Mstislav III Romanovich the Old

Mstislav Romanovich the Old (died 1223), son of Roman Rostislavich of Smolensk and baptized Boris, ruled Smolensk before becoming grand prince of Kiev in 1214. He joined the 1185 campaign against the Cumans and in 1221 drove off an invading Hungarian army.

In April 1223 he led the southern Rus' princes against the Mongols; after the catastrophe on the Kalka River he was trapped at a nearby palisade, captured, and executed, reportedly smothered under planking in vengeance for the slain envoys.