20 April
Dates in History
1113Vladimir II Monomakh, ascends the Kievan throne. The grandson of Yaroslav the Wise by the father’s line and the grandson of Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos by his mother’s line, Vladimir Monomakh is called to Kiev by the city veche (popular assembly) and agrees to become the ruler upon long blandishments and on the condition of strict obedience of the lieges. In fact he became the first autocrat of the Old Rus’. One of the brightest rulers of the country, he puts an end to forays of the Polovets tribes, and contributes to the unification of Russian lands. |