Princess Olga, wife of Prince Igor of Rus, was, and continues to be, a woman who is admired by the

Russian people.  The admiration for Olga by earlier generations is shown in the account of the later part of 

her life in the Russian Primary Chronicle. Because the Russians were not literate until after Rusí became a 

Christian state in a.d. 988, this article is written with a bias and it is doubtful that things happened exactly as 

the chronicle says they did.  Nevertheless, how Olga is talked about tells us a lot about the way she was viewed 

in the past and the present.  During her time, Olga was not viewed very highly by her neighbors, while later 

she came to be perceived in a much better light. 

       The piece begins with the account of her husbandís death in a.d. 945 and talks about her reaction to 

her husbandís death and towards the Derevlians, the people who killed Igor. The outcome of each of her 

encounters with the Derevlians and later the emperor of Greece, Constantine, shows her craftiness and ability 

to plan.  Olga was able to use the pride of Derevlians and the emperorís beliefs to outwit them all.

        Throughout the account of Olgaís dealings with her husbandís assassins, the chronicle portrays the 

Derevlians as haughty although naively trusting of Olga.  They believed that if they asked her, she would come 

and marry their prince Mal, no questions asked.  They never suspected that she would avenge her husbandís 

death.  Maybe it was because the Derevlians thought that she would be content with "staying in power" by 

marrying another prince or that they never suspected that she could be intelligent or crafty enough to 

outsmart them.  In either case they willingly did what she asked of them and only when she came to them did 

they begin to question her about the whereabouts of their kinsmen whom they had sent to her earlier 

("Princess," 6453).

       This points us in the direction of the thought that Olga was not considered to be of great intelligence by 

the peoples of neighboring principalities.  They underestimated her capabilities and therefore did not even 

consider the possibility that she was a capable ruler.  This gave Olga the upper hand in her dealings with the

Derevlians and eventually led to their subjugation.

        Meanwhile the text portrays Olga to be much more savvy than the Derevlians believe her to be. With 

the Derevlians it spelled their ultimate doom and almost complete destruction.  By pretending to honor them 

in a way they saw fit and catering to the Derevlians pride, she was able to trick them several times into 

well-thought out plans that cost many Derevlians their lives and the freedom of their state.  First she pretended 

to honor the Drevelian embassy by having them carried in their boats by the citizens of Kiev to her palace. 

Little did they expect to be dropped into a huge pit and buried alive.  When the second group of Derevlians 

came to Olga at her request, she told them that she would meet them only after they had bathed.  While 

they were in the bathhouse Olgaís servants followed her instructions to lock up the bathhouse and set it 

on fire from the doors so that the Derevlians could not escape.  Olga tricked them a few more times, killing 

many more Derevlians and destroying much of their property, leaving only a fraction of them left to pay 

tribute to her.  ("Princess," 6453)

       When she went to Greece, Olga used this same cunning to outwit the emperor and save her from marriage 

to him.  Emperor Constantine had wondered at Olgaís intelligence when he first met her and even remarked 

that she was fit to rule with him, but he did not realize that she would use that intellect against him.  Olga 

convinced Constantine to baptize her, and when afterwards he asked her to be his wife she countered his 

proposal by saying, "í How can you marry me, after yourself baptizing me and calling me your daughter? 

For among Christians that is unlawful, as you yourself must know.í"  After he realized what had happened,

Constantine began to understand Olgaís craftiness and wit.  ("Princess," 6456) This is another example of 

how people outside of Rusí underestimated Olgaís capabilities.

        We can reasonably doubt the historicity of this account. Constantine already had an empress and as 

a Christian ruler he obviously would not be seeking another wife. Byzantine accounts of Olga's visit are silent 

about any attempt by Constantine to marry Olga (Sokol, 16), Moreover, Olga even showed her respect for 

the empress by taking her name as a baptized Christian (Kimball, 2).

         We may detect some lack of respect for Olga among the Rus people. She tried to convince her son to 

become a Christian without success. She may have brought a Christian bishop to Kiev whom the inhabitants 

drove away. ("Adalbert," 45, Birnbaum, 2)

        The chronicle shows with its closing lines, however, how much Russians came to admire Olga. The 

chronicle states, "She was the first from Rusí to enter the kingdom of God, and the sons of Rus thus praise 

her as their leader, for since her death she has interceded with God in their behalf."  ("Princess," 6477) In the 

eyes of the author Olga was worthy to be in Godís presence; she became a saint. Russians believed this 

ecause of reports of miracles of healing at her grave. 

        This view of Olga as being holy is still held today and is shown by the popularity of the name Olga in 

Russian society today.  Devout Russians name their children for saints in hopes that their children will display 

the same worthy characteristics as their name-sakes.  The popularity of the name Olga shows that many 

Russians still view her to be a woman of character and that they wish their daughters to be the same.

        Human experience knows of many people whom the public realized to be great only after their death. 

Princess Olga was underestimated by neighboring states and people groups. The Derevlians and the Byzantine

emperor tried to get the better of her without success. But from almost the time of her death until now, Olga 

has been seen in a very positive light.  The prevalence of her name in Russian society even today attests to 

that fact.  Though not viewed very highly by her neighbors in her lifetime, in the end the Russians decided she 

was a saint. 
 
 
 

Word count 1086
 
 

Sources cited:

"Adalbert," Modern Encyclopedia of Religions of Russia and the Soviet Union, Vol. 1 (Gulf Breeze, Fl., 1988), 44-45.

Birnbaum, Henrik, "Christianity before Christianization: Christians and Christian Activity in Pre-988 Rus'" [http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/classes/olgabirnbaum.html], accessed August 26, 2000.

Kimball, Alan, "Two Women, Olga and Anna, and the Christianization of Rus'" [http://www.uoregon.edu/~kimball/Xtxion.Olga.Anna.htm], accessed August 26, 2000

"Princess Olga" from  Russian Primary Chronicle.  [www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/classes/olgachronicle.htm] , accessed August 26, 2000.

Sokol, Edward D., "Ol'ga," Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History, Vol. 26 (Gulf Breeze, Fl., 1980), 14-19.