Many facts from the life of one of the greatest rulers of Russia are still unknown to this day. Princess Olga, whose brief biography has many "white spots", is today one of the most odious people

Origin of Princess Olga

Historians and researchers of Olga's life and work have not yet come to a consensus about her origin. Several sources of those years give different information about the origin of the future wife of Grand Duke Igor.

So, one of the recognized sources of those times - "The Tale of Bygone Years" - indicates that the future Princess Olga, whose brief biography does not give accurate data about her parents, was brought from Pskov.

Another source - "The Life of Princess Olga" - claims that she was born on Pskov land, in the village of Vybuty. commoner, which is why the names of her parents remained unknown.

The Jokimov Chronicle mentions that the future wife of the Prince of Kyiv was of the noble Izborsky family, and her roots go back to the Varangians.

Another version: Olga is the daughter

Marriage

Igor's acquaintance with his future wife is also shrouded in a mass of inaccuracies and mysteries. The "Life" says that the future Princess Olga, whose brief biography is sometimes presented inconsistently in different sources, met her future husband in Pskov, where the prince was hunting. He needed to cross the river, and, seeing the boat, Igor got into it. After the prince discovered that his ferryman was a beautiful girl. She refused all courtship of her passenger. And when the time came to choose a bride for the prince, he remembered the girl in the boat and sent messengers after her with a marriage proposal. So Olga became the wife of the Russian. Princess Kyiv, whose brief biography has since been traced more clearly, was a good and wise wife. Soon she gave birth to Igor's son - Svyatoslav.

The murder of Prince Igor

Prince Igor was a great conqueror, he constantly raided neighboring lands with his retinue, collecting tribute from weak tribes. One of these campaigns became fatal for the Russian prince. In 945, Igor and his retinue went to the neighboring Drevlyans for the due tribute. Taking away a lot of wealth, destroying villages and desecrating the local population, the Russians went home. However, on the way back, the prince with a small number of soldiers decided to return and again rob the Drevlyane lands. But the local men, making sure that the prince was coming with a small army, attacked him and killed him.

Revenge on the Drevlyans

Upon learning of the death of her husband at the hands of the Drevlyans, Olga grieved for a long time. Princess Kyiv, whose brief biography is described in The Tale of Bygone Years, turned out to be a wise wife and ruler. According to the customs of that time, it was acceptable. Naturally, Olga could not get around this tradition. Gathering a squad, She began to wait. Soon, ambassadors from the Drevlyans came with a proposal for a wedding for the sake of uniting the Russian and Drevlyan lands. The princess agreed - this was her revenge.

The gullible Drevlyans believed her, entered the capital, but were captured, thrown into a pit and covered with earth. So, some of the most daring and brave Drevlyans were destroyed. The second batch of ambassadors was also killed by cunning - they were burned in a bathhouse. When Olga and her retinue approached the gates of Iskorosten, the main city of the Drevlyans, under the pretext of celebrating a feast (commemoration) for the prince, she drugged her enemies, and the retinue chopped them down. According to the chroniclers, about five thousand Drevlyans died then.

In 946, the princess went with an army to the Drevlyane lands, destroyed them, collected taxes and established a mandatory, fixed tax rate, but she did not succeed in occupying Iskorosten. The city was impregnable. Then Olga burned the city to the ground with the help of pigeons and sparrows, tying a burning cloth to their paws. Schoolchildren are told who Princess Olga is. The short biography for elementary school children omits the full story of revenge. The attention is mainly paid to the years of her reign and the adoption of the Christian faith.

Princess Olga: brief biography, years of reign

After the death of Igor, their son Svyatoslav became his successor, but in fact all power was concentrated in the hands of his mother, both while he was young and after he came of age. Svyatoslav was a warrior, and spent most of his time on campaigns. Landscaping and controlled territories were carried out by Princess Olga. A brief biography of the ruler indicates that this woman founded several cities, including Pskov. Everywhere she ennobled her lands, erected walls around large villages, built churches in honor of Christian saints. During the reign of Olga, excessive taxes were replaced by fixed fees.

The foreign policy of the princess also deserves attention. Olga strengthened ties with Germany and Byzantium. This was facilitated, first of all, by her adoption of the Christian faith.

Baptism of Princess Olga

Princess Olga was named the first sign of Christianity on Russian soil. A short biography for grade 4 pays special attention to this event. In the written sources of past years, there is no single date for the adoption of Christianity by the princess. Some say 955, others say 957.

Having visited Constantinople, Olga was not only baptized in the Christian faith, but also renewed the trade agreements signed by her late husband. The princess was baptized by VII himself and the priest Theophylact. They named her Elena (according to Christian custom).

Returning home, Olga tried in every possible way to introduce her son Svyatoslav to the new faith, but the prince was not imbued with this idea and remained a pagan, fearing the condemnation of the squad. And yet, he did not forbid his mother to build cathedrals and churches. Olga remained in Kyiv, actively participated in the upbringing of her grandchildren. Perhaps it was this fact that led to the fact that the son of Svyatoslav, Vladimir, baptized Russia in 988, thereby uniting it.

In 968, the Pechenegs attacked the Russian land. Olga was in the besieged capital along with her grandchildren. She sent a messenger for Svyatoslav, who at that time was on another campaign. The prince arrived home, defeated the Pechenegs, but Olga asked her son not to plan another campaign, as she was seriously ill and foresaw the near end. In 969, Princess Olga died and was buried according to the Christian rite. The legend says that the relics of the Grand Duchess were incorruptible.

In the 16th century, Olga was canonized as a saint.

Princess Olga is one of the outstanding and mysterious personalities on the throne of Kiev. She ruled Russia for 15 years: from 945 to 960. And she became famous as the first woman ruler, as a firm, decisive politician and as a reformer. But some facts of her affairs and life are very contradictory, and many points have not been clarified so far. This allows you to question not only its political activity, but its very existence. Let's take a look at the data that has come down to us.

We can find information about Olga’s life in the “Book of Powers” ​​(1560-1563), which gives a systematic presentation of Russian history, in the “Tale of Bygone Years”, in the collection “On the Ceremonies of the Byzantine Court” by Konstantin Porphyrogenitus, in Radziwillovskaya and in some others. annals. Some of the information that can be gleaned from them is controversial, and sometimes directly opposite.

Personal life

The biggest doubts are the dates of the birth of the princess. Some chroniclers report the year 893, but then she would have married at the age of ten, and gave birth to her first son at 49. Therefore, this date seems unlikely. Modern historians put forward their dating: from 920 to 927-928, but confirmation of these guesses is nowhere to be found.

Olga's nationality also remained unclear. She is called a Slav from Pskov (or from ancient times near Pskov), a Varangian (due to the similarity of her name with the Old Norse Helga), and even a Bulgarian. This version was put forward by Bulgarian historians, having translated the ancient spelling of Pskov Pleskov as Pliska, the capital of what was then Bulgaria.

Rod Olga also causes controversy. It is customary to consider her an ignorant family, but there is the Joachim Chronicle (although its authenticity is in doubt), which tells about the princely origin of the princess. Some other chronicles, also controversial, confirm the conjecture that Olga was supposedly the daughter of Prophetic Oleg, regent Igor Rurikovich.

Olga's marriage is the next controversial fact. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, the wedding took place in 903. There is a beautiful legend about the unintentional meeting of Igor and Olga in the forests near Pskov. Allegedly, the young prince was crossing the river on a ferry, which was ruled by a beautiful girl in men's clothes - Olga. He proposed to her - she refused, but later their marriage still took place. Other chronicles report a legend about intentional marriage: the regent Oleg himself chose Igor's wife - a girl named Prekrasa, to whom he gave his name.

We cannot know anything about Olga's later life. Only the fact of the birth of her first son is known - approximately 942. In chronicles, she reappears only after the death of her husband in 945. As you know, Igor Rurikovich died while collecting tribute in the Drevlyane lands. His son was then a three-year-old child, and Olga took over the board.

Beginning of the reign

Olga began with the massacre of the Drevlyans. Ancient chroniclers claim that the Drevlyan prince Mal twice sent matchmakers to her with an offer to marry him. But the princess refused, cruelly killing the ambassadors. Then she made two military campaigns in the lands of Mala. During this time, more than 5,000 Drevlyans were killed and their capital, the city of Iskorosten, was destroyed. This begs the question: how, after that, Olga was canonized as a Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles and was called Saint?

The subsequent reign of the princess was more humane - she set the first example of building stone buildings (the Kyiv Palace and Olga's country residence), traveled around the lands of Novgorod and Pskov, and established the amount of tribute and the place of its collection. But some scientists doubt the truth of these facts.

Baptism in Constantinople

All sources name only the approximate date, place and godchildren of Olga, which also raises many questions. But most of them agree that she accepted the Christian faith in 957 in Constantinople, and the Byzantine emperor Roman II and Patriarch Polievkt became her godchildren. Slavic chronicles even cite a legend about how the emperor wanted to take Olga as his wife, but she outwitted him twice and left him with nothing. But in the collection of Konstantin Porphyrogenitus it is indicated that Olga was already baptized during the visit.

Assumptions

Of course, such contradictions in the sources can be explained by the antiquity of Olga's era. But it can be assumed that the chronicles tell us about two (or even more) women of the same name. After all, then in Russia there was a custom of polygamy, and there is evidence of several wives of Igor. Maybe the prince in 903 married one Olga of one origin, and another Olga of a different origin gave birth to him Svyatoslav. This easily explains the confusion with the year of her birth, the date of her marriage and the birth of her son.

And in the same way, I would like to believe that a completely different Olga was canonized as a saint, not the one who carried out the brutal reprisals against the Drevlyans.

Name: Princess Olga (Olga)

Date of Birth: 920

Age: 49 years old

Place of Birth: Vybuty, Pskov region

Place of death: Kyiv

Activity: princess of Kyiv

Family status: widow

Princess Olga - biography

In the history of ancient Russia there are unconditional heroes and heroines, whose biographies are based only on the legends preserved by the annals. The most mysterious of these legends is associated with Princess Olga. Her date of birth, origin, and even her name remain the subject of controversy, and many of her exploits do not agree with the title of saint assigned to her.

Olga first appeared on the pages of history in 903. The Tale of Bygone Years retained a meager mention of this: “Igor, I’ll grow up ... and bring him a wife from Pleskov, named Olga.” We are talking about Igor, the son of Rurik, who was not yet the prince of Kyiv - this title was borne by his tutor Oleg the Prophet. Later, a beautiful legend was born that Olga was a carrier in the Pskov region.

Once, while hunting, Igor needed to cross the river, and he called a boat, which was driven by a beautiful girl. In the middle of the way, the loving prince began to speak immodest speeches to her, but the girl answered: “Why are you embarrassing me, prince? Even if I am young and ignorant, but know: it is better for me to throw myself into the river than to endure reproach!” Ashamed, Igor generously paid the carrier and said goodbye to her. And then, when the time came for him to marry, he remembered the Pskovite woman and took her as his wife.

In another legend, before marriage, Olga was called Beautiful or Preslava, and received a new name in honor of Oleg, who arranged her marriage to Igor. And she was not a carrier at all, but a noble person, the granddaughter of the legendary Novgorod prince Gostomysl. This is more like the truth - princely marriages were already concluded by calculation, and the "Varangian guest" Igor needed to establish his power in the Russian lands as firmly as possible. However, according to chronicles, Igor's father Rurik died in 879, which means that at the time of the wedding, the "young man" Igor was already thirty years old, and Olga, according to the same chronicle, gave birth to Svyatoslav's first child only in 942, that is, when she was... over 55 years old.

Most likely, the marriage of Igor and Olga took place much later than the annalistic date, and the princess herself was born around 920. But Igor at that time was still well over forty. Why didn't he get married before? And if he was married, where did his heirs go? There may be two answers. Igor could very well not be the son of Rurik, but an impostor, a protege of the cunning Oleg. Perhaps, as pagans used to do, Igor had other wives and children, but Olga managed to get them out of the way. Both are unprovable, although the annals mention the names of princely relatives who disappeared no one knows where. True, this happened already after Igor became the prince of Kyiv in 912, replacing the mysteriously deceased Oleg.

It was probably then that, in order to strengthen his power, he married Olga. And she was by no means a simple carrier - especially from Pskov, which, according to archaeologists, did not exist at that time. The chronicle name of Pskov "Pleskov" is very similar to the name of the first Bulgarian capital Pliska (Pliskovy). Bulgaria in the 10th century was well known to the Russians, inhabited by a kindred Slavic people and ruled by Simeon, who in 919 assumed the title of king.

He could well, as a sign of friendship, marry his daughter or niece to the prince of Kyiv - otherwise, why later did Olga’s son Svyatoslav consider Bulgaria his “fatherland”? When he came there with an army, the country submitted to him without a fight - is it not because the Bulgarians considered the young prince to be their blood? In addition, before marriage, Olga was called Preslava - this is a Bulgarian name, which later became the name of the new capital of the country. The Bulgarian word "boyar" also came into use in Russia from the time of Olga and Svyatoslav, as did the name Boris, which belonged to the father of Tsar Simeon. Olga's second son was named Gleb - this name also came from Bulgaria.

And yet it is impossible to say with absolute certainty that Olga is a Bulgarian princess. In the Bulgarian chronicles there is no her name, as well as the mention of the wedding of the royal relative with the Kyiv prince. Yes, and the behavior of the princess does not resemble soft Slavs, but harsh Norman Valkyries. But the Bulgarian version seems to be the most probable - also because of this. that the Bulgarians, unlike the Russians and Scandinavians, were already Orthodox, and Olga felt a deep attraction to this religion.

Throughout the long reign of Igor, Olga remained in the shadow of her husband. However, while the prince disappeared on long campaigns, it was she who had to deal with the daily affairs of the country. And in 945, when Igor died at the hands of the Drevlyans, the issue of power in Kyiv was not discussed - it was entirely concentrated in the hands of Olga, who spoke on behalf of the young son of Svyatoslav.

It is difficult to judge from the annals what Russia was in that period. The tribal principalities of which it consisted were very conditionally subordinate to Kyiv. Only during the annual "polyudya" - the collection of tribute - did they show obedience to the prince. Or disobedience, like the Drevlyans: when Igor wanted to collect additional tribute from them, they said the famous phrase: “If we don’t kill him, then he will destroy us all.” The prince, the winner of Byzantium, did not expect any resistance from a small forest tribe and easily fell into a trap. The Greeks, having learned about his death “in the trees” (that is, among the Drevlyans), composed a legend that the prince was tied by the legs to young trees and thus torn in two.

Having killed the prince, the Drevlyans decided to take possession of his wife and all his property. This was the custom of those times, but Olga did not recognize these customs.
Having met the Drevlyansk ambassadors in Kyiv, who arrived to woo her for Prince Mal, she ordered them to be thrown into a pit and buried alive. The slow-witted Drevlyans sent a second embassy, ​​which Olga locked in a bathhouse and suffocated with a ferry. After that, in memory of her husband, she arranged a feast for the noble Drevlyans and killed them. Then she set off with an army on a campaign against the Drevlyansk capital Iskorosten, taking with her the three-year-old Svyatoslav.

Having besieged the city, she demanded tribute from the inhabitants - three doves from the yard. Having received the birds, she tied burning torches to them and launched them back into the city, and they burned Iskorosten with all its inhabitants. Olga gave the surviving Drevlyans into slavery, and distributed their lands to those close to her. Together with his subjects, Prince Mal died, and a Kyiv governor was planted in the Drevlyane land. After that, Olga, with all possible energy, set about arranging the rest of her possessions, setting up tribute collection points throughout Russia - graveyards.

From now on, Olga's messengers no longer needed to travel around the possessions, knocking out taxes from subjects - they were delivered on their own, which was easier and safer. However, the princess tried to make the tribute not too heavy. The author of Olga's life emphasized that she herself "has been living all over the Russian land, tributes and lessons are easy to set."

In foreign policy, the princess also preferred to act softly. Khazaria, to which Russia until recently was subordinate, was busy with the war with the Arab Caliphate. There was no need to be afraid of the Scandinavian Vikings, all of whose forces were thrown into raids in England and France. Byzantium remained, which did not allow the Russians to the Black Sea trade routes. In 955 Olga went on a visit to Constantinople. Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, according to the chronicler, "seeing the goodness of the land with great lyceum and intelligence," offered to become her godfather. Olga agreed, and after baptism, when Konstantin suddenly offered her a hand and heart, she stated that he baptized her and called her daughter, so marriage with her would be incest. The emperor was forced to admit: "Olga outwitted me (outwitted) me."

Of course, this is a legend composed to emphasize the independence of the Russian princess, who flatly refused to recognize the supreme power of her "godfather". However, the very fact of Olga's visit to Constantinople is beyond doubt. Emperor Constantine mentions him in the book “On the Management of the Empire”, without saying anything about his “matchmaking” - after all, at that time he was happily married to Elena Lakapin, who bore him four children.

Olga returned to Kyiv together with Orthodox priests, who began to introduce Christianity in Russia. The princess wisely judged that the new faith could unite the state much better than pagan tribal beliefs. According to some reports, soon the first Christian church appeared in Kyiv. Presumably, it was erected in the suburban Vyshgorod, where the fortified princely residence was located. Kyiv itself then consisted of several settlements inhabited by Khazars, Varangians, Slavs and other multilingual population, which had yet to merge into a single ancient Russian people. This was greatly facilitated by the princess with her Christian pathos, which, according to the testament of the Gospel, did not distinguish between "neither a Greek nor a Jew."

To Olga's chagrin, her son Svyatoslav did not share her Christian sentiments. The young man spent all his time with the combatants in violent pleasures - feasts, hunting and military games. She tried to teach her son the basics of faith, saying: "I have known God, my son, and I rejoice, if you know, you will rejoice." He answered: “How can I accept the new faith alone, if my squad starts laughing at me?” And then he got completely angry and stopped listening to his mother's sermons. In 965, he dared to oppose the previously invincible Khazars, weakened by constant wars. The campaign ended with an unexpected victory - the Khazar capital Belaya Vezha (Sarkel) fell. In the eyes of its neighbors, Russia finally established itself as an independent state.

This strengthening of Russia led to a cooling in Olga's relations with Byzantium. Even earlier, her "fiance" Konstantin asked her for the soldiers promised under the treaty, and Olga replied: "If you stand with me in Pochaina as I do in the Court, then I will give it to you." Comparing the Kyiv river Pochaina with the harbor of Constantinople, the princess expressed her claims to her equality with the emperor. But he endured the insult and, apparently, agreed with the "bride" - in any case, the Russian troops have since participated on the side of Byzantium in many wars.

But Olga did not trust the Greeks too much and in 959 sent an embassy to the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. He sent Catholic missionaries led by Bishop Adalbert to Russia, but they were met with a cold reception in Kyiv. Olga quickly realized that the strict spiritual control of the Pope could limit the power of the Kyiv princes much more than the soft influence of the Orthodox Byzantium, and expelled the papal representatives.

But there was no peace with Constantinople either. In 967, Prince Svyatoslav went on a campaign against Bulgaria and began to seriously threaten the Greek possessions and Constantinople itself. The new emperor Nikephoros II Phocas took action - he bribed the Pecheneg leaders, asking them to attack Russia. The Pechenegs with a large army approached the walls of Kyiv, where Olga and her grandchildren were. By that time, Svyatoslav managed to marry Princess Predslava, who gave birth to his sons Yaropolk and Oleg. Another son, Vladimir, was born to the prince by the housekeeper Malusha.

Olga led the defense of Kyiv. When the city began to fail from hunger, she found a boy who knew the Pecheneg language and sent him for help. Passing through the enemy camp with a bridle, the young man asked if anyone had seen a horse. Only when the youth rushed to the Dnieper and swam, the Pechenegs realized their mistake and opened archery. The Kyivian managed to cross to the other side, where there was a detachment that did not take part in the campaign of Svyatoslav. While the detachment made its way to the city, Olga managed to send a messenger to her son with bitter words: “You, prince, are looking for someone else's land. Don't you feel sorry for your fatherland, your old mother and your children? Having received this news, Svyatoslav and his retinue hurried to Kyiv and drove the Pechenegs away.

The strain of forces during the siege turned out to be fatal for Olga. She was, if not seventy years old. as follows from the chronicle story, then about fifty, for that time - a deep old age. In the summer of 969, she fell ill, and the prince postponed another campaign to Bulgaria. to see the mother on her last journey. She died on July 11, and "her son, and her grandchildren, and all the people, wept for her with a great cry, and carried her and buried her in the chosen place." Olga bequeathed not to perform a pagan feast on her, but to bury her according to the Orthodox rite. The author of The Tale of Bygone Years concludes the story about the princess with the words: “She was before the herald of the Christian land, like a daylight before the sun, like the dawn before dawn, and shone among the pagans, like pearls in the mud.”

In 1000, Prince Vladimir, after a fratricidal feud, replaced his father, who died at the hands of the Pechenegs, ordered the transfer of Olga's remains to the Kyiv Church of the Tithes. Immediately, rumors about miracles spread throughout Russia: if someone came to the tomb of the princess with firm faith, a window on the top of the sarcophagus opened, and a wonderful light poured out from there. Many healings took place at the tomb, and soon the Church recognized Olga as a saint and equal to the apostles. It is not known when her official canonization took place, but for a long time the princess was a beloved Russian saint. The cruel revenge on the Drevlyans was forgotten, but “light tributes”, alms and feats of piety were remembered. Whoever Olga was - a Bulgarian princess, a Pskov commoner or a northern Valkyrie - she fully quenched the craving of the people for a merciful, albeit punishing, but fair power. This is how it remained in the memory of the people.

On the ninth of September, on Wednesday, a reception was held, in everything similar to those described above, on the occasion of the arrival of the Russian Princess Olga. The princess entered with her relatives, the princesses, and her most chosen servants, and she walked ahead of all the other women, and they followed one after another in order; she stopped at the place where the logothete used to offer questions... When the king entered the palace in accordance with the usual order, the second reception took place as follows. In the triclinium of Justinian, an elevation was placed, covered with crimson silk fabrics, and on it was placed a large throne of King Theophilus and a royal golden chair on the side. Two silver organs of two parts (=dimov) were placed below behind two veils, wind instruments were placed outside the veils. The princess, invited from the Auguste, passed through the apse, the hippodrome and the inner passages of the same Auguste and, having entered, sat down in Skily. The empress sat on the aforementioned throne, and her daughter-in-law on a chair. The whole kuvukliy entered and the ranks were introduced by prepositors and ostiari... When the tsar sat down with Augusta and his purple-born children, the princess was invited from the kenurgy triklin and, sitting down at the invitation of the tsar, told him what she wanted.

On the same day, a dinner party was held in the same triclinic of Justinian. The empress and her daughter-in-law sat on the aforementioned throne, and the princess stood to the side ... At the dinner, there were singing churches of St. apostles and st. Sophia and sang royal praises. There were also all sorts of stage performances ... After the king got up from the table, dessert was served in the aristitary, where a small golden table was placed, standing (usually) in pectapyrgy, and dessert was placed on it on dishes decorated with enamel and expensive stones . And the king sat down, Tsar Roman Porphyrogenitus, their purple-born children, daughter-in-law and princess, and it was given to the princess on a golden platter with expensive stones 500 mils, to her six close women 20 mils each. and 18 servants 8 mil.

On October 18, on Sunday, a dinner party took place in the Golden Chamber, and the king sat down with the Russes, and again another dinner was given in the pentacuvuklia of St. Paul, and the empress sat down with her purple-born children, her daughter-in-law and the princess ...

RITUAL BREAKING

At first, the audience was held in the way that was usually customary for foreign rulers or ambassadors of large states. The emperor, seated on his throne in the luxurious hall of Magnavre, exchanged ceremonial greetings with Olga through the logothete. Next to the emperor was the entire composition of the court. The atmosphere was extremely solemn and pompous.

On the same day, another celebration, traditional for receiving distinguished guests, took place - lunch ... But along with this, there were deviations from accepted traditions, violations of the unshakable Byzantine diplomatic ritual were identified, which were absolutely incredible, especially under Constantine VII - their zealous guardian.

At the beginning of the audience, after the courtiers took their places, and the emperor sat on the "throne of Solomon", the veil separating the Russian princess from the hall was pushed back, and Olga moved ahead of her retinue to the emperor. In these cases, usually a foreign representative was brought to the path by two eunuchs, who supported the one who came under the arm. Then the foreign lord or ambassador performed praskipesps - he fell prostrate at the imperial feet. During the reception of the Kievan princess, this order was changed. Olga alone, unaccompanied, approached the throne, did not prostrate before the emperor, as her retinue did, but remained standing and talking with Constantine VII while standing.

Then Olga was received separately by the Empress, whom the Russian princess greeted only with a slight tilt of her head.

"TALE OF TIME YEARS" ABOUT OLGA'S BAPTISM

Olga went to the Greek land and came to Constantinople. There was then Caesar Constantine, the son of Leo. And seeing that she was beautiful in face and very intelligent, the emperor marveled at her mind, talking with her, and said to her: “You are worthy to reign with us in this city.” She, on reflection, answered the Caesar: “I am a pagan; if you want to baptize me, then baptize me yourself, otherwise I will not be baptized.” And the emperor baptized her with the patriarch. [...] And she was given the name Elena in baptism, as well as the ancient queen - the mother of Constantine the Great. And the patriarch blessed her and let her go. After the baptism, the emperor called her and said to her: "I want to take you as a wife." She answered: “How do you want to take me when you yourself baptized me and called me daughter? But Christians do not allow this - you yourself know. And the emperor said to her: "You outwitted me, Olga." And he brought her numerous gifts - gold, and silver, and curtains, and various vessels, and let her go, calling her his daughter. She, having gathered home, came to the patriarch, and asked him to bless the house, and said to him: “My people and my son are pagans, may God save me from all evil.” And the patriarch said: “Faithful child! You were baptized into Christ, and you put on Christ, and Christ will save you ... he will save you from the wiles of the devil and from his nets. And the patriarch blessed her, and she went in peace to her land and came to Kyiv.

THE BAPTISM OF OLGA AND THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF RUSSIA

The hopes of Byzantium for the near baptism of Russia did not come true. The adoption of Christianity turned out to be a long and difficult matter for the Rus. Prince Igor soon died. His widow Olga decided to change her faith only many years after her husband's death. The author of The Tale of Bygone Years recorded the legend that Olga was baptized by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus in Constantinople in 955. However, the chronicle story is permeated with folklore motifs. According to the chronicle, the elderly Olga made such a strong impression on the emperor that he offered to "give" her as a wife. The wise Olga answered: “How do you want me to be buried, having baptized me himself and called me a daughter?” Having refused the "groom", the Russian princess "switched" the tsar himself.

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus mentioned the reception of "Archontes Elga". But he did not know the Christian name of Elena-Elga, and therefore, the princess remained a pagan during a meeting with him in 957. The composition of the Russian retinue suggests that Olga paid a visit to the emperor as a private person. In her entourage there were no ambassadors from the heir of Svyatoslav, Igor's nephews and from King Sveneld. "Sly" from Olga's retinue received as much money as her translators, which accurately reflected their position on the hierarchical ladder.

A German certificate of Olga's baptism has been preserved - the so-called Continuation of the Chronicle of the Region. The chronicle was compiled in the middle of the 10th century. The author of the Continuation was, as is believed, the first Bishop of Kyiv, Adalbert. All this gives the monument an exceptional value. As the German chronicler wrote, in 959, “ambassadors of Helen, the queen of the Rugs (Rus), who was baptized in Constantinople under the Roman Emperor of Constantinople, came to the court of the German emperor Otto I.” The ambassadors "requested that a bishop and priests be appointed to their people." So, Olga - Elena was baptized not under Constantine Porphyrogenitus, but under his son Roman, who ascended the throne after the death of his father in November 959. The chronology of the events described in the German chronicle is doubtful. Olga would not have had time to equip ambassadors to Germany within two incomplete months after her baptism. The delay of Otto I is inexplicable. Having listened to the ambassadors at the end of 959, the emperor granted their request and appointed a bishop to Kyiv only a year later, on Christmas Day 960. Apparently, the chronicler recorded the date of the arrival of the ambassadors inaccurately. German annals of the 11th century, a source of independent origin, preserved the following entry: “960. Ambassadors from the people of Russia came to King Otto. The above text confirms the assumption that the mission of the Rus came to Germany not in 959, but in 960, and by the end of the year Otto announced the appointment of a bishop.

The Russian princess acted in exactly the same way as the Bulgarian Tsar Boris had done before. Having received baptism from an Orthodox Greek patriarch, she immediately invited a Latin pastor. The German bishop, who was supposed to go to Kyiv, died suddenly on February 15, 961, and the rank of bishop of Russia was transferred to the monk Adalbert. He left for Kyiv in 961, and returned home a year later with nothing. An attempt to establish a bishopric in Kyiv failed due to the resistance of the pagan Norman nobility, who ruled the country after the death of Igor. This fact alone destroys the myth about Olga as the ruler of Russia. However, one should not think that the efforts of the princess to plant Christianity in Russia did not produce any results. Already during the first trip of the pagan Elga to Constantinople, “priest Gregory” was in her retinue. And this means that people from Olga's inner circle changed their faith before her. In 967, Pope John XII forbade the appointment to the newly established chair in Prague of persons belonging "to the rite or sect of the Bulgarian or Russian people, or the Slavic language." Probably the largest Christian community of the Rus was in Constantinople, and the Pope was afraid of sending a bishop from Byzantium to Bohemia. In Constantinople, the “baptized Rus” were engaged in various kinds of activities: they traded, served in the imperial palace guard, etc. Relations between Kievan and Constantinople Christians of Russian origin contributed to the Christianization of Kievan Rus.

Olga's influence on management affairs was, apparently, limited. In the year of Igor's death, Prince Svyatoslav turned no less than 8-10 years old. Taking revenge on the Drevlyans for his father, Svyatoslav began the battle by throwing a heavy spear at them. The spear fell at the feet of the horse on which the boy was sitting. By the time the bishop arrived in Kyiv, Svyatoslav was over 20 years old. He has reached adulthood. According to the chronicle, Olga-Elena repeatedly asked her son to change his faith, but he invariably refused her, referring to the opinion of the squad. The young prince could not renounce paganism while the squad and its leaders adhered to the old religion. Two decades later, according to the chronicle legend, Olga's grandson Vladimir ended the conversation about faith with the German ambassadors with a reminder of the grandmother's time: "Go again, as our fathers did not accept the essence of this." Vladimir spoke on behalf of the entire squad. The expression "our fathers" had a very definite meaning in his mouth. Bishop Adalbert was expelled from Kyiv by the whole retinue. According to the Novgorod chronicle, the Kievan princess kept the “elder” in her house a secret from the people. The presbyter was probably Adalbert himself or one of the Latin priests who came with him.
Skrynnikov R.G. Old Russian state

FROM THE LIFE OF THE HOLY GRAND DUCHESS OLGA

... And therefore, after baptism, live for 15 years and please God, and with peace betray your holy and honest soul in the hands of Christ God in the summer of 6477, the month of July on the 11th day. And therefore, much time has passed since the repose of the saint, and her grandson, the blessed Prince Vladimir, I will remember the relics of my holy woman, and I will come to the place myself with the metropolitan and with all the sacred cathedral and with a chimney, and having dug up the earth, and having acquired the honest relics of the holy woman her princess Olga is whole and indestructible to abide. They glorified God, and took the relics, and laid in the church of the Holy Mother of God, in a small stone tomb; and at the top of the tomb of that honest window he created: and there to see the blessed body lying whole and not involved in decay, but shining like the sun. And whoever comes with faith to the tomb of the saint: and the window, even on the tomb of the saint, will open about itself, and they see an honest body and many accept healing without reservation ...

Vasilisa Ivanova

Reading time: 11 minutes

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The mysterious personality of Princess Olga gave rise to many legends and conjectures. Some historians represent her as a cruel Valkyrie, famous for centuries for her terrible revenge for the murder of her husband. Others draw the image of a gatherer of lands, a true Orthodox and saint.

Most likely, the truth lies in the middle. However, something else is interesting: what character traits and life events led this woman to rule the state? After all, almost unlimited power over men - the army was subordinate to the princess, there was not a single rebellion against her rule - not every woman is given. And the glory of Olga is difficult to underestimate: the saint is equal to the apostles, the only one from the Russian lands, is revered by both Christians and Catholics.

Olga's origin: fiction and reality

There are many versions of the origin of Princess Olga. The exact date of her birth is unclear, let's focus on the official version - 920.

It is also unknown about her parents. The earliest historical sources "The Tale of Bygone Years" and "Book of Powers" (XVI century)- they say that Olga was from an humble family of Varangians who settled in the vicinity of Pskov (the village of Vybuty).

Later historical document "Typographic chronicle" (XV century) tells that the girl was the daughter of Prophetic Oleg, the tutor of her future husband, Prince Igor.

Some historians are sure of the noble Slavic origin of the future ruler, who originally bore the name of Beautiful. Others see her Bulgarian roots, allegedly Olga was the daughter of the pagan prince Vladimir Rasate.

Video: Princess Olga

The secret of Princess Olga's childhood is slightly revealed by her first appearance on the stage of historical events at the moment of her acquaintance with Prince Igor.

The most beautiful legend about this meeting is described in the Book of Powers:

Prince Igor, who was crossing the river, saw a beautiful girl in the boatman. However, his harassment was immediately suppressed.

According to the legends, Olga answered: “Let me be young and humble, and alone here, but know that it is better for me to throw myself into the river than to endure reproach.”

From this story, we can conclude that, firstly, the future princess was very beautiful. Her charms were captured by some historians and painters: a young beauty with a graceful figure, cornflower blue eyes, dimples on her cheeks and a thick braid of straw hair. A beautiful image was also obtained by scientists who recreated the portrait of the princess from her relics.

The second thing to note is the complete absence of frivolity and the bright mind of the girl, who at the time of the meeting with Igor was only 10-13 years old.

In addition, some sources indicate that the future princess was literate and knew several languages, which clearly does not correspond to her peasant roots.

Indirectly confirms the noble origin of Olga and the fact that the Rurikovichs wanted to strengthen their power, and they did not need a rootless marriage - and Igor had a wide choice. Prince Oleg had been looking for a bride for his mentor for a long time, but none of them forced the image of the obstinate Olga out of Igor's thoughts.

Olga: the image of the wife of Prince Igor

The union of Igor and Olga was quite prosperous: the prince made trips to neighboring lands, and his loving wife was expecting her husband and managed the affairs of the principality.

Full trust in the pair is also confirmed by historians.

"Joachim Chronicle" says that "then Igor had other wives, but Olga, because of her wisdom, honored her more than others."

The only thing that marred the marriage was the absence of children. The prophetic Oleg, who made numerous human sacrifices to the pagan gods in the name of the birth of an heir to Prince Igor, died without waiting for a happy moment. With the death of Oleg, Princess Olga also lost her newborn daughter.

In the future, the loss of babies became habitual, all children did not live up to a year. Only after 15 years of marriage, the princess gave birth to a healthy, strong son, Svyatoslav.

Death of Igor: the terrible revenge of Princess Olga

The first act of Princess Olga in the role of a ruler, immortalized in the annals, is terrifying. The Drevlyans, who did not want to pay tribute, captured - and literally tore Igor's flesh, tying him to two bent young oaks.

By the way, such an execution was considered “privileged” in those days.

At one point, Olga became a widow, the mother of a 3-year-old heir - and in fact the ruler of the state.

Princess Olga meets the body of Prince Igor. Sketch, Vasily Ivanovich Surikov

The extraordinary mind of the woman manifested itself here too, she immediately surrounded herself with confidants. Among them was the governor Sveneld, who enjoys authority in the princely squad. The army unquestioningly obeyed the princess, and this was necessary for her revenge for her dead husband.

20 ambassadors of the Drevlyans, who arrived to woo Olga for their lord, were first honorably carried in a boat in their arms, and then with her - and buried alive. The ardent hatred of the woman was evident.

Bending over the pit, Olga asked the unfortunates: “Is honor good for you?”

This did not end, and the princess demanded more noble matchmakers. Having heated a bathhouse for them, the princess ordered them to be burned. After such impudent deeds, Olga was not afraid of revenge against her, and went to the lands of the Drevlyans to perform a feast on the grave of her deceased husband. Having drunk 5 thousand enemy soldiers during a pagan ritual, the princess ordered them all to be killed.

Further - worse, and the vengeful widow besieged the Drevlyan capital Iskorosten. After waiting for the surrender of the city all summer, and losing patience, Olga once again resorted to tricks. Having asked for a "light" tribute - 3 sparrows from each house - the princess ordered burning branches to be tied to the paws of birds. The birds flew to their nests - and as a result, they burned the whole city.

At first, it would seem that such cruelty speaks of the inadequacy of a woman, even taking into account the loss of her beloved husband. However, it should be understood that in those days, the more violent the revenge, the more respected the new ruler.

With her cunning and cruel act, Olga established her power in the army and achieved the respect of the people, refusing to remarry.

Wise ruler of Kievan Rus

The threat of the Khazars from the south and the Varangians from the north required the strengthening of princely power. Olga, having traveled even to her distant destinies, divided the lands into plots, established a clear procedure for collecting tribute and put her people in charge, thereby preventing the indignation of the people.

This decision was prompted by the experience of Igor, whose squads robbed according to the principle "as much as they can carry."

It was for her ability to govern the state and prevent problems that Princess Olga was popularly called wise.

Although the son of Svyatoslav was considered the official ruler, Princess Olga herself was in charge of the actual administration of Russia. Svyatoslav followed in the footsteps of his father, and was engaged exclusively in military activities.

In foreign policy, Princess Olga faced a choice between the Khazars and the Varangians. However, the wise woman chose her own path, and turned towards Constantinople (Constantinople). The Greek direction of foreign policy aspirations was beneficial to Kievan Rus: trade developed, and people exchanged cultural values.

Having stayed in Constantinople for about 2 years, the Russian princess was most of all struck by the rich decoration of Byzantine churches and the luxury of stone buildings. Upon returning to her homeland, Olga will begin the widespread construction of stone palaces and churches, including in Novgorod and Pskov possessions.

She was the first to build a city palace in Kyiv and her own country tower.

Baptism and Politics: All for the Good of the State

Olga was persuaded to Christianity by a family tragedy: the pagan gods for a long time did not want to give her a healthy baby.

One of the legends says that in painful dreams the princess saw all the Drevlyans killed by her.

Realizing her craving for Orthodoxy, and realizing that it is beneficial for Russia, Olga decided to be baptized.

AT "Tales of Bygone Years" the story is described when Emperor Konstantin Porphyrogenitus, captivated by the beauty and mind of the Russian princess, offered her a hand and a heart. Again resorting to female cunning, Olga asked the Byzantine emperor to participate in the baptism, and after the ceremony (the princess was named Elena) she announced the impossibility of marriage between the godfather and goddaughter.

However, this story is more likely a folk fiction, according to some sources, at that time the woman was already over 60 years old.

Be that as it may, Princess Olga got herself a powerful ally without transgressing the limits of her own freedom.

Soon the emperor wanted to confirm the friendship between the states in the form of troops sent from Russia. The ruler refused - and sent ambassadors to the rival of Byzantium, the king of the German lands, Otto I. Such a political step showed the whole world the independence of the princess from any - even great - patrons. Friendship with the German king did not work out, Otto, who arrived in Kievan Rus, hastily fled, realizing the pretense of the Russian princess. And soon Russian squads went to Byzantium to the new emperor Roman II, but already as a sign of the goodwill of the ruler Olga.

Sergei Kirillov. Duchess Olga. Baptism of Olga

Returning to her homeland, Olga met fierce resistance to the change of her religion from her own son. Svyatoslav "ridiculed" Christian rituals. At that time, there was already an Orthodox church in Kyiv, but almost the entire population was pagan.

Olga needed wisdom at that moment too. She managed to remain a believing Christian and a loving mother. Svyatoslav remained a pagan, although in the future he treated Christians quite tolerantly.

In addition, having avoided a split in the country by not imposing her faith on the population, the princess at the same time brought the moment of the baptism of Russia closer.

Princess Olga's legacy

Before her death, the princess, complaining about her illnesses, was able to draw her son's attention to the internal administration of the principality, besieged by the Pechenegs. Svyatoslav, who had just returned from the Bulgarian military campaign, postponed a new campaign to Pereyaslavets.

Princess Olga died at the age of 80, leaving her son a strong country and a powerful army. The woman took communion from her priest Gregory and forbade holding a pagan funeral feast. The funeral took place according to the Orthodox rite of burial in the ground.

Already the grandson of Olga, Prince Vladimir transferred her relics to the new Kyiv church of the Holy Mother of God.

According to the words recorded by the eyewitness of those events, the monk Jacob, the body of the woman remained incorrupt.

History does not provide us with clear facts confirming the special holiness of a great woman, with the exception of her incredible devotion to her husband. However, Princess Olga was revered by the people, and various miracles were attributed to her relics.

In 1957, Olga was named Equal-to-the-Apostles, her holiness life was equated with the life of the apostles.

Now St. Olga is revered as the patroness of widows and the protector of newly converted Christians.

Road to glory: Olga's lessons to our contemporaries

Analyzing the scarce and diverging information of historical documents, one can draw certain conclusions. This woman was not a "vengeful monster". Her horrific deeds at the beginning of her reign were dictated solely by the traditions of that time and the strength of the widow's grief.

Although it cannot be written off that only a very strong-willed woman can do this.

Princess Olga was undoubtedly a great woman, and reached the heights of power, thanks to her analytical mindset and wisdom. Not afraid of change and having prepared a reliable rear of loyal comrades-in-arms, the princess was able to avoid a split in the state - and did a lot for its prosperity.

At the same time, a woman never betrayed her own principles and did not allow her own freedom to be infringed.