Left: Coin issued by Prince Vladimir Olgerdovich of Kiev (1388–1392) Right: Coin of unknown prince with Saint Michael motif, the common figure of various Kievan coins
Attributed arms in the Western heraldry: Attributed arms of the Principality of Kiev
The principality was formed during the process of political fragmentation of the Kievan Rus' in the early 12th century. As a result of that process, the effective rule of the Grand Princes of Kiev was gradually reduced to central regions of Kievan Rus' (around its capital city Kiev), thus forming a reduced princely domain, known as the inner Principality of Kiev. It existed as a polity until the middle of the 14th century.
The region of the Kievan Rus' fragmented in the early 12th century and several semi-autonomous successor states arose. Kiev remained the core of the country and was the centre of spiritual life with the office of the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church in Kiev.
Following the death of Mstislav I of Kiev in 1132, the semi-autonomous states were de facto independent and so led to the emergence of the Principality of Kiev as a separate state.
The importance of the Kievan Principality began to decline. In the years 1150–1180 many of its cities such as Vyshhorod, Kaniv, and Belgorod sought independence as individual principalities. The emergence of the principalities of Vladimir-Suzdal and Galicia-Volhynia resulted in the transition of the political and cultural centre of Rus' as well as the migration of citizens to cities like Vladimir and Halych.
The Mongol invasion of Rus' left the Principality of Kiev in a severely ruined state. Following the invasion, it was now under the formal suzerainty of the Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal, Alexander Nevsky, who in turn was a vassal to the Mongols. After the Battle of Irpen in 1321, Kiev was the object of desire for the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, and it was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1362. The Principality formally existed as a distinct entity until 1471, when it was converted into the Kiev Voivodeship
^"Kyiv principality". Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
Sources
Christian, David. A History of Russia, Mongolia and Central Asia. Blackwell, 1999.
Fennell, John, The Crisis of Medieval Russia, 1200–1304. (Longman History of Russia, general editor Harold Shukman.) Longman, London, 1983. ISBN0-582-48150-3
Martin, Janet, Medieval Russia 980–1584. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1993. ISBN0-521-36832-4