Rostyslav Volodymyrovych

Rostyslav Volodymyrovych [Volodymyrovyč], b 1038, d 3 February 1067 in Tmutorokan. Kyivan Rus’ prince; grandson of Yaroslav the Wise. He is not mentioned in chronicles until 1064, but he probably governed Novgorod the Great and Rostov-Suzdal from 1052 (after his father died) and Galicia andVolhynia from 1054 (after Yaroslav the Wise died) or 1060 (after Ihor Yaroslavych died); his sons, Volodar Rostyslavych and Vasylko Rostyslavych, ruled there until 1124. Rostyslav ousted Hlib Sviatoslavych from Tmutorokan in 1064 and subdued the local tribes to his authority. He was poisoned at a banquet by the Greek vicegerent of Kherson, at the bidding of Byzantine officials who feared Rostyslav's growing strength along their borders.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]