Rostislav Yuryevich
Encyclopedia
Rostislav Yuryevich (died April 6, 1151) was the Prince of Novgorod and Pereyaslavl
Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi
Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi is a town located where Alta River flows into Trubizh River in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi Raion , the town itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...

, oldest son of Yuri Dolgoruky, and brother of Andrei Bogolyubsky
Andrei Bogolyubsky
Prince Andrei I of Vladimir, commonly known as Andrey Bogolyubsky was a prince of Vladimir-Suzdal . He was the son of Yuri Dolgoruki, who proclaimed Andrei a prince in Vyshhorod . His mother was a Kipchak princess, khan Aepa's daughter.- Life :He left Vyshhorod in 1155 and moved to Vladimir...

.

Biography

Rostislav Yuryevich’s name was first mentioned in a chronicle under the year of 1138, when he was invited by the citizens of Novgorod as a ruler for the purpose of preserving friendly relations with Yuri Dolgoruky, Prince of Suzdal
Suzdal
Suzdal is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated northeast of Moscow, from the city of Vladimir, on the Kamenka River. Population: -History:...

. Rostislav Yuryevich reigned over the Novgorodians for over a year and then left the city in 1139 after they had refused to lend a helping hand to Yuri Dolgoruky in his struggle against Vsevolod Olgovich, Prince of Kiev
Vsevolod II of Kiev
Vsevolod II Olgovich was the Prince of Chernigov and Grand Prince of Kiev , son of Oleg Svyatoslavich, Prince of Chernigov....

. In 1141, the Novgorodians invited Yuri Dolgoruky to rule over them, but the latter refused to come to the city personally and sent Rostislav Yuryevich, instead. This time, Rostislav reigned over the Novgorodians less than a year because the city dwellers sent him back to his father upon receiving the news that Vsevolod Olgovich had dispatched Svyatopolk Mstislavich to rule over Novgorod.

In 1147, Yuri Dolgoruky sent Rostislav and his brother Andrei to aide his ally Svyatoslav Olgovich of Chernigov in his struggle against Izyaslav Mstislavich, Grand Prince of Kiev. Rostislav and Andrei defeated the army of Rostislav Yaroslavich of Ryazan (Izyaslav’s ally) and made him flee to Polotsk. In 1148, Yuri Dolgoruky sent his son Rostislav to southern parts of Rus
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....

 to aide Svyatoslav Olgovich yet again and to get himself an appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...

, because he could not provide him with one in the Suzdal region. Upon witnessing Svyatoslav’s difficult situation, Rostislav chose to turn to the grand prince of Kiev with a request for an appanage, saying that his father has offended him. Izyaslav Mstislavich granted him six towns in the Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...

, namely Buzhsk, Mezhibozh, Kotelnitsa, Gorodets Ostersky and two other unknown towns.

In 1148, Gorodets Ostersky hosted a princely congress, at the conclusion of which it was decided to attack Yuri Dolgoruky during the winter of 1149 and punish him for his oppression of the Novgorodians. Rostislav Yuryevich took part in this congress, but he didn’t participate in the military campaign against his own father. Upon Izyaslav Mstislavich’s return, the Kievan boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....

s informed him that during his absence Rostislav had been conspiring against him together with the citizens of Kiev and the Berendei
Berendei
The Berendei or Berindei were a medieval Turkic tribe, most likely of kîpceac-oguz origin...

s. Izyaslav believed the report despite Rostislav’s denial and deported him and his druzhina
Druzhina
Druzhina, Drużyna or Družyna in the medieval history of Slavic Europe was a retinue in service of a chieftain, also called knyaz. The name is derived from the Slavic word drug with the meaning of "companion, friend". -Early Rus:...

 back to Yuri Dolgoruky. Upon his arrival, Rostislav told his father that the whole Kievan region and Chernye Klobuki had been unhappy with Izyaslav Mstislavich and wanted to see Yuri Dolgoruky as their ruler. The latter was very angry with Rostislav’s expulsion from Gorodets-Ostersky and organized a military campaign against the grand prince, defeating him at Pereyaslavl and ousting him from Kiev. Yuri Dolgoruky installed Rostislav in Pereyaslavl, where the latter would rule until his death.

In 1150, Rostislav took part in his father’s new military campaign against Izyaslav Mstislavich and opposed signing a peace treaty with the latter. Despite this, the peace treaty was signed at the insistence of Andrei Bogolyubsky. Izyaslav renounced his right for the Kievan throne in favor of his brother Vyacheslav Mstislavich. Soon, however, Izyaslav violated the peace treaty and captured Kiev. His son Mstislav wanted to take Pereyaslavl away from Rostislav Yuryevich. With the help of his brother Andrei and the Torks, Rostislav defeated Mstislav’s allies, and the latter dismissed the idea of attacking Pereyaslavl.

Rostislav Yuryevich died in 1151 and was interred by his brothers Andrei, Gleb, and Mstislav at Saint Michael’s Church in Pereyaslavl next to his uncles Andrei Vladimirovich and Svyatoslav Vladimirovich.
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