Rurik Rostislavich

Rurik Rostislavich (Russian and Ukrainian: Рюрик Ростиславич) (died 1215), Prince of Novgorod (1170–1171), Bilhorod Kyivskyi (currently Bilohorodka; 1173–1194), Grand Prince of Kiev (Kyiv, 1173, 1180–1181, 1194–1201, 1203–1204, 1205-1206, 1207–1210), Prince of Chernigov (1210–1214).

St. Basil's Church was built by Rurik Rostislavich at his votchina in Ovruch.

Life

Rurik was the son of Rostislav I of Kiev, and succession conflicts placed Rurik on the throne of the Kievan Rus' no less than seven times. In 1182, he became co-ruler with Sviatoslav III of Kiev, an arrangement that lasted until Sviatoslav's death in 1194. Rurik ruled alone until 1199, when his rule was challenged by Roman the Great, who deposed Rurik.

After a brief stint in Chernihiv, where he built the Church of St. Paraskebas, Rurik, along with his kinsmen and a Cuman army, attacked and sacked Kiev in 1203, but was repelled until Roman's death in 1205. Rurik had been confined to a monastery in 1204, but he abandoned his holy vows and returned to the throne.

His cousin, Vsevolod, felt that Rurik's previous monastic vows rendered his authority invalid, and so attacked and briefly seized Kiev in 1206, 1207, and 1211. He succeeded in capturing Rurik, who died in captivity in Chernigov.

Rurik was married to Anna of Turov; among their children was Rostislav II of Kiev.

Sources

• Lenhoff, Gail (2015). "Rus'-Tatar Princely Marriages in the Horde: The Literary Sources". Russian History. 42 (1, Festschrift for Janet Martin). Brill. doi:10.1163/18763316-04201004. S2CID 211599594.
• Martin, Janet L.B. Medieval Russia, 980-1584, 1995 (Cambridge Medieval Textbooks)
• Magocsi, Paul Robert (2010). A History of Ukraine: The Land and Its Peoples. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 894. ISBN 9781442610217. Retrieved 22 January 2023.