Yan Vyshatich (c. 1016 – June 24, 1106) was a Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

an nobleman and military commander (tysyatsky

Tysyatsky

Tysyatsky was a military leader in Ancient Rus, who commanded a people's volunteer army called тысяча...

). The last known representative of the Dobrynya

Dobrynya

Dobrynya was Vladimir the Great's maternal uncle and tutor who was later transformed into the invincible bogatyr Dobrynya Nikitich in the Russian folklore....

 dynasty, Yan Vyshatich was the son of Vyshata

Vyshata

Vyshata was a Novgorodian general and voivode, whose father is supposed to have been posadnik Ostromir and whose son was another statesman, Yan Vyshatich...

 and grandson of Ostromir

Ostromir

Ostromir was a statesman, voivod and posadnik of Novgorod in 1054-1057 and probably for some decades previous....

.

Historical clues about Yan's career are scarce. In the 1070s, Yan Vyshatich collected tribute

Tribute

A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...

 for Sviatoslav II

Sviatoslav II of Kiev

Sviatoslav Iaroslavich was the Prince of Chernihiv from 1054 to 1073 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 1073 until his death...

 near Beloozero and suppressed an uprising of smerd

Smerd

Smerds were feudal-dependent peasants in Russia and some other Slavic countries. Sources from the 11th and 12th centuries mention smerds’ presence in the Kievan Rus Smerds (sing. smerd; in Russian: pl. смерды, sing. смерд ) were feudal-dependent peasants in Russia and some other Slavic countries....

s there. He took part in military campaigns against the Polovtsy and internecine wars. Yan Vyshatich's tales of his and his ancestors' campaigns were Nestor

Nestor the Chronicler

Saint Nestor the Chronicler was the reputed author of the Primary Chronicle, , Life of the Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves, Life of the Holy Passion Bearers, Boris and Gleb, and of the so-called Reading.Nestor was a monk of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev from 1073...

's major source in compiling the Russian Primary Chronicle.