During the next hundred and eighty years Russia was ruled by no less than seventeen princes and the country made little progress, no name being conspicuous among them until we come to Vladimir and, surnamed Monomachus, who ruled from 1113 to 1126. He was crowned in 1114 and stands out in history as a great genius in an age of darkness and barbarism.
He waged no wars but those which the safety and the integrity of his country demanded. His greatness was not demonstrated so much upon the field of battle as in the arts of politics and peace. No stain rests upon his character. On his death bed, like the late General Grant, he wrote the record of his life, which he interspersed with much good advice and wise counsel for his children and his successors. He exhorted his followers to be fathers to the orphans and judges for the widow. He was opposed to capital punishment, saying, "Put to death neither the innocent nor the guilty, for nothing is more sacred than the life and the soul of a Christian. Praise God and love men. It is neither fasting nor solitude, nor monastic vows that can give you eternal life but beneficence alone."
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From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
