This monarch is honored in Russian annals by a surname, "The Wise." He is also sometimes called "The Great," quite a common appellation for Russian sovereigns, at least among Russians. This ruler seems to have been a student. He had a taste for making laws and he prepared a code for the settlement of disputes among his subjects upon recognized principles of right and wrong.
He first established schools quite generally, and, although himself a stout adherent of the Greek church, he suffered no persecutions for the sake of religion. He caused the Holy Scriptures to be translated into the Russian tongue, and is said to have transcribed several copies with his own hand, for it will be remembered that he died just five hundred years before Gutenberg had begun to print. As might have been expected from a man given to letters and the law, he was a good politician and arranged marriages for the members of his family with a view to the dynastic value of the alliances.
His sister became Queen of Poland, and his three daughters, Queens of Norway, France and Hungary respectively. For his sons he selected wives who were Greek, German and English princesses. This sovereign, also, following the example of his father, divided up the realm among his five sons. He died in 1054, and his last act in the division of the country proved equally disastrous as in the previous case, his five sons fighting against each other to the bitter end, and in turn leaving similar quarrels to their own posterity.
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From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
