Rostyslav Yuriiovych

Rostyslav Yuriiovych [Jurijovyč], b ?, d 17 April 1151. Kyivan Rus’ prince; son of Yurii Dolgorukii. A one-time prince of Novgorod the Great (1138–41), in 1148 he allied himself with his father's major opponent, Iziaslav Mstyslavych of Kyiv, ostensibly because he had been denied lands in the Suzdal region. The alliance soon deteriorated because of rumors spread by Iziaslav Mstyslavych's boyars that Rostyslav had been seeking aid from steppe nomads in a plot against him. Rostyslav's wealth and the lands ceded to him were seized, and he was sent back to his father. In 1149 he took part in Yurii's campaign against Iziaslav Mstyslavych, and in 1151 he was granted the Pereiaslav principality, which he ruled only briefly.

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