Konstantin Dobrynich (died 1022) was an 11th-century

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 ...

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 ...

. According to the Novgorod chronicles, he was the son of

Dobrynya Dobrynya (russian: Добрыня, uk, Добриня) was Vladimir the Great's maternal uncle and tutor. He was the historical prototype of the invincible bogatyr Dobrynya Nikitich in Kievan Rus folklore. Dobrynya's life and extent of his inf ...

and wielded great influence at the court of his own cousin,

Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav the Wise or Yaroslav I Vladimirovich; russian: Ярослав Мудрый, ; uk, Ярослав Мудрий; non, Jarizleifr Valdamarsson; la, Iaroslaus Sapiens () was the Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death. He was als ...

. The time at which he became posadnik is uncertain, as are the circumstances. In 1018, he is said to have destroyed the boats which Yaroslav intended to use for fleeing to Scandinavia from his brother Svyatopolk I. Konstantin persuaded Yaroslav to continue his war against Svyatopolk, helped him muster a new

druzhina In the medieval history of Kievan Rus' and Early Poland, a druzhina, drużyna, or družyna ( Slovak and cz, družina; pl, drużyna; ; , ''druzhýna'' literally a "fellowship") was a retinue in service of a Slavic chieftain, also called ''knyaz ...

and regain the Kievan throne. Several years later, he fell into disgrace, for reasons unknown, fled to

Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While t ...

and was eventually assassinated in

Murom Murom ( rus, Муром, p=ˈmurəm; Old Norse: ''Moramar'') is a historical city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which sprawls along the left bank of the Oka River. Population: History In the 9th century AD, the city marked the easternmost settle ...

at the behest of Yaroslav. Historians tend to view Konstantin as a leader of an anti-Varangian party in Novgorod. His conflict with the Varangians is sometimes given as a reason for the promulgation of the earliest part of the

Russkaya Pravda The ''Russkaya Pravda'' (Rus' Justice, Rus' Truth, or Russian Justice; orv, Правда роусьскаꙗ, ''Pravda Rusĭskaya'' (13th century, 1280), Правда Руськая, ''Pravda Rus'kaya'' (second half of the 15th century); russian: ...

. On the other hand, the chronicle's information about his career may have been biased, if Konstantin indeed was the ancestor of the chronicle's co-author,

Yan Vyshatich Yan Vyshatich (''Ян Вышатич'' in Russian) (c. 1016 – June 24, 1106) was a Rus' nobleman and military commander (tysyatsky). The last known representative of the Dobrynya dynasty, Yan Vyshatich was the son of Vyshata and grandson of Ost ...

, as many historians speculate.

References

Valentin Yanin Valentin Lavrentievich Yanin (russian: Валентин Лаврентьевич Янин; 6 February 1929 – 2 February 2020) was a leading Russian historian who authored 700 books and articles. He had also edited a number of important journals ...

. ''The Posadniks of Novgorod''. Moscow, 1962. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobrynich, Konstantin 11th-century Rus' people Posadniks of Novgorod 10th-century births 1022 deaths