Justice of the Rus

About the Author

Born around 978, Yaroslav was one of the many sons of Vladimir, grand prince of Kiev. The identity of his mother is contested, and little of his childhood is known. Yaroslav came from Varangian stock, and his life is also told in the Norse sagas (in which he is known as Jarisleif, “the Lame,” because of an arrow wound). As a young man he ruled under his father's orders, first in the Rostov area and then in the important commercial city-state of Novgorod. He also founded the city of Jaroslaw, further east.

Yaroslav hoped to succeed his father as grand prince in Kiev. His brother Svyatopolk had similar ambitions. Hoping to stave off conflict, Vladimir bequeathed his throne instead to yet another son, the pious Boris. Vladimir's death in 1015 was followed nonetheless by a brutal power struggle. Boris and another brother, Gleb, were murdered—probably at the orders of Svyatopolk but perhaps by Yaroslav's supporters. Boris and Gleb were later canonized as the first saints in the Russian Orthodox Church. By 1019 Yaroslav, still also the ruler of Novgorod, had emerged victorious. It may have been at about this time that he issued the first version of the Justice of the Rus.

Despite the bloody and fratricidal start to his reign, Yaroslav is generally regarded by historians as one of Kievan Rus's finest rulers (reflected in his sobriquet, “the Wise”). This success is attributable not only to his legislation but also to successes in foreign policy, the construction under his patronage of Saint Sophia Cathedral and other religious buildings, and his promotion of book learning.

Yaroslav had seven sons from two marriages. Three from the second marriage—Izyaslav, Svyatoslav, and Vsevolod—authored the first significant expansion of their father's code. One after the other, they held the title of grand prince of Kiev nearly continuously from 1054 to 1093. Vsevolod's son Vladimir II Monomakh, who added his own statute to the Justice of the Rus, built up his base of power well to the northeast of Kiev, in the towns of Pereiaslavl, Rostov, and Suzdal. In this region he also founded the city of Vladimir, which became the de facto capital in the mid-twelfth century. Monomakh ruled in Kiev from 1113 to 1125. His reign is considered a golden age.