1015-1016 RUSSIA UKRAINE GRAND DUKE SVIATOPOLK SVYATOPOLK I VERY RARE MEDAL
38mm / 23.79g
Smirnov # 8 - Sokolov # 260 - Diakov # 1611
The table medal "Grand Prince Svyatopolk I" 1015-1016 is a unique historical artifact that reflects the period of civil strife in ancient Russia. The obverse of the medal depicts Grand Prince Svyatopolk, looking to the right, in powerful fur clothing and with his head uncovered. This bust image conveys his powerful and majestic appearance.
The inscription around the medal's circumference speaks of Svyatopolk's dubious origins, as the son of Vladimir or Yaropolk. This points to the complex and confusing situation within the Rurik dynasty after Vladimir's death.
On the reverse side of the medal, under the grand ducal crown, is an inscription stating that Svyatopolk took possession of the Grand Duchy of Kyiv in 1015 and held it for one year. This indicates his short and controversial reign.
The medal's historical context is linked to the brutal power struggle between the brothers, which led to the tragic deaths of Boris and Gleb, the holy martyrs, and Svyatoslav. Svyatopolk, exiled from Kyiv, tried to regain his power with the help of the Polish king Boleslav the Brave, but his attempts were thwarted by Yaroslav the Wise, who defeated Svyatopolk and finally exiled him.
Svyatopolk, nicknamed "the Accursed" for his crimes, fled and died in exile. His reign became a symbol of internal fragmentation and power struggles in ancient Russia.
The medal is not only a historical artifact, but also evidence of complex events and twists and turns in the history of ancient Russia.
Sviatopolk I [Svjatopolk] (appellation: Okaiannyi [the Damned or the Accursed]), b 978, d 24 July 1019. Kyivan Rus’ prince; son of Volodymyr the Great. In actuality Sviatopolk was probably the son of Volodymyr's brother, Yaropolk I Sviatoslavych, whose widow, Predslava, Sviatopolk's Greek mother, Volodymyr took as his third wife; thus, Sviatopolk is counted among Volodymyr's sons. He was the son-in-law of the Polish prince Bolesław I the Brave and prince of Turiv, from which position he was ousted in 1012 because of a conspiracy against Volodymyr. Sviatopolk captured Kyiv on 15 July 1015, after Volodymyr's death. According to the Primary Chronicle he ordered the death of his brothers, Borys Volodymyrovych, Hlib Volodymyrovych (see Saints Borys and Hlib), and Sviatoslav Volodymyrovych, for which the chronicler dubbed him ‘Okaiannyi.’ Sviatopolk planned to unite the lands inherited from his father, but his stepbrother, Yaroslav the Wise, then prince of Novgorod the Great, opposed him. Sviatopolk allied with the Pechenegs, but he was defeated by Yaroslav's armies at the Battle of Liubech at the end of 1016 and fled to Poland. With assistance from the Polish army Sviatopolk regained the Kyivan throne on 14 August 1018; that same year, however, Yaroslav the Wise returned and banished him. Sviatopolk again enlisted the help of the Pechenegs, but he was defeated at the Alta River on 24 July 1019 and died while fleeing westward to the wilderness between Czech and Polish lands.