Ancient chronicles give conflicting information about the place and date of Olga's birth, whether it comes from a princely family or is it of an ignorant family, and disputes about this are still ongoing. Someone calls her the daughter of Prince Oleg the Prophet, other sources believe that her family comes from Bulgaria from Prince Boris. The famous Nestor in the "Tale of Bygone Years" indicates Olga's homeland to a village near Pskov, and that she is from the common people.

Also, in the biography of Princess Olga, only brief information has been preserved.

According to one of the legends, Prince Igor Rurikovich met Olga in the forest when he was having fun with hunting. Having decided to cross the river, he asked Olga, who was passing by on a boat, to carry him, mistaking her for a young man. The girl turned out to be very beautiful, intelligent and pure in her thoughts. Later, Prince Igor married Olga.

The Kiev princess Olga proved herself to be a very wise ruler in Russia. During the military campaigns of Prince Igor, she dealt with political issues, received ambassadors, managed with complainants, governors, and vigilantes. Prince Igor and Princess Olga were not only a happy married couple, but together they ruled the country, sharing managerial responsibilities.

Igor led the war and resolved inter-tribal issues, while Olga was engaged in the internal life of the country.

In 945, Prince Igor was killed by the Drevlyans for re-collecting tribute. Princess Olga brutally took revenge on the rebels, showing cunning and strong will.

To settle the matter with Olga, the Drevlyans sent 20 husbands to her with a proposal to marry their prince Mal. On Ol'gin's order, they were met and carried with honor right in the boats, and at the place of arrival they were thrown into a hole prepared in advance and buried alive.

Then Princess Olga sent her ambassadors to the Drevlyansky land with the demand to send the best husbands for her in order to come to them with great honor. The new ambassadors were flooded with a bathhouse, where they were locked, and then burned.

And again Olga sent ambassadors and demanded to prepare honey to celebrate her husband's grave. The princess arrived with a small retinue. During the funeral feast, the Drevlyans got drunk, and Olga's squad cut them down with swords.

But this was not the end of Princess Olga's revenge against the Drevlyans. She gathered an army and the next year went to the Drevlyansky land. The Drevlyans were defeated, but their main city Korosten was not taken.

Then Olga demanded a tribute from them in the amount of three pigeons and three sparrows from each yard. The besieged residents of the city were delighted with such a small payment and fulfilled her wish. Olga ordered the soldiers to tie pieces of tinder (tinder is a flammable material such as grass, sawdust, bark, paper) to the birds' feet and release them. The birds flew to their nests, and soon Korosten was engulfed in fire. People who fled from the city were killed or enslaved, and a heavy tribute was imposed on the rest.

Having pacified the Drevlyans, the Grand Duchess Olga actively engaged in tax reform. She abolished the polyudya, divided the land into "graveyards" (regions) and established "lessons" (a fixed amount of tax) for each graveyard. The meaning of Princess Olga's reforms was to create an orderly system for collecting tribute, weaken the tribal power and strengthen the authority of the Kiev prince.

The son of Princess Olga Svyatoslav was still small after the death of Prince Igor, so power was concentrated in Olga's hands. And then Olga's reign in Russia continued, since Svyatoslav very often went on military campaigns.

Under Princess Olga, the first stone structures began to be built in Kiev, new cities appeared, surrounded by strong stone walls.

The foreign policy of Princess Olga was carried out not by military methods, but with the help of diplomacy. She strengthened international ties with Germany and Byzantium.

Relations with Greece revealed to Olga how much the Christian faith is higher than the pagan one. In 957, she undertook a trip to Constantinople to be baptized by Emperor Constantine VII himself (although some sources say about his co-ruler Roman II) and Patriarch Theophylact. At baptism, the Kiev princess received the name Elena.

The Byzantine emperor, fascinated by the beauty and intelligence of the Russian princess, decided to take her as his wife. Olga, true to her memory of her husband, managed to reject the offer without offending the emperor.

Olga's attempts to convert her son Svyatoslav to Orthodoxy were not crowned with success, apparently because Svyatoslav was afraid of losing the authority and respect of his squad, although he did not prevent others from converting to Christianity.

The baptism of Princess Olga did not lead to the establishment of Christianity in Russia, but she did big influence on the grandson of Vladimir, who continued her work.

Princess Olga died in 969 in Kiev. And only in 1547 she was recognized as a saint.

History knows many cases when women became heads of states and made them strong and prosperous. One of these rulers was Olga, the princess of Kiev. Little is known about her life, however, from what was learned about her, one can understand how wise and prudent this woman was. Historians say Olga's main merit is that during her reign, Kievan Rus became one of the strongest states of its time.

Olga's date and place of birth

It is not known exactly when Princess Olga of Kiev was born. Her biography has come down to our days only in fragments. Historians suggest that the future princess was born around 890, since the Book of Degree mentions that she died at the age of 80, and the date of her death is known - it is 969. Ancient chronicles name different places of her birth. According to one version, she was from near Pskov, according to another - from Izborsk.

Versions about the origin of the future princess

There is a legend according to which Olga was born in a simple family, and from an early age she worked as a carrier on the river. It was there that Prince Igor of Kiev met her when he was hunting in the Pskov lands. He needed to cross to the other side, and he asked the young man in a boat to transport him. Looking closer, Igor noticed that in front of him was not a young man, but a beautiful fragile girl dressed in men's clothing. She was Olga. The prince liked her very much and he began to pester her, but received a worthy rebuff. Time passed, the time came for Igor to marry, and he remembered the proud Pskov beauty and found her.

There is a legend that completely contradicts the previous one. It says that the Grand Duchess of Kiev Olga came from a noble northern family, and her grandfather was the famous slavic prince Gostomysl. Ancient sources mention that in early years the future ruler of Russia bore the name Prekras, and Olga began to be called only after the wedding with Igor. She received this name in honor of Prince Oleg, who raised her husband.

Olga's life after the wedding with Igor

Olga, Princess of Kiev, married Igor as a very young girl. short biography, which has come down to our days thanks to the "Tale of Bygone Years", says that the date of her marriage is 903. At first, the couple lived separately: Olga ruled Vyshgorod, and her husband ruled Kiev. Besides her, Igor had several more wives. Common child the couple appeared only in 942. This is Svyatoslav - the future prince Kievan Rus, famous for his successful military campaigns.

The terrible revenge of the princess

In 945, Igor went to the Drevlyan lands in the vicinity of Kiev for tribute and was killed there. His son Svyatoslav was at that time only 3 years old, and he could not rule the state, so Princess Olga took the throne. Kievan Rus passed completely into its subordination. The Drevlyans, who killed Igor, decided that they were no longer obliged to pay tribute to the capital. Moreover, they wanted to marry Olga, their prince Mal, and thus take possession of the Kiev throne. But it was not there. Sly Olga lured the ambassadors, whom the Drevlyans had sent to her as matchmakers, into a pit and ordered to fill them up alive. The princess turned out to be ruthless to the following Drevlyan visitors. Olga invited them to the bathhouse, ordered the servants to set fire to it and burn the guests alive. Such terrible was the revenge of the princess to the Drevlyans for the death of her husband.

But Olga did not calm down on this. She went to the Drevlyansky lands to celebrate a funeral rite (funeral rite) at the grave of Igor. The princess took a small squad with her. Having invited the Drevlyans to the funeral, she gave them drink, and then ordered them to be chopped with swords. Nestor the lithographer in the "Tale of Bygone Years" indicated that Olga's warriors then killed about 5 thousand people.

However, even the murder of so many Drevlyans seemed to the Kiev princess insufficient revenge, and she decided to destroy their capital - Iskorosten. In 946, Olga, together with her young son Svyatoslav and the squad, began a military campaign against the enemy's lands. Having surrounded the walls of Iskorosten, the princess ordered from each court to bring her 3 sparrows and 3 doves. Residents carried out her order, hoping that after that she would leave their city with an army. Olga ordered to bind the smoldering dry grass to the paws of the birds and release them back to Iskorosten. Pigeons and sparrows flew to their nests, and the city burst into flames. Only after the capital of the Drevlyansky principality was destroyed, and its inhabitants were killed or given into slavery, Princess Olga calmed down. Her revenge turned out to be cruel, but in those days it was considered the norm.

Domestic and foreign policy

If we characterize Olga as the ruler of Russia, then, of course, she surpassed her husband in matters concerning domestic policy state. The princess managed to subjugate the rebellious East Slavic tribes to her power. All lands dependent on Kiev were divided into administrative units, at the head of which tiuns (rulers) were appointed. She also carried out a tax reform, as a result of which the size of the polyudye was established, and graveyards were organized to collect it. Olga began stone town planning in the Russian lands. During her reign, the city palace and the prince's country house were erected in Kiev.

In foreign policy, Olga headed for rapprochement with Byzantium. But at the same time, the princess strove for her lands to remain independent of this great empire... The rapprochement of the two states led to the fact that Russian troops repeatedly took part in the wars waged by Byzantium.

Olga's adoption of Christianity

Population Ancient Rus professed a pagan faith, worshiping a large number of deities. The first ruler who contributed to the spread of Christianity in the East Slavic lands was Olga. The princess of Kiev received him in about 955 during her diplomatic visit to Byzantium.
Nestor the lithographer describes Olga's baptism in his Tale of Bygone Years. The Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus liked the princess very much, and he wanted to marry her. However, Olga answered him that a Christian cannot intermarry with a pagan, and first he must wrap her in a new faith, thus becoming her godfather. The emperor did whatever she wanted. After the rite of baptism, Olga received a new name - Elena. Having fulfilled the request of the princess, the emperor again asked her to become his wife. But this time the princess did not agree, explaining her refusal by the fact that after baptism, Constantine became her father, and she became his daughter. Then the Byzantine ruler understood that Olga had outwitted him, but he could not do anything.

Returning home, the princess began to make attempts to spread Christianity in the lands under her control. Olga's contemporaries mentioned this in ancient chronicles. The princess of Kiev even tried to convert her son Svyatoslav into Christianity, but he refused, believing that his warriors would laugh at him. Under Olga, Christianity in Russia did not receive much popularity, since the Slavic tribes, professing the pagan faith, opposed baptism in every possible way.

The last years of the princess's life

The adoption of Christianity changed Olga for the better. She forgot about cruelty, became more kind and merciful to others. The princess spent a lot of time in prayers for Svyatoslav and other people. She was the ruler of Russia until about 959, since her grown-up son was constantly on military campaigns, and he had no time to study state affairs... Svyatoslav finally succeeded his mother on the throne in 964. The princess died on July 11, 969. Her remains rest in the Tithe Church. Olga was later canonized as an Orthodox saint.

Memory of Olga

It is not known what Olga, the princess of Kiev, looked like. Photos of portraits of this great woman and the legends about her testify to her extraordinary beauty, which conquered many of her contemporaries. During her years in power, Olga managed to strengthen and elevate Kievan Rus, to make other states reckon with it. The memory of the faithful wife of Prince Igor is forever immortalized in painting, literary works and films. Olga entered world history as a wise and intelligent ruler who has made a lot of efforts to achieve the greatness of her state.

Princess Olga's reign (briefly)

The reign of Princess Olga - a brief description

Researchers differ when it comes to the date, as well as the place of birth of Princess Olga. Ancient chronicles do not give us accurate information, whether she was from a noble family or from a simple family. Some are inclined to believe that Olga was the daughter of the Grand Duke Prophetic Oleg, while others claim that her family comes from the Bulgarian prince Boris. The author of the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years" directly says that Olga's homeland is a small village near Pskov and that she is "from a kind of simple".

According to one version, Prince Igor Rurikovich saw Olga in the forest, where he was hunting game. Deciding to cross a small river, the prince asked for help from a girl passing by on the boat, whom he initially took for a young man. The girl turned out to be pure thoughts, beautiful and intelligent. Later, the prince decided to take her as his wife.

Princess Olga after the death of her husband (and also during the reign of Igor in Kiev) from the Drevlyans, proved herself to be a firm and wise ruler of Russia. She dealt with political issues, managed with vigilantes, governors, complainants, and also received ambassadors. Very often, when Prince Igor went on military campaigns, his duties completely fell on the shoulders of the princess.

After Igor was killed in 945 for re-collecting tribute, Olga severely repaid them for the death of her husband, showing unprecedented cunning and will. Three times she killed the Drevlyan ambassadors, after which she gathered an army and went to war against the Drevlyans. After Olga was unable to take the main city of Korosten (while the rest of the settlements were completely destroyed), she demanded from each house three sparrows and three pigeons, and then ordered her soldiers to attach tinder to the paws of birds, set it on fire and release the birds. Burning birds flew into their nests. So Korosten was taken.

After pacifying the Drevlyans, the princess took up tax reform. She abolished the polyudyas and divided them into land areas, for each "lessons" (fixed tax) were established. The main goal of the reforms was to streamline the tribute system, as well as to strengthen the state's authority.

Also during the reign of Olga, the first stone cities appeared, and her outer public policy was carried out not with the help of military methods, but diplomacy. Thus, ties with Byzantium and Germany were strengthened.

The princess herself decided to convert to Christianity, and although her baptism did not affect Svyatoslav's decision to leave pagan Russia, Vladimir continued her work.

Olga died in 969 in Kiev, and in 1547 she was canonized as a saint.

The powerful, it seemed, the state was on the verge of collapse. Igor's wife Olga with a minor heir remained in Kiev. Drevlyans postponed from Kiev and stopped paying tribute... However, the Russian elite rallied around Princess Olga and not only recognized her right to the throne until her son came of age, but also unconditionally supported the princess.

Illustration. Princess Olga and the squad.

By this time princess Olga was in the prime of her physical and spiritual strength. From the first steps of her reign, she showed herself as a decisive, domineering, far-sighted and stern ruler. First of all, the princess took revenge on the Drevlyans for the death of the Grand Duke and her husband. She ordered to kill the Drevlyan ambassadors who came to Kiev to woo her for their prince Mal.

Then she herself moved with an army to the Drevlyansky land. In battle, the Drevlyans were defeated. A heavy tribute was again imposed on the vanquished. The unity of the state was restored.

But Olga confirmed her power not only by cruel punishments and force. As an intelligent and far-sighted ruler, she understood that the polyudye, with its violence, sometimes with uncontrolled collection of tribute, caused discontent in people, and this threatened the very existence of the young state. And the Grand Duchess went for reforms. She changed the system of collecting tribute, starting with the Drevlyansky land. Now the population paid tribute according to firm norms. She also determined the places where the tribute was to be brought annually by the population itself. These were the so-called graveyards. There she was received by representatives of the princely administration and sent to Kiev. Then Olga moved with her squad to other Russian lands and everywhere set new norms - they were called lessons - and established churchyards.

It was end of polyudye and the beginning of an organized system of taxation in Russia. The state has taken another step in its development.

Having established order within Russia, Olga turned her eyes to foreign policy... She had to show that the times of turmoil did not shake the strength and international authority of Russia. In 957, she went to Constantinople at the head of a crowded embassy, \u200b\u200bwhich numbered more than a hundred people. The princess was accepted there at the highest rank. The Byzantine emperor, writer, prominent diplomat Konstantin Porphyrogenitus gave a dinner in her honor. During the conversations, the emperor and Olga confirmed the validity of the previous treaty, concluded by Igor, as well as the military alliance of the two states. This alliance was henceforth directed against Khazaria and the Arab Caliphate.

An important issue in the negotiations was the baptism of the Russian princess.

Illustration. Baptism of Princess Olga in Byzantium.

By the X century. almost all major states Western Europeas well as some of the peoples Balkan Peninsula and the Caucasus adopted Christianity. Some did it under the influence of papal Rome, others - under the influence Byzantine Empire... Christianity introduced states and peoples to a new civilization, enriched their culture, raised the prestige of the baptized rulers. It is no accident that the peoples of Western Europe, who were baptized 300-500 years earlier than the peoples of Eastern Europe, overtook them in their development. But everywhere this process was painful, since it meant a rejection of the pagan religion familiar to the peoples.

Olga understood that the further strengthening of the country is impossible without the adoption of Christianity. But she simultaneously understood the power of paganism, the commitment of people to it. Therefore, she decided to be baptized herself and thereby set an example for others. At the same time, she had someone to rely on. Among the merchants, townspeople, and part of the boyars, there were already quite a few people who had converted to Christianity.

For Olga herself, baptism was not only a matter of politics, but also an answer to many questions of conscience. By this time, she had gone through a lot: the tragic death of her husband, bloody reprisals against enemies. Sometimes we think that all this passes without a trace for the human soul. This is not so - in adulthood, a person certainly sums up the results of his life. Asks himself - why did he live, what is his place in this life. Paganism sought answers to these questions in the mighty phenomena of nature, in the action of the gods. Christianity appealed to the world of human feelings, the human mind and faith in the eternal life of the human soul, but on the condition that a person on earth would be righteous: just, humane, tolerant of people.

Olga embarked on this path in her declining years. But she arranged baptism so as to bring as much glory to her Fatherland as possible. She was baptized in the Hagia Sophia, the main temple of Byzantium. Her godfather was the emperor himself, and she was baptized by the Patriarch of Constantinople. From now on, Olga became a Christian according to the Orthodox, Byzantine model, in contrast to the Roman, Catholic rite.

After returning to Kiev, Olga tried to persuade Svyatoslav to Christianity, but her son grew up as an ardent pagan. He, like all his squad, worshiped Perun and refused her. Alienation began between mother and son. Soon the pagan group removed Olga from management. Young Svyatoslav took full power. This happened in 962.

Biography

Princess Olga - ruler Old Russian state... The wife of Igor the Old and the mother of Svyatoslav. She adopted Christianity and was recognized as a saint. She is also known for her administrative reform and revenge against the rebellious Drevlyans.

Olga - biography (biography)

Olga is a historically attested ruler of the Old Russian state. She took power in Kievan Rus after the death of her husband, the prince, and ruled the country until the beginning of the independent reign of her son, Prince Svyatoslav (946 - c. 964).

Olga began to rule the state in difficult conditions of struggle against separatism of tribal princes who sought to leave Kiev or even lead Russia instead of the Rurik dynasty. The princess suppressed the uprising of the Drevlyans and carried out an administrative reform in the country in order to streamline the collection of tribute by Kiev from the subordinate tribes. Everywhere now locals at the appointed time themselves, they brought a certain amount of tribute ("lessons") to special points - camps and graveyards. Representatives of the grand ducal administration were constantly here. Her foreign policy activity was also successful. Active diplomatic relations with Byzantium and Germany led to the recognition of Russia as a subject of international law, and herself as equal to other sovereigns. Olga moved from the military campaign - peace treaty system to building long-term constructive relationships with other states.

Princess Olga was the first of the ruling princes of Kiev to adopt Christianity long before the official baptism of the Old Russian state and was subsequently recognized as a saint and equal to the apostles.

A princely family or a carrier's daughter?

The origin of the Grand Duchess of Kiev Olga, due to the inconsistency of information from Russian sources, is interpreted ambiguously by researchers. The life of Saint Olga testifies to her ignoble origin, she lived in the village of Vybuty not far from. And according to other sources, she was the daughter of a simple boatman. When Olga transported Igor across the river, the prince liked her so much that he then decided to marry her.

But in the Typographical Chronicle, the version "from the Germans" was transmitted that Olga was the daughter of the prince, and it was he, according to many chronicles, who chose his wife Igor. In the story of the Joachim Chronicle, Prince Oleg picked up Igor's wife, from a famous family. The girl's name was Prekrasa; Prince Oleg himself renamed her Olga.

The Russian scientist D.I.Ilovaisky and some Bulgarian researchers, based on the news of the later Vladimir Chronicle, the author of which took the old Russian name Pskov (Plesnesk) for the name of the Bulgarian Pliska, assumed the Bulgarian origin of Olga.

The age of the bride indicated in the annals varied from 10 to 12 years, and in this regard, the date of Olga's marriage - 903, noted in the Tale of Bygone Years, causes bewilderment among researchers. Her son, Svyatoslav, was born approx. 942, a few years before Igor's death. It turns out that Olga decided to give birth to her first heir at a very respectable age for this? Apparently, Olga's marriage took place much later than the date indicated by the chronicler.

As a young girl, Olga amazed the prince and his entourage with her abilities. “It is wise and meaningful,” chroniclers wrote about her. But Olga as a person for the first time declared herself in full measure after the death of Prince Igor.

Fatal riddles to the Drevlyans

In 945, while trying to collect tribute from the Drevlyan tribe for the second time in a row, the Kiev prince was brutally killed. The Drevlyans sent an embassy to Olga with an offer to marry their prince Mal. The fact that the Drevlyans wooed the widow for the murderer of her husband was quite consistent with the ancient pagan ancestral vestiges. But this was not just a compensation for the loss. Apparently, Mal in a similar way - through his marriage to Olga, claimed the grand-ducal power.

However, Olga was not going to either forgive the murderers of her husband, or part with the sole power. The chronicles convey a colorful legend about her fourfold revenge on the Drevlyans. Researchers have long come to the conclusion that the chronicle description of the massacre that Olga committed shows the ritual nature of all her actions. In fact, the ambassadors of the Drevlyans became living participants in the funeral rite on their own, they did not understand the hidden meaning of Olga's appeals and requests at each of the revenge. Time after time the princess, as it were, asked the Drevlyans a riddle, without solving which, they doomed themselves to a painful death. In this way the chronicler wanted to show Olga's mental superiority and moral righteousness in her intended revenge.

Olga's three revenge

Olga's first revenge. The Drevlyan ambassadors were ordered to arrive at the princess's court either on foot or on horseback, but in a boat. The rook is a traditional element of the pagan funeral rite of many peoples of Northern Europe. The Drevlyan ambassadors, who did not suspect anything, were carried into the boat, thrown together with it into a deep pit and covered with living earth.

Olga's second revenge. The princess declared to the Drevlyans that she deserved a more representative embassy than the first, and soon a new Drevlyan delegation appeared at her court. Olga said that she wanted to show the guests high honors and ordered them to heat the bath. When the Drevlyans entered the bathhouse, they were locked outside and burned alive.

Olga's third revenge. The princess with a small retinue came to the Drevlyansky land and, announcing that she wanted to celebrate a funeral feast at the grave of Prince Igor, invited the “best husbands” of the Drevlyans to her. When the latter were very drunk, Olga's vigilantes cut them with swords. According to the chronicle, 5 thousand Drevlyans were killed.

Has Olga's fourth revenge taken place?

Curiously, not all chronicles report the most, perhaps, the most famous, fourth in a row, Olga's revenge: the burning of the main city of the Drevlyans, Iskorosten, with the help of sparrows and doves. Olga laid siege to Iskorosten with a large army, but could not take him. In the course of the subsequent negotiations with the inhabitants of Iskorosten, Olga offered them only birds as a tribute. As is clear from the text in the Chronicler of Pereyaslavl Suzdal, she explained to the Drevlyans that she needed pigeons and sparrows to perform the rite of sacrifice. Pagan rituals with birds were common at that time for the Rus.

The episode with the burning of Iskorosten is absent in the Novgorod first chronicle, dating back to the oldest of the chronicles - the Primary Code of the 1090s. Researchers believe that the editor of the Tale of Bygone Years independently introduced it into his text in order to show Olga's final victory and, most importantly, to explain how Kiev's power over the entire land of the Drevlyans was re-established.

Was Prince Mal rejected?

Paradoxically, such a question may arise. When describing Olga's four-stage revenge, the chronicles are silent about the fate of the Drevlyane prince Mal, who so unsuccessfully wooed Igor's widow. Nowhere is it said that he was killed.

The famous researcher A. A. Shakhmatov identified Malk Lyubechanin, who was mentioned in the annals, with the Drevlyan prince Mal. In a record under 970 it is said that this Malk was the father of the famous Malusha and Dobrynya. Malusha was Olga's housekeeper, from Svyatoslav she gave birth to the future great Kiev prince and baptist of Russia. Dobrynya, according to the chronicle, was Vladimir's uncle and his pestun.

In historiography, A. A. Shakhmatov's hypothesis was not popular. It seemed that Mal after the turbulent events in 945-946. must disappear forever from the pages of Russian history. But the story with Mal acquires curious parallels in the story of the Bulgar chronicle of Gazi-Baradj (1229-1246). The Bulgarian chronicler describes the vicissitudes of Olga's struggle with Mal. Olga's army is victorious, and the Drevlyane prince is captured. Olga liked him so much that for some time they established, as they would say now, a romantic relationship. Time passes, and Olga learns about Mal's love affair with one of her servants of the "noble family", but generously lets them both go.

Forerunner of Christian Russia

And Mal are not the only ruling persons who were fascinated by Olga's mind and beauty. Even the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913-959) was among those who wanted to marry her.

The tale of bygone years near the year 955 tells about the journey of Princess Olga to Constantinople. Olga's embassy was of great importance for the Russian state. As N.F. Kotlyar writes, for the first time in the history of Russia, her sovereign went to the capital of Byzantium not at the head of an army, but with a peaceful embassy, \u200b\u200bwith a pre-developed program of future negotiations. This event was reflected not only in Russian sources, but also in many Byzantine and Germanic chronicles, described in great detail in the work of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, entitled "On the ceremonies of the Byzantine court."

Researchers have long argued whether there was one embassy or two (946 and 955), they also dispute the annalistic date of 955. The famous scientist A.V. Nazarenko convincingly proved that Olga made one trip to the residence of the Byzantine emperor, but it took place in 957. ...

Constantine VII, "marveled at the beauty and intelligence" of the Russian princess, invited her to become his wife. Olga replied to the emperor that she was a pagan, but if he wanted her to be baptized, then he had to baptize her himself. The Emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople baptized her, but Olga outwitted the Greek king. When Constantine, according to the chronicle story, again invited her to become his wife, the first Russian Christian replied that this was no longer possible: after all, the emperor was now her godfather.

Olga's baptism was held in the main church of the Orthodox world - St. Sophia in Constantinople. It was accompanied, as A. V. Nazarenko writes, by Olga's acceptance into the Byzantine ideal “family of sovereigns” in the high rank of the “daughter” of the emperor.

Olga's diplomacy: playing on contradictions

Many researchers believe that church goals (personal baptism and negotiations on the establishment of a church organization on the territory of Russia) were not the only ones during Olga's visit to Constantinople. Moreover, the prominent historian of the Russian Orthodox Church, E. E. Golubinsky, expressed the opinion that Olga was baptized in Kiev even before her Byzantine trip. Some researchers suggest that Olga by the time of her visit had already received her primary baptism - catechumens, since among her retinue, Byzantine sources mention the priest Gregory.

Historians name the following among the possible political goals of Olga's embassy:

• Receiving a royal (Caesar) title from the emperor, which should have been facilitated by her solemn baptism in the Sophia Cathedral. Judging by the silence of the sources, this goal, if set, was not achieved;
• The conclusion of a dynastic marriage. Perhaps Olga suggested that young Svyatoslav should be betrothed to one of the emperor's daughters. The essay "On Ceremonies" mentions that Svyatoslav was in the embassy, \u200b\u200bbut from another work of Konstantin Porphyrogenitus "On the Administration of the Empire" one can understand, as N. F. Kotlyar writes, that Olga was resolutely refused;
• Revision of the terms of the not very profitable Russian-Byzantine treaty of 945, concluded under Prince Igor.

Probably, a political agreement with Constantinople was reached, since before Svyatoslav came to power (964), sources contain references to the participation of Russian troops in the Byzantine troops fighting the Arabs.

Olga was, apparently, dissatisfied with the results of the negotiations with Constantinople. This explains the visit of her ambassadors in 959 to the German king Otto I. According to the German chronicles, the ambassadors of the “queen of the Rus” asked the king “to send them to the people a bishop and priests”. Otto I appointed the missionary bishop Adalbert to Russia, but his activities were unsuccessful. All researchers consider Olga's appeal to the German king as a means of political pressure on Byzantium. Apparently, this technique turned out to be successful: tension in Byzantine-German relations increased and the government of the new Byzantine emperor Roman II preferred to normalize relations with Kiev.

Princess Olga's foreign policy was quite successful. Influential countries sought an alliance with Russia as an equal. Olga strove to ensure a constructive and mutually beneficial peace, primarily with Byzantium for many years. According to the researchers, this would probably be so, if in 964 Prince Svyatoslav did not take power from the aged Olga.

Like a pearl in the mud

Svyatoslav, who came to power, had radically different views not only on Christianity (he flatly refused Olga's offer to be baptized), but also on foreign policy. Svyatoslav was constantly on campaigns, and the aged Olga spent time in Kiev in the company of her grandchildren.

In 968, disaster struck. While Svyatoslav was on a campaign on the Danube, conquering the Bulgarian lands, the capital of Russia was besieged by the Pechenegs. The Kiev prince barely had time to return home to drive off the warlike steppe inhabitants. But already in the next year, 969, Svyatoslav announced that he wanted to return to the Danube. Severely ill, Olga told her son that she was sick and when he buried her, then let her go wherever she wanted. Three days later, on July 11, 969, Olga died.

In the chronicle story of Olga's burial, several sources of details sparingly noted by the authors are of great importance.

Firstly, Olga forbade her to perform a pagan feast, since she had a priest with her.
Secondly, the princess was buried in the chosen place, but it is not said where. This is due to the fact that over Olga was no longer poured over the mound usual for the local pagan rite, but buried "with the earth exactly."
Thirdly, one cannot but pay attention to the addition of the expression “in secret” to the chronicle story of Olga's burial in the first Novgorod chronicle (which preserved the most ancient basis). As noted by DS Likhachev, the Novgorod First Chronicle regards Princess Olga as a secret Christian.

The story of Russian chroniclers about Olga is imbued with immense respect, great warmth, ardent love. They call it a harbinger for the Christian land. They write that she shone among the pagans like "pearls in the mud." Not later than the beginning of the XI century. Princess Olga began to be revered as a saint, in the XIII century. she was already officially canonized, and in 1547 she was canonized as a saint and equal to the apostles. Only 5 women in the history of Christianity have received this honor.

Roman Rabinovich, Cand. ist. sciences,
specially for the portal