You will learn from this article what Andrei Bogolyubsky did for Rus' and what the Grand Duke built.

What was Andrei Bogolyubsky like?

Bogolyubsky Andrei Yuryevich (1111 - June 29, 1174) is the Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal and since 1157 the Great Prince of Kiev. He was the eldest son of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky and Aepa, the daughter of the Polovtsian Khan. Was married twice. Bogolyubsky's first wife was the daughter of Kuchka Stefan Ivanovich, the first owner of Moscow. The prince's second wife was a captive from Volga-Kama Bulgaria, who was brought from a military campaign in 1164.

In 1149, he received the city of Vyshgorod as an estate from his father. And a year later he was transferred to Western Russian lands, where Bogolyubsky took possession of the cities of Pinsk, Turov and Peresopnitsa.

In 1151, Andrei Yuryevich received his father’s consent to return to his native Suzdal lands. After 4 years he was transferred back to Vyshgorod. But he, despite his father’s objections, escapes to Vladimir-Zalessky, taking with him the icon of the Virgin Mary painted by the Evangelist Luke.

When Yuri Dolgoruky died in 1157, Andrei Bogolyubsky inherited the Grand Duke's throne of Kyiv. Thus, to answer the question, Andrei Bogolyubsky was the prince of which city, it is worth saying that he was the prince of several cities - Kyiv, Rostov, Suzdal and Vladimir. But, despite the custom, the prince did not go to live in Kyiv.

In 1162, the prince, relying on his servants, expelled all his relatives and his father’s squad from the Rostov-Suzdal land. At the same time, Andrei Bogolyubsky moved the capital of northeastern Rus', from Suzdal to Vladimir, establishing his residence in the city he built - Bogolyubovo-on-Nerl. This is how he got his nickname.

Also, Andrei Bogolyubsky was the first to make the first attempt in the history of Kievan Rus in 1160 to divide the church into 2 metropolises. But he failed to do this.

What did Andrei Bogolyubsky build?

During the reign of the prince, large-scale construction also began in Vladimir and its suburbs. Andrey Bogolyubsky built the Golden Gate in the likeness of the Kyiv Golden Gate, the castle-city of Bogolyubovo. He did not forget about the spiritual component of life. Thanks to him there were the Assumption Cathedral, the Intercession on the Nerl, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Bogolyubovo were erected. The temples built by Andrei Bogolyubsky were the personification of the high cultural development of the state, the beauty of which could not be conveyed in words.

In addition, Andrei Bogolyubsky did a lot to get rid of the influence of Byzantium in Rus'. The prince constantly invited Western European architects to build temples and other structures. He introduced new holidays in Rus' that were not celebrated in Byzantium - Feasts of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Savior.

We hope that from this article you learned what kind of policy Andrei Bogolyubsky pursued and what he did for Kievan Rus.

Reign: 1157-1174

From the biography.

• Son of Yuri Dolgoruky, grandson of Vladimir Monomakh. An outstanding and wise statesman. He was a supporter of strong princely power, imperious, sometimes despotic with the rebellious.
• He made Bogolyubovo his residence, where he built a palace and a church, so he went down in history as Bogolyubsky.

Historical portrait of Andrei Bogolyubsky

1.Domestic policy

Areas of activity	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.

2. Foreign policy

Results of the activities of Andrei Bogolyubsky:

• The grand-ducal power, based on the nobility, was significantly strengthened, and the beginning of autocracy was laid.
• The influence of the Vladimir prince on Rus' expanded, and such important centers as Kyiv and Novgorod were subjugated. The Vladimir-Suzdal principality becomes the core of the future Russian state.
• There was further development of culture, its original features developed.

It was during his reign that masterpieces of world architecture were built.

• Significant strengthening of the country's economic power, establishment of new trade routes.
• Successful foreign policy.

Chronology of the life and work of Andrei Bogolyubsky

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.

Years of life 1111–1174

Reigned 1169–1174

Prince Andrey Yurievich Bogolyubsky- son of Yuri Dolgoruky - was born in the Rostov region, which by that time had become a separate principality. The father gave the young prince control of Vladimir - then a small suburb of the city of Suzdal, founded on the Klyazma River by Vladimir Monomakh. Andrei reigned in Vladimir for many years, and in the north of Rus' he lived most of his life - 35 years.

In 1146, a power struggle began between Yuri Dolgoruky and his cousin Izyaslav, which lasted for several years. Prince Andrei took part in battles on his father's side. Then the fighting prowess of Prince Andrei was revealed. He was in the most dangerous places in the battle and fought, not noticing his knocked-off helmet, furiously striking his opponents with his sword. They said about Andrei that he could not be taken by surprise. In 1149, Yuri Dolgoruky entered Kyiv and occupied it, but soon Izyaslav, returning with his retinue, forced him to leave the city.

When, after the death of Izyaslav, Yuri Dolgoruky sat on the Kiev grand-ducal throne, he seated Andrei nearby, in Vyshgorod. However, Andrei did not want to live in the south of Rus' and, secretly from his father, left to the north, to the Suzdal region.

From Vyshgorod, Andrei took to Vladimir the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, painted, according to legend, by the Evangelist Luke and brought from Greece by a merchant named Pirogoschi.

Andrey Bogolyubsky

The legend says that on Andrei’s way to his house, about 20 kilometers from Vladimir, the horses stood up and did not want to budge. And after changing the horses, the cart again did not move.

Andrei and his companions had no choice but to spend the night here. At night, Prince Andrei dreamed of the Mother of God, who ordered to build a temple in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on this site and to found a monastery here. After a while, the church and monastery were built, and a settlement called Bogolyubov grew up around them. This is where the nickname of Prince Andrei came from - Bogolyubsky.

Subsequently, the icon, brought to Vladimir by Prince Andrei, became the main shrine of the Vladimir-Suzdal land under the name of the Vladimir Mother of God. In Vladimir, by order of the devout Andrei, two monasteries were built: Spassky and Resurrection, as well as other Orthodox churches.

And in addition, following the example of Kyiv, the Golden and Silver Gates were erected in Vladimir. The rich churches of Vladimir gave the city special significance, and it rose above other cities. The city's population grew rapidly; from a small suburb of Suzdal, Vladimir-on-Klyazma soon turned into a large populous city.

After the death of Yuri Dolgoruky in 1157, the Rostov and Suzdal residents chose Andrei to reign. But Andrei did not go to Kyiv to take the grand-ducal throne. He remained in Vladimir, losing Kyiv to Rostislav Mstislavich.

Prince Andrei decided not to give inheritance to his sons, thereby strengthening the Principality of Vladimir, protecting it from fragmentation. He continued to expand the new capital and even tried to move the center of the Russian clergy to Vladimir. But Constantinople patriarch, to whom Prince Andrei turned for permission, refused to ordain the Vladimir priest as metropolitan.

Vladimir. Golden Gate

Prince Andrei not only built churches, but also fought with infidels. So, in 1164, he and his army first attacked the Bulgarian kingdom, where the Mohammedan faith (Islam) was preached.

After the death of the Kyiv prince Rostislav, Andrei Bogolyubsky agreed that his nephew, Mstislav Izyaslavich, would be the Grand Duke in Kyiv.

But soon, together with his son (also Mstislav), Andrei Bogolyubsky gathered the Suzdal militia, which was joined by 11 princes, and went to Kyiv. The combined army fought for two days under the walls of Kyiv. On the third day the city was taken. The warriors of the allied princes robbed and destroyed the city, killed the inhabitants, forgetting that these were Russian people like themselves.

After his victory, Andrei placed his younger brother Gleb on the Kiev table, and he himself accepted the title of Grand Duke and remained in Vladimir. Chroniclers date this event to 1169.

After the fall of Kyiv, Andrei Bogolyubsky gathered the entire Russian land under his hand. Only Veliky Novgorod did not want to submit to Bogolyubsky. And Prince Andrei decided to do the same with Novgorod as with Kyiv.

In the winter of 1170, an army under the command of Prince Andrei’s son, Mstislav Andreich, set out to suppress a riot in Novgorod, where the young prince Roman Mstislavich ruled. Novgorodians fought bravely for their independence. They fought so furiously that Mstislav had to retreat.

Tradition says that at the height of the battle, when the advantage was on the side of Mstislav Andreich, the townspeople brought the icon of the Mother of God of the Sign to the fortress wall. Monks and priests prayed, trying to support the fighters. The arrow of the attackers hit the icon, and tears flowed from the eyes of the Mother of God. Seeing this, the Novgorodians rushed into battle with renewed vigor. And something strange began to happen in the camp of the attackers: an inexplicable fear gripped the entire army, the soldiers stopped seeing the enemy and began to shoot at each other, and soon Mstislav shamefully fled with the army.

Andrei Bogolyubsky did not forgive the Novgorodians for the defeat of his army and decided to act differently. A year after the defeat, he blocked the supply of grain to Novgorod, and the townspeople recognized his power. Prince Roman was expelled from Novgorod, and the Novgorodians came to bow to Bogolyubsky.

At this time, Prince Gleb died suddenly in Kyiv. Andrei Bogolyubsky gave the Kyiv table to the Smolensk princes of Rostislavich. Kyiv lost its former greatness, its rule began to change hands and, in the end, Kyiv submitted to the Vladimir prince.

Bogolyubsky fell victim to a conspiracy in 1174. His wife's brother committed a crime and was executed on the orders of Andrei Bogolyubsky. Then the second brother of Andrei’s wife organized a conspiracy. When Andrei Bogolyubsky went to bed, the conspirators burst into his bedroom (the prince’s sword was taken from the bedroom in advance). Twenty people attacked the unarmed Bogolyubsky, stabbing him with swords and spears. Pious Andrei joyfully accepted death; he had long repented of many of his unseemly deeds that he committed during the struggle for power. The chronicle says that the last words of Andrei Bogolyubsky were: “Lord! I commend my spirit into your hands!”

Prince Andrei's body was thrown into the garden. The murdered prince was not buried according to Orthodox custom and was not buried for five days. The prince's associates plundered the palace. The robberies spread to all of Bogolyubov and Vladimir. The outrages in Bogolyubovo and Vladimir continued until one of the priests took the miraculous icon of the Vladimir Mother of God and began to walk around the city with prayers.

On the sixth day after the murder, Andrei Bogolyubsky was buried in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, which he had built. Subsequently, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Andrei as a Saint.

Mongol cavalry

Since the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky, Kievan Rus ceased to exist as a state entity and began its history Vladimir-Suzdal Rus'.

Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus'

Rus' at the beginning of the 13th century consisted of several separate principalities and lands, the most significant being the Vladimir-Suzdal, Galicia-Volyn, Chernigov, Ryazan principalities and the Novgorod land. The Chernigov, Smolensk and Vladimir-Suzdal princes did not get along with each other. There were frequent clashes between squads of different principalities. The Russian principalities were fragmented and split in the face of a terrible enemy who was approaching Rus' from the east.

The first battle with the Mongols in the Polovtsian steppe took place on the river Kalka May 31, 1223, in which the troops of several Russian princes were completely defeated. The Mongols laid the captured Russian princes on the ground, laid boards on top and sat down to feast on them. After the battle on the Kalka River, Rus' first heard about the existence of a formidable enemy.

After the victory at Kalka, the Mongols left for Central Asia and returned to Rus' only 14 years later.

When the Ryazan prince learned that the Mongol-Tatar army was approaching the borders of the Russian principalities, he immediately sent messengers for help to Vladimir and Chernigov. But other princes did not perceive the Mongols as a serious opponent and refused to help him. On December 21, 1237, after a five-day siege and storming of the city walls using rams and metal weapons, Ryazan fell. The city was burned, the inhabitants were partly exterminated, and partly carried away.

Burning and plundering cities and villages along the way, the conquering troops under the command of Batu and Subedei approached Vladimir. On February 7, 1238, the Mongols broke into the city through gaps in the walls, and soon ruins were smoking in its place.

A 200-year era began in the history of Russia, which was called - Mongol-Tatar yoke(yoke). All Russian principalities had to recognize the heavy Mongol-Tatar yoke over themselves and pay tribute. The princes were forced to take permission (label) from the conquerors for their reign. To receive shortcut the princes went to the capital Golden Horde the city of Saray, which was located on the Volga River.

The Mongol-Tatar yoke formally began in 1243, when the father of Alexander Nevsky, Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, received from the Mongol-Tatars a label for the Grand Duchy of Vladimir and was recognized by them as “the oldest prince in the Russian language.”

...History, opening the tombs, raising the dead, putting life into their hearts and words into their mouths, out of decay, again creating Kingdoms, and presenting to the imagination centuries with their distinct passions, morals, deeds, expands the boundaries of our own existence...

N. M. Karamzin

In 1934, the employees of the Institute of the History of Feudal Societies (the modern Institute of Archeology) received an incomplete skeleton of the “unknown”, without tags and identification marks, only with an accompanying sheet in which radiologists-anthropologists were asked to conduct an impartial examination of the remains and answer questions: age of a person, his anthropological type and most importantly - why and how did this person die?

Such secrecy in the study of these seemingly unremarkable remains should have protected scientists from the temptation to bring their conclusions closer to the desired result. After a short time, the experts’ answer came: before us are the remains of a man, approximately fifty years old, about 170 cm tall.

A physically strong man who has lived an active life, despite partially fused cervical vertebrae, as well as diseases diagnosed in him (spondylosis and osteochondrosis), which significantly limit the mobility of this person.

Based on a study of the characteristics of the endocrine system, it was suggested that the person was easily irritable, excitable and showed his emotions extremely strongly, apparently not embarrassed by his reaction to even the most insignificant events.

The type of his skull was defined by the anthropologist V.V. Ginsburg as northern, close to the Kurgan Slavic ones, with undoubted Mongoloid features. The forehead sloping back, always, due to the fused vertebrae, the head raised proudly - all this gave the “unknown” an imperious, tough, unyielding appearance.

After analyzing all the remains, scientists came to the conclusion that before them was a warrior who participated in many battles, as evidenced by scars from old healed wounds, which could only be received on the battlefield or in a duel, but there were also new wounds that had not had time to heal, received immediately before death.

Who is this? Perhaps this is a warrior who laid down his life on the battlefield?

But the nature of the “new” wounds spoke of something else: this man was treacherously killed. Numerous wounds inflicted by a variety of weapons: chopping, presumably with swords and sabers, piercing with spears or daggers - all the wounds were inflicted from the sides or from the back on a completely defenseless person. The experts had no doubts: “This is an attack by several people, with a specific purpose - not injury, even serious, but murder right there, on the spot, at any cost.”

Thus, the assumptions and hopes of archaeologists were justified: the anonymous anthropological examination became the last confirming factor that made it possible to give a final answer to the question of who this person was. The researchers found the remains of the holy noble Grand Duke of Vladimir Andrei Yuryevich, who was brutally murdered on the night of June 29-30, 1174 in Bogolyubovo.

Despite the joy of historians at the fulfillment of hopes, the answer to this question has given rise to many new unknowns. It was known for certain why the Grand Duke died, but how did this happen and why? Who killed him and why? And also what significance did this event have for the prince’s contemporaries, and why was Grand Duke Andrei Yuryevich, who died a violent death at the hands of murderers, not canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church? This did not happen immediately after his death in 1174, or ten years later, or even a hundred years later. He was canonized around 1702, that is, only 528 years after his death...

The figure of Andrei Yuryevich has always attracted all people interested in history. - not just a prince, he is a milestone in the history of Russian statehood; the ideas he brought to life were reflected in the actions of subsequent generations of great Russian princes and tsars. His life and death reflected the difficult political and social relations of the era as if in a mirror.

Andrei Bogolyubsky was born in 1112 into the family of the Rostov prince Yuri Vladimirovich, better known by his nickname Dolgoruky, and the daughter of the Polovtsian khan Aepa. His father spent his life in a constant struggle for the grand princely throne of Kiev, which he eventually succeeded in occupying, but it never brought him happiness; after only a few years of his reign he was poisoned.

After the death of his father in 1157, Andrei Yuryevich became the Grand Duke and immediately showed himself to be an outstanding ruler and an extraordinary personality. By accepting the title of Grand Duke, but not going to reign in Kyiv, for the first time, he, in fact, destroys the tradition that had developed up to that time: since the Grand Duke means the Prince of Kiev.

The Grand Duke now reigns in the Rostov-Suzdal land. Having received the land, he decides to strengthen himself on it and, using the right of the strong, expels his three brothers, two nephews, his stepmother and almost all of his father’s associates from the Rostov-Suzdal principality. His next step towards consolidating his own power is the fight against the boyar aristocracy.

Here it is necessary to make a small remark: the prince did not have full power at that time, he was often only the first among equals, he always had to look back at the boyars and the senior squad, otherwise, having lost their support or entering into confrontation with them, he could simply lose all his real power, leaving himself only the beautiful title of prince.

Andrei Bogolyubsky set out to stop this established tradition. He, ignoring all obstacles, steps towards autocracy, concentrating power in his hands. How to get rid of constant intrigues and boyar influence? He acts straightforwardly and simply: he moves the capital of the principality to the Suzdal suburb - the city of Vladimir-on-Klyazma.

In this new capital, everything will be the way he wants: grandiose construction is unfolding, the Assumption Cathedral is being built, which amazed contemporaries with its luxury, the Golden Gate, similar to Kyiv’s, opens the way to it. The Grand Duke, with no less pomp, furnishes his country residence - the fortified castle town of Bogolyubovo-on-Nerl, where the pearl of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality was located - the magnificent courtyard church of the prince, dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin.

The floor of the cathedral was paved with copper slabs polished to a shine; the choirs were lined with majolica slabs, in the mirror surface of which the reflections of the sun and candles played. The abundance of precious utensils, frescoes, expensive fabrics - the combination of all this with the beautiful interior amazed everyone who saw the decoration of the temple, which emphasized the greatness of the prince.

The Ipatiev Chronicle conveys the deep symbolism of what is happening, essentially directly identifying Andrei with Solomon, the church in Bogolyubovo with the Old Testament Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, and Vladimir with Kiev as the New Jerusalem. Apparently, this was what Andrei himself intended, and this is how all this was perceived by his contemporaries.

The prince's secular power grew stronger, the temples he built glorified his greatness, but this was not enough. Realizing the influence of the Church on the minds of people, Andrei Bogolyubsky decides to use its enormous capabilities for his own political purposes. He promotes the idea of ​​the Vladimir-Suzdal principality being chosen by God; in fact, it was he who initiated the adoption of new state holidays - the Savior and the Intercession, and under him a whole series of literary works was created: “The Word of Andrei Bogolyubsky about the holiday of August 1”, “The Life of Leonty of Rostov”, etc. d.

Having concentrated colossal power in the Rostov-Suzdal land in his hands, the Grand Duke continues his policy, transferring it beyond the borders of his principality: both Kyiv and Novgorod lie at his feet, and there is no man in Rus' more powerful than Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky. But when a person reaches the top and does not stay there, there is only one way - down.

Kyiv rises, and then Andrei Yuryevich assembles a grandiose campaign against Kyiv, such as the Russian land has never known. The army consists of all the principalities subordinate to it: here are the Rostovtsy, Suzdal, Ryazan, Murom, Novgorod, Belozerst, Vladimir, Pereyaslavl. By order of the prince, squads from the neighboring lands of Chernigov, Kursk, Polotsk, Smolensk and other princes stood under his banner.

However, the ways of the Lord are inscrutable: the army suffered a crushing defeat under the walls of Kyiv, and it had to disperse in disgrace. Power gradually began to flow out of the hands of Andrei Bogolyubsky, and it is unknown how this could have ended if not for the martyrdom that summed up his earthly life.

Returning to the topic of the murder of the prince, we need to ask ourselves the question: can we even understand, eight hundred years later, the intricacies of the events of that ill-fated night for Andrei Bogolyubsky?

We can answer this question: yes, it is possible. The Laurentian and Ipatiev Chronicles preserved the so-called “Tale of the Murder of Andrei Bogolyubsky” - a text telling about the final hours of the prince’s life in the earthly vale.

This text has been studied by historians many times, and the classical, literal understanding of it presents us with the following picture of the last hours of the prince’s life: before the murder of Andrei, the conspirators, to give themselves confidence, went down to the wine cellars and got thoroughly drunk there. Then, finally gathering their courage, they went to the prince’s bedroom.

Deciding to first get to him by cunning, one of the conspirators knocked and called himself Procopius, the name of one of the prince’s trusted servants, but either the prince recognized the speaker by the voice, or he had drunk too much - the prince recognized the deception, did not open the door and, remaining until the end prince-warrior, rushed to the sword, which, according to legend, belonged to St. Boris, but the sword was stolen by the prince's housekeeper, who also participated in the conspiracy. So the prince, at whose word all of Rus' was under the spear, turned out to be absolutely defenseless.

The conspirators began to break down the door, and when it fell, they rushed at the prince. Having spent most of his life on military campaigns, the prince was not a simple rival - even unarmed, he posed a threat, and many of the conspirators were drunk, but numerical superiority (there were about 20 of them) and edged weapons completed the matter. The prince fell. Thinking that he was dead, the conspirators again went to the cellars.

Meanwhile, the prince woke up and, despite the wounds inflicted on him, tried to hide. Having decided to inspect, or rather simply rob, the prince’s body, the conspirators did not find it in his bedroom, but were able to find it along the bloody trail. The chronicle says that when Andrei saw the killers, he said: “If, God, this is the end for me, I accept it.” The killers completed their job, the prince’s body lay on the street while people robbed his majestic mansions.

Old Russian texts should never be taken literally; they are all riddled with allusions to Sacred History; chroniclers never set out to engage in thoughtless chronicling. The chronicle was a relevant work in which an educated reader of that time could see much more than a modern one. In this regard, the so-called “The story of the severed hand” was examined in detail by I. N. Danilevsky, and it is his assumptions that are the most interesting at the moment.

Despite the almost complete coincidence of the results of the examination and the text of the “story of the murder of Andrei Bogolyubsky,” a slight discrepancy was identified. The head of the conspirators, Peter, cuts off the prince’s right hand, after which he dies. The examination says that the right hand was intact, but the left was cut in many places.

For a long time they did not pay attention to this discrepancy - well, you never know, the ancient scribe made a mistake, it happens to everyone. But the chronicler does not need our patronizing attitude; he knew what he wrote and knew which hand was cut off. For example, in a miniature in the Radzivilov Chronicle (XV century!), a woman stands next to the lying prince and holds his severed hand - and precisely his left one. So what does this all mean?

The world of medieval man is full of symbols that reveal the meaning of phenomena. The main book on which the world order of that time was based was the Holy Scripture, where I. N. Danilevsky proposed to look for the answer. The Gospel of Matthew says: “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.”(Matt. 5:30). How could the right hand “seduce” the Grand Duke?

Here we will need to delve into another document where the motif of a severed hand is present, namely the Laurentian Chronicle, which talks about Bishop Theodore, the prince’s protege, whom he wanted to put at the head of the new Vladimir Metropolis, separating from the Kyiv Metropolis.

The prince's grandiose plans were not crowned with success. His pride and the behavior of Bishop Theodore caused general condemnation from the public of that time. Neither the idea itself nor the methods by which the prince and his protege achieved their goal met with approval. For example, Rostov Bishop Nestor, who opposed the prince, was expelled from his diocese. Only the intervention of the Patriarch of Constantinople stopped the process of dividing the Russian metropolis into two parts. But this did not stop Andrei and Theodoretz.

In 1168, at the Council in Kyiv, Bogolyubsky, through Theodoretz, wrote to the Prince of Kyiv Mstislav that Metropolitan Constantine should be removed and a new one installed with the help of the Council of Bishops, and in general it was necessary to think about whether to abandon such a troublesome and costly power of the Patriarchs. However, Mstislav was frightened and, despite all the efforts of Theodore, did not dare to do this.

Then Theodores went with gifts to the Patriarch and began to assure him that there was no metropolitan in Rus', and to ask him to appoint him as metropolitan. The Patriarch did not agree. Then he began to beg at least for the episcopal see in Rostov. The Patriarch took pity and gave in. Then Theodoretz, without going to the metropolitan for a blessing and ignoring him in every possible way, went to the episcopal see.

Having learned about all this, the Metropolitan wrote to the abbots and presbyters of the Rostov diocese, asking them not to serve with Theodoretz until he accepted his blessing. The power of the metropolitan turned out to be even greater, and even the laity stopped asking for blessings from the new bishop, which only angered Theodore more. And when finally all the deadlines had already expired, and Theodoretz nevertheless appeared in Kyiv, he was captured by the metropolitan’s people, and there “...cut off his tongue, and cut off his tongue, like a heretic villain and cut off his right hand...”

Everything that Theodoretz did, being a protege of Andrei Bogolyubsky, he could not do without his knowledge, which means that the blame for the entire church crisis and the attempt to usurp church power lies with the prince himself - and this is a very serious crime. And yet, despite all his sins, which were very serious at that time, the chronicler treats him with respect, saying that Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky “I washed my sins with the blood of the tormentor”, that is, at the end of his martyrdom he atoned for his sins.

Thus, we answered several very important questions: how the prince died, how his contemporaries treated him, and why he was not canonized immediately after his death - apparently, the memory of his sins has not yet subsided. The last question remains: who killed the prince and why?

It is quite difficult to analyze the question of who exactly killed the prince: apparently each of the killers had their own motives - greed, resentment, etc. They were united by one thing - the desire to kill the prince, for us the main thing is why?

Throughout his life, the prince sought to concentrate maximum power in his hands; he fought with the old established order: the city council, the boyar aristocracy. The prince’s entourage has also changed: he exchanges, according to I. N. Danilevsky, “the personal devotion of the squad, where he was “first among equals,” for the slavish devotion of “alms-givers,” “helpers,” and slaves, who are completely dependent on the master, and That’s why they fear him and hate him, despite all his mercies.”

Here we can also remember that the prince’s relatives and his father’s squad were expelled. Prince Andrei “although be an autocrat,” and this concept for that time was almost a claim to equality with God: “If you want to understand that there is an autocrat, then by power you mean: the apostles are under power, and the Savior is the ruler.”

This desire to become an “autocrat” pitted him against all his relatives, followers, serfs, even the failure of the campaign against Kyiv was not the result of the prince’s mediocrity as a commander, but rather the army’s rejection of new values, refusal to oppose traditions, resulting in low morale and uncertainty in your own strength.

Centuries will pass, and there will be a Mongol invasion, which essentially destroys the old warrior order, as well as the warriors themselves, and “autocrats” will again appear in Rus': kings and great princes, surrounded by servants-nobles and serfs-boyars, according to their word establishing new metropolises, realizing the dream of Andrei Bogolyubsky, taking control of the Patriarchate. But all this has no place yet in the 12th century. The prince was killed by time itself and the power of traditions in which he lived, and in the slow flow of which he could not exist.

ANDREY BOGOLYUBSKY

1157-1174

years of reign, brief biography.

If we talk about the history of our country, there are plenty of bright figures in it. Almost everything is known about some people, but about others we know virtually nothing. What unites them is that their lives had a huge impact on the development of Russia. One of these figures is Andrei Bogolyubsky. His historical portrait shows that he was an extraordinary person.

Brief information

It is generally accepted that the future prince was born between 1120 and 1125. He was the second (or third, it is not known exactly) son of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. His mother is the daughter of the then famous Polovtsian khan Aepa Osenevich, for the sake of an alliance with whom this marriage was arranged.

Why is the future Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky so important for the history of our country? The historical portrait says that he was the most important political and spiritual figure in 1160-1170, as he not only contributed to the creation of the powerful Vladimir-Suzdal principality (on the site of the former Rostov patrimony of his grandfather, Vladimir Monomakh), but also transformed the city of Vladimir -Klyazma to the center of the political and spiritual life of Rus'. Thus, he displaced Kyiv in this “position”. The activities of the prince before Vladimir’s accession to the throne We know absolutely nothing about what Andrei Bogolyubsky (whose short biography is given in the article) did and how he lived before 1146. But there is still reliable information that after 1130 he married the daughter of the boyar Kuchka. The latter left his mark on history by being the owner of vast land plots along the banks of the Moscow River.

His father, Yuri Dolgoruky, always dreamed of reigning on the Kiev throne. And a convenient excuse soon presented itself. In 1146, the people of Kiev invited Izyaslav Mstislavich, who was Dolgoruky’s nephew, to reign. A persistent and fierce struggle began, in which not only all the political forces of Rus' took part, but even the Poles and Polovtsians, who never missed an opportunity to profit from the next turmoil. Yuri twice managed to take possession of the city, but was also expelled from there twice. Only in 1155, when Izyaslav died (perhaps in 1154), did he manage to finally subjugate Kyiv. His happiness did not last so long: the active prince himself reposed in 1157. Throughout this eight-year struggle, Andrei repeatedly proved his unparalleled courage. His military talents and analytical mind served his father well more than once.

First appearance on the political scene

For the first time, the young Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky (whose short biography is full of such moments) clearly manifests himself in the aforementioned 1146, when, with Rostislav, his brother, he knocks out Prince Rostislav (Izyaslav’s ally) from his own capital. When Dolgoruky once again captures Kyiv, Andrei receives Vyshgorod (not far from Kyiv) as a gift from him. In addition, he accompanied his father on a campaign against the Volyn volost, which was the inheritance of Izyaslav. Near Lutsk, where Vladimir (Izyaslav’s brother) settled, he almost died in 1149. The prince became so carried away by the pursuit of his enemies that he rode far away from his warriors. His horse was wounded, stones were thrown at him from the walls of the city, and some hefty warrior of Vladimir was already preparing to pierce Andrei with a spear.

On that day they commemorated the martyr Fyodor, to whom the prince prayed: fighting off the enemies, with his last strength he managed to break through the enemy barrier. He owed his final salvation to his faithful horse. He, being mortally wounded, still managed to convey his master to his warriors. For this, Andrei gave his friend a magnificent funeral. His horse rested on the banks of the Styrem River. Contemporaries noted that the prince was an extremely modest and simple person: he never sought the approval of his father, preferring to do everything according to honor, and was religious. However, Dolgoruky probably saw these qualities, because he loved his son very much.

Peacekeeping activities

After the siege of Lutsk, Izyaslav began to ask for peace. Only thanks to the fact that Dolgoruky listened to the opinion of his son, who extremely disliked senseless civil strife, the peace treaty was signed. Just a year later, Izyaslav was able to enter Kyiv again due to the fact that the townspeople were favorable to him. Having expelled Dolgoruky, the prince did not want to stop there, deciding to send his sons home as well. He decided to start with Rostislav, who at that time reigned in Pereyaslavl. But Andrei came to his brother’s aid. Together they managed to defend the city. Dolgoruky also did not sit still and, with the assistance of Prince Volodymyrko, re-captured Kyiv. Andrey was entrusted with the defense of Peresopitsa, where it was possible to effectively defend the border from Volyn. Izyaslav sent messengers to him with instructions to ask his father to grant his nephew volosts “along Goryn”. But this time Andrei could not soften his father, who was terribly angry with Izyaslav. Then he called for help from the Ugric tribes, with the help of whom, and with the active assistance of the Kievites, he was again able to occupy the long-suffering city. Yuri was forced to retreat to Gorodets-Ostersky, where Andrei soon arrived.

Defeat of Dolgoruky

In 1151, Yuri again started a war, in which Andrei showed no less valor than during the siege of Lutsk. However, everything was unsuccessful, Dolgoruky’s troops were defeated. He himself was blocked in Pereyaslavl by Izyaslav, and therefore was forced to swear to his nephew that he was renouncing his claims to Kyiv, promising to leave for Suzdal in a month. Andrei, according to his peace-loving custom, immediately went to his beloved Suzdal, fervently persuading his father to abandon the stupid and senseless war and follow his example. Stubborn Yuri nevertheless made another attempt to gain a foothold on Kyiv land: he settled in Gorodok, but Izyaslav defeated him again and, under the threat of imprisonment, managed to force his uncle to leave.

Occupation of the Suzdal throne

In 1152, Andrei took part in his father’s campaign against the city of Chernigov. This event was unique in that Dolgoruky managed to put under his banner not only many Russian princes, but also the Polovtsians allied to them. But the combined squad could not take the city, since Izyaslav Mstislavich arrived to the rescue of the besieged. When in 1155 Yuri finally managed to ascend the Kiev throne, he placed Andrei in charge of Vyshgorod. But the young prince did not like those places, and therefore, tired of endless strife, he left for the Suzdal land without his father’s will. In those lands, the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky led to the emergence of a new and very strong principality.

There the devout Andrei took the Vyshgorod clergy, as well as the sword of St. Boris and the Mother of God image, which today is known throughout the Orthodox world as the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. By this, he so endeared himself to the local nobility that the will of his father, who was offended by his son because of his refusal to take the Vyshgorod throne and who bequeathed Suzdal to Andrei’s younger brothers, was not fulfilled: the boyars sent them home, and the throne was unanimously offered to Bogolyubsky. After this, he started reforms, which resulted in the transfer of the capital of the Suzdal principality to Vladimir.

The Great Reign (1157-1174)

Remembering the bloody and disastrous wars for the state that his father unleashed, initially Andrei Bogolyubsky (reigned from 1157 to 1174) directed all his efforts to create a strong and unified principality. Around 1161, he withstood a clash with a number of younger Yuryevichs, each of whom wanted to reign individually. As a result, he expels all his younger brothers, Dolgoruky’s wife and a whole galaxy of other relatives to Byzantium, where they find refuge and protection from Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. In addition, the prince expelled almost all of his father’s boyars, which clearly indicates the incredible scale of the reforms he undertook.

Relations with the Church

At this time, a heated conflict broke out with the Rostov Bishop Leon(t)om, whom the prince expelled from the city twice between 1159-1164. The reason for such ardent hostility between the prince, who was distinguished by great piety, and the church, was the desire of the bishop to introduce Byzantine practice. And Andrei Bogolyubsky’s domestic policy has never been characterized by a desire for concessions. We are talking about the Russian custom of canceling fasts on Wednesday and Friday if a church or great holiday falls on that day. The bishop desperately protested against such “liberties.” The background to this dispute was precisely ecclesiastical; one should not see in it an attempt by the prince to challenge the supremacy of Byzantium: such conflicts at that time were widespread throughout Rus', and not only Andrei Bogolyubsky was involved in them. Briefly, we can assume that this contradiction was also made more acute by the difficult church-political situation that developed in Rus' at that time. The fact is that Andrei seriously intended to separate the Kyiv Metropolis from the Rostov Metropolis. The prince wanted to install his favorite, Bishop Theodore, over the Rostov metropolis, which ran counter to the policy of not only Kyiv, but also Rostov church leaders. Of course, Andrei received a categorical refusal from the Patriarch of Constantinople, Luke Chrysovergos. However, for his diligence and sincere participation in church affairs, the prince was granted permission to move the bishop's residence to Vladimir. But this was done only in 1169. Due to some sharp disagreements with Theodoretz, Andrei Bogolyubsky sends him to Kyiv, where the former bishop is brutally executed.

Construction of monasteries

Andrei Bogolyubsky (whose historical portrait we are describing) is still revered in the Church not only for his reformatory activities in the spiritual sphere, but also for his active participation in the construction of many churches and monasteries. All these architectural objects are unique in that they bear the distinct stamp of Western European church construction. This was largely due to the fact that Galician artels of stonemasons and builders took part in their construction. However, this is of interest only to architects, while something completely different is important. The splendor and truly divine beauty of the churches built then clearly showed the superiority of Orthodoxy over pagan cults. Andrei Bogolyubsky not only built churches - he built a strong foundation of Orthodoxy on his land. In addition, all this contributed to the enlightenment of the Rostov-Suzdal land. Many foreign ambassadors, as contemporaries wrote, “may they see true Christianity and be baptized.” Simply put, Andrei was also a talented missionary who contributed to the massive conversion of people to Orthodoxy. The Church noted this. Thus, the portrait of Andrei Bogolyubsky was depicted on many icons of that time. But the prince was not at all a zealous confessor who lived in isolation from earthly affairs. Firstly, we have already indicated the importance of the construction of temples in the cause of education. Secondly, by building churches on previously undeveloped lands, Andrei contributed to their active inclusion in economic activity. The fact is that the templars were excellent at collecting taxes, and they did it much better than the secular rulers. Finally, historians are sincerely grateful to the reformer. It was Andrei Bogolyubsky, whose years of reign were marked by many important events, who established an orderly chronicle in the Rostov principality, in which the monks of the Assumption Cathedral took an active part. There is also a reasonable assumption that it was he who took part in the creation of the Charter of St. Vladimir, which to this day underlies many church documents.

Strengthening the Principality of Vladimir

One should not think that Andrei Bogolyubsky was completely devoid of power ambitions. Thus, the main focus of many of his reforms was the future rise of the Vladimir principality. It all came down to the need to subordinate Novgorod and Kyiv to their power. When the prince, who also turned out to be a talented politician, managed to resolve issues with the Ryazan princes, they proved themselves to be his faithful allies, participating in all military campaigns of the Principality of Vladimir. Inspired by success, Andrei Bogolyubsky begins to directly interfere in the internal politics of independent Novgorod, demanding from its nobility that only princes he pleases be enthroned. When Svyatoslav Rostislavich, who was personally hostile to Prince Vladmir, sat on the throne of Novgorod in 1160, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky sent an unequivocal letter to the townspeople: “Be it known to you: I want to seek Novgorod with good and evil.” The Novgorodians were afraid of the menacing words, immediately expelled Svyatoslav and installed Mstislav, who was Andrei Bogolyubsky’s own nephew, to reign. But already in 1161, Svyatoslav’s father made peace with Andrei, and together they again put the exiled prince to reign in Novgorod. It is not surprising that the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky led to his confrontation with the southern princes, who rightly saw in him a direct competitor to their independence.

Expansion of spheres of influence

By the end of 1160, the prince's interests went far beyond the borders of his lands. If during the reign of Rostislav Mstislavich Smolensky (Andrei's cousin) there was a special agreement that delimited spheres of influence between different princes, then after his death it suddenly turned out that the preponderance of forces in political life indicated the complete superiority of the Vladimir principality. The competent policy of Andrei Bogolyubsky led to this.

Hike to Kyiv

When the city was conquered by the Volyn prince Mstislav Izyaslavich, who had Galician princes and Poles as his allies, Bogolyubsky immediately set out on the campaign of the “eleven princes.” Among them were not only the faithful Ryazans, but even Rostislav’s heirs Rurik and David, Roman Rostislavich Smolensky, Chernigov rulers Oleg and Igor Svyatoslavich, as well as Prince Dorogobuzh Vladimir Andreevich. In modern terms, Andrei created a powerful allied coalition. A strong and experienced army took Kyiv on the fly (Andrei Bogolyubsky had many personal accounts against the city) in 1169, and the “capital city” was completely plundered. However, no one sympathized with the people of Kiev, since shortly before that a new church confrontation arose with them once again. The fact is that Metropolitan Constantine II imposed a ban on the services of the Kiev-Pechora abbot Polycarp, who supported Andrei in the memorable “post” dispute. After the conquest of Kyiv, Andrei's younger brother Gleb Yuryevich was placed on his throne. In those days, this clearly indicated that Kyiv had become a subordinate city. Thus, Andrei Bogolyubsky’s policy bore fruit.

Novgorod campaign

In the winter of 1169-1170, a campaign against Novgorod was undertaken. This was due to the intersection of the interests of the two principalities in the Podvina region, where intensive colonial expansion was underway at that time. In the battle, the Suzdal-Vladimir army was defeated. The legend has been preserved that Novgorod was defended only thanks to the miraculous intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos through the icon of the Sign. In honor of this event, the icon “Battle of Novgorodians and Suzdalians” was painted. However, this did not help the Novgorodians too much. A year later, in the winter of 1171-1172, they were forced to recognize the power of the Vladimir prince. This was due to the fact that his troops simply blocked the supply of grain from the southern direction. In 1172, Yuri, the son of Andrei, was placed on the Novgorod throne. Soon his power was recognized by the Rostislavichs, who concluded a military alliance with Bogolyubsky. Thus, by that time, Andrei Bogolyubsky’s foreign policy began to closely resemble the behavior of his father, Yuri Dolgoruky.

Board crisis

By that time, the territory of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality had expanded significantly from the east to the lands of Volga Bulgaria (after the foundation of Gorodets-Radilov). In addition, the expansion occurred due to the annexation of part of the northern territories. Thus, they managed to capture Zavolochye (Podvinye).

But in 1170, signs of crisis in foreign and domestic politics began to grow. The very fact of constant military campaigns and military intimidation indicates that the Vladimir prince simply had no other arguments, and the activities of Andrei Bogolyubsky by that time were aimed only at retaining power. The campaign against the Volga Bulgars organized in 1172 was not adequately supported by the allied troops of the Murom and Ryazan princes.

Social policy

Historians say that the very activities of Andrei Bogolyubsky led to this situation. Constant military and fiscal pressure led to the fact that the prince's relations with the nobility began to deteriorate. Moreover, this concerned not only the Rostov boyars, but also those people loyal to the prince from Vladimir, whom he elevated from the service class. Soon relations with the Rostislavovichs broke down. Andrei received a denunciation saying that his brother Gleb had been poisoned, and the names of some Kyiv boyars who were involved in this were named. The prince demanded that the Rostislavichs hand over the people mentioned in the denunciation. But they considered that the denunciation did not have sufficient grounds, and therefore disobeyed the order. Angry, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky ordered them to leave those cities in which they ruled according to his will. Prince Roman obeyed, but the other rulers were offended. They sent Andrei a message in which they directly indicated their kind attitude towards him, but warned that they would be forced to go to war against the Prince of Vladimir if he continued to force them to obey. There was no answer. Then the Rostislavichs captured Kyiv, expelled Bogolyubsky’s brother, Vsevolod, from there, and installed their own brother Rurik as ruler. Another brother of Andrei, Mikhail, who was besieged in Torchesk, concluded an alliance agreement with them, but at the same time demanded that Pereyaslavl come under his hand. Having learned about these events, Bogolyubsky sent an ambassador to the Rostislavich brothers, who once again conveyed to them his order to leave the cities under their reign and go “to their own home.” The ambassador was unlucky: Mstislav, the eldest of the princes, was not used to fear and trembling, and therefore ordered the messenger to be shaved bald and his beard cut off. He ordered him to tell Andrei: “Until now we have respected you as a father... but if you send ambassadors to me with such speeches, God will judge us.” The prince's contemporaries testified that Bogolyubsky darkened his face terribly upon hearing such words, and then ordered to gather a huge army (up to 50 thousand) and march against Mstislav in Vyshgorod. By that time, the social portrait of Andrei Bogolyubsky had undergone dramatic changes: instead of a peacemaker and a careful politician, a tough and cruel figure appeared, in whom the features of his domineering father were increasingly visible. Ultimately, this had a bad effect on the internal affairs of the principality.

Loss of influence

On this occasion, his chronicler noted with contrition that Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, valiant in all respects (whose biography had not previously had such moments) succumbed to irrepressible anger and pride, and therefore said such daring and evil words. Having also added Smolyan to his army (involuntarily), as well as the troops of some Russian princes and Polovtsians, he set off on a campaign. But the brave Mstislav defended Vyshgorod so well that the entire huge army took flight. Prince Andrei completely lost his influence on the southern rulers. But even for them, not everything was so smooth: just a year later, turmoil began in their possessions associated with the loss of the Kyiv throne, and therefore the Rostislavichs sent ambassadors to Bogolyubsky to ask him for the Kiev throne for Prince Roman. Nobody knows how the negotiations would have ended, but at this time Andrei Bogolyubsky, whose historical portrait we presented in this article, dies.