Yaroslav the Wise, also called Yaroslav I, Russian Yaroslav Mudry, (born 980—died February 2, 1054), grand prince of fKiev from 1019 to 1054.

A son of the grand prince Vladimir, he was vice-regent of Novgorod at the time of his father’s death in 1015. Then his eldest surviving brother, Svyatopolk the Accursed, killed three of his other brothers and seized power in Kiev. Yaroslav, with the active support of the Novgorodians and the help of Varangian (Viking) mercenaries, defeated Svyatopolk and became the grand prince of Kiev in 1019.

Back in the Middle Ages, Prince Yaroslav the Wise introduced the order of succession to the throne, but after he passed away, it became complicated for various reasons. The throne was passed not directly from father to eldest son, but from the prince who had passed away to his brother, then to his sons in different lines. All this led to the fragmentation and the end of Rus as a single state. There was nothing special about it, the same was happening then in Europe. But the fragmented Russian state became an easy prey to the empire created earlier by Genghis Khan. His successors, namely, Batu Khan, came to Rus, plundered and ruined nearly all the cities. The southern part, including Kiev, by the way, and some other cities, simply lost independence, while northern cities preserved some of their sovereignty. They had to pay tribute to the Horde, but they managed to preserve some part of their sovereignty. And then a unified Russian state began to take shape with its centre in Moscow. (Interview with T. Carlson, Mr. President V. Putin)

Blessed by the clergy at  Saviour Cathedral in Moscow.

This icon is a high-resolution lithography print on hardboard, embellished with light-reflecting gold and silve foil.