Vladimir the Great: Choosing Christianity for All the Wrong Reasons

The Grand Prince of Kiev (now called Russia), Vladimir the Great, was under intense pressure to choose a national religion. The year was 987 AD, and paganism was quickly going out of fashion. More and more of the Rus people (pronounced roos) were converting to Christianity. However, Vladimir had strong trade connections with the Jews and Muslims. Vladimir needed to convert to one of the big three religions, but he had to be careful in his choice to best secure his people's interests. Unable to decide, he sent out three trusted lords to investigate the merits of each religion and report…