General Notes

Yaroslav the Wise
Upon the death of Vladimir in 1015, his dominions were divided among hissons, and strife immediately developed. Vladimir's eldest son,Svyatopolk, called The Accursed (reigned 1015, 1018-1019), held thesupreme power and, to secure his position, murdered his brothers Borisand Gleb. Svyatopolk was, in turn, defeated and deposed by his brotherYaroslav the Wise, prince of Novgorod. Yaroslav attempted to recreate theempire of his grandfather, Svyatoslav, and by 1036 had succeeded inmaking himself ruler of all Russia. With him, the Kievan Rus statereached its greatest power. Yaroslav made Kiev an imperial capital withmagnificent buildings, including the notable Hagia Sophia of Kiev(Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom). Schools were opened, and the grand dukerevised the first Russian law code, the Russkaya Pravda (Russian Truth).To consolidate the position of his heirs, Yaroslav devised a system ofprecedence, grading the various principalities from the smallest to Kiev,the most powerful, so that, as a grand duke of Kiev died, each vassalbelow him was moved to a larger principality, ending with the throne ofKiev.
Source: "Russia," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1997Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.