On the issue of the "holy" Prince Vladimir
28 July The Russian Orthodox Church commemorates Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles. 1 June 2010 of the year Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the Federal Law “On Amendments to the Article 11 of the Federal Law“ On Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of Russia ””, on the basis of which annually 28 July in Russia celebrates the new memorable date - the Day of the Baptism of Russia.
Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, known for the baptism of Rus during his reign, was born around 960. Vladimir was a side son of Svyatoslav from the housekeeper Malusha, originally from the city of Lyubech. Malki's brother was Dobrynya. According to one version, Malusha was the daughter of the Drevlian prince Mala. Prince Vladimir is also known as St. Vladimir, Vladimir the Great, Vladimir the Baptist (in church tradition). According to some researchers, Prince Vladimir is one of the prototypes of the collective epic character Vladimir Red Sun. He was glorified in the face of saints as Equal to the Apostles (the exact date is not known, presumably in the XIV century). The day of his memory in Russian Orthodoxy is celebrated on July 28, therefore the date of Vladimir’s death is considered July 28, although the Russian Prince 15 died July 1015 of the year.
Recently, there has been an information campaign in Russia aimed at exalting the role of Prince Vladimir in stories our state. She keeps up with the strengthening of the role of the church in the Russian Federation. It is obvious that part of the elite of modern Russia is trying to restore the project "Moscow - Third Rome" (or "Russian Empire - 2") with a strong church role. Hence the attempts to replace and gradually remove Soviet symbols and heroes. For example, in Moscow they plan to erect a large monument to Vladimir. At first, they wanted to build it on Sparrow Hills. But after the scandal, they decided to abandon this idea (social activists decided that the usual picture of MSU would change, the university building would no longer prevail, but the monument itself would be another symbolic blow to the Soviet era). In addition, there were problems of a geological and technological nature. Now consider other options. Currently, according to the results of an online survey, Borovitskaya Square is leading.
However, this is a clear conceptual and ideological mistake of the Russian authorities. Firstly, the course towards the churching of the people will not lead to anything good. It will only strengthen the split of the people. An example must be taken from the Soviet society of the 1930-1950-s period (taking into account errors), which was truly one. Strengthening the role of the church will strengthen the possibility of implementing the “Yugoslav scenario” in Russia, that is, the collapse of the country based on the religious factor. Atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, pagans, including Russian neo-pagans, will be dissatisfied. And this is the growth of the protest potential. In addition, it is an irreversible rollback to the past, archaization. The growth in the number of churches and mosques does not lead to an automatic growth of goodwill in society and success in science and technology. In particular, despite the rapid growth in the number of churches of various Christian churches, mosques, synagogues and other religious buildings in Russia, a sharp increase in the army of priests, mullahs, shamans, "magicians" and psychics, morally, modern Russia and Russians are much inferior to Soviet civilization and Soviet people.
Secondly, the big question is the identity of the "holy" Prince Vladimir. This is one of the organizers of the first known unrest in Russia - the civil war. When Vladimir seized the Polotsk who had gone over to Kiev, he interrupted the family of the governor of the city, Prince Rogvolod. Moreover, on the advice of his uncle Dobrynya, the “holy” Prince Vladimir first raped Rogneda in front of her parents, and then killed her father and two brothers. Princess Rogneda, who had previously been brought up for Yaropolk, he forcibly took over his wife. Vladimir is a fratricide - Yaropolk's brother was killed on his orders. And Vladimir in this case acted as the leader of the pagan party, as there is indirect information about the sympathies of Prince Yaropolk to the Christian faith. Perhaps Yaropolk adopted Christianity.
The man who before baptism is known as the “great libertine”, who had not only several official wives, but also several hundred concubines in Kiev and in the country residence of Berestove. Tale of Bygone Years so conveys the way of life of Vladimir before baptism: “Vladimir was defeated by lust, and his wives were ..., and his concubines had 300 in Vyshgorod, 300 in Belgorod and 200 in Berestovo, in the village, which is now called Berestovoe. And he was insatiable in fornication, leading married women to her and inflicting maidens. ” Vladimir was so voluptuous that he made even the widow of his brother Yaropolk a concubine, whom he ordered to kill. Christian sources claim that after baptism, the prince “got better”, but there are no other sources confirming this fact.
The prince was a politician who repeatedly changed his convictions. At first he pretended to be an ardent pagan in order to get the support of the pagan party in the struggle for power. Vozdviz in Kiev sanctuary with the idols of the six main gods of Slavic paganism. Vladimir even established human sacrifices to the gods, although this was not typical of Eastern Rus. Then, for political or personal reasons, he decided to adopt Christianity. After all, Christianity, which is already far from the original sources, was then more beneficial to the prince's power than paganism that has been going on since the days of “primitive communism” and “military democracy”. In the West and in Byzantium, Christianity developed, which “covered” the class essence of the existing order (practically slaveholding). Thus, the Byzantine emperor (or Pope) was considered the vicar of God himself on earth. The magnificent and magnificent ceremonial was aimed at illuminating the existing or still emerging class orders, where there are spiritual and secular feudal lords (the ruling class) and serving the population. “Holy” emperors, princes, patriarchs and representatives of the nobility were depicted on the walls of churches. The church space itself was usually divided into two tiers - representatives of the spiritual and secular nobility were placed in the choirs, and simple people crowded below. Therefore, Christianity was much more beneficial to the rulers. It allowed to establish control over the people.
Around 988, after long deliberation, Vladimir himself was baptized, baptized his boyars, and the squadron and, under penalty of punishment, forced the people of Kiev to be baptized as well. Although the process of baptism was not instantaneous and bloodless. In Novgorod, the same governor Dobrynya suppressed an uprising of the local population, which was against Christianization. In the Rostov-Suzdal land (the future Vladimir-Moscow Russia) paganism retained a strong position until the XIII century. Formally, Russia became Christian. The temples-sanctuaries were destroyed, the wise men were killed, those who openly resisted were suppressed by fire and sword, the fires of Perun went out. However, paganism was preserved for centuries. Burial mounds were poured in the villages, Perun and Ognju-Svarozhich were secretly praying, they celebrated violent ancient holidays: Christmas time - New Year festivities, Carnival, Yarila day, he later merged with the Christian Trinity Day, Kupala Day, Rhoda-Pruna Day - Christian Ilyin Day. After several centuries, Christianity became Russian - merged with paganism (this unity would be partially destroyed under the Romanovs).
Vladimir is praised as the organizer of the defense against the Pechenegs. Under Vladimir, the struggle against the Pechenegs became the work of all Russia. Garrisons for border fortresses were recruited even in distant Novgorod, Smolensk and in the basin of the Moskva River, where the Pechenegs did not reach. New fortresses were built on Sula, Trubezhe, Ostro, Desna and Stugne. In addition, Pereyaslavl, Belgorod, Chernigov, etc. were strongly fortified. Belgorod was a kind of camp city, a former reserve for all defensive lines.
However, under Svyatoslav Rus, it was not necessary to strain all his forces so much. He controlled the steppe, and the Pechenegs were for the most part his allies. This is not surprising if one remembers that the Pechenegs as Russian powers of Rurikovich were the same heirs of the Great Scythia (Sarmatia), the ancient civilization, which Russia inherited. But under Vladimir, instead of continuing to have a mutually beneficial alliance, the Russians and the Pechenegs quarreled, and it became necessary to strain all the resources to build a powerful defense system on the southern frontiers.
Vladimir organized the state in such a way that after his death a second unrest began - a civil war, already between his sons. In addition, the Christianization of Russia for a long time put our country under the conceptual and ideological control of the Greek Byzantines. Moreover, some researchers believe that a bloody civil war began, which seriously weakened Russia in front of external enemies and eventually led to its collapse. Only a few centuries of “dual faith”, when Christianity merged with the Russian tradition of many thousands of years, led to the creation of fervent Orthodoxy (“the glory of Pravda, Rule”) by Sergius of Radonezh. However, under the Romanovs, it was destroyed, and the church was almost completely formalized, made an appendage of the state apparatus (now they are trying to repeat it). The true faith (“Holy Spirit”) remained only with individual ascetics, elders like Seraphim of Sarov.
You can read about the dubious role of Vladimir in Yury Nikitin's art book “Prince Vladimir” and the study of the historian Lev Prozorov “Baptism by fire and sword. How drowned in the blood of Pagan Russia.
And they try to make such a person a hero. In the history of Russian civilization there are enough true devotees and heroes. Oleg Veshchy, Svyatoslav Igorevich, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Sergius of Radonezh, Ivan the Terrible, Alexander Suvorov, Fyodor Ushakov, Mikhail Kutuzov, Stalin and many others.
Thirdly, the baptism of Rus is not a completely positive fact, as official propaganda has long proven. In particular, it is known from school textbooks that the Russian people allegedly had no choice - either to convert to Christianity, or to fall under the expansion of the “more developed” Christian powers or the Islamic world. Like, all the powers and nations were forced to make such a choice - to adopt Christianity or Islam. Clerical historians sharply oppose Christianity to paganism and divide the history of the Russian people into two periods, considering the adoption of Christianity as a boundary. They call pre-Christian times "centuries of darkness," when "nations were in ignorance," while Christianity seemed to shed "light" on their lives.
However, here we see a double lie. Pagan Russia smashed "more developed" neighbors. In particular, the Russian troops more than once defeated the advanced for that time Christian state - the Byzantine Empire. The Russian pagan princes Rurik, Oleg the Veshchy, Igor and Svyatoslav created a huge world Russian power - the “Rurikovich Empire”, which stretched from the Baltic to the Russian (Black) Sea, from the Danube and the Carpathians to the Volga, the Don and the North Caucasus. That is, paganism was not an obstacle to military victories and the unity of the Slavic-Russian tribes. Despite the long-lasting lies about the “unreasonable pagan Slavs” brought to them by the “good news” by the Greek missionaries, today we know a lot of facts that speak of the ancient developed Russian civilization, the super-ethnos of the Rus, which has its own written language (based on it Cyril and Methodius created its own version), hundreds of cities-towns, developed crafts, including military affairs, etc. But we still prefer to tell stories about the “dark and irrational Slavs”, which the Roma Greeks enlightened gave them writing, crafts and arts.
The second big lie is that Russia had no choice. Ostensibly it was necessary to make a choice between "advanced" religions (ideologies) - Christianity or Islam. We see several huge civilizations on the planet, which still calmly maintain their faith and rely on the internal, rather than introduced from the outside, concept of governance. This is an Indian civilization where Hinduism has dominated for several millennia, continuing the tradition of even more ancient Brahminism and Vedic faith. This is a Chinese civilization, where there is local Taoism and Confucianism. This is a Japanese civilization with traditional Shintoism. Traditional beliefs are preserved in many Asian countries.
From the point of view of Christianity and Islam, they are pagans. However, this does not prevent them from developing and being successful powers, in which many experts see the future of all mankind. When traditionally Christian countries are in a deep spiritual, material and demographic crisis, whence one road leads to the cemetery. Moreover, relying on traditional beliefs allows Asian people to preserve their “I”, to receive nourishment through their roots and to go into the future. India, China and Japan can rely on their traditional faith, which makes them stronger in their opposition to Western civilization. We are talking about spiritual tradition, and not the temporary technological superiority of the West, which allowed the Europeans to temporarily subjugate the eastern countries in the colonial period.
So power is in truth. You can not deliberately mislead people. Vladimir, of course, is one of the key figures in our history, but he is not a saint or a statesman to whom he stands. Russia could successfully preserve its traditional faith. This did not hinder the development of spiritual and material culture (the example of Japan, China and India), military successes and the unity of Russian civilization. The fact that the Russian people did not have a choice, that it was necessary to accept Christianity, that the Russians before Christianization were “wild and backward people,” is a deception. The geopolitical enemies of the Russian people want to "cut off" Russian history. Allegedly, before the baptism of Russia, there was nothing good, solid "dark ages."
Information