Rurikids - Evolution and End of The Dynasty

Evolution and End of The Dynasty

Rurik and his brothers founded a state that later historians called Kievan Rus'. By the middle of the twelfth century, Kievan Rus' had dissolved into independent principalities, each ruled by different branches of the Rurik dynasty. The dynasty followed agnatic seniority and izgoi principle. The Rurik dynasty went into major schizm after the death of Yaroslav the Wise and was divided in three ways according to the three ruling Grand Princes: Izyaslav (senior), Svyatoslav (middle), and Vsevolod (minor). There also was a line of Polotsk princes who assimilated themselves with princes of Lithuania. In the 10th century the Council of Liubech made some amendments to a succession rule and divided the Ruthenia into several autonomous principalities that had equal rights to obtain the Kiev throne.

Vsevolod line eventually became better known as Monomakhovychi and was the predominant one. The line of Svyatoslav later became known as Olegovychi and often laid claim to the lands of Chernihiv and Severia. Izyaslavychi who ruled Turov and Volhynia were eventually replaced by other Monomakhovychi branch.

"The Rurikid dynasty… attempted to impose on their highly diverse polity the integrative concept of russkaia zemlia ("the Rus' land") and the unifying notion of a "Rus' people." But "Kievan Rus' was never really a unified polity. It was a loosely bound, ill-defined, and heterogeneous conglomeration of lands and cities inhabited by tribes and populous groups whose loyalties were primarily territorial." This caused the Rurik dynasty to effectively dissolve into several sub-dynasties ruling smaller states in the 10th and 11th centuries. These were the Olgoviches of Severia who ruled in Chernigov, Yuryeviches who controlled Vladimir-Suzdal, and Romanoviches in Galicia-Volhynia.

The Olgoviches were the offsprings of Oleg I of Chernigov, who was a grandson of Yaroslav the Wise. They continued to rule until early 14th century when they were torn apart by the emerging Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Grand Duchy of Moscow.

The Romanoviches was the line of Roman the Great. The older Monomakhovychi line that ruled Principality of Volhynia, they were eventually crowned kings of Galicia and Volhynia and ruled until 1323. Romanovychi displaced the older line of Izyaslavychi from Turov and Volhynia as well as Rostyslavychi from Galicia. The last were two brothers of Romanovychi, Andrew and Lev II, who ruled jointly and were slain trying to repel Mongol incursions. The Polish king, Władysław I the Elbow-high, in his letter to the Pope wrote with regret: "The two last Ruthenian kings, that had been firm shields for Poland from the Tatars, left this world and after their death Poland is directly under Tatar threat." Losing their leadership role, Rurikids, however, continued to play a vital role in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the later Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Most notably, the Ostrogski family held the title of Grand Hetman of Lithuania and strove to preserve the Ruthenian language and Eastern Orthodoxy in this part of Europe.

The Yuryeviches were founded by Yuriy Dolgorukiy, the founder of Moscow and spread vastly in the north-east. Beginning with the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the Muscovite branch used the title "Tsar of All Russia" and ruled over the Tsardom of Russia. The death in 1598 of Tsar Feodor I ended the rule of the Rurik dynasty. The dynasty was briefly revived in the person of Vasili IV of Russia, a descendant of Shuyskiy line of the Rurik dynasty, but he died without issue. The unstable period known as the Time of Troubles succeeded Feodor's death and lasted until 1613. In that year, Mikhail I ascended the throne, founding the Romanov dynasty that would rule until 1762 and as Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov until the revolutions of 1917. Tsar Mikhail first wife Maria Dolgorukova was of Rurikid stock but their marriage produced no children. It was until the reign of Peter III in 1762. Emperor Peter III and his wife Catherine the Great were both descended from the Rurik dynasty. Historian Vasily Tatishchev and filmmaker Jacques Tati were descended from Rurik.