Installed 1.02, and the game loaded fine. Of course it already has some 1.01 weirdness (like Muslim bishops), but nonetheless the story of Polotsk continues...
------------------------------------------------------------------
January 1082 - May 1083: Rule of the Regency Council
With Prince Alexei still a minor, the boyars of Polotsk quickly organized a Regency Council to rule the lands in his name. The Council consisted of five members. The most influential of them was the monk Iurii, Chancellor of Polotsk, who became Alexei's personal tutor. Roman, Alexei's eldest uncle and the realm's Marshal, and Roman's wife, the Spy master Dobrodjaja, also sat on the Council. Princess Ingrid, Alexei's mother, had apparently lost all interest in her son now that her husband and father-in-law were dead. Indeed, she soon married a Swedish count, taking Alexei's younger brothers and sisters with her, for which she was strongly condemned by the people of Polotsk.
But such matters seemed trivial, for three of Alexei's uncles held counties and were none too loyal. Davyd of West Dvina, now called "the Devil" by the peasants for his cruel demeanor, was the most vocally rebellious one. Svyatoslav of Minsk seemed to be conciliatory, but guarded his thoughts well. But it was Gleb, the count of Yatvyagi, who was deemed the most dangerous. Married to a Byzantine princess who was the Emperor's cousin, Gleb had already established friendly ties to Constantinople. It was a great concern to the Regency Council that the Emperor might get involved in Polotsk - having recently conquered the kingdom of Croatia, Michael Ducas had his power well-established, and was looking for more of it. And Alexei had no shortage of uncles to claim to his Principality - ten of them, youngest only a year old. Vseslav's dream of a large family now seemed like a nightmare.
In February of 1082, the Regency Council set to work. It was clear that more allies had to be made. Guided by the monk Iurii, two bishoprics were created under the Principality. Boris, another of Alexei's uncles who had recently finished his education at a monastery, was made bishop of Galindia. And Oleg, a distant relative of the family, was made bishop of Orsha.
Marshal Roman was not terribly happy with these nominations. Though a priest himself, he disliked the influence of Iurii over the young Prince. Coupled with Roman's command of the army and the military upbringing his two sons were receiving, the Regency Council could become split amidst rivalries. Spymaster Dobrodjaja, Roman's wife, was the only voice of conciliation in the Council, but keeping Roman and Iurii from fighting openly stressed her greatly.
In January of 1083, on the insistence of Roman, the county of Jacwiez was given to Sviatopolk, another uncle. The Prince (or should we say Roman) thus gained another ally. By now, however, the other ruling uncles seemed to have accepted the new state of affairs, and none of them showed any inclination to rebel. Polotsk was stable, for the time being.
May 1083 - September 1085: Alexei's First Years
Prince Alexei of Polotsk
Prince Alexei finished his education in May of 1083. It was soon clear that he would not be the best ruler for Polotsk. He loved to spend all his money on drinking, feasting, hunting, women, and gifts to anyone he took a liking to. While that endeared him to anyone who was on the receiving end of the Prince's generosity, it strained the realm's treasury greatly. Disgusted, Vseslav's widow Gro resigned her position as steward and left Polotsk altogether, moving to her eldest son Sviatopolk's court in Jacwiez. Through the influence of Roman and Dobrodjaja, the steward's position went to Ulinniks, son of the former chief Klukis of Galindia who lived at the court of Polotsk. Chancellor Iurii opposed the nomination on the grounds that Ulinniks was a pagan, but Ulinniks' financial savvy was such that he was the only viable choice.
In May of 1084, Alexei turned 16 and it was time to seek a bride for him. The boyars felt that it was important to establish good relations with the Roman Emperor to forestall any possible intervention in the affairs of Polotsk. Thus, couriers were sent to the Empire to seek out suitable brides. Finally, one was found - Tobritza, daughter of Philippos, Prince of Serbia. The Prince agreed to give his daughter's hand in marriage to Alexei, and the wedding was held in Polotsk as soon as the Greek lady arrived on May 20th of 1084. The young Prince, however, was too attached to his feasting and celebrating, and seemed to neglect his new wife. So it was not until September of 1085 that she first gave birth to a baby girl, who was named Efimia.
Tobritza, the Prince's wife
Also in 1084, the old rival of Polotsk, Izyaslav of Kiev, finally died. Kiev was now under the rule of his son Mstislav, who was also the Prince of Novgorod. The boyars of Polotsk looked in concern as Kievan lands now extended both north and south of Polotsk. Marshal Roman even advocated striking at Kiev at once. But other events interfered with his plans.
October 1085 - January 1087: The Baltic War
In October 1085, the Lithuanians of Zhmud finally accepted the Orthodox faith. Chancellor Iurii, citing this as a sign from God, said that Christ would surely bless the Prince if he finished what his grandfather started, and brought the Baltic pagans under Orthodox rule. His words seemed to be reinforced when in the east, war broke out between the Prince of Smolensk and the Emir of Volga. Clearly Christ was expecting his true faithful to take up arms. Marshal Roman was clearly unhappy about this, but could do little in protest.
The call went out in January of 1086, and armies gathered in Zemigallia, marching against the pagan Curonians next month. By the end of spring, Vesthard of Curonians was defeated and his lands brought under the rule of Polotsk. The army turned south, liberating Memel from the Samogitians by late September, and in January of 1087, the Pruthenians were also defeated and their lands of Sambia annexed. The Prince of Smolensk did not fare as well in his war against the Emir of Volga, losing his city to the Emir's hordes - who were now right on the eastern border of Polotsk.
By this time, the treasury of Polotsk was in a sore state. The boyars advised the Prince to call the estates, but in his usual generous manner, Alexei refused, saying that he need not take gold from his people. Soon his attention was almost wholly on his daughter Efimia, who became ill with fever in November of 1086.
February 1087 - December 1091: Feasting and Wenching
In early 1087 new lands were given to new vassals. Two bishops were appointed to watch over Sudovia and Lettigallians. Also, Marshal Roman, now with little influence left over the Prince, was given the county of Kurs to rule, taking his wife Dobrodjaja with him. Chancellor Iurii was thus left as the sole influence over Alexei. The new spymaster was a protege of Iurii, a man called Radoslav, who was a brilliant politician and notorious schemer. The new marshal was another distant cousin, a man called Yevstafii. Only the pagan steward Ulinniks remained an enemy of Iurii.
The Prince was now allowed to indulge his passions freely while Iurii and Radoslav became the true rulers of Polotsk. The Prince held great feasts and never hesitated to help his people with gifts if they needed it, but the treasury suffered as the result, and several sawmills had to be sold to cover the realm's debts. The steward Ulinniks tried to protest, but Iurii and Radoslav only encouraged the Prince to have his fun. During this time, Alexei claimed new titles for himself, becoming Prince of Samogitia and Courland.
In January of 1088, Alexei's firstborn daughter Efimia died of her illness. The Prince stopped feasting for a month, then continued once again. His wife Tobritza was often neglected, and for a long time the boyars feared that Alexei would not sire a son in time. But their fears did not remain long. In February of 1089, Tobritza finally gave birth to a son, who was named Georgii. And in June of 1090 she bore Alexei a second son, named Stanislav. In the meantime, Alexei did not give up his hobbies. The year of 1090 saw him sire two bastard sons, by some of the female companions from his feasts.
January 1092 - August 1094: The Reconquest of Smolensk and the Chastening of Prussia
By the end of 1091, Chancellor Iurii was ready to guide Prince Alexei towards new conquests for the glory of Christ. The Muslim conquest of Smolensk was intolerable, and the armies of Polotsk gathered to drive the Muslims out - and take Smolensk for themselves, of course.
In January of 1092, the army marched on Smolensk. But at the same time, news spread that an assassin was caught by the guards of the Emir of Volga. It was told that the assassin worked for Prince Alexei, and soon it was revealed that the Chancellor Iurii and the Spymaster Radoslav were responsible for sending the assassin. Though they were able to retain their positions, their influence over the Prince and the realm started to weaken after this failed assassination attempt.
By the beginning of April, the army of Polotsk liberated Smolensk from the Muslim yoke. Messengers were sent to the Emir of Volga to seek settlement of conflicts and peace, but the Emir refused to even see them. The treasury of Polotsk, never too strong to begin with, was once again empty and the realm was getting mired in debts, having to sell its sawmills and to disband regiments. Nonetheless, the brave warriors of Polotsk fought on, marching across the lands of Rus east to Mozhaysk, which had also been conquered by the Emir of Volga. By the end of September Mozhaysk was back in Christian hands, and Hlynov was the next target. At this time Prince Alexei also received happy news that his wife, pregnant before he left on campaign, gave birth to a son whom she named Andronikos after her Greek grandfather.
But in November, the pagan tribe of Prussians, sensing the weakness of Polotsk, invaded the lands of the bishop of Galindia. Alexei hastily sent word that all possible help was to be given to the bishop. Worse, the Emir of Volga sent a large army to retake Smolensk, and Alexei himself was still besieging Hlynov with his army. The situation looked grim, after Bishop Oleg of Orsha was sent to relieve Smolensk, but was defeated and driven off. In December, Hlynov was taken, but the Emir of Volga again refused to discuss peace terms.
January of 1093 saw two minor victories, as the initial Prussian attack on Galindia was repulsed, and Alexei's army defeated a small Volgan force in Kama. But in February, Mozhaysk was again lost to the Emir's armies, while the Prussians renewed their attack on Galindia.
In March, fate finally seemed to smile on Alexei. While he took Kama, the eastern Emirate of Ural attacked the Emirate of Volga. Alarmed, Emir Sygyd of Volga finally received Alexei's messengers, and on March 25th peace was agreed to, leaving Smolensk, Hlynov, and Kama in Alexei's hands. The danger in the east averted, the Prince marched his army west hastily to fight the Prussians.
In May, before he could get there, Galindia fell to the Prussians as bishop Boris was forced to flee. But in August Alexei arrived there, defeating the pagans and liberating the province by the end of September. Desiring to punish the Prussians, Alexei marched on Marienburg, their chief's capital, laying siege to it in November. Meanwhile the Prussians took Sambia, and were desperately offering much gold for peace, but Alexei refused them.
By this time the treasury of Polotsk was hundreds of roubles in debt, and the steward Ulinniks now felt confident enough to sideline Iurii and Radoslav and interfere in matters directly. Advising the Prince to call the Estates, he extracted a large contribution from them to cover the debts. Even that was not enough, and moneylenders had to be called to cover the rest. All this damaged Alexei's prestige in the eyes of his peers and hurt his relations with the church, but it had to be done.
Financial troubles somewhat lessened (though by no means eliminated), the war against the Prussians continued. In February of 1094 Marienburg was taken, in May Chelminskie fell, and by mid-August Sambia was reconquered. Thus the Prussians were brought under the rule of Polotsk. As the war ended, uncle Boris was reinstated as bishop of Galindia, while new counts were appointed to rule Hlynov and Zemigalians. Alexei's two bastard sons, though still minors, were recognized as counts of Chelminskie and Sambia. And to end it all, Chancellor Iurii was relieved of his post and made bishop of Scalovia, thus bringing his influence at the court to an end. Spymaster Radoslav was allowed to remain after he swore fealty and obedience to the Prince. Once again, Polotsk was at peace, and all hoped now that Prince Alexei would finally learn responsibility after seeing his realm bankrupt...
Polotsk in August of 1094 - note that lands in the east (Hlynov and Kama) are not seen on this map
----------------------------------------------------------------
So what say you, dear readers? Should Prince Alexei learn some responsibility and try to run his realm better? Or should he forget all his lessons and start feasting and wenching again, leaving Polotsk to be run by others?
