Editing Vladimir the Great (section)

==Years of pagan rule==
Vladimir continued to expand his territories beyond his father's extensive domain. In 981, he seized the [[Red Ruthenia|Cherven towns]] from the [[History of Poland during the Piast dynasty|Duchy of Poland]]; in 981–982, he suppressed a [[Vyatichi]] rebellion; in 983, he subdued the [[Yatvingians]]; in 984, he conquered the [[Radimichs]]; and in 985, he conducted a military campaign against the [[Volga Bulgaria|Volga Bulgars]],<ref>Janet Martin. ''Medieval Russia''. [[Cambridge University Press]]. 1995. pp. 5, 15, 20.</ref><ref>John Channon, Robert Hudson. ''The Penguin historical atlas of Russia''. Viking. 1995. p. 23.</ref> planting numerous fortresses and colonies on his way.{{sfn|Bain|1911}}

Although [[Christianity]] had spread in the region under Oleg's rule, Vladimir had remained a thoroughgoing pagan, taking eight hundred concubines (along with numerous wives) and erecting pagan statues and shrines to gods.<ref>"Although Christianity in Kiev existed before Vladimir's time, he had remained a pagan, accumulated about seven wives, established temples, and, it is said, taken part in idolatrous rites involving human sacrifice." (''Encyclopædia Britannica'')</ref>

He may have attempted to reform [[Slavic paganism]] in an attempt to identify himself with the various gods worshipped by his subjects. He built a pagan temple on a hill in Kiev dedicated to six gods: [[Perun]]—the god of thunder and war, a god favored by members of the prince's ''[[druzhina]]'' (military retinue); Slavic gods [[Stribog]] and [[Dažbog|Dazhd'bog]]; [[Mokosh]]—a goddess representing Mother Nature "worshipped by Finnish tribes"; Khors and [[Simargl]], "both of which had Iranian origins, were included, probably to appeal to the [[Polans (eastern)|Poliane]]".<ref>{{Cite book|title= Medieval Russia, 980–1584|last= Janet |first= Martin|date= 2007|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn= 9780511811074|edition= 2nd |location= Cambridge|page= 6|oclc= 761647272}}</ref>

Open abuse of the deities that most people in Rus' revered triggered widespread indignation.{{Clarify|reason=Who "abused" the deities, and what does that even mean?|date=August 2024}} A mob killed the Christian Fyodor and his son Ioann (later, after the overall Christianisation of Kievan Rus', people came to regard these two as the first Christian martyrs in Rus', and the Orthodox Church set a day to commemorate them, 25 July<ref>{{Cite web |title=On July 25, the church honors the first holy martyrs of Kievan Rus |date=24 July 2021 |url=https://gazeta.ua/articles/life/_25-lipnya-cerkva-vshanovuye-pershih-svyatih-muchenikiv-kiyivskoyi-rusi/1044139}}</ref>). Immediately after said murder, early medieval Rus' saw persecutions against Christians, many of whom escaped or concealed their belief.{{efn|In 983, after another of his military successes, Prince Vladimir and his army thought it necessary to sacrifice human lives to the gods. A lot was cast and it fell on a youth, Ioann by name, the son of a Christian, Fyodor. His father stood firmly against his son being sacrificed to the idols. Further, he tried to show the pagans the futility of their faith: "Your gods are just plain wood: it is here now but it may rot into oblivion tomorrow; your gods neither eat, nor drink, nor talk and are made by human hand from wood; whereas there is only one God – He is worshiped by Greeks and He created heaven and earth; and your gods? They have created nothing, for they have been created themselves; never will I give my son to the devils!"{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}}}

However, Prince Vladimir mused over the incident long after, and not least for political considerations. According to the early Slavic chronicle, the [[Primary Chronicle|''Tale of Bygone Years'']], which describes life in Kievan Rus' up to the year 1110, he sent his envoys throughout the world to assess first-hand the major religions of the time: Islam, Latin Christianity, Judaism, and Byzantine Christianity.<ref>Bury, John Bagnell (1923). [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.70261/page/n307/mode/2up ''The Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. IV. 308''] Cambridge: University Press.</ref> They were most impressed with their visit to Constantinople, saying, "We knew not whether we were in Heaven or on Earth&nbsp;... We only know that God dwells there among the people, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations."<ref>Thomas Riha (2009). 
[https://books.google.com/books?id=_Bkddxc600IC ''Readings in Russian Civilization, Volume 1: Russia Before Peter the Great, 900–1700'']. University of Chicago Press. {{ISBN|978-0-226-71843-9}}</ref>