The Principality of Kiev is one of the specific lands formed as a result of the collapse of Kievan Rus. After the death of Prince Yaroslav the Wise in the middle of the XI century, the principality began to isolate itself and by the 30s of the XII century it became completely independent.
Its territory covered the ancestral lands of Drevlyans and glades along the Dnieper River and its tributaries (Teterev, Pripyat, Irpeni and Rosi). It also included part of the left bank of the Dnieper in front of Kiev. All this is the modern land of the Kiev and Zhytomyr regions of Ukraine and the southern part of the Gomel region of Belarus. In the east, the principality was bordered by the Principality of Pereyaslavl and Chernigov, in the west - Vladimir-Volyn, in the south the Polovtsian steppes were adjacent to it .
Thanks to the mild climate and fertile soils , agriculture was intensively developed here. Also, the inhabitants of these lands were actively engaged in cattle breeding, hunting, fishing and beekeeping. Quite early on there was a specialization of crafts. Of particular importance was the "woodworking", leather and pottery crafts. Deposits of iron allowed the development of blacksmithing.
An important factor was that the principality “passed from the Varangians to the Greeks” (from Byzantium to the Baltic) passed through the principality of Kiev. Therefore, an influential layer of merchants and artisans formed early in Kiev.
From the 9th to the 10th centuries, these lands were the central part of the Old Russian state. During the reign of Vladimir, they became the core of the princely domain, and Kiev - the church center of all Russia. Although the Kiev prince was no longer the supreme owner of all lands, he was the de facto head of the feudal hierarchy, he was considered "senior" in relation to other princes. It was the center of the Old Russian Principality, around which all other destinies concentrated.
However, this situation had not only positive aspects. Very soon, the Kiev lands turned into an object of intense struggle between the individual branches of the Rurikovich dynasty. The mighty Kiev boyars and the top of the trade and craft population also joined the fight.
Until 1139, Monomashichi sat on the Kiev throne: after Mstislav the Great, his brother Yaropolk (1132–1139) came to power, and then Vyacheslav (1139). After that, the throne passed into the hands of Prince Vsevolod Olgovich of Chernigov, who captured him by force. The reign of the Olgovichi was very short. In 1146, power passed to Izyaslav Mstislavich (representative of the Monomashichs). In 1154, it was captured by the Suzdal branch of the Monomashich (Yuri Dolgoruky was on the Kiev throne until his death in 1157). Then the power again passed to the Olgovichi, and in 1159 returned to the Mstislavichi.
Already from the middle of the XII century, the political significance that the Principality of Kiev had before began to decline. At the same time it was disintegrating into destinies. By the 1170s, the Kotelnichesky, Belgorodsky, Trepolsky, Vyshgorodsky, Torsky, Kanevsky and Dorogobuzh princes had already stood out. Kiev ceased to play the role of the center of Russian lands. At the same time, Vladimir and Galicia-Volyn make every effort to subjugate Kiev. From time to time they succeed and their henchmen appear on the throne of Kiev.
In 1240, the Principality of Kiev was ruled by Batu. In early December, after a desperate nine-day resistance, he captured and defeated Kiev. The Principality was devastated, after which it could not recover. Since the 1240s, Kiev has been formally dependent on the princes of Vladimir (Alexander Nevsky, then Yaroslav Yaroslavich). In 1299, the metropolitan’s department moved from Kiev to Vladimir.
By the first half of the 14th century, the principality was weakened to the limit. Therefore, it became an object of Lithuanian aggression. In 1362, under Prince Olgerd, these lands became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.