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5) in 972 he died from the hands of the
Pechenegs on his way back from the war.
972-980 The struggle for power of Sviatoslav’s sons:
Yaropolk I (ruled in Kyiv), Oleh (ruled in
Ovruch) and Volodymyr (ruled in Novgorod).
Yaropolk killed Oleh and died struggling with
Volodymyr who was supported by the
Varangians.
980-1015 The rule of prince Volodymyr (“The Great”).
The prince Volodymyr:
1) carried out administrative reform (turned
over the lands to rule to his 12 sons
dethroning tribal princes and thus destroying
the local separatism and strengthening the
power centralization considerably;
2) started minting the first gold and silver
coins of Rus;
built defense ramparts (so-called “Serpent’s
Wall”) and fortified strongholds on the Sula,
Trubezh and Stugna rivers.
981 4) annexed the the Cherven cities of
Peremyshl’, Cherven’ and Buz’k to Kyivan
Rus having won them from the Polish;
981-982, 984 5) carried out campaigns against the Vyatychi
and Radymychs and conquered them;
988 6) the most important achievement is
considered to be the Christianization of
Kyivan Rus:
- he tried to rely on the old pagan religion
first and built the pantheon to pagan gods
(Perun, Hors, Strybog, Simargl, Dazbog,
Mokosh).
- then with the wish to rule and unite the state

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