence from the encroachments of Byzantium. ... In relation to Russia, all the swift activity of Svyatoslav was not only not an inattention to its interests or an unconscious desire to “slander”, neglect it, but, on the contrary, everything was calculated to solve big state tasks, requiring the exertion of all forces. The most important task, which consisted in ensuring security by the Khazar Khaganate, was resolved quite successfully. The second task - the creation of a peaceful trading foothold on the western coast of the Russian Sea (as the Black Sea was then called. - A.S.), in commonwealth with Bulgaria - was not completed ... ”But this is not Svyatoslav’s fault. This task will be solved by the Russian tsars for more than one century and will never complete the great work (the capture of Constantinople). Svyatoslav could continue the fight, restoring strength in Russia, but he was eliminated.

To be continued…

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Russian Prince Svyatoslav spent most of his life in military campaigns. His first campaign took place when the prince was only four years old. It was Olga's campaign against the Drevlyans, who brutally killed her husband -. By tradition, only the prince could lead it, and it was the hand of the young Svyatoslav who threw the spear, giving the first order to the squad.

Svyatoslav was practically not interested in state affairs and domestic politics, the prince completely left the decision of these issues to his wise mother. AT short biography Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich is worth mentioning that the passion and meaning of his life was war. The squad of Svyatoslav moved unusually quickly, since the prince, who did not recognize luxury in campaigns, did not take with him tents and convoys that would slow down the movement. He enjoyed considerable respect among the soldiers, because he shared their way of life. Svyatoslav never attacked unexpectedly. Warning the enemy about the attack, the prince won a fair battle.

In 964, Svyatoslav's campaign began in Khazaria. His path lay through the lands of the Khazar tributaries - Vyatichi. Svyatoslav forced them to pay tribute to himself, and only after that he moved on, to the Volga. The Bulgarians living on the banks of the river had a hard time. Svyatoslav's campaign against the Volga Bulgaria (Bulgaria) led to the plundering of many villages and towns. The complete defeat of the Khazars by Prince Svyatoslav took place in 965. The Russian prince ruined the Khazar lands and captured them main city- Belaya Vezha. The campaign ended with victories over the inhabitants of the Caucasus, the tribes of Kosogs and Yases.

However, the rest from military labors in Kyiv was not long. The embassy of Emperor Nicephorus 2nd Phocas, who soon arrived at the prince, asked for his support against the Bulgarians living on the Danube lands. This campaign also turned out to be victorious. The Kyiv prince Svyatoslav liked the Bulgarian lands adjacent to Byzantium so much that he wanted to move his capital from Kyiv to Pereyaslavets.

The territories defeated by Svyatoslav, which had previously closed the way for nomads from Asia, were now flooded with the Pechenegs, bribed by the emperor of Byzantium. Nomads in 968 surrounded Kyiv in the absence of the prince. Olga called on the help of the voivode Petich. retreated, perhaps deciding that the warlike prince was returning. Svyatoslav, who appeared much later, drove them far from the borders of Kievan Rus.

In 969, Princess Olga died, and the Christians who lost her patronage were persecuted. In the same year, leaving his sons, Oleg and, to rule, Svyatoslav went on a second campaign against the Bulgarians. By that time, Nikephoros 2nd Phocas had been killed, and John Tzimiskes occupied the throne.

The victory won by Svyatoslav in Bulgaria was unprofitable for Byzantium. Tzimiskes, not wanting to strengthen Svyatoslav in the Bulgarian lands, sent ambassadors to the prince with rich gifts and a demand to leave the conquered territories. Svyatoslav's response was a proposal to redeem the captured Bulgarian cities. An exhausting war with the Greeks began. The soldiers of Tzimiskes, after a hard struggle, took possession of Pereyaslavets. The fighting moved to Dorostol, where the Greeks were able to surround the prince and the squad. The siege continued for three months. Svyatoslav and his warriors endured hunger and suffered from diseases. As a result, an agreement was concluded, according to which the prince undertook to leave Bulgaria, extradite all captured Greeks and prevent other tribes from attacking the territory of Byzantium.

While the prince was fighting the Greeks, the Pechenegs again came to the Kyiv lands and almost captured the capital city. According to historians, the emperor of Byzantium informed the Pecheneg leader Kure that the Kyiv prince was returning with a small squad. Svyatoslav and his soldiers died in a fight with the Pechenegs who attacked them. Thus ended the reign of Svyatoslav Igorevich, after which Yaropolk ascended the throne of Kyiv. The legend says that from the skull of Svyatoslav Kurya he made a bowl decorated with gold and stones.