The Council of Liubech (sometimes referred to as the Liubech Conference) (, ) was one of the best documented princely meetings in

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

that took place in

Liubech Liubech ( Ukrainian and Russian: ; ) is a rural settlement in Chernihiv Oblast, northern Ukraine. Liubech is located north of the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, and located near the border with Belarus. It hosts the administration of Liubech settl ...

(today in

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast (), also referred to as Chernihivshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northern Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Chernihiv. There are 1,511 sett ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) on October 19, 1097. The council ended the (1093–1097) between

Sviatopolk II of Kiev Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich (; 8 November 1050 – 16 April 1113) was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1093 to 1113. He was not a popular prince, and his reign was marked by incessant rivalry with his cousin Vladimir Monomakh. Early life Sviatopolk was ...

Vladimir II Monomakh Vladimir II Monomakh (; Christian name: ''Vasily''; 26 May 1053 – 19 May 1125) was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1113 to 1125. He is considered a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is celebrated on May 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics), May 6 ...

and

Oleg I of Chernigov Oleg Svyatoslavich (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Олег Святославич; 1052 – 1 August 1115), nicknamed Gorislavich (Гориславич, literally "of famous woe") was a prince from Kievan Ru ...

who fought for the heritage of his father

Sviatoslav II of Kiev Sviatoslav II Iaroslavich or Sviatoslav II Yaroslavich (; 1027 – 27 December 1076) was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1073 until his death in 1076. He was a younger son of Yaroslav the Wise, the grand prince of Kiev. He is the progenitor of the '' ...

. The council, initiated by Vladimir Monomakh, brought together Sviatopolk II, Vasylko Rostyslavych,

Davyd Sviatoslavich Davyd Sviatoslavich was the ruler of Murom and Chernigov. The date of his birth is uncertain. Before his father's death was appointed to the Pereyaslav Principality, however in 1076 he ran to Murom which was located as far away as possible from ...

, Oleg I, and other Rus' princes. It aimed to stop the Chernigov war of succession, to pacify the people, and to present a unified front against the

Polovtsy The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...

(

Cumans The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...

). It resulted in the division of

among the princes, letting their immediate families inherit them. This broke a

rota system The rota (or rotation) system or the lestvitsa system (from the Old Church Slavonic word for "ladder" or "staircase") is a historiographical concept introduced by historian Sergei Soloviev in 1860, attempting to describe a system of collateral su ...

(''lestvichnoe pravo'') that had been followed in Kievan Rus' for two centuries which saw the oldest son take the throne and was ruled by a succession of the eldest. Further, rulership of certain regions were never stable but shifted gradually upwards. As a result, each prince within Kievan Rus’ was given his principality as patrimonial domain. Following the conference in the second-quarter of the 12th century, historical chronicles began mentioning local princes as the growing issue became the regularization of relations between local princes and their individual clan estates, or

principalities A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchical state or feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "principality" is often ...

Allocation

The Council assigned/confirmed the principalities as follows: *

Sviatopolk II Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich (; 8 November 1050 – 16 April 1113) was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1093 to 1113. He was not a popular prince, and his reign was marked by incessant rivalry with his cousin Vladimir Monomakh. Early life Sviatopolk wa ...

received

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, Turov, Pinsk, and the title of the Grand Prince.Gerasimov (2023): 106. *

received Pereyaslavl, the

Rostov-Suzdal The Principality of Suzdal, from 1157 the Grand Principality of Vladimir, commonly known as Vladimir-Suzdal, or simply Suzdalia, was a medieval principality that was established during the disintegration of Kievan Rus'. In historiography, the ...

lands,

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

, and

Beloozero Belozersk (), known as Beloozero () until 1777, is a town and the administrative center of Belozersky District in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the southern bank of Lake Beloye, from which it takes the name, northwest of Vologda, the admi ...

. His son Mstislav received

Great Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the ...

. *

Oleg Oleg (), Oleh (), or Aleh () is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine, and Belаrus. Origins ''Oleg'' derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "blessed". The feminine equival ...

, Davyd, and Yaroslav, both sons of

and deemed the " outcast princes," received

Chernigov Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukrain ...

Tmutarakan Tmutarakan (, ; ) was a medieval principality of Kievan Rus' and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, between the late 10th and 11th centuries. Its site was the ancient Greek col ...

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

, and

Murom Murom (, ) is a historical types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which sprawls along the west bank of the Oka River. It borders Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and is situated from the administrative center Vladimir, ...

. Of the remaining "outcast" princes: * David Igorevich, Prince of

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

, received

Volodymyr Volodymyr (, ; ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ''Volodiměr'', which in other Slavic languages became Vladimi ...

. * Volodar and

Vasilko Vasilko is a Ruthenian variation of the Greek name Vassilios, English: Basil). Notable people with the name include: *Prince Vasilko Romanovich Vasylko Romanovych (1199 or 1203–1269 or 1271) was Prince of Belz (1207–1269), Prince of Berestia ...

Rostislavich received Peremyshl,

Terebovl Terebovlia (, ; ; ) is a small city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. Terebovlia hosts the administration of Terebovlia urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: 13,661 (2001). History Terebovlia is one of t ...

, and Cherven.

Result

This change effectively established a

feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring socie ...

in Kievan Rus'. It stopped the struggle for

, but was not observed perfectly. After the death of Sviatopolk in 1113, the citizens of Kyiv revolted and summoned Monomakh to the throne. Nevertheless, the new dispensation allowed other principalities to consolidate their power and to develop as powerful regional centers: most notably Galicia-Volhynia and

Vladimir-Suzdal The Principality of Suzdal, from 1157 the Grand Principality of Vladimir, commonly known as Vladimir-Suzdal, or simply Suzdalia, was a medieval principality that was established during the disintegration of Kievan Rus'. In historiography, the ...

. Further, the conference resulted in numerous policy developments including continued progress towards the Kievan Russian legal code known as the " Russian Truth" and the historigraphical chronicle known as " The Initial Code." Despite the conference's larger goal of uniting the Kievan princes against the

(otherwise known as the Polovtsians), the feuding did not end between the princes and instead led to continued conflicts. The blinding of David Igorevich by

Vsevolod I of Kiev Vsevolod I Yaroslavich (; – 13 April 1093) was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1078 until his death in 1093. Early life He was the fifth and favourite son of Yaroslav I the Wise by Ingigerd Olafsdottir. He was born around 1030. On his seal f ...

acted as a catalyst for continued warring which led to Vladimir II to organize the Vytychiv Congress on August 10, 1100.

Monuments

* 1997: Monument to the Lyubech Congress of Princes (Gennady Ershov, Ukraine)

References

Bibliography

* * * {{cite book , title=Medieval Russia: 980–1584. Second Edition. E-book , last=Martin , first=Janet , url=https://www.ebooks.com/en-us/book/802816/medieval-russia-980-1584/janet-martin/ , year=2007 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , location=Cambridge , isbn=978-0-511-36800-4
Power crisis in Ruthenia

Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine (), or Ukrinform (), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of Ukraine. It was founded in 1918 during the Ukrainian War of Independence11th century in Kievan Rus' 1097 in Europe

Primary Chronicle episodes

Allocation

Result

Monuments

See also

References

Bibliography