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Vladimir extended the territory even more than his father had. In 981, he conquered the Cherven towns from the Poles; in 981-982 he suppressed a Vyatichi rebellion; in the following years he conquered the Yatvingians and the Volga Bulgars.
At the beginning of his reign, Vladimir may have attempted to reform paganism by establishing a supreme deity. Anger over the reforms among the population resulted in the deaths of the Christian Fyodor and his son, who are regarded as the first Christian martyrs in Rus'.
In 988, in what may have been part of a negotiation with the (usually antagonistic) Byzantine Emperor to protect the Empire from the rebel Sclerus. In return for the hand of Basil's sister in marriage, Vladimir divorced his wife, converted (taking his new brother-in-law's name as his Christian name) and sent troops to protect Byzantine.
The Primary Chronicle tells a somewhat different, although not mutually exclusive story. Many different religions were lobbying Vladimir to convert. He therefore sent emissaries to investigate the different religions. Islam was ruled out, in part because of the ban on alcohol and pork ("Drinking is the joy of all Rus'. We cannot exist without that pleasure." Judaism was rejected because Vladimir believed that the loss of Jerusalem might signal that Jews had fallen out of favor with God. Roman Catholic churches were not beautiful enough—but when faced with the full festival ritual of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Vladimir converted
After his marriage, Vladimir returned to Rus', divorced his many wives (including the one he seized from his brother; she eventually went into a convent.) He destroyed many pagan monuments and temples, and established several churches (including St. Basil and the Church of the Tithes).
He appointed his twelve sons to rule subject principalities. Though still engaged in conquest, he lived in relative peace with his neighbors, and devoted himself to Christian acts of charity.
Who was Vladimir the Great?