Vladimir

by flammeusgladius

Vladimir

Yes, rivals had to be eliminated.
When you would save your people, that comes first.
The class of boyars then was subjugated.
Death was of course inflicted on the worst.
A long, dark past, devoted yet accursed,
Yielded to half-sincere renunciation.
A new faith was embraced – not in a burst
Of song, but through considered calculation.
Did hostile empires rise in detestation
Of what you had accomplished for the Rus?
An ally in the midst of complication
Appeared – and neutral nations just hung loose.
Loud enemies cried out: “Your armies stall!”
No, NATO never understood at all.

–Tom Riley

(In November 2016, in Moscow, Putin unveiled a statue of Vladimir the Great.)