Princes and rulers
Volodymyr Monomakh
1053–1125
- Grand Prince of Kyiv
Grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, called to the throne by the people of Kyiv during the uprising of 1113. He ruled until 1125, wrote the “Instruction” for his sons, and lies in St Sophia’s.
Do not forget the good things you know, and learn what you do not know.
Biography
Volodymyr was the son of Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavych and a Byzantine princess related to Emperor Constantine Monomachos — hence his byname. A grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, he ruled Chernihiv and Pereiaslav for decades, led the armies of Rus’ against the Polovtsians (Cumans) and initiated the Liubech Congress of princes in 1097, which tried to end their feuds.
In 1113, after Grand Prince Sviatopolk died, an uprising against moneylenders and princely officials broke out in Kyiv. The town assembly gathered at St Sophia’s and invited Monomakh to the throne; he declined at first, but on a second invitation came and restored order. At this time his Statute was added to the Ruska Pravda, capping interest rates and easing the lot of debtors.
His twelve-year reign (1113–1125) was the last period of relative unity in Rus’. Monomakh left the famous Instruction (Povchannia) — advice to his children on faith, hard work, mercy and a ruler’s duties, together with an account of his own campaigns and hunts. It survives only in the Laurentian Chronicle of 1377.
He died in 1125 on the Alta river near Pereiaslav and was buried in St Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv, next to his father.
Life timeline
- 1053 Birth Born to Vsevolod Yaroslavych.
- 1097 Liubech Congress The princes agree that “each shall hold his own patrimony”.
- 1113 Kyiv uprising The people of Kyiv call Monomakh to the throne.
- 1125 Death He dies on the Alta and is buried in St Sophia’s.
Kyiv in their life
- St Sophia’s Cathedral (24 Volodymyrska St) — where the town assembly called Monomakh to the throne in 1113, and where he was buried.
