[34] Malusha is described in the Norse sagas as a prophetess who lived to the age of 100 and was brought from her cave to the palace to predict the future.

Hagiographic tradition of dubious authenticity also connects his childhood with the name of his grandmother, Olga of Kiev, who was Christian and governed the capital during Sviatoslav's frequent military campaigns.

[35] Transferring his capital to Pereyaslavets, Sviatoslav designated Vladimir ruler of Novgorod the Great in 970,[12] but gave Kiev to his legitimate son Yaropolk.

The high-born princess refused to affiance herself to the son of a bondswoman (and was betrothed to Yaropolk), so Vladimir attacked Polotsk, took Ragnhild by force, and put her parents to the sword.

In 981, he seized the Cherven towns from the Duchy of Poland; in 981–982, he suppressed a Vyatichi rebellion; in 983, he subdued the Yatvingians; in 984, he conquered the Radimichs; and in 985, he conducted a military campaign against the Volga Bulgars,[39][40] planting numerous fortresses and colonies on his way.

[44] They were most impressed with their visit to Constantinople, saying, "We knew not whether we were in Heaven or on Earth ... We only know that God dwells there among the people, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations.

In 987, after consultation with his boyars, Vladimir reportedly sent envoys to study the religions of the various neighboring peoples whose representatives had been urging him to embrace their respective faiths.

[46] In 988, having taken the town of Chersonesus in Crimea, he allegedly boldly negotiated for the hand of emperor Basil II's sister, Anna.

[47] Never before had a Byzantine imperial princess, and one "born in the purple", married a barbarian, as matrimonial offers of French kings and Holy Roman Emperors had been peremptorily rejected.

Vladimir was baptized at Chersonesos, however, taking the Christian name of Basil out of compliment to his imperial brother-in-law; the sacrament was followed by his wedding to Anna.

When the wedding arrangements were settled, Vladimir dispatched 6,000 troops to the Byzantine Empire, and they helped to put down the revolt.

[34] He introduced the Byzantine law code into his territories following his conversion but reformed some of its harsher elements; he notably abolished capital punishment, along with judicial torture and mutilation.

His wives, concubines, and their children were as follows: The Eastern Orthodox, Byzantine Rite Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches celebrate the feast day of St. Vladimir on 15/28 July.

The appropriation of Kievan Rus' as part of national history has also been a topic of contention in Ukrainophile vs. Russophile schools of historiography since the Soviet era.

[66] He minted coins and regulated foreign affairs with other countries, such as trade, bringing in Greek wines, Baghdad spices, and Arabian horses for the markets of Kiev.