And the Polovtsian princess, daughter of Khan Aepa Osekevich. The Grand Duke of Vladimir in 1169-1175, before that he reigned in Vyshgorod, participated in his father’s military campaigns and bravely took part in battles, risking his life.
“When his grandfather died, Andrei was about fifteen years old, and despite the fact that he lived mostly in the Rostov-Suzdal region, he could well have heard or read Monomakh’s instructions. The attitude towards power as a personal religious obligation was difficult to establish, breaking the centuries-old habit of princes to look at the Russian land as the joint possession of the entire princely family of Rurikovich.
In this order, the eldest in the clan was at the same time the Grand Duke and sat on the eldest - Kiev - table. The rest owned less significant principalities depending on the degree of their seniority. There was no place for state relations within the princely family - they took on a purely family character. The prince had no connection with his temporary subjects. He knew: the Grand Duke of Kiev would die - his dignity, along with the throne, would pass to the next senior member of the clan, and this would cause the rest of the princes to move to those appanages that now correspond to the degree of their seniority. The new position will remain as long as the new head of the clan is alive. Then - a new movement. This order was inconvenient and complicated due to eternal disputes over seniority and attempts to skip the queue to occupy one or another table...
St. Andrei Bogolyubsky saw the urgent need to break and abolish this tribal system in order to clear the way for a unified Russian state. Known from a young age for his piety, intelligence and fighting prowess, he own experience became convinced of the disastrous nature of related princely disputes and disagreements. Not wanting to participate in the civil strife of his relatives, in 1155 Prince Andrei went to the north, where the Rostov and Suzdal residents recognized him as their prince. There he founded the new great reign of Vladimir, which the Providence of God destined to become the heart of the Russian state for almost two centuries.
On the grand ducal table of St. Andrei behaved not like an older relative, but like a sovereign sovereign, giving an answer to one God in his concerns about the country and people. His reign was marked by numerous miracles, the memory of which is still preserved by the Church in the Feast of the All-Merciful Savior (August 1), who blessed the prince for his sovereign service. At the same time, a holiday was established in honor, which became a favorite church holiday Russian people.
Feeling that Russia is perishing from the division of power, St. Andrei, in his efforts to introduce autocracy, especially counted on protection and intercession Holy Mother of God. Leaving for the northern lands, he took with him [from Vyshgorod convent] a miraculous icon, painted, according to legend, by the holy evangelist Luke on the board of the table at which the Savior Himself ate in the days of His youth with His Mother and St. Joseph the Betrothed; Having seen this icon, the Most Holy Theotokos said: “From now on, all my people will bless Me. May the grace of the One born of Me and Mine be with this icon!” [This icon will soon be named after its place of residence and it will become the main shrine in Rus'. – Red.].
Twice in the morning the icon was found to have come down from its place in the Vyshgorod Cathedral and standing in the air, as if inviting the prince to set out on a journey, the blessing for which he sought from the Most Pure One in his fervent prayers.
When St. Andrei passed Vladimir, which at that time was an insignificant craft town, then the horses carrying the icon stopped and could not budge. [The Lives indicate that on the way the Mother of God appeared to the Prince. At the site of Her miraculous appearance, at Her command, Prince Andrei founded a monastery with a village called Bogolyubovo. At the request of the Prince, an icon of the Lady was painted in the form in which She appeared to him (1157), called Bogolyubskaya. – Red.] The prince called this place Bogolyubov, because he saw a sign of God in what happened, and Vladimir made it the capital of the principality.
Numerous miracles subsequently revealed by the Most Holy Theotokos prompted the prince to establish church celebration The Protection of the Mother of God, revealed over Russia throughout the entire course of its history. This holiday has been honored in Russia for at least the twelfth century. It is significant that only the Russian Church celebrates it so solemnly, despite the fact that the event remembered on this day (the vision of the veil over the cathedral of worshipers) occurred in Byzantium.
Such a zealous desire to unite the people could not remain without opposition from anti-Orthodox forces. Significant, from this point of view, is the martyrdom of the prince in 1174. The chronicle clearly emphasizes the religious nature of the death of St. Andrey. The main person among the “chiefs of the murder” is the housekeeper Anbal Yasin – a Jew [with the participation of another: Efrem Moizich. – Ed.]. The chronicler likens the council of the attackers to the conference of “Judas with the Jews” before the betrayal of the Savior.
The chronicle also cites the immediate cause of the crime - the prince’s active educational activities among merchants of other faiths, as a result of which the number of Jews converting to Orthodoxy increased. Mourning his master, the faithful servant Kuzma says: “It used to be that a guest from Constantinople would come... or a Latin... even some kind of bastard, if he came, the prince would now say: take him to church, to the sacristy, let them see true Christianity and be baptized; and so it happened: the Bulgarians and Jews and all kinds of trash, seeing the glory of God and the decoration of the church, were baptized and now weep bitterly for you...” According to the views of the Talmud, a goy who “seduced” a Jew into Christianity deserves unconditional death.
Having learned about the murder of the prince, the people of Vladimir rebelled, and only religious processions along the streets of the city with the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir, they prevented further bloodshed. The Church, testifying to the godly work of the Grand Duke, glorified him as a saint. In the memory of his descendants, he remained a Russian ruler who felt not like the owner of the land, but as God’s servant, who tried to realize the ideal of Christian statehood.”
Metropolitan John (Snychev)
http://www.hrono.info/biograf/bogolyub.html
How the Grand Duke was killed. One day Andrei executed one of his wife’s closest relatives, Kuchkovich. Then the brother of the executed man, Yakim Kuchkovich, together with his son-in-law Peter and some others princely servants decided to get rid of his master. The prince's household servants soon joined the conspiracy - a certain Yas (Ossetian) named Anbal and another Jew named Efrem Moizich.
On the night of June 29-30, 1174, they drank wine for courage and, drunk, went to the prince’s bedroom and broke down the doors. Andrei jumped up and wanted to grab the sword that was always with him (that sword had previously belonged to St. Boris), but there was no sword. The housekeeper Anbal stole it from the bedroom during the day. While Andrei was looking for a sword, two killers jumped into the bedroom and rushed at him, but Andrei was strong and had already managed to knock one down when the others ran in and rushed at Andrei; he fought back for a long time, despite the fact that from all sides they cut him with swords, sabers, and stabbed him with spears. “Wicked people,” he shouted at them. – Why do you want to do the same as Goryaser [the killer]? What harm have I done to you? If you shed my blood on earth, then God will reward you for my bread.” Finally Andrei fell under the blows; the murderers, thinking that the matter was over, took their wounded man and walked out of the bedroom, trembling all over, but as soon as they left, Andrei rose to his feet and went into the hallway, groaning loudly; The killers heard groans and returned back, found the prince along the bloody trail and finished him off.
On July 4, the Prince was buried in the Assumption Cathedral he built in Vladimir. Discovery of St. the relics of Prince Andrey took place in 1702.
To characterize the personal qualities of this outstanding statesman, it is best to quote: “Gifted with enormous abilities, he was at the same time distinguished by excellent moral qualities. His memory is not stained by any vices, any base deeds, or even random crimes. His piety, his sincere faith, prayers and fasts, his widespread charity are undoubted. With rare courage and military talents, he acquired a lot of military glory, but did not value it and did not like war. In the same way, despite his enormous efforts for the benefit of his land, he did not value popularity at all. Throughout his life, he represents a man of ideas, who only valued it, was ready to do everything for it, sacrifice everything and risk everything.”
What was the idea that possessed the son of Yuri Dolgoruky and the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh?.. It was born in his mind as a result of intense reflection, the material for which was provided to him by his broad education. As chroniclers note, he was a “bookish” man, a scientist. He was a thinker, and an extraordinary thinker, who managed to get ahead of his time and look into the future of the Russian land, understand its historical purpose, and guess God’s Plan for it. The idea that was born and strengthened in him was the idea of Rus' as an Orthodox kingdom.
It is difficult to say what role the fact that his great-great-grandfather was Emperor Constantine Monomakh played here, but this idea is certainly Byzantine. One can say more: it contained the germ of a future idea. Andrei Bogolyubsky anticipated it a full three hundred years before it was heard in the message of the monk of the Spaso-Eleazarovsky Monastery to Moscow. Andrei seemed to have foreseen that, and made it his life’s work to prepare a replacement for him.
He began by establishing autocracy in his Suzdal land. Soon it began to present a striking contrast to the rest of Rus': there were discord and strife everywhere, but here order and calm reigned. However, Bogolyubsky did not intend to limit the field of his activity to his own destiny and was only waiting for an opportune moment to extend it to all of Rus'... “With Andrey,” writes Solovyov, “the possibility of a transition from tribal relations to state relations was first expressed.”
Another act of Andrei Bogolyubsky can be called classic for rulers who accustom their subjects to their autocracy. He did the same thing that three other great theorists and practitioners of this form of government did - Akhenaten, and [as well] - he moved the capital to a new place (to Vladimir), as if starting the history of Russia from scratch...
Vladimir did not take root in new role, like the entire program of Andrei Bogolyubsky for the creation of the Russian kingdom. It was put forward prematurely... The prince, in the end, was killed by his own people. Rus' returned to feudal fragmentation, which was overcome only by 1448 [by learning from the opposite: as a result, allowing more than two centuries of the Horde yoke due to our sins. – Ed.], when he finished off the last troublemaker Shemyaka and became de facto the first Russian Tsar, and ours.
But the feat of Grand Duke Andrei was not in vain: if there had not been a first, unsuccessful attempt to create a Russian Orthodox empire, there would not have been a second, successful one. Considering the huge historical meaning This feat, as well as the righteousness of Andrei Bogolyubsky’s life, his ardent faith and martyrdom, our Church canonized him. It seems that it is not at all accidental that his memory is celebrated on the very day he was - July 4 according to the Julian calendar. The Lord himself arranged it so that we commemorate both great passion-bearers in churches at the same time.
Discussion: there is 1 comment
I was in the city of Volodymyr. I really liked the city of Vladimir, even just being there brings joy to my soul. I asked a local resident if Vladimir was the capital of Rus', she answered: “Yes.”
He asked: “Will it happen?” She replied: “We don’t need it, we don’t want it.”
I think that in the future the capital of Rus' will no longer be in Moscow (and not in St. Petersburg). No matter how difficult and difficult this thought may be for some, we must already think about and prepare for the fact that the capital of Rus' will be in another city. Several cities may have to share capital functions. The history of Rus' will have to start again from scratch.
Holy Blessed Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky (presumably 1111 - 1174) - Prince of Vyshgorod, Dorogobuzh, Grand Duke Vladimirsky; son of Yuri Dolgoruky, grandson of Vladimir Monomakh.
Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky (the nickname "Bogolyubsky" received as the founder of the city of Bogolyuby on the Nerl River) is one of the most prominent politicians Ancient Rus'. During the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky, the political and economic center of Rus' moved from Kyiv and Principality of Kyiv to the city of Vladimir, which later officially became the new capital. Thanks to the activities of Prince Andrey, the city of Vladimir and the Vladimir Principality began to actively develop economically and achieved unprecedented power.
In the 18th century, Andrei Bogolyubsky was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the person of the faithful, the relics of the prince were transferred several times and today are kept in the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.
The exact date of birth of the prince is unknown. The first mentions of him in Russian chronicles date back to the period of enmity between Yuri Dolgoruky (Andrei’s father) and Izyaslav Mstislavovich. Presumably, Andrei Bogolyubsky was born in 1111, although there are other dates, for example, 1113. ABOUT early years Little is known about Andrei Bogolyubsky - he received a good upbringing and education, and a lot of attention was paid to spirituality and Christianity. More detailed information about the life of Prince Andrei appears after he came of age, when he began to reign in different cities on the orders of his father.
In 1149, Andrei Bogolyubsky went to reign in Vyshgorod at the insistence of his father, but just a year later he was transferred to the West, to the cities of Pinsk, Turov and Peresopnitsa, where Andrei reigned for another year. In 1151, Yuri Dolgoruky again returned his son to the Suzdal lands, where he remained until 1155, and then went to Vyshgorod. Despite the fact that Yuri Dolgoruky wants to see his son as a prince in Vyshgorod, Andrei after some time returns back to Vladimir and, according to legend, brings with him the icon of the Mother of God, which later received the name Our Lady of Vladimir. After returning, Andrei Bogolyubsky remained to rule in the city of Vladimir, at that time quite small and inferior in economic development other cities of the principality.
After the death of Yuri Dolgoruky in 1157, Andrei Bogolyubsky inherits the title of Grand Duke from his father, but refuses to move to reign in Kyiv and remains in Vladimir. It is believed that this act of Andrei Bogolyubsky was the first step towards decentralization of power. In the same year, Andrei was elected Prince of Vladimir, Suzdal and Rostov.
Vladimir's refusal to reign in Kyiv is perceived by many historians as a transfer of the capital to Vladimir, although this officially happened later. The validity of such a statement is disputed today, but it is generally accepted that the shift of the center of power from Kyiv to Vladimir did occur, albeit unofficially, precisely thanks to the activities of Andrei Bogolyubsky.
In 1162, Andrei Bogolyubsky, relying on the help of his warriors, expels all his relatives, as well as his late father’s warriors, from the Rostov-Suzdal principality and becomes the sole ruler in these lands.
During the period of his reign, Andrei Bogolyubsky significantly expanded the power of Vladimir, subjugating many surrounding lands and gaining enormous political influence in the northeast of Rus'. In 1169, Prince Andrei and his army made a successful campaign against Kyiv, as a result of which the city was left almost completely devastated.
Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky died in 1174 on the night of June 29-30 in the city of Bogolyubovo (which he founded). The prince was killed as a result of a conspiracy by boyars dissatisfied with his policies and growing power.
Canonized in 1702.
Main merit domestic policy Prince Andrey - the growth of the welfare of the Rostov-Suzdal principality. In the first years of the reign, a lot of people from other principalities came to these lands, as well as many refugees from Kyiv who sought to settle in calmer and safer cities. The influx of people gave a significant impetus to the development of the region's economy.
The Rostov-Suzdal principality, and later the city of Vladimir, rapidly increased their wealth, and at the same time their political influence, as a result of which, by the end of the reign of Prince Andrei, they actually became a new political center, taking away power from Kyiv.
In addition, Andrei Bogolyubsky made a lot of efforts to rebuild the city of Vladimir and turn it into a real capital: during his reign, the Vladimir Fortress, the Assumption Cathedral and many other buildings were built, which are still considered cultural monuments.
Andrei Bogolyubsky also paid great attention to the development of culture and spirituality in Rus', which at that time were inextricably linked with each other. Prince Andrei strove for religious independence of Rus' from Byzantium, and several times tried to gain independence from the Kyiv metropolis. He introduced several new religious holidays and regularly invited architects to Rus' to build numerous temples and cathedrals. Thanks to this, our own Russian tradition in architecture began to take shape.
Andrei Bogolyubsky also paid a lot of attention to foreign policy. Most of all, he was focused on protecting Russian lands from raids by nomads, and strived for the independence of Rus' from other states. He made a number of successful campaigns against Volga Bulgaria.
The main result of the reign of Prince Andrei was the emergence of a completely new political and economic center in the city of Vladimir.
In addition, Andrei Bogolyubsky did a lot for the further development of autocracy in Rus' (considered one of the harbingers of the formation of a system of individual power in Rus').
Reign: 1157-1174
From the biography.
| Activities | results |
| 1.Strengthening princely power, the desire to be an autocratic ruler. | 1. He relied on the townspeople and the younger squad; the warriors ceased to be vassals of the prince, but became servants.2. persecuted and brutally punished disobedient boyars 3. moved the capital to Vladimir-on-Klyazma, since there was no veche there. |
| 2. The desire to make Vladimir the spiritual center of Rus'. | An unsuccessful attempt, since the Patriarch of Constantinople did not agree to the creation of a patriarchate independent from Kyiv in Vladimir. He took the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God from Vyshgorod to Vladimir. He introduced new holidays: the Savior and the Intercession. |
| 3. The desire to extend power to all of Rus'. | 1. Temporarily subdued Novgorod2. He subjugated Kyiv, but did not want to rule from there; he put his Brother Gleb in charge. |
| 3. Further development of culture. | Active construction was underway. Under Bogolyubsky the following was built: - Church of the Intercession on the Nerl — Golden Gate in Vladimir - Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir He sought to free himself from the influence of Byzantium and invited Western European masters. The founder of Russian white stone architecture. |
| 4. Strengthening the economic power of the country. | Development of crafts and trade. Establishing new trade relations with countries, creating new trade river routes. |
It was during his reign that masterpieces of world architecture were built.
| 1158 | Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God |
| 1160 | An attempt to create an independent patriarchy in Vladimir. |
| 1158-1161 | |
| 1158 | Vladimir becomes the capital of the principality |
| 1158-1165 | Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bogolyubovo |
| 1164 | The Golden Gate was built in Vladimir |
| 1164, 1172 | Successful campaigns against the Volga Bulgars |
| 1165 | Church of the Intercession on the Nerl |
| 1169 | Capture of Kyiv |
| 11591169-1170 | Unsuccessful attempt to subjugate Novgorod. Temporary subjugation of Novgorod. |
| 1174 | Killed by conspirators from his circle. |
| Around 1702 | Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. |
Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir. 1158-1161
Golden Gate in Vladimir. 1158-1164
Church of the Intercession on the Nerl. 1165.
1158-1165
Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bogolyubovo.
Andrei Yuryevich Bogolyubsky (d. June 29, 1174) - Prince of Vyshgorod in 1149, 1155. Prince of Dorogobuzh in 1150-1151, Ryazan (1153). Grand Duke of Vladimir in 1157-1174. Son of Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky and the Polovtsian princess, daughter of Khan Aepa Osenevich, grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, brother of Vsevolod Big Nest.
V. Vasnetsov. Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky.
The only information about the date of birth of Bogolyubsky (ca. 1111) is contained in the “History” of Vasily Tatishchev, written 600 years later. The years of his youth are almost not covered in sources. In 1146, Andrei, together with his older brother Rostislav, expelled Izyaslav Mstislavich's ally, Rostislav Yaroslavich, from Ryazan, and he fled to the Polovtsians.
Andrey was married twice. In 1148 he married Ulita Stepanovna, daughter of boyar Stepan Ivanovich Kuchka. The chronicles remain silent about the death of Princess Julitta. He had sons - Izyaslav, a participant in the campaign against the Volga Bulgarians, died in 1165, Mstislav, died 03/28/1173, Yuri, Prince of Novgorod in 1173-1175, in 1185-1189 the husband of the Georgian queen Tamara, died approx. 1190, Rostislav, married to Svyatoslav Vshchizhsky, St. Gleb of Vladimir (mid 60s of the 12th century - after 1190), d. in young age. Bogolyubsky's second wife is a Polovtsian or a native of the Caucasus. In “The Tale of the Murder of Andrei Bogolyubsky” it was reported that she was “from Yaz,” that is, an Ossetian. Some sources claim that Andrei's second wife was a Bulgarian princess.
In 1149, after Yuri Dolgoruky occupied Kyiv, Andrei received Vyshgorod from his father, participated in the campaign against Izyaslav Mstislavich in Volyn and showed amazing valor during the assault on Lutsk, in which Izyaslav’s brother Vladimir was besieged. After this, Andrei temporarily owned Dorogobuzh in Volyn. In 1153, Andrei was placed by his father on the reign of Ryazan, but Rostislav Yaroslavich, who returned from the steppes with the Polovtsians, kicked him out.
After the death of Izyaslav Mstislavich and Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (1154) and the final approval of Yuri Dolgoruky in Kyiv, Andrei was again planted by his father in Vyshgorod, but already in 1155, against the will of his father, he left for Vladimir-on-Klyazma. From the Vyshgorod convent he took with him the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, which later received the name Vladimir and began to be revered as the greatest Russian shrine.
Here is how it is described by N.I. Kostomarov: “There was an icon of the Holy Mother of God in the convent of Vyshgorod, brought from Constantinople, painted, as the legend says, by St. Luke the Evangelist. They told miracles about it, they said, among other things, that, Having been placed near the wall, at night she herself moved away from the wall and stood in the middle of the church, seeming to want to go to another place. It was clearly impossible to take her, because the residents would not allow this. Andrei planned to kidnap her and move her to Suzdal land, thus bestowing on this land a shrine respected in Rus', and thereby showing that a special blessing of God rests on this land. Having persuaded the priest of the convent Nicholas and Deacon Nestor, Andrei took the miraculous icon from the monastery at night and, together with the princess and his accomplices, immediately after he fled to Suzdal land."
Miniatures of the Facial Chronicle. Laptevsky volume. 2nd half XVI century
The legend says that, before reaching eleven miles to Vladimir, the horse on which the icon was being transported stopped. And this continued until dark, until the prince ordered a tent to be pitched for the night. And at night he prayed fervently before the miraculous icon, and his prayer was so strong and fervent that mother of God she appeared to him. At this place, Andrei placed the city of Bogolyubov, his favorite residence, and ordered to paint the image of the Mother of God that had appeared to him. The icon of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God became a local shrine. And the brought icon was placed in the newly built Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and the remains of chambers in Bogolyubovo (12th century and 1751).
After the death of his father (1157) he became Prince of Vladimir, Rostov and Suzdal. Having become “the autocrat of the entire Suzdal land,” Andrei Bogolyubsky moved the capital of the principality to Vladimir. In 1158-1164, Andrei Bogolyubsky built an earthen fortress with white stone towers. To this day, of the five outer gates of the fortress, only one has survived - the Golden Gate, which was bound in gilded copper.
Golden Gate in Vladimir.
The magnificent Assumption Cathedral and other churches and monasteries were built. Under Prince Andrei, the famous Church of the Intercession on the Nerl was built not far from Bogolyubov. Probably, under the direct leadership of Andrei, a fortress was built in Moscow in 1156 (according to the chronicle, this fortress was built by Dolgoruky, but he was in Kyiv at that time).
Church of the Intercession on the Nerl.
According to the Laurentian Chronicle, Yuri Dolgoruky took the kiss of the cross from the main cities of the Rostov-Suzdal principality on the grounds that he should reign there younger sons, in all likelihood, counting on the approval of elders in the south. In the Rostov land there were two senior veche cities - Rostov and Suzdal. In his principality, Andrei Bogolyubsky tried to get away from the practice of veche gatherings. Wanting to rule alone, Andrei drove his father’s “front men,” that is, his father’s big boyars, from the Rostov land, following his brothers and nephews.
Meeting of the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God in Vladimir on October 4, 1160.
Andrei dreamed of turning Vladimir into the second capital of Rus', more powerful than Kyiv, and even tried to establish a church metropolis independent of Kyiv, but received a decisive refusal from the Patriarch of Constantinople. Under Prince Andrei, the holidays of the All-Merciful Savior (August 16) and the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos (October 1 according to the Julian calendar) were established in the Russian (North-Eastern) Church. In 1164 he made a successful campaign against the Bulgarians in the lower reaches of the Volga.
Thanksgiving prayer before Vladimir icon Mother of God after the victory over the Volga Bulgars. Miniature of the Radzivilov Chronicle. Con. XV century
In 1169 he made a campaign against Kyiv and installed his younger brother Gleb as prince there. Andrei's activities in relation to Rus' are assessed by most historians as an attempt to “make a revolution in the political system of the Russian land.” For the first time in the history of Rus', Andrei Bogolyubsky changed the idea of seniority in the Rurikovich family. “Until now, the title of senior grand duke was inseparably connected with the possession of the senior Kyiv table. The prince, recognized as the senior among his relatives, usually sat in Kiev; the prince, sitting in Kiev, was usually recognized as the senior among his relatives: this was the order considered correct. Andrei for the first time separated seniority from place: having forced himself to recognize himself as the Grand Duke of the entire Russian land, he did not leave his Suzdal volost and did not go to Kiev to sit on the table of his father and grandfather" - V. O. Klyuchevsky.
Historian V. O. Klyuchevsky characterizes Andrei with the following words: “Andrei loved to forget himself in the midst of the battle, to rush into the most dangerous dump, and did not notice how his helmet was knocked off. All this was very common in the south, where constant external dangers and strife developed the daring of princes, but Andrei’s ability to quickly sober up from warlike intoxication was not at all common. Immediately after a hot battle, he became a cautious, prudent politician, a prudent manager. Andrey always had everything in order and ready; he could not be taken by surprise; he knew how to keep his head in the midst of general commotion. With his habit of being on guard every minute and bringing order everywhere, he reminded him of his grandfather Vladimir Monomakh. Despite his military prowess, Andrei did not like war, and after a successful battle he was the first to approach his father with a request to put up with the beaten enemy.”
Our Lady of Bogolyubskaya. Holy Bogolyubsky Monastery.
In 1170, Bogolyubsky sent an army under the command of his son Mstislav to punish the Novgorodians. The campaign was unsuccessful. Novgorod was besieged, but managed to defend itself, and the army, after heavy losses, returned back. Still, the Novgorodians had to submit and accept the princes on his instructions, since he stopped the access of grain from the Volga to the Novgorod region.
Battle of Novgorod and Suzdal in 1170, fragment of an icon from 1460.
The second campaign against the Bulgarians in 1172 was unsuccessful: the advance detachment, under the command of Mstislav, went to winter time, was met by a strong Bulgarian army, fled and was almost exterminated. The harsh winter forced the main army to return. The last military venture was also unsuccessful. After the death of Gleb in Kyiv (in 1172), Andrei demanded from the new Kyiv prince Mstislav the extradition of the boyars he suspected of killing Gleb. This time, 20 princes took part in the Suzdal campaign, and the army allegedly reached 50,000 people. The nine-week siege of Vyshgorod was unsuccessful. The arrival of a new army to help the besieged Vyshgorod forced Bogolyubsky's troops to retreat in disarray, especially since the princes were very reluctant to take part in this campaign.
Being a supporter of strengthening the center. authorities, caused discontent among some major boyars, reinforced by the old resentment of the family of the boyar Kuchka (despite Bogolyubsky’s marriage to Kuchka’s daughter). He ordered the execution of one of his first wife's brothers, Kuchkovich. In 1174 (75?) A conspiracy against the prince was made by the brother of the executed boyar Stepan Kuchka and other relatives, the Ossetian palace housekeeper Anbal, and the servant Efrem Mozevich.
Attack on Andrei Yuryevich Bogolyubsky by the Kuchkovich conspirators.
Con. XV century
Legend has it that the conspirators (boyars Kuchkovichi) first went down to the wine cellars, drank alcohol there, and then approached the prince’s bedroom. One of them knocked. "Who's there?" - asked Andrey. "Procopius!" - answered the knocker (naming the name of one of the prince’s favorite servants). “No, this is not Procopius!” - said Andrei, who knew his servant’s voice well. He did not open the door and rushed to the sword, but the sword of St. Boris, which constantly hung over the prince’s bed, was previously stolen by the housekeeper Anbal.
Having broken down the door, the conspirators rushed at the prince. The strong Bogolyubsky resisted for a long time. Finally, wounded and bloodied, he fell under the blows of the killers. The villains thought that he was dead and left - they went down to the wine cellars again. The prince woke up and tried to hide. He was found following a trail of blood. Seeing the killers, Andrei said: “If, God, this is the end for me, I accept it.” The killers finished their job.
Sergey Kirillov. Andrey Bogolyubsky. (Murder).
The cutting off of the left hand and the murder of Andrei Yuryevich Bogolyubsky.
Miniature of the Radzivilov Chronicle.
The prince's body lay on the street while people robbed the prince's mansions. The body lay on the porch for two days; on the third, Arseny, abbot from Kuzma and Damian, came, brought the body into the church, placed it in a stone coffin and sang a requiem service over it. According to legend, only his courtier, a Kiev resident Kuzmishche Kiyanin, remained to bury the prince.
Funeral service and burial of the murdered Andrei Yuryevich Bogolyubsky.
Miniature of the Radzivilov Chronicle.
There is a legend that Vsevolod the Big Nest ordered Andrei’s murderers to be sewn into boxes and thrown into Floating Lake (3 miles from Vladimir, Tatishchev calls him filthy), and that to this day these boxes, overgrown with moss, appear on the surface of the lake and moans are heard. There is news that Bogolyubsky’s second wife, originally from Yaz (Ossetia), also took part in the murder.
Soon after the murder of Andrei, a struggle for his inheritance broke out in the principality, and his sons did not act as contenders for the reign, submitting to the right of the ladder. In the Ipatiev Chronicle, which was significantly influenced by the so-called. Vladimir polychron of the 14th century, Andrei is called “Grand Duke” in connection with his death.
The prince was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church around 1702 as a saint. Memory 4 (July 17). The relics of Andrei Bogolyubsky are located in the St. Andrew's chapel of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.
Cancer with the relics of Andrei Bogolyubsky.
The Louvre houses the shoulder pads of Andrei Bogolyubsky.
Shoulder "Resurrection of Christ".
Shoulder "Crucifixion of Christ".
§ 31. The first Suzdal princes. If you don’t count Vladimir Monomakh, who only visited his Suzdal possession for visits, then the first prince of Suzdal should be called Monomakh’s son Yuri Dolgoruky. He lived in Suzdal from a young age and put a lot of work into organizing his principality. But he also belonged to that generation of princes whose main interests were connected with Kiev. When the hope of receiving a great reign in Kiev appeared for Yuri, he turned all his attention to the south, took part in the strife of the southern princes and, having achieved success, moved to Kiev in 1154, where he died in 1157. His distant forest estate, in which he placed many cities, he thus exchanged for restless Kyiv.
Icon of Our Lady of Vladimir
Having achieved his goal in the north and becoming the sovereign sovereign in the Suzdal region, Andrei wanted to influence the affairs of Kyiv and Novgorod and strove for dominance in the entire Russian land. In Novgorod he wanted to keep the princes dependent on him, and for the most part he succeeded in this. The Novgorodians more than once rebelled against Andrei and his henchmen; in 1170 they managed to inflict a decisive defeat on Andrei's troops, driving them away from Novgorod and collecting so many prisoners that they sold them for small coins. But in the end, the Suzdal prince defeated the Novgorodians, since, in addition to military force, in his hands was a real remedy against Novgorod: Andrei closed the borders of his land to Novgorod merchants and did not allow the supply of grain from the Volga region to Novgorod. Driven to the point of famine, the Novgorodians involuntarily sought peace with Andrei and made peace “with all the will” of the Grand Duke. Andrei wanted to rule in Kyiv. When his nephew Mstislav Izyaslavich sat in the reign of Kiev (§18), Andrei sent an army against him, which captured Kiev (1169). For two days the Suzdalians robbed and burned the capital city, after which Andrei, without coming to Kyiv himself, gave it to one of his younger brothers. Living at home in Vladimir, he, however, bore the name of the Grand Duke and demanded obedience to himself from the southern princes, and sent his troops against the disobedient. Thus, the outlying Suzdal prince extended his influence to all Russian regions.
Power-hungry and despotic, he represented new type a prince who strove for autocracy not only in his family fiefdom, but throughout the entire Russian land. All those who stood for the old, familiar order did not like Andrei; on the contrary, people who understood the advantages of the autocratic system saw in Andrei the ideal of a sovereign. Both views of him - both hostile and sympathetic - were reflected in the chronicles in which we read praises of Andrei alongside condemnation. Andrei's imperious character was, however, so difficult for those around him that in 1175 his own servants killed Andrei in his beloved village of Bogolyubovo and plundered his palace.
Andrey Bogolyubsky. Murder. Painting by S. Kirillov, 2011
After Andrei's death, strife occurred in his land. Andrei had no sons. The older cities of Rostov and Suzdal called his nephews, and the younger ones Vladimir and Pereyaslavl - his brothers. A struggle began between the princes, in which the townspeople also took an active part. The older cities were defeated; the city of Vladimir finally received primacy in the Suzdal region, and Prince Vsevolod, the younger brother of Andrei (nicknamed the “Big Nest”), called by the Vladimir people, became entrenched in it. Reign Vsevolod Yurievich(1176 - 1212) was the heyday of the Suzdal principality. Vsevolod's eldership was recognized in all regions of the Russian land. The Novgorodians were in full agreement with the will of the Suzdal Grand Duke; he also ruled over Kiev, because, as the chronicle says, “all the brethren in the Vladimir tribe placed eldership on him”; even the distant Galich princes sought his support. It is poetically said about his power in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” that Vsevolod can “sprinkle the Volga with oars and pour out the Don with helmets”: he has so many troops.
Even during Vsevolod’s lifetime, disagreements began in his family. The eldest son of the Grand Duke Konstantin incurred the wrath of Vsevolod because he wanted to return seniority to the old Rostov over the new Vladimir and said to his father: “Give me Vladimir to Rostov.” Vsevolod gathered the clergy and squad into his council and solemnly deprived Constantine of seniority, leaving behind the great reign to his second son, Yuri. Constantine did not reconcile himself with his subordinate position and, at the first opportunity, tried to regain his eldership. He took advantage of Novgorod's enmity towards his brothers and united with the Novgorodians. Following the example of Vsevolod, Grand Duke Yuri and his younger brothers (Yaroslav and Svyatoslav) wanted to keep Novgorod in unconditional submission and embittered the Novgorodians. They turned to one of the senior line Monomakhovichs, Mstislav Mstislavich the Udal. The daring man came to Novgorod from his Toropets and led the Novgorodians against the Suzdal princes in the Suzdal land itself. It was with Mstislav that Konstantin allied himself against his own brothers. The decisive battle between the opponents took place not far from Vladimir, on the Lipitsa River (1216). The Novgorodians with Mstislav and Konstantin won. Yuri fled from the battlefield, renounced his great reign and gave Vladimir to Constantine; Novgorod emerged from dependence on the Suzdal princes. From that time on, there was no autocratic power in the Suzdal region. The region was divided into several principalities; the Grand Duke sat in Vladimir, and his brothers and nephews sat in other cities and depended little on the Grand Duke. The descendants of Vsevolod inherited the Great Reign according to the family order: brother after brother, nephew after uncle. The only difference between Suzdal Rus' and ancient Kievan Russia was that there was no veche system in the cities and the princes were complete masters of their “destinations” - this is how their domains began to be called.
