Yes there might well have been. The *"Drinking is the joy of all Rus'. We cannot exist without that pleasure."-*remark is well known (Vladimir upon hearing the accounts of his envoys to the Muslim bulgarians along the Volga described, basically, as sad and smelly). According to the same sources (The tale of bygone years) the envoys settled on Eastern Orthodox Christianity over the German Christianity after visiting Constantinopel and hearing a sermon at the Hagia Sophia. The envoys were so impressed that they told Vladimir "We knew not whether we were in Heaven or on Earth… We only know that God dwells there among the people, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations." This impressed Vladimir a great deal and according to this version of the story, Vladimir subsequently settled on Eastern Orthodoxy, boldly negotiated for the hand of the Imperial Princess Annas hand (Emperor Basil II's sister) and subsequently married her and Christianized the nation.

Does that sound a little too fairy tale-ish? A little too much like a story written by the victor? It might well be. There is another account. One written by the arabs.

Yaḥya ibn Saʿīd al-Anṭākī (aka Yahya of Antioch, physician and historian) wrote a different account and it's worth keeping in mind that he had no interest in villifying Vladimir as he was a Christian himself. Interestingly his account matches that of other sources in the arab world, both christian like George Elmacin (aka Ibn al-'Amid) and muslim like Sheikh Shams al-Dimashqi and Ali Ibn al-Athir.

In their accounts the story has a different element. One that includes a more turbulent history of the Byzantine empire and two men called Bardas Phokas and Bardas Skleros. Both these men were Byzantine Generals from great imperial families and both had ties to the imperial family and (perhaps) legitimate claims to the throne. I won't go super far into Byzantine history but basically:

Bardas Phokas revolts against his cousine (then Emperor John I Tzimiskes), Bardas Skleros (who was a close ally of John and a proven General in the fighting against the Kievan Rus) marches to face him and effectively puts down the rebellion very quickly. Bardas Phokas is forced into exile.

Then John dies and Bardas Skleros revolts (after having been deposed from his position as General of the East). He marches on Byzantium. Bardas Phokas is brought back from exile with the promise that he will fight Bardas Skleros. The two meet in a series of battles. Records are a little fuzzy as to where, when, who won and what the fuck happened but they generally agree that they did happen and ended with Skleros and Phokas meeting in single combat where Skleros was badly wounded and forced to flee the field, effectively routing his army and ending the rebellion.

We good on the Bardas-boys now? No. Bardas Phokas subsequently rebels against Basil II, recalls Bardas Skleros who was exiled in Baghdad and has him raise an army in support only to then imprison him. Bardas Phokas does what Skleros did before him which is take control of the East and march on Byzantium. So far so good.

Now, this is where the Arab chronicles differ a little from the Kievan accounts. Let's see if we can spot the difference.

Basil II realizes he's up shit creek and short of allies. He looks around for anyone who might be willing to support him and his eyes land on... Vladimir the Great. True, Vladimir is a barbarian, a historical enemy of Byzantium and so on but he has other qualities too, redeeming qualities in the eyes of Basil II. In fact, Vladimir has 6-7000 redeeming qualities in the form of Vangarian warriors. According to the Arabs, Vladimir sent these in support of Basil in exchange for his sisters hand and accepted Chirstianity as part of the package so that he could marry a Princess of Byzantium.

But what about the Bardas boys? Well. Phokas went and got himself killed when he tried en encore of his single combat with Skleros except much more tragically. He charged forward against Basil II, has a seizure, fell from his horse and died. Bardas Skleros takes over the rebellion after Phokas' death but it doesn't last long. The exact place and time of the surrender is unknown but there were no more major battles, presumably most of the troops melted away with the death of Bardas Phokas. Bardas Skleros too met a sand end. He died in semi-captivity in Thrace, a "blind and broken man".

EDIT: Fourteen Byzantine Rulers by Michael Psellus is a fantastic book. The history of the Byzantine Empire is, periodically, so interesting. There is material for a great Hollywood movie in this story alone.