Читать книгу 100 Key Ukrainian Personalities - Юрий Сорока - Страница 7

Historians have been depicting Sviatoslav Ihorovych as a hero-conqueror and an ascetic warrior. Although there is some logic there, it should be noted that foreign military campaigns did not prevent Sviatoslav from caring about his native country.

The Tale of Bygone Years presents a lively romantic portrait of Sviatoslav-

“When Prince Sviatoslav grew up and matured, he started gathering a lot of brave warriors. And he himself was brave and with easy gait like a leopard. And he fought a lot of wars. And he took neither any carts with him, nor pots, and did not boil any meat. He thinly cut some horsemeat, or game, or veal and broiled it and ate. And he had no tent but laid down in a numdah and put a saddle under his head. And all his warriors did the same. And he sent them to other lands saying, “I want to fight against you”.

Sviatoslav. Probably, portrait of Sviatoslav Ihorovych from the Title reference book. XVII century

Since the very beginning of Sviatoslav’s reign, Kyivan Rus’ declared to its enemies nearby that it was ruled by a warrior who did not only preserve what had been gained by his predecessors but also essentially expanded and strengthened all the gains. During his two victorious campaigns of 965 and 968, Sviatoslav practically destroyed the Khazar Khaganate that had been a constant threat to Kyiv. Similar successful was observed in Sviatoslav’s campaign against Byzantium and Bulgaria, its vassal, in 968–971. In 971, surrounded in Dorostol, a Bulgarian town, Sviatoslav showed his talent as a capable politician by signing a peace treaty with Emperor John Tzimiskes, which was rather beneficial for Kyiv. According to the peace treaty, the Rusiches were granted the right to leave the town armed and get some food for their return home.

Sviatoslav. Prince’s emblem

Historians of different periods portrayed Sviatoslav in detail, ascribing the traits of a real warrior and politician to him. One of the best known is the descriptions of Sviatoslav’s appearance by Leo Deacon, a Byzantine chronicler of the tenth century-

“There appeared Sviatoslav who sailed by the river on a Scythian boat. He was sitting and rowing together with his warriors just like one of them. His appearance was like this: he was neither tall, nor short, with bushy eyebrows and blue eyes, he was snub-nosed and clearly-shaven. He had long moustache above his upper lip. His head was shaven but on the one side there was hanging a strand of hair – a sign of noble origin. His neck was thick, his chest was broad and other parts of his body were quite presentable but he looked gloomy and wild. In one ear he was wearing a golden earring with a diamond and two pearls. His clothes were white and differed from the clothes of his warriors only by their cleanness. Sitting in the boat, he spoke with the emperor about state affairs and left”.

Taking that evidence into consideration, one cannot but draw a parallel between the Prince’s appearance and that of his descendants – Ukrainian Cossacks. M. Hrushevsky referred to Sviatoslav as “the first Zaporizhzhian on the Kyivan throne” or “a Spartan of Ancient Rus’”.

In March, 972, Sviatoslav perished in the battle against the Pechenegs on the island of Khortitsa. It is known that Kurya, the Pecheneg Khan made a wine cup from his skull. For us, Sviatoslav remains a model of courage, honesty, and stamina of a great military leader of Rus’.

І. Akimov. Great Prince Sviatoslav kisses his mother and children on returning from the Danube to Kyiv