GROWTH AND CONSOLIDATION OF RUSSIA
From 910 to 973.
Expedition to Constantinople.--Treaty with the Emperor.--Last Days of
Oleg.--His Death.--Igor Assumes the Scepter.--His Expedition to the
Don.--Descent upon Constantinople.--His Defeat.--Second
Expedition.--Pusillanimity of the Greeks.--Death of Igor.--Regency of
Olga.--Her Character.--Succession of Sviatoslaf.--His Impiety and
Ambition.--Conquest of Bulgaria.--Division of the Empire.--Defeat,
Ruin and Death of Sviatoslaf.--Civil War.--Death of Oleg.--Flight of
Vlademer.--Supremacy of Yaropolk.
The fleet of Oleg successfully accomplished the navigation of the
Dnieper, followed by the horse along the shores. Each barge carried
forty warriors. Entering the Black Sea, they spread their sails and
ran along the western coast to the mouth of the Bosporus. The enormous
armament approaching the imperial city of Constantine by sea and by
land, completely invested it. The superstitious Leon, surnamed the
Philosopher, sat then upon the throne. He was a feeble man engrossed
with the follies of astrology, and without making preparations for any
vigorous defense, he contented himself with stretching a chain across
the Golden Horn to prevent the hostile fleet from entering the harbor.
The cavalry of Oleg, encountering no serious opposition, burnt and
plundered all the neighboring regions. The beautiful villas of the
wealthy Greeks, their churches and villages all alike fell a prey to
the flames. Every species of cruelty and barbarity was practiced by
the ruthless invaders.
The effeminate Greeks from the walls of the city gazed upon this sweep
of desolation, but ventured not to march from behind their ramparts
to assail the foe. Oleg draw his barges upon the shore and dragged
them on wheels towards the city, that he might from them construct
instruments and engines for scaling the walls. The Greeks were so
terrified at this spectacle of energy, that they sent an embassage to
Oleg, imploring peace, and offering to pay tribute. To conciliate the
invader they sent him large presents of food and wine. Oleg,
apprehensive that the viands were poisoned, refused to accept them. He
however demanded enormous tribute of the emperor, to which terms the
Greeks consented, on condition that Oleg would cease hostilities, and
return peaceably to his country. Upon this basis of a treaty, the
Russian array retired to some distance from the city, and Oleg sent
four commissioners to arrange with the emperor the details of peace.
The humiliating treaty exacted was as follows:
=I.= The Greeks engage to give twelve _grivnas_ to each man of the
Russian army, and the same sum to each of the warriors in the cities
governed by the dependent princes of Oleg.
=II.= The embassadors, sent by Russia to Constantinople, shall have
all their expenses defrayed by the emperor. And, moreover, the emperor
engages to give to every Russian merchant in Greece, bread, wine,
meat, fish and fruits, for the space of six months; to grant him free
access to the public baths, and to furnish him, on his return to his
country, with food, anchors, sails, and, in a word, with every thing
he needs.
On the other hand the Greeks propose that the Russians, who visit
Constantinople for any other purposes than those of commerce, shall
not be entitled to this supply of their tables. The Russian prince
shall forbid his embassadors from giving any offense to the
inhabitants of the Grecian cities or provinces. The quarter of Saint
Meme shall be especially appropriated to the Russians, who, upon their
arrival, shall give information to the city council. Their names shall
be inscribed, and there shall be paid to them every month the sums
necessary for their support, no matter from what part of Russia they
may have come. A particular gate shall be designated by which they may
enter the city, accompanied by an imperial commissary. They shall
enter without arms, and never more than fifty at a time; and they
shall be permitted, freely, to engage in trade in Constantinople
without the payment of any tax.
This treaty, by which the emperor placed his neck beneath the feet of
Oleg, was ratified by the most imposing ceremonies of religion. The
emperor took the oath upon the evangelists. Oleg swore by his sword
and the gods of Russia. In token of his triumph Oleg proudly raised
his shield, as a banner, over the battlements of Constantinople, and
returned, laden with riches, to Kief, where he was received with the
most extravagant demonstrations of adulation and joy.
The treaty thus made with the emperor, and which is preserved in full
in the Russian annals, shows that the Russians were no longer savages,
but that they had so far emerged from that gloomy state as to be able
to appreciate the sacredness of law, the claims of honor and the
authority of treaties. It is observable that no signatures are
attached to this treaty but those of the Norman princes, which
indicates that the original Sclavonic race were in subjection as the
vassals of the Normans. Oleg appears to have placed in posts of
authority only his own countrymen.
Oleg now, as old age was advancing, passed many years in quietude.
Surrounded by an invincible army, and with renown which pervaded the
most distant regions, no tribes ventured to disturb his repose. His
distance from southern Europe protected him from annoyance from the
powerful nations which were forming there. His latter years seem to
have been devoted to the arts of peace, for he secured to an unusual
degree the love, as well as the admiration, of his subjects. Ancient
annalists record that all Russia moaned and wept when he died. He is
regarded, as more prominently than any other man, the founder of the
Russian empire. He united, though by treachery and blood, the northern
and southern kingdoms under one monarch. He then, by conquest,
extended his empire over vast realms of barbarians, bringing them all
under the simple yet effective government of feudal lords. He
consolidated this empire, and by sagacious measures, encouraging arts
and commerce, he led his barbarous people onward in the paths of
civilization. He gave Russia a name and renown, so that it assumed a
position among the nations of the globe, notwithstanding its remote
position amidst the wilds of the North. His usurpation, history can
not condemn. In those days any man had the right to govern who had the
genius of command. Genius was the only legitimacy. But he was an
assassin, and can never be washed clean from that crime. He died after
a reign of thirty-three years, and was buried, with all the displays
of pomp which that dark age could furnish, upon one of the mountains
in the vicinity of Kief, which mountain for many generations was
called the Tomb of Oleg.
Igor now assumed the reins of government. He had lived in Kief a
quiet, almost an effeminate life, with his beautiful bride Olga. A
very powerful tribe, the Drevolians, which had been rather restive,
even under the rigorous sway of Oleg, thought this a favorable
opportunity to regain their independence. They raised the standard of
revolt. Igor crushed the insurrection with energy which astonished all
who knew him, and which spread his fame far and wide through all the
wilds of Russia, as a monarch thoroughly capable of maintaining his
command.
Far away in unknown realms, beyond the eastern boundary of Russia,
where the gloomy waves of the Irtish, the Tobol, the Oural and the
Volga flow through vast deserts, washing the base of fir-clad
mountains, and murmuring through wildernesses, the native domain of
wolves and bears, there were wandering innumerable tribes, fierce,
cruel and barbarous, who held the frontiers of Russia in continual
terror. They were called by the general name of Petchénègues. Igor was
compelled to be constantly on the alert to defend his vast frontier
from the irruptions of these merciless savages. This incessant warfare
led to the organization of a very efficient military power, but there
was no glory to be acquired in merely driving back to their dens these
wild assailants. Weary of the conflict, he at last consented to
purchase a peace with them; and then, seeking the military renown
which Oleg had so signally acquired, he resolved to imitate his
example and make a descent upon Constantinople. The annals of those
days, which seem to be credible, state that he floated down the
Dnieper with ten thousand barges, and spread his sails upon the waves
of the Euxine. Entering the Bosporus, he landed on both shores of that
beautiful strait, and, with the most wanton barbarity, ravaged the
country far and near, massacring the inhabitants, pillaging the towns
and committing all the buildings to the flames.
There chanced to be at Constantinople, a very energetic Roman general,
who was dispatched against them with a Greek fleet and a numerous land
force. The Greeks in civilization were far in advance of the Russians.
The land force drove the Russians to their boats, and then the Grecian
fleet bore down upon them. A new instrument of destruction had been
invented, the terrible Greek fire. Attached to arrows and javelins,
and in great balls glowing with intensity of flame which water would
not quench, it was thrown into the boats of the Russians, enkindling
conflagration and exciting terror indescribable. It seemed to the
superstitious followers of Igor, that they were assailed by foes
hurling the lightnings of Jove. In this fierce conflict Igor, having
lost a large number of barges, and many of his men, drew off his
remaining forces in disorder, and they slowly returned to their
country in disgrace, emaciate and starving. Many of the Russians taken
captive by the Greeks were put to death with the most horrible
barbarities.
Igor, exasperated rather than intimidated by this terrible disaster,
resolved upon another expedition, that he might recover his lost
renown by inflicting the most terrible vengeance upon the Greeks. He
spent two years in making preparations for the enterprise; called to
his aid warriors from the most distant tribes of the empire, and
purchased the alliance of the Petchénègues. With an immense array of
barges, which for leagues covered the surface of the Dnieper, and with
an immense squadron of cavalry following along the banks, he commenced
the descent of the river. The emperor was informed that the whole
river was filled with barges, descending for the siege and sack of
Constantinople. In terror he sent embassadors to Igor to endeavor to
avert the storm.
The imperial embassadors met the flotilla near the mouth of the
Dnieper, and offered, in the name of the emperor, to pay the same
tribute to Igor which had been paid to Oleg, and even to increase that
tribute. At the same time they endeavored to disarm the cupidity of
the foe by the most magnificent presents. Igor halted his troops, and
collecting his chieftains in counsel, communicated to them the message
of the emperor. They replied,
"If the emperor will give us the treasure we demand, without our
exposing ourselves to the perils of battle, what more can we ask? Who
can tell on which side will be the victory?"
Thus influenced, Igor consented to a treaty. The opening words of this
curious treaty are worthy of being recorded. They were as follows:
"We, the embassadors of Igor, solemnly declare that this treaty shall
continue so long as the sun shall shine, in defiance of the
machinations of that evil spirit who is the enemy of peace and the
fomenter of discord. The Russians promise never to break this alliance
with the horde; those who have been baptized, under penalty of
temporal and eternal punishment from God; others, under the penalty of
being for ever deprived of the protection of Péroune;[1] of never
being able to protect themselves with their shields; of being doomed
to lacerate themselves with their own swords, arrows and other arms,
and of being slaves in this world and that which is to come."
[Footnote 1: One of the Gods of the Russians.]
This important treaty consisted of fourteen articles, drawn up with
great precision, and in fact making the Greek emperor as it were but a
vassal of the Russian monarch. One of the articles of the treaty is
quite illustrative of the times. It reads,
"If a Christian kills a Russian, or if a Russian kills a Christian,
the friends of the dead have a right to seize the murderer and kill
him."
This treaty was concluded at Constantinople, between the emperor and
the embassadors of Igor. Imperial embassadors were sent with the
written treaty to Kief. Igor, with imposing ceremonies, ascended the
sacred hill where was erected the Russian idol of Péroune, and with
his chieftains took a solemn oath of friendship to the emperor, and
then as a gage of their sincerity deposited at the feet of the idol
their arms and shields of gold. The Christian nobles repaired to the
cathedral of St. Elias, the most ancient church of Kief, and there
took the same oath at the altar of the Christian's God. The renowned
Russian historian, Nestor, who was a monk in the monastery at Kief,
records that at that time there were numerous Christians in Kief.
Igor sent the imperial embassadors back to Constantinople laden with
rich presents. Elated by wealth and success, the Russian king began to
impose heavier burdens of taxation upon subjugated nations. The
Drevliens resisted. With an insufficient force Igor entered their
territories. The Drevliens, with the fury of desperation, fell upon
him and he was slain, and his soldiers put to rout. During his reign
he held together the vast empire Oleg had placed in his hands, though
he had not been able to extend the boundaries of his country. It is
worthy of notice, and of the highest praise, that Igor, though a
pagan, imitating the example of Oleg, permitted perfect toleration
throughout his realms. The gospel of Christ was freely preached, and
the Christians enjoyed entire freedom of faith and worship. His reign
continued thirty-two years.
Sviatoslaf, the son of Igor, at the time of his father's unhappy death
was in his minority. The empire was then in great peril. The
Drevliens, one of the most numerous and warlike tribes, were in open
and successful revolt. The army accustomed to activity, and now in
idleness, was very restive. The old Norman generals, ambitious and
haughty, were disposed to pay but little respect to the claims of a
prince who was yet in his boyhood. But Providence had provided for
this exigence. Olga, the mother of Sviatoslaf, assumed the regency,
and developed traits of character which place her in the ranks of the
most extraordinary and noble of women. Calling to her aid two of the
most influential of the nobles, one of whom was the tutor of her son
and the other commander-in-chief of the army, she took the helm of
state, and developed powers of wisdom and energy which have rarely
been equaled and perhaps never surpassed.
She immediately sent an army into the country of the Drevliens, and
punished with terrible severity the murderers of her husband. The
powerful tribe was soon brought again into subjection to the Russian
crown. As a sort of defiant parade of her power, and to overawe the
turbulent Drevliens, she traversed their whole country, with her son,
accompanied by a very imposing retinue of her best warriors. Having
thus brought them to subjection, she instituted over them a just and
benevolent system of government, that they might have no occasion
again to rise in revolt. They soon became so warmly attached to her
that they ever were foremost in support of her power.
One year had not passed ere Olga was seated as firmly upon the throne
as Oleg or Igor had ever been. She then, leaving her son Sviatoslaf at
Kief, set out on a tour through her northern provinces. Everywhere, by
her wise measures and her deep interest in the welfare of her
subjects, she won admiration and love. The annals of those times are
full of her praises. The impression produced by this visit was not
effaced from the popular mind for five hundred years, being handed
down from father to son. The sledge in which she traveled was for many
generations preserved as a sacred relic.
She returned to Kief, and there resided with her son, for many years,
in peace and happiness. The whole empire was tranquil, and in the
lowly cabins of the Russians there was plenty, and no sounds of war or
violence disturbed the quiet of their lives. This seems to have been
one of the most serene and pleasant periods of Russian history. This
noble woman was born a pagan. But the gospel of Christ was preached in
the churches of Kief, and she heard it and was deeply impressed with
its sublimity and beauty. Her life was drawing to a close. The
grandeur of empire she was soon to lay aside for the darkness and the
silence of the tomb. These thoughts oppressed her mind, which was, by
nature, elevated, sensitive and refined. She sent for the Christian
pastors and conversed with them about the immortality of the soul, and
salvation through faith in the atonement of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. The good seed of Christian truth fell into good soil.
Cordially she embraced the gospel.
That her renunciation of paganism, and her confession of the Saviour
might be more impressive, she decided to go to Constantinople to be
baptized by the venerable Christian patriarch, who resided there. The
Christian emperor, Constantine Porphyrogenete, informed of her
approach, prepared to receive her with all the pomp worthy of so
illustrious a princess of so powerful a people. He has himself left a
record of these most interesting ceremonies. Olga approached the
imperial palace, with a very splendid suite composed of nobles of her
court, of ladies of distinction, and of the Russian embassadors and
merchants residing at Constantinople. The emperor, with a
corresponding suite of splendor, met the Russian queen at a short
distance from the palace, and conducted her, with her retinue, to the
apartments arranged for their entertainment. It was the 9th of
September, 955. In the great banqueting hall of the palace there was a
magnificent feast prepared. The guests were regaled with richest
music. After such an entertainment as even the opulence of the East
had seldom furnished, there was an exchange of presents. The emperor
and the queen strove to outvie each other in the richness and elegance
of their gifts. Every individual in the two retinues, received
presents of great value.
The queen at her baptism received the Christian name of Helen. We do
not find any record of the ceremonies performed at her baptism. It is
simply stated that the emperor himself stood as her sponsor. Olga, as
she returned to Kief, with her baptismal vows upon her, and in the
freshness of her Christian hopes, manifested great solicitude for her
son, who still continued a pagan. But Sviatoslaf was a wild,
pleasure-seeking young man, who turned a deaf ear to all his mother's
counsels. The unbridled license which paganism granted, was much more
congenial to his unrenewed heart than the salutary restraints of the
gospel of Christ. The human heart was then and there, as now and here.
The Russian historian Karamsin says,
"In vain this pious mother spoke to her son of the happiness of being
a Christian; of the peaceful spirit he would find in the worship of
the true God. 'How can I,' replied Sviatoslaf, 'make a profession of
this new religion, which will expose me to the ridicule of all my
companions in arms?' In vain Olga urged upon him that his example
might induce others to embrace the gospel of Christ. The young prince
was inflexible. He made no effort to prevent others from becoming
Christians, but did not disguise his contempt for the Christian faith,
and so persistently rejected all the exhortations of his mother, whom
he still tenderly loved, that she was at last forced to silence, and
could only pray, in sadness, that God would open the eyes and touch
the heart of her child."
The young prince having attained his majority in the year 964, assumed
the crown. His soul was fired with the ambition of signalizing himself
by great military exploits. The blood of Igor, of Oleg and of Rurik
coursed through his veins, and he resolved to lead the Russian arms to
victories which should eclipse all their exploits. He gathered an
immense army, and looked eagerly around to find some arena worthy of
the display of his genius.
His character was an extraordinary one, combining all the virtues of
ancient chivalry; virtues which guided by Christian faith, constitute
the noblest men, but which without piety constitute a man the scourge
of his race. _Fame_ was the God of Sviatoslaf. To acquire the
reputation of a great warrior, he was willing to whelm provinces in
blood. But he was too magnanimous to take any mean advantage of their
weakness. He would give them fair warning, that no blow should be
struck, assassin-like, stealthily and in the dark.
He accustomed his body, Spartan-like, to all the fatigues and
exposures of war. He indulged in no luxury of tents or carriages, and
ate the flesh of horses and wild beasts, which he roasted himself,
over the coals. In his campaigns the ground was his bed, the sky his
curtain, his horse blanket his covering, and the saddle his pillow;
and he seemed equally regardless of both heat and cold. His soldiers
looked to him as their model and emulated his hardihood. Turning his
attention first to the vast and almost unknown realms spreading out
towards the East, he sent word to the tribes on the Don and the
Volga, that he was coming to fight them. As soon as they had time to
prepare for their defense he followed his word. Here was chivalric
crime and chivalric magnanimity. Marching nine hundred miles directly
east from Kief, over the Russian plains, he came to the banks of the
Don. The region was inhabited by a very powerful nation called the
Khozars. They were arrayed under their sovereign, on the banks of the
river to meet the foe. The Khozars had even sent for Greek engineers
to aid them in throwing up their fortifications; and they were in an
intrenched camp constructed with much military skill. A bloody battle
ensued, in which thousands were slain. But Sviatoslaf was victor, and
the territory was annexed to Russia, and Russian nobles were placed in
feudal possession of its provinces. The conqueror then followed down
the Don to the Sea of Azof, fighting sanguinary battles all the way,
but everywhere victorious. The terror of his arms inspired wide-spread
consternation, and many tribes, throwing aside their weapons, bowed
the neck to the Russian king, and implored his clemency.
Sviatoslaf returned to Kief with waving banners, exulting in his
renown. He was stimulated, not satiated, by this success; and now
planned another expedition still more perilous and grand. On the south
of the Danube, near its mouth, was Bulgaria, a vast realm, populous
and powerful, which had long bid defiance to all the forces of the
Roman empire. The conquest of Bulgaria was an achievement worthy of
the chivalry even of Sviatoslaf. With an immense fleet of barges,
containing sixty thousand men, he descended the Dnieper to the Euxine.
Coasting along the western shore his fleet entered the mouth of the
Danube. The Bulgarians fought like heroes to repel the invaders. All
their efforts were in vain. The Russians sprang from their barges on
the shore, and, protected by their immense bucklers, sword in hand,
routed the Bulgarians with great slaughter. Cities and villages
rapidly submitted to the conqueror. The king of Bulgaria in his
despair rushed upon death. Sviatoslaf, laden with the spoils of the
vanquished and crowned with the laurels of victory, surrendered
himself to rejoicing and to all the pleasures of voluptuous
indulgence.
From these dissipations Sviatoslaf was suddenly recalled by the
tidings that his own capital was in danger; that a neighboring tribe,
of great military power, taking advantage of his absence with his
army, had invested Kief and were hourly expected to take it by
assault. In dismay he hastened his return, and found, to his
inexpressible relief, that the besiegers had been routed by the
stratagem and valor of a Russian general, and that the city and its
inhabitants were thus rescued from destruction.
But the Russian king, having tasted the pleasures of a more sunny
clime, and having rioted in the excitements of sensual indulgence,
soon became weary of tranquil life in Kief. He was also anxious to
escape from the reproof which he always felt from the pious life of
his mother. He therefore resolved to return to his conquered kingdom
of Bulgaria. He said to his mother:
"I had rather live in Bulgaria than at Kief. Bulgaria is the center of
wealth, nature and art. The Greeks send there gold and cloths; the
Hungarians silver and horses; the Russians furs, wax, honey and
slaves."
"Wait, my son, at least till after my death," exclaimed Olga. "I am
aged and infirm, and very soon shall be conveyed to my tomb."
This interview hastened the death of Olga. In four days she slept in
Jesus. She earnestly entreated her son not to admit of any pagan rites
at her funeral. She pointed out the place of her burial, and was
interred with Christian prayers, accompanied by the lamentations and
tears of all the people. Sviatoslaf, in his foreign wars, which his
mother greatly disapproved, had left with her the administration of
internal affairs. Nestor speaks of this pious princess in beautiful
phrase as _the morning star of salvation for Russia_.
Sviatoslaf, having committed his mother to the tomb, made immediate
preparations to transfer his capital from Kief to the more genial
clime of Bulgaria. Had he been influenced by statesmanlike
considerations it would have been an admirable move. The climate was
far preferable to that of Kief, the soil more fertile, and the
openings for commerce, through the Danube and the Euxine, immeasurably
superior. But Sviatoslaf thought mainly of pleasure.
It was now the year 970. Sviatoslaf had three sons, whom he
established, though all in their minority, in administration of
affairs in the realms from which he was departing. Yaropolk received
the government of Kief. His second son, Oleg, was placed over the
powerful nation of Drevliens. A third son, Vlademer, the child of
dishonor, not born in wedlock, was intrusted with the command at
Novgorod. Having thus arranged these affairs, Sviatoslaf, with a
well-appointed army, eagerly set out for his conquered province of
Bulgaria. But in the meantime the Bulgarians had organized a strong
force to resist the invader. The Russians conquered in a bloody
battle, and, by storm, retook Pérégeslavetz, the beautiful capital of
Bulgaria, where Sviatoslaf established his throne.
The Greeks at Constantinople were alarmed by this near approach of the
ever-encroaching and warlike Russians, and trembled lest they should
next fall a prey to the rapacity of Sviatoslaf. The emperor, Jean
Zimisces, immediately entered into an alliance with the Bulgarians,
offering his daughter in marriage to Boris, son of their former king.
A bloody war ensued. The Greeks and Bulgarians were victors, and
Sviatoslaf, almost gnashing his teeth with rage, was driven back again
to the cold regions of the North. The Greek historians give the
following description of the personal appearance of Sviatoslaf. He was
of medium height and well formed. His physiognomy was severe and
stern. His breast was broad, his neck thick, his eyes blue, with
heavy eyebrows. He had a broad nose, heavy moustaches, but a slight
beard. The large mass of hair which covered his head indicated his
nobility. From one of his ears there was suspended a ring of gold,
decorated with two pearls and a ruby.
As Sviatoslaf, with his shattered army, ascended the Dnieper in their
boats, the Petchénègues, fierce tribes of barbarians, whom Sviatoslaf
had subdued, rose in revolt against him. They gathered, in immense
numbers, at one of the cataracts of the Dnieper, where it would be
necessary for the Russians to transport their boats for some distance
by land. They hoped to cut off his retreat and thus secure the entire
destruction of their formidable foe. The situation of Sviatoslaf was
now desperate. Nothing remained for him but death. With the
abandonment of despair he rushed into the thickest of the foe, and
soon fell a mangled corpse. How much more happy would have been his
life, how much more happy his death, had he followed the counsels of
his pious mother. Kouria, chief of the Petchénègues, cut off the head
of Sviatoslaf, and ever after used his skull for a drinking cup. The
annalist Strikofski, states that he had engraved upon the skull the
words, "In seeking the destruction of others you met with your own."
A few fugitives from the army of Sviatoslaf succeeded in reaching
Kief, where they communicated the tidings of the death of the king.
The empire now found itself divided into three portions, each with its
sovereign. Yaropolk was supreme at Kief. Oleg reigned in the spacious
country of the Drevliens. Vladimir was established at Novgorod. No one
of these princes was disposed to yield the supremacy to either of the
others. They were soon in arms. Yaropolk marched against his brother
Oleg. The two armies met about one hundred and fifty miles north-west
of Kief, near the present town of Obroutch. Oleg and his force were
utterly routed. As the whole army, in confusion and dismay, were in
pell-mell flight, hotly pursued, the horse of Oleg fell. Nothing
could resist, even, for an instant, the onswelling flood. He was
trampled into the mire, beneath the iron hoofs of squadrons of horse
and the tramp of thousands of mailed men. After the battle, his body
was found, so mutilated that it was with difficulty recognized. As it
was spread upon a mat before the eyes of Yaropolk, he wept bitterly,
and caused the remains to be interred with funeral honors. The
monument raised to his memory has long since perished; but even to the
present day the inhabitants of Obroutch point out the spot where Oleg
fell.
Vladimir, prince of Novgorod, terrified by the fate of his brother
Oleg, and apprehensive that a similar doom awaited him, sought safety
in flight. Forsaking his realm he retired to the Baltic, and took
refuge with the powerful Normans from whom his ancestors had come.
Yaropolk immediately dispatched lieutenants to take possession of the
government, and thus all Russia, as a united kingdom, was again
brought under the sway of a single sovereign.