Volynia rose now against Volodislav. First Mystislav the Silent was put forward, then Bailski, Leshko’s father-in-law, sent his brother, Vsevolod, to attack the adventurer, and went himself later. Last of all Daniel acted. After that, Leshko with Poles and men of Volynia advanced against Volodislav. Volodislav left to his brothers the task of defending the capital, and with hired forces hurried forth to meet his opponents, but he was driven back and defeated. The victors could not take Galitch, however. They fought at its walls till exhausted, and then had to abandon the task. On the way home, Leshko induced Bailski, now Prince of Volynia, to give two towns near the capital to the orphans, who then moved thither from Kamenyets, and, being near the capital, ceased not to sigh for it. “It will come to us,” thought they. And it came earlier than they expected.
Not Leshko, but his voevoda, Pakoslav, keen at invention, found means to reconcile warring interests for the moment. Leshko had a young daughter and Andrei of Hungary had a son. Leshko sent Pakoslav to the king with this message: “Volodislav, a boyar, should not be on a throne. Take thou my Saloméya for thy Koloman, and let us install them in Galitch.” Pakoslav’s plan pleased Andrei. He had a meeting with Leshko, and they [[178]]arranged all the details of the marriage. The king, from the portion of Koloman, gave two cities to Pakoslav,—Peremysl and Lubetch.
Pakoslav now offered a second good counsel: “Let the prince, out of love for the orphans, give them Vladimir of Volynia.” Immediately Leshko sent this message to Bailski: “Give Vladimir to Vassilko and Daniel. If thou wilt not consent, I will take it.” Bailski would not yield, then Leshko constrained him, and installed Roman’s sons in Vladimir.
Volodislav, now a prisoner, was put in fetters and died in confinement. No prince would shelter his orphans, because their father had aspired to sovereignty.
The King and Queen of Galitch, though mere children, were crowned straightway. Andrei, seeing that the boyars were desirous of union with Hungary, and remembering their statement that the people would not oppose union, if their faith and its ceremonies were respected, now wrote to the Pope on the subject: “Let it be known to your Holiness that the princes of Galicia, and the people there under us, wish as king our son, Koloman, and promise union with the Most Holy Roman Church if they may keep their own ritual. Lest delay harm a thing so useful to us and to you, give a written command, we beg of you, to the Archbishop of Strigonia to anoint, at the earliest, our son, the King of Galitch.”
In the Russian chronicles it is written under the year 1214: “The Ugrian king seated his son in Galitch; he then drove out and hunted the clergy and bishops from the churches, and brought in his own Latin priesthood.”
Thus Galitch was lost for a time to Russian princes and the Orthodox clergy. In Chernigoff and Kief, people were not thinking of Galitch; they had their own troubles. Chermny and Rurik exchanged principalities, Chermny went to Kief and Rurik to Chernigoff. Thus the ancient home of Oleg and his descendants passed to a descendant of Monomach, and Chermny, the senior of Oleg’s descendants, not only took the old capital, but threatened to drive from Kief regions all the descendants of Monomach. He declared that through their fault a terrible crime had been committed. “Ye caused the death of my cousins in Galitch, and put a great shame on us. Ye have no part in Kief regions,” asserted he. Still after that Chermny turned to Big Nest with [[179]]a prayer for peace and friendship. He begged the metropolitan to bear this request to Vladimir. Peace was granted, and that winter Big Nest strengthened this peace by a marriage between his second son, Yuri, and the daughter of Chermny.
Toward the end of his life, the Prince of Vladimir had many disputes with Novgorod, which for years had been friendly. It was most important for Novgorod to be at peace with Vladimir, to trade with its broad regions, and receive grain, which in Novgorod was lacking at all times. Nothing harmed Novgorod more than a quarrel with Vladimir, whose prince could stop grain from reaching the city and surrounding country, and arrest Novgorod merchants wherever he found them in his own territory. But this was not sufficient to change the quarrelsome disposition of Novgorod, where factions fought with one another continually. When a posadnik displeased them, they beat him, or hurled the man from the bridge to the river. Big Nest did not interfere with their freedom. On the contrary he apparently commended it. “Love him who seems good to you, but execute bad men,” said he. And the Novgorod people carried out this instruction, even against their own adherents, the Miroshiniches, with whom they settled in real Novgorod fashion.
Miroshka was chosen posadnik in 1187 to please Big Nest. He was the son of Naizda, a man killed by them in the days of Andrei Bogolyubski, for adherence to Vladimir. When Miroshka died his descendants became famous people. Big Nest was unable for a long time to bring about the election, as posadnik, of Miroshka’s son, Dmitri. He could not do so till he sent his own son, Constantine, as prince to the city. The Novgorod men then cast out the old posadnik, and gave the office to Dmitri. This brought about a conflict with a great citizen of Novgorod, Oleksa Bogolyubski Sbyslavich, but he met his death very quickly.
During Constantine’s stay in Novgorod, 1205–1209, with Dmitri as posadnik, it might be said that Big Nest ruled Novgorod as pleased him. The execution of Oleksa is proof of this. All were astounded when Big Nest sent this command: “Execute Oleksa without trial!” That is, at the good judgment of Constantine. And though all men were roused, and said on the day after the execution that the Mother of God had dropped tears for Oleksa, the will of the prince was accomplished. After this Dmitri [[180]]became so strong in his office, and served the Grand Prince so zealously, that the four years of Constantine’s rule passed in harmony.