Dobrynya
Dobrynya was
Vladimir the Great's maternal uncle and tutor who was later transformed in
Russian folklore into the invincible
bogatyr Dobrynya Nikitich.
Dobrynya's life and extent of his influence on Vladimir are shrouded in speculation and controversy. It is fairly certain that his sister
Malusha was Vladimir's mother. It is also generally accepted that Dobrynya's
posadnik dynasty in
Novgorod was continued by his son
Konstantin Dobrynich and grandson
Ostromir.
[Прозоровский ".И. О родстве св. 'ладимира по матери. // Записки Академии Наук, т. 5, 1864.]According to the Novgorod chronicles, it was at his urging that
Svyatoslav I sent his illegitimate son, Vladimir, to govern Novgorod, with Dobrynya as his tutor. Nine years later, Dobrynya persuaded Vladimir to wrest
Kiev from his brother
Yaropolk. On their way to Kiev, Yaropolk's bride,
Rogneda of Polotsk, offended Dobrynya by calling his sister a "bondswoman". Dobrynya took his revenge by arranging Rogneda's rape by Vladimir.
After Vladimir's enthronment in Kiev, Dobrynya returned to rule Novgorod in his name. He accompanied his nephew in the 985 expedition against
Volga Bulgaria and, following his lead, erected an idol of
Perun on the bank of the
Volkhov River. After the
Baptism of Kiev, he is said to have forced the Novgorodians into Christianity "by fire".
