Roman was the second son of Mikhail Vsevolodovich (who later became prince of Chernigov, and grand prince of Kiev) by his wife, Elena Romanovna (or Maria Romanovna), a daughter of prince Roman Mstislavich of Halych. His mother most likely persuaded her husband to name their second son after her father.
He was prince of Chernigov (1246/1247 – after 1288), and of Bryansk (1246 – after 1288). On September 20, 1246, Mikhail Vsevolodovich was executed by the Tatars. Roman’s patrimony was Bryansk which controlled the water routes from Chernihiv (today Chernihiv in Ukraine) to Smolensk and across the Vyatichi lands to Suzdalia.
The Lyubetskiy sinodik and the Ermolinskiy Chronicle identify him as the prince of Chernihiv.
In the light of Batu Khan’s directive that only those princes who submitted to him would receive a yarlik (a patent), Roman obviously visited the khan after his father’s execution. The chronicles do not report his visit, but John de Plano Carpini alludes to lieutenant
And leaving Comania we met Duke Roman who was going to the Tartars with his retinue, and Duke Oleg who was leaving with his. In fact the ambassador of the Duke of Chernigov left Comania with us and went a long way through Russia with us, and all of these are Ruthenian dukes.
If, as is most likely the case, this reference was to Roman, Batu Khan gave him the yarlik not only for his patrimonial domain of Bryansk, but also for Chernihiv.
On the other hand, other chronicles never refer to Roman as the prince of Chernigov. Available evidence suggests that, even though he held the yarlik for Chernihiv, the town was probably occupied by Batu Khan’s official (baskak), who requisitioned it for himself. Therefore Roman was merely the titular prince of Chernigov.
Nevertheless, he was probably instrumental in having the bishop of Chernigov transferred to Bryansk.
In 1288, according to an account of the foundation of the Uspenskiy Svenskiy Monastery in Bryansk, Roman became blind and was cured through the intervention of an icon of the Mother of God. In thanksgiving for his cure, he founded the Uspenskiy Monastery near the Desna River.
According to some accounts, the Tatars killed him at the Golden Horde.
