Prince Svyatoslav was declared ruler Kievan Rus after the death of his father, the Grand Duke of Kyiv Igor, who was brutally dealt with by the Drevlyans for his arbitrariness in collecting tribute. However, he had to rule the state only after the death of his mother, Princess Olga.
Rus' at that time was separate lands subject to Kyiv, inhabited by East Slavic, Finno-Ugric and other tribes who paid tribute to him. At the same time, the mechanism of interaction between the center and the territories subordinate to it has not yet fully developed. The state occupied a huge space, where many volosts were ruled by tribal leaders, who, although they recognized the supreme power of Kyiv, continued to live according to their own laws.
While his father was still alive, Svyatoslav, together with his breadwinner uncle Asmud, was sent to reign in the Novgorod land. After the death of Prince Igor, Princess Olga became the ruler of Rus' with a young heir. She was able to force the grand ducal squad, led by the powerful governor Sveneld, to serve her. With her help, she brutally suppressed the rebellion of the Drevlyans, destroying virtually the entire tribal elite and elders of this tribe. Although Svyatoslav was still a child, he, along with experienced warriors, endured all the hardships of a military campaign against the capital of the Drevlyan land - Iskorosten, which was captured and set on fire.
Showing the strength of the grand ducal power, Olga toured the Russian lands and began to organize them. She organized graveyards to collect tribute and established lessons - a certain amount of payment from the population, which was the first manifestation government system Rus'.
Princess Olga adhered to a peaceful foreign policy, and this contributed to the economic strengthening of the country. Having received holy baptism in Constantinople, she wanted to spread Orthodoxy in her own country, but her attempts encountered resistance from the pagan party, headed by Prince Svyatoslav. In 962, he pushed Olga away from governing the country. Svyatoslav set a course for expanding the borders of the state and began to pursue a policy of conquest, hatching plans to create a Russian state centered on the Balkans.
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
964 The beginning of the state activity of Prince Svyatoslav.
964 Military campaign of Prince Svyatoslav against the Vyatichi.
965 Volga Bulgaria gained independence from the Khazars.
965 Svyatoslav's defeat of the Khazar Kaganate, Burtases and Volga Bulgaria.
966 Submission of the Vyatichi to the power of Kyiv and the imposition of tribute on them.
967 Arrival in Kyiv of the ambassador of the Byzantine emperor Kalokir.
967 Svyatoslav's war with Bulgaria for the Danube region. He captured 80 cities, including Dorostol and Pereyaslavets. The reign of Svyatoslav in Pereyaslavets. Imposing tribute on the Greeks.
968 Conquest of Vyatichi by Svyatoslav Igorevich.
969 spring- Attack of the Pechenegs on Russian land. Their siege of Kyiv. Return of Svyatoslav to Kyiv.
969— The beginning of the reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich in Novgorod.
969 December 11- Assassination of the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros Phocas. Accession to the imperial throne of John Tzimiskes.
970 Grand Duke Svyatoslav divided the Russian lands between his sons, transferring Kyiv to Yaropolk, the Drevlyansky land to Oleg, and Novgorod the Great to Vladimir.
970 January 30— Death of the Bulgarian Tsar Peter and accession to the throne of Boris II.
970 Svyatoslav's war in Bulgaria in alliance with the Hungarians against the Byzantine Empire.
970 Recapture of Pereyaslavets by Svyatoslav.
971 April 23 - July 22 The siege of Svyatoslav's army by the Byzantine army in the Dorostol fortress. Defeat of Svyatoslav.
971 Svyatoslav's conclusion of a humiliating peace with the Byzantine Empire.
971 Departure of Prince Svyatoslav to Pereyaslavets-on-Danube.
972 spring— Death of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Svyatoslav on the Dnieper rapids.
In 945, after the death of his father, Svyatoslav early age stays with his mother Olga and close teachers Asmud and Sveneld.
Svyatoslav grew up among warriors. Olga, deciding to avenge the death of her husband, took the child with her and, placing him on a horse, handed him a spear. He began the battle by symbolically throwing a spear, which flew between the horse's ears and fell at his feet. “The prince has already begun the battle, let’s follow him, squad!” Svyatoslav's act inspired the warriors and the Russians won the battle.
Campaigns of Svyatoslav
Already in 964, Svyatoslav ruled independently. In 965, leaving Princess Olga to rule Kiev, he went on a campaign. Svyatoslav spent the rest of his life in campaigns and battles, only occasionally visiting his native land and mother, mainly in critical situations.
During 965-966. subjugated the Vyatichi, freed them from tribute to the Khazars, defeating the Khazar Khaganate and the Volga Bulgarians. This made it possible to take control of the Great Volga Route, which connects Rus', Central Asia and Scandinavia.
In his battles, Svyatoslav became famous for the fact that before attacking the enemy, he sent a messenger with the words: “I’m coming to you!” Seizing the initiative in conflicts, he led armed offensives and achieved success. The Tale of Bygone Years describes Svyatoslav: “he moved and walked like a pardus (that is, a cheetah), and fought a lot. On campaigns, he did not carry carts or cauldrons with him, did not cook meat, but thinly sliced horse meat, or animal meat, or beef and, roasting it on coals, ate it. He didn’t even have a tent, but he slept with his saddle cloth over his head. All his other warriors were the same.”
The opinions of historians in the description of Svyatoslav coincide. Byzantine 
chronicler Lev the Deacon says about Svyatoslav: “of medium height and very slender, he had a wide chest, a flat nose, blue eyes and a long shaggy mustache. The hair on his head was cut, with the exception of one curl - a sign of noble birth; hung in one ear gold earring, decorated with a ruby and two pearls. The prince's whole appearance was something gloomy and stern. His white clothes only differed from other Russians in their cleanliness.” This description confirms the strong-willed character of Svyatoslav and his insane desire to seize foreign lands.
Svyatoslav was considered a pagan. Princess Olga, having been baptized, tried to persuade her son to also accept Christianity. According to the chronicle, Svyatoslav refused and answered his mother: “How can I accept a different faith alone? My squad will mock.”
In 967, Svyatoslav and his squad defeated the Bulgarian army 
Tsar Peter Having reached the mouth of the Danube, he “set up” the city of Pereyaslavets (Maly Pereslav). Svyatoslav liked the city so much that he decided to make it the capital of Rus'. According to the chronicle, he told his mother: “I don’t like to sit in Kyiv, I want to live in Pereyaslavets on the Danube - there is the middle of my land! Everything good comes there: gold, drags, wines and various fruits from Greece, silver and horses from the Czech Republic and Hungary, furs and wax, honey and fish from Rus'.” And there is even evidence that he reigned in Pereyaslavets and here he received the first tribute from the Greeks.
The Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes, being in cahoots with the Pechenegs, was very concerned about the successes military campaigns of Svyatoslav and tried to weaken the neighbors. In 968, having learned about the establishment of Svyatoslav in Bulgaria, John forced the Pechenegs to attack Kyiv. The prince left Bulgaria and returned to Kyiv, to defend his city, where his mother ruled. Svyatoslav defeated the Pechenegs, but did not forget the treachery of Byzantium.
Children of Svyatoslav
Svyatoslav had three sons: the first Yaropolk - born from his first wife, the daughter or sister of the Hungarian king. According to other data from the Kyiv boyar Predslava. Second Vladimir. Considered illegitimate. Nicknamed the Red Sun. Mother of Malusha or Malfred, daughter of the Drevlyan prince Mal. Third son Oleg from his wife Esther.
After the death of his mother, in 968, Svyatoslav transferred the internal affairs of his state to his grown-up sons. Yaropolk Kyiv. Vladimir Novgorod. Oleg received the Drevlyan lands (in this moment Chernobyl area).
Bulgarian campaign of Prince Svyatoslav
In 970, Svyatoslav decided to conclude an agreement with the Bulgarians and the Hungarians against Byzantium. Having gathered an army of about 60 thousand, he began a new military campaign in Bulgaria. According to the chroniclers, Svyatoslav horrified the Bulgarians with his actions and thereby obeyed them. He occupied Philippopolis, crossed the Balkans, captured Macedonia, Thrace and reached Constantinople. According to legend, the prince addressed his squad: “We will not disgrace the Russian land, but we will lie here as bones, for the dead are not ashamed. If we run, it will be a shame for us.”
After fierce battles and a major loss in 971, Svyatoslav finally took the Byzantine fortifications and was forced to sign a peace treaty with Emperor John Tzimiskes. Returning to Kyiv, Svyatoslav was waylaid by the Pechenegs and killed at the Dnieper rapids. A feasting cup was made from his skull, bound in gold.
After the military hikes Svyatoslav Igorevich(965-972) the territory of the Russian land increased from the Volga region to the Caspian Sea, from the North Caucasus to the Black Sea region, from the Balkan Mountains to Byzantium. Defeated Khazaria and Volga Bulgaria, weakened and frightened Byzantine Empire, opened the way for trade between Rus' and eastern countries.
Svyatoslav the Brave is known from chronicles as the ruler of Rus' in the years 945-972. He distinguished himself as a brave commander. Svyatoslav's biography is complete interesting facts which we will consider.
Origin
Old Russian chronicles tell that Svyatoslav the Brave is the son of Princess Olga and Prince Igor. There is no exact information about his date of birth. Some sources indicate the year 942, others - 920.
In history Ancient Rus' Svyatoslav the Brave is considered the first leader to have a Slavic name. His grandparents are of Scandinavian origin.
In some sources the name of the prince is mentioned as Sfendoslavos. Experts suggest that the Scandinavian name Sven merged with the Slavic ending -slav. But not all scientists agree with this interpretation, because many Slavic names have the prefix Svent-, which, after the loss of sounds, gives the Slavic syllable “svyat”, which means “holy”.
Childhood
In historical chronicles, the first mention of Svyatoslav is in 944. This is an agreement between Prince Igor and Byzantium. According to chronicle documents, Prince Igor was killed in 945 for collecting a huge tribute. Olga, who had a young child, opposed the Drevlyans.
The campaign was successful, and Olga, having won, conquered the Drevlyans and began to rule them.
Chronicles inform that Svyatoslav spent his entire childhood with his mother in Kyiv. Olga became a Christian in 955-957 and tried to baptize her son. His mother told him about the happiness of being a Christian. Svyatoslav did not prevent others from converting, but he himself treated Christianity with disrespect and believed that the squad would not understand him.
Having matured, the prince was inflamed with the desire to distinguish himself as a commander. He was truly noble and always first declared war on nations, then attacked.
Some experts believe that Olga's delegation to Constantinople was undertaken with the aim of negotiating the marriage of Svyatoslav and the princess from Greece. Having been refused, the man was offended and firmly decided to remain a pagan.
Adulthood
ABOUT adult life Svyatoslav's chronicle dates back to 964. At this time the young man matured. The reign of Svyatoslav Igorevich began with the fact that he expelled all the Christian priests who came at the insistence of Olga’s mother. For Svyatoslav, who did not want to accept Christianity, this was a fundamental step.
Prince of Kyiv gathered a squad of warriors and actively participated in campaigns. The Tale of Bygone Years says that he did not take cauldrons or carts with him, but cut pieces of meat and cooked on coals, and slept in the open air, putting a saddle under his head.
Svyatoslav the Brave began his campaigns in 964, first he went against the Vyatichi living on the Oka and Volga, then against Khazaria. He managed to defeat the Khazars.
Historical sources provide various information about the capture of Khazaria. Some say that first Svyatoslav managed to take the city of Sarkel, then Itil. Others believe that during a large military campaign, Svyatoslav managed to conquer Itil, and then Sarkel.
Prince Svyatoslav was able to destroy the Khazar Khaganate, and later he secured the conquered lands for himself. Instead of Sarkel, the White Vezha was formed.
After the capture of Khazaria in 966, Svyatoslav gained the upper hand over the Vyatichi for the second time and imposed tribute on them.
Anti-Bulgarian Union
In 967, Byzantium and Bulgaria came into conflict. The Byzantine ruler sent delegates to Svyatoslav with a request to go to Bulgaria. This is exactly how Byzantium wanted to take Bulgaria and weaken Rus'. Kalokir, the head of the delegation, signed an anti-Bulgarian alliance with Svyatoslav and expressed a desire to take the throne in Byzantium. In return, he promised the Russian prince untold riches.
In 968, Svyatoslav entered Bulgaria, and after military operations he remained at the mouth of the Danube, where Greek tribute was sent to him.
In 968-696, Kyiv was attacked by the Pechenegs, and Svyatoslav returned there. At the same time, Olga died, Svyatoslav distributed the reins of power between his sons. Then he went on a campaign against Bulgaria and crushed it. The Bulgarians had to ask for protection from Byzantium, which was slow to provide assistance. As a result, the Bulgarian king signed an alliance with Svyatoslav, and later Bulgaria already fought together with the Rus against Byzantium.
Attack on Byzantium
After establishing a partnership with the Bulgarians, Svyatoslav remained on the Danube. So he expanded his own lands.
In 970, Svyatoslav attacked Byzantine territories in Thrace. He and his army reached the outskirts of Constantinople, where the final battle took place. Historians interpret its results differently. Some documents say that Svyatoslav’s allied troops were crushed, and then his forces. Others report that Svyatoslav managed to win, but he retreated after collecting tribute.
In any case, the fighting in Byzantium ended by the summer of 970, although the Rus' raids did not end.
Crush of Bulgaria
In 971, Emperor John I Tzimiskes opposed Svyatoslav and sent a fleet to the Danube to cut off the Rus.
Soon the Bulgarian capital Preslav was taken and the king was taken prisoner. Russian soldiers break through to Dorostol, where Svyatoslav is also located. Svyatoslav's courage grows along with dangers. According to the testimony of Byzantine historians, the Rus behaved bravely. When they could not escape, they stabbed themselves in the heart. Their wives behaved like real Amazons when participating in battles. When captured, the Russians maintained their composure, burned their dead brothers at night and tempered the captives over them, and let the babies into the waters of the Danube.
John approaches Dorostol, the Russians leave the fortress, besieged for three months. Luck leaves the Russians. Their fatherland is very far away, the neighboring peoples are on the side of the Greeks. Svyatoslav's army weakened from wounds and hunger, while the Greeks had no need for anything.
Svyatoslav gathers a squad. Some want to escape at night, others offer peace. But the prince decides to try his luck so as not to fall into contempt among neighboring peoples. The army enters the battle. The prince encourages the soldiers and gives the order to lock the city gates so that no one escapes.
The battle begins in the morning, by noon the Greeks are exhausted and begin to retreat. Soon the battle resumed. Tzimiskes was amazed at the courage of the enemy and decided to end the war. After this, the battle continues. The Greeks really wanted the death of Svyatoslav. Knight Anemas crushed the prince and threw him off his horse, but the helmet did not allow Svyatoslav to die.
Svyatoslav, having lost much of his strength and being seriously wounded in the final battle, decides to demand peace. John Tzimiskes is delighted and accepts the terms of the Rus, in turn Svyatoslav leaves Bulgaria and enters into an alliance with Byzantium. After peace is approved, the emperor provides the Russians with food supplies and sees them off. After the battles, Svyatoslav's military resources were sharply reduced, and the army weakened.
Historians of those times analyze the war as successful for the Greeks, but Svyatoslav did not demand anything for Russia. Eastern Bulgaria joins Byzantium, only the western territories manage to maintain independence.
The friendship of Svyatoslav and Tzimiskes can be assessed in different ways. Svyatoslav with a small army retreated to his fatherland. And Tzimiskes sent envoys to the Pechenegs, who were dissatisfied with the reconciliation of the Russians and Greeks. Perhaps the Greeks themselves notified the Pechenegs about the return of the weakened Russian army. The Pechenegs were waiting for the Russians at the rapids of the Dnieper.
Death
After the declaration of peace, Svyatoslav approached the Dnieper. The governor warned him that the Pechenegs were nearby. But Svyatoslav was not afraid and decided to spend the winter on the Dnieper. Exhausting hunger and need accompany the Rus at this time.
In the spring, Svyatoslav the Brave sets off on a dangerous journey home. In the next battle he was mortally wounded. The Pecheneg prince Kurya attacked him, cut off his head and drank from Svyatoslav’s skull. Only a few Russians managed to escape. This is how the courageous commander, who possessed amazing generosity, died. At the site of his death in Zaporozhye (Ukraine), a monument to Svyatoslav Igorevich was erected. The monument depicts a warrior with a sword.
Historians believe that the Pecheneg soldiers stormed Svyatoslav at the insistence of the Byzantines. Byzantium sought friendship with the Pecheneg peoples for protection from the Rus and Hungarians. The Greeks needed the destruction of Svyatoslav. Although the chronicle names the Bulgarians, not the Greeks, as the initiators of the ambush.
“The Tale of Bygone Years” indicates the reasons for Svyatoslav’s death in that he did not obey his mother, who dreamed of making her son a Christian. In any case, the example of Sfendoslav is the image of a brilliant commander and an example of the great sovereign of the Russian land, who captivated many of his contemporaries with the strength of his character. Svyatoslav Igorevich, whose biography we have reviewed, and after his death in his own way for a long time terrorized neighboring peoples.
About appearance
The Greek writer of that time, Leo the Deacon, vividly depicts the Kyiv prince. Sfendoslav was of moderate stature, had thick eyebrows and blue eyes, a mustache, and a tuft of hair curled on his bald head, which indicated a noble origin. The prince's expression was stern. There was a gold earring with stones in her ear. The clothes were white and clean.
Some sources call the prince beardless, others - with a sparse beard. Sometimes he is described with one tuft of hair, and also with two braids. According to descriptions of that time, the prince’s nose was either snub-nosed or flat.
Descendants
History knows the children of Svyatoslav Igorevich, these are:
- Yaropolk, who ruled Kyiv;
- Oleg, prince of the Drevlyans;
- Vladimir, who baptized Rus'.
Sometimes Sfeng is mentioned, whom A.V. Solovyov considers not the son, but the grandson of Sfendoslav.
So, the policy of Svyatoslav Igorevich differed sharply from the reign of his mother Olga. The ruler paid more attention external wars. He defeated the Khazar Khaganate and launched several successful campaigns against the Bulgarians.
Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich
(brave) 942 - March 972.
Son of Prince Igor and Princess Olga.
Prince of Novgorod 945-969
Grand Duke of Kiev from 964 to 972
The Grand Duke, who forever entered the history of Rus' as a warrior prince. There was no limit to the prince’s courage and dedication. Not much is known about Svyatoslav Igorevich; historians, for example, argue about the date of his birth. However, despite some vagueness and uncertainty, the chronicles brought to us some facts by which we can characterize Svyatoslav.
The first time the name of Svyatoslav is mentioned is in a chronicle describing the events of 945, when Svyatoslav’s mother, Princess Olga, went with an army to the Drevlyans to avenge the death of her husband, Prince Igor. As a child, he took part in his first battle. Svyatoslav sat on a horse in front of the Kyiv squad. And when both armies came together, Svyatoslav threw a spear towards the Drevlyans. Svyatoslav was just a baby, so the spear flew away not far and fell in front of the horse on which Svyatoslav was sitting. But the Kyiv governors said: “The prince has already begun, let us follow, squad, the prince.” This was the ancient custom of the Rus - only the prince could start the battle. And it doesn’t matter what age the prince was.
Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich was raised as a warrior from childhood. Svyatoslav’s teacher and mentor was Asmud, who taught the young pupil to be the first in battle and hunting, to stay firmly in the saddle, control a boat, swim, and hide from enemy eyes both in the forest and in the steppe. Svyatoslav was taught the general art of war by the chief Kiev governor Sveneld.
Since the mid-60s. In the 10th century, we can count the beginning of the independent reign of Prince Svyatoslav. The Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon left a description of him: of medium height, with a broad chest, blue eyes, thick eyebrows, beardless, but with a long mustache, only one strand of hair on his shaved head, which indicated his noble origin. In one ear he wore an earring with two pearls.
Svyatoslav was not particularly interested in the internal affairs of the state. The prince did not like to sit in Kyiv; he was attracted by new conquests, victories, and rich booty. He always took part in the battle with his squad. He wore simple military armor. On campaigns he did not have a tent, nor did he carry carts, boilers and meat with him. He ate with everyone else, roasting some game over the fire. His warriors were just as hardy and unpretentious. Svyatoslav's squad, unencumbered by convoys, moved very quickly and appeared unexpectedly in front of the enemy, instilling fear in them. And Svyatoslav himself was not afraid of his opponents. When he went on a campaign, he always sent a message to foreign lands - a warning: “I want to go against you.”
Svyatoslav made his first big campaign in 964 - against the Khazar Kaganate. It was a strong Jewish state in the lower reaches of the Volga, which imposed tribute on the Slavic tribes. Svyatoslav's squad left Kyiv and, ascending the Desna River, entered the lands of the Vyatichi, one of the large Slavic tribes that were tributaries of the Khazars at that time. The Kiev prince ordered the Vyatichi to pay tribute not to the Khazars, but to Kyiv, and moved his army further - against the Volga Bulgarians, Burtases, Khazars, and then the North Caucasian tribes of the Yases and Kasogs. This unprecedented campaign lasted for about four years. Victorious in all battles, the prince crushed, captured and destroyed the capital of the Jewish Khazaria, the city of Itil, and took the well-fortified fortresses of Sarkel on the Don and Semender in the North Caucasus. On the shores of the Kerch Strait he founded an outpost of Russian influence in this region - the city of Tmutarakan, the center of the future Tmutarakan principality.
Svyatoslav made his second big campaign to Bulgaria in 968. Kalokir, the ambassador of the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros Phocas, persistently called him there, hoping to pit two peoples dangerous to his empire in a war of extermination. The Russian prince was obliged to come to the rescue of the allied power under an agreement concluded with Byzantium in 944 by Prince Igor. In addition, the Byzantine king sent gifts of gold, accompanying a request for military assistance. In addition, Bulgaria had already adopted Christianity, and as you know, Prince Svyatoslav was a follower of the ancient faith of his ancestors and a great opponent of Christianity. To his mother’s persuasion to accept Christianity, he replied: “The Christian faith is an ugliness!”
Svyatoslav with a 10,000-strong army defeated a 30,000-strong Bulgarian army and captured the city of Malaya Preslava. Svyatoslav named this city Pereyaslavets. Svyatoslav even wanted to move the capital from Kyiv to Pereyaslavets, citing the fact that this city is located in the middle of his possessions, and “all the benefits from the Greek Land flow here” (Pereyaslavets was located at the intersection of trade routes to the Balkans and Western Europe). At this time, Svyatoslav received alarming news from Kyiv that the city was besieged by the Pechenegs. The Bulgarian Tsar Peter entered into a secret alliance with Nicephorus Phocas. He, in turn, bribed the Pecheneg leaders, who agreed to attack Kyiv in the absence of the Grand Duke. Leaving part of the squad in Pereyaslavets, the prince hurried to Kyiv and defeated the Pechenegs. Three days later, Princess Olga died. Svyatoslav divided the Russian land between his sons: he placed Yaropolk as prince in Kyiv, sent Oleg to the Drevlyansky land, and Vladimir to Novgorod. He himself hurried to his possessions on the Danube.
While the Pechenegs were being beaten, an uprising arose in Pereyaslavets, and the Bulgarians drove the Russian warriors out of the city. The prince could not come to terms with this state of affairs, and again led his troops to the west. He defeated the army of Tsar Boris, captured him and took possession of the entire country from the Danube to the Balkan Mountains. In the spring of 970, Svyatoslav crossed the Balkans, took Philippol (Plovdiv) by storm and reached Arkadiopol. His squads had only four days left to travel across the plain to Constantinople. Here the battle with the Byzantines took place. Svyatoslav won, but lost many soldiers and did not go further, but, taking “many gifts” from the Greeks, returned back to Pereyaslavets.
In 971 the war continued. This time the Byzantines were well prepared. Newly prepared Byzantine armies moved towards Bulgaria from all sides, many times outnumbering the Svyatoslav squads stationed there. With heavy fighting, fighting off the advancing enemy, the Russians retreated to the Danube. There, in the city of Dorostol, the last Russian fortress in Bulgaria, cut off from their native land, Svyatoslav’s army found itself under siege. For more than two months the Byzantines besieged Dorostol.
Finally, on July 22, 971, the Russians began their last battle. Having gathered the soldiers before the battle, Svyatoslav uttered his famous words: “We have nowhere to go, we have to fight - willy-nilly or not. Let us not disgrace the Russian land, but let us lie here as bones, for the dead have no shame. If my head falls, then decide for yourself what to do.” And the soldiers answered him: “Where your head lies, there we will lay our heads.”
The battle was very stubborn, and many Russian soldiers died. Prince Svyatoslav was forced to retreat back to Dorostol. And the Russian prince decided to make peace with the Byzantines, so he consulted with his squad: “If we don’t make peace and they find out that we are few, they will come and besiege us in the city. But the Russian land is far away, the Pechenegs are fighting with us, and who will help us then? Let's make peace, because they have already committed to pay us tribute - that's enough for us. If they stop paying us tribute, then again, having gathered many soldiers, we will go from Rus' to Constantinople.” And the soldiers agreed that their prince was speaking correctly.
Svyatoslav began negotiations for peace with John Tzimiskes. Their historical meeting took place on the banks of the Danube and was described in detail by a Byzantine chronicler who was in the emperor’s retinue. Tzimiskes, surrounded by his entourage, was waiting for Svyatoslav. The prince arrived on a boat, sitting in which he rowed along with ordinary soldiers. The Greeks could distinguish him only because the shirt he was wearing was cleaner than that of other warriors and because of the earring with two pearls and a ruby inserted into his ear. This is how an eyewitness described the formidable Russian warrior: “Svyatoslav was of average height, neither too tall nor too short, with thick eyebrows, blue eyes, with a flat nose and thick long hair hanging on upper lip mustache His head was completely bare, only on one side of it hung a strand of hair, signifying the antiquity of the family. The neck is thick, the shoulders are wide and the whole figure is quite slender."
Having made peace with the Greeks, Svyatoslav and his squad went to Rus' along the rivers in boats. One of the governors warned the prince: “Go around, prince, the Dnieper rapids on horseback, for the Pechenegs are standing at the rapids.” But the prince did not listen to him. And the Byzantines informed the Pecheneg nomads about this: “The Rus, Svyatoslav with a small squad, will go past you, taking away from the Greeks a lot of wealth and countless prisoners.” And when Svyatoslav approached the rapids, it turned out that it was completely impossible for him to pass. Then the Russian prince decided to wait it out and stayed for the winter. With the beginning of spring, Svyatoslav again moved to the rapids, but was ambushed and died. The chronicle conveys the story of the death of Svyatoslav as follows: “Svyatoslav came to the rapids, and Kurya, the prince of Pecheneg, attacked him, and killed Svyatoslav, and took his head, and made a cup from the skull, bound it, and drank from it.” This is how Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich died. This happened in 972.
As already mentioned, Svyatoslav divided Kievan Rus itself in 970, before going to Danube Bulgaria, between his sons: Yaropolk got Kyiv, Oleg got the Drevlyansky land, and Vladimir got Novgorod.
A broad-shouldered athlete of average height, with a wrestler's neck and blue eyes, a shaven head with a streak of hair on his forehead and an earring in his ear decorated with pearls and a ruby, Svyatoslav looked more like a ferocious bandit than the Grand Duke of Kyiv. His opponents were indescribably horrified by the wild howl of the attacking squad, at the head of which Prince Svyatoslav walked with an animal growl. At the same time, he always observed the military code of honor. “I’m coming to you” - a well-known warning to those with whom Svyatoslav was going to fight, suggests that he did not attack enemies who were not ready for battle.
A short biography of Prince Svyatoslav begins with the first throw of a javelin at the age of three. So, he gave the signal for the start of the massacre of the Drevlyans. His contemporaries were amazed by his simple manners, ascetic life, and battle campaigns that brought glory to Russian weapons. The tragic death, wrapped in legends, only added a peculiar charm to the mysterious figure of the real Russian prince-knight.
Prince Svyatoslav was an ardent statesman and a strict pagan. Of the twenty years he reigned in Rus', significantly more than half of the time allotted to him for state activities was spent on military expeditions. Thanks to them, he strengthened the role of the state in solving the problems of domestic and foreign policy of Ancient Rus', by expanding it with new territories.
Expanding his possessions, Prince Svyatoslav subjugated to Rus' that part of the Vyatichi tribe who paid tribute to the Khazars; moreover, having defeated the Volga Bulgars, he freed the unfortunate Vyatichi from tax duties in their favor.
They consider Svyatoslav’s great merit final decision“Khazar question” in 967, swept away the capital of the Kaganate Itil and completely freed the trade route along the Volga and Oka for Russian merchants and foreign “guests”. The Sarkel fortress was taken by storm, and for a long time it, under the name “White Vezha”, was a Russian city, a kind of transshipment base for Russian goods to the east. And on the Taman Peninsula, he created the Tmutarakan principality, which existed in this status until the 13th century.
An unfulfilled dream for the hero was an attempt to create an empire, with its center in Pereyaslavets Danube, they say, there is the middle of my land, the prince argued. I wonder if he got there as an assistant in eliminating the rebellion, but the land of Bulgaria so captivated the stern warrior that he did not want to leave there, thereby provoking a full-fledged war with Byzantium.
During the war, an incident occurred. Having learned about the absence of the formidable Svyatoslav, the insidious Pechenegs attacked Kyiv. His mother, Princess Olga, reproached her son for leaving his family in danger. Prince Svyatoslav returned, drove out the Pechenegs and went back to Bulgaria to continue the war with Byzantium. For such a war, the resource base of Kievan Rus, of course, was not suitable. The result of the war was predictable. Despite heroism and individual tactical successes, Svyatoslav’s army was defeated by the army of the Byzantine emperor John Tzimiskes.
At the head of the remaining fighters, the prince tried to return to his homeland, but the Pechenegs, forestalled by the vile Byzantines, watched the prince at the Dnieper rapids in 972. During the short skirmish, Svyatoslav's detachment was scattered, and the prince himself was killed. The Pechenegs put an end to the series of recent military defeats of the Russians. As described in the Tale of Bygone Years, the Khan of the Pechenegs, named Kurya, ordered a cup to be made from the skull of Prince Svyatoslav and drank kumis from it, boasting to the guests.
Thus, in pursuit of a dream, Prince Svyatoslav overestimated his real chances, as well as the economic and social capabilities of the ancient Russian state.
His misfortune is that with his military successes he prepared his future defeats and death. But this is already separate topic.
