Monomakh's younger sons therewith upset his plan to make Kiev the patrimony of the Mstislavichi. Even more importantly, Vsevolod Ol'govich put paid to Monomakh's plan to make his descendants the sole rulers of Kiev. In 1139 he deposed Viacheslav.[95] He refused to submit to Monomakh's injustice in pre-empting the claim of his father Oleg at Liubech. Vsevolod, it is true, could not profess to have the right to sit on the throne of his father because Oleg had never ruled Kiev. Nevertheless, he was the genealogical and political senior prince of his dynasty and usurpation was an acknowledged form of seizing power. With force, therefore, he secured the right for his heirs to rule Kiev.
The Rus' principalities (1125-1246) Table 5.2. The House of Galicia
Volodar d. 1124
Volodimerko d. 1153
Iaroslav Osmomysl d. 1187
He designated his brother Igor' his successor. Igor', however, failed to assert his rule. The Kievans' preferred candidate, in keeping with their promise to Monomakh, was Mstislav's eldest son Iziaslav of Pereiaslavl'. In supporting the latter, however, the citizens threw the House of Monomakh into turmoil. Iziaslav and his brothers were once again pitted against their uncles.
| Vladimir d. 1198 |
| Oleg d. 1188 |
Iurii Dolgorukii
Iurii their leader was ambitious. To obtain greater independence from the boyars of Rostov, he moved his capital to the smaller Suzdal' after which the region was called Suzdalia. To consolidate his rule he began an energetic town-building programme. There is uncertainty, however, over which towns he founded (e.g. Pereiaslavl'-Zalesskii, Dmitrov and Iur'ev Pol'skii) and over which ones he merely fortified (e.g. Moscow, Galich, Zvenigorod and Kostroma). He initiated the tradition of constructing churches from white Kama limestone and reputedly founded five, includingthe church ofthe Transfiguration in Pereiaslavl'-Zalesskii, which he 'filled with books'.[96] In addition to expanding the boundaries of Suzdalia he began asserting his overlordship over the princes of Murom and Riazan'. He campaigned against the Volga- Kama Bulgars to gain control over the trade passing through their lands to the Caspian Sea. To promote his interests in Baltic trade he intervened in Novgorod. In short, Iurii initiated Suzdalia's political ascendancy. He probably received the sobriquet 'Long Arm' (Dolgorukii) after he began laying claim to distant Kiev.[97]
Meanwhile, following the death of one senior prince (Vsevolod) and the eviction of another (Igor') from Kiev, the fortunes of the Ol'govichi plummeted. Their brother, Sviatoslav of Novgorod Severskii, demanded that Iziaslav Mstislavich release Igor', whom he was holding captive. The Davidovichi, who ruled Chernigov, took advantage of their cousins' plight by promising Iziaslav to back his rule in Kiev if, in turn, he helped them to expel Sviatoslav from his domain. In retaliation Sviatoslav, unlike his brother Vsevolod who had supported the Mstislavichi, promised to help Iurii win Kiev if the latter helped him to reclaim the lost Ol'govichi lands. Consequently, the two camps went to war.
Iurii challenged his nephew Iziaslav in keeping with the principle of genealogical seniority that governed the practice of succession to Kiev designed by Iaroslav the Wise. He demanded that Monomakh's surviving sons Viach- eslav and Iurii occupy Kiev in rotation and that Iziaslav vacate the town. The latter, however, claimed Kiev on the grounds that Monomakh had designated the Mstislavichi his successors. Iziaslav won the day once again, in the main, because he had the support of the Kievans whose backing was vital to any would-be ruler of their town.
In 1147 Iziaslav antagonised many, including his brother Rostislav, by ordering a synod of bishops to install a native of Rus', Klim (Kliment) Smoliatich, metropolitan of Kiev. Some believe that he made the controversial appointment because he was attempting to liberate the Church in Rus' from the domination of the patriarch in Constantinople. Others, however, suggest that he adopted this course of action because there was no patriarch in Constantinople to make the appointment.[98] Meanwhile, the Davidovichi joined their cousin Sviatoslav in a plot to kill Iziaslav and to free the captive Igor'. The Kievans retaliated by murdering Igor'.[99]
Iziaslav struggled to retain control of Kiev by repelling attacks from Iurii and his allies, who included the Ol'govichi, Iurii's son-in-law Iaroslav Volodimerovich 'Eight Wits' (Osmomysl) of Galich, and the ever obliging Polovtsy. Iurii's coalition expelled Iziaslav on two occasions. Finally, in II5I he adopted an unprecedented expedient that mollified Iurii. He invited his uncle Viacheslav, Iurii's elder brother, to be co-ruler.[100] After Iziaslav died on 14 November 1154, his brother Rostislav of Smolensk replaced him as co-ruler with Viacheslav. But the latter died soon after, leaving Rostislav as the sole prince of Kiev.[101]
On 20 March 1155 Iurii deposed him.[102] He consolidated his rule by giving his sons the towns of the Mstislavichi. He sent Andrei to Vyshgorod, Gleb to
Table 5.3. The House ofSuzdalia
Iurii Dolgorukii d. 1157
| Vasil'ko d. ? |
| Gleb d. 1171 |
| Vsevolod Big Nest d. 1212 |
| Boris d. 1159 |
| Mikhalko d. 1176 |
Andrei Bogoliubskii d. 1174
| Iaroslav d. 1246 |
| Konstantin d. 1218 |
| Mstislav d. 1173 |
| Iurii d. 1238 |
Aleksandr Nevskii d. 1263
Nevertheless, the town seemingly flourished as a cultural centre. This is testified to by the writings of Kirill (Cyril), Bishop of Turov.[103]
Following Iurii's death the princes of Chernigov briefly reasserted their supremacy. Iziaslav Davidovich seized Kiev.[104] Even though his father David had never ruled the town, he justified his usurpation on the grounds that he was the senior prince of his family and prince of Chernigov. But his rule was short. In 1159 an alliance of princes led by Mstislav Iziaslavich of Volyn' deposed him. Two years later, on 6 April, he was killed while trying to recapture Kiev.[105] After that the Davidovichi died out and the Ol'govichi became the sole dynasty of Chernigov. In II64, after Sviatoslav Ol'govich died, the Ol'govichi bifurcated into the senior branch descended from Vsevolod Ol'govich, and the junior or cadet branch descended from Sviatoslav Ol'govich.
The Mstislavichi
The system of succession to Kiev that Iaroslav the Wise had envisioned may have been doomed from the start, as some have claimed, but over time it evolved into one forged by political and genealogical vicissitudes. By the middle of the twelfth century, therefore, it once again constituted three families: the senior branch of Ol'govichi in Chernigov, the descendants of Monomakh's eldest son Mstislav in Volyn' and Smolensk, and the family of Monomakh's son Iurii in Suzdalia.[106]
In 1159, after Iziaslav Davidovich fled from Kiev, Mstislav Iziaslavich ofVolyn' and his allies invited his uncle Rostislav Mstislavich of Smolensk to rule Kiev.[107]By that time he had secured the political independence of Smolensk from Pereiaslavl'. The town, which lay on the Greek route from Novgorod to Constantinople, enjoyed profitable trade relations. Moreover, despite opposition from Klim Smoliatich to whose appointment as metropolitan Rostislav objected, he established an autonomous eparchy in Smolensk. He issued a charter (gramota) stipulating its privileges and those of its bishop. The document is also a valuable source of commercial, geographic and social information.
96
For church building and culture, see S. Franklin and J. Shepard,
97
On Iurii, see A. M. Ianovskii,
98
On the controversy over Klim's appointment, see Dimitri Obolensky, 'Byzantium, Kiev and Moscow: A Study in Ecclesiastical Relations', in his
101
103
On Turov, see P. F. Lysenko, 'Kiev i Turovskaia zemlia', in L. D. Pobol'