This woman can rightfully be called a model of female fidelity. Having lost her husband, she found a way to brutally take revenge on his murderers, and when she was forced to marry again, she chose to renounce the faith of her ancestors, just not to go down the aisle again. At the same time, she had to cope with a heavy burden that fell on her shoulders - to lead and preserve a state without a ruler …
Out of nowhere coming from
Olga first appears in the annals as the bride of Prince Igor. But who she is and where she comes from, ancient texts give rather contradictory information. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, she was brought from Pskov. The life of the princess, compiled in the 16th century, claims that her homeland was "the entire Vybutskaya, now located near the city of Pskov, which did not yet exist".
The Joachim Chronicle generally states that Prophetic Oleg found a wife for his nephew in Izborsk. The nationality of the princess is also unclear. According to the Life, Olga was "from the Varangian language", which is confirmed by her Scandinavian name - Olga (Helga). But according to the Joachim Chronicle, it comes from a Slavic family, coming from Gostomysl himself - the most ancient ruler of Russia.
At the same time, the non-Slavic name of the princess is explained as follows: before the wedding, she was called Beautiful, and Olga was named to her by Prophetic Oleg. An even more incredible fact is cited in the Typographical Chronicle of the early 16th century: Oleg married Igor to his own daughter! In general, Princess Olga appears in history as Igor's bride, fully consistent with the ancient meaning of the word: “bride” is the one who came from nowhere.
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Revenge 1. Buried alive
We have already talked about how Prince Igor was killed by the Drevlyans because he tried to take additional tribute from them. When the alarming news of his death spread throughout Russia, Olga and her son Svyatoslav were in Kiev. But no sooner had the tears of sorrow for her deceased spouse dried on her cheeks, than the murderers themselves appeared under the walls of the city - twenty selected husbands from Derevskaya land asked the princess for an audience. Olga received the ambassadors. When asked why they came, the Drevlyans answered:
- We killed your husband, as he, like a wolf, plundered and robbed. And our princes are good, because they cherish the Derevskaya land. So marry our prince Mal.
Having got rid of Igor, the Drevlyans decided that they could now take over the whole of Kievan Rus by marrying their prince to the widow of the deceased ruler and killing the legitimate heir. After all, officially the throne of Kievan Rus passed to the son of Igor Svyatoslav, but since he was only three years old, Olga played the role of regent.
“Your speech is kind to me,” Olga replied after thinking. - I still can't resurrect my husband … I will willingly go after your young prince. Now go and rest in your boat, in the morning I will call you to an honorable feast. But you, when they come to call you in the morning, tell them that you will arrive there in the same way as you arrived at Kiev: that is, right in the boat.
And then the people of Kiev will carry you on their heads. And let everyone see your nobility and my love for your prince.
The Drevlyans were delighted and went to rest in the boat. In the morning, as Olga had promised, the people of Kiev came to invite them to the feast.
- We will not go on foot, we will not ride horses. Bring us to the princess in a boat on your heads,”the ambassadors said.
The Kievites meekly lifted the ship and carried the Drevlyans bursting with pride into the city. But they were not happy for long. As soon as the Russians brought the boat into the prince's court, they immediately threw it, along with the ambassadors, into a deep hole dug out during the night at Olga's behest.
- Is your honor good? - asked the princess, bending over the pit. And then she ordered to fill up the pit, burying the impudent ambassadors alive.
Revenge 2. Bloodbath
Having dealt with the delegation, Olga immediately sent a messenger to the Derevskaya land.
“If you really want me to marry your prince, send for me an embassy more numerous and more distinguished than the first.
Otherwise, the people of Kiev will not let me in,”she announced.
Unaware of what fate befell the first matchmakers, the Drevlyans sent fifty more men to Kiev, choosing the most noble ones. When they arrived in Kiev, Olga ordered the baths to be heated and told the ambassadors that she would receive them only after they were thoroughly washed. But as soon as the Drevlyans began to wash, the Kievites locked the doors, surrounded the bathhouse with straw and brushwood and set it on fire. So the second revenge of Princess Olga came true.
Revenge 3. Trizna
Finally Olga, taking a small squad with her, set off on her own to Derevskaya land. The messengers sent ahead announced that the princess, before the wedding, wanted to mourn her deceased husband and arrange a funeral at his grave, and therefore ordered to bring as much hoppy honey and food as possible to the city of Iskorosten, near which Igor was killed. The Drevlyans followed the princess's instructions.
- And where is our squad, which was sent for you? - they were surprised, not finding in Olga's retinue the matchmakers sent to her.
“They follow us along a different path with all my wealth,” she replied.
Having mourned Igor, Olga ordered to build a large mound over his burial, after which she invited the Drevlyans to commemorate the prince they had killed. She told her people to serve at the feast. When the Drevlyans got drunk, the princess exclaimed:
- Now chop them!
And the Russians mercilessly killed all the feasting. Five thousand people shed blood in that funeral ceremony near the mound of Prince Igor.
Revenge 4. Heavenly Fire
Returning to Kiev, Olga gathered an army and a year later moved all the Russian army to Derevskaya land. The Drevlyans put up their army against her, but were defeated and locked themselves in Iskorosten. Olga's squad was not able to take the city - for a whole year she kept him under siege to no avail. The Drevlyans desperately defended themselves, realizing that the princess, filled with a desire for revenge, would not spare anyone. Finally Olga resigned herself:
“I have already avenged Igor’s death three times and I don’t want revenge anymore,” she said with the messengers. - Now I wish only to take a small tribute from you, make peace and leave. I know that you are now impoverished from the war and cannot pay me with honey, wax, or leather. So give me at least some trifle, for example, three pigeons and three sparrows from each house, and this will be enough for me to be convinced of your obedience.
The Drevlyans were delighted, considering this tribute too insignificant, and immediately fulfilled the princess's request. Having accepted this strange gift, Olga promised to withdraw her troops from the city tomorrow. But the inhabitants of Iskorosten did not even suspect that most of them were not destined to survive until dawn. As soon as twilight deepened, Princess Olga gave each of her warriors a bird, ordered a tinder with a wick to be tied to his paws, set on fire and released.
Once free, sparrows and pigeons rushed to their nests in Korosten: in the dovecote, under the roofs of the towers, in the hayloft, in the sheds. All courtyards in the city burst into flames. Olga ordered to encircle the walls and seize everyone who tried to leave the city. Having thus conquered the Derevskaya land, Olga imposed an even greater tribute on it than her husband took.
Baptism instead of wedding
After the reprisal against the Drevlyans, Princess Olga returned to Kiev and for many years ruled the Russian lands "not as a woman, but as a strong and reasonable husband, firmly holding power in her hands and bravely defending herself from enemies."
According to the "Tale of Bygone Years" in 955, she went on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople.
The Emperor of the Byzantine Empire Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus was amazed at the beauty and intelligence of the Russian princess and wished to marry her. Olga, who, even after her husband's death, remained faithful to him, was puzzled: how to refuse the emperor, but at the same time not spoil relations between states?
And then she replied:
- Okay, I'll marry you. Yes, only I am a pagan, and it is useless for me to marry a Christian. Here I will be baptized, then lead me down the aisle. But there is one condition: if you want to baptize me, do it yourself, otherwise I will not be baptized.
Constantine happily agreed.
When he, christening Olga, again turned to her with the same request, she answered:
- How can you, your goddaughter, take me as your wife? After all, not only according to Christian law, but also according to pagan law, it is considered vile and unacceptable for a father to have a daughter in marriage.
- You outwitted me, Olga! - exclaimed the emperor, once again marveling at her intelligence and ingenuity, after which he let the princess go home with rich gifts.
Princess Olga until the end of her days remained the ruler of Kievan Rus. Having matured, Svyatoslav, although he headed the state, was constantly on military campaigns, leaving his lands in reliable maternal hands.
But one day the princess said to her son:
- You see - I'm sick. Where do you want to go from me? When you bury me, go wherever you want.
Three days later, on July 11, 969, the princess died. Before her death, she asked not to celebrate a pagan feast for her, but to bury her according to the Christian rite. Svyatoslav fulfilled the will of his mother. Later, in 1007, her grandson, Prince Vladimir, who converted to Christianity, dug up the remains of the legendary Olga and transferred them to the Church of the Holy Mother of God founded by him.
Based on materials from tainy.info