On assuming power in Kief, Vsevolod gave Chernigoff to his son Monomach, and to Yaropolk, son of Izyaslav, he gave Volynia. He gave nothing to any of the dissatisfied princes. This conduct roused Oleg, whose father had been Grand Prince in Kief with the aid and consent of Vsevolod, given either by constraint or freely. So in 1079 Oleg sent his brother, Roman, with an army of Polovtsi to war against Vsevolod, who met him, but made peace with the Polovtsi by giving value in hand without fighting. As Roman had nothing to give them, save a promise of plunder for which they must fight, the Polovtsi dropped Roman’s cause and killed him. Then they went home, seized Oleg and gave him to the Greeks of the Chersonese, who sent him in fetters to Rhodes in the Archipelago. Ratibor was sent by Vsevolod as posadnik to Tmutarakan, and he ruled there till David, son of Igor, with Vassilko and Volodar, sons of Rostislav, came the following year, drove him out of Tmutarakan and governed in their own way. Oleg, who had fled from his exile, appeared a year later, confined [[31]]the three princes, and put those Polovtsi to death who slew Roman. Later on he freed the princes, who had now to seek for lands in other places.
In 1084 Rostislav’s son’s, Vassilko and Volodar, disappeared from Volynia, where they had been living with Yaropolk. Disappeared, but returned with an army and drove away Yaropolk. Monomach now, at command of his father, marched against those two princes, expelled them and reinstated Yaropolk after much fighting and effort.
David, son of Igor, used means of another sort. He remained for a time in Tmutarakan, then he went with warriors to the mouth of the Dnieper, stopped all merchants trading with Tsargrad and took their wares from them. This put an end to commerce with the Byzantine Empire. Vsevolod’s treasury suffered immediately and he was obliged to come to terms. He gave David a part of Volynia, and commerce with Tsargrad was free again.
Yaropolk, deeply offended by this gift to David, which decreased his own lands, began to enlist men and make ready for warfare. Vsevolod, upon learning of this, sent his son, Vladimir Monomach, to attack Yaropolk, but that prince had fled to Poland, leaving wife, mother and treasures in Lutsk. An attack was made upon Lutsk, which surrendered to Monomach, who captured Yaropolk’s family with attendants and treasures and established David, son of Igor, as ruler of all Volynia.
At this time Galitch was won, as it seems, by the sons of Rostislav. They seized it from the Polish king, who was friendly with Yaropolk.
The following year, 1086, Yaropolk came back from Poland, made peace with Monomach and was again seated in Volynia. Still his lands could not have been of great use to him, since soon after his coming he set out for Zvenigorod. He was slain on the road by a man named Neradets, who escaped and took refuge with Rurik, son of Rostislav, in Galitch.
That same year Vsevolod moved against Volodar and Vassilko, but in the end made peace with them. After that there was rest for a time in Volynia. But there was sharp trouble with Vseslav the wizard, who at Vsevolod’s accession had “scorched” Smolensk, that is burned it, all save the stronghold. Monomach [[32]]hunted him swiftly with men doubly mounted,[6] but the wizard escaped. A second hunt followed, by men from Chernigoff and Polovtsi allies. On the way they took Minsk by surprise, and left not a man or beast in the city. [[33]]
[1] The tomb of Askold is still shown near Kief. [↑]
[2] The city of the Tsar, or Cæsar, that is Constantinople, so called for the first Christian Emperor, Constantine. [↑]