Vladimir Olgerdovich was a son of Algirdas

Algirdas

Algirdas was a monarch of medieval Lithuania. Algirdas ruled the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377, which chiefly meant monarch of Lithuanians and Ruthenians...

, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his first wife Maria of Vitebsk

Maria of Vitebsk

Maria of Vitebsk was the first wife of Algirdas, future Grand Duke of Lithuania . Very little is known about her life. The only child of a Russian prince Yaroslav, Maria was the only heir to the Principality of Vitebsk. After her father's death ca. 1345, Vitebsk fell permanently under control of...

. He was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1362 to 1394. His sons Ivan and Alexander started the Belsky and Olelkovich

Olelkovich

The Olelkovich family was a 15th–16th-century noble family from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Their main possession was the Duchy of Slutsk–Kapyl; therefore, they are sometimes known as Slutskys. They hailed from the Lithuanian Gediminids and Russian Rurikids...

 families.

After the battle of Blue Waters

Battle of Blue Waters

The Battle of Blue Waters was a medieval battle fought at some time between 24 September and 25 December 1362 near the Syni Vody of the Southern Bug between the armies of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Golden Horde....

 in 1362, the Principality of Kiev fell permanently into the hands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

. It is believed that Vladimir was installed in Kiev right after the battle and replaced Fiodor of Kiev

Fiodor of Kiev

Fiodor of Kiev , was a prince of Kiev. He was the son of Butvydas, and a younger brother of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. Only a couple of short notes survive regarding Fiodor's life....

. Vladimir conducted independent politics and minted his own coins. Initially the coins were heavily influenced by the numismatic traditions of the Golden Horde

Golden Horde

The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

 and copied symbolism from coins minted by Khans Jani Beg

Jani Beg

Jani Beg was a khan of the Golden Horde from 1342 to 1357, succeeding his father Uzbeg Khan.After putting two of his brothers to death, Jani Beg crowned himself in Saray-Jük. He is known to have actively interfered in the affairs of Russian principalities and of Lithuania...

 and Muhammad Bolak. However, later the coins replaced the Tatar symbols (i.e. tamga) with letter K (for Kiev) and a cross (for Eastern Orthodox faith). This could indicate that for a while the Principality still had to pay tribute to the Horde. These were the first coins minted in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In late 1384, Vladimir's troops detained Dionysius I, Metropolitan of Moscow

Dionysius I, Metropolitan of Moscow

Saint Dionysius I ; baptismal name: David was a Russian Orthodox metropolitan in 1384-1385.As a young man David entered the Kiev Caves Lavra, where he was tonsured a monk and given the religious name Dionysius...

, who died in captivity a year later. This was part of the power struggle between Dionysius, Pimen

Pimen, Metropolitan of Moscow

Metropolitan Pimen was Metropolitan of Moscow from 1382-1384.-Bio:...

, and Cyprian

Cyprian, Metropolitan of Moscow

Cyprian was Metropolitan of Moscow , Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia . He lived for some time at Mount Athos...

 for the title of Metropolitan of Moscow.

When Jogaila

Jogaila

Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...

 became King of Poland in 1386, Vladimir swore loyalty to him. After the 1392 Ostrów Agreement

Ostrów Agreement

The Ostrów or Astrava Agreement was a treaty between Jogaila , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas the Great, signed on August 4, 1392...

, Vytautas became the Grand Duke of Lithuania and began to eliminate regional dukes replacing them with appointed regents. This campaign could have been launched to discipline disloyal dukes, but turned into a systematic effort to centralize the state. In 1393, Vytautas confiscated Volodymyr-Volynskyi

Volodymyr-Volynskyi

Volodymyr-Volynsky is a city located in Volyn Oblast, in north-western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative centre of the Volodymyr-Volynsky District, the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...

 from Feodor, son of Liubartas, Novhorod-Siverskyi

Novhorod-Siverskyi

Novhorod-Siversky is a historic city in the Chernihiv Oblast of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Novhorod-Siversky Raion, and is situated on the bank of the Desna River, 330 km from the capital, Kiev, and 45 km south of the Russian border. Current estimated population:...

 from Kaributas, Vitebsk

Vitebsk

Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...

 from Švitrigaila

Švitrigaila

Švitrigaila Švitrigaila Švitrigaila (ca 1370 – 10 February 1452; was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund Kęstutaitis.-Struggle against Vytautas:...

. In 1394, Vytautas and Skirgaila

Skirgaila

Skirgaila , also known as Ivan; ca. 1353 or 1354 – 11 January 1397 in Kiev; baptized 1383/1384 as Casimir) was a regent of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for his brother Jogaila from 1386 to 1392. He was son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his second wife Uliana of Tver.-Biography:After...

 marched against Vladimir, who surrendered without a battle. Skirgaila was installed in Kiev while Vladimir received the Duchy of Slutsk

Slutsk

Slutsk is a town in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2010 its population is of 61,400).-Geography:The town is situated in the south-west of its Voblast, not too far from from the city of Soligorsk.-History:...

–Kapyl

Kapyl

Kapyl is an urban settlement and the capital of Kapyl Raion in Belarus. It is located west-northwest of Slutsk and south-southwest of Minsk...

. Vladimir was last mentioned in written sources in October 1398.