Novgorod

2 posts tagged with this keyword.

Painting of Vladimir the Great, Grand Prince of Kiev, by Peter van Egging

The Slave's Son Takes Kiev

Jun 11, 2026By Andy Barca

On 11 June 980, Vladimir - the illegitimate son of a housekeeper - had his brother murdered under a flag of truce and was proclaimed knyaz of all Kievan Rus'. He united a realm stretching from Ukraine to the Baltic, and a thousand years later two warring capitals still claim him.

Sixteenth-century Facial Chronicle miniature depicting the Battle on the Ice on Lake Peipus, 1242.

The Ice and the Memory

Apr 5, 2026By Andy Barca

On 5 April 1242, a twenty-year-old Prince of Novgorod halted a crusader advance on the ice of Lake Peipus. Russia never forgot. Most of Western history never noticed.