Vladimir II Monomakh,( Volodimir Monomakh; Christian name Vasiliy, or Basileios) was a Velikiy Kniaz (Grand Prince) of Kiev.
He was the son of Vsevolod I and Anastasia of Byzantium whose father some give as Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos.
Eupraxia of Kiev, a half-sister of Vladimir, became notorious all over Europe for her divorce from the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV on the grounds that he had attempted a black mass on her naked body.
In his famous Instruction (also known as The Testament) to his own children, Monomakh mentions that he conducted 83 military campaigns and 19 times made peace with the Polovtsi.
He founded several towns, notably his namesake, Vladimir, the future capital of Russia.
When Sviatopolk II died in 1113, the Kievan populace revolted and summoned Vladimir to the capital. The same year he entered Kiev to the great delight of the crowd and reigned there until his death in 1125. He made a number of reforms in order to allay the social tensions in the capital.
Succeeding generations often referred to his reign as the golden age of that city. Numerous legends are connected with Monomakh's name, including the transfer from Constantinople to Russia of such precious relics as the Theotokos of Vladimir and the Vladimir/Muscovite crown called Monomakh's Cap.
Vladimir was married three times. His first wife was Gytha of Wessex, daughter of Harold of England who fell at Hastings and Edith Swannesha. They had at least five children:
Mstislav I of Kiev (1 June 1076 – 14 April 1132).
Izyaslav Vladimirovich, Prince of Kursk (c. 1077 – 6 September 1096).
Svyatoslav Vladimirovich, Prince of Smolensk and Pereyaslav (c. 1080 – 16 March 1114).
Yaropolk II of Kiev (1082 – 18 February 1139).
Viacheslav I of Kiev (1083 – 2 February 1154).
The following daughter has been attributed to both the first and the second wife:
Marina Vladimirovna (d. 1146). Married Leon Diogenes. A pretender to the throne of the Byzantine Empire, claiming to be a son of Romanos IV. Rose to the rank of khan of the Cumans in Ossetia.
The second wife, Eufimia, is considered to have been a Byzantine noblewoman. The Primary Chronicle and "Testament of Vladimir Monomakh" record her date of death on 7 May 1107. However the Chronicle does not mention her name. They had at least six children:
Roman Volodymyrovych, Prince of Volhynia (d. 6 January 1119).
Eufemia of Kiev (d. 4 April 1139). Married Coloman of Hungary.
Agafia Vladimirovna. Married Vsevolod Davidovich, Prince of Gorodno. Her husband was a son of Davyd Igorevych, Prince of Volhynia (d. 1113).
Yuri Dolgoruki (d. 15 May 1157).
Andriy Volodymyrovych, Prince of Volhynia (11 July 1102–1141).
His third marriage is thought to have been to a daughter of Aepa Ocenevich, Khan of the Cumans.
Vladimir is buried in the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev.