Dr Matthew Raphael Johnson presents a new episode of The Orthodox Nationalist based on his article ‘Prince Vladimir Monomakh, the Jews and the Anti-Usury Uprising of 1113 in Kiev.’ In Old Kiev, prince Sviatopolk II Izyaslavich was unpopular. He was the classic example of a tyrant, someone who had no right to rule and who did so only through his dependence on Jewish usury. This was proof of his illegitimacy, in that it was his major prop of financial support. This is what set him apart from the others. The Chronicles state that the invasion of the Polovtsy from the south were God's punishment on this excoriable policy. Usurers used foreign troops to support themselves and the Khazars used mercenaries. That empire was multicultural in that many ethnic groups lived side by side and this "chimera," as Lev Gumilev describes it, was artificial for this reason. It was based on cash and no ethnic or even religious ties. "Though the Jews were everywhere a subject people, and in much of the world persecuted as well, Khazaria was the one place in the medieval world where the Jews actually were their own masters.... To the oppressed Jews of the world, the Khazars were a source of pride and hope, for their existence seemed to prove that God had not completely abandoned His people." - Raymond Scheindlin, in The Chronicles of the Jewish People (1996) This beacon of hope functioned exclusively through tolls paid on commerce. The inner circle of Jews, made even more firm by the war of 810-820, was the only real tie other than cash. Presented by Matt Johnson The Orthodox Nationalist: Prince Vladimir Monomakh and the Anti-Usury Uprising – TON 031517