In 1200, he was sent by his father to rule the town of Pereiaslav near the Kypchak steppes. Six years later, he was summoned by boyars of Halych to rule their city but could not effectively claim the throne. Thereupon he was sent to take Ryazan, but the stubborn opposition of the inhabitants led to the city being burnt. In 1209, Vsevolod sent Yaroslav to oppose Mstislav the Bold in Novgorod. After several battles, the two princes made peace, whereby Yaroslav married Mstislav's daughter.