10 Myths About Prince Vladimir

For the film’s premiere “VIKINGS,” dedicated to Prince Vladimir. A NEW book by the author of the bestsellers “10,000 Years of Russian History. Forbidden Rus” and “Veles’ Rus. The Chronicle of Ice and Fire.” In the history of Ancient Rus there is no more mythologized, contradictory, and disputed figure than Saint Vladimir. He is praised as the Equal-to-the-Apostles Baptizer, who granted our people a great future. He is cursed as a bloody tyrant who forced Rus into a new faith with fire and sword. He is glorified as a wise ruler whom grateful people called the Red Sun. He is accused as a “rapist” and almost a sexual maniac. Which of these myths deserves trust, and which is outright falsehood? Is it true that Vladimir—the “illegitimate son of a slave woman”—“seized power with the swords of Viking warriors”? Why did he choose Christianity, when in the 10th century Islam was on the rise? Did the Baptism of Rus happen voluntarily or by force? Should we believe rumors about Vladimir the Holy’s huge harem and accusations of “corrupting wives and girls” (just one story of Rogneda, which he allegedly “took by force” in front of her parents, and then killed them)? Why do both “neo-pagans” and the liberal “fifth column” hate him so much? And what does church propaganda hide, while state propaganda keeps silent? This historical investigation refutes the most common myths about Prince Vladimir—reinterpreted in the film “Vikings.”