Prince of Novgorod in the context of "Romanovichi"

Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych (Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, romanized: Volodiměr Svętoslavič; Christian name: Basil; c. 958 – 15 July 1015), given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church both canonised him as Saint Vladimir.

Vladimir's father was Sviatoslav I of the Rurik dynasty. After the death of his father in 972, Vladimir, who was then the prince of Novgorod, was forced to flee abroad after his brother Yaropolk murdered his other brother Oleg in 977 to become the sole ruler of Rus'. Vladimir assembled a Varangian army and returned to depose Yaropolk in 978. By 980, Vladimir had consolidated his realm to the Baltic Sea and solidified the frontiers against incursions of Bulgarians, Baltic tribes and Eastern nomads. Originally a follower of Slavic paganism, Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988, and Christianized the Kievan Rus.

Yaroslav I Vladimirovich (c. 978 – 20 February 1054), better known as Yaroslav the Wise, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death in 1054. He was also earlier Prince of Novgorod from 1010 to 1034 and Prince of Rostov from 987 to 1010, uniting the principalities for a time. Yaroslav's baptismal name was George after Saint George.

Yaroslav was a son of Vladimir the Great and Rogneda of Polotsk. Yaroslav ruled the northern lands around Rostov before being transferred to Novgorod in 1010. He had a strained relationship with his father and refused to pay tribute to Kiev in 1014. Following Vladimir's death in 1015, Yaroslav waged a complicated war for the Kievan throne against his half-brother Sviatopolk, ultimately emerging victorious in 1019.

Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (Russian: Александр Ярославич Невский; IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr jɪrɐˈsɫavʲɪtɕ ˈnʲɛfskʲɪj] ; monastic name: Aleksiy; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) was Prince of Novgorod (1236–1240; 1241–1256; 1258–1259) and Grand Prince of Vladimir (1252–1263).

A grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest, Nevsky rose to legendary status after victories over Swedish invaders in the Battle of the Neva (1240), which earned him the title "Nevsky" in the 15th century, and over German crusaders in the Battle on the Ice (1242). He agreed to pay tribute to the Golden Horde, which allowed him to preserve the Eastern Orthodox Church, while fighting against foreign powers to the west and the south. Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow canonized Alexander Nevsky as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1547.

Rurikovo Gorodische (Russian: Рю́риково Городи́ще, romanized: Ryúrikovo Gorodíshche, IPA: [ˈrʲʉrʲɪkəvə ɡərɐˈdʲiɕːə], lit. 'Rurik's Hillfort'), the primary settlement in the area known in Scandinavian sources as Holmgård, was the 9th century predecessor of Veliky Novgorod. The archaeological site is 2 km to the south of the current city center, across from Yuriev Monastery where the Volkhov River flows out of Lake Ilmen. Part of the Novgorod World Heritage site, it includes the original residence of the princes of Novgorod, connected with the names of many famous political figures of ancient Russia.

The Novgorod Republic (Russian: Новгородская республика, romanized: Novgorodskaya respublika), formally known as Lord Novgorod the Great, was a city-state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northwestern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The republic prospered as the easternmost trading post of the Hanseatic League, and its people were much influenced by the culture of the Byzantines, with the Novgorod school of icon painting producing many fine works. For much of its history, Novgorod was the center of Russian art and culture.

Novgorod formally won its independence in 1136 after the Novgorodians deposed their prince and the Novgorod veche began to elect and dismiss princes at its own will. By the 13th century, the prince's power had greatly diminished. The veche also elected the posadnik, the chief executive of the city, as well as the archbishop of Novgorod, subject to approval by the Russian metropolitan. In addition, the tysyatsky, originally the military commander, was elected by the veche to serve the interests of the common people, eventually taking on judicial and commercial functions. Novgorodian nobles known as boyars dominated the veche, and the offices of posadnik and tysyatsky remained in the hands of boyar families. The boyars also gave funding to the ushkuyniki, who contributed to the expansion of Novgorod's trade and colonies in the Russian North.

Rogvolod (Russian: Рогволод; Belarusian: Рагвалод, romanized: Rahvalod; c. 920 – 978) was the first chronicled prince of Polotsk. He reigned until 978, when he and his two sons were killed by Vladimir the Great, then the prince of Novgorod, who took his daughter Rogneda as a wife.