Yaropolk I was the oldest
son of Grand Prince
Sviatoslav I of Russia and was his
father's
deputy in the capital city of
Kiev while Sviatoslav was away conquering more territory for
Russia. Yaropolk's brothers Oleg and
Vladimir were in charge of other cities, and as there was no set rule for
succession to the Grand Prince's throne, a civil war broke out on Sviatoslav's sudden
death in
972. Oleg died (apparently by falling off a
bridge and
drowning during a battle with Yaropolk's troops), and Vladimir managed to hide out in
Scandinavia.
Very little is known about what Yaropolk actually did during his reign, but apparently he didn't please the people of Novgorod, because they invited his brother, their city's former governor, back to their lands. Vladimir brought mercenaries, and managed to overthrow Yaropolk in Kiev and execute him around 978 or 980.