Based on the diagram of the Rurik family tree. Rurikovich dynasty: family tree of the family with years of reign

For more than seven centuries, Rus' was ruled by the Rurik dynasty. Under her, the Russian state was formed, fragmentation was overcome, and the first monarchs ascended the throne. The ancient Varangian family has sunk into oblivion, leaving historians with many unsolvable mysteries.

Dynastic intricacies

The greatest difficulty for historians is compiling the family tree of the Rurikovichs. The point is not only the remoteness of the eras, but also the breadth of the geography of the clan, its social interweaving, and the lack of reliable sources.

Certain difficulties in studying the Rurik dynasty are created by the so-called “ladder” (sequential) law, which existed in Rus' until the 13th century, in which the successor of the Grand Duke was not his son, but the next oldest brother. Moreover, princes often changed their inheritance, moving from city to city, which further confuses the overall picture of the genealogy.

True, until the reign of Yaroslav the Wise (978-1054), succession in the dynasty proceeded in a straight line, and only after his sons Svyatoslav and Vsevolod, during the period of feudal fragmentation, the branches of the Rurikovichs began to continually multiply, spreading across the ancient Russian lands.

One of the Vsevolodovich branches leads to Yuri Dolgoruky (1096?-1157). It is from him that the line begins to count, which subsequently led to the emergence of the Grand Dukes and Tsars of Moscow.

First of a kind

The identity of the founder of the dynasty, Rurik (d. 879), still causes a lot of controversy to this day, even to the point of denying his existence. For many, the famous Varangian is nothing more than a semi-mythical figure. This is understandable. In the historiography of the 19th – 20th centuries, the Norman theory was criticized, since domestic science could not bear the idea of ​​​​the inability of the Slavs to create their own state.

Modern historians are more loyal to the Norman theory. Thus, academician Boris Rybakov puts forward a hypothesis that in one of the raids on the Slavic lands, Rurik’s squad captured Novgorod, although another historian, Igor Froyanov, supports the peaceful version of “calling the Varangians” to rule.

The problem is that the image of Rurik lacks specificity. According to some sources, he could be the Danish Viking Rorik of Jutland, according to others, the Swede Eirik Emundarson, who raided the lands of the Balts.

There is also a Slavic version of the origin of Rurik. His name is associated with the word “Rerek” (or “Rarog”), which in the Slavic tribe of Obodrits meant falcon. And, indeed, during excavations of early settlements of the Rurik dynasty, many images of this bird were found.

Wise and Damned

After the division of ancient Russian lands between the descendants of Rurik, with appanages in Rostov, Novgorod, Suzdal, Vladimir, Pskov and other cities, a real fratricidal war broke out for the possession of the estates, which did not subside until the centralization of the Russian state. One of the most power-hungry was the Prince of Turov, Svyatopolk, nicknamed the Damned. According to one version, he was the son of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich (the Baptist), according to another, Yaropolk Svyatoslavovich.

Having rebelled against Vladimir, Svyatopolk was put in prison on charges of trying to turn Rus' away from baptism. However, after the death of the Grand Duke, he turned out to be more efficient than others and took the empty throne. According to one version, wanting to get rid of competitors in the person of the half-brothers Boris, Gleb and Svyatoslav, he sent his warriors to them, who dealt with them one by one.

According to another version, favored by historian Nikolai Ilyin, Svyatopolk could not kill Boris and Gleb, since they recognized his right to the throne. In his opinion, the young princes fell victim at the hands of the soldiers of Yaroslav the Wise, who laid claim to the Kiev throne.

One way or another, a long fratricidal war broke out between Svyatopolk and Yaroslav for the title of Grand Duke of Kyiv. It continued with varying success, until in the decisive battle on the Alta River (not far from the place of Gleb’s death), Yaroslav’s squads finally defeated Svyatopolk’s detachment, who was branded a treacherous prince and a traitor. Well, “history is written by the victors.”

Khan for the kingdom

One of the most odious rulers from the Rurik family was Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible (1530-1584). On his father's side he descended from the Moscow branch of the dynasty, and on his mother's side from Khan Mamai. Perhaps it was his Mongolian blood that gave his character such unpredictability, explosiveness and cruelty.

Mongolian genes partly explain Grozny's military campaigns in the Nogai Horde, Crimean, Astrakhan and Kazan khanates. By the end of the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich, Muscovite Rus' possessed a territory larger than the rest of Europe: the expanding state was more likely to correspond to the possessions of the Golden Horde.

In 1575, Ivan IV unexpectedly abdicated the throne and proclaimed Kasimov Khan, Semeon Bekbulatovich, a descendant of Genghis Khan and great-grandson of the Khan of the Great Horde, Akhmat, as the new king. Historians call this action a “political masquerade,” although they cannot fully explain it. Some argue that in this way the tsar was saved from the predictions of the magi who prophesied his death, others, in particular the historian Ruslan Skrynnikov, see this as a cunning political move. It is interesting that after the death of Ivan the Terrible, many boyars consolidated around Semeon’s candidacy, but they ultimately lost the fight with Boris Godunov.

Death of the Tsarevich

After the weak-minded Fyodor Ioannovich (1557-1598), the third son of Ivan the Terrible, was installed in the kingdom, the question of a successor became relevant. He was considered to be Fyodor's younger brother and Ivan the Terrible's son from his sixth marriage, Dmitry. Even despite the fact that the Church did not officially recognize Dmitry’s right to the throne, since only children from his first three marriages could be contenders, Fyodor’s brother-in-law, who was really running the state and counting on the throne, Boris Godunov seriously feared a competitor.

Therefore, when on May 15, 1591, in Uglich, Tsarevich Dmitry was found dead with his throat cut, suspicion immediately fell on Godunov. But, as a result, the prince’s death was blamed on an accident: allegedly, the prince, suffering from epilepsy, mortally wounded himself during an attack.

Historian Mikhail Pogodin, who worked with the original of this criminal case in 1829, also exonerates Godunov and confirms the version of the accident, although some modern researchers tend to see insidious intent in this.

Tsarevich Dmitry was destined to become the last of the Moscow branch of the Rurikovichs, but the dynasty was finally interrupted only in 1610, when Vasily Shuisky (1552-1612), representing the Suzdal line of the Rurikovich family, was overthrown from the throne.

Ingigerda's betrayal

Representatives of the Rurikovichs can still be found today. Russian scientists have recently conducted studies of DNA samples of those who consider themselves the legitimate heirs of an ancient family. The researchers came to the conclusion that the descendants belong to two haplogroups: N1c1 - branches leading from Vladimir Monomakh and R1a1 - descending from Yuri Tarussky.

However, it is the second haplogroup that is recognized as the original one, since the first could have appeared as a result of the infidelity of the wife of Yaroslav the Wise, Irina. Scandinavian sagas tell that Irina (Ingigerda) fell in love with the Norwegian king Olaf II. According to historians, the fruit of this love was Vsevolod, the father of Vladimir Monomakh. But even this option once again confirms the Varangian roots of the Rurikovich family.

Rurikovich- a princely and royal dynasty that ruled in Ancient Rus', and then in the Russian kingdom from 862 to 1598. In addition, in 1606-1610 the Russian Tsar was Vasily Shuisky, also a descendant of Rurik.

Numerous noble families go back to Rurik, such as the Shuisky, Odoevsky, Volkonsky, Gorchakov, Baryatinsky, Obolensky, Repnin, Dolgorukov, Shcherbatov, Vyazemsky, Kropotkin, Dashkov, Dmitriev, Mussorgsky, Shakhovsky, Eropkin, Lvov, Prozorovsky, Ukhtomsky, Pozharsky, Gagarins, Romodanovskys, Khilkovs. Representatives of these clans played a significant role in the social, cultural and political life of the Russian Empire, and then of the Russian diaspora.

The first Rurikovichs. Period of the centralized state

The Kiev chronicler of the early 12th century brings the Rurik dynasty “from beyond the sea.” According to the chronicle legend, the peoples of the north of Eastern Europe - the Chud, the Ves, the Slovenes and the Krivichi - decided to look for a prince from the Varangians, who were called Rus. Three brothers responded to the call - Rurik, Sineus and Truvor. The first sat down to reign in Novgorod, the center of the Slovenes, the second - on Beloozero, the third - in Izborsk. Rurik's warriors Askold and Dir, having descended the Dnieper, began to reign in Kyiv, in the land of the glades, saving the latter from the need to pay tribute to the nomadic Khazars. Many scientists identify Rurik with the Scandinavian king Rorik of Jutland; F. Kruse was the first to put forward this hypothesis in 1836.

The direct ancestors of the subsequent Rurikovichs were the son of Rurik Igor (ruled 912-945) and the son of Igor and Olga (945-960) Svyatoslav (945-972). In 970, Svyatoslav divided the territories under his control between his sons: Yaropolk was planted in Kyiv, Oleg in the land of the Drevlyans, and Vladimir in Novgorod. In 978 or 980, Vladimir removed Yaropolk from power. In Novgorod (Slovenia) he planted his eldest son - Vysheslav (later Yaroslav), in Turov (Dregovichi) - Svyatopolk, in the land of the Drevlyans - Svyatoslav, and in Rostov (land Merya, colonized by the Slavs) - Yaroslav (later Boris), in Vladimir -Volynsk (Volynians) - Vsevolod, in Polotsk (Polotsk Krivichi) - Izyaslav, in Smolensk (Smolensk Krivichi) - Stanislav, and in Murom (originally the land of the Murom people) - Gleb. Another son of Vladimir, Mstislav, began to rule the Tmutorokan principality - an enclave of Rus' in the Eastern Azov region with its center on the Taman Peninsula.

After Vladimir's death in 1015, his sons launched an internecine struggle for power. Vladimir wanted to see his son Boris as his successor, but power in Kyiv ended up in the hands of Svyatopolk. He organized the murder of his three brothers - Boris and Gleb, who later became the first Russian saints, as well as Svyatoslav. In 1016, Yaroslav, who reigned in Novgorod, opposed Svyatopolk. In the battle of Lyubech, he defeated his younger brother, and Svyatopolk fled to Poland to his father-in-law Boleslav the Brave. In 1018, Boleslav and Svyatopolk set out on a campaign against Rus' and were taken to Kyiv. Having returned the Kiev throne to his son-in-law, the Polish prince returned. Yaroslav, having hired a Varangian squad, again moved to Kyiv. Svyatopolk fled. In 1019, Svyatopolk came to Kyiv with the Pecheneg army, but was defeated by Yaroslav in the battle on the Alta River.

In 1021, the war with Yaroslav was waged by his nephew, the Polotsk prince Bryachislav, and in 1024 - by his brother, the Tmutorokan prince Mstislav. Mstislav's forces won a victory at Listven near Chernigov, but the prince did not lay claim to Kyiv - the brothers entered into an agreement under which the entire left bank of the Dnieper with its center in Chernigov went to Mstislav. Until 1036, there was dual power in Rus' between Yaroslav and Mstislav Vladimirovich, but then the second died, leaving no sons, and Yaroslav concentrated all power in his hands. To prevent a repetition of civil strife, he drew up a will, according to which Kyiv and Novgorod remained in the hands of one person - the eldest son of Izyaslav. In the south of Rus', power was to be shared with Izyaslav by his brothers Svyatoslav (Chernigov) and Vsevolod (Pereyaslavl). After the death of Yaroslav in 1054, this “triumvirate” shared supreme power in the state for 14 years, after which Rus' again faced strife. The Kiev table was captured by the Polotsk prince Vseslav Bryachislavich (in 1068-1069), and then Svyatoslav Yaroslavich (in 1073-1076). After 1078, when Vsevolod Yaroslavich became the prince of Kyiv, the situation in Rus' stabilized. In 1093, after his death, internecine struggle broke out with renewed vigor: the grandchildren and great-grandsons of Yaroslav competed for power. A particularly fierce struggle took place in the South-West of Rus'; in addition to the Russian princes, foreigners - the Hungarians and the Polovtsians - were involved in it. At the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, the descendants of Yaroslav were able to agree on the distribution of volosts: at the congress of princes in Lyubech (1097) it was decided that the descendants of the three eldest sons of Yaroslav Vladimirovich should own the lands received from their fathers - “patterns”.

The period of strengthening the supreme power in Rus' began after the reign in Kyiv in 1113 of the son of Vsevolod Yaroslavich and the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh - Vladimir Vsevolodovich, who also received the nickname “Monomakh”. He reigned in Kyiv until 1125. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Mstislav Vladimirovich, after whose death the process of separation of the principalities became irreversible. Several state entities appeared on the territory of Rus'. Of these, only the Kyiv land did not have its own dynasty or its semblance, and, as a result, until the invasion of Batu, Kyiv was the object of constant struggle between different princes.

Rurikovich during the period of fragmentation

All lands gained political independence at different times. The Chernigov land actually received it before 1132. By decision of the Lyubech Congress, Davyd and Oleg Svyatoslavich, the sons of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, settled here, and then their descendants - the Davydovich and Olgovich. In 1127, the Murom-Ryazan land was separated from the Chernigov principality, inherited by Oleg and Davyd’s brother Yaroslav and later divided into Murom and Ryazan. The Przemysl and Trebovl principalities united in 1141 under the rule of Vladimirko Volodarievich, the great-grandson of the eldest son of Yaroslav the Wise Vladimir. Vladimirko made Galich his capital - this is how the history of the separate Galician land began. The Polotsk land in 1132 again passed into the hands of the descendants of Izyaslav Vladimirovich. Representatives of the senior branch of the descendants of Vladimir Monomakh (from his first wife) ruled in the Smolensk and Volyn lands. His grandson Rostislav Mstislavich became the first independent prince in Smolensk and the founder of an independent Smolensk dynasty. In the Volyn land, a local dynasty was founded by Izyaslav Mstislavich, the brother of the previous one, and in the Suzdal (Rostov) land - the son of Monomakh from his second marriage, Yuri Dolgoruky. All of them - Rostislav, Mstislav, and Yuri - at first received their lands only as a holding, but after some time they secured them for themselves and their closest relatives.

Another territory where the power of the Monomashichs was established was the Pereyaslavl land. However, a full-fledged dynasty did not form there - both branches of Monomakh’s descendants argued over ownership of the land.

The Turovo-Pinsk land passed from hand to hand for a long time, and only towards the end of the 1150s did the princely family, founded by Yuri Yaroslavich, the grandson of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, gain a foothold there. In 1136, the Novgorod land also finally separated from Kyiv - after the expulsion of Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich, the period of the Novgorod Republic began here.

In the conditions of division of the state, the most powerful princes tried to expand their possessions and political influence. The main struggle took place over Kyiv, Novgorod, and, from 1199, the Galician table. After the death of Vladimir Yaroslavich, the Galician land was captured by the Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich, who united the Galician and Volyn lands into a single power. Only his son Daniel, who ruled the Galician-Volyn principality from 1238 to 1264, was able to finally restore order in these territories.

Monomashichi - descendants of Yuri Dolgoruky

Suzdal Prince Yuri Dolgoruky had several sons. In an effort to protect the Suzdal land from internal fragmentation, he allocated land to them not within its borders, but in the South. In 1157, Yuri died and was succeeded in the Suzdal land by Andrei Bogolyubsky (1157-1174). In 1162, he sent several brothers and nephews outside the Suzdal region. After his death at the hands of the conspirators, two of his expelled nephews - Mstislav and Yaropolk Rostislavich - were invited by the Rostov and Suzdal residents to the throne. Meanwhile, the “younger” cities of Suzdal land supported the claims to power of Andrei’s brothers - Mikhalka and Vsevolod. In 1176, after the death of his brother, Vsevolod began to reign individually in Vladimir, and a year later he defeated the Rostov squad of Mstislav Rostislavich near Yuryev. Vsevolod Yurievich ruled until 1212, he received the nickname Big Nest. He began to title himself "Grand Duke."

After the death of Vsevolod the Big Nest, his sons, and then the sons of his son, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, became the Grand Dukes of Vladimir for several decades, one after another. In 1252, Alexander Nevsky received the label for the great reign of Vladimir. Under him, the authority of the Grand Duke's power strengthened, and Novgorod and Smolensk finally entered its field of influence. After the death of Alexander, under his sons Dmitry Pereyaslavsky (1277-1294) and Andrei Gorodetsky (1294-1304), Vladimir’s political weight, on the contrary, weakened. The “ladder system” of succession to the Vladimir throne assumed that the great reign would belong to the eldest descendant of Vsevolod the Big Nest, and from the beginning of the 14th century the great princes of Vladimir preferred to live in the centers of their fiefs, only occasionally visiting Vladimir.

Moscow dynasty

The independent Principality of Moscow arose under Alexander Nevsky. Daniil of Moscow became the first prince. By the end of his life, he annexed a number of territories to his inheritance, and the young principality began to quickly gain strength. The goal of Daniel's eldest son, Yuri (1303-1325), was the great reign of Vladimir: in 1318, having defeated the Tver prince Mikhail Yaroslavich, Yuri received the label, but in 1322 Khan Uzbek transferred it to the Tver prince Dmitry. Having gone to the Horde to defend his rights, Yuri was killed by Dmitry Tverskoy. Childless Yuri was succeeded by his younger brother Ivan Danilovich, better known by his nickname Kalita. His goal was the rise of Moscow. In 1327, he took part in the punitive campaign of the Tatars against Tver, the inhabitants of which killed a large Tatar detachment, and soon received the khan's label for the great reign of Vladimir. Both Kalita and his sons Semyon the Proud (1340-1353) and Ivan the Red (1353-1359) strove in every possible way to maintain peace in relations with the Horde. Ivan the Red was succeeded by his young son Dmitry. Under him, the great reign of Vladimir became the “patrimony” of the Moscow princes. In 1367, the Moscow ruling elite took into custody the Tver prince Mikhail, who came to the negotiations. He miraculously escaped from captivity and complained to his son-in-law, the Lithuanian prince Olgerd. The Lithuanians marched on Moscow three times. In 1375, Dmitry Ivanovich marched to Tver with a large army. The city withstood the siege, but Mikhail Tverskoy decided not to risk it and recognized himself as a vassal of Dmitry of Moscow. In the mid-1370s, Dmitry began to prepare for war with the Horde. Many princes supported him. In 1380, Russian troops won a decisive victory over the forces of the Horde commander Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo, but the princes failed to quickly unite in the face of a new danger. In the summer of 1382, Moscow was captured by the troops of Khan Tokhtamysh, and Dmitry had to resume paying tribute. After Dmitry Donskoy, his son Vasily I (1389-1425) reigned. Under him, Moscow managed to avoid plunder twice: in 1395, Timur, who had already occupied the city of Yelets, unexpectedly abandoned the campaign against Moscow, and in 1408, the Muscovites managed to pay off Timur’s protege Edigei, whose troops were already standing under the walls of the city.

In 1425, Vasily I died, and a long dynastic turmoil began in the Moscow principality (1425-1453). Some of the descendants of Dmitry Donskoy and the nobility supported the young Vasily II, and some supported his uncle, Prince Yuri of Zvenigorod. A weak ruler and commander, in the summer of 1445 Vasily II was captured by the Tatars and was released in exchange for a huge ransom. The son of Yuri Zvenigorodsky, Dmitry Shemyaka, who ruled in Uglich, took advantage of the outrage over the size of the ransom: he captured Moscow, took Vasily II prisoner and ordered him to be blinded. In February 1447, Vasily regained the Moscow throne and gradually took revenge on all his opponents. Dmitry Shemyaka, who fled to Novgorod, was poisoned in 1453 by people sent from Moscow.

In 1462, Vasily the Dark died, and his son Ivan (1462-1505) ascended the throne. During the 43 years of his reign, Ivan III managed to create a unified Russian state for the first time after hundreds of years of fragmentation. Already in the 1470s, Ivan Vasilyevich ordered that in diplomatic correspondence he be called “Sovereign of All Rus'.” In 1480, with the stand on the Ugra, more than two centuries of the Horde yoke ended. Ivan III set out to gather all Russian lands under his scepter: one after another, Perm (1472), Yaroslavl (1473), Rostov (1474), Novgorod (1478), Tver (1485), Vyatka (1489), Pskov fell under the rule of Moscow. (1510), Ryazan (1521). Most of the estates were liquidated. Ivan III's heir was ultimately his son, Vasily III, born in marriage to Sophia Paleologus. Thanks to his mother, he won the long dynastic struggle with the grandson of Ivan III from the eldest son born of his first wife. Vasily III ruled until 1533, after which the throne was taken by his heir Ivan IV the Terrible. Until 1538, the country was actually ruled by the regent, his mother Elena Glinskaya. Ivan Vasilyevich's heir was his eldest son Ivan, but in 1581 he died from a blow from a staff that his father dealt him. As a result, his father was succeeded by his second son, Fedor. He was incapable of government, and in fact the country was ruled by his wife’s brother, boyar Boris Godunov. After the death of the childless Fyodor in 1598, the Zemsky Sobor elected Boris Godunov as tsar. The Rurik dynasty on the Russian throne came to an end. In 1606-1610, however, Vasily Shuisky, from the family of descendants of the Suzdal princes, also Rurikovich, reigned in Russia.

Tver branch

The Tver principality began to gain strength in the second half of the 13th century, becoming an independent inheritance of Alexander Nevsky's younger brother Yaroslav Yaroslavich. After him, Svyatoslav Yaroslavich (until 1282) and Mikhail Yaroslavich (1282-1318) reigned in Tver in turn. The latter received the label for the great reign of Vladimir, and Tver became the main center of North-Eastern Rus'. Serious political mistakes led to the loss of leadership in favor of Moscow of the Tver princes: both Mikhail Tverskoy and his sons Dmitry Mikhailovich the Terrible Ochi (1322-1326) and Alexander Mikhailovich (1326-1327, 1337-1339) were executed by order of the Horde khans. The fate of his two older brothers forced Konstantin Mikhailovich (1328-1346) to exercise extreme caution in his political steps. After his death, another son of Mikhail Tverskoy, Vasily Mikhailovich (1349-1368), reigned in Tver. As a result of long strife, he eventually lost the throne, and Tver came under the rule of the appanage prince Mikhail Alexandrovich Mikulinsky. In 1375, he made peace with Dmitry of Moscow, after which Moscow and Tver did not conflict for a long time. In particular, the Tver prince maintained neutrality during the war between Dmitry of Moscow and Mamai in 1380. After Mikhail Alexandrovich, Ivan Mikhailovich (1399-1425) ruled in Tver; he continued his father’s policies. The heyday of the Tver principality came under the successor and grandson of Ivan Mikhailovich, Boris Alexandrovich (1425-1461), but the continuation of the policy of “armed neutrality” did not help the Tver princes prevent the conquest of Tver by Moscow.

Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan branches

The Principality of Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod occupied a prominent position in North-Eastern Rus'. The short-lived rise of Suzdal occurred during the reign of Alexander Vasilyevich (1328-1331), who received the label for the great reign from the Uzbek Khan. In 1341, Khan Janibek transferred Nizhny Novgorod and Gorodets from Moscow back to the Suzdal princes. In 1350, Prince Konstantin Vasilyevich of Suzdal (1331-1355) moved the capital of the principality from Suzdal to Nizhny Novgorod. The Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod princes failed to achieve the flourishing of their state: the uncertain foreign policy of Dmitry Konstantinovich (1365-1383) and the strife that began after his death undermined the resources and authority of the principality and gradually turned it into the possession of the Moscow princes.

The Ryazan principality, which emerged in the middle of the 12th century, was ruled by the descendants of Yaroslav Svyatoslavich, the youngest son of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich of Chernigov, one of the three Yaroslavichs. In the second half, Prince Oleg Ivanovich Ryazansky ruled here. He tried to pursue a flexible policy, maintaining neutrality in the confrontation between the Tatars and Moscow. In 1402, Oleg Ryazansky died, and dynastic ties between Ryazan and Moscow began to strengthen. Prince Vasily Ivanovich (1456-1483) married the daughter of Ivan III of Moscow, Anna. In 1521, Vasily III included the lands of the Ryazan principality into his possessions.

Polotsk, Chernigov, Galician dynasties

The Polotsk princes did not descend from Yaroslav the Wise, like all the other Russian princes, but from another son of Vladimir the Saint, Izyaslav, therefore the Principality of Polotsk always kept itself apart. The Izyaslavichs were the senior branch of the Rurikovichs. From the beginning of the 14th century, rulers of Lithuanian origin reigned in Polotsk.

In the Chernigovo-Bryansk and Smolensk principalities, Moscow competed with Lithuania. Around 1339, Smolensk recognized the suzerainty of Lithuania over itself. In the winter of 1341-1342, Moscow established family relations with the Bryansk princes, vassals of Smolensk: the daughter of Prince Dmitry Bryansk was married to the son of Ivan Kalita. By the beginning of the 15th century, both Smolensk and Bryansk were finally captured by the Lithuanians.

At the beginning of the 14th century, the grandson of Daniil Galitsky Yuri Lvovich (1301-1308), having subjugated the entire territory of Galicia-Volyn Rus', following the example of his grandfather, took the title of “King of Rus'”. The Galicia-Volyn principality acquired serious military potential and a certain foreign policy independence. After Yuri's death, the principality was divided between his sons Lev (Galich) and Andrei (Vladimir Volynsky). Both princes died in 1323 under unclear circumstances and left no heirs. With the passing of the Yuryevichs, the Rurikovich line in Galicia-Volyn Rus', which had ruled for more than a hundred years, came to an end.

Of which there are almost twenty tribes of rulers of Rus', they descend from Rurik. This historical character was presumably born between 806 and 808 in the city of Rerik (Raroga). In 808, when Rurik was 1-2 years old, the domain of his father, Godolub, was seized by the Danish king Gottfried, and the future Russian prince became half an orphan. Together with his mother Umila, he found himself in a foreign land. And his childhood is not mentioned anywhere. It is assumed that he spent them in Slavic lands. There is information that in 826 he arrived at the court of the Frankish king, where he received an allotment of land “beyond the Elbe”, in fact the land of his murdered father, but as a vassal of the Frankish ruler. During the same period, Rurik is believed to have been baptized. Later, after being deprived of these plots, Rurik joined the Varangian squad and fought in Europe, not at all as an exemplary Christian.

Prince Gostomysl saw the future dynasty in a dream

The Rurikovichs, whose family tree was seen, as legend has it, in a dream by Rurik’s grandfather (Umila’s father), made a decisive contribution to the development of Rus' and the Russian state, since they ruled from 862 to 1598. The prophetic dream of the old Gostomysl, the ruler of Novgorod, showed just that from “the womb of his daughter will sprout a wonderful tree that will satisfy the people in his lands.” This was another “plus” in favor of inviting Rurik with his strong squad at a time when civil strife was observed in the Novgorod lands, and the people suffered from attacks from outside tribes.

The foreign origin of Rurik may be disputed

Thus, it can be argued that the family tree of the Rurik dynasty began not with foreigners, but with a person who by blood belonged to the Novgorod nobility, who fought in other countries for many years, had his own squad and the age allowed to lead the people. At the time of Rurik’s invitation to Novgorod in 862, he was about 50 years old - quite a respectable age at that time.

Was the tree based on Norway?

How did the Rurikovich family tree form further? The image shown in the review gives a complete picture of this. After the death of the first ruler of Rus' from this dynasty (the Book of Veles testifies that there were rulers in the Russian lands before him), power passed to his son Igor. However, due to the young age of the new ruler, his guardian, which is allowed, was Oleg (“Prophetic”), who was the brother of Rurik’s wife, Efanda. The latter was a relative of the kings of Norway.

Princess Olga was co-ruler of Rus' under her son Svyatoslav

Rurik's only son, Igor, born in 877 and killed by the Drevlyans in 945, is known for pacifying the tribes subordinate to him, going on a campaign against Italy (together with the Greek fleet), trying to take Constantinople with a flotilla of ten thousand ships, and was the first military commander Rus', which he encountered in battle and fled from in horror. His wife, Princess Olga, who married Igor from Pskov (or Pleskov, which may indicate the Bulgarian city of Pliskuvot), brutally took revenge on the Drevlyan tribes that killed her husband, and became the ruler of Rus' while Igor’s son Svyatoslav was growing up. However, after her son came of age, Olga also remained a ruler, since Svyatoslav was mainly engaged in military campaigns and remained in history as a great commander and conqueror.

The family tree of the Rurik dynasty, in addition to the main ruling line, had many branches that became famous for unseemly deeds. For example, Svyatoslav's son, Yaropolk, fought against his brother Oleg, who was killed in battle. His own son from the Byzantine princess, Svyatopolk the Accursed, was something like the biblical Cain, since he killed the sons of Vladimir (another son of Svyatoslav) - Boris and Gleb, who were his brothers by his adoptive father. Another son of Vladimir, Yaroslav the Wise, dealt with Svyatopolk himself and became the prince of Kyiv.

Bloody feuds and marriages with all of Europe

We can safely say that the family tree of the Rurikovichs is partially “saturated” with bloody events. The diagram shows that the reigning ruler from his presumably second marriage with Ingigerda (daughter of the Swedish king) had many children, including six sons who were rulers of various Russian appanages and married foreign princesses (Greek, Polish). And three daughters who became queens of Hungary, Sweden and France also by marriage. In addition, Yaroslav is credited with having a seventh son from his first wife, who was taken into Polish captivity from Kiev (Anna, son Ilya), as well as a daughter, Agatha, who presumably could have been the wife of the heir to the throne of England, Edward (the Exile).

Perhaps the distance of the sisters and interstate marriages somewhat reduced the struggle for power in this generation of Rurikovichs, since most of the time of the reign of Yaroslav's son Izyaslav in Kiev was accompanied by a peaceful division of his power with the brothers Vsevolod and Svyatoslav (the Yaroslavovich triumvirate). However, this ruler of Rus' also died in battle against his own nephews. And the father of the next famous ruler of the Russian state, Vladimir Monomakh, was Vsevolod, married to the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomakh the Ninth.

In the Rurik family there were rulers with fourteen children!

The Rurik family tree with dates shows us that this outstanding dynasty was continued for many years to come by the descendants of Vladimir Monomakh, while the genealogies of the remaining grandchildren of Yaroslav the Wise ceased in the next hundred to one hundred and fifty years. Prince Vladimir had, as historians believe, twelve children from two wives, the first of whom was an English princess in exile, and the second, presumably a Greek. Of this numerous offspring, those who reigned in Kyiv were: Mstislav (until 1125), Yaropolk, Vyacheslav and Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky). The latter was also distinguished by his fertility and gave birth to fourteen children from two wives, including Vsevolod the Third (Big Nest), so nicknamed, again, for the large number of offspring - eight sons and four daughters.

What outstanding Rurikovichs do we know? The family tree, extending further from Vsevolod the Big Nest, contains such eminent surnames as Alexander Nevsky (grandson of Vsevolod, son of Yaroslav the Second), Michael the Second Saint (canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church due to the incorruptibility of the relics of the murdered prince), John Kalita, who gave birth to John the Meek , to whom, in turn, Dmitry Donskoy was born.

Formidable representatives of the dynasty

The Rurikovichs, whose family tree ceased to exist at the end of the 16th century (1598), included in their ranks the great Tsar John the Fourth, the Terrible. This ruler strengthened autocratic power and significantly expanded the territory of Rus' by annexing the Volga region, Pyatigorsk, Siberian, Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms. He had eight wives, who bore him five sons and three daughters, including his successor on the throne, Theodore (the Blessed). This son of John was, as expected, weak in health and, possibly, in mind. He was more interested in prayers, the ringing of bells, and the tales of jesters than in power. Therefore, during his reign, power belonged to his brother-in-law, Boris Godunov. And subsequently, after the death of Fedor, they completely switched to this statesman.

Was the first of the reigning Romanov family a relative of the last Rurikovich?

The family tree of the Rurikovichs and the Romanovs, however, has some points of contact, despite the fact that the only daughter of Theodore the Blessed died at the age of 9 months, around 1592-1594. Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the first of the new dynasty, was crowned in 1613 by the Zemsky Sobor, and came from the family of boyar Fyodor Romanov (later Patriarch Filaret) and noblewoman Ksenia Shestova. He was a cousin’s nephew (to the Blessed One), so we can say that the Romanov dynasty to some extent continues the Rurik dynasty.

With an interactive family tree of the Rurikovichs for 20 generations.

Warning

This project is not a historical study, but merely a visualization of information from Wikipedia. I will be happy to hear comments and advice from professional historians.

Authors

We need to decide what template to use to name all the princes. Now everything is different, sometimes the city is indicated separated by a comma (Mstislav, Volyn), sometimes as a nickname/surname (Igor Volynsky). Sometimes these nicknames are generally accepted, sometimes not. It is probably reasonable to give names like first name-patronymic-years of life. What are your recommendations? It is clear that everything should be uniform. Of course, people with stable and well-known nicknames (Yaroslav the Wise, Ivan Kalita, Dmitry Donskoy, Alexander Nevsky, Ivan the Terrible, Vsevolod the Big Nest) should be called by their most common title. Danilovic/Danilovic? Semyon/Simeon?

Optimize the vertical distance between brothers. Now, with 4-5 knees shown, it is too large, and with a fully expanded diagram, it is too small. Perhaps allow the user to change this value by dragging a slider.

Optimize the distance horizontally as well. From Rurik to Igor the line is too long - their names are short.

Clicking on the childless prince now does nothing (only placing him in the center). Make it so that when you click on a childless person, he hides in the parent. At the same time, it should be clear from the appearance of the parent that his offspring are not shown in full. For example, draw a circle plus inside it.

Ability to call up a menu by right-clicking on princes with the following items:

• Highlight the prince (so you can look at the entire tree and not lose the selected princes)
• Highlight the line from the prince to Rurik