20 moments

1. Shelter during the Pecheneg siege of Kyiv

   0968-01-01 · Kyiv, Ukraine

   

   As a child, Vladimir was inside Kyiv with his grandmother Olga and his brothers during a Pecheneg siege. The Primary Chronicle narrative supplies the year; early Rus' chronology is partly reconstructed and should be treated cautiously.

2. Flight to Scandinavia

   0977-01-01 · Scandinavia

   After Yaropolk's defeat of Oleg, Vladimir fled from the struggle for Rus' and went to the Varangians in Scandinavia. The source identifies Scandinavia but no particular settlement; coordinates are a broad representative point.

3. Capture of Polotsk

   0980-01-01 · Polotsk, Belarus

   

   During his advance against Yaropolk, Vladimir came to Polotsk, killed Rogvolod and his sons, and took Rogneda as his wife according to the Primary Chronicle. The account is a chronicle narrative; the cited edition places it in the annal corresponding to 980.

4. Return with Varangians to Novgorod

   0980-01-01 · Novgorod, Russia

   Vladimir returned from overseas with Varangians, announced his challenge to Yaropolk's governors, and took up position in Novgorod. This follows the Primary Chronicle annal 6488, rendered as 980 by the cited edition; other chronologies date Vladimir's seizure of Kyiv differently.

5. Siege and entry into Kyiv

   0980-01-01 · Kyiv, Ukraine

   

   Vladimir advanced on Kyiv in the succession struggle with Yaropolk, besieged the city from Dorogozhichi, and subsequently entered Kyiv. The cited Primary Chronicle chronology gives 980; the canonical English biography dates the taking of Kyiv to 978.

6. Campaign in the Cherven towns

   0981-01-01 · Cherven towns, modern Poland and Ukraine

   Vladimir personally campaigned against the Poles and took Peremyshl, Cherven, and other towns later described by the chronicle as under Rus'. Coordinates represent the Cherven-towns region near the archaeological site of Czermno; the chronicle records several towns rather than one exact campaign site.

7. Second campaign against the Vyatichi

   0982-01-01 · Vyatichi lands, upper Oka region, Russia

   The Primary Chronicle records Vladimir's second campaign against the Vyatichi after their revolt. The source identifies a people rather than a settlement; coordinates are a representative point in the broadly associated upper-Oka region.

8. Campaign against the Yatvingians

   0983-01-01 · Yatvingian lands, Suwałki region, Poland

   Vladimir marched against the Yatvingians and took their land, then returned to Kyiv according to the Primary Chronicle. The campaign's exact location is not specified; coordinates are a representative point for the historical Yatvingian/Sudovian region.

9. Campaign against the Radimichians

   0984-01-01 · Radimichian lands, Sozh basin, Belarus

   Vladimir led a campaign against the Radimichians, sending his commander Wolf Tail ahead; the encounter described by the chronicle occurred on the Pishchana River. The Pishchana River's identification is uncertain; coordinates represent the Radimichian area in the Sozh basin.

10. Volga Bulgar campaign

    0985-01-01 · Volga Bulgaria, representative point near Bolghar, Tatarstan, Russia

    Vladimir traveled by boat with Dobrynia against the Bulgars, concluded peace after defeating them, and returned to Kyiv according to the Primary Chronicle. The precise battlefield or meeting place is not named; coordinates are a representative point in Volga Bulgaria near Bolghar.

11. Religious envoys received in Kyiv

    0986-01-01 · Kyiv, Ukraine

    

    Vladimir was in Kyiv when missionaries representing several religions arrived to seek his conversion, an episode central to the chronicle's conversion narrative. The episode is part of a later chronicle conversion narrative and its historicity and precise sequencing are debated.

12. Baptism and marriage at Chersonesus

    0988-01-01 · Chersonesus Taurica, Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine

    

    The chronicle tradition places Vladimir's baptism and subsequent marriage to Anna Porphyrogenita at Chersonesus after his capture of the city. The Chersonesus baptism tradition is disputed: medieval accounts differ on the sequence and on the place of baptism.

13. Return to Kyiv and baptism of the people

    0988-01-01 · Dnieper River, Kyiv, Ukraine

    

    After departing Chersonesus, Vladimir returned to Kyiv, ordered the pagan idols removed, and went to the Dnieper for the mass baptism described by the Primary Chronicle. Coordinates mark the central Kyiv Dnieper waterfront; the precise baptismal landing site is not established.

14. Meeting the Pechenegs at the Trubizh ford

    0992-01-01 · Trubizh River ford near Pereiaslav, Ukraine

    Returning from a campaign against the Croats, Vladimir met a Pecheneg force at the Trubizh ford near Pereiaslav, where the chronicle places a champion duel and Rus' victory. The cited chronicle annal is 6501, variously converted as 992 or 993; the canonical English biography uses 992. Coordinates represent Pereiaslav and the nearby Trubizh.

15. Return to Kyiv after the Trubizh victory

    0992-01-01 · Kyiv, Ukraine

    

    Following the Pechenegs' flight at the Trubizh ford, the chronicle explicitly records Vladimir's return to Kyiv. The cited chronicle annal is 6501, variously converted as 992 or 993; this card follows the 992 chronology used in the canonical English biography.

16. Battle and feast at Vasyliv

    0996-01-01 · Vasyliv, near modern Vasylkiv, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine

    Vladimir went out with a small retinue to meet Pechenegs at Vasyliv, escaped after defeat, built a church, and celebrated there for eight days according to the chronicle. The precise site of medieval Vasyliv and its bridge is uncertain; coordinates use modern Vasylkiv as a representative location.

17. Prayer at the Church of the Tithes

    0996-01-01 · Church of the Tithes site, Kyiv, Ukraine

    Vladimir entered the completed Church of the Tithes in Kyiv, prayed there, and endowed it with a tithe from his resources and towns according to the Primary Chronicle. Coordinates identify the archaeological site of the destroyed Church of the Tithes.

18. Return to Kyiv after the Vasyliv feast

    0996-01-01 · Kyiv, Ukraine

    

    After his eight-day celebration at Vasyliv, Vladimir returned to Kyiv for the Dormition feast. The precise day of return is not stated.

19. Journey to Novgorod to raise troops

    0997-01-01 · Novgorod, Russia

    

    Vladimir traveled to Novgorod to raise troops from the northern lands for the continuing war with the Pechenegs. The source dates this to annal 6505, conventionally rendered as 997.

20. Death at Berestove

    1015-07-15 · Berestove, Kyiv, Ukraine

    

    Vladimir died at the princely settlement of Berestove near Kyiv after becoming ill while preparing to act against his son Yaroslav. The exact date, 15 July 1015, is given in the article's infobox; coordinates mark historical Berestove in present-day Kyiv.