Vladimir I, Saint, called the Great c.956-1015
First Christian sovereign of Russia

Born in Kiev, the son of Svyatoslav, Grand Prince of Kiev (d.972), he became Prince of Novgorod (970), and seized Kiev from his brother (980) after his father's death, becoming ruler of Russia. Fierce and ambitious, he consolidated the Russian realm from the Baltic to the Ukraine, extending its dominions into Lithuania, Galicia and Livonia, with Kiev as his capital. He made a pact with the Byzantine Emperor Basil II (c.987), marrying his sister and accepting Christianity, which he forced on many of his people. He encouraged education and reformed legal institutions. He died on an expedition against one of his sons. His feast day is 15 July.

Bibliography: Vladimir Volkoff, Vladimir the Russian Viking (1984)