Vsevolod The Big Nest - Reign

Reign

In 1173, Vsevolod was briefly installed on the Kievan throne and taken prisoner by two Smolensk princes who captured the town. Ransomed a year later, he took his brother Mikhalko's side in his struggle against the powerful boyars of Rostov and Suzdal. Upon Mikhalko's death, Vsevolod succeeded him in Vladimir. He promptly subjugated the boyars and systematically raided the Volga peoples, notably Volga Bulgaria. He installed his puppets on the throne of Novgorod and married his daughters to princes of Chernigov and Kiev.

Vsevolod showed little mercy to those who disobeyed his word. In 1180 and 1187, he punished the princes of Ryazan by ousting them from their lands. In 1207, he burnt to the ground both Ryazan and Belgorod. His military fame spread quickly. The Tale of Igor's Campaign, thought to be written during Vsevolod's reign, addresses him thus: Great prince Vsevolod! Don't you think of flying here from afar to safeguard the paternal golden throne of Kiev? For you can with your oars scatter in drops the Volga, and with your helmets scoop dry the Don.

But Kievan matters concerned Vsevolod little in the latter part of his reign. He concentrated on making his own capital, Vladimir. His Ossetian wife, Maria Shvarnovna, who devoted herself to the works of piety and founded several convents, was glorified by the Russian church as a saint. By her Vsevolod had no fewer than fourteen children, thus earning for himself the sobriquet Big Nest. Four of them—Konstantin, George, Yaroslav and Sviatoslav—succeeded him as Grand Dukes of Vladimir. He died on April 12, 1212 and was buried at the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.