The son of Vladimir I Svyatoslavich, Yaroslav Vladimirovich reigned for over 40 years (in Rostov, Novgorod and Kiev). He was responsible for the creation of "Russian Truth", the foundation of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and many other merits, for which the prince received the name "Great". The remains of this extraordinary person were kept for a long time in St. Sophia of Kiev, which many years ago was turned into a national museum-reserve.
The prince is not alone in the sarcophagus
Yaroslav the Wise continued the construction of the Sophia Church following his father. The prince was buried in it in 1054. In 1936, the sarcophagus with his remains was opened, but there were also female and children's bones in the tomb. Deputy Director of Sofia Kievskaya Irina Margolina said that then a number of studies were carried out, which confirmed that it was Yaroslav the Wise in the sarcophagus.
Scientists at the Leningrad Institute of Ethnography and Anthropology have established that the first skeleton belonged to a lame man about 70 years old. This is exactly what Yaroslav the Wise was. The female skeleton supposedly belonged to his wife Irina. It was not possible only to establish what kind of baby was buried with these people.
The war has made its own adjustments
At the beginning of World War II, the relics of the ruler of Kiev were transported to Leningrad so that the Nazis would not get the sacred relic. She was returned to Sofia in 1940. The bones were kept in a small wooden box. He was not immediately put into the sarcophagus. We needed special equipment to lift a two-ton stone slab. For some time, the remains in the same box just lay on the shelf in the storage.
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In 1964, museum staff decided to put things in order with the sarcophagus. The relics were placed in place. But many years later, after Perestroika, it was discovered that the bones stored in the tomb were only female. Probably, these are exactly the remains of Princess Irina that originally lay with the relics of Yaroslav the Wise. The last of Sofia disappeared. Whether this happened during the military travels or after, still remains a mystery.
American version
According to Nina Bulavitskaya, Yaroslav's relics are now in the United States. During the war, this woman worked as the secretary of the director of Sofia Kievskaya, Olex Povstenko. She said that then the relics of the Grand Duke from the tomb were taken by the archbishop of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church Nikanor. He removed the relic from the Soviet Union with the help of a German gendarme.
In Poland, Nikanor handed over the remains of Yaroslav the Wise to another priest of Ukrainian origin, Bishop Pallady. The latter, together with Povstenko, who fled from Ukraine, transported the sacred cargo to Germany. After the war, he passed into the hands of another holy father, Ivan Tkachuk, who emigrated to the United States, taking with him the relics of the prince.
According to Irina Margolina, they really can be kept in the Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity, located in Brooklyn. The director of St. Sophia of Kiev made an inquiry regarding such a possibility to the Archbishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the States, Anthony. The latter categorically denied the possibility of finding the relics of Yaroslav the Wise in the United States. Where they really are, no one still knows.