Fiodor (Lithuanian:Teodoras;fl. 14th century) was theprince of Kiev until 1362.[1] Most likely he was the son ofButvydas, and a younger brother ofGediminas, thegrand duke of Lithuania, hispagan name is unknown and he wasbaptized asOrthodox Fiodor.[2] Only a couple of short notes survive regarding Fiodor's life.
In the early 1320s,[3] Gediminas won theBattle on the Irpen' River againstStanislav of Kiev and captured the city.[4] The Tatars, who also claimed Kiev, retaliated during the years 1324–1325. TheLithuanian Chronicles mention that Gediminas installed his deputy Algimantas, son of Mindaugas fromOlshanski family. There were some attempts to claim that Algimantas was Fiodor's pagan name, but they are discharged by evidence that Algimantas was baptized as Mikhail.[5]
In 1331,Vasily Kalika, the newly consecratedarchbishop of Novgorod, was traveling fromVladimir-Volynsky toNovgorod.[6] On his way he was stopped by Fiodor, the prince of Kiev, aTatar tax collector (basqaq), and 50 men.[7] The presence of a Tatar official led historians to believe that while Kiev was ruled by a Lithuanian, it had to pay a tribute to theGolden Horde.[8] Later, a separate Orthodoxmetropolis of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was established (Metropolitan Teofilis, who died in 1330) and aid was provided to thePrincipality of Tver, which was fighting against theGrand Duchy of Moscow.[2] Lithuanians gained full control of Kiev after the victoriousBattle of Blue Waters in 1362.[9] According to theHustyn Chronicle, after the battle, Fiodor was replaced as the prince of Kiev byVladimir, son ofAlgirdas.[7]
For a long time scholars assumed that Fiodor was ofRurikid origin (descendant ofOleg I of Chernigov) because of his Christian name. However, in 1916, Russian historianMikhail Priselkov published a list of property belonging toTheognostus, themetropolitan of Moscow.[10] The list, compiled in 1331, listed two silver cups given to Theognostus by Fiodor, brother of Gediminas.[7] Modern historians agree that Fiodor from the list and Fiodor from Kiev was one and the same person. No other evidence survives regarding Fiodor's family.