Dobrynya (russian: Добрыня, uk, Добриня) was

Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...

's maternal uncle and tutor. He was the historical prototype of the invincible

bogatyr A bogatyr ( rus, богатырь, p=bəɡɐˈtɨrʲ, a=Ru-богатырь.ogg) or vityaz ( rus, витязь, p=ˈvʲitʲɪsʲ) is a stock character in medieval East Slavic legends, akin to a Western European knight-errant. Bogatyrs appear m ...

Dobrynya Nikitich Dobrynya Nikitich (russian: Добрыня Никитич) is one of the most popular bogatyrs (epic knights) from Russian folklore. Albeit fictional, this character is based on a real warlord Dobrynya, who led the armies of Svyatoslav the Gre ...

Kievan Rus Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern Europe, Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Hist ...

folklore. Dobrynya's life and extent of his influence on Vladimir are shrouded in speculation and controversy. It is fairly certain that his sister

Malusha Malusha Malkovna ( Old Ruthenian: Малушa) was allegedly a servant ( kholopka) for Olga of Kiev and concubine of Sviatoslav I of Kiev. According to Slavonic chronicles, she was the mother of Vladimir the Great and sister of Dobrynya. The Nors ...

was Vladimir's mother. It is also generally accepted that Dobrynya's

posadnik Posadnik (Cyrillic: посадник, (literally: по-садник - ''pre-sident'') was the mayor in some East Slavic cities or towns. Most notably, the posadnik (equivalent to a stadtholder, burgomeister, or podestà in the medieval west) was ...

dynasty in

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

was continued by his son

Konstantin Dobrynich Konstantin Dobrynich (died 1022) was an 11th-century posadnik of Novgorod. According to the Novgorod chronicles, he was the son of Dobrynya and wielded great influence at the court of his own cousin, Yaroslav the Wise. The time at which he became ...

and grandson

Ostromir Ostromir (''Остромир'' in Russian; Christian name - Joseph) (died c. 1057) was a statesman, voivod and posadnik of Novgorod in 1054-1057 and probably for some decades previous. Ostromir is known from the first Russian dated book, the Ost ...

. According to the Novgorod chronicles, it was at his urging that Sviatoslav I sent his illegitimate son, Vladimir, to govern Novgorod, with Dobrynya as his tutor. Nine years later, Dobrynya persuaded Vladimir to wrest

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

from his brother Yaropolk. On their way to Kiev, Yaropolk's bride,

Rogneda of Polotsk Rogneda of Polotsk (962–1002) is the Slavic name for Ragnheiðr, a Princess consort of Rus'. She was the daughter of Ragnvald (Slavic: Rogvolod) who came from Scandinavia and established himself at Polotsk in the mid-10th century. Life It ...

, offended Dobrynya by calling his sister a "bondswoman". Dobrynya took his revenge by arranging Rogneda's rape by Vladimir. After Vladimir's enthronement in Kiev, Dobrynya returned to rule Novgorod in his name. He accompanied his nephew in the 985 expedition against

Volga Bulgaria Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic state wi ...

and, following his lead, erected an idol of

Perun In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, f ...

on the bank of the

Volkhov River The Volkhov (russian: Во́лхов) is a river in Novgorodsky and Chudovsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Kirishsky and Volkhovsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia. It connects Lake Ilmen and Lake Ladoga and forms pa ...

. After the Baptism of Kiev, he is said to have forced the Novgorodians into Christianity "by fire".

Vasily Tatishchev Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev (russian: Васи́лий Ники́тич Тати́щев) (19 April 1686 – 15 July 1750) was a prominent Russian Imperial statesman, historian, philosopher, and ethnographer, best remembered as the author of the ...

wrote that Dobrynya, along with Bishop Ioakim Korsunianin, faced a violent, pagan mob which burned Dobrynya's house and killed his wife and several other family members.Vasilii Tatishchev, ''Istoriia rossiiskaia'', A. I. Andreev, et al., eds. Moscow and Leningrad: AN SSSR, 1962) vol. 1, pp. 112-113.

Notes

Kievan Rus' people Posadniks of Novgorod 10th-century births Russian knights Year of death unknown Ukrainian knights