... the continuation

In June 860, 200 Rus' ships burst into the Golden Horn Bay and laid seige to Constantinople. Only a week later the Byzantine government managed to conclude peace with Askold. A similar campaign, though not so successful, took place in 866. It was Oleg who replaced Askold on Kyiv's throne. He came from Novgorod in 882, and officially proclaimed Kiev the capital of Rus', having pronounced his famous words: "Be it (Kyiv) the mother to Rus' towns." By this he recognized the dominating role of the town on the Eastern Slavic lands. It was here, on the banks of the Dnpro-Slavutych River, that the Polyanian union of tribes arose. It is here, that the age-long traditions of the Eastern Slavic people paved the way for the creation of the Kyiv state — the oldest hearth of ethnology of the Old Rus' nationality. 
"The Tale of Bygone Years" tells, that "Oleg started building towns and fixed the tribute to be paid by the Slavs, Kryvychians, Merians" (Slavic and non-Slavic tribes of Eastern Europe). Under his rule Rus freed itself from the hard and humiliating dependence on Khazar Khanate, located in the Volga area. Just like his predecessor Askold, Oleg undertook two military campaigns against Constantinople in 907 and 911, which ended in victory. It is known that the agreements between the Russians and the Greeks, concluded in 907 and 911 properly crowned both Oleg's campaigns and were competent juridical agreements between the young strong continuously expanding state and powerful but already fading empire. In the 911 agreement Kyiv is already spoken of as the generally recognized capital of Rus.

Kyiv continued strengthening and growing under Oleg's successors, prince Igor and princess Olga. For a long time it remained the town of wooden buildings. Stone construction started during prince Igor's rule and expanded later under his wife Olga, who was a regent to young Svyatoslav (945-964). 
The chronicle mentions a "stone tower" erected most likely under Olga or her husband Igor. Archaeologists were lucky to discover the remains of a splendid palace, dating back to the middle of the 9th century. The palace had marble columns and majolica floors, and was painted with polychromic frescos and decorated with carved slates. Probably the building was of two storeys and rather huge for that time. They have found just recently another palace of Igor or Olga, located "in the town." It was also notable for rich decoration. 
One of the most bright pages in the history of Old Rus and its capital was written down by Svyatoslav, Olga's son, who came of age in 964 and started ruling the state in the same year. "The Tale of Bygone Years" brought us a vivid description of this famous warrior: "When Svyatoslav grew up and gained strength, he began to gather brave soldiers. He was as light-footed on the march as a pardus, and he fought much. He carried neither carts nor pots with himself on the move, he did not boil meat, but sliced horse, beast or beef flesh, roasted it on coals and ate. He did not have a tent either, but slept on a sweat-cloth with a saddle under his head... He sent messengers to alien countries with the words: 'want to fight you.' " 

As one of Soviet historians figuratively said, the reign of Svyatoslav had been the last stroke of sword, which created the foundation of the Kiev state. That was the time, when the Rus state territory was being formed and relations with neighbours in the west and nomads, who populated the steppes of the Northern Black Sea area, were being determined. Brief, less than ten-year reign of Svyatoslav was filled with the hubbub of marches and clanging of battles. Under his leadership the brave druzhynas (army) covered the distance from the Volga to the Danube, having glorified the Russian arms throughout the whole world. 
Fighting at the other end of the world, Svyatoslav rarely lived in Kyiv. The age-old enemy of Rus, Pechenig khans, whose hordes roamed in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, took advantage of it. In 968, they laid siege to Kyiv. The Kyevites suffered from famine, were short of water. But the system of Kyiv fortifications withstood the siege. The force of voevode (commander) Svyatoslav Pretych liberated the town. 
The threat of Pechenigs was looming over the Rus land for 70 years to come. In 972, Svyatoslav was ambushed and killed by the Pechenegs on the Dnieper rapids Till the end of his days he remained faithful to his motto: "Let us not shame the Rus land, but fall in battle here! The dead do not feel shame!" 
After the rule of Svyatoslav's elder son, Yaropolk, which was neither long nor rich in striking events, Volodymyr came to the throne. The reign of Volodymyr in Kyiv (‪978-1015‬) was a glorious and heroic time in the history of Eastern Slavs. This was the period, when the formation of the Old Rus state was completed. It was the time of brilliant successes of Russian arms, formation and development of original and bright culture of the Old Rus nationality. The capital town of Kyiv flourished and rose. 
When Volodymyr came to the Kyiv throne, he decided to consolidate his power and unite the state. For this purpose the prince established a single pantheon of pagan gods, topped by Perun the Thunderer, who was to correspond to the Great Prince's central authority, obligatory for all in Rus. "So, Volodymyr started ruling alone in Kyiv," epically relates chronicler Nestor, "and had idols, placed on the hill behind the tower court: wooden Perun with a silver head and gold moustaches, then Hors, Dazhdbog, Strybog, Simargl and Mokosh. People were making sacrifices to them, calling them gods." 
But soon Volodymyr abolished pagandom and introduced Christianity. "The Tale of Bygone Years" tells under 988: "Ordered (Vladimir) to build churches and place them on the spots, where idols had stood before." 
The introduction of Christianity in the Old Rus state was of great historic significance. It meant the victory of new feudal relations over obsolete tribalism with its pagan beliefs. At the same time Christianity consolidated social injustice, excused exploitation of man by man. I he prince and his supporters forcibly introduced Christian dogmas. This caused the resistance of popular masses, who more than once arose against Church Under 989, the chronicle reports of laying of the Church of the Tithe — the main temple of Kyiv Rus in those days. This majestic church, magnificently decorated with icons and precious vessels, evoked surprise and admiration in Russians and foreigners. Its construction was completed in 996. Materials of archaeological excavations, which lasted for many years, expressively testify, that the Church of the Tithe, destroyed by the invaders in 1240, was painted with frescos and decorated with mosaics, its floors were covered with majolica plates. When erecting the temple, they used many marble parts: columns, cornices, as well as carved slates. 
Soon after Volodymyr gained a foothold of the throne, the construction of a new fortress, known as "The town of Volodymyr," was begun in Kiev. The fortress consisted of high earthen banks, through which several gates were cut. The main one of them, the St. Sophia Gate, had a stone tower. Deep moats provided additional protection. At the end of the 10th-beginning of the 11th centuries the Kievites actively erected dwellings, which were as a rule framed wooden buildings, sometimes decorated with carving. 
At the time of Volodymyr and his successors Kyiv amazed with its social contrasts. Among wooden houses of artisans and merchants, dugout huts of paupers and prince's kholops (slaves) there raised its pinky-white walls and golden domes the majestic Church of the Tithe, surrounded with prince's palaces and boyars' mansions. In the main town square near the Church of the Tithe they installed a bronze quadriga and statues of antique goddesses ("baby"), brought from Korsun (Chersonesos) which had been won back from Byzantiumin 989. Probably that is why this square got the name of "Babin Torzhok" (old women's market); one of Kiev's markets was located there. 
Archaeologists excavated the remains of three prince's palaces made of stone, which dated back to the period of Vladimir. All the palaces were richly decorated. This is proved by lots of stucco fragments with traces of wall paintings found there. One of the palaces housed Arge main hall (25 # 12 metres). It is quite probable that it was that same gndmtsa, where consultations of the prince with boyars and famous solemn feasts sung in bylinas took place. 
The feasts of Volodymyr were also a peculiar way to involve men into his druzhina, the increase of which was necessary in view of the active foreign policy, pursued by the Old Rus state at that period. The bellicose Pecheneg khans were thrown back from the Southern borders of the Rus land. And the Western borders were protected against the onset of Polish feudals and Yatviag (Lithuanian) tribal leaders. 
Bylynas glorified and exalted Kyiv, about which "great glory is spreading throughout all the lands." 
Rapid growth of Kyiv at the end of the 10th-first years of the 11th centuries was mentioned by foreign travellers, diplomats, and merchants. The city amazed newcomers with its wealth, grandeur of palaces and temples, populousness. Titmar from Merseburg, a Saxon chronicler of the beginning of the 11th century, with the help of eyewitnesses described Kyiv in the following way: "The great city of Kyiv, the capital of that state numbers 400 churches, 8 markets and there is an unusual crowd of people." Even if Titmar exaggerated, it is clear that Kyiv of his time was one of the largest cities of Europe. Such was this town, when Volodymyr's son Yaroslav (1019-1054) took power. During the years of his rule the city grew bigger and became more beautiful.

Under Yaroslav, whom "The Tale of Bygone Years" calls "the absolute ruler of the Rus land," the Old Rus statehood became stronger. The creation of legal and church organization of Rus was completed, diplomatic relations with European states were established and strengthened. In the period of Yaroslav the forms of feudal property, supremacy and subordination ripened.
They were registered in the code of laws of the Old Rus state made up in the years of Yaroslav's rule. 
In the first half of the 11th century Kyiv Rus enriched itself with new towns, the old town centres considerably enlarged. The Rus government spent a lot of efforts and means to beautify the capital town, trying to make it similar to one of the "world's capitals" — Constantinople. Under 1037, chronicler Nestor summed up, though rather laconically, the construction in Kyiv in the 20s-30s of the 11th century: "Yaroslav laid the foundation of the big town, which now has the Golden Gate; he also laid the foundation of St. Sophia Church, metropolitan see, the Annunciation Church on top of the Golden Gate, then the Monastery of St. George and St. Irene." 
This brief report does not mention the banks of "Yaroslav's town" at all. But archaeologists, who have been investigating the fortifications of Kyiv for more than a decade, ascertained, that there existed immense ground banks of "Yaroslav's town," which were 3.5 kilometres long, up to 14 metres high, and more than 25 metres thick at the base. Surrounded by a new line of fortifications, the town's territory was 7 times larger than the town centre at the time of Volodymyr and constituted over 70 hectares. In many places in front of the bank deep moats were dug. On the top of the bank a strong wall of thick oak logs was erected. As to their strength the banks of "Yaroslav's town" were without a parallel in the history of Old Rus fortification. 
Though a brief description of the town construction in Yaroslav's Kyiv names only the main town gate - The Golden Gate, actually there existed at that time at least two more gates: the Southern (Lyadski) and the Northern, later called the Lviv Gate. This is reported in the Kyiv chronicle of the 12th century. Through the Southern Gate the road lay across forest thickets and hunting lands to the old country palace in Berestovo (now it is Pechersk district of Kyiv) built by Volodymyr. Through the Northern Gate the road lay to Vyshgorod.
 The Golden Gate, the ruins of which have been preserved till our days, was a complex engineering structure. It is likely that the gate received its name by analogy with the Constantinople's Golden Gate — both of them served as the main entrance to the central part of the town. 
In May 1982, the Golden Gate was restored. Its original view was returned to it. This beautiful and grand structure gladdens the eye of Kievites and guests of the Ukrainian capital. It is not without reason that Adam of Bremen, a famous German geographer of the 11th century, admiring Kyiv called it the decoration of the East and rival of Constantinople. 
The most important and festive building under Yaroslav was undoubtedly the St. Sophia Cathedral, which served as the main temple of Kyiv metropolitans. The cathedral was notable for its enormous sizes, irreproachable shapes and proportions. It was decorated with multicoloured frescos and glaring mosaics with great skill and taste. It struck contemporaries and evokes admiration of descendants. A folk legend tells, that Yaroslav erected the St. Sophia Cathedral on the place of a fierce battle with Pechenigs, which ended in his decisive success. The people perceived this majestic and splendid creation of human genius as a symbol of victory over the formidable enemy. Illarion, a Russian metropolitan, writer and orator, who was a witness of the construction of St. Sophia, exclaimed in delight: "The church is wonderful and glorious to all surrounding countries and one can hardly find the like in any part of the world from East to West!" 
The two-storey palace of Yaroslav, the remnants of which have been discovered by archaeologists not far from the St. Irene Cathedral, mentioned in the chronicle, was also grand and luxuriously decorated. The Old Rus chroniclers called with respect "prince Yaroslav's yard large, and this corresponded to reality: it could accommodate the whole prince's regiment, and under one of Yaroslav's successors even equestrian competitions were organized there. 
The period of Yaroslav was the heyday of Old Rus. This was reflected in broad and varied diplomatic contacts of the Rus government. Ambassadors of "oversea" countries started to appear in Kyiv streets. They astonished the residents with their exotic clothes and appearance. At the same time diplomatic representatives of the Kyiv ruler were received with honour in the palaces of Constantinople and Rome, London and Paris, Buda and Krakow. The might and high international authority of Kyiv Rus urged the royal families of many European countries to strive for the establishment of kinship ties with Yaroslav's clan. 
In 1049 or 1050, one of the Kyiv prince's daughters — Ann — was given in marriage to king Henry I Capet of France. A solemn mission headed by a bishop came from Paris to Kyiv for the bride. Ann was a clever and energetic woman, which is proved by the fact that after her husband's death she ruled the kingdom on behalf of her son Philippe. State documents preserved her signature in Cyrillic script — Ана ръеина  (Queen Regent Ann). 
Another daughter of Yaroslav — Anastasiya — was given in marriage to king Andrey of Hungary, the third one — Elisabeth — to king Harald of Norway. 
In 1043, Yaroslav's son Vladimir undertook a marine campaign against Byzantium. There were about 20 thousand men in his boats. In a sea battle a terrible hurricane helped the Greeks. It scattered light Russian vessels and sank a part of them. Large Greek ships, less subjected to rolling, seized the opportunity. They burst into the Russian flotilla and completed the crushing defeat, having used lethal "Greek fire." But Byzantium could not reap the fruits of the victory. Having experienced the strength of attacks of Pechenegs, it started striving for an alliance with Rus, which more than once defeated these nomads. Besides, the Greek government was in need of Rus druzhinas to successfully finish exhausting wars, waged for a long time in Asia Minor, Italy and Sicily. To consohdate the union treaty concluded in 1046, the proud Byzantine emperor Konstantine IX Monomach gave his daughter Ann in marriage to prince Vsevolod, the beloved son of Yaroslav. This marriage gave birth to famous Volodymyrr Monomach. 
Yaroslav was an educated man, he spent much time in reading. Nestor with great and rightful proud tells that the prince "revealed zeal to books, often reading them both in the daytime and at night." Further the chronicler places in his composition a brilliant hymn to book and bookish wisdom: "Why, a great use there is from book-learning; books instruct and teach us. They are the rivers filling the universe, they are a source of wisdom; why, there is an immeasurable depth in books, with them we console ourselves in sorrow... If you diligently look for wisdom in books, you will find a great use for your soul." This praise to wisdom, written down into the chronicle just after the story about cultural and educative activities of Yaroslav, gave to descendants the ground to call him the Wise. 

The town continued to build and decorate itself under Yaroslav's successors. Many new palaces and temples as well as dwellings were being built. In the 12th-first 40 years of the 13th centuries, Kiev was one of the biggest towns of Europe: it had not less than 50 thousand inhabitants, considerably outnumbering London and Paris as to population. 
In 1108, the Mikhailovsky Cathedral, which Nestor called Zolotoverkhyi (Gold-Domed), was built. Erich Lyasota, an Austrian diplomat who visited Kyiv in 1594, admired this church, calling it beautiful. "In the middle of it," he wrote, "there is a round cupola with a gilded roof (the main dome), the upper inner arches are inlaid and the floor is paved with small coloured stones." 
The construction of monumental structures was going on in Kyiv just up to Batu's (Mongols) invasion. Artisan and merchant outskirts continued to grow. Podil remained to be the main of them. In the first half of the 12th century Kyiv's fortifications were strengthened. The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra had a strong defensive line. 
After Yaroslav's death the Old Rus state was divided between his sons. The political unity of Kyiv Rus, though temporarily, was broken. But as ever before, Kyiv remained its political, economic and cultural centre. As before, Kyiv princes headed the all-Rus forces in the struggle against external enemies, the Black Sea steppe nomads — Polovtsi,— first of all. 

One of the most celebrated Rus land defenders was the Great Prince Volodymyr Monomach, the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise who ruled in Kyiv from 1113 to 1125. He headed the all-people struggle against the Polovtsian khans who threatened not only the life and property of the Rus people but the mere existence of the Kyiv state. Volodymyr left fond memories of himself, owing to his great victories over the Polovtsi. According to an Old Rus scribe "the Polovtsi intimidated their children in cradle" by Monomach's name. 
Volodymyr Monomach's indomitable energy, brilliant talent of a military leader and outstanding mind were used not only to consolidate the forces of Rus against the Polovtsi, but also to restore the unity of the state. He was a prominent thinker and writer of his time. His "Poucheniye" (Instruction) contains valuable autobiographic materials, which vividly outline the image of the prince himself, as well as impressive characteristics of that time, his thoughts of man's life and his duties. 
With Monomach's name is connected the making up of a new code of laws of Ancient Rus — "Extensive Rus Truth," which included the revised "Rus Truth" by Yaroslav the Wise and "The Yaroslavyches' Truth" by Yaroslav's sons of the middle of the 11th century. 
After the death of Volodymyr Monomach in 1125, the unity of the Kyiv state was again shaken. Slowly but steadily Rus was plunging into the abyss of feudal division, the reason of which, according to present science, consisted in steadfast development of local productive forces, in economic rise of lands and principatitles particularly of Volodymyr-Suzdal, Polotsk, Galicia, Chernigiv Smolensk principalities. Earlier Kyiv had been the only political economic and cultural centre of the Rus land, but since the middle of the 12th century the capitals of largest principalities were its rivals. They were first of all Volodymyr-on-Kliazma and Halych. The second half of the 12th-beginning of the 13th centuries was a period of rapid flourishing of the Old Rus towns, including Kyiv. The artisan and merchant population of new and old town centres was growing. 

The 80s-90s of the 12th century are marked with animation of municipal construction in the Old Rus state capital. The erection of monumental structures in Kyiv gained great scope in the period of Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich (ruled in 1180-1194) and his co-ruler in the Kyiv land Ryurik Rostyslavovych, sung in "The Lay of Igor's Host." About the latter the chronicler said, that he "doted upon construction." The Kyiv chronicle of the 12th century ends in solemn glorification of Ryurik, at whose expenses in 1199, architect Miloneg built a strong wall near the Vydubytsky Monastery, which strengthened the bank of the Dnieper. The compiler of the chronicle called Ryurik tsar, and his principality — "the power of absolute ruler... known not only within Rus, but in far oversea countries up to the end of the universe." 
During the period of the last two d ecades of the 12th-beginning of the 13th centuries Rus, and Kyiv region in particular, was again subject to a new wave of foray on the part of the greedy Polovtsian khans. To a great extent the princes themselves were to blame for it, for they called the merciless enemy of the Ancient Rus people to settle a score with their rivals. Discord between princes, almost continuous intestine feud weakened Rus. The Polovtsian khans took advantage ot it, penetrating ever deeper into Rus, repeatedly menacing even Kyiv. Many times the Polovtsian hordes robbed and burnt down Kiev suburbs, Podil in particular. There was no Great Prince like Monomach, who could head the struggle against the Polovtsian hordes.
Although since the middle of the 12th century there arose new principalities and towns, whose sovereigns pretended to be the first in the Rus land, Kyiv, as before, remained in the eyes of the Old Rus society the capital of the state, the focus of its political, economic, cultural and ideological existence. 
As in the old times, omnipotent Rus princes seeked to gain a foothold of the "Kyiv golden throne." One of them, Yuri Dolgoruky, made titanic efforts to take Ipossession of Kyiv and after all he managed to rule Kyiv during his last three years of life (from 1154 till 1157). He was buried in Kyiv in the Church of Our Saviour in Berestovo. 

Despite the fact that through all the times the population of Old Rus Kyiv was heterogeneous by its social structure, Kyiv had always been a symbol and embodiment of state and ethnic unity of the Motherland. The prince and his family were surrounded by boyars — the highest stratum of the feudal class. Boyars lived in spacious mansions, which looked like real fortified castles fenced with oak paling with strong gates. Kyiv was also inhabited by feudal lords of lower ranks and members of the prince's armed force. But the main town population consisted of artisans both free and dependent on the prince or other feudal lords as well as of merchants, servants, slaves. 
Paupers took shelter in damp dark dug-outs, but the main type of town dwellings, according to recent excavations of Kiyiv archaeologists was a wooden frame building made of logs. New archaeological findings in Kyiv prove, that in the 10th-13th centuries there existed high culture of housing construction and, what is most important, the common character of Kyiv's historical and architectural formation with other towns of the Old Rus state — Novgorod, Pskov, Polotsk. Dwellings of common people were of the same type everywhere throughout all the Eastern Slavic lands — southern, northern and western. The Upper Town, known also as Gora (Hill or Mountain) - the area of the present-day State Historical Museum — was mainly inhabited by representatives of wealthy sections: prince, boyars, other feudal lords, clergy, the upper stratum of town artisans and merchants. As a matter of fact, there were few common people there. They took shelter in the outskirts — Podil, Kopyriv Kinets, etc. There lived the majority of Kyiv artisans, who glorified themselves with their hand-made goods throughout the whole civilized world. Owing to its crafts and trade Kiev flourished and for almost 400 years was the main economic centre of the Eastern Slavic lands.

 Amidst articles of Kyiv handicraft jewelry, first of all with niello and partitioned enamel, was especially famous. Niello was used to decorate silver goods. Shining, almost white silver contrasted with deep black and dull tone of niello. Having been nielloed, an article was worked with a cutter. 
As a rule, articles with partitioned enamel were made of gold. Finest wires, making up fantastic tracery were soldered to the gold surface of the article. The space between the wires was filled with enamel mass. The article was tempered, which resulted in the running of enamel between the wire partitions, which divided the separate segments of the pattern. It was the process, which required fine skill and attention. Enamel should not have been overheated, otherwise it would have lost its colour. 
In Kiev they also manufactured the jewelry with filigree and "grains." The latter contained the pattern of the tiniest drops of metal (grains). Each drop was several times smaller than a pinhead. Kyiv goldsmith had a complete use of the finest jeweller's technology, which the majority of present-day jewellers are not up to. 
Besides the precious jewelry destined for representatives of the ruling classes, articles meant for rank-and-file customers were produced in Kiev, too. For example, glass bracelets, glass and sard beads, brass crosses, small icons, belt-buckles, etc. are found now by archaeologists in great quantities not only in Kiev or its suburbs, but in the most distant regions of Eastern Europe. 
Two thirds of the stone moulds meant for casting of the most complicated and precious Old Rus decorations have been found in Kiev. This testifies that Kyiv artistic craft possessed a very high place in Old Rus. Some of the articles bear the names of jewellers. One of them — Maxym — lived at the beginning of the 13th century and had his shop near the Church of the Tithe. 

In Old Rus Kyiv there lived and worked architects, fortifiers, bell casters, artists who painted icons and frescoed the walls of palaces and temples. Even the material to create the iridescent grandiose mosaics for Kiev cathedrals — smalt — was prepared right on the spot. This is proved by the shop that has recently been found by archaeologists on the territory of the Pechersk monastery. 
In Kyiv they rewrote books and decorated them with miniatures. One of such workshops functioned at the St. Sophia Cathedral. Kiev was an original academy of artistic craftsmanship for painters, jewellers, engravers, builders, etc. 
The progressing separation of handicraft from agriculture, the development of handicraft technique led to the point when craftsmen started steadfastly working for the market and not only for the domestic one. 
In the 10th-13th centuries Kyiv was one of the biggest markets in the world. The high level of trade was maintained due to intensive handicraft development and great scale of its production. 
The town market was as necessary a feature of any Old Rus town as its fortifications. In Kyiv there were several market squares, which were the most animated places of the town, where a lot of people gathered. On the market, prince's orders were announced, news were reported. "Babyn Torzhok" in the Upper Town was considered the main Kiev market. Another big market, which successfully competed with "Babyn Torzhok," was in Podil near the harbour in the mouth of the Pochaina, where there was a custom-house and boats were unloaded. 

The medieval Kyiv had constant commercial relations with many countries. It stood on the famous water way "from the Varangians to the Greeks." The Greek, Iron, and Salt ways connected Kiev with the markets of the South and East. These ways were so important for the economy of the Old Rus state and its capital, that Kiev princes more than once undertook military campaigns against the Polovtsi, who strove to interfere with commerce along the aforesaid ways. Not without reason a Northern Rus chronicler in his notes of the middle of the 12th century wrote that "different people and merchants from many distant countries gather" in Kyiv.
The sources of Byzantium, Germany, Poland and Hungary mentioned Kyiv merchants. They reached burning Central Asia and the misty island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. On their part Byzantine, Italian, Scandinavian, Arabian, Persian, Syrian, Armenian, and other guests visited Kyiv and even lived in it for a long time. Probably the Kyiv outskirt Ugorske (Hungarian) was inhabited by Hungarian merchants, who delivered thoroughbred horses and wines of high quality to the town markets. There was also a settlement of German merchants in Old Rus Kyiv. They even had their Church of St. Maria. 
As a rule, the bargainings were set once or twice a week and in the greatest Old Rus town they bargained every day. 
Great Kyiv Prince Volodymyr Monomach in his book for children called to a gentle treatment with "guests" (merchants from abroad), who spread good fame about the Rus land throughout different countries and filled up the prince's treasure-house. 
In his time prince Svyatoslav, son of Igor, having decided to settle down in Pereyaslavets on the Danube, understood the great importance of international commerce for the Rus land. Among the "good things, streaming" into this southern town, Svyatoslav named "fur, wax, and honey from Rus". The chronicles and other monuments of the Old Rus literature supplement this list with lard, grain, weapons, locks of Kyiv production, jewellery, "fish tooth" (walrus bone), etc. From western, eastern and southern countries Rus received expensive and cheap fabrics, ingot metals and articles manufactured of them, wines, rare fruit, pearls and other luxuries. As a rule, foreign trade met the requirements of feudal lords and clergy. 
Bylynas vividly reflect this oversea trade of Rus and Kyiv, its capital. The compilers of bylinas assure that on markets of big Old Rus towns one could buy anything he liked: from pots meant to cook everyday meal to barrels with pearls. 

The majority of Kiev's population as well as of other Rus towns of the 9th-13th centuries was represented by artisans. Together with petty merchants, auxiliary workers and others they formed the democratic strata of its citizens. But the chronicles and other monuments of the Old Rus history and literature written to prince's order practically do not mention the common people of Kyivv. While mentioning masses of the town population, the Kiev scribes used collective definitions such as "people," "menials," sometimes "common menials" or just "Kyivites." 
Class struggle in medieval towns had never stopped. Kyiv was not an exception. Common artisans, petty merchants, time-workers and degraded people without particular professions (sometimes chroniclers call them "beggars") oppose the town ruling clique: wealthy merchants, heads of artisan corporations, rich craftsmen. But sometimes all citizens united, though not forgetting for a moment about their own contradictions, to fight against princes and boyars for town liberties. Step by step the political role of the citizens in the state was growing, which manifested itself in the activity of town viche assemblies. This could be explained by the mere character of development of the feudal way of running economy, the distinctive feature of which was the steady intensification of commodity production, concentrated in towns. 
The democratic sections of the Kyiv population influenced much the whole way of town life, and to a considerable extent determined the peculiarities of the development of "the mother of Rus towns." In the period of feudal division the citizens, first of all the poor, spoke in favour of the idea of unification of the Rus land and became a support for those princes, who strove to unite the country. The Kiev viche (popular assembly) appoints and dismisses princes, demanding from them to swear an oath "to guard the Rus land" and to live in peace with other lands. 
Sometimes class contradictions in Kiev became so acute, that they took the form of uprisings against the prince and boyar leadership. The chroniclers, who observed life through the window of a monastery cell or even the prince's palace, avoided to put down in their works any information of revolts and riots. They happened to appear on the pages of chronicles only occasionally. Separate fragmentary mentionings in the sources about popular movements do not give the general picture. Nevertheless the chroniclers report about two mass popular revolts in Kyiv, that shook the town to the ground and frightened the princes and boyars to death. 

In 1068, the first raid of the Polovtsi on the Rus land took place. Three princes, Yaroslav's sons, who ruled the state together after the death of their father, went to meet the steppe nomads but were defeated on the Alt-river and with the rest of their druzhinas withdrew: Izyaslav and Vsevolod to Kyiv, Svyatoslav to Chernihv. The battered town volunteer corps also returned to Kyiv. 
Chronicler Nestor relates that the volunteers called "a vetche on the market (in Podil) and addressed the prince with the words: 'Here the Polovtsi have scattered round the whole (Kyiv) land. Give us, prince, weapons and horses and we shall fight them.' Izyaslav did not do that." So, the prince refused to satisfy the vetche's demand. It is verv likely that he was afraid of the gathering of armed citizens, who could turn their swords and spears against their own oppressors. Filled with indignation the people moved to the Gora, where the prince's fortress was located. Prior to these events, Vseslav, the Polotsk prince, was perfidiously captured. The people's vetche liberated Vseslav and proclaimed him the Kyiv prince. Izyaslav and Vsevolod had to flee. Izyaslav found asylum in Poland at his nephew's place, who was then a prince there. 

Only seven months later and with the Polish aid Izyaslav managed to seize Kyiv. Vseslav fled to Polotsk and Mstyslav, Isyaslav's son, cruelly dealt with the rebels. "The Tale of Bygone Years" testifies, that he "killed 70 Kievites, who liberated Vseslav from the dungeon, and blinded others." The Kyiv rebellion of 1068, was suppressed but the force of resistance of the oppressed masses of people was not overcome. The poor continued their struggle. In villages near Kyiv, where Izyaslav quartered the Polish mercenaries who helped him to come to the throne, the rebels mercilessly beat the Poles and forced them to flee from the Rus land. 
After the rising of the town lower classes was brutally put down, exploitation of the population, which depended on feudal lords, as well as prince's and boyars' serfs intensified. And the struggle between Yaroslav's sons and then his grandsons for the Kyiv throne worsened the grievous situation of the Kyiv common people, which was bad enough as it was. They were taxed with both ordinary and extraordinary assessments, pitilessly thrown to the wrong scales of military luck in almost continuous feudal wars. One of the most cruel oppressors of Kyiv was prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavovych, who ruled from 1093 to 1113. All ways to enrich himself he considered honest. He kept up ties with usurers, who stripped the working people of everything and gave the prince a share of their dirty profit. The salt tax invented by Svyatopolk was extremely hard for the broad masses of people and aroused all-round indignation.
 In addition, this prince speculated in salt himself! As soon as he died the uprising started in Kyiv. Mortal danger threatened boyars and the town leadership. Kyiv nobility gathered in the St. Sophia Cathedral and decided to call Volodymyr Monomach, the Pereyaslav prince, to the throne. 
The uprising had been storming in Kyiv for four days. It spread through the Kyiv neighbourhood, enveloping many estates of the prince and boyars. At last Volodymyr Monomach arrived in Kyiv. Being a clever and far-seeing politician he issued a new law — "Charter of Volodymyr Vsevolodovich," which considerably reduced the percentage for money taken in debt. The position of the town poor, who borrowed from usurers, was alleviated. 
But all this was done by the new prince not in prejudice of usurers and feudal lords. In the face of the all-people revolt the ruling class of Kyiv had to step back for a while to make it up in the near future. That was the reason why the actions of the Kyiv lower classes against social injustice went on during the following decades. 

Kyiv was the main cultural centre of Old Rus. It was the working sections of the Kyiv population, who created with their hands that highest culture, of which we can judge now only by few preserved monuments of written language and painting, architecture and sculpture, applied arts and folklore. Streets and squares of Kyiv, museums and storehouses of manuscripts keep amazing masterpieces which delight our contemporaries. But merciless time as well as wars and fires did not spare them and the preserved monuments are but a scanty reflection of those historical and cultural works and phenomena which a man of the 11th-13th centuries could contemplate. 
Rapid progress of the Old Rus society bore the necessity of a written language. The state needed educated men, who could successfully work in various spheres. That is why state school emerged in Rus already at the end of the 10th century. Volodymyr Svyatoslavich issued an order "to gather children from the best people and teach them to read and write," that is to acquaint them profoundly with sciences of that time. Private schools are likely to have existed. One of them was finished by Feodosy Pechersky, a Kyiv monk, most educated man of his time. In Kyiv of the 11th-the first 40 years of the 13th centuries the book-learning reached the highest level of European science. 
Recent archaeological discoveries proved, that written language both in Kyiv and other Old Rus towns was not a privilege of feudal lords and clergy. During excavations in Kyiv, pots, moulds, spinning arrangements and other articles with inscriptions of Kyiv artisans were found. Extensive dissemination of literacy among Kyevites in the 11th-13th centuries is proved by many inscriptions scratched on the walls of the St. Sophia Cathedral. 
Education might have been continued and enriched in the libraries, which existed as a rule at churches and monasteries. They contained hundreds and even thousands of manuscript books both brought from abroad and written in Rus and in Kyiv itself. The 11th century gave highly artistic pieces of Kyiv book production. Beautifully handwritten on parchment, decorated with amazing capital letters, head-pieces and often with precious miniatures, in refined bindings, these manuscript books are real masterpieces of not only written language, but of painting and applied art as well. 
In addition to religious books historical chronicles and geographical compositions, biological and medical treatises and even entertaining romances were rewritten and translated from Greek and other foreign languages in Kiev: "Alexandria" — Alexander Makedonsky's biography — and "Digenisus' Action" — a story of adventures of Digenisus, the Byzantine Hercules. Under the year of 1037, "The Tale of Bygone Years" tells, that Yaroslav the Wise "gathered many book-writers, who translated from Greek into the Slavic language. They wrote a lot of books... This Yaroslav, as was told above, was fond of books and, having rewritten a lot of them, put in the St. Sophia Church." So the manuscripts written in the big shop organized by Yaroslav's order were his personal library in the St. Sophia Cathedral. But this library has not yet been discovered so far. 
Kyiv libraries of the 11th-13th centuries consisted not only of translated books. They also had compositions of Rus authors and chronicles which undoubtedly ranked the highest place by their social, scientific and literary importance. The growth of national self-consciousness, development of education and spread of scientific knowledge evoked in the Old Rus society the burning need to comprehend the home history. This need could not any more be satisfied with popular traditions, legends and bylynas. Chronicles started appearing, which expounded in an orderly manner the history of Rus in the light of events in other countries. The chroniclers used the accumulated archive documents such as the texts of the treaties of Rus with the Greeks of 907 and 911, various written sources, including foreign ones. To prove their statements they referred to the monuments of material culture: sites of ancient towns, burial mounds, historical places, etc. 
The first chronicle notes in Rus were made in Kyiv at the end of the 10th century. In 1037-1039, the attempt to compose the first Rus chronicle was made by Yaroslav's order. Scientists call it The Oldest Kyiv Code. It did not reach our time. Scientists reconstruct it by its mentionings in the later chronicles. In the 11th century two more chronicle codes were written in Kyiv. They became the basis of "The Tale of Bygone Years," born at the beginning of the 12th century. Nestor, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, is believed to be the author of "The Tale." 

"The Tale of Bygone Years" has no equal in the contemporary literature of the Slavic world. It is justly called the encyclopedia of the Old Rus life, containing information not only of history but also of written language, culture, art, religion, world outlook international relations, etc. The language of "The Tale" strikes with its expressiveness, richness of figurative means. The chronicler shows erudition, he is acquainted with people's epos, uses Byzantine, Bulgarian, Western Slavic historical works. 
"The Tale of Bygone Years" is literally permeated with care of the Rus land, of the necessity to defend it and unite all forces in the face of external danger. The chronicler constantly reminds the readers of glory and grandeur of the Motherland, of age-long unity of the Kyiv state. He sees the reason of misfortunes of the native land in feudal intestine wars, which undermine its strength. "If you start waging wars among yourselves," addresses the author of "The Tale" the Rus princes, "the pagans (Polovtsi) will be glad and capture our land, which your fathers and grandfathers took possession of with great labour and bravery, defending the Rus land." Nestor openly calls to preserve the unity of the Old Rus state. 
"The Tale of Bygone Years" had been finished by 1117, and the Kyiv chronicle of the 12th century, not a less remarkable monument, was a continuation of it. Not a bit yielding to "The Tale" in figurativeness of the language and expressiveness of narration, this chronicle perhaps excels it in brilliance of depicting epoch, richness of facts, detailed description of events. The main characters of the Kyiv chronicle are citizens. They negotiate with princes, inviting some of them to the throne and "pointing the way to" (driving them out) others, rise against injustice on the part of feudal lords. Some historians believe, that the authors of particular notes of the Kiev code could be artisans and tradesmen. The Kyiv chronicle was being written at the height of feudal division. Nevertheless it continues the ideological trend of "The Tale of Bygone Years." It contains an idea of Rus as a single whole. The Kyiv chronicler calls to unite all the Old Rus forces to fight the enemy, which was one of the main conditions to preserve the independence and unity of the Rus land. 

,, .... At the end of the 12th century the most brilliant monument of the Old Rus literature - "The Lay of Igor's Host" —was created in Kyiv. As an expression of the political idea, "The Lay" proclaimed the necessity to preserve the unity of the Rus land. K. Marx wrote about this wonderful work: "The essence of the poem is an appeal to Rus princes to unite just before the invasion of the Mongol hordes." 
The importance of the unity of the Old Rus lands and principalities is proved by the author of "The Lay of Igor's Host" on an example of the unlucky campaign of Igor Svyatoslavich, Novhorod-Siversky prince, against the Polovtsi in the spring of 1185, and grounded by describing the consequences of numerous strifes between the princes. 
Developed musical and theatrical arts existed in Kyiv. "The Lay of Igor's Host" mentions the celebrated poet of antiquity Boyan who lived in the 11th century at the court of Kyiv prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavovych. Playing the psaltery and singing by recitative, Boyan glorified the heroes of his time. In "The Life of Feodosy Pechersky" we read, that when the latter visited the Great Prince's palace in 1073 or 1074, he saw a lot of people singing and playing before the prince and his guests. Some of them were playing the psaltery, others —the organ and sang. A similar organ is shown on a fresco in one of the domes of the St. Sophia Cathedral. 

The fresco of the St. Sophia Cathedral offers rich material to discuss the forms of musical and theatrical performances in Kyiv at the beginning of the 11th century. One can see there acrobats with a pole, dancers accompanied by a band of 7 musicians, playing the flute, lute, trumpets and hitting the cymbals. The dancing people are believed by historians to be buffoons: universal actors who were at the same time acrobats, jugglers, dancers, trainers of bears and other animals. They not only feasted the eye and charmed the ear of princes and boyars but gave performances in town and village squares in front of common artisans and peasants. 
Architects and builders of old Kyiv created priceless patterns of architecture. Prince's palaces and temples were notable for their enormous sizes, they were decorated with mosaics and frescos, had stone or majolica floors, carved marble columns and eaves, relief slate plates. Cathedrals and churches were full of rich gold and silver vessels, hung with gold brocade. Huge precious church-chandeliers hung from the vaults. 
The temples of old Kyiv as well as those of other large Rus towns of the 11th-13th centuries carried out broad social functions. Princes were "seated" on the throne; foreign embassies were solemnly received; archives, libraries and the treasury were kept; copyists of books worked there. The representatives of town leadership gathered near the churches and sometimes under their vaults. In this connection one cannot be surprised at secular subjects of the stair tower paintings of the Kiev Sophia, where together with buffoons and musicians the scenes of hunting, competitions at the hippodrome, etc. were pictured. 
Fine arts of the 11th-beginning of the 13th centuries — mosaic, fresco, icon painting testify to the highest cultural level of the Old Rus period. Mosaic pictures were inlaid with bricks of skilfully painted glass (smalt), which were stowed by a pattern, drawn beforehand, on a layer of cement solution. Semitransparent, shining with all the colours of the rainbow (in the mosaics of the St. Sophia Cathedral art critics counted 130 tints) mosaic pictures were characterized by sappiness, intensity of colour, monumentality of image. Mosaics required the greatest skill, and Russian artists had completely mastered it by the end of the 11th century. 
Not less complicated was the technique of fresco painting. In Kyiv it was represented by the monuments of the middle of the 10th century (princess Olga's palace). Artists painted frescos on wet stucco which, when drying out, absorbed the paints. Masters had to work swiftly, not to let the fragment of the wall, which had just been stuccoed, dry out. The frescos of Kyiv palaces and temples, the St. Sophia Cathedral in particular, have no equal in the Old Rus art in craftsmanship and richness of subjects. 
On the first phases of its development the icon painting in Kyiv was notable for originality and freshness of colours. Already in the 11th century there appeared local masters, who successfully competed with the Byzantine artists. "Pechersky Paterik" (the description of holy fathers' life) retain a story of the great Rus painter Alimpy, who started working in Kyiv under Vsevolod (Yaroslav's son), who ruled from 1078 till 1093. Art critics believe, that one of the most famous and perfect Old Rus icons "Great Mother of God Panagia" was painted by him in about 1114. Now it is exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. He is believed to have taken part in the creation of splendid mosaics in the St. Michael Cathedral of the Gold Top Monastery. They have survived to our days. 
So, if to take a general view of the culture of Kyiv of the 9th-13th centuries, it appears integral and powerful, profoundly popular in its base since its master-pieces were created with the hands of folk masters. The culture of Kyiv as well as of other Rus towns, lands and principalities underlay the cultural development of the three brotherly nations, engendered by the Old Rus people of the Kyiv state — Ukrainian, Russian and Byelorussian. 

What a beautiful town was Kyiv at the time of Old Rus! Majestic bulks of palaces and temples were clustered in the Upper Town. The gold of domes and roofs was shining in the sun and was unbearable to look at. Durable houses of citizeris, decorated with carving, gladdened the eye. The streets and squares of the "mother of Rus towns" were filled up with crowd, speaking different languages. And all this was guarded by mighty walls with towers, watching vigilantly in all directions with thousands of loop-holes. Such was a look of Kiev for a traveler, leaving the Old Rus capital through one of its gates in autumn 1240.
Traveller, stop and look back ! Remember this splendid town for ever. No one will ever see it like this. Only some days would pass and incomparable "beauty of the world" would be smashed by the enemy.
The earth was already shaking in the East under the hoots of the Hundreed-thousands strong Mongol cavalry of Batu Khan. 

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