Grand Duchess Olga. State activities of Princess Olga
And until the coming of age of the son of Svyatoslav. She converted to Christianity with the name Elena. History has not preserved information about the princess's date of birth, but the Book of Degrees says that she died presumably at the age of eighty. The impeccable and wise policy of Princess Olga made her famous historical personality practically all over the world.
life path
There is no reliable information about the place of her birth. chroniclers and modern historians put forward various hypotheses in this regard. As close as possible to the truth is the statement in The Tale of Bygone Years that she comes from a simple family that lived in the small village of Vybuty, located on Pskov land. But no matter where Olga was born and no matter what tribe she belongs to, the wisdom of her policies and deeds are an integral part of Slavic history.
Before the death of Igor, there is practically no information about the princess. The death of her husband put her in first place in life Kievan Rus, because Svyatoslav was three years old, and, of course, he was not fit to be a prince. She took over the management of the state, which was at that time in an extremely difficult situation, and for 19 years completely coped with all the problems. External and Olga created a single power with international authority.
Revenge on the Drevlyans
The beginning of her reign can be considered revenge on the killers of Igor, which consisted of four parts. The first revenge of the princess was the burial of the Drevlyansk ambassadors alive. The reason for this was their proposal to woo her to her friend. After that, she burned alive in the bathhouse the noble Drevlyans, who arrived after the first. For the third time, Olga drugged 5,000 of their fellow tribesmen at her husband's feast, after which her small squad killed everyone. The final stage of revenge was the burning of the city of Iskorosten.
In these acts, in addition to cruel revenge, there is also a deep meaning. Olga had to show both well-wishers and enemies that she was not a weak woman, but a strong ruler. “The hair is long, and the mind is short,” they said about women in those days. Therefore, she was forced to demonstrate her wisdom and knowledge in military affairs in order to prevent the emergence of any conspiracies behind her back. For the second time, the princess did not want to get married, she preferred to remain a widow.
Thus, it became clear that Olga's foreign and domestic policy would be wise and fair. In fact, this bloody revenge was aimed at abolishing the power of the Mala dynasty, subordinating the Drevlyans to Kiev and suppressing the nobility from neighboring principalities.
Reforms and introduction of Christianity
After taking revenge on the Drevlyans, the princess established clear rules for collecting tribute. This helped prevent outbreaks of discontent, one of which resulted in the murder of her husband. Graveyards were introduced near large cities. It was in these administrative and economic cells that the authorities collected tribute.
Olga's foreign and domestic policy has always been aimed at the centralization of state administration, as well as the unification and strengthening of Russian lands.
The construction of not only the Church of St. Nicholas, but also the St. Sophia Church in Kyiv is associated with the name of Olga. Although she was the first to convert to Christianity, her saint was supposedly revered as early as the 13th century.
Olga's foreign and domestic policy characterizes her not as a defenseless woman, but as a strong and reasonable ruler who firmly and confidently holds power over the whole country in her hands. She wisely defended her people from ill-wishers, for which people loved and respected her. In addition to the fact that the ruler had big amount already named positive qualities, she was still attentive and generous to the poor people.
Domestic politics
While the empress was in power, peace and order reigned in Kievan Rus. Domestic politics Princess Olga was closely intertwined with the dispensation of the spiritual and religious life of the Russian people.
One of her most important achievements was the introduction of organized tribute collection points, on which later, after the ruler adopted Christianity, the first churches and temples began to be erected on the sites of graveyards. Since that time, the development of stone construction began. The first such buildings were the country tower and the city palace, which belonged to the empress. The remains of their walls and foundations were excavated by archaeologists only in the early 70s of the XX century.
The domestic policy of Princess Olga is inextricably linked with the strengthening of the country's defense. Cities then literally overgrown with oak and stone walls.
Relations with neighboring principalities
Olga's foreign policy deserves special attention. The table below contains the main deeds of the princess.
When the ruler established the state of affairs within Kievan Rus, she set about strengthening the international prestige of her country. The foreign policy of Princess Olga was diplomatic, in contrast to her husband.
At the beginning of her reign, she converted to Christianity, and the Byzantine emperor became her godfather. These events helped to increase the prestige of Kievan Rus among the rulers of other countries, because to get godfathers such a person seemed unrealistic.
Basically, the foreign policy of Princess Olga was aimed at improving relations with Byzantium. And she did it well. For the sake of which part of the Russian squad participated together with the Byzantine army in hostilities, while maintaining the independence of their state.
In 968 Kyiv was attacked by the Pechenegs. The defense of the city was led by the princess herself, thanks to which he was spared from the siege.
During the reign of Olga, conditions were formed that created the advantage of conducting a peaceful foreign policy before the military, if there was a need for it.
Attempts to establish relations with the German Empire
Over time, friendly relations with Byzantium began to weaken, and Olga decided to find a strong ally. She stopped her choice in Germany.
In 959, the princess sent a Russian embassy to Otto I with a request to provide priests for the introduction of Christianity in the Kiev lands, as well as with an offer of friendship and peace.
He responded to Olga's calls, and in 961 several clergy led by Adalbert arrived to her. True, they did not manage to deploy their activities on Kiev territory, since at the end of her life Olga no longer had such influence as before.
In 964, power passed to Svyatoslav, who radically changed tactics. And, I must say, not for the better.
According to the surviving data, each time leaving Kyiv, Grand Duke Igor left the management of a new Slavic state to his wife Olga. She is the one in given period negotiated with governors, received ambassadors and dealt with other political affairs. Based on these facts, we can safely say that even then Olga was able to learn the basics of governing the country, even before the death of her husband.
It so happened that the internal policy of Princess Olga after the murder of Prince Igor by the Drevlyans, for the most part, concerned precisely revenge and pacification of this tribe. In 945, the Drevlyans sent ambassadors to Olga for the first time with a proposal from their prince Mala to become his wife. However, the cunning princess orders to meet the guests with honor, bringing them to her tower in boats, after which the embassy was thrown into a pit and buried alive.
After that, Olga sends ambassadors to Mal with a request to send her best husbands to accompany her. This time the soldiers were burned in the bathhouse. However, revenge on the Drevlyans for the death of her husband had just begun. Further, Olga informed the Drevlyans that she wanted to celebrate a feast at the place of her husband's death by preparing intoxicated honey. During the feast, the Drevlyans became drunk and were easily killed by Olga's small squad.
A year later, the Drevlyans were finally defeated, and their capital was burned. The successful capture of the powerful Korosten was also not without the fine strategy of the princess. As a tribute, she demanded three sparrows and a dove from each dwelling. After fulfilling the order, the princess ordered to tie a piece of tinder to the paws of the birds to the combatants, set fire to and release the birds. People running out of the fortified city were immediately killed, and a considerable tribute was laid on the survivors.
This was not the end of Olga's internal policy and she ordered to replace polyudya with graveyards. For each graveyard, a certain lesson with a fixed amount was established. The tax reforms of the princess were able to streamline the former tax collection system, as well as strengthen Kyiv's authority.
Of course, special attention deserves and Olga's foreign policy, carried out with the help of diplomacy. It was the princess who managed to strengthen the connection between Kievan Rus and Byzantium (as well as with Germany) without military conflicts. So in 957 Olga went to Constantinople, where she later adopted Christianity with the name Elena. This significantly accelerated the Christianization of Russia and its subsequent unification with other Christian powers.
Princess Olga became one of the first rulers of the Russian land who turned her attention to domestic politics.
The first princes chose an extensive path of development, expanding their borders, growing rich by capturing foreign territories.
During the reign of Olga, extensive and intensive development paths converged in symbiosis, which allowed the princess to leave a big mark on the history of Russia.
Domestic policy of Princess Olga
The reign began with a tragedy. The Drevlyans killed her husband,. They killed him because the squad returned to collect tribute again. The Drevlyans had nothing to lose, so there was a "mutiny". They refused to pay tribute, Igor's squad was severely damaged, and the prince himself was killed.
Olga brutally suppressed the uprising of the Drevlyans. But the reasons for the rebellion were a good lesson for her. She rightly decided that it was necessary to establish an understandable and fair amount of tribute in order to avoid conflicts in the future.
If the action took place in modern world, then one could say that Olga carried out a tax reform. The new rules included the establishment of a place for collecting tribute - "graveyard", and the amount of tribute - "lesson".
In the future, incidents similar to the case with the Kiev prince and the Drevlyans did not happen.
Politics of Princess Olga in the table
After the introduction of graveyards and lessons, Olga actively builds cities and fortresses around them, strengthening the defenses of Ancient Russia.
The foreign policy of Princess Olga
The foreign policy of Princess Olga was reduced to the search for new allies and the strengthening of international relations. In 956, the Byzantine emperor came to Kyiv. A year later, Olga made a visit to Constantinople, where she converted to Orthodoxy by the name of Elena. In 958, Olga went to Germany, seeking to acquire a new ally. The Germans sent Christian clergy to Kyiv. But pagan Kyiv did not accept the preachers and sent them home.
Under Olga, Russia survived the war with the Khazaria and the Pechenegs. In 968 the Pechenegs laid siege to Kyiv. The city managed to defend, and the princess personally led its defense.
The results of Olga's policy
- Strengthening centralized power
- Development of diplomatic relations with European countries
- Establishing the size of the tax
- First Steps to Christianity
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna ruled in Kievan Rus after the death of her husband Igor Rurikovich and until the coming of age of her son Svyatoslav. She converted to Christianity with the name Elena. History has not preserved information about the princess's date of birth, but the Book of Degrees says that she died presumably at the age of eighty. The impeccable and wise policy of Princess Olga made her a well-known historical figure almost all over the world.
life path
There is no reliable information about the place of her birth. Chroniclers and modern historians put forward a variety of assumptions in this regard. As close as possible to the truth is the statement of Nestor the Chronicler in The Tale of Bygone Years that she comes from a simple family that lived in the small village of Vybuty, located on Pskov land. But no matter where Olga was born and no matter what tribe she belongs to, the wisdom of her policies and deeds are an integral part of Slavic history.
Before the death of Igor, there is practically no information about the princess. The death of her husband put her in first place in the life of Kievan Rus, because Svyatoslav was three years old, and, of course, he was not fit to be a prince. She took over the management of the state, which was at that time in an extremely difficult situation, and for 19 years completely coped with all the problems. Olga's foreign and domestic policy created a single power with international authority.
Revenge on the Drevlyans
The beginning of her reign can be considered revenge on the killers of Igor, which consisted of four parts. The first revenge of the princess was the burial of the Drevlyansk ambassadors alive. The reason for this was their proposal to marry her to their prince Mal. After that, she burned alive in the bathhouse the noble Drevlyans, who arrived after the first. For the third time, Olga drugged 5,000 of their fellow tribesmen at her husband's feast, after which her small squad killed everyone. The final stage of revenge was the burning of the city of Iskorosten.
In these acts, in addition to cruel revenge, there is also a deep meaning. Olga had to show both well-wishers and enemies that she was not a weak woman, but a strong ruler. “The hair is long, and the mind is short,” they said about women in those days. Therefore, she was forced to demonstrate her wisdom and knowledge in military affairs in order to prevent the emergence of any conspiracies behind her back. For the second time, the princess did not want to get married, she preferred to remain a widow.
Thus, it became clear that Olga's foreign and domestic policy would be wise and fair. In fact, this bloody revenge was aimed at abolishing the power of the Mala dynasty, subordinating the Drevlyans to Kiev and suppressing the nobility from neighboring principalities.
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Reforms and introduction of Christianity
After taking revenge on the Drevlyans, the princess established clear rules for collecting tribute. This helped prevent outbreaks of discontent, one of which resulted in the murder of her husband. Graveyards were introduced near large cities. It was in these administrative and economic cells that the authorities collected tribute.
Olga's foreign and domestic policy has always been aimed at the centralization of state administration, as well as the unification and strengthening of Russian lands.
The construction of not only the Church of St. Nicholas, but also the St. Sophia Church in Kyiv is associated with the name of Olga. Although she was the first to convert to Christianity, her saint was supposedly revered as early as the 13th century.
Olga's foreign and domestic policy characterizes her not as a defenseless woman, but as a strong and reasonable ruler who firmly and confidently holds power over the whole country in her hands. She wisely defended her people from ill-wishers, for which people loved and respected her. In addition to the fact that the ruler had a large number of positive qualities already mentioned, she was also attentive and generous to poor people.
Domestic politics
While the empress was in power, peace and order reigned in Kievan Rus. The internal policy of Princess Olga was closely intertwined with the dispensation of the spiritual and religious life of the Russian people.
One of her most important achievements was the introduction of organized tribute collection points, on which later, after the ruler adopted Christianity, the first churches and temples began to be erected on the sites of graveyards. Since that time, the development of stone construction began. The first such buildings were the country tower and the city palace, which belonged to the empress. The remains of their walls and foundations were excavated by archaeologists only in the early 70s of the XX century.
The domestic policy of Princess Olga is inextricably linked with the strengthening of the country's defense. Cities then literally overgrown with oak and stone walls.
Relations with neighboring principalities
Olga's foreign policy deserves special attention. The table below contains the main deeds of the princess.
When the ruler established the state of affairs within Kievan Rus, she set about strengthening the international prestige of her country. The foreign policy of Princess Olga was diplomatic, in contrast to her husband.
At the beginning of her reign, she converted to Christianity, and the Byzantine emperor became her godfather. These events helped to increase the prestige of Kievan Rus among the rulers of other countries, because it seemed unrealistic to get such a person as godfathers.
Basically, the foreign policy of Princess Olga was aimed at improving relations with Byzantium. And she did it well. For the sake of which part of the Russian squad participated together with the Byzantine army in hostilities, while maintaining the independence of their state.
In 968 Kyiv was attacked by the Pechenegs. The defense of the city was led by the princess herself, thanks to which he was spared from the siege.
During the reign of Olga, conditions were formed that created the advantage of conducting a peaceful foreign policy over a military one, if such was necessary.
Attempts to establish relations with the German Empire
Over time, friendly relations with Byzantium began to weaken, and Olga decided to find a strong ally. She stopped her choice in Germany.
In 959, the princess sent a Russian embassy to Otto I with a request to provide priests for the introduction of Christianity in the Kiev lands, as well as with an offer of friendship and peace.
He responded to Olga's calls, and in 961 several clergy led by Adalbert arrived to her. True, they did not manage to deploy their activities on Kiev territory, since at the end of her life Olga no longer had such influence as before.
In 964, power passed to Svyatoslav, who radically changed the tactics of state policy. And, I must say, not for the better.
There is a historical tale that the Roman Emperor Constantine was the ideal ruler for Princess Olga. You can’t prove it, but the fact is that she was similar to him: just as intelligent, persistent, talented and completely ruthless.
Long regency
Olga was the ruler de facto, but not de jure. After the death in 945 of her husband Igor, she became only a regent for her young son Svyatoslav. Some sources claim that he was 3 years old, but this is doubtful; one thing is important: he was incapable of independent rule. And the last documented fact of Olga's participation in state affairs dates back to 968. Svyatoslav at this time is not only an adult, but also an experienced warrior, and his mother leads the defense of Kyiv from the Pechenegs, while her son robs the Bulgarians.
Consequently, Olga was in fact not only a regent, but also a co-ruler of Svyatoslav. This prince was not at all interested in the internal structure of the state and willingly pushed such matters onto his mother.
Carrot and stick
This is how you can characterize Olga's attitude to internal device country. She became a widow as a result. The prince became the first victim of tax evasion in our history - the Drevlyans took revenge on him for trying to collect tribute from them twice. But such actions undermined the prestige of the Kiev authorities. And Olga for a start resolutely stopped them.
Chronicles tell horrors about the "four revenges", with ambassadors buried alive, commemoration participants slaughtered and the city burned with the help of sparrows. Almost certainly this search is on the conscience of the artistic imagination of the authors of the annals. But the fact is that Olga suppressed the resistance of the Drevlyans by force and stopped their princely dynasty.
But then she did the exact opposite. She established the exact size of the “lifting” (that is, from the household) tribute. Thus, antics like the one that led to Igor's death were now out of the question. For the convenience of tax collection and analysis of local conflicts, places were organized near some settlements where tribute was paid and where litigation was settled. It is characteristic that later the word "graveyard" became synonymous with the cemetery - you can guess how they were punished for offenses. But for those years it was the norm.
Successes of diplomacy
On the outer frontiers, Olga preferred negotiation to force. It is known that she visited Byzantium (tentatively in 955) and negotiated with the German emperor Otto I. Her adoption of Christianity should also be included here - this was well received by foreign sovereigns.
It could only hurt domestic politics. It is known that the Russians simply expelled the missionary sent by Otto I. Son Svyatoslav answered the proposal of his mother to be baptized with a categorical refusal and stated that he did not want to become a laughing stock in the eyes of his own soldiers. Christianity was not persecuted in Russia, but the prince and most of his subjects considered the baptized "strange" and teased them caustically.
