Bryachislav of Polotsk

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Bryachislav Izyaslavich (Russian: Брячислав Изяславич) (c.997 - 1044) was the prince of Polotsk between 1001 and 1044. He was the oldest of the two sons of Izyaslav Vladimirovich.

Bryachislav Izyaslavich was born in Polotsk. Upon his father's death in 1001, he inherited the Principality of Polotsk. Under his rule, Polotsk attempted to distance itself from Kiev. Tensions were exacerbated by the fact that, under the East Slavic house law, since Izyaslav predeceased his father and never reigned in Kiev, his descendants from the House of Polotsk forfeited their dynastic rights to the Kievan throne. In 1020 Bryachislav sacked Novgorod, but on his way back he confronted the army of his uncle, Yaroslav the Wise. Bryachislav suffered a defeat during the battle on the Sudoma River and fled, leaving behind his Novgorodian prisoners and loot. Yaroslav chased him down and forced him to sign a peace agreement in 1021, granting him Usvyat and Vitebsk. Despite this peace agreement, the hostilities between Bryachislav and Yaroslav continued for years.

Bryachislav died in Polotsk in 1044.