Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich

Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich (Kiev, 1139–1198) was an Olgovichi prince. He was prince of Ropesk (c. 1146–1166), of Starodub (1166–1176), and of Chernigov (1176–1198). His early life He was the second son of prince Vsevolod II Olgovich of Chernigov (who later became Grand Prince of Kiev) and Maria Mstislavna of Kiev (a daughter of grand prince Mstislav I Vladimirovich of Kiev). His father died on August 1, 1146. He began his political career as the prince of Ropesk (a town, located southwest of Starodub). In 1162, the younger brother of grand prince Rostislav I Mstislavich of Kiev, Vladimir Mstislavich seized Sluchesk, which had belonged to the Olgovichi. On February 15, 1164, Svyatoslav II Olgovich died. In the spring in 1166, prince Svyatislav Vladimirovich of Vshchizh died, and he evidently had no sons. Svyatoslav III Vsevolodovich as the senior prince of the Olgovichi held the authority to allocate the dead prince's domains, and he gave Starodub to Yaroslav. However, their cousin, prince Oleg Svyatoslavich of Novgorod-Seversk challenged the senior prince's preferential treatment of his own family.