Vladimir the Great

Saint

Vladimir of Kiev
Saint; Vladimir of Kiev
Equal to the Apostles
Born	c. 958
Died	15 July 1015
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church ; Catholic Church ; Anglican Communion; Lutheranism
Feast	15 July
Attributes	Crown, cross, throne

Names
	Vladimir Sviatoslavich

Vladimir the Great
Vladimir the Great
	Vladimir's effigy on one of his coins. He is crowned in the Byzantine style, holding a cross-mounted staff in one hand and a trident (tryzub) in the other.
Grand Prince of Kiev
Reign	11 June 978 – 15 July 1015
Predecessor	Yaropolk I
Successor	Sviatopolk I
Prince of Novgorod
Reign	970 – c. 988
Predecessor	Sviatoslav I
Successor	Vysheslav
Born	c. 958; Budnik or Budiatychi
Died	15 July 1015 (aged approximately 57); Berestove
Burial	Church of the Tithes, Kiev
Spouse	Allogia; Rogneda of Polotsk; Adela; Malfrida; Anna Porphyrogenita;
Issue; among others	Sviatopolk I; Iziaslav of Polotsk; Yaroslav the Wise; Mstislav of Chernigov; Saint Boris; Saint Gleb; Sudislav; Maria Dobroniega of Kiev; Agatha (possible) ;
Names
Names
	Vladimir Sviatoslavich
Dynasty	Rurik
Father	Sviatoslav I of Kiev
Mother	Malusha
Religion	Chalcedonian Christianity (from 988); prev. Slavic pagan

Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych (Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, romanized: Volodiměr Svętoslavič; Christian name: Basil; c. 958 – 15 July 1015), given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Eastern Orthodox Church canonised him as Saint Vladimir.

Vladimir's father was Sviatoslav I of the Rurik dynasty. After the death of his father in 972, Vladimir, who was then the prince of Novgorod, was forced to flee abroad after his brother Yaropolk murdered his other brother Oleg in 977 to become the sole ruler of Rus'. Vladimir assembled a Varangian army and returned to depose Yaropolk in 978. By 980, Vladimir had consolidated his realm to the Baltic Sea and solidified the frontiers against incursions of Bulgarians, Baltic tribes and Eastern nomads. Originally a follower of Slavic paganism, Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988, and Christianized the Kievan Rus.