Vladimir captures the Greek town of Korsun'…

Vladimir captures the Greek town of Korsun' (Chersonesos)—highly important commercially and politically—in Crimea in 988, according to the apocryphal account in the so-called Korsun' Legend, which precedes the account of Vladimir's baptism in the Russian Primary Chronicle.

This campaign may have been dictated by his wish to secure the benefits promised to him by Basil II, when he had asked for the Rus' assistance against Phocas.

Vladimir, promised the hand of the emperor's sister, Anna Porphyrogeneta, in recompense for the evacuation of Chersonesos, is baptized (either in Chersonesos or in Kiev) prior to the wedding, taking the Christian name Basil as a compliment to his imperial brother-in-law.

The sacrament is followed by his marriage with the Greek princess.

The Russians, who have adapted the Greek rite, and the papacy, exchange legates.