His Early Life
He was the third son of Sviatoslav Vsevolodovich (who later became the grand prince of Kiev) by his wife, Maria Vasilkovna of Polotsk. On November 14, 1179, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich brought a daughter of duke Casimir II of Poland (her name was Anastasia according to the Lyubetskiy sinodik) as wife for Vsevolod. Vsevolod’s patrimonial domain was located in the northwestern part of the Vyatichi lands.
When Khan Konchak with his Cumans pillaged the Pereyaslavl lands as far as Dimitrov in February 1184, Svyatoslav Vsevolodivich sent his sons (including Vsevolod) and his troops to prince Igor Svyatoslavich of Novgorod-Seversk ordering him to pursue the tribesmen. Igor Svyatoslavich pursued the raiders, found them at the river Khiriya (a tributary of the river Vorskla), and took many captive.
Enemy bands frequently pillaged the Poros’e district (the Ros River basin) and the Chernigov lands after 1187. In 1192, Svyatoslav Vsevolodivich sent his sons (Vsevolod, Vladimir, and Mstislav) to march against the Cumans. The purpose of the campaign (which was lead again by Igor Svyatoslavich) was to plunder Cumanian camps; the Olgovichi ventured deep into the steppe, past Kursk into the upper reaches of the river Oskol. But the nomads assembled in great numbers and awaited the princes. Igor Svyatoslavich, on seeing that he was outnumbered, resolutely ordered his troops to steal away under the cover of darkness.
His father died during the last week of July 1194, and his death changed the order of seniority among the Olgovichi. His only brother, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich became the new senior prince of the dynasty, and thus Vsevolod became answerable to his uncle. In the autumn of 1196, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich ordered Vsevolod and his brother, Mstislav Svyatoslavich to accompany him against grand prince Vsevolod III Yuryevich of Vladimir and prince David Rostislavich of Smolensk who were pillaging the domains of the Olgovichi.
Read more about this topic: Vsevolod IV Of Kiev
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