Rurik Rostislavich

For another person with the same name, see Rurik Rostislavich (died 1092)

Rurik Rostislavich, also spelt Riurik, (died 1215) was Prince of Novgorod (1170–1171), Belgorod (1173–1194), Grand Prince of Kiev (1173; 1180–1181; 1194–1201; 1203–1204; 1205-1206; 1207–1210), and Prince of Chernigov (1210–1214).

St. Basil's Church was built by Rurik Rostislavich at his votchina in Ovruch.

Life

Rurik was the son of Rostislav I of Kiev. Succession conflicts intermittently placed Rurik on the throne of the Kievan Rus' no fewer than six times between 1173 and 1210.

According to the Kievan Chronicle account, in 1182, Rurik became co-ruler with Sviatoslav III Vsevolodovich of Kiev (who had become prince of Kiev in 1177), a "duumvirate" arrangement that lasted until Sviatoslav's death in 1194. According to the Novgorod Fourth Chronicle and Sofia First Chronicle tradition sub anno 6688 (1180) and 6693 (1185), Sviatoslav reigned alone, and there is no mention of Rurik as co-prince.

Rurik ruled alone until 1199, when his rule was challenged by Roman the Great, who deposed Rurik.

After a brief stint in Chernigov, where he built the Church of St. Paraskebas, Rurik, along with his kinsmen and a Cuman army, attacked and sacked Kiev in 1203, but was repelled until Roman's death in 1205. Rurik had been confined to a monastery in 1204, but he abandoned his holy vows and returned to the throne.

His cousin, Vsevolod, felt that Rurik's previous monastic vows rendered his authority invalid, and so attacked and briefly seized Kiev in 1206, 1207, and 1211. He succeeded in capturing Rurik, who died in captivity in Chernigov.

Rurik was married to Anna of Turov; among their children was Rostislav II of Kiev.

Sources

• Lenhoff, Gail (2015). "Rus'-Tatar Princely Marriages in the Horde: The Literary Sources". Russian History. 42 (1, Festschrift for Janet Martin). Brill. doi:10.1163/18763316-04201004. S2CID 211599594.
• Martin, Janet (2006). "Calculating Seniority and the Contests for Succession in Kievan Rus'". Russian History. 33 (2/4). Brill: 267–281. ISSN 1876-3316. JSTOR 24664444.
• Martin, Janet (2007). Medieval Russia: 980–1584. Second Edition. E-book. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-511-36800-4.
• Magocsi, Paul Robert (2010). A History of Ukraine: The Land and Its Peoples. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 894. ISBN 9781442610217. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
• Ostrowski, Donald (2018). "Was There a Riurikid Dynasty in Early Rus'?". Canadian-American Slavic Studies. 52 (1): 30–49. doi:10.1163/22102396-05201009.