Vsevolod Sviatoslavych (Bui-Tur), (died 1196) was a Kyiv Rus’ prince. He took part in numerous battles against the Cumans, including the campaigns led by his brother, Igor Sviatoslavych, in 1185 and 1191. His gallantry was celebrated in ‘The Tale of Igor’s Campaign‘, a Rus-Ukrainian epic about repelling Asiatic forces including the Suzdal-‘Russians’ of the 12th century. Here is how the epic describes Vsevolod the Bui-Tur:
Fierce Bull Vsevolod!
You stand your ground,
you spurt arrows at warriors,
you clang on helmets
with swords of steel.
Wherever the Bull bounds,
darting light from his golden helmet,
there lie pagan Kuman heads:
cleft with tempered sabers
are [their] Avar helmets— by you, Fierce Bull Vsevolod!
After World War II, scientists discovered Vsevolod’s grave in the city of Chernigiv, Ukraine and Moscow Academician Mikhail Gerasimov reconstructed his face. Gersimov also noted that the skeleton was of a person of immense physical power.
You can compare the face of Vsevolod the Bui-Tur with the face of Andrei Bogolyubsky of Suzdal recreated by the same Mikhail Gerasimov.
More facts about the epic and Vsevolod the Bui-Tur in the “Gardariki, Ukraine’ e-book.
