Kyiv princess Olga ruled Russia for 15 years. Over the years, she carried out a number of reforms that strengthened the state. Olga converted to Christianity even before the Baptism of Rus' and became the first Russian saint and one of six women who were canonized as saints equal to the apostles. What qualities do you need to have to go down in history with a good name?

There are many chronological inaccuracies and mysteries in the chronicles about Princess Olga, but doubts can hardly arise about the reliability of most of the facts of her life. Olga was born near Pskov. The year of her birth is unknown. In the chronicles, Olga's name first appears in the story of her wedding with the Kyiv prince Igor.

After the wedding, the name of the future enlightener of Rus' was mentioned once again only several decades later, in the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 944. A year later, Igor dies at the hands of the Drevlyans and Olga becomes the ruler of Rus'. Igor’s squad obeyed her, recognizing Olga as the representative of the legal heir to the throne, Svyatoslav, who at that time was only three years old.

After the murder of Igor, the Drevlyans sent matchmakers to his widow to invite her to marry their prince Mal. The princess did not make this deal with her conscience. Twenty matchmakers were buried alive in the boat on which they sailed. The next delegation, consisting of the Drevlyan nobility, was burned in a bathhouse. Then Olga went to her husband’s grave to celebrate a funeral feast. Having drunk the Drevlyans during the funeral feast, Olga ordered them to be chopped down. The chronicle reports five thousand killed. The apotheosis of Princess Olga's revenge for the murder of her husband was a military campaign against the Drevlyans and the burning of Iskorosten. The city was burned with the help of birds, to whose feet burning tow was tied. The surviving Drevlyans were captured and sold into slavery.

The chronicles are full of evidence of her tireless “walks” across the Russian land with the goal of building the political and economic life of the country. Olga achieved the strengthening of the power of the Kyiv Grand Duke, centralized public administration through the system of “cemeteries,” and improved the taxation system. Pogosts (from the word "guest" - merchant) became the support of the grand ducal power, centers of ethnic and cultural unification of the Russian people.

The life tells the following about Olga’s works: “And Princess Olga ruled the regions of the Russian land under her control not as a woman, but as a strong and reasonable husband, firmly holding power in her hands and courageously defending herself from enemies. And she was terrible for the latter, with her own people loved. In all matters of management, she showed foresight and wisdom. At the same time, Olga, merciful at heart, was generous to the poor, the poor and the needy; fair requests soon reached her heart, and she quickly fulfilled them."

Rus' grew and strengthened. Cities were built surrounded by stone and oak walls. The establishment of the first state borders of Kievan Rus dates back to the reign of Olga. Bogatyr outposts, glorified in epics, guarded the peaceful life of the people of Kiev both from nomads from the east and from attacks from the west. Foreign merchants flocked to Rus' with goods. The Scandinavians willingly joined the Russian army as mercenaries. Rus' became a great power.

As a wise ruler, Olga saw from the example of the Byzantine Empire that it was not enough to worry only about state and economic life. She came to the same conclusion that Prince Vladimir would come to a few decades later: the state needs a religion that will unite the disparate parts into a single whole and keep this whole from falling apart.

Having made her choice, Grand Duchess Olga set off with a large fleet to Constantinople. The purposes of this trip were a religious pilgrimage, a diplomatic mission, and a demonstration of the military power of Rus'. According to the chronicle, in Constantinople Olga decided to become a Christian. The Sacrament of Baptism was performed by Patriarch Theophylact of Constantinople, and the recipient was Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus.

Olga returned to Kyiv with icons and liturgical books. She erected a temple in the name of St. Nicholas over the grave of Askold, the first Christian prince of Kyiv, and converted many Kiev residents to Christ. The princess set off to the north to preach the faith. In the Kyiv and Pskov lands, in remote villages, at crossroads, she erected crosses, destroying pagan idols. Temples were built in cities.

Despite the success of her trip to Constantinople, Olga was unable to persuade the emperor to agree on two important issues: on the dynastic marriage of Svyatoslav with the Byzantine princess and on the conditions for the restoration of the metropolis in Kyiv that existed under Askold.

The apostolic labors of the princess met secret and open resistance from the pagans. Among the boyars and warriors in Kyiv there were many people who hated Saint Olga. The zealots of pagan antiquity looked with hope at the growing Svyatoslav, who decisively rejected his mother’s entreaties to accept Christianity. Saint Olga had to come to terms with what was happening and go into matters of personal piety, leaving control to the pagan Svyatoslav.

Saint Olga had to endure many sorrows at the end of her life. Svyatoslav prevented her attempts to establish Christianity in Rus'. She taught her grandchildren, the children of Svyatoslav, the Christian faith, but did not dare to baptize them, fearing the wrath of her son. In recent years, amid the triumph of paganism, she, once the universally revered mistress of the state, baptized by the Ecumenical Patriarch in the capital of Orthodoxy, had to secretly keep a priest with her so as not to cause a new outbreak of anti-Christian sentiment. In 969, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga passed away into another world. 19 years later, the seeds she sowed sprouted: her grandson, Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, baptized Rus'.

According to the earliest ancient Russian chronicle, The Tale of Bygone Years, Olga was from Pskov. The life of the holy Grand Duchess Olga specifies that she was born in the village of Vybuty in the Pskov land, 12 km from Pskov up the Velikaya River. The names of Olga’s parents have not been preserved; according to the Life, they were not of noble birth, “ from the Varangian language" Varangian origin is confirmed by her name, which has a correspondence in Old Norse as Helga. The presence of the Scandinavians in those places is noted by a number of archaeological finds dating back to the 1st half of the 10th century.

The typographical chronicle (late 15th century) and the later Piskarevsky chronicler convey a rumor that Olga was the daughter of the Prophetic Oleg, who began to rule Kievan Rus as the guardian of the young Igor, the son of Rurik: “ The netsy say that Olga’s daughter was Olga". Oleg married Igor and Olga.

Perhaps to resolve this contradiction, the later Ustyug Chronicle and the Novgorod Chronicle, according to the list of P. P. Dubrovsky, report Olga’s 10-year-old age at the time of the wedding. This message contradicts the legend set out in the Degree Book (2nd half of the 16th century), about a chance meeting with Igor at a crossing near Pskov. The prince hunted in those places. While crossing the river by boat, he noticed that the carrier was a young girl dressed in men's clothing. Igor immediately " burning with desire" and began to pester her, but received a worthy rebuke in response: " Why do you embarrass me, prince, with immodest words? I may be young and humble, and alone here, but know: it is better for me to throw myself into the river than to endure reproach" Igor remembered about the chance acquaintance when the time came to look for a bride, and sent Oleg for the girl he loved, not wanting any other wife.

The Novgorod First Chronicle of the younger edition, which contains in the most unchanged form information from the Initial Code of the 11th century, leaves the message about Igor’s marriage to Olga undated, that is, the earliest Old Russian chroniclers had no information about the date of the wedding. It is likely that the year 903 in the PVL text arose at a later time, when the monk Nestor tried to bring the initial ancient Russian history into chronological order. After the wedding, Olga's name is mentioned again only 40 years later, in the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 944.

The Western European chronicle of the Successor Reginon reports under 959:

Olga's baptism and church veneration

Princess Olga became the first ruler of Kievan Rus to be baptized, and thus predetermined the adoption of Orthodoxy by the entire ancient Russian people.

The date and circumstances of the baptism remain unclear. According to the PVL, this happened in 955 in Constantinople, Olga was personally baptized by Emperor Constantine and the Patriarch (Theophylact before 956): “ And she was given the name Elena in baptism, just like the ancient queen - the mother of Constantine the Great" PVL and the Life decorate the circumstances of the baptism with the story of how the wise Olga outwitted the Byzantine king. He, marveling at her intelligence and beauty, wanted to marry Olga, but the princess rejected the claims, noting that it was not appropriate for Christians to marry pagans. It was then that the king and the patriarch baptized her. When the tsar again began to harass the princess, she pointed out that she was now the tsar’s goddaughter. Then he richly presented her and sent her home.

Only one visit of Olga to Constantinople is known from Byzantine sources. Konstantin Porphyrogenitus described it in detail in his essay “Ceremony”, without indicating the year of the event. But he indicated the dates of official receptions: Wednesday, September 9 (on the occasion of Olga’s arrival) and Sunday, October 18. This combination also corresponds to 946 years. Olga's long stay in Constantinople is noteworthy. When describing the technique, they name basileus (Konstantin himself) and Roman - the purplish-born basileus. It is known that Romanus, the son of Constantine, became his father's formal co-emperor in 945. According to the historian G. G. Litavrin, the visit described by Constantine actually took place in 946, and the baptism took place during the 2nd visit to Constantinople in or 955. The mention of Roman's children at the reception indicates the year 957, which is considered the generally accepted date for Olga's visit and her baptism.

However, Constantine did not mention Olga’s baptism anywhere (as well as the purpose of her visit), and moreover, a certain priest Gregory was named in the princess’s retinue, on the basis of which some historians suggest that Olga visited Constantinople already baptized. In this case, the question arises why Constantine calls the princess by her pagan name, and not Helen, as the Successor of Reginon did. Another, later Byzantine source (11th century) reports baptism in Constantinople in the 950s:

“And the wife of the Russian archon, who once set sail against the Romans, named Elga, when her husband died, arrived in Constantinople. Baptized and openly making a choice in favor of the true faith, she, having received great honor for this choice, returned home.”

The successor of Reginon, quoted above, also speaks about baptism in Constantinople, and the mention of the name of Emperor Romanus testifies in favor of baptism in 957. The testimony of the Continuer Reginon can be considered reliable, since under this name, as historians believe, Bishop Adalbert, who led the unsuccessful mission to Kyiv in 961 and had first-hand information, wrote.

revered	in the Orthodox and Catholic churches
glorified	no later than the 13th century
in the face	equal to the apostles
memorial day	July 24 (Gregorian calendar)
works	Preparation for the baptism of Rus'

According to most sources, Princess Olga was baptized in Constantinople in the fall of 957, and she was probably baptized by Romanus II (son and co-ruler of Emperor Constantine) and Patriarch Polyeuctus. Olga made the decision to accept the faith in advance, although the chronicle legend presents it as a spontaneous decision. Nothing is known about those people who spread Christianity in Rus'. Most likely, these were Bulgarian Slavs (Bulgaria was baptized in 865), since the influence of Bulgarian vocabulary can be seen in early ancient Russian chronicle texts. The penetration of Christianity into Kievan Rus is evidenced by the mention of the cathedral church of St. Elijah in Kyiv in the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 944.

She is revered as the patroness of widows and new Christians.

Historiography according to Olga

Basic information on Olga’s life, recognized as reliable, is contained in the “Tale of Bygone Years”, the Life from the Book of Degrees, the hagiographic work of the monk Jacob “Memory and Praise to the Russian Prince Volodymer” and the work of Constantine Porphyrogenitus “On the Ceremonies of the Byzantine Court”. Other sources provide additional information about Olga, but their reliability cannot be determined with certainty.

The Joachim Chronicle reports the execution by Svyatoslav of his only brother Gleb for his Christian beliefs during the Russian-Byzantine war of 968-971. Gleb could be Igor’s son either from Olga or from another wife, since the same chronicle reports that Igor had other wives. Gleb's Orthodox faith testifies to the fact that he was Olga's youngest son.

The medieval Czech historian Tomas Peshina, in his work in Latin “Mars Moravicus” (), spoke about a certain Russian prince Oleg, who became the last king of Moravia in 940 and was expelled from there by the Hungarians in 949. According to Tomas Peszyna, this Oleg Morawski was Olga's brother.

About the existence of Olga’s blood relative, naming him anepsemia, mentioned by Constantine Porphyrogenitus in listing her retinue during a visit in 957 to Constantinople. Anepsia meant, most often, a nephew, but also a cousin.

Memory of Saint Olga

• The Life calls Olga the founder of the city of Pskov. In Pskov there is Olginskaya embankment, Olginsky bridge, Olginsky chapel.
• Orders:
  • The insignia of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga was established by Emperor Nicholas II in 1915.
  • “The Order of Princess Olga” is a state award of Ukraine since 1997.
  • “Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga” is an award of the Russian Orthodox Church.
• Monuments to Princess Olga were erected in Kyiv, Pskov and the city of Korosten.

Literature

• Antonov Alexander. Novel "Princess Olga".
• Boris Vasiliev "Olga, Queen of the Rus"
• Victor Gretskov. "Princess Olga - Bulgarian princess."
• Mikhail Kazovsky "The Empress's Daughter".
• Kaydash-Lakshina S. N. “Princess Olga.”

Cinema

• “The Legend of Princess Olga”, USSR, 1983.
• "The Saga of the Ancient Bulgars. The Legend of Olga the Holy", Russia, 2005.

Name: Princess Olga (Elena)

Date of birth: 920

Age: 49 years old

Activity: Princess of Kyiv

Marital status: widow

Princess Olga: biography

Princess Olga - wife of the great Russian prince, mother, ruled Russia from 945 to 960. At birth, the girl was given the name Helga, her husband called her by his own name, but the female version, and at baptism she began to be called Elena. Olga is known for being the first of the rulers of the Old Russian state to voluntarily convert to Christianity.

Dozens of films and TV series have been made about Princess Olga. Her portraits are in Russian art galleries; based on ancient chronicles and found relics, scientists have tried to recreate a photographic portrait of the woman. In his native Pskov there is a bridge, an embankment and a chapel named after Olga and two of her monuments.

Childhood and youth

The exact date of Olga’s birth has not been preserved, but the Degree Book of the 17th century says that the princess died at eighty years old, which means she was born at the end of the 9th century. If you believe the “Arkhangelsk Chronicler”, the girl got married when she was ten years old. Historians are still arguing about the year of birth of the princess - from 893 to 928. The official version is recognized as 920, but this is the approximate year of birth.

The oldest chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years,” describing the biography of Princess Olga, indicates that she was born in the village of Vybuty, Pskov. The names of the parents are not known, because... they were peasants, and not persons of noble blood.

The story of the late 15th century says that Olga was the daughter of the ruler of Russia until Igor, the son of Rurik, grew up. He, according to legend, married Igor and Olga. But this version of the princess’s origin has not been confirmed.

Board

At the moment when the Drevlyans killed Olga’s husband, Igor, their son Svyatoslav was only three years old. The woman was forced to take power into her own hands until her son grew up. The first thing the princess did was take revenge on the Drevlyans.

Immediately after the murder of Igor, they sent matchmakers to Olga, who persuaded her to marry their prince, Mal. So the Drevlyans wanted to unite the lands and become the largest and most powerful state of that time.

Olga buried the first matchmakers alive along with the boat, making sure that they understood that their death was worse than Igor’s. The princess sent a message to Mal that she was worthy of the best matchmakers from the strongest men in the country. The prince agreed, and the woman locked these matchmakers in a bathhouse and burned them alive while they washed themselves to meet her.

Later, the princess came with a small retinue to the Drevlyans to, according to tradition, celebrate a funeral feast at the grave of her husband. During the funeral feast, Olga gave the Drevlyans drink and ordered the soldiers to cut them down. The chronicles indicate that the Drevlyans then lost five thousand soldiers.

In 946, Princess Olga went into open battle on the land of the Drevlyans. She captured their capital and, after a long siege, using cunning (with the help of birds with incendiary mixtures tied to their paws), she burned the entire city. Some of the Drevlyans died in the battle, the rest submitted and agreed to pay tribute to Rus'.

Since Olga’s grown son spent most of his time on military campaigns, power over the country was in the hands of the princess. She carried out many reforms, including the creation of centers of trade and exchange, which made it easier to collect taxes.

Thanks to the princess, stone construction was born in Rus'. Having seen how easily the wooden fortresses of the Drevlyans burned, she decided to build her houses from stone. The first stone buildings in the country were the city palace and the ruler's country house.

Olga established the exact amount of taxes from each principality, the date of their payment and frequency. They were then called “polyudya”. All lands subject to Kyiv were obliged to pay it, and a princely administrator, a tiun, was appointed in each administrative unit of the state.

In 955, the princess decided to convert to Christianity and was baptized. According to some sources, she was baptized in Constantinople, where she was personally baptized by Emperor Constantine VII. During baptism, the woman took the name Elena, but in history she is still better known as Princess Olga.

She returned to Kyiv with icons and church books. First of all, the mother wanted to baptize her only son Svyatoslav, but he only mocked those who accepted Christianity, but did not forbid anyone.

During her reign, Olga built dozens of churches, including a monastery in her native Pskov. The princess personally went to the north of the country to baptize everyone. There she destroyed all pagan symbols and installed Christian ones.

The vigilantes reacted to the new religion with fear and hostility. They emphasized their pagan faith in every possible way, tried to convince Prince Svyatoslav that Christianity would weaken the state and should be banned, but he did not want to contradict his mother.

Olga was never able to make Christianity the main religion. The warriors won, and the princess had to stop her campaigns, locking herself in Kyiv. She raised Svyatoslav's sons in the Christian faith, but did not dare to baptize, fearing the wrath of her son and the possible murder of her grandchildren. She secretly kept a priest with her so as not to give rise to new persecution of people of the Christian faith.

There is no exact date in history when the princess handed over the reins of government to her son Svyatoslav. He often went on military campaigns, therefore, despite the official title, Olga ruled the country. Later, the princess gave her son power in the north of the country. And, presumably, by 960 he became the ruling prince of all Rus'.

Olga's influence will be felt during the reign of her grandchildren and. They were both raised by their grandmother, became accustomed to the Christian faith from infancy and continued to develop Rus' on the path of Christianity.

Personal life

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the Prophetic Oleg married Olga and Igor when they were still children. The story also says that the wedding took place in 903, but, according to other sources, Olga was not even born then, so there is no exact date of the wedding.

There is a legend that the couple met at a crossing near Pskov, when the girl was a boat carrier (she dressed in men's clothes - this was a job only for men). Igor noticed the young beauty and immediately began to pester her, to which he received a rebuff. When the time came to get married, he remembered that wayward girl and ordered to find her.

If you believe the chronicles describing the events of those times, then Prince Igor died in 945 at the hands of the Drevlyans. Olga came to power while her son grew up. She never married again, and there is no mention of relationships with other men in the chronicles.

Death

Olga died of illness and old age, and was not killed, like many rulers of that time. The chronicles indicate that the princess died in 969. In 968, the Pechenegs raided Russian lands for the first time, and Svyatoslav went to war. Princess Olga and her grandchildren locked themselves in Kyiv. When the son returned from the war, he lifted the siege and wanted to immediately leave the city.

His mother stopped him, warning him that she was very ill and felt her own death approaching. She turned out to be right; 3 days after these words, Princess Olga died. She was buried according to Christian customs, in the ground.

In 1007, the grandson of the princess, Vladimir I Svyatoslavich, transferred the relics of all the saints, including the remains of Olga, to the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Kyiv, which he founded. The official canonization of the princess took place in the middle of the 13th century, although miracles were attributed to her relics long before that, she was revered as a saint and called equal to the apostles.

Memory

• Olginskaya street in Kyiv
• St. Olginsky Cathedral in Kyiv

Movie

• 1981 – ballet “Olga”
• 1983 – film “The Legend of Princess Olga”
• 1994 – cartoon “Pages of Russian History. Land of the ancestors"
• 2005 – film “The Saga of the Ancient Bulgars. The Legend of Olga the Saint"
• 2005 – film “The Saga of the Ancient Bulgars. Vladimir's ladder "Red Sun"
• 2006 – “Prince Vladimir”

Literature

• 2000 – “I know God!” Alekseev S. T.
• 2002 - “Olga, Queen of the Rus.”
• 2009 - “Princess Olga.” Alexey Karpov
• 2015 - “Olga, forest princess.” Elizaveta Dvoretskaya
• 2016 - “United by Power.” Oleg Panus

Reign of Princess Olga (briefly)

The reign of Princess Olga - a brief description

Researchers' opinions differ when it comes to the date and 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 Oleg the Prophet, 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 simple family.”

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 a boat, whom he initially mistook for a young man. The girl turned out to be pure in intentions, beautiful and smart. 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 Kyiv) from the Drevlyans, proved herself to be a firm and wise ruler of Rus'. She dealt with political issues, managed with warriors, governors, complainants, and also received ambassadors. Very often, when Prince Igor went on military campaigns, his responsibilities fell entirely on the shoulders of the princess.

After Igor was killed in 945 for collecting tribute again, Olga brutally 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 remaining settlements were completely destroyed), she demanded three sparrows and three doves from each house, and then ordered her warriors to attach tinder to the birds’ legs, set it on fire and release the birds. The burning birds flew to their nests. And so Korosten was taken.

After the pacification of the Drevlyans, the princess took up tax reform. It abolished polyudyas and divided them into regions of the earth, for each “lessons” (fixed tax) were established. The main goal of the reforms was to streamline the tribute system, as well as strengthen state authority.

Also during Olga’s reign, the first stone cities appeared, and her foreign state policy was carried out not through military methods, but through diplomacy. Thus, ties with Byzantium and Germany were strengthened.

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

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

She was the first woman to become the ruler of one of the largest states at that time - Kievan Rus. This woman's revenge was terrible, and her rule was harsh. The princess was perceived ambiguously. Some considered her wise, some considered her cruel and cunning, and some considered her a real saint. Princess Olga went down in history as the creator of the state culture of Kievan Rus, as the first ruler to be baptized, as the first Russian saint..

Princess Olga became famous after the tragic death of her husband

While still a very young girl, Olga became the wife of the Grand Duke of Kyiv, Igor. According to legend, their first meeting was quite unusual. One day, a young prince, who wanted to cross the river, called from the shore a man floating in a boat. He saw his companion only after they had sailed. To the prince’s surprise, a girl of incredible beauty was sitting in front of him. Succumbing to his feelings, Igor began to persuade her to commit vicious actions. Meanwhile, having understood his thoughts, the girl reminded the prince of the honor of a ruler, who should be a worthy example for his subjects. Ashamed by the words of the young maiden, Igor abandoned his intentions. Noting the girl’s intelligence and chastity, he parted with her, keeping her words and image in his memory. When the time came to choose a bride, not a single one of the Kyiv beauties pleased him. Remembering the stranger with the boat, Igor sent his guardian, Oleg, after her. So Olga became Igor’s wife and a Russian princess.

However, the princess became famous only after the tragic death of her husband. Soon after the birth of his son Svyatoslav, Prince Igor was executed. He became the first ruler in Russian history to die at the hands of the people, outraged by the repeated collection of tribute. The heir to the throne was only three years old at that time, so virtually all power passed into the hands of Olga. She ruled Kievan Rus until Svyatoslav came of age, but even after that, in reality, the princess remained the ruler, since her son was absent most of the time on military campaigns

Having gained power, Olga mercilessly took revenge on the Drevlyans

The first thing she did was to mercilessly take revenge on the Drevlyans, who were responsible for the death of her husband. Pretending that she agreed to a new marriage with the prince of the Drevlyans, Olga dealt with their elders, and then subjugated the entire people. In her revenge, the princess used any methods. Luring the Drevlyans to the place she needed, on her orders, the Kievans buried them alive, burned them, and bloodthirstyly won the battle. And only after Olga finished her reprisal, she began to govern Kievan Rus.

Princess Olga is the first Russian woman to officially convert to Christianity

Princess Olga directed her main forces to domestic policy, which she tried to implement through diplomatic methods. Traveling around the Russian lands, she suppressed the revolts of small local princes and carried out a number of important reforms. The most important of them was administrative and tax reform. In other words, she established centers of trade and exchange in which taxes were collected in an orderly manner. The financial system became a strong support of princely power in lands far from Kyiv. Thanks to Olga's reign, the defensive power of Rus' increased significantly. Strong walls grew around the cities, and the first state borders of Russia were established - in the west, with Poland.

The princess strengthened international ties with Germany and Byzantium, and relations with Greece opened Olga to a new perspective on the Christian faith. In 954, the princess, for the purpose of a religious pilgrimage and diplomatic mission, went to Constantinople, where she was received with honor by Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus.

Before deciding to be baptized, the princess spent two years learning the basics of the Christian faith. While attending services, she was amazed at the grandeur of the temples and the shrines collected in them. Princess Olga, who received the name Elena at baptism, became the first woman to officially convert to Christianity in pagan Rus'. Upon her return, she ordered temples to be built in graveyards. During her reign, the Grand Duchess erected the churches of St. Nicholas and St. Sophia in Kyiv, and the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary in Vitebsk. By her decree, the city of Pskov was built, where the Church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity was erected. According to legend, the location of the future temple was indicated to her by rays descending from the sky.

The baptism of Princess Olga did not lead to the establishment of Christianity in Rus'

The princess tried to introduce her son to Christianity. Despite the fact that many nobles had already accepted the new faith, Svyatoslav remained faithful to paganism. The baptism of Princess Olga did not lead to the establishment of Christianity in Rus'. But her grandson, the future Prince Vladimir, continued the mission of his beloved grandmother. It was he who became the baptist of Rus' and founded the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kyiv, where he transferred the relics of the saints and Olga. Under his reign, the princess began to be revered as a saint. And already in 1547 she was officially canonized as a saint, equal to the apostles. It is worth noting that only five women in Christian history have received such an honor - Mary Magdalene, the First Martyr Thekla, the Martyr Apphia, Queen Helen Equal to the Apostles and the enlightener of Georgia Nina. Today, Holy Princess Olga is revered as the patroness of widows and newly converted Christians.