The Dual Faces of Olga of Kyiv Vengeful Saint and Pious Leader
Reading Time: 11 minutes Olga of Kyiv represents the ultimate in duality. Vengeance on the one hand and being a just and pious ruler on the other. A person with such a spectrum, from one of the darkest traits of humankind, revenge, to holding such a lofty position as a Christian saint- Olga is a very interesting, if not perplexing, historical figure, to say the least. Her paradoxical personality sets her apart from other historical figures and makes her legacy one of a kind.
Olga of Kyiv: From Princess to Widow
Little is known about Olga of Kyiv before she married a ruler. She was born between 890 and 925 AD and came from a Varangian family that had settled in Pleskov. She married Igor I of Kyiv when she was quite young, perhaps no older than fifteen.
Igor, son of Rurik, the founder of the Rurik dynasty, had become the leader of a loosely confederated group of tribes that were beginning to make their mark in the lands that would become modern Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Oleg, Igor’s stepfather and father-in-law, had solidly unified Kyivan Rus and secured its recognition as a world power.
In her early life, Olga became associated with a tribe known as the Drevlians. The Drevlians were allies of Kyivan Rus in their wars against the Byzantine Empire and had been paying tribute to them until Oleg’s death, when the Drevlians, who had for years been paying tribute to Kyivan Rus for protection against external enemies, no longer felt the need, and the local chieftains began to collect the tribute for themselves.
To reestablish control over the Drevlians and collect tribute by force, Igor led a campaign into Drevlian territory in 945 and succeeded. However, greed got the better of Igor and, instead of simply collecting the tribute and returning, he demanded more, at which point the Drevlians killed Igor, and, according to the Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon, disemboweled him as part of an ancient Drevlian tradition of killing traitors, and fed his entrails to dogs, a story that may be apocryphal, but that was the likely death of Igor and set Olga on her path to becoming a saint.
The Beginning of Olga’s Retribution
Olga of Kyiv became a ruler of Kyivan Rus’ after her husband Igor of Kyiv was murdered by the Drevlians. She ruled as the regent for her young son Sviatoslav and was the first woman to become a ruler in the lands of Rus’. Her reign was marked by a reputation as a wise and good ruler, as well as a civil reformer.
Olga of Kyiv was nevertheless still waiting for her time to avenge Igor’s death, and took it when the Drevlians insultingly sent an offer of marriage to the murderer of her husband. When the Drevlians sent their 20 envoys to Kyiv with an offer of Olga of Kyiv to marry Prince Mal, who had ordered the murder of Igor of Kyiv, Olga cunningly responded.
She sent a message to the Drevlians to return the next day and promised to meet them and honor them before her people. The Drevlians agreed, not suspecting anything, as they thought they were cleverer than the Kyivans.
The Drevlians rose with the sun. Kyivan residents transported them by boat. They believed they were being granted a great honor by a ruler. What they thought was a seat in a royal palanquin was instead a drop into a large trench, dug by Olga’s orders. Then the Drevlians learned the truth as the dirt was quickly shoveled over them. They were dead and entombed alive as an insult to the honor they thought they were receiving.
The Rus’ Chronicles have her allegedly “asking if they liked the honor.” This how Olga of Kyiv enacted her revenge on the Drevlians. It was her first of many strikes, and the most famous, forever linking the names Drevlian and Olga of Kyiv.
The Escalation of Olga’s Vengeance
Olga of Kyiv’s bloodlust did not end with the burial of the Drevlian envoys. Her next move was more insidious, taking advantage of Drevlian ignorance of their kinsman’s death. She had the Drevlian princes come to Kyiv to honor her before she visited the Drevlian prince.
Little did the Drevlians know that they were literally marching into the lioness’ den, and they sent a group of their best men to Kyiv to meet with her. She invited them to a bathhouse for a place of rest, and while they were in the bathhouse, the doors were locked, and the structure was burned to the ground. The Drevlian envoys were all left dead in the ashes.
Still not satiated by the amount of blood she had shed, Olga of Kyiv crafted one of her most infamous traps. She told the Drevlians to make a feast fit for the funeral of her husband at the place of his death, and as they celebrated with copious amounts of mead, Olga and her entourage massacred the drunken Drevlians by the thousands in a show of bloodthirst that would haunt the Drevlians for centuries to come. Olga of Kyiv’s bloodlust did not end with the burial of the Drevlian envoys. Her next move was more insidious, taking advantage of Drevlian ignorance of their kinsman’s death. She had the Drevlian princes come to Kyiv to honor her before her visit to the Drevlian prince.
Little did the Drevlians know that they were literally marching into the lioness’ den, and they sent a group of their best men to Kyiv to meet with her. She invited them to a bathhouse for a place of rest, and while they were in the bathhouse, the doors were locked, and the structure was burned to the ground. The Drevlian envoys were all left dead in the ashes.
Still not satiated by the amount of blood she had shed, Olga of Kyiv crafted one of her most infamous traps. She told the Drevlians to make a feast fit for the funeral of her husband at the place of his death, and as they celebrated with copious amounts of mead, Olga and her entourage massacred the drunken Drevlians by the thousands in a show of bloodthirst that would haunt the Drevlians for centuries to come. Olga of Kyiv’s bloodlust did not end with the burial of the Drevlian envoys. Her next move was more insidious, taking advantage of Drevlian ignorance of their kinsman’s death. She had the Drevlian princes come to Kyiv to honor her before her visit to the Drevlian prince.
Little did the Drevlians know that they were literally marching into the lioness’ den, and they sent a group of their best men to Kyiv to meet with her. She invited them to a bathhouse for a place of rest, and while they were in the bathhouse, the doors were locked, and the structure was burned to the ground. The Drevlian envoys were all left dead in the ashes.
Still not satiated by the amount of blood she had shed, Olga of Kyiv crafted one of her most infamous traps. She told the Drevlians to make a feast fit for the funeral of her husband at the place of his death, and as they celebrated with copious amounts of mead, Olga and her entourage massacred the drunken Drevlians by the thousands in a show of bloodthirst that would haunt the Drevlians for centuries to come. This night of terror would later further solidify Olga of Kyiv’s legacy as a legendary yet terrifying figure in history.
After enacting such brutal vengeance upon the Drevlian leaders, Olga used the skills she had displayed through her three-day program of mass murder and terrorism to also show her great skill in the ways of war. For this, Olga returned to Kyiv to raise an army and continue her attack on the Drevlian survivors in a more military fashion. Her time as a ruler over Kyivan Rus ‘, as shown through these events, demonstrates her enlightened rule of power while also exhibiting her skills as a ruthless avenger, and this would go on to craft her terrifying legacy as Kyivan Rus’ vengeful saint.
The Consummation of Vengeance
Following this gruesome execution, Olga of Kyiv began to prepare for an attack on the Drevlians. As Olga’s forces converged on Iskorosten, the initial skirmishes between the Drevlians and the army of Kyivan Rus were unfavorable for the former, and they were forced to retreat into the city. The Drevlians prepared for a siege. As the city was again under siege by Olga’s forces, her persistence and hunger for vengeance showed no sign of letting up. The months turned into a year, and there was no sign of her forces retreating. At this moment, Olga sprung her most infamous and diabolical plan on the Drevlians.
In a message of ‘peace,’ Olga of Kyiv offered to spare their lives and the city if they paid tribute. The Drevlians thought it a fair bargain and were astounded when Olga sent her forces to collect the demanded tribute from every household: three pigeons and sparrows. Olga had her army set each bird free and tied a small piece of cloth with sulfur onto them. As soon as dusk had fallen, her army set each cloth on fire, unleashing the birds to their nests within the city. The pigeons and sparrows darted into the city, and the thatched roofs of each building soon caught fire. The fire spread like a disease, with no hope of containment. The Drevlians were caught in a situation akin to Hell; between an army bent on their destruction and the fiery end awaiting them in the city, they had no choice but to try to flee.
The once-proud warriors of the Drevlian tribe ran headlong into the waiting army of Olga of Kyiv. Many of them met their end by the sword, trying to escape the blaze that had consumed their city. Others were taken captive and sold into slavery, where they would spend the rest of their lives under the yoke of Kyivan Rus. As dawn broke the next morning, it would cast light on an empty battlefield littered with corpses that would serve as a warning to any would-be attacker of the Kyivan Rus.
Pious Leadership: Olga’s Reign and Religious Transformation
In the wake of retribution’s ashes, Olga of Kyiv ushered in a transformative era over Kyivan Rus’. Her regency introduced a pivotal shift: a legal framework that redefined how tribute was collected. This marked the first legal reform in Eastern Europe, setting a precedent for state centralization and refining administrative efficiency.
Yet, it was not just her ironclad will that reshaped the landscape but also her empathetic vision for her people’s welfare. Olga strategically established trading posts and hunting reserves, not only as economic powerhouses but also as crucibles of cultural and ethnic unity among the Rus’. The tapestry of her rule was a masterclass in multifaceted legacy, weaving sagacious leadership with a visionary approach to statecraft.
The turning point, however, was the red thread of her conversion to Christianity. In the grandeur of Constantinople, Olga’s life underwent a seismic shift. This was no mere change of faith; it was a deeply personal and strategic pivot that brought Kyivan Rus closer to the Christian world. The Byzantine Emperors’ and Patriarchs’ involvement in her baptism was not just ceremonial. It testified to the monumental significance of her conversion, positioning Olga not only as a devout Christian but as a bridge between Eastern Orthodox Christianity and the pagan traditions of her land. This blend of piety and pragmatism underscored her unique position as a leader who could navigate the choppy waters of cultural and religious transitions.
Her conversion was more than a turning point; it was a clarion call that echoed through the annals of Kyivan Rus. Olga’s adoption of Christianity wasn’t a superficial change; it was a deep conviction. She embraced Constantinople’s teachings, becoming a torchbearer for her faith. The Chronicle might spin tales of political machinations, but beneath the veneer of palace intrigue, a woman remained unwavering in her Christian ethos.
Olga’s introduction of Christianity wasn’t a whim but a calculated move with profound spiritual ramifications. Her efforts in spreading Christianity across Kyivan Rus were not just the work of a ruler; they were the acts of a visionary who saw her realm’s spiritual future. Her reign catalyzed a legacy that would echo through the ages: the Christianization of Kyivan Rus. This was her grand design, one that intertwined the dual threads of her legacy – the vengeful ruler and the pious woman.
Olga of Kyiv: A Saintly Legacy Beyond Vengeance
Olga of Kyiv died in 969 after a siege by the Pechenegs that had lasted many months. According to the narrative, her subjects and family around her paid their respects to the deceased Princess. In the end, she died as she had lived: a devoted ruler to her people.
Although her son, Sviatoslav, opposed this decision, she was buried following Christian traditions, forgoing the pagan Russian rites and rituals. She then became revered for being a Christian woman. Olga’s vision of a Christian Kyivan Rus’ would not be achieved in her lifetime. However, her path set the groundwork for the development of Eastern Christianity in the region, and her efforts were still praised for their religious values.
Her sainthood was not immediate, but the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Saint Olga of Kyiv in the 13th century. The Church Synod recognized her as a saint in 1284. She was even said to be on a footing equal to the apostles themselves. Olga of Kyiv was canonized alongside her grandson Vladimir of Kyiv.
Her body, when exhumed many years later, was miraculously not in a state of decomposition, which was another reason for her title as Saint Olga. Her relics were subsequently enshrined, but the tomb of Olga of Kyiv was later destroyed by the Mongol-Tatar hordes.
The memory of Olga is cherished in every East Slavic-speaking country. On July 11, during her feast day, the saint is fondly remembered for her courage, character, and unwavering commitment to God. As the patroness of widows and those who convert to Christianity, Olga of Kyiv remains an important historical figure in Eastern Christianity.
