Grand Prince of Kiev

Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes Grand Duke of Kiev) was the title of the Kievan prince and the ruler of Kievan Rus in the 9th–12th centuries.

Rurik (or Ryurik), a semi-legendary Scandinavian Varangian, was at the roots of Kievan Rus'.^[1] He founded the Rurikovich dynasty that would rule Kievan Rus', Rus' principalities and early Russian Tsardom for the next 700 years. Rurik's capital was the northern city of Novgorod. His successor Oleg relocated the capital to Kiev (now the capital of Ukraine) at around 880, thus laying the foundation of what has become known as Kievan Rus'.^[2]

While the early rulers of Rus' were Scandinavians, they gradually merged into the local Slavic population. Still, in the 11th century, Yaroslav, (called Jarisleif in Scandinavian chronicles) maintained the dynastic links, married a Swedish princess, and gave asylum to king Olaf II of Norway.

The movement of nobility also went in the opposite direction. According to Adam of Bremen, Anund Gårdske, a man from Kievan Rus' was elected king of Sweden, ca 1070. As he was a Christian, however, he refused to sacrifice to the Aesir at the Temple at Uppsala and he was deposed by popular vote.

The unity of Kievan Rus' gradually declined, and was all but gone by 1136. After that period Kievan Rus' shattered into a number of smaller states, the southern of which contested for the throne of Kiev.

Kievan Rus' was finally destroyed by the Mongols in 1237,^[3] but the Riurikovich line persisted and continued to rule Rus' principalities.

Rulers of Kievan Rus' held the titles Kniaz and later Velikiy Kniaz, traditionally translated as Grand Prince or Grand Duke.^[3]

Princes of Kiev

Legendary princes of Kiev

• Kyi (?—?)

According to some, Kyi ruled from 430, one of the dates attributed to Kyiv's founding, but that date relates to Kovin on the Danube in Serbia.

Rulers of Kiev and Kievan Rus (~860–1246)

Pagan rulers of the Rurik Dynasty

The Rurik Dynasty were descendants of Rurik, a Varangian chieftain Rørikr, and originally pagans.

Portrait	Name	Born-Died	Ruled From	Ruled Until
	Askold and Dir, Haskuldr and Dyri, were rulers of Kiev (Kænugarður, Kanugard), not Kievan Rus'	?-882	860	882
	Oleg of Novgorod, Varangian konung Helgi of Hólmgarður (Holmgard)	?-912	882	912
	Igor of Kiev, Varangian konung Ingvar	?-945	912	945
	Olga of Kiev (regent), Ingvar's wife Helga of Pskov, was baptized by Emperor Constantine VII but failed to bring Christianity to Kiev	?-969	945	962
	Sviatoslav I of Kiev, the first true ruler of Rus', he united all of the Rus' principalities under the Kiev throne	942-972	962	972
	Yaropolk I of Kiev, supposedly was baptised into Catholicism	958 (960?)-980	972	980

Christian rulers of the Rurik Dynasty

Christianity was officially adopted in 988 by Vladimir the Great.

Portrait	Name	Born-Died	Ruled From	Ruled Until
	Vladimir the Great, early rule is characterized by a staunch pagan reaction but in 988 he was baptized into Orthodoxy and successfully converted Kievan Rus to Christianity	958-1015	980	1015
	Sviatopolk the Accursed	980-1019	1015	1019
	Yaroslav the Wise, Kievan Rus reached the pinnacle of its' power during his reign	978-1054	1019	1054
	Iziaslav I of Kiev, first time	1024-1078	1054	1073
	Vseslav of Kiev, was a brief ruler during Iziaslav's official reign	1039-1101	1068	1069
	Sviatoslav II of Kiev (on picture, first from right)	1027-1076	1073	1076
	Iziaslav I of Kiev, second time	1024-1078	1076	1078
	Vsevolod I of Kiev	1030-1093	1078	1093
	Sviatopolk II of Kiev	1050-1113	1093	1113
	Vladimir II Monomakh, was the last ruler of the united Kievan Rus	1053-1125	1113	1125
	Mstislav I of Kiev, during his reign Kievan Rus fell into recession starting a rapid decline	1076–1132	1125	1132

The decline of Kievan Rus

During this time the territory of modern Ukraine was conquered by various princes of the disintegrating Kievan Rus principalities and Galicia-Volhynia.

• Yaropolk II (1132–1139)
• Vyacheslav I (1139) (first time)
• Vsevolod II (1139–1146)
• Igor II (1146)
• Izyaslav II (1146-1149) (first time)
• George I (1149–1151) (first time)
• Vyacheslav I (1151–1155) (second time)
• Izyaslav II (1151-1154) (second time)
• Rostislav I (1154) (first time)
• Izyaslav III (1154-1155) (first time)
• George I (1155–1157) (second time)
• Izyaslav III (1157–1158) (second time)
• Rostislav I (1159-1167) (second time)
• Izyaslav III (1162) (third time)
• Mstislav II (1167–1169) (first time)
• Gleb I (1169) (first time)
• Mstislav II (1170) (second time)
• Gleb I (1170–1171) (Second time)
• Vladimir (1171)
• Mikhail I (1171)
• Roman I (1171–1173) (first time)
• Vsevolod III (1173)
• Ryurik (1173) (first time)
• Svyatoslav III (1174) (first time)
• Yaroslav II (1174–1175) (first time)
• Roman I (1175–1177) (second time)
• Svyatoslav III (1177–1180) (second time)
• Yaroslav II (1180) (second time)
• Ryurik (1180-1182) (second time)
• Svyatoslav III (1182–1194) (third time)
• Ryurik (1194-1202) (third time)
• Ingvar I (1202)
• Ryurik (1203-1205) (fourth time)
• Roman II (1203-1205)
• Rostislav II (1204–1206)
• Ryurik (1206) (fifth time)
• Vsevolod IV (1206–1207) (first time)
• Ryurik (1207-10) (sixth time)
• Vsevolod IV (1210–1214) (second time)
• Ingvar I (1214)
• Mstislav III (1214–1223)
• Vladimir III (1223–1235)
• Izyaslav IV (1235–1236)
• Yaroslav III (1236–1238) (first time)
• Mikhail II (1238–1239) (first time)
• Rostislav III (1239)
• Daniil I (1239–1240)
• Mikhail II (1241–1246) (second time)
• Yaroslav III (1246) (second time)

See also

• List of Ukrainian rulers
• List of Russian rulers
• List of rulers of Galicia and Volhynia
• Genealogy of early Russian princes

References

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