Yuri Dolgoruky founded Pereyaslavl 'beyond the forest' (Zalessky) in 1152 where the Trubezh enters Lake Pleshcheyevo, naming it after the southern Pereyaslavl of his youth and moving here the people of the older lakeside fort of Kleshchin, whose earthwork stands on the lake shore a few kilometres north of the town.
He ringed the town with earth ramparts and began the white-stone cathedral of the Transfiguration, finished by Andrei in 1157. The Pereyaslavl men stood with the men of Vladimir for Andrei's brothers in 1175-1177. The town commands the route from the Klyazma over the watershed to the Nerl and down to the Volga at Ksnyatin, the road towards Novgorod. In 1200 it is Vsevolod's, governed for him.
Who holds it
- Name
- Grand Prince Vsevolod III, through his governor (posadnik), not named for 1200
- Title
- lord of the town
- Since
- 1176
- Born
- not applicable
- Family
- not applicable
- Confidence
- medium
Laurentian Chronicle as summarised in the standard accounts; en.wikipedia
Lord in 1200
Grand Prince Vsevolod III, through his governor (posadnik), not named for 1200. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich receives it in 1212 (later).
How things stand that morning
Vsevolod's town; quiet on 1 January 1200.
Charter
None: Rus' towns had no charters. Custom and the prince's word governed.
Council
Not recorded for 1200; the townsmen acted with Vladimir's in 1175-1177.
Communities
No foreign community recorded.
Fairs and markets
Not recorded.
Militia
The Pereyaslavl host under the prince's commanders.
Walls and castle
Earth ramparts with wooden walls round the town on the Trubezh; the Transfiguration cathedral (1152-1157) in white stone; the old earthwork of Kleshchin on the lake.
Trade and crafts
Lake fishing; the Nerl and Volga route north; farming of the Pereyaslavl fields.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Foundation and buildings are well recorded; the government in 1200 is not.
Primary sources for Vladimir-Suzdal
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Chronicle of Novgorod (kept year by year; the Synodal manuscript written in the 13th and 14th centuries). Novgorod's own record, kept at St Sophia. Read online
- The Hypatian Chronicle (the Kievan Chronicle compiled about 1200 at the Vydubichi monastery; the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle in the 13th century). The southern record. Read online
- The Laurentian Chronicle (the Suzdal continuation kept in the late 12th and 13th centuries; manuscript 1377). The court record of Vsevolod III of Vladimir. Read online
- The birch-bark letters (11th to 15th centuries). Excavated letters and notes on birch bark, dated by the layer they lie in. Read online
- The Tale of Igor's Campaign (about 1187 to 1200 (disputed)). A poem on Igor Sviatoslavich's defeat by the Polovtsians in 1185 that addresses the princes of the day by name: Vsevolod of Vladimir, Rurik and David Rostislavich, Yaroslav of Galich, Roman of Volhynia and the Olgovichi of Chernigov, of whom Igor himself was prince from 1198. Read online
Sources and studies
- The Laurentian (Suzdal) Chronicle, PSRL vol. 1, entries for 1176-1212, cited from the researcher's knowledge of the standard accounts (not fetched in this run: ru.wikipedia, fmg.ac and the archive.org texts would not load)
- S. Franklin and J. Shepard, The Emergence of Rus 750-1200 (1996); J. Martin, Medieval Russia 980-1584 (2007); J. Fennell, The Crisis of Medieval Russia 1200-1304 (1983): standard accounts, cited from the researcher's knowledge
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.