Saint Volodymyr the Great

I was born in Kyiv as son of the pagan prince Svyatoslav of Kyiv. When my father died, I asked help from an uncle to overcome one of my brothers who had attempted to take the throne. By 980 I had extended Kyivan Rus' boundaries from Poland to the Baltic Sea in the north, and to the Black and Azov Sea in the south. Christianity had made some progress in Kyiv, because of my grandmother Olha, but I remained pagan. I had many wives, established temples and participated in idolatrous rites. However, later, because of the connections with the Byzantine Emperor, I changed heart. Gradually, I discovered the beauty of Christianity. I was baptized and took the name Basil. I ordered the Christian conversion of Kyiv and Novgorod. I expanded education, judicial institutions and aid to the poor.