Scythian period in the 9th century A.D. we will never know for the first documents of the Grand Duchy of Kiev were forever lost in the confusion that marked the first period of Ukrainian national life. All we know is what Nestor the Monk, first Ukrainian historian, wrote in describing the princes of Kiev who gradually subdued and governed, from the seat of the Kingdom of Kiev, the tribes he calls “Ruthenian”.
The first Grand-Dukes or Ukrainian Knights mentioned in history (by Nestor) are the three semi-legendary brothers, Kyi, Schek and Horiv. It is said that the eldest of these was responsible for the restoring and building up of the ancient capital of Kiev, which in consequence was named after him.
These rulers were succeeded by Norsemen, Oskold (860-867) and Dyr (880). A Greek writer describes Oskold’s appearance as that of a typical Kozak, with heavy drooping mustache, shaved head and a tuft hanging down from the middle of it to his nose. Ihor, the terror of Byzantium, on whose gates he at one time fastened his shield, succeeded a popular prince called Oleh, who reigned after Oskold and Dyr. Then came Olga the Wise, wife of Ihor, and then King Sviatoslav.
Cunning, powerful and ambitious were these great Ukrainian rulers. However, the most romantic figures in Ukrainian history were King Sviatoslav and his successor-son Volodimir The Great or The Saint, who completed the amalgamation of the various Ukrainian provinces into one centralized state, the vast Grand Duchy of Kiev, whose power extended far, to even distant lands, to the Khazars of the Volga and the Finns of the North, whom he made pay tribute to Ukraine. Volodimir is often also called The Saint because he introduced Christianity into his realm. More than that, through Christianity (and the monks and priests who came there) the country became open to all the arts and learning of foreign lands and especially of Byzantium. He allied himself further with Byzan-
223
