By the beginning of the 12th century, the Kiev Throne was gradually losing its former power, but it still remained one of the most developed and populated territories in the region.
And since the metropolitan lived in Kiev and the main temples and monasteries were located there, it was an indisputable cultural and religious center. The one who controlled Kiev received the title of Grand Duke and could claim primacy in the region, so many powerful dukes sought to take the throne. The Duke of Vladimir-Suzdal Andrei Bogolyubsky did not stay away from this idea either and has written one of the bloodiest pages of the history of Kiev.
Symbolically, but his side of was taken by:
- the dukes of Kursk, Smolensk, Rostov, Suzdal (modern territories of the Russian Federation)
Dukes, who fought for Mstislav Izyaslavich of Kiev:
- Galitsky (modern territory of Ukraine)
- Turovsky, Gorodensky (modern territory of the Republic of Belarus)
- Novgorodsky
- and also the brother of Andrei Bogolyubsky
An excerpt from article 6679 of the Ipatiev Chronicle:
“And for two days they plundered the whole city, the Hem and the Mountain, and monasteries, and Sofia, and the Tithe Virgin, and there was no mercy for anyone and from nowhere. Churches burned, Christians were killed, others were tied up, wives were taken captive, separated by force from their husbands, babies wept, looking at their mothers. They took a lot of wealth, they stripped the churches, tore off their icons, and vestments, and bells, took books, Smolnyans, and Suzdalians, and Chernigov, and Olga’s squad took everything out. And the filthy ones lit the monastery of the Pechersk Holy Theotokos, but God, through the prayers of the Holy Theotokos, protected it from such a calamity. And there was lamentation in Kiev, and anguish, and inconsolable grief, and incessant tears…”
This excerpt vividly demonstrates to us that nothing has changed in 853 years, neither people nor methods of invasion.