Sviatoslav hastened forward to Koracheff, and as Izyaslav was again hunting him sharply, he fled to great forests in Vyatichi regions, where pursuit was impossible.
“I hold the places which ye desired,” said the Kief prince to the sons of David. “Take ye the lands of Sviatoslav; I yield them all to you. Igor’s slaves and his goods in those lands will be mine. Sviatoslav’s goods we will divide between us.” After making this distribution, he returned to his capital.
Meanwhile Igor, who lay ill in prison, wished to assume a monk’s habit, and requested permission. “Thou mayst do that,” replied Izyaslav. “I intended to free thee in every case.” Taken from prison to a cell in a monastery, Igor lay eight days and nights without food or drink. At last he revived and took the monk’s habit.
The conflict still raged between Sviatoslav and his cousins. Izyaslav had left in Chernigoff his sister’s son, Sviatoslav, the son of Vsevolod, the late Grand Prince. The interests of this Sviatoslav were closely connected with the house of Oleg. A decisive defeat of his uncle would destroy this “sister’s son’s” chance of being prince in Chernigoff, to which he aspired, as the first son of Vsevolod. Hence, in secret, he favored his uncle, and informed him of all that his enemies were doing.
Yuri of Suzdal now sent fresh warriors to Sviatoslav, who with [[69]]them was ready to rend his pursuers, when Yuri’s son, Ivan, who led them, died suddenly. The sons of David feared to attack Yuri’s warriors, but they urged leading men of the Vyatichi, in whose towns their posadniks were stationed, to kill Sviatoslav and scatter his forces. At this point two of Yuri’s sons, one of whom was Andrei, later on very famous, forced Rostislav, the Murom prince, who was attacking their father, to flee to the Polovtsi.
That same year, 1146, Yuri invited Sviatoslav, his ally, to meet him in Moscow (Moskva). This name appears now for the first time in the chronicles of Russia. Originally a farm on the river Moskva, and owned by one Stephen Kuchka, it was called Kuchkova. When the land came into the possession of Yuri Dolgoruki, he built a village on an elevation and called it Moskva. There was feasting and gift-giving now in Moscow, but also much serious work. Yuri furnished warriors, led by his son, and fresh troops of Polovtsi came to Sviatoslav; thus he had power to take the offensive. This he did with effect, and when a third force of Polovtsi came, the effect was decisive. All the posadniks installed in Vyatichi towns by the sons of David fled quickly, and Sviatoslav sent in new men to replace them. Both sons of David withdrew from the north to Chernigoff, and sent peace proposals to Sviatoslav. Those same sons of David now turned traitorously on the Kief prince, to whom they sent this faithless message: “Sviatoslav has taken Vyatichi lands. Come with us to attack him. When we have driven him away we will march with thee against Yuri, and make peace or war with him.”
Izyaslav agreed, but Sviatoslav, son of Vsevolod, to make sure of carrying out his own plans and escaping beyond reach of the Kief prince in season, came to Izyaslav, and said to him, “Let me go to Chernigoff, my father. I wish to get lands from my cousins.” “Thou hast thought this out well,” replied Izyaslav. “Go straightway.” He went, and the whole affair was fixed surely, as they thought. He and the sons of David were to seize the Kief prince the moment he set foot in Chernigoff. As he delayed, they sent envoys to hurry him. “Our land is perishing,” said they, “and thou wilt not come to assist us.”
Izyaslav summoned his boyars and warriors and the people, and said to them: “I am going with the sons of David to war against Sviatoslav, and Yuri my uncle. I must go, for Yuri is [[70]]helping my enemy, Sviatoslav.” “Go not against Yuri,” said the people. “Make peace with thy uncle. Lend no ear to the sons of David, take not the same road with them.” “I must go,” replied Izyaslav; “they are my allies.” “Take it not ill of us,” continued the people, “we cannot raise hands against a son of Monomach. But if thou wilt march against the house of Oleg, we will not only go with thee, but take our sons also.”
The prince, however, asked for volunteers to attack Yuri, and a large number went with him. On passing the Dnieper, he sent Ulaiba, his boyar, to learn what was happening in Chernigoff. The boyar hurried back, bringing news that the allies of the Kief prince were acting with Sviatoslav. Chernigoff friends also sent to Izyaslav, saying that his allies were deceiving him foully. “They wish to slay or to seize thee, and liberate Igor. They have kissed the cross to Sviatoslav, and also to Yuri.”
The Kief prince now sent envoys to confer in his name with the sons of David: “We agreed on a great work, and kissed the cross to each other,” said the envoys. “Let us kiss it again, so that there be no disagreement hereafter.” “Why kiss again? We have kissed already,” replied the sons of David. “What harm in kissing the cross?” said the envoys. “The cross is salvation.” But they refused to kiss it a second time. The envoys repeated now these words from Izyaslav to the sons of David: “I have heard that ye are deceiving me, that ye have sworn to Sviatoslav to seize me or to kill me because of Igor. Is this true, brothers, or is it not true?” They would not answer. At last one of them said to the envoys: “Withdraw, we will summon thee later.” They consulted long, and then called the envoys.