Anna was a Byzantine princess. Her brother, Basil arranged for Anna to be married to Vladimir I of Kiev, called "the Great," in 988. This marriage is sometimes credited for Vladimir's conversion to Christianity (as has the influence of his grandmother, Olga) -- his previous wives had been pagans as he had been before 988. Anna's arrival brought significant Byzantine cultural influence to Russia. Vladimir was killed in an uprising in which some of his former wives and their children participated.
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