Svyatoslav, Vladimir's father. Since then, he has been a cruel and imperious leader of half-wild steppe tribe, planning and doing everything to invade Russian lands and harry Kiev. Boyan - A kind and honorable old man. Contrary to Krivzha, he is a friendly pagan priest, the "wood grandsire"; he is a part of the nature, he talks with living trees and worships them. His staff is a home for bees, which tell him about all the news of the wood. Boyan is a personification of ancient Slavic wisdom, open-mindedness and patience. Dobrynya - A waywode, Prince Vladimir's uncle and tutor. Harsh and straightforward. A warrior of tremendous power, sophisticated, whole-hearted in his devotion to the young Prince. The leader of the Slavic troops. Olaf the Red-haired - A brave and cruel waywode. Used to be a waywode of Norwegian sea-king Harald the Blue Teeth's troops. Disagreed about carving-up the spoils of war, left the sea-king and now swears to serve young Prince Vladimir. Hoten and Kostyanin - Brothers, Boyan's sons. Both are giants. Always together, and always searching for places where they can boast of their bravery. Olga - Waywode Dobrynya's daughter. Grew up without a mother, a playful and lively girl. Giyar - A son of the Pecheneg chief Kurya. A petty proudling, he was Alexei's everlasting rival. Anastasius - An adviser of the Byzantine Emperor. He purchased Alexei from his former master and converted him to Christianity. Byzantine Emperor - A wise politician, who sees in Russia not a rival or enemy but a possible ally, a defendant of orthodox Christians from eastern barbarians. Anna - A Byzantine Empress and beauty. A sister of Byzantine emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII. Clever and proud-hearted. Yaropolk - Vladimir's elder brother and by the will of Heaven – an obstacle on his way to the power. Background Production started in 1997 with research into the customs of the time period as well as character design. Originally, the story was to be told through a series of 30-minute shorts, but the idea was scrapped. The first proposal presentation of Prince Vladimir took place on April 17, 2000, at the Russian Cultural Fund. Soon after, work began in earnest, and about 120 animators were employed on the film. At the 2002 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Prince Vladimir was named one of the world's 12 most anticipated upcoming animated films. The first