Michael of Chernigov

Michael of Chernigov (Russian: Михаи́л Черни́говский; Ukrainian: Миха́йло Все́володович Чернігівський) or Mikhail Vsevolodovich (Russian: Михаил Всеволодович; Ukrainian: Михайло Всеволодович); c. 1185 – 20 September 1246) was Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–1240; 1240; 1241–1243); he was also Prince of Pereyaslavl (1206), Prince of Novgorod-Seversk (1219–1226), Prince of Chernigov (1223–1235; 1242–1246), Prince of Novgorod (1225–1226, 1229–1230), and Prince of Galicia (1235–1236).

Archaeological evidence reveals that Chernigov towns enjoyed an unprecedented degree of prosperity during his period which suggests that promoting trade was a priority for him. Commercial interests, in part, also motivated him to seize control of Halych and Kiev because they were channels through which goods from the Rhine valley and Hungary passed to Chernigov. He also negotiated commercial treaties and political alliances with the Poles and the Hungarians.

He alleviated the tax burden of the Novgorodians and granted their boyars greater political freedom from the prince. He was the last autonomous senior prince of Kiev, where he was deposed not by a more powerful prince but by the invincible Mongols.

On the eve of Mongol invasion, he was one of the most powerful princes in Rus'. He has been accused of ineffective leadership because he failed to unite the princes of Rus' against the invaders; in his defense it must be pointed out that this was an impossible task.

Mikhail was the first prince of the Olgovichi (the dynasty of Chernigov) to become a martyr according to the commonly understood meaning of the word: he underwent the penalty of death for persistence in his Christian faith. He and his boyar Fedor (Theodore) were tortured and beheaded by the Tatars.

They later became known as "The Passion-Sufferers of Chernigov" and "The Miracle-Workers of Chernigov".