Volodymyr Monomakh's Statute

Volodymyr Monomakh's Statute (Ustav Volodymyra Monomakha). A legal code drafted by Prince Volodymyr Monomakh, representatives of the boyars, and several officials during the Kyiv Uprising of 1113. It contained several concessions to the burghers and lower estates of the city, made to appease the rebellious commoners. It regulated and improved the status of the zakupy, thereby restricting the power of the boyars. It banned usury (limiting interest rates to 25 percent per annum) and prohibited the enslavement of an indebted merchant whose indebtedness was accidental. It also defined the status of kholopy. The text of the statute, composed of 69 articles, is contained in the expanded version of Ruskaia Pravda. It was an important source for criminal, civil, and procedural law in Kyivan Rus’.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5 (1993).]