Krivzha is the main antagonist of the 2006 animated Russian movie Prince Vladimir.
He was voiced by Alexander Barinov.
Biography[]
Krivzha begins as an apprentice of an old mage. A thirst for power gripped him, prompting him to kill his professor and obtain his staff, an attribute of strength. On dying, the teacher "rewarded" the pupil with the nickname Krivzha and curses him by transforming him into a old man. And now, having mastered the wizard's staff, Krivzha makes a deal with the Pechenegs and their leader Kurya, offering to plunder and burn down Russian villages, causing panic and undermining the authority of the princes. A simple village boy, Aleksha, becomes an unwitting witness to the conspiracy between Krivzha and Kurya. The priest wants to sacrifice him but Kurya gives the boy to his son Giyar. Kurya reminds Krivzha of his part of the bargain and orders him to pit the brothers against each others.
While Vladimir with his army was away, fighting in the possessions of Byzantium, Krivzha caused confusion, slandering Yaropolk as if he had become the assassin of his younger brother, the prince of the lands of Drevlyan Oleg. Yaropolk sends Vladimir a letter about Oleg's death and Krivzha's betrayal, but the latter, transformed into a bear, kills the messenger and destroys the letter. Tired of the robberies and heist campaigns, Vladimir returns to his homeland, just in time for the celebration of Maslenitsa. Krivzha, having appeared on the holiday, introduces discord between the brother-princes, presenting a forged letter on Yaropolk's alliance with Kurya, which he himself made. And soon, at the instigation of Krivzha who has presented a wolf's ear which is a sigil of the Pechenegs, the Prince of Novgorod decides to go to Kiev, against his brother Yaropolk.
Krivzha then witnesses a landing of Greeks on a Russian shore. The Greeks deliver provisions for the locals, much to Krivzha's dismay. Krivzha notices a chest Aleksha is holding. He opens it, takes some of the powder that is in it and smells it, unaware that it is pepper. It makes him sneeze. The world laughs at Krivzha, offended. Anastasiy, Aleksha's new companion, having freed him from Giyar's clutches, says that there is fire in the pepper, but krivzha warns him to beware of the fire of the god Perun. Following an attack by Pechenegs the same night, Aleksha flees by boat and Krivzha sees him. Saved by Vladimir's cohort who took him in, Krivzha, who probably followed him, comes to them and asks them to give him the boy. Faced with their refusal, the priest lies to them by saying that he is Greek and that the Greeks have attacked villages. Therefore, Krivzha asserts that Aleksha must be sacrificed. Valdimir still refuses and Krivzha resigns himself.
At night, he surprises Aleksha wanting to talk to the prince. Taking advantage of the fact that the prince is focused about how he will organize the future battle of Kiev around a campfire, Krivzha orders two twins, Hoten and Bluden, to tie him up in the forest. Afterwards, he goes to the fire to influence Vladimir on the battle with his brother. But he sees a little girl following the twins. He therefore decides to follow her. Afterwards, he goes to the fire to influence Vladimir on the battle with his brother. But he sees a little girl following the twins. He therefore decides to follow her. Finding that she is going to free Aleksha, he transforms into a bear and goes to devour him. But the boy manages to escape him. After a chase, the Sun rises and dazzles the bear, forcing it to revert to human form. Aleksha, at the edge of a cliff, desperately searches for a way to escape the evil priest. He decides to jump into the river at the bottom of the cliff. Believing him dead, Krivzha returns to the forest satisfied but he meets an old man whom he believed dead. He turns out to be the father of both twins. He asks him questions about his life in general.
Krivzha leads Vladimir's army to the gates of Kiev and opens the main gate with his magic. Kiev is therefore under attack. He convinces a member of the army to kill Yaropolk after the latter had just proven his innocence on Oleg assassination.
Krivzha, returned to his lair, makes an incantation to sow fear among the tribes and turn them against each other to destroy the power of Vladimir. Then, he goes to Vladimir, who is preparing a ritual to unify the Russians by praying in front of four statues representing different gods including Perun. However, the ritual does not go as planned because only the statue representing Perun ignites, while the four were to ignite. Vladimir realizes the treachery of the dark priest. Krivzha runs away. He then utters another incantation condemning the Prince to die by the Pechenegs.
Krivzha, returned to his lair, makes an incantation to sow fear among the tribes and turn them against each other to destroy the power of Vladimir. Then, he goes to Vladimir, who is preparing a ritual to unify the Russians by praying in front of four statues representing different gods including Perun. However, the ritual does not go as planned because only the statue representing Perun ignites, while the four were to ignite. Vladimir realizes the treachery of the dark priest. Krivzha runs away. He then utters another incantation condemning the Prince to die. He locates Vladimir at the father of the 2 twins, who turns out to be a gentle Pagan priest. He leads the Pechenegs to his home and confronts him. The good priest attack him with a swarm of bees but Krivzha easily gets rid of them. Taking his bear form, he jumps on the Pagan to kill him but Aleksha throws a barrel at him, knocking him out for a moment.
Regaining consciousness, the bear tries to enter but to his surprise, it is Vladimir who opens the door and attacks him with a torch, listing all his crimes. Then, seeing the Prince challenge Kurya, Krizhva gives the leader of the Pechenegs the advantage by having him surrounded by a dark fog. But he soon realizes that Oten and Bluden's father counter his magic by summoning the light. Wanting to attack him from behind, he is attacked by surprise by Aleksha who has overcome his fear of the sinister priest. This gives the benevolent priest time to avoid getting hit. Krivzha tries to stab him with his sharp staff, but the other priest manages to hold him back. After a short run, Krivzha accidentally throws his staff into the tree, which has turned to light upon contact with the kind priest-magician. The light immediately seizes Krivzha and disintegrates him, putting an end to his threat and the evil he represents for all.
Personality[]
Krivzha can simply be represented as a man who will do absolutely anything to gain power, even the most morally reprehensible things. To this end, he is very good at manipulation and does not hesitate to deceive, betray, corrupt and provoking tensions between people. His relationships with Kurya is just professional, as he is useful to help in his quest to rule the Rus Empire. Krivzha has a God complex, proclaiming himself to be the Law and above Perun himself, who is the supreme authority among the Slavic gods. He holds xenophobic views for strangers, Greeks in particular. Because of all this, he is a psychopath and a sadist, holding no remorse at all for his crimes and even relishing in them.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Although he is named Krivzha in the generic and in the movie, he is actually nameless since Krivzha is the name given to him because he took the path of evil. If he had taken the path of good, his name would have been Pravzha.
- Unlike the majority of the movie' characters, Krivzha is totally fictional and has never existed in the real world.