In 945, after the death of his father, Svyatoslav at an early age remained with his mother Olga and close educators 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; in one ear hung a 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 (currently the Chernobyl region).

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. He defeated Khazaria and Volga Bulgaria, weakened and frightened the Byzantine Empire, and opened routes for trade between Rus' and the eastern countries.

The time of birth of Igor and Olga’s son, Prince Svyatoslav, raises questions. The Tale of Bygone Years does not date this event, noting only that in 945 - 946 Svyatoslav was still a child. When the troops of Olga and the Drevlyans stood opposite each other, ready for battle, the signal for battle was the spear thrown by Svyatoslav towards the enemy. But since he was still small then, the spear fell in front of his horse. Some Old Russian chronicles, including the Ipatiev Chronicle, note the birth of Svyatoslav in 942. This, however, contradicts other chronicle data: after all, Igor was born in the late 870s, Olga in the 880s - at the latest in the early 890s, and they got married in 903. It turns out that only after 40 years of marriage two elderly people had a son, which seems unlikely. Therefore, scientists tried to somehow explain these contradictions.

Unfortunately, nihilism was not absent here either. Thus, archaeologist S.P. Tolstov even wrote that “the genealogy of the Rurikovichs before Svyatoslav is sewn with white thread,” and L.N. Gumilev believed that Svyatoslav was not the son of Igor at all (or was the son of another Igor, not Rurikovich). But the sources do not make it possible to doubt the direct relationship of Svyatoslav with Igor and Olga. Not only Russian chronicles, but also foreign authors, such as Leo the Deacon and Constantine Porphyrogenitus, call Svyatoslav the son of Igor and Olga.

Additional information from some historical works can help find a way out of a difficult chronological situation. According to the “Chronicle of Pereyaslavl-Suzdal”, Vladimir, who died in 1015, lived for 73 years, that is, he was born in 941 - 942, and he was not the first-born of Svyatoslav. The German chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg also wrote about Vladimir’s advanced age, who died “burdened down by years.” And according to V.N. Tatishchev, who in this case referred to the Rostov and Novgorod chronicles, Svyatoslav was born in 920. And finally, the message of Constantine Porphyrogenitus in his treatise “On the Administration of the Empire” (compiled in 948 - 952) that Ingor’s son Sfendoslav sat in Nemogard (most researchers see Novgorod in this name). Apparently, Svyatoslav reigned in Novgorod before he officially became the prince of Kyiv, that is, until the fall of 944. In this case, it is completely incomprehensible how a two-year-old baby could reign in such a large center of Rus' and even send his representative to Russian-Byzantine negotiations (at the conclusion of the treaty of 944, Svyatoslav was represented as a separate ambassador). Of course, one can assume that his breadwinner Asmud ruled for Svyatoslav, that is, both the reign and the embassy were simple formalities, but then what was the point of them? Princes in Rus' could take part in adult life from the age of seven or eight, but for a child of two years old to be especially represented at foreign policy negotiations and formally be a prince in the second most important Russian city (and Konstantin writes that Svyatoslav “sat”, reigned, and not just owned) - this has never happened either before or after Svyatoslav!

All this allows us to conclude that Svyatoslav was born earlier than 942, perhaps in the early 920s, that is, 20 years earlier than the dating of the Ipatiev Chronicle. The error can be explained by assuming that around 942 it was not Svyatoslav who was born, but one of his sons. The great historian S. M. Solovyov once drew attention to another side of this problem. According to the chronicles, there is a story that the mother of Svyatopolk the Accursed was brought to Svyatoslav’s son Yaropolk as a wife by his father, and initially she was a nun. If there is a historical fact behind this legend, then in 970 Yaropolk was already married, which does not fit well with the date of birth of Svyatoslav in 942. Solovyov explained this by saying that the princes could marry their young children, even if the bride was much older: “The difference in years did not mean anything in polygamy.” However, the chronicle news itself once again demonstrates the complexity of the problem under consideration.

When analyzing the dating of Svyatoslav’s birth, the analogy with the same late birth of Igor is striking. According to the chronicles, Igor was still very young at the time of Rurik’s death (according to the Resurrection Chronicle - two years old). Svyatoslav seems to repeat this situation: he is approximately three years old (if we accept that Igor died in the late autumn of 944, then Svyatoslav was also two years old). Under Igor, the teacher is Oleg, who is actually an independent prince until his death. Under Svyatoslav - Olga, who also holds the reins of power in her hands for a very long time. Perhaps, with the help of an analogy with Igor, the chronicler tried to explain the actual usurpation of power by Olga, presenting Svyatoslav as a child?

If Svyatoslav was born earlier, then it turns out that Olga simply removed her son from supreme power. Perhaps this should be seen as one of the reasons for his unrestrained military activity?

It is interesting that, belonging to the Varangian dynasty by origin, Svyatoslav bore a purely Slavic name. In Constantine Porphyrogenitus and Leo the Deacon, the name of the prince is rendered as Sfendoslav, which proves the preservation of nasal vowels in the Slavic language at that time. The fact of the initial reign of Svyatoslav in Novgorod can be considered, in fact, as the earliest manifestation of the dynastic tradition of the Rurikovichs to place the eldest son, heir or one of the sons of the Grand Duke on the Novgorod table. Thus, the unity of the two most important Old Russian centers and the special position of Novgorod in the system of the Old Russian state were emphasized. Svyatoslav began this tradition, which arose almost immediately after the establishment of Kyiv as the ancient Russian capital (Igor was the first Kiev prince from the Rurik family).

Svyatoslav became famous as a brave and valiant knight, who shared all the difficulties and hardships with his warriors. He did not take with him a tent, bed, dishes and boilers, did not like expensive clothes, and together with the soldiers slept in the open air, on the ground, putting a saddle under his head, and ate half-raw meat baked on coals. The prince's appearance matched his lifestyle - a mighty hero, hardened in hardships and menacing in appearance. Svyatoslav was a brave and talented commander - his enemies were afraid of him. “I’m coming at you!”, that is, I’m coming at you, - this is how he usually warned the enemy before the start of the war.

Svyatoslav spent almost his entire life in wars with neighboring states. In 964 he moved to the lands of the Vyatichi, who paid tribute to the Khazars. This was the first blow to the power of the Khazar Kaganate. The Vyatichi lived between the Oka and Volga rivers, this remote region was separated from the rest of Rus' by dense, impenetrable forests, and the trip there became Svyatoslav’s first feat (much later, Vladimir Monomakh proudly wrote that he passed through the land of the Vyatichi). Then in 965 Svyatoslav defeated the Khazar Khaganate. He took an important fortress that protected Khazaria from the Don - Belaya Vezha (Sarkel). Sarkel was built for the Khazars by the Byzantines back in the late 830s. Now the entire Volga was under the control of Rus', and this could not but worry the Byzantines. An envoy from Constantinople, the dignitary Kalokir, appeared in Kyiv with rich gifts and suggested that Svyatoslav direct his attack on Danube Bulgaria. At that time, it left the control of Byzantium and ceased to comply with the terms of the peace treaty previously concluded between the two countries. Svyatoslav, pursuing his own goals, agreed. The prince found the idea of ​​taking possession of the Lower Danube tempting. After all, it was an economically and commercially rich region. If it had become part of Rus', its borders would have expanded and come close to the borders of the Byzantine Empire itself.

In 967, Svyatoslav started a war with the Bulgarians. Luck was with him. According to the chronicles, the Russians took 80 cities along the Danube, and Svyatoslav settled in the Danube city of Pereyaslavets. Here the Byzantines sent him all kinds of gifts, including gold and silver. In 968, Svyatoslav had to leave to save Kyiv from the Pecheneg invasion, but then he returned to the Danube. The chronicle preserved his words: “I don’t like to sit in Kiev, I want to live in Pereyaslavets on the Danube - for there is the middle of my land, all the good things flow there: from the Greek land - gold, grass, wine, various fruits, from the Czech Republic and from Hungary silver and horses, from Rus' - furs and wax, honey and slaves.” This position widened the gap between Svyatoslav and the Kyiv elite. The people of Kiev reproached their prince: “You, prince, are looking for someone else’s land and taking care of it, but have abandoned your own...” This is probably why they did not send troops to help him when Svyatoslav returned to Kyiv after the war with the Byzantines.

But still, Svyatoslav was drawn to the Danube. Soon he was there again, retook Pereyaslavets, who returned to the Bulgarians during his absence, and then the war with Byzantium broke out. The emperor then was an Armenian by origin, John Tzimiskes (Tzimiskes translated into Russian means “slipper”). He was known as an experienced commander, but Svyatoslav was not inferior to him in military skill. The clash between the two heroes became inevitable. The Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon brought to us the true words of the Russian prince: “Sfendoslav (Svyatoslav) was very proud of his victories over the Misians (residents of the Byzantine province of Mysia); he had already firmly taken possession of their country and was completely imbued with barbaric arrogance and arrogance (here, of course, it must be taken into account that Svyatoslav was a mortal enemy for the Byzantines). Sfendoslav answered the Roman ambassadors arrogantly and insolently: “I will leave this rich country no sooner than I receive a large monetary tribute and a ransom for all the cities I captured during the war and for all the prisoners. If the Romans do not want to pay what I demand, let them immediately leave Europe, to which they have no right, and go to Asia, otherwise let them not hope to conclude peace with the Tauro-Scythians (as Leo the Deacon calls the inhabitants of Rus').”

Emperor John, having received such an answer from the Scythian, again sent ambassadors to him, instructing them to convey the following: “We believe that Providence governs the universe, and we profess all Christian laws; Therefore, we believe that we ourselves should not destroy the unshakable peace that we inherited from our fathers, undefiled and thanks to the assistance of God. That is why we strongly urge and advise you, as friends, to immediately, without delay or reservation, leave a country that does not belong to you at all. Know that if you do not follow this good advice, then not we, but you will find yourself violating the peace concluded in ancient times. (...) if you do not leave the country yourself, we will expel you from it against your will. I believe that you have not forgotten about the defeat of your father Ingor (Igor), who, disregarding the oath agreement, sailed to our capital with a huge army on 10 thousand ships, and to the Cimmerian Bosporus (Kerch Strait) arrived with barely a dozen boats, becoming the messenger of his own misfortune. I don’t even mention his further pitiful fate when, having gone on a campaign against the Germans (or rather, to the Drevlyans), he was taken prisoner by them, tied to tree trunks and torn in two. I think that you will not return to your fatherland if you force the Roman forces to come out against you - you will find death here with your entire army, and not a single torchbearer will arrive in Scythia to announce the terrible fate that has befallen you.” This message angered Sfendoslav, and he, seized by barbaric rage and madness, sent the following answer: “I see no need for the Roman Emperor to rush to us; let him not exhaust his strength on the journey to this country - we ourselves will soon pitch our tents at the gates of Byzantium (Constantinople) and we will erect strong barriers around the city, and if he comes to us, if he decides to confront such a misfortune, we will bravely meet him and show him in practice that we are not some artisans, earning a living by the labor of our hands (the Byzantine army consisted largely of peasants, while Svyatoslav’s squad included professional warriors), but men of blood who defeat the enemy with weapons. In vain, out of his unreasonableness, he mistakes the Russians for pampered women and tries to intimidate us with similar threats, like infants who are frightened with all sorts of scarecrows.” Having received news of these crazy speeches, the emperor decided to immediately prepare for war with all diligence in order to prevent the invasion of Sfendoslav and block his access to the capital...”

The news of the approach of Svyatoslav's squads threw the treacherous Greeks into confusion. The Russians advanced towards Constantinople. But Tzimiskes managed to mobilize his forces, and Svyatoslav retreated. The fate of the Balkans was decided in bloody battles. Finally, Svyatoslav left the capital of Bulgaria - Preslav the Great and strengthened himself in the fortress on the Danube Dorostol (now Silistra). Here in 971 his army was surrounded by the army of the Byzantine emperor of one hundred thousand. Svyatoslav's governors considered further struggle pointless and offered the prince to surrender. But he resolutely refused and turned to his few soldiers with an appeal: “We will not disgrace the Russian land, but we will lie with our bones. The dead have no shame. Let’s stand strong, I’ll go ahead of you!”

Leo the Deacon also talks about the same battle: “While the sovereign (Emperor John) slowly moved towards the army of the Russians, several brave men, possessed by desperate audacity, separated from their phalanx, who, having set up an ambush, made a surprise attack and killed some soldiers from the advance detachment of the Romans. Seeing their corpses scattered along the road, the emperor lowered the reins and stopped his horse. The death of his compatriots infuriated him, and he ordered to hunt down those who committed this atrocity. John's bodyguards, having thoroughly searched the surrounding forests and bushes, captured these robbers and brought them bound to the emperor. He immediately ordered them to be killed, and the bodyguards, without delay drawing their swords, cut them all to pieces. Then the troops approached the space lying in front of Dorostol... the Tauro-Scythians tightly closed their shields and spears, giving their ranks the appearance of a wall, and waited for the enemy on the battlefield. The emperor lined up the Romans against them, placing armored horsemen on the sides, and archers and slingers behind, and, ordering them to shoot non-stop, led the phalanx into battle. The warriors fought hand-to-hand, a fierce battle ensued, and in the first battles both sides fought for a long time with equal success. The Ros, who had gained the glory of victors in battles among neighboring peoples, believed that a terrible disaster would befall them if they suffered a shameful defeat from the Romans, and they fought with all their strength. The Romans were overcome by shame and anger at the thought that they, who had defeated all opponents with arms and courage, would retreat as inexperienced newcomers in battle and would lose their great glory in a short time, having been defeated by a people fighting on foot and unable to ride at all. on horseback. Prompted by such thoughts, both armies fought with unsurpassed courage; The dew, guided by their innate brutality and rage, rushed in a furious outburst, roaring like one possessed, towards the Romans, and the Romans advanced, using their experience and military art. Many warriors fell on both sides, the battle went on with varying success, and until the evening it was impossible to determine which side was winning. But when the sun began to decline to the west, the emperor threw all the cavalry at full speed against the Scythians; in a loud voice he called on the soldiers to show in practice their natural Roman valor and instilled in them good spirits. They rushed with extraordinary force, the trumpeters sounded the trumpet for battle, and a mighty cry rang out over the Roman ranks. The Scythians, unable to withstand such an onslaught, fled and were driven behind the walls; they lost many of their warriors in this battle. And the Romans sang victory hymns and glorified the emperor. He gave them rewards and feasts, increasing their zeal in battle.”

But, despite the “victory hymns,” John realized that Svyatoslav was facing death. Seeing that he would not be able to break the resistance of the Russians, the Byzantine emperor made peace. Leo the Deacon described the meeting of Svyatoslav with Tzimiskes in this way: “Sfendoslav also appeared, sailing along the river on a Scythian boat; he sat on the oars and rowed along with his entourage, no different from them. This is what his appearance was: of moderate height, not too tall and not very short, with shaggy eyebrows and light blue eyes, snub nose, beardless, with thick, excessively long hair above his upper lip. His head was completely naked, but a tuft of hair hung from one side of it - a sign of the nobility of the family; the strong back of his head, wide chest and all other parts of his body were quite proportionate, but he looked gloomy and wild. He had a gold earring in one ear; it was decorated with a carbuncle framed by two pearls. His robe was white and differed from the clothing of his associates only in its cleanliness. Sitting in the boat on the rowers' bench, he talked a little with the sovereign about the terms of peace and left. Thus ended the war between the Romans and the Scythians.”

As a result, Rus' and Byzantium concluded a new peace treaty - not in the palace or in the office, but right on the battlefield. The Russes pledged not to attack Bulgaria and the Byzantine lands in the future, and the Greeks promised to freely let Svyatoslav’s army home, providing it with a small supply of food. Trade relations between the two powers were also restored. The text of the agreement, as usual, was drawn up in two copies and sealed. One should think that on the seal of the Russian prince there was an image of a bident - the family sign of the Rurikovichs.

Returning to their homeland, the Russian army was divided. One part of it, led by governor Sveneld, headed overland, and Svyatoslav and his squad sailed along the Danube to the Black Sea. Then they entered the Dnieper and moved north. But in the spring of 972, on the Dnieper rapids, where ships had to be dragged, the Russian squad was attacked by the Pechenegs. Svyatoslav died in battle. And the Pechenezh khan Kurya made a cup from the prince’s skull, bound in gold. He drank wine from this cup, hoping that the intelligence and courage of the glorious commander would pass on to him.

Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich forever remained in Russian history as a brave warrior and great commander, who covered Russian weapons with glory and strengthened the international prestige of Rus'.

Svyatoslav had three sons. During his lifetime, he made his eldest son Yaropolk his heir in Kyiv, his second son Oleg the prince of the Drevlyans, and the younger Vladimir, born of the concubine Malusha, at the request of the Novgorodians themselves, the prince of Novgorod.

Malushi's origins are unknown. The chronicles only vaguely report that she was the daughter of a certain Malk Lyubechanin. Malusha’s sister was Dobrynya, a distant prototype of the epic hero Dobrynya Nikitich. Malusha herself was a slave of Princess Olga, and therefore Princess Rogneda called Vladimir “robichich,” that is, the son of a slave (but more on that below). An interesting hypothesis about the pedigree of Malusha has arisen in historiography. It has been suggested that she is actually the daughter of the Drevlyan prince Mal, who after the death of her father became the slave of the winner, Princess Olga. But this version encounters such insoluble contradictions that it cannot be considered worthy of attention.

It is curious that the Scandinavian “Saga of Olav Tryggvason” also speaks about Vladimir’s mother, although without mentioning her name. King Gardarika Valdamar had an old, decrepit mother. She was considered a pagan prophetess, and many of her predictions came true. There was a custom in Gardariki: on the first day of Yule (a pagan winter holiday, later identified with Christmas), in the evening, Vladimir’s mother was carried out in a chair into the ward, placed opposite the prince’s place, and the old prophetess predicted the future. Vladimir treated his mother with great respect and respect, asking her if Gardariki was in any danger. One evening, the princess predicted the birth in Norway of Olav Tryggvason, who later visited Rus'.

The motif of prophecy is common in medieval literature. But despite the legendary nature of this story (researchers believe that the image of Vladimir’s mother could reflect the features of the wise Princess Olga), it adds new colors to early Russian history.

After the death of Svyatoslav, Yaropolk became the full-fledged prince of Kyiv. But his reign was short-lived. Sveneld remained the governor under Yaropolk, as well as under his father and grandfather. “The Tale of Bygone Years” tells how one day Sveneld’s son Lute was hunting in the forests near Kyiv. At the same time, Prince Oleg Svyatoslavich also went hunting. “Who dared to hunt on the princely lands?” - Oleg asked his governor, seeing several horsemen in the distance. “Lute Sveneldich,” they answered him. Then the prince decided to punish the disobedient one. Having caught up with Lyut, Oleg killed him in anger. Since then, Sveneld harbored a grudge against Oleg and began to persuade Yaropolk to go to war against his brother.

In 977, strife began between the Svyatoslavichs. Yaropolk set out on a campaign against the Drevlyansky principality. In the first battle, Oleg was defeated and fled to the city of Ovruch. Like many Russian cities, Ovruch was surrounded by a moat, across which a bridge was built to the city gates. Oleg's warriors and surrounding residents from all sides flocked under the walls of the city, hoping to hide from the approaching squads of Yaropolk. On the bridge leading to the fortress, many people crowded, they crowded and pushed each other. Oleg himself got caught in this crush. He barely made his way among the people distraught with fear and was finally thrown from his horse straight into the ditch. The bodies of crushed warriors and the corpses of horses fell on him from above... When Yaropolk captured Ovruch, he found the lifeless body of his brother in the city ditch. The prince lamented that he started the war, but it was no longer possible to stop it.

Vladimir, who reigned in Novgorod, learned about what had happened and fled to his relatives in Scandinavia. In 980, he returned to Rus' with a large Varangian squad and moved south to Kyiv. Along the way, the young prince decided to capture the large and rich city of Polotsk, where Rogvolod reigned. Rogvolod had two sons and a beautiful daughter, whose name was Rogneda. Vladimir wooed Rogneda, but the proud princess refused him (“I don’t want rozuti robichich,” she said, since, according to custom, a wife took off her husband’s shoes after the wedding), especially since Yaropolk was going to marry her. Then Vladimir suddenly attacked Polotsk, captured the city and burned it. Rogvolod and his sons died, and Rogneda inevitably had to become the wife of the winner. She gave birth to Vladimir four sons, one of whom was Yaroslav the Wise.

Now it was Yaropolk’s turn. On the advice of Voivode Blud, whom Vladimir bribed, Yaropolk fled from Kyiv, leaving the city to the mercy of fate. Deprived of a leader, the Kievans did not even resist the approaching army. The gates of Kyiv opened, and Vladimir solemnly sat on the princely throne of his father. Yaropolk, meanwhile, took refuge in the small town of Roden, but his strength was exhausted. When Vladimir approached the city, those close to Yaropolk advised their prince to surrender without a fight. With a heavy heart, Yaropolk went to his brother’s headquarters. And as soon as he entered the vestibule of Vladimir’s house, two Varangians guarding the doors lifted him by the bosoms with their swords. The bloody body of the prince hung lifelessly on sharp swords...

Thus began the reign of Vladimir in Kiev.

Reign of Svyatoslav (briefly)

The reign of Prince Svyatoslav - a brief description

The Russian prince Svyatoslav spent the bulk of his life on military campaigns. His first baptism of fire took place at the age of four. This campaign against the Drevlyans was organized by Svyatoslav’s mother, Grand Duchess Olga, who decided in this way to avenge her husband, Prince Igor, whom the Drevlyans brutally killed. According to Slavic tradition, only the prince could lead an army, and it was four-year-old Svyatoslav who threw the first spear, thereby giving the order to the army.

Svyatoslav was not at all interested in internal state political affairs, and therefore he gave all rights to resolve these issues to his mother. The prince was a real warrior, and his squad was mobile, since Svyatoslav did not take with him either tents or any amenities. In addition, the prince enjoyed authority even among his enemies, since he never attacked on the sly, but warned the enemy about the attack.

In 964, Prince Svyatoslav went on a campaign to Khazaria. Its route passes through the lands of the Vyatichi, who paid tribute to the Khazars. Svyatoslav forces them to pay tribute to Rus' and sets out again (to the Volga). After the defeat of the Volga Bulgaria, the great warrior prince in 965 completely defeats the Khazars, capturing their main city of Belaya Vezha. This campaign ended with the capture of the Caucasus.

The rest in Kyiv from military labors was not long, since the arriving embassy of Nikephoros Phocas asked for help against the Bulgarians who lived on the Danube lands. This campaign was also a success. Moreover, Prince Svyatoslav even wanted to move his capital from Kyiv to Pereyaslavets.

In 968, during Svyatoslav’s absence from Kyiv, the Pechenegs surrounded the city. Only thanks to the governor Petich, called by Olga, did the nomads retreat. After returning to the Kyiv lands, the prince was completely driven far beyond the borders of the state.

After the death of Princess Olga in 969, Svyatoslav left his sons (Yaropolk, Vladimir and Oleg) to rule, and he himself put forward his squad on a new military campaign against the Bulgarians, which ended very badly for the Russian squad, where during the war with the Greeks, Svyatoslav concluded a peace treaty according to which he had to leave the lands, hand over prisoners and prevent any attacks on Byzantium.

At the same time, Kyiv was again surrounded by the Pechenegs, who defeated Svyatoslav’s army, killing the prince. After him, his son Vladimir ascended the Kiev throne.

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 Kiev 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 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, a flat nose and a thick long mustache hanging on his upper lip. His head was completely naked ", only on one side of it hung a lock 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.

SVYATOSLAV!

"HUSBAND OF BLOOD"
(PRINCE SVYATOSLAV IGOREVICH)

Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich left a bright mark on Russian history. He ruled the Kyiv land for only 8 years, but these few years were well remembered for many subsequent centuries, and Prince Svyatoslav himself became a model of military valor and courage for many generations of Russian people. The first time his name thundered in the Russian chronicle was in 946. After the death of Prince Igor’s father in the Drevlyan land, he, then a three-year-old boy, was the first to begin the battle with the rebel Drevlyans, riding out in front of the Kyiv regiments and throwing a combat spear towards the enemy. And although, thrown by a weak child’s hand, it fell to the ground in front of the feet of his own horse, even then this act of Svyatoslav meant a lot. Not a prince, but a prince! Not a boy, but a warrior! And the words of the old grunt-voivodes, recorded by the chronicler and needing no translation, sound symbolically: “The prince has already begun. Let’s fight, squad, according to the prince!”

Svyatoslav’s teacher and mentor was the Varangian Asmud, who taught his young pupil to be the first in battle and hunting, to stay firmly in the saddle, control a boat, swim, hide from enemy eyes both in the forest and in the steppe. Apparently, Princess Olga could not find a better mentor for her son than Uncle Asmud - he raised him to be a real warrior. The art of military leadership was taught to Svyatoslav by the chief Kiev governor Sveneld. There is no doubt that this Varangian only limited the prince’s extraordinary talent, explaining to him the tricks of military science. Svyatoslav was a bright, original commander, who intuitively sensed the high symphony of battle, who knew how to instill courage in his troops with decisive words and personal example, and who could predict the actions and deeds of his enemies.
And Svyatoslav learned one more lesson from the instructions of his governor-educators - to always be at one with his squad. For this reason, he rejected the offer of his mother, Princess Olga, who converted to Christianity in 855 and wanted to baptize her son as well. The Kyiv warriors, who revered Perun, were opposed to the new faith, and Svyatoslav remained with his knights.

“When Svyatoslav grew up and matured,” it is written in the chronicle, “he began to gather many brave warriors, and easily, like a pardus (cheetah), moving on campaigns, he fought a lot. On campaigns he did not carry with him either carts, boilers, or "He cooked meat, but, thinly cutting horse meat, or animal meat, or beef, he fried it on coals and ate it that way. He had no tents; when he went to bed, he put the saddle cloth from his horse under him, and a saddle under his head."

Svyatoslav made two great campaigns.
The first - against the huge predatory Khazaria - a dark kingdom that owned lands from the Caucasus Mountains to the Volga steppes; the second - against Danube Bulgaria, and then, in alliance with the Bulgarians, against Byzantium.

Back in 914, in the Khazar possessions on the Volga, the army of Prince Igor, Svyatoslav’s father, died, trying to secure the Volga trade route. To take revenge on the enemy and complete the work begun by his father - perhaps this is what threw the young Kyiv prince on a long campaign. In 964, 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. Without touching the Vyatichi and without destroying their lands, only ordering them to pay tribute not to the Khazars, but to Kyiv, Svyatoslav went out to the Volga and moved his army against the ancient enemies of the Russian land: the Volga Bulgarians, Burtases, and the Khazars themselves. In the vicinity of Itil, the capital of the Khazar Kaganate, a decisive battle took place, in which the Kyiv regiments defeated and put the Khazars to flight. Then he moved his squads against other tributaries of the North Caucasian tribes of the Yases and Kasogs, the ancestors of the Ossetians and Circassians. This unprecedented campaign lasted for about 4 years. Victorious in all battles, the prince crushed all his enemies, captured and destroyed the capital of the Khazar Khaganate, the city of Itil, and took the well-fortified fortresses of Sarkel (on the Don), Semender (in the North Caucasus). On the shores of the Kerch Strait in the captured Khazar village of Tamatarkhe, he founded an outpost of Russian influence in this region - the city of Tmutarakan, the center of the future Tmutarakan principality.

Returning to Kyiv, Svyatoslav spent only about a year in his capital city and already in 968 he set off on a new military expedition - against the Bulgarians on the distant blue Danube. 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. For the help of Byzantium, Kalokir gave Svyatoslav 15 centinarii (455 kilograms) of gold, but it would be wrong to consider the Russian campaign against the Bulgarians as a raid of mercenary squads. The Kiev prince was obliged to come to the rescue of the allied power under an agreement concluded with Byzantium in 944 by Prince Igor. Gold was only a gift accompanying a request for military assistance...

The Russian prince took only 10 thousand soldiers with him on the campaign, but great commanders do not fight by numbers. Having descended along the Dnieper into the Black Sea, Svyatoslav quickly attacked the thirty thousand Bulgarian army sent against him. Having defeated him and driven the remnants of the Bulgarians into the Dorostol fortress, the prince took the city of Malaya Preslava (Svyatoslav himself called this city, which became his new capital Pereyaslavl), forcing both enemies and yesterday's friends to unite against him. The Bulgarian Tsar Peter, feverishly gathering troops in his capital Velikaya Preslava, entered into a secret alliance with Nicephorus Foka. He, in turn, bribed the Pecheneg leaders, who willingly agreed to attack Kyiv in the absence of the Grand Duke. The people of Kiev were exhausted in a desperate, bloody battle, but the Pecheneg onslaught did not weaken. Only a night attack by the small army of governor Pretich, mistaken by the Pechenegs for the vanguard of Svyatoslav, forced them to lift the siege and move away from Kyiv. Connected with this story is the first description in our chronicle of a heroic deed committed by the remaining nameless Kyiv youth. When “the Pechenegs besieged the city with great force, there were countless numbers of them around the city. And it was impossible to leave the city or send messages. And the people were exhausted from hunger and thirst. And the (military) people from that side of the Dnieper gathered in boats and stood on on that shore. And it was impossible for either one to get to Kiev, nor from Kiev to them. And the people in the city began to grieve, and said: “Is there anyone who could get over to the other side and tell them: if you don’t approach the river in the morning city ​​- let's surrender to the Pechenegs." One youth said: "I'll get through." And they answered him: "Go." He left the city, holding a bridle, and ran through the Pechenegs' camp, asking them: "Has anyone seen a horse? "For he knew Pecheneg, and they took him for one of their own. And when he approached the river, he threw off his clothes, rushed into the Dnieper and swam. Seeing this, the Pechenegs rushed after him, shot at him, but could not do anything with him do. On the other side they noticed this, sailed up to him in a boat, took him into the boat and brought him to the squad. And the youth said to them: “If you don’t approach the city tomorrow, the people will surrender to the Pechenegs.” Their commander, named Pretich, said to this: “We will go tomorrow in boats and, having captured the princess and princes, we will rush to this shore. If we do not do this, then Svyatoslav will destroy us.” And the next morning, close to dawn, they sat down in the boats and blew a loud trumpet, and the people in the city shouted. It seemed to the Pechenegs that the prince himself had come, and they ran away from the city in all directions.”
The call of the Kievites, who with difficulty fought off the attack of their enemies, flew far to the Danube: “You, prince, are looking for someone else’s land and taking care of it, but you left your own, the Pechenegs, and your mother, and your children almost took us away. If you don’t come and If you protect us and they will take us again, then don’t you really feel sorry for your old mother or your children?”

Svyatoslav could not help but hear this call. Returning with his squad to Kyiv, he overtook and defeated the Pecheneg army and drove its pitiful remnants far into the steppe. Silence and peace then reigned in the Russian land, but this was not enough for the prince seeking battle and feat of arms. He could not stand a peaceful life and prayed to his mother: “I don’t like sitting in Kyiv. I want to live in Pereyaslavets on the Danube. There is the middle of my land. Everything good flows there: from the Greeks - gold, fabrics, wines, various vegetables; from the Czechs and Hungarians - silver and horses, from Rus' - furs, wax and honey."

Princess Olga listened to the hot, passionate words of her son and said only one thing in response: “You see that I am already sick, where do you want to go from me? When you bury me, then go wherever you want...”

3 days later she died. Having buried his mother, 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 hastened to his conquered possessions on the Danube by force of arms. He was forced to hurry by the news coming from there - the new Bulgarian Tsar Boris, who had ascended the throne with the help of the Greeks, attacked the Russian detachment left by Svyatoslav in Pereyaslavets and captured the fortress.

Like a swift leopard, the Russian prince rushed at the enemy, defeated him, captured Tsar Boris and the remnants of his army, and took possession of the entire country from the Danube to the Balkan Mountains. Soon he learned about the death of Nicephorus Phocas, who was killed by his close associate John Tzimiskes, a native of the Armenian femme nobility, who declared himself the new emperor. In the spring of 970, Svyatoslav declared war on him, threatening the enemy to pitch his tents near the walls of Constantinople and calling himself and his soldiers “men of blood.” Then he crossed the snow-covered mountain slopes of the Balkans, took Philippol (Plovdiv) by storm and approached Arkadiopol (Lule-Burgaz). There were only 4 days left to travel across the plain to Constantinople. Here there was a battle between the Russians and their allies the Bulgarians, Hungarians and Pechenegs with a hastily assembled army of the Byzantines. Having won this battle, Svyatoslav, however, did not go further, but, having taken “many gifts” from the Greeks, returned back to Pereyaslavets. This was one of the few, but it became a fatal mistake of the famous Russian warrior.

John Tzimiskes turned out to be a good student and a capable commander. Having recalled the best Byzantine troops from Asia, gathering detachments from other parts of his empire, he taught and drilled them all winter, rallying them into a huge trained army. Tzimiskes also ordered to assemble a new fleet, repairing old ones and building new warships: fire-bearing triremes, galleys and monerias. Their number exceeded 300. In the spring of 971, Emperor John sent them to the mouth of the Danube, and then up this river to cut off Svyatoslav’s squad and prevent it from receiving help from distant Rus'.

Byzantine armies moved towards Bulgaria from all sides, many times outnumbering the Svyatoslav squads stationed there. In the battle near the walls of Preslava, almost all the soldiers of the 8,000-strong Russian garrison located there were killed. Among the few who escaped and broke through to their main forces were the governor Sfenkel and the patrician Kalokir, who had once called Svyatoslav to Bulgaria. With heavy fighting, fighting off the advancing enemy, the Russians retreated to the Danube. There, in Dorostol (the modern city of Silistria), the last Russian fortress in Bulgaria, Svyatoslav raised his banner, preparing for a decisive battle. The city was well fortified - the thickness of its walls reached 4.7 m.

Approaching Dorostol on April 23, 971, the day of St. George, the Byzantines saw a Russian army in front of the city, lined up for battle. The Russian knights stood like a solid wall, “closing their shields and spears” and did not think of retreating. Over and over again they repulsed 12 enemy attacks during the day. Only at night did they retreat to the fortress. The next morning, the Byzantines began a siege, surrounding their camp with a rampart and a palisade with shields attached to it. It lasted more than two months (65 days) until July 22, 971. On this day the Russians began their last battle. Gathering his soldiers in front of him, Svyatoslav said his famous: “The dead have no shame.” This stubborn battle lasted a long time, despair and courage gave unprecedented strength to Svyatoslav’s soldiers, but as soon as the Russians began to prevail, a strong wind rose and hit them in the face, filling their eyes with sand and dust. Thus, nature snatched the almost won victory from Svyatoslav’s hands. The prince was forced to retreat back to Dorostol and begin peace negotiations 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 eyewitness Lev Deacon described the formidable Russian warrior: “Svyatoslav was of average height, neither too tall nor too short, with thick eyebrows, blue eyes, a flat nose and a thick, long mustache hanging on his upper lip. He had a head completely naked, only on one side 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. It seemed gloomy and wild."
During the negotiations, the parties made concessions. Svyatoslav promised to leave Bulgaria and go to Rus', Tzimiskes promised to let the Russian army through and allocate 2 measures of bread for the 22 thousand surviving soldiers.

Having made peace with the Byzantines, Svyatoslav went to Kyiv. But on the way, at the Dnieper rapids, the Pechenegs, notified by the treacherous Greeks, were already waiting for his thinned army. Sveneld's cavalry detachment managed to cross the steppe to Rus' unnoticed by the enemy. Svyatoslav, who was traveling on boats, had to spend the winter at the mouth of the Dnieper in Beloberezhye, but in the spring of 972 he decided to break through to Kyiv through the Pecheneg barriers. However, the forces were too unequal. In a heavy battle, Svyatoslav’s faithful squad also died, and he himself fell in this cruel battle. From the skull of Svyatoslav, the Polovtsian prince Kurya, according to the old steppe custom, ordered to make a bowl bound in gold for feasts.