Why was Olga baptized in constantinople? Princess Olga's trip to Constantinople. Baptism. Significance in Russian history

/ Starting point in the question of the origin of Russia there is an initial Russian chronicle and Byzantine news from which schools borrow funds for offense and defense. And since the Byzantine news is older than the Russian chronicle, they are of greater importance in our question.

The earliest mentions of Russia date back to the first half of the 9th century (1).

A curious feature of the oldest news is that in them Russia appears under the rule of the kagan... If we compare with this the fact that Metropolitan Hilarion, in his eulogy to Vladimir, calls him kagan of our land, then the following conclusion is drawn from this: the Russian state existed before 862 under the control of the kagan. This Rus, which some call the Black Sea, others Pomor, others Kiev, made sea voyages and devastated the shores of the Black Sea even before the founding of Norman rule in Novgorod.

Further, a whole series of news about Russia refers to the hike Askold and Dir to Constantinople. The importance of these news is seen from the fact that they come from such an authoritative person as Patriarch Photius (2), and cover the events of 865 and 866. But Patriarch Photius did not think that in 1000 years there would be a heated debate about the origin of Rus, and did not make any hint as to which Rus attacked Constantinople: Slavic or Scandinavian. Photius' news is as follows. In one conversation, he says about Russia:

“Where did this Iperborean and terrible thunderous blow burst above us! An army came out from the north, tribes rose from the extreme reaches of the earth. Rumor did not warn about their march, their appearance and the suffering caused to us was unexpected. Meanwhile, how many countries and tribes and navigable rivers and seas without harbors have we separated from them? "

In another conversation, Russia is characterized by more typical features.

“This is a people unknown, not important, a people, numbered crabs, did not matter, but gained fame and glorified from the campaign against us, insignificant and poor, but reached heights and enriched, a people living somewhere far from us, barbaric, located in a nomadic life, arrogant with his weapons, carefree, stubborn, not recognizing military discipline; this people quickly, in the blink of an eye, like a sea wave, rushed to our borders. "

In 867, Photius once again had to talk about Russia in the district epistle to the bishops:

“Not only the Bulgarians turned to Christianity, but also that notorious people, which surpasses everyone in rudeness and brutality, that is, the so-called Russia. This people, having enslaved the neighboring tribes and thereby being overly proud, raised their hand against the Romeian empire. But now he changed the Hellenic and godless faith for pure Christian teaching, joining the ranks of our loyal and friends. "

In the passages cited, there is no such sign that would give us a reason to extract from them evidence in favor of the Scandinavian school or the opposite to it. That is why the adherents of one and the other explain these passages each in favor of his own theory.

But one can at least see what is lacking in Photius' news ethnographic and geographic characteristics: Slavs mean the Byzantines, speaking of Russia, or Russia, called from across the sea, Scandinavian?

A number of writers testifying to the attack of Rus on Constantinople under Igor gives this Rus a name Rus Dromity from the Franks family (3).

In essence, these passages cannot be used to resolve our question, because the elephant "Dromita" itself arouses a lot of controversy and almost represents an erroneous reading (instead of "drongita" from δρογγος).

In the writings of Konstantin Porfirorodny, who knew about Russia firsthand, for he hosted Princess Olga and was interested in the peculiarities of Russian life, there are various information about Russia in the 10th century. So, from his writings we learn that Russia played a rather important role in the Byzantine naval service: a Russian squadron with 700 crew members took part in the Cretan campaign in 902; in the Italian campaign of 936 415 Russians are mentioned; in another Cretan campaign, 949, 9 Russian ships participated and they had a crew of 629 people. Regardless of the fact, Russia served in the tsarist guard. But if we refer to Constantine with a request - whether it is Slavic Rus or Scandinavian, then we will not find a direct answer from him. There is, however, one place, in my opinion, insufficiently appreciated, in which one can see a hint of geographical location of Russia (4):

“The Russians are neighbors with the Pechenegs, and the latter often plunder and harm Russia. Russians try to live in peace with the Pechenegs, because they buy oxen, horses and sheep from them, which are not in Russia ”.

This remark seems to be seen as an indication of the opposition between Great Russia and Little Russia; the first and now needs good livestock, which is delivered from Little Russia.

Finally, I will cite a few more passages that should be all the more interesting because they are being used for the first time in scientific circulation. These, by the way, are the riddles for the word Pως (from the papers of Gaza, in the Paris National Library):

1) My name is a martyr and at the same time a bird. By subtracting the first three letters, you will see proud arrogant pagan tribe(γενος). The riddle is given on the word Фλωρος and refers to the pagan era of Russia.

2) I am produced by a sweetly giving birth animal, endowed with the ability to fly. I often visit temples and enjoy the attention of those who are praying. If you subtract the first two letters, then the other three will mean haughty pride of the Scythian barbarian... This riddle is given for the word κηρος - wax, it is supplied, moreover, with a clue, in which it is clearly indicated that after the removal of the first two letters this word means Russian people... So, the barbarian Scythian and the Russian people in the view of the Byzantines of the 10th century. essence equivalent terms.

No less curious is the inscription on the pedestal of one column that stood on the Taurus, which was interpreted in the sense that that Russia will conquer Constantinople(5). This interpretation of the inscription dates back to the 10th century. and, moreover, cannot have in mind the Rus that served in the navy and the guard of the Byzantine emperor, nor the Scandinavian Rus of the same tribe with her in Kiev.

So, the Byzantine news about Russia does not give an answer to geographical and ethnographic inquiries at all, does not allow to determine with certainty whether the Byzantines meant Normans or Slavs when speaking of Russia. But we also saw a faint geographical hint in Constantine, then noticed the parallelism of ideas about the Scythian and the Russian, and, finally, noted that the prediction of the conquest of Constantinople by Russia is incompatible with the admission to military service of the same Russia and in the same era.

But in the Russian and Byzantine chronicles there are other terms, either replacing the word "rus", or used in parallel. In the Russian chronicle the twin of Russia is the Varangians, in the Byzantine one is the Scythians. In our chronicle "Rus" is a substitute for the term "Varangians". The Varangians in the annals even precede Russia: "Imakh is a tribute to the Varangians (859), who drove the Varangians across the sea (862), from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed". The word "Varangian" is a double of "Rus", these words are in such close relationship that we have common expressions: Varangian princes, Varangians-Rus, Varangian question, etc. The Byzantines are well aware of this ethnographic term, which they also use (in the XI century) next to Russia. In the history of the struggle of the Russian schools, the Varangians constituted a kind of prize, which the Normanists and their opponents pursued for a long time. But since the Varangians could not be confined to any locality in Europe, it is clear that the pursuit of this prize was unsuccessful. Now the question of the Varangians has lost its acute character, after it became known that the Norwegian hero Harald (XI century) was the son of King Warangia(6), i.e. that Norway was called the land of the Varangians. Since in the XI century. Byzantines, placing Varangians and Rus side by side, do not confuse one name with another, it is obvious that they distinguished ethnographically between these terms and, therefore, the question of Rus remains open, although the Scandinavian origin of the Varangians has been proven.

Thus, there remains another twin of Russia - the Scythians. Already the writer Leo the Deacon, who took a personal part in the war with Svyatoslav, called Russians Scythians and Tavro-Scythians. Subsequently, this confusion of ethnographic terms became common among Byzantine writers. Later writers, even mentioning the campaigns of Russia in the X century. and about the miraculous help rendered by the Blachernae Mother of God, the attackers are called Scythians. In one handwritten word in honor of the Mother of God, the enemies against whom she courageously defended Byzantium are listed - these are the Persians, Scythians, Hagarians, Bulgarians and Latins. In the XVII century. the icon of Our Lady of Blachernae was brought to Moscow, and the history of this shrine was also told, which describes the place where they drowned Scythian kagan ships (7).

The question of the origin of Rus, put in close connection with the Scythian, is far from being exhausted. But I cannot dwell on him any longer. If you asked me now which school I would rather join, I would answer: Norman, although not without regret. The reason and logic of the surviving texts obliges to take the side of the Norman school, but the feeling and fear of sacrificing the living reality observed in the life and work of Russia of the 10th century entails the opposite school.

The mind of Russia does not understand

A common yardstick cannot be measured.

She has a special become:

You can only believe in Russia! /

With the beginning of the X century. Russian princes begin to take part in European events and Russia as an ethnographic term, the further, the more with great tension and the gradually emerging character of the cultured European people, is an active element in the horizons of the Byzantine and Eastern chroniclers. It should be thought that the relations that began with the campaign of Askold and Dir and the introduction of Christianity after 860 did not stop until the beginning of the 10th century, when Russia was already maintaining neighboring trade and friendly relations with Byzantium and when some of the Russians were in the military service of the empire, about than for the first time there is an indication in the history of the Cretan campaign of patrician Imeria under Leo the Wise (8). Since then, Russia, even with the exact designation of its introduction to the Christian faith, during the X century. occurs many times in the military, trade and diplomatic history of Byzantium. Already in themselves, these references to the detachments of Russians, the number of which before St. Vladimir fluctuated at different times from 415 to 700 and who participated in the campaigns of the imperial fleet on separate military ships equipped by the government, and received a certain salary for this, could have submitted a reason to draw conclusions about the methods and means by which these favorable results were achieved in relation to the warlike people who had just begun their heroic period. It is very likely that by the time the trip was organized

Imeria against Crete in Constantinople was already a permanent Russian colony and that hunters from this colony were invited to participate in military campaigns. On the other hand, in the letters of Patriarch Nikolai Mystic, which we dealt with above, it is indicated that in the fierce struggle that broke out between Bulgaria and Byzantium in the first quarter of the 10th century, the Russians were invited to an alliance with the empire no longer in the sense of a small detachment of volunteers, but as a people who lived on the northern border and could make a move towards Bulgaria or its allies in South-Eastern Europe. Since these facts contain the most ancient news about the international significance of Russia, it is clear that it is not enough to just take them into account and, so to speak, bring them to the parish, but they should be explained and given a proper place among other homogeneous facts.

Researchers of the ancient history of Russia quite thoroughly put forward the great cultural significance of the relations of Byzantium with Russia and ascribe to them a tremendous educational influence in relation to Russia. Without becoming here in the position of neither a defender nor a condemnator of the concepts and customs that passed to Russia from Byzantium, which were reflected in various Russian institutions, mainly in the structure of the Church and in the development of the Grand Duke and Tsarist power, we find it fair to put the idea of ​​borrowing within the proper limits and the influences of one nation on another, placing these boundaries in those national foundations that hold every nation with a historical vocation. Thus, Russia borrowed from Byzantium mainly what corresponded to its own concepts and tastes. As you know, in the Russian chronicle, after the rather mysterious news about how the Russian land began and what "Varangians-Rus" is, wonderful acts were inserted into the chronicle story, namely the treaties between Russians and Greeks. If in the composition of the annalistic corpus, especially on its first pages, there are many dubious news borrowed by the chronicler from folk legends, then the mentioned treaty acts are largely free from this shortcoming in terms of their very formal structure and technical content. But even when freed from suspicion of falsity and fiction, contracts do not overflow to remain mysterious to a certain extent. Is it possible to agree with the cultural state of Russia at the beginning of the 10th century? What is the phenomenon of treaties with the Greeks? Such acts, which do not have modern examples among other Slavs, would force Russia to ascribe the 10th century. considerable development both in the state and in social and economic terms. Therefore, the literature on this issue is very extensive, it touches on Russian-Byzantine relations from different points of view. But there is one circumstance that takes away from the contracts part of their character of authority and documentation. When reading contracts, one cannot help but experience great difficulties and misunderstandings stemming from the peculiarities of the language, sometimes confusion in the arrangement of thoughts and often strange expressions that need comment. In addition, the question urgently needs to be resolved: how could the documents survived until the time of the compiler of the so-called Nestorov Code, which do not have a trace in the Byzantine chronicle? In relation to the language, much is explained by the fact that we have before us a translation from the Greek original, not quite accurately made at the very beginning, but then still spoiled by scribes and interpreters who read the ancient chronicle and tried to explain it for themselves. In relation to the strange coincidence that only the Russian translation of the treaties has survived, and not the Greek original, they point out precisely such characteristic shortcomings of this Russian text, which cannot be explained otherwise than by the way of transferring the Greek expression into Russian. The very system of drafting contractual letters, practiced in Byzantium, explains well why the translation could have survived (9).

The best and striking example of how the oddities of the Russian text find their only explanation in the corresponding Greek expression are the well-known words: "equal to another message", repeated at the beginning of almost all contracts. Just as the fact that this expression, invariably and in the same place used in all treaties, betrays its official and technical character, so its construction, unusual for the Russian language, makes it clear about its foreign and translated origin. It has now become clear (10) that this expression is a literal translation of very common words in Greek acts: ισον του ετερου σιμβολαιον, which means "copy" from another treaty or "list" from another treaty letter. This technical term τо ισον finds an explanation of its origin in the customs of Byzantine clerical work, according to which the official act was drawn up in two copies. Each party received two copies of the agreement: one in the language of the party with which the agreement is concluded, the other in the form of a copy from the same copy in the language of their country!

Finding it unnecessary here to enter into the assessment of opinions on special issues regarding treaties, we turn directly to their content and begin with the general conclusion that the literary meaning and material documentary nature of the first three treaties - 907, 911 and 945. - must be viewed from the same angle. In all treaties, real life is expressed and the mutual relationship between Russians and Greeks is outlined, and all monuments provide equally valuable material for characterizing the life and state of Kievan Rus. As official monuments emanating from a people who have already established forms of statehood and international relations caused by trade and other cultural interests, treaties represent a wonderful source, which, like its annals, draws it favorably in the history of the Slavs of the same era. For the historian, if he encounters a new and unparalleled fact, it is imperative to find for him a possible setting in previous and subsequent relationships. The treaties, of course, must be connected both with the introduction of Russia to Christianity after the invasion of Constantinople in 860, and with the participation of Russians in military campaigns passing through the entire X century, which necessarily presupposes the permanent stay of the Russian colony in Constantinople. In terms of the historical and material setting for treaties, we must also point out a remarkable fact that has not yet been revealed in its cultural significance - this is the trip of the Grand Duchess Olga to Constantinople and the ceremonial of her receptions at the court, described in detail in the court diary and preserved to this day.

The essence of the chronicle story about the 907 treaty, if we free it from the layers introduced by different spheres in which the manuscript was circulated, is as follows. In addition to tribute to the army that took part in the campaign, "twelve hryvnias on a key" the Greeks undertook to contribute "ukshids" to Russian cities: Kiev, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Polotsk, Rostov, Lyubech and other cities. This article of the treaty, testifying to the right of cities to participate in the conclusion of treaties, is a very characteristic feature of the then political system of Russia and should be recognized as an important fact. Further, indications of trade ties are extremely valuable: Russians who come to Constantinople receive food from the government, while merchants have the right to a month within 6 months and after this period and at the end of trade transactions they return home, being supplied with everything necessary for the journey. ... The Russian colony, as well as temporary visitors arriving on business in Constantinople, were located in a certain place, namely, in the quarter of St. Mamant. There they usually pestered, disembarking from ships, and there they were subjected to a census, after which they were given content. In order to prevent any surprises, a requirement was set that the Russians entered the city for their affairs by one gate, accompanied by the tsar's bailiff, no more than 50 people at a time and without weapons. Both parties sealed the treaty with an oath: the Byzantine tsars kissed the cross, and Russia swore "according to Russian law" with its weapons and called Perun and Beles to testify. These are the main features that characterize the treaty of 907, which experienced some additions and legendary coloring on the pages of the annals.

The cultural significance of the relations established between Byzantium and Russia is predominantly marked by the treaties of 911 and 945, which in their form fully sustained the nature of such documents concluded by the empire with the commercial Italian republics. In the treaties that occupy us, after listing the names of Russian ambassadors, who generally differ in non-Slavic origin, the position of moral and material motives for the conclusion of the treaty follows, and then the content of the treaty is divided into separate articles. Thus, Articles 3 - 7 of the Olegov Treaty determine punishments for murder, wounds, thief and robbery - these are articles of criminal law that regulate the life of the Russian colony in Constantinople and its relationship to the local population. Here, by the way, one article was resolved the question of the inheritance of the Russian ambassador, who died in Constantinople. If a will is found, then the inheritance passes according to the will of the testator; if not, then the compatriots of the deceased take it and pass it on to their legal heirs in Russia. Article 8 the treaty provides for the case of a shipwreck.

It is known that at that distant time the so-called coastal law was recognized, according to which any ship thrown ashore by waves was considered the property of those to whom the coast belonged; In the medieval era, this right was of great importance, but it often turned into robbery: coastal residents often robbed those ships that simply moored the shore and seized ships. Even on the high seas, considering it the same property as the coast. The Russians undertake not to take the Greek ships that were damaged off their shores, but must, with all caution, bring the ship to Greece; if the ship has suffered too much, then it is taken to Russia, the cargo is sold and, at the first opportunity, its value is returned to the Greeks. The following chapters of the agreement explain how to proceed with the ransom of prisoners, what amount can be claimed for each; further, in what position should the Russians who serve in the Byzantine service be, finally, both sides undertake to hand over criminals to each other, and, moreover, on equal terms.

Igor's treaty of 945, in addition to some articles concerning everyday and social life and partly similar to the articles of Oleg's treaty, illuminates important new aspects of Russian relations with Byzantium. Article 2 of the treaty, quite unexpectedly for us, surrounds the relations of Kiev merchants and, in general, Russia with the Greeks with such formalities that it would be difficult to look for in Russian society at the beginning of the 10th century. To prevent various misunderstandings and troubles, the Byzantine government requires that all Russians leaving for Constantinople in June have a letter from the Grand Duke, which would indicate how many people are going and on how many ships; Only under such a condition could the Russians be viewed in Constantinople as people who come with "peace", and not as a gang of robbers. If some crowd of Russians comes without a princely letter, they will be held back by the Greeks until the Russian prince is given to know.

This agreement repeats the articles that Russians should live near the church of St. Mamant and can enter the city through one gate among no more than 50 people without weapons, accompanied by the "Tsar's husband".

If, as it turns out from the treaties, the relations between Russia and Byzantium are arranged correctly and are conditioned by treaties, then it is natural to look for other data that would confirm these legal state relations. In this sense, attention is drawn to those parts of the treaties that relate to mutual obligations regarding disputed areas, as well as a military agreement on the account of sending auxiliary units. By the way, in Article 8 we meet the following decree: "in relation to the Kherson land and all the cities that are in it, the Russian prince does not have the power to fight this country, and it does not submit to the Russians." If in 945 a clause was established excluding the Kherson country from the dependence of Rus, then it is clear that there have already been attempts by Rus to take possession of this country. Thus, those allusions to the Russian campaigns in the Crimea, which we find in the annals, obviously have a certain historical basis. As if to reward Igor for his refusal to possess the Kherson country, the same article of the treaty stipulates: "If the Russian prince wishes to receive from us an auxiliary detachment for his wars, we will send it in as many numbers as he needs." This article is confirmed by multiple references in history about the Russian military detachment in the wars of Byzantium. Next to the 8th article of the treaty, it is necessary to put the 10th and 11th, where the participation of Russians in the affairs of the Black Sea is also eliminated, if possible.

"When the Russians," says the 10th article, "find the Kherson people fishing in the mouths of the Dnieper, then let them not do them any harm, and let them not have the power to winter in the estuaries of the Dnieper ..."

Enough has been said to make it clear about the significance of the treaties between Russia and the Greeks for the history of the internal life of the Russian people and their political relations in the 10th century. The treaties show that Byzantium found it possible to enter into international relations with Russia as with a properly organized state. The state archive of the empire contained the formula for written relations with the Russian Grand Duke. Cultural interests are most vividly represented in the circumstances accompanying St. Olga in 957

About Olga in the Russian chronicle it is said that she was baptized in Constantinople, that at the same time, thanks to her mind, she gained the respect of the Byzantine emperor, whom she "switched". Russian monuments say quite a lot about this journey of Olga, but it is especially described in detail and vividly by Konstantin Porphyrogenitus (11). First of all, there is one strange circumstance in the Byzantine story about Olga's reception in Constantinople. The article is designated in exactly the same way as the conversation of Patriarch Photius is titled: the invasion of Russia (12), i.e., the visit to Olga is indicated in Greek by an expression that has the meaning of an invasion with a hostile purpose or a military campaign. Since the news of the Russian chronicle in this case is at odds with the Byzantine one, for the first focuses all attention on Olga's baptism, and the second does not say anything about baptism, it has long been suggested that Olga may have been to Constantinople twice. It should also be added that the Byzantine news cannot arouse any doubts against itself, for it is a palace magazine describing the ceremonial receptions of ambassadors and visitors from foreign countries. Russians who visited Constantinople at the end of the 12th century still found some memories of Olga there. Thus, Archbishop Anthony of Novgorod says that he was shown in the church of St. Sophia, among other shrines and jewels, "the dish is great gold for the service of Olga the Russian, when she took a tribute when she went to Constantinople."

What purpose Olga was guided by when she took a trip to Constantinople, nothing can be said for sure, but conjectures are mainly focused on the fact that she wished to be baptized in Constantinople. Whether in reception ceremony Olga has a few interesting features for us, the gala reception was given to her on Wednesday, September 9, 955. According to the custom of Byzantine etiquette, Olga had to walk through the numerous halls and galleries of the imperial palace, before getting to the throne room, the great triclinius Magnavra, where he stood Solomon's throne. This throne was a miracle of art that could not fail to amaze the imagination. A foreigner approaching the throne to worship the emperor, surrounded by a brilliant retinue of military and courtiers in ceremonial uniforms, was struck by surprise after surprise. First of all, the sounds of gold and silver organs were heard, hidden from the eyes by curtains and carpets. Then golden lions rose on the golden throne and roared terribly, golden birds began harmonious songs on golden trees around the throne.

There is no doubt that the Byzantine court surpassed everything that Europe knew in its splendor and splendor, and that the etiquette of court ceremonies, on which the Byzantines very much insisted, must have produced a fascinating impression.

Olga was received with the observance of all ceremonies, perhaps tedious, and she was given a special honor in the sense that the reception with the tsar was followed by a reception with the tsarina, less ceremonial, in her own chambers; the second reception was attended by the tsar and the entire tsar's family, and here Olga could easily talk with the tsar and tsarina. On the same day, there was a ceremonial dinner in the Justinian Hall. Olga was seated not at the royal table, but at the one closest to the royal one, at which the first court ladies sat. During dinner, the court singers sang and stage performances were performed. The difference from ordinary dinners here was that the sweets were served at a separate table, where members of the imperial family took their places and where Olga was invited. On the same day, in another hall of the palace, a dinner was given for Olga's retinue.

On October 18, another dinner was given in the palace in honor of Olga and her retinue. In one room, where Olga's retinue dined, the tsar was present, in the other, where Olga dined, the tsarina and her family.

It is possible to calculate how great Olga's retinue was, because the court journal indicates to whom which gifts were made after dinner. It turns out that the male staff of the suite, invited to dinner, extended up to 88 people, the female - up to 35. Princess Olga received as a gift from two to three hundred rubles and a golden dish, perhaps the same one that she saw in the church of St. Sophia Archbishop Anthony.

Olga's retinue included, among other things, a clergyman, priest Gregory. Everything makes one think that this priest was brought by Olga from Russia and that, consequently, she was already a Christian when she arrived in Constantinople. If this is so, then the generally accepted opinion about Olga's baptism in Constantinople has little credibility behind it, or, in order to defend it, one should assume another journey of her to Constantinople.

In my opinion, Olga visited Constantinople not for the sake of adopting Christianity and not for a military purpose. The purpose of her visit can be understood if we pay attention to the composition of her retinue, received in the palace and awarded with gifts. Undoubtedly, not all those who arrived with the princess were received in the palace: for example, there is no mention of sailors, military people are represented in small numbers. Of the 88 people invited to the table, there were 44 merchants, or, in the then expression, guests, and 22 attorneys, or ambassadors, from the Russian boyars. Obviously, the main element in the retinue was not the military, but the commercial one; 22 representatives from the boyars may indicate the same the number of cities or volosts in which the rulers subordinate to the Russian prince sat... We see, therefore, here expressed trade and zemstvo interests, which already in the X century. were largely dependent on correct relations with Byzantium. Olga's journey illustrates treaties with the Greeks, which also strongly emphasize the desire to establish peaceful relations with the empire.

Olga, taking these interests under her protection, could, of course, have her own goals when visiting Constantinople. Russian tradition ascribes to Olga high wisdom, extraordinary intelligence and administrative abilities. It should be thought that the highest political wisdom of the princes of the X century. was to bring Russia closer to Byzantium closer ties and to transfer cultural principles from the Byzantine Empire to Russia. According to all the legends about Olga, it can be argued that with her trip to Constantinople she should have made the same revolution in the minds of her contemporaries as Peter did with his trip to Western Europe. Byzantium could amaze the imagination not only with its court ceremonial, but also with the forms of community and the way of life. If the best people of the X century. could form ideals for themselves, then they could find these ideals in the best forms of community and in the culture of the most educated peoples, and for that time Byzantium was an unattainable model.

What especially attracted the Russian people in this respect was, undoubtedly, the shrines of Constantinople, religious ceremonies and solemn divine services. We have several descriptions of a journey to Constantinople from a later time and from them we can judge how St. Sophia, with all her splendor and solemn atmosphere, could act on feelings. Whoever saw a solemn divine service in it and heard artistically performed church songs could not help but experience a strong shock. It was not only Russian ambassadors who carried Vladimir out of St. Sofia the impression that God is there with people and that, being present in a Byzantine church, you forget whether you are in heaven or on earth; Armenians, Georgians and Bulgarians left with the same impressions. Olga experienced these strong impressions, and her close ladies and retinue stocked up in Constantinople with new views, which were soon to revolutionize the life of the Russian state.

Holy Princess Olga is a legendary person in the history of our country and just as controversial for many. Canonized by the Orthodox Church as Equal to the Apostles, she is known not only for her tough vindictiveness and political ambition. But also with a conscious and deep faith.

The description of Olga's trip to Constantinople, where she was baptized, is not only, but as many historians believe, and not so much historical as literary material, behind which is hidden the real history of the beginning of the long path to the Christianization of Russia, which ultimately resulted in the baptism of Prince Vladimir ...

Western Christianity

However, few people know that Russia under Olga had every chance of becoming a state where Western Christianity would be professed. It was even before the split into the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, although the differences between the Christian East and the West were already clearly outlined. And, what is interesting, most likely, it was the pagans who did not allow such a "Western" Christianization of Russia.

But in order to understand the essence of this story, which is not mentioned in the Russian chronicles, but is repeatedly mentioned in Western sources, you need to start with Olga's trip to the capital of the Byzantine Empire for an appointment with Vasileus.

Trip to Constantinople

If we recall the plot of The Tale of Bygone Years, then in about 955-957 Olga, being regent under Prince Svyatoslav, made an embassy to Constantinople to the court of the emperor. According to the Tale, the emperor wanted her to be his wife. At first, Olga referred to her paganism, and after she was baptized by the Patriarch of Constantinople Theophylact, and Vasileus Constantine Porphyrogenitus himself became the recipient, she explained to the latter that now he is her godfather, and they will definitely not get married. With this I left back to Kiev.

However, in this story, everything was somewhat more complicated. The historian Kartashov points out that the Byzantine embassy was expelled from Kiev the very next year. He also mentions that in the official Byzantine chronicle "On Ceremonies" the description of Olga's visit is given, albeit in detail, but very dry, in official language, while the purpose of this visit is not reported.

However, an Orthodox priest is separately mentioned in the princess's retinue. From all these data, Kartashov concludes that Olga really seriously decided to accept the Christian faith or was already baptized earlier, but her embassy was also a "matchmaking".

Russia and Byzantium

The fact is that at that time the "real emperors" were precisely the rulers of Byzantium, in the West, in Rome some "strange people with an incomprehensible biography" already ruled. Olga wanted to intermarry with the "porphyrogenites", the only "real European monarchs" at that time, by which she could strengthen the position of both her dynasty and the country.

In addition, this would lead to the fact that the Baptism of Russia took place precisely during her time. Whether she wanted to marry Svyatoslav or marry herself - history is silent. However, she ultimately failed to achieve these goals.

However, it should be noted that in terms of current politics, relations between Russia and Byzantium have additionally strengthened, and in the long term, as they say, eternity, the time of tolerance towards Christians at the legislative level has come in Russia. But the grudge against Constantinople remained.

The retinue wanted to baptize Russia

At the same time, you need to understand that from a religious point of view, it was the courtyard of the princess, and even the young prince. There were both pagans and Christians, both Eastern and Western rites. At the same time, these same "Western Christians" have already acquired friends and relatives from Western Europe, who, among other things, were ambassadors at Olga's court.

And these, the latter, decided to take advantage of the situation in order to arrange the Baptism of Russia, but only under the jurisdiction of Rome.

And then a natural political detective begins, which the same Kartashov describes as follows: “Taking advantage of the continuously existing organized commercial and political relations with Western European states, these Varangian elements of the next embassies decided to do something on their own. Namely: abusing his ambassadorial position, to pass off his adventurous plan as a direct order of Princess Olga. They were even in a hurry, for the time had come for the end of Olga's guardian position over the power of Svyatoslav, the standard-bearer of paganism. "

Bishop's visit

And on behalf of Olga, as a result, Bishop Adalbert was invited to Russia. By the way, this was the first Christian bishop who visited Russia. True, his visit ended somewhat differently than he planned, and the ambassadors who invited him, and the Roman emperor Otto the Great who sent him.

Namely, as the Continuer of Reginon points out in his chronicle, “this year Adalbert returned back, appointed bishop for the Rugs, for he did not succeed in anything, why he was sent, and saw all his efforts in vain. On the way back, some of his companions were killed. And he himself, with great difficulty, barely escaped. "

The fiasco of the Western mission was due to a number of factors. Firstly, the strengthening of the "pagan party", which could put up, albeit "mocking", with the Christians of the Eastern rite, but in relation to the "Western aliens" was no longer shy in methods of pressure.

Secondly, Olga herself considered the Western emperors "usurpers", and the carriers of the real monarchical and Christian tradition were the Eastern emperors, and therefore did not provide Adalbert with any support. And in the context of the fact that he was invited without the knowledge of the princess, but on her behalf, it all looked like a global diplomatic and domestic political scandal.

One way or another, Adalbert returned back to Europe, where he later became bishop of Magdeburg, while Olga, having achieved tolerance towards Christians from Svyatoslav and his retinue, took up missionary work in her estates.

And the significance of this "quiet Christianization" was already appreciated by the princess's contemporaries. On Olga's death, a panegyric was written in the annals, comparable in style with the akathists to the Mother of God: “Behold, wash yourself in the holy font and put off the sinful clothes of the old man Adam and put on the new Adam, the hedgehog is Christ. We are heading to her: rejoice in the Russian land, the knowledge of God. The beginnings of a bykh reconciliation. Si is the first to enter the kingdom of heaven from Russia. This boon is praised by the sons of Rustia, aka the boss, for after death they pray to God for Russia. "

On the ninth of September, on Wednesday, a reception was held, in every way similar to those described above, on the occasion of the arrival of the Russian princess Olga. The princess entered with her relatives, the princesses and the most elected servants, and she walked ahead of all the other women, and they followed one another in order; she stopped at the place where the logofet usually asked questions ... When the king entered the palace in the usual order, a second reception took place as follows. In the triclinus of Justinian, an elevation was erected, covered with crimson silk fabrics, and on it was placed the great throne of Tsar Theophilus and the royal golden chair on the side. Two silver organs of two parts (= dims) were placed below the two curtains, the wind instruments were placed outside the curtains. The princess, invited from Augustus, passed through the apse, the hippodrome and the inner passages of the same Augustus and, entering, sat down in Skyla. The Empress sat on the aforementioned throne, and her daughter-in-law on an armchair. The whole kuvukli entered and the preposite and the ostiarii introduced the ranks ... When the king sat down with Augustus and his scarlet children, the princess was invited from the triclin kenurgy and, sitting down at the king's invitation, expressed to him what she wanted.

On the same day, a dinner party took place in the same Justinian tricline. The Empress and her daughter-in-law sat on the aforementioned throne, and the princess stood at the side ... The choir of the churches of St. apostles and sv. Sophia and sang royal praises. There were also all sorts of stage performances ... After the king got up from the table, dessert was served in aristithiria, where a small golden table was set up, standing (usually) in a pektapirgia, and on it was set dessert on dishes decorated with enamel and precious stones ... And the Tsar, Tsar Roman Porphyrogenitus, their crimson children, the daughter-in-law and the princess, sat down, and it was given to the princess on a golden dish with expensive stones, 500 mil., To her six close women, 20 mil. Each. and 18 maids of 8 mil.

On October 18th, on Sunday, a dinner party was held in the Golden Chamber, and the tsar sat down with the Russ, and again another dinner was given in the pentacuvuclia of St. Paul, and the empress sat down with her crimson children, daughter-in-law and princess ...

RITUAL VIOLATION

At first, the audience proceeded as was customary for foreign rulers or ambassadors of large states. The Emperor, sitting on the throne in the luxurious Magnavre Hall, exchanged ceremonial greetings with Olga through the logoeta. The entire composition of the court was near the emperor. The decor was extremely solemn and pompous.

On the same day, another celebration, traditional for receiving distinguished guests, took place - dinner ... But along with this, there were deviations from accepted traditions, violations of the unshakable Byzantine diplomatic ritual were identified, which were absolutely incredible, especially under Constantine VII - their zealous guardian.

At the beginning of the audience, after the courtiers had taken their places, and the emperor sat on the "throne of Solomon", the curtain separating the Russian princess from the hall was pulled back, and Olga, in front of her retinue, moved towards the emperor. In these cases, usually the foreign representative was led to the path by two eunuchs, who supported a suitable one by the arms. Then the foreign ruler or ambassador performed praskipespus - fell prostrate at the imperial feet. During the reception of the Kiev princess, this order was changed. Olga alone, unaccompanied, approached the throne, did not prostrate herself in front of the emperor, as her retinue did, but remained standing and talking with Constantine VII standing.

Then Olga was received separately by the empress, whom the Russian princess greeted only with a slight tilt of her head.

"THE TALK OF TIME YEARS" ABOUT THE BAPTISM OF OLGA

Olga went to the Greek land and came to Constantinople. There was then Tsar Constantine, the son of Leo. And when he saw that she was beautiful in face and very clever, the king marveled at her reason, talking with her, and said to her: "You are worthy to reign with us in this city." She, on reflection, answered the Caesar: “I am a pagan; if you want to baptize me, then baptize me yourself - otherwise I will not be baptized. " And the Caesar baptized her with the patriarch. [...] And in baptism she was given the name Helen, as well as the ancient queen - the mother of Constantine the Great. And the patriarch blessed her and let her go. After her baptism, the Caesar called her and said to her: "I want to take you as a wife." She answered: “How do you want to take me when you yourself baptized me and called me a daughter? And Christians are not allowed to do this - you yourself know. " And the tsar said to her: "You have outwitted me, Olga." And he presented her with many gifts - gold and silver, and shavings, and various vessels, and sent her away, calling her his daughter. She, having gathered home, came to the patriarch, and asked for his blessing at home, and said to him: "My people and my son are pagans, - may God keep me from all evil." And the patriarch said: “Faithful child! You were baptized into Christ, and you put on Christ, and Christ will keep you ... He will deliver you from the wiles of the devil and from his snares. " And the patriarch blessed her, and she went in peace to her land and came to Kiev.

THE BAPTISM OF OLGA AND THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF RUSSIA

The hopes of Byzantium for a close baptism of Rus did not come true. The adoption of Christianity turned out to be a long and difficult business for the Russians. Prince Igor soon died. His widow Olga decided to change her faith only many years after her husband's death. The author of The Tale of Bygone Years recorded the legend that Olga was baptized by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus in Constantinople in 955. However, the chronicle story is permeated with folklore motives. According to the chronicles, the middle-aged Olga made such a strong impression on the emperor that he offered to "drink" her as his wife. Wise Olga answered: "How do you want me to sing, baptizing me yourself and calling me your daughter?" Having refused the "groom", the Russian princess "switched" the tsar himself.

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus mentioned the reception of the "archontesa Elga". But he did not know the Christian name of Helena-Elga, and therefore the princess remained a pagan during a meeting with him in 957. The composition of the Russian retinue suggests that Olga paid a visit to the emperor as a private person. In her entourage there were no ambassadors from the heir Svyatoslav, Igor's nephews and from the king Sveneld. "Slah" from Olga's retinue received as much money as her translators, which accurately reflected their position on the hierarchical ladder.

The German certificate of Olga's baptism has survived - the so-called Continuation of the Chronicle of the Region. The chronicle was compiled in the middle of the 10th century. The author of the Continuation is believed to have been the first bishop of Kiev, Adalbert. All this gives the monument an exceptional value. As the German chronicler wrote down, in 959, “the ambassadors of Helen, Queen of the Rugs (Rus), who was baptized in Constantinople under Romanos of Constantinople, came to the court of the German emperor Otto I”. The ambassadors "asked that a bishop and priests be appointed to their people." So, Olga - Elena was baptized not under Constantine Porphyrogenitus, but under his son Roman, who ascended the throne after the death of his father in November 959. The chronology of events described in the German chronicle is doubtful. Olga would not have had time to equip ambassadors to Germany within two incomplete months after her baptism. The delay of Otto I is inexplicable. After listening to the ambassadors at the end of 959, the emperor granted their request and appointed a bishop to Kiev only a year later, on Christmas Day 960. Apparently, the chronicler inaccurately recorded the date of the ambassadors' arrival. The German annals of the 11th century, a source of independent origin, have preserved the following record: “960. Ambassadors from the people of Russia came to King Otto. The above text confirms the assumption that the mission of the Rus arrived in Germany not in 959, but in 960, and by the end of the year Otto announced the appointment of a bishop.

The Russian princess acted in exactly the same way as the Bulgarian Tsar Boris had done before. Having received baptism from an Orthodox Greek patriarch, she immediately invited a Latin pastor. The German bishop, who was supposed to go to Kiev, died suddenly on February 15, 961, and the rank of bishop of Russia was transferred to the monk Adalbert. He left for Kiev in 961, and a year later returned home with nothing. An attempt to establish a bishopric in Kiev failed due to the resistance of the pagan Norman nobility, who ruled the country after the death of Igor. This fact alone destroys the myth of Olga as the ruler of Russia. However, one should not think that the efforts of the princess to plant Christianity in Russia did not yield any results. Already during the first trip of the pagan Elga to Constantinople, “priest Gregory” was in her retinue. This means that people from Olga's inner circle changed their faith before her. In 967, Pope John XII forbade the appointment of persons belonging to the "rite or sect of the Bulgarian or Russian people, or the Slavic language" to the newly established cathedra in Prague. Probably the largest Christian community of the Rus was in Constantinople, and the Pope was afraid of sending a bishop to Bohemia from Byzantium. In Constantinople, the "baptized Rus" were engaged in various activities: they traded, served in the imperial palace guard, etc. Relations between the Kiev and Tsargrad Christians of Russian origin contributed to the Christianization of the Kiev Rus.

Olga's influence on management affairs was apparently limited. In the year of Igor's death, Prince Svyatoslav was no less than 8-10 years old. Taking revenge on the Drevlyans for his father, Svyatoslav began the battle, throwing a heavy spear at them. The spear fell at the feet of the horse on which the boy was sitting. By the time the bishop arrived in Kiev, Svyatoslav was over 20 years old. He came of age. According to the chronicle, Olga-Elena repeatedly asked her son to change his faith, but he invariably refused her, referring to the opinion of the squad. The young prince could not renounce paganism while the squad and its leaders adhered to the old religion. Two decades later, according to the chronicle tradition, Olga's grandson Vladimir ended the conversation about faith with the German ambassadors with a reminder of the times of his grandmother: "Go again, as our fathers did not accept this essence." Vladimir spoke on behalf of the entire squad. The expression "our fathers" had a definite meaning in his mouth. Bishop Adalbert was expelled from Kiev by his entire squad. According to the Novgorod Chronicle, the Kiev princess kept a “prezbyter” in her house a secret from the people. Presbyter was probably Adalbert himself or one of the Latin priests who arrived with him.
Skrynnikov R.G. Old Russian state

FROM THE LIFE OF THE HOLY GRAND DUCHESS OLGA

... And for now, after baptism, you have lived for 15 years and please God, and with peace, give your holy and honest soul to the hands of Christ God in 6477, the month of July in 11 days. And now, many times have passed since the repose of the saint, and her grandson, blessed prince Vladimir, will remember the blessings of my holy woman, and I will come to the place with the metropolitan and with all the holy cathedral and eat the holy woman, and I will honor the woman. his princess Olga is whole and indestructible. They glorified God, and vzemshh power, and put in the church the Holy Mother of God, in the grave stone is small; and at the top of the coffin of that honest little window was created: and there you can see the blessed one who is lying in peace and not partly with decay, but shining like the sun. And whoever comes to the tomb of the saint: and the window of it, like that of the saint, will open about itself, and they see honest heat and many will receive healing without scantiness ...

Baptism of Princess Olga

Olga, the wife of Prince Igor, took the Kiev table in 945 after the murder of Igor by the Drevlyans, for which she soon severely avenged. At the same time, she understood that the preservation of the old order in the state, the relationship between the prince and the squad, the traditional collection of tribute (polyudya) is fraught with unpredictable consequences. This is what prompted Olga to start organizing land relations in the state. She toured the country. The chronicler wrote: “And Olga went with her son and with her retinue across the Drevlyansky land, establishing the order of tributes and taxes; and the places of her camps and hunts have been preserved to this day. And she came to her city Kiev with her son Svyatoslav and stayed here for a year. " A year later, “Olga went to Novgorod and established churchyards and tributes along Mete and along the Luga - quitrent and tribute, and her catches were preserved throughout the land, and there is evidence of her, and her places and churchyards, and the sledges stand in Pskov to this day, and along the Dnieper there are places for catching birds and along the Desna, and her village Olzhychi has survived to this day. And so, having established everything, she returned to her son in Kiev and lived there in love with him. " Historian H. M. Karamzin, giving a general assessment of Olga's reign, notes: “Olga seems to have consoled the people with the blessings of a wise government; at least all her monuments - lodgings and places where she, following the custom of the then heroes, amused herself with catching animals - for a long time were the subject of some kind of special respect and curiosity for these people. " Note that these words of N. M. Karamzin were written a century later than the History of V. N. Tatishchev, who, under 948, made the following entry: “Olga sent to her fatherland, the Izborsk region, with the nobles a lot of gold and silver, and commanded in the place shown by her to build a city on the bank of the Great River, and they called it Pleskov (Pskov), to populate people, calling from everywhere. "

During the reign of Olga, land relations were brought into line with those tendencies of strengthening the princely and boyar power, which corresponded to the processes of the collapse of the former community and clan. The duties are determined, there is no previous arbitrariness, and the peasants-smerds do not need to scatter through the forests, hiding their belongings, or maybe, avoiding the still bitter - a rope on which they will lead to the same Constantinople for sale. At the same time, neither the boyar upper classes, nor the rural lower classes of society suspect that in all their actions an objective historical regularity is making its way, the needs of the emerging social structure, which will eventually be called feudalism.

Having established the internal order in the state, Olga returned to her son Svyatoslav, to Kiev, and lived there for several years, enjoying the love of her son and the gratitude of the people. During these years, there were no external campaigns that cost human losses, and the most violent element interested in such campaigns (primarily the mercenary Varangians), the princess sent as auxiliary troops to Byzantium, where they fought with the Arabs and other enemies of the empire.

Here, the chronicler finishes the story of state affairs and proceeds to highlight the affairs of the church.

After strengthening her position in Kiev and calming down the subordinate population, Olga had to start solving foreign policy problems. During this period, Russia did not wage wars with the Steppe and was not subjected to retaliatory attacks. Olga decided to turn her eyes to Byzantium, which at that time was a powerful, highly developed state. In addition, he continued, although not fully, to act with Byzantium, despite the death of Igor and the agreement he had concluded.

This treaty, on the one hand, expanded the rights of Russians, but on the other, it imposed certain obligations on them. The great Russian prince and his boyars received the right to send to Byzantium as many ships with ambassadors and merchants as they wanted. Now it was enough for them to show a letter from their prince, in which he had to indicate how many ships he had sent. This was enough for the Greeks to know that Russia came in peace. But if ships from Russia came without a letter, then the Greeks received the right to detain them until they received confirmation from the prince. After repeating the terms of Oleg's agreement with the Greeks on the place of residence and maintenance of Russian ambassadors and guests, the following was added to Igor's agreement: a person from the Greek government will be assigned to the Russians, who must sort out controversial cases between Russians and Greeks.

Certain obligations were imposed on the Grand Duke. He was forbidden to go on a military campaign to the Crimea (Korsun land) and its cities, since "this country does not submit to Russia." The Russians should not offend the Korsunts who were fishing in the Dnieper estuary, and also had no right to winter in the Dnieper estuary, in the Beloberezhye and St. Epheria, "but when autumn comes, we must return home to Russia." The Greeks demanded from the prince that he also did not let the black (Danube) Bulgarians "fight the country of Korsun". There was a clause that said: “If a Greek offends a Russian, then the Russians should not arbitrarily execute a criminal; the Greek government is punishing him. " As a result, we note that although, on the whole, this agreement was less successful for Russia than Oleg's agreement, he maintained trade relations between states, which allowed Russia to develop its economy and economy.

However, more than ten years have passed since the conclusion of this agreement. The rulers on the Byzantine throne changed, new people stood at the head of the Old Russian state. The experience of past years and the relationship of the empire with "barbarian" states suggested the need for either confirmation or revision of the agreement concluded by Prince Igor with Byzantium in 944.

So, the situation insistently demanded a "clarification" of relations with Byzantium. And although the Russian chronicle does not explain to us the reasons for the princess's trip to Byzantium, it is clear that she was going to do just that. Nestor simply wrote: "Olga (955) went to the Greek land and came to Constantinople." But V. N. Tatishchev explains Olga's trip to Byzantium by her desire to be baptized.

The fact that at the time of Olga's reign there were Christians in Russia, no one doubts. About the baptism of some part of the Russians in the 60s. The 9th century is evidenced by a number of Byzantine sources, including the "District Epistle" by Patriarch Photius of Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus reported in the biography of his grandfather, written with his own hand, about the conversion of the inhabitants of Russia to Christianity during the reign of Emperor Basil I the Macedonian (867–886) and during the period of the second patriarchate of Ignatius in Constantinople. This news is confirmed by both some Greek chroniclers and individual Russian chroniclers. Combining all the available information, we get a complete story about this event - the campaign of Askold (and Dir?). “During the reign of the Greek emperor Michael III, at a time when the emperor set out with an army against the Hagarians, new enemies of the empire, the Scythian people of Russia, appeared at the walls of Constantinople on two hundred boats. With extraordinary cruelty, they devastated the entire surrounding country, plundered neighboring islands and monasteries, killed every one of the prisoners and awe the inhabitants of the capital. Having received such sad news from the Constantinople Eparch, the emperor abandoned the army and hastened to the besieged. With difficulty he made his way through the enemy ships to his capital, and here he considered it his first duty to resort to prayer to God. Michael prayed all night with Patriarch Photius and countless people in the famous Blachernae Church, where the miraculous robe of the Mother of God was kept at that time. The next morning, while singing sacred hymns, this miraculous robe was carried to the seashore, and as soon as it touched the surface of the water, the sea, hitherto calm and calm, was covered with the greatest storm; the ships of the godless Russ were scattered by the wind, overturned or smashed on the shore; a very small number escaped death. " The next author seems to continue: “Having thus experienced the wrath of God, through the prayers of Photius, who ruled the church at that time, the Russians returned to their homeland and after a little sent ambassadors to Constantinople to ask for baptism. Their desire was fulfilled - a bishop was sent to them. " And, as it were, the third author finishes this narration: “When this bishop arrived in the capital of the Russians, the Tsar of the Russians hastened to gather the veche. A great multitude of common people were present here, and the king himself presided with his nobles and senators, who, out of a long habit of paganism, were more committed to it than others. They began to talk about their faith and Christianity; they invited the archpastor and asked him what he intends to teach them. The bishop opened the Gospel and began to preach the gospel to them about the Savior and His miracles, mentioning together the many different signs performed by God in the Old Testament. The Russians, listening to the evangelist, told him: "If we do not see something similar, especially similar to what, according to your words, happened to the three youths in the cave, we do not want to believe." To this the servant of God answered them: "Although you should not tempt the Lord, however, if you sincerely decided to turn to Him, ask what you want, and He will fulfill everything according to your faith, no matter how insignificant we are before His majesty." They asked that the book of the Gospel itself be thrown into the fire, deliberately lit, making a vow to turn to Christian God if it remains unharmed in the fire. Then the bishop, lifting up his eyes and hands to grief, cried out in a great voice: “Lord, Jesus Christ, our God! Glorify your holy name even now in the sight of this people ”- and plunged the holy book of the Covenant into a blazing fire. Several hours passed, the fire consumed all the material, and the Gospel was found on the ashes, completely whole and intact; even the ribbons with which it was fastened have been preserved. Seeing this, the barbarians, struck by the magnificence of the miracle, immediately began to be baptized. " Of course, this news is a fairy tale, but a pleasant fairy tale. Moreover, the Russian chronicle reports that a Christian church was built on the grave of Askold.

In reality, at that time, Christianity in Russia had not yet become widespread. Perhaps Askold did not have enough time. As we said above, in 882 a pagan Oleg appeared in Kiev with his retinue. The Christians were unable to resist the armed pagans and were completely destroyed. At least at the conclusion of Olegov's treaty between Russia and the Greeks, the Christian Russians are not mentioned at all.

However, with the entry into the great reign of Igor, the attitude towards Christians began to change. And this was largely facilitated by Oleg's agreement with the Greeks. Caravans of merchant ships went from Russia to Byzantium. The Russians lived in Constantinople for several months at the monastery of St. Mom. Hundreds of other Russians were hired to serve the Greek emperor and spent almost all their lives in Greece. The Greeks, no doubt, did not miss the opportunity to acquaint our ancestors with their faith. Constantine Porphyrogenitus, describing in his work "On the ceremonies of the Byzantine court" the reception of Tarsi ambassadors in 946, mentioned the Russian-Christians who were part of the imperial guard, that is, mercenaries serving in Constantinople. Many of them, returning baptized to their homeland, could talk with their fellow tribesmen about the Christian faith. Whatever it was, but already in the aforementioned treaty of Prince Igor with the Greeks, concluded in the 40s. X century, two strong groups clearly appear in Russia: the pagan, headed by the Grand Duke, and the Christian, which includes representatives of the highest feudal nobility and merchants. The author of The Tale of Bygone Years, for example, directly states under 945: “Igor summoned the ambassadors and came to the hill where Perun stood; And they laid down their arms, and shields, and gold, and Igor and his people swore allegiance - how many pagans there were among the Russians. And Russian Christians were sworn in in the Church of St. Elijah, which stands over the Stream at the end of Pasyncha's conversation, and the Khazars - it was a cathedral church, since there were many Christian Varangians. " But one should not think that only foreigners were Christians in Russia at that time. By the way, there is a mention of the existence of a Russian Christian church organization dating back to 967 in the bull of Pope John XIII.

Note also that Christians in Prince Igor's treaty appear to be equal members of society. They take an active part in solving the most important issues related to the foreign policy of Kievan Rus. This fact clearly testifies in favor of the fact that in the 40s. X Art. Christians not only lived in Russia, but also played a significant role in the life of the country. According to the chronicle story, at this time in Kiev there was a cathedral (i.e., the main church) church of St. Ilya. This means that in the 40s. X Art. in Kiev, there were other Christian churches that were subordinate to the cathedral Elias Church. Perhaps a bishop was in Kiev at that time.

Numerous burials by the method of inhumation can serve as confirmation of the presence of Christians in Russia at that time. The bulk of such burials are pit burials with a west-east orientation, which are extremely characteristic of Christians. All this allows us to assume that Princess Olga, while living in Kiev, communicated with Christian missionaries, conducted conversations with them and, probably, was inclined to accept this religion. True, in Igor's entourage, the majority were just pagans, which was the main obstacle to the baptism of the Grand Duke and Princess.

There are different points of view regarding the time and place of Olga's baptism, as well as her trip to Constantinople and her personal baptism there. Supporters of one of them claim that Olga was baptized in Kiev in the mid-40s and early 50s of the 10th century. They are based on the reports of Yahya of Antioch, an Arab historian, physician, Byzantine chronicler, contemporary of those distant events, who lived far from Constantinople. In his chronicle, he says that Olga once turned to the emperor with a request to send priests to Russia. In response to her request, a bishop was allegedly sent from Constantinople, who baptized the princess herself and some other people in Kiev. The chronicler gives a reference: "I found this information in the books of the Russians."

Supporters of a different point of view are convinced that Olga was baptized in Byzantium. But here many scholars disagree on the dates of the trip, and some talk about two possible trips of the princess to Constantinople. In their opinion, Olga's first trip to Constantinople took place in 946. But, as we remember, at this time, according to The Tale of Bygone Years, Olga makes a campaign against the Drevlyans, stands all summer near Iskorosten, besieging the city, and being in one time in two places, as we understand, is impossible.

Most of the researchers agree with the stories of the chronicles that speak of Olga's trip to Constantinople in the mid-950s. However, there are discrepancies here as well. Some chronicles call the year 954-955, others - the year 957. In this regard, some researchers say that Olga was baptized in Kiev on the eve of her second trip to Constantinople. In support of their version, they cite a story from the composition of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the Byzantine emperor, "On the ceremonies of the Byzantine court." In this essay, the emperor described in detail the reception of Olga's embassy, ​​but did not at all mention her baptism in Constantinople. A significant part of the researchers adheres to the point of view that the baptism took place after all in Constantinople, as it is written in the chronicle. The authors of all these hypotheses carry out various calculations, trying to substantiate their conclusions. But let's leave aside these controversial issues. Let us take as a basis the testimonies of the chronicler Nestor, which coincide with the presentation of events by the historian V. N. Tatishchev. He writes under 948 (a dubious date): “Olga, being in paganism, shone with many virtues and, seeing many Christians who lived virtuously in Kiev and taught all abstinence and good deeds, she praised them and, often reasoning with them through a long time, the Christian law, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, so rooted in her heart that she wanted to be baptized in Kiev, but it was in no way possible to do it to her without extreme fear from the people. For this, they advised her to go to Constantinople, ostensibly for other needs, and be baptized there, which she took as useful, and waited for an opportunity and time. "

Historian H. M. Karamzin puts forward his own version. “Olga,” he says, “has already reached those years when a mortal, having satisfied the main impulses of earthly activity, sees its near end in front of him and feels the vanity of earthly greatness. Then true faith more than ever serves him as a support or consolation in sad reflections on the perishability of man. Olga was a pagan, but the name of God Almighty was already famous in Kiev. She could see the solemnity of the rituals of Christianity, she could, out of curiosity, converse with the church pastors and, being gifted with an extraordinary mind, be assured of the holiness of their teaching. Captivated by the ray of this new light, Olga wanted to be a Christian and she herself went to the capital of the empire and the Greek faith in order to draw it from the very source. "

Be that as it may, at the beginning of the summer of 955, as the Russian chronicler notes, Olga leaves for Constantinople. True, modern researchers, having compared the dates and day of the week of the Emperor Olga's reception - September 9 (Wednesday) and October 18 (Sunday) - came to the conclusion that these dates coincide with the year 957. Thus, Olga went to Constantinople most likely in 957.

The number of persons accompanying Olga exceeded a hundred, not counting the guards, shipbuilders and numerous servants. (The structure of Igor's embassy to Byzantium, which had no equal in Russia before in terms of the number and splendor of its representation, included only 51 people.) Olga's retinue included: Olga's nephew, 8 of her confidants (possibly noble boyars or relatives), 22 attorneys from Russian princes, 44 merchants, people of Svyatoslav, priest Gregory, 6 people from the retinue of attorneys from Russian princes, 2 translators, as well as 18 women close to the princess. The composition of the embassy, ​​as we see, resembles the Russian mission of 944.

When the princess went to Constantinople, she, of course, thought not only about accepting Christianity personally. As a wise politician, she understood that the Christian religion allowed Russia to become an equal partner among European states. In addition, it was necessary to confirm the terms of the peace and friendship agreement concluded by Igor.

Judging by the estimates given to Russia, Khazaria and the Pechenegs by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII in the treatise "On the Administration of the State", the Byzantine government was in the mid-50s. X century. was very worried about the state of their relations with Russia, feared new attacks from her side and did not trust her, trying to direct the Pechenegs against her. At the same time, Byzantium needed Russia as a counterweight in the struggle against the Khaz Aria and the Muslim rulers of the Transcaucasus, as well as as a supplier of allied troops in the empire's confrontation with the Arabs. Thus, the interests of states nevertheless coincided to some extent.

So, the chronicler under 955 (957) wrote: "Olga went to the Greek land and came to Constantinople." The Russian flotilla came to Constantinople in mid-July or early August and stopped in the outskirts of the city, in the Court. The Russians let the emperor know about their appearance. The merchants were placed, as stipulated by Igor's contract, in the monastery courtyard near the Church of St. Mama, and they went about their business. But here an incident occurred, which, probably for political reasons, was omitted by the author of The Tale of Bygone Years. The fact is that Olga sat on her ship, waiting for a reception from the emperor, for more than a month, which she will remind a little later to the emperor's ambassadors in Kiev: then I will give you [the promised gifts]. " But back to Olga's stay in Constantinople.

What made the emperor postpone the reception of the Russian Grand Duchess for so long? Some researchers believe that the Russian embassy departed for Constantinople without notifying the emperor. Perhaps the Russians, leaving the embassy, ​​were guided by the terms of Igor's contract, which said: "Those ambassadors and guests (merchants) who will be sent (by the prince), let them bring a letter, writing it like this:" He sent so many ships. " And from these letters we learn that they came in peace. " But in this case, the Grand Duchess herself was driving. Olga came to Constantinople in all its splendor, with a significant fleet, which brought in more than a hundred people from the embassy. Such a mission had to pursue some exceptional goals. And, of course, she did not have any letters. And this put the Greeks in a difficult position.

The fact is that Byzantium sacredly guarded its exclusive political and religious position in the then world. According to the Byzantine concept of power, the emperor was the governor of God on earth and the head of the entire Christian Orthodox Church. In accordance with this view, the ranks of foreign rulers were assessed. None of them could stand on a par with the Byzantine emperor. However, the degree of this inequality for the rulers of different states was, of course, different and depended on many factors - the power of a given state, the degree of its influence on the policy of Byzantium, the nature of the existing relations between this state and the empire. All this found a natural expression in titles, epithets of honor, insignia and other signs of dignity. Political symbols permeated not only the entire Byzantine court ceremonial, but also the procedure for communicating with foreign states, receiving foreign rulers and ambassadors.

The Byzantines knew how to pull anyone by the nose. Every time the emperor found himself busy with affairs of extraordinary importance. They apologized to the princess, but the official reception was postponed from day to day. This practice - to withstand visitors, partly for greater compliance, and more out of arrogance - has existed for a very long time. It can also be assumed that the appearance of Olga at the head of the Russian embassy put the emperor and his court before the question: how to receive the Russian princess? It took the emperor and his entourage more than a month to resolve this issue. Olga understood this. It is important that the Greeks do not overstep their borders when procrastination turns into a diplomatic insult. Constantine VII did not cross these boundaries. In the meantime, Olga was occupied with what befits. Most likely, she was examining the city.

The city of Constantine, of course, amazed every visitor. Olga hardly remained indifferent to this truly great city. First of all, stone heaps of temples and palaces, defensive walls built for centuries, impregnable towers and stone, stone everywhere. It was not at all like the dense forest jungle and quiet rivers of the Russian plains, with rare settlements of plowmen and hunters, even rarer small towns surrounded by a log wall or just a palisade. The green spaces of Russia - and the local crowded craft quarters: foundry and weavers, shoemakers and tanners, chasers and butchers, jewelers and blacksmiths, painters, gunsmiths, shipbuilders, notaries, money changers. A strict hierarchy of occupations and crafts. Craftsmen are discreetly praising their really excellent and surprisingly cheap products. The price rises later, when things have passed dozens of hands, become overgrown with taxes and duties.

In Russia, this has not yet happened. And while there were few places in Russia, forges were smoking and the chime of forges could be heard. More knocking of axes. They also tanned animal skins, soaked flax, threshed bread. True, in Constantinople everything was sold and, therefore, everything was bought. And Russia was bringing something absolutely priceless to its markets - to the world market: furs, furs of the northern forests.

And in Constantinople, and in the bazaars of fabulous Baghdad, and even further - everywhere it is an item of the most refined and wasteful luxury. And also wax, honey ... For many centuries Russia-Russia will export to the European markets goods that were called traditional in its export. Canvases, linen and hemp fabrics, timber, tallow, leather. Linen and hemp are sails and ropes, this is the fleet, this is domination of the sea. Lard has been for centuries, until recently, practically the only lubricant without which there is no industry. Leather is harness and saddles, footwear and camping equipment. Honey was a necessary and irreplaceable product at that time. In many ways, in many ways, the industry of Europe stood and grew on Russian exports. And in the Byzantine Empire, they well understood the importance of Kievan Rus both as a rich raw material market and as an ally with significant armed forces. Therefore, Byzantium actively strove for economic, economic, trade relations with Russia, for the Russian market, Russian goods.

But let us return to the stay of Princess Olga in Constantinople. Neither Russian nor Byzantine sources, even the detailed story of Emperor Constantine, tell us practically nothing about how the life of the Russian princess in Constantinople proceeded. They do not tell us where the princess lived, whom she visited, what sights of the capital she visited, although it is known that it was in the order of things for Byzantine politicians to shock foreign rulers and ambassadors with the splendor of the palaces of Constantinople, the wealth of secular and church treasures collected there.

The Christian religion changed the purpose and structure of the temple. As already mentioned, in an ancient Greek temple, a statue of a god was placed inside, and religious ceremonies were held outside in the square. Therefore, they tried to make the Greek temple outwardly especially elegant. Christians gathered for common prayer inside the church, and the architects were especially concerned about the beauty of its interior. Undoubtedly, the most remarkable piece of Byzantine architecture was the Church of St. Sophia, built under Justinian. The temple was called "a miracle of miracles" and was sung in verse. Olga took part in the divine service in this church and was able to see with her own eyes its beauty. She was struck by the internal dimensions and beauty of the temple, in which only the floor area is 7570 m 2. A giant dome, 31 m in diameter, seems to grow out of two half-domes, each of which rests, in turn, on three small half-domes. Along the base, the dome is surrounded by a wreath of 40 windows, through which sheaves of light pour. The dome seems to float in the air, like the firmament; after all, the 4 pillars that support him are hidden from the viewer, and partly only the sails are visible - the triangles between the large arches.

The interior of the temple is also very rich. Above the throne towered in the form of a tower canopy, the massive golden roof of which rested on gold and silver columns, decorated with inlaid pearls and diamonds and, in addition, lilies, between which were balls with crosses made of massive gold 75 pounds in weight, also showered with precious stones ; from under the dome of the canopy descended a dove, depicting the Holy Spirit; inside this dove, holy gifts were kept. According to Greek custom, the throne was separated from the people by an iconostasis, decorated with relief images of saints; the iconostasis was supported by 12 golden columns. Three gates closed with curtains led to the altar. In the middle of the church there was a special pulpit, which had a semicircular shape and surrounded by a balustrade, above which there was also a canopy of precious metals, resting on eight columns and topped with a gold cross, studded with precious stones and pearls, weighing 100 pounds. Marble steps led to this pulpit, their railings, as well as the canopy, sparkled with marble and gold.

The church gates were made of ivory, amber and cedar wood, and their jambs were made of gilded silver. In the narthex there was a jasper pool with lions spewing water, and a magnificent tabernacle towered above it. They could enter the house of God only after having washed their feet.

A strong impression was also made by the sixty-meter column of Constantine with the figure of the emperor - it will impress Russians with a pilgrim through the centuries, and the ancient monument in the middle of the hippodrome - thirty-meter high, made of pinkish Egyptian granite - a trophy brought to the capital at the end of the 4th century, in 390 ...

Let's look at the then Constantinople through the eyes of the Grand Duchess, the ruler of a large state. Olga-woman could be carried away by the fabulous Constantinople. But Olga the princess saw that not everything from this alien life could be borrowed by Russia. Yes, the Valens aqueduct - a canal over the city - is a miracle of construction equipment, but why is it in Kiev? There is no fresh water in Constantinople, and the mighty Dnieper flows in Kiev, which will not yield to the Bosphorus itself. The beauty of the city was captivating. But the main goal - negotiations with the emperor - was postponed. Finally, on September 9, a reception was scheduled with the emperor.

Olga's reception by the emperor on this day was the same as the receptions of foreign rulers or ambassadors of large states usually took place. The emperor exchanged ceremonial greetings with the princess through the logoeta in a luxurious hall - Magnavre. The entire courtyard was present at the reception; the atmosphere was extremely solemn and pompous. On the same day, another celebration, traditional for the reception of high ambassadors, took place - a dinner, during which those present were delighted with the singing art of the best church choirs of Constantinople and various performances.

The Russian chronicles do not describe the details of Olga's reception in Constantinople. But the emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus himself writes in relatively detail about Olga's receptions (there were two - September 9 and October 10). The emperor demonstrated his greatness to Olga, but made a number of deviations from the traditional forms of reception. After he sat on the "throne of Solomon", the curtain separating the Russian princess from the hall was pulled down, and Olga, at the head of the retinue, moved towards the emperor. Usually a foreign representative was brought to the throne by two eunuchs, who supported him by the arms, and then he performed proskinesis - he fell prostrate at the imperial feet. Such a reception, for example, was described by the bishop of Cremona Liutprand: “I leaned on the shoulders of two eunuchs and was thus brought directly before his imperial majesty ... After, according to custom, I bowed before the emperor for the third time, greeting him, I raised my head and saw the emperor in completely different clothes. " Nothing of the kind happened to Olga. She approached the throne unaccompanied and did not prostrate before the emperor, as her retinue did, although later she talked to him while standing. The conversation between the Russian princess and the emperor was conducted through an interpreter.

Olga was also received by the Empress, whom she also greeted with only a slight bow. In honor of the Russian Grand Duchess, the Empress arranged a solemn entrance for the ladies of the court. After a short break, which Olga spent in one of the halls, the princess met with the imperial family, which had no analogies during the receptions of ordinary ambassadors. “When the emperor sat down with Augustus and his scarlet children,” says the Book of Ceremonies, “the princess was invited from the triclin of Centuria and, having sat down at the invitation of the emperor, told him what she wanted.” Here, in a narrow circle, the conversation took place, for the sake of which Olga came to Constantinople. But usually, in accordance with the palace ceremonial, the ambassadors talked with the emperor standing. The right to sit in his presence was considered an extraordinary privilege and was granted only to crowned heads, but even so, low seats were placed.

On the same day, as already mentioned, a ceremonial dinner took place, before which Olga again entered the hall where the empress was seated on the throne, and again greeted her with a slight bow. Music played in honor of the dinner, singers praised the greatness of the royal house. At dinner, Olga sat at a "truncated table" along with the zostas - court ladies of the highest rank, who enjoyed the right to sit at the same table with members of the imperial family, that is, this right was also given to the Russian princess. (Some of the researchers believe that it was the imperial family who sat at the "truncated table".) Men from the Russian retinue dined with the emperor. For dessert, Olga again found herself at the same table with Emperor Constantine, his son Roman and other members of the imperial family. And during the ceremonial dinner on October 18, Olga sat at the same table with the empress and her children. Not a single ordinary embassy, ​​not a single ordinary ambassador enjoyed such privileges in Constantinople. (It should be noted that during Olga's receptions by the emperor there was not a single other foreign embassy.) Most likely, on that day the emperor had a conversation with Olga, which was described by the Russian chronicler: “And Olga came to him, and the tsar saw that she was very beautiful face and reasonable, the king marveled at her reason, talking with her, and said to her: "You are worthy to reign with us in our capital." She, realizing the meaning of this address, answered the Caesar: “I am a pagan; I came here to hear and understand the Christian law and, having learned the truth, I wish to be a Christian, if you want to baptize me, then baptize me yourself - otherwise I will not be baptized. " The emperor sent an order to the patriarch to prepare everything necessary for the princess's baptism ceremony. The Russian chronicle emphasizes that the initiative for baptism came from Olga. The emperor accepted and approved this idea: "The Tsar was immensely pleased with these words and said to her: I will tell the patriarch."

Why did Olga turn to the emperor with such a question, and not to the patriarch? As you know, the main role in the Christianization of the neighboring states and peoples in Byzantium was played not by the patriarch, not by the hierarchs of the church, but by the emperor, the apparatus of political power. Although, of course, the clergy, including the Patriarchs of Constantinople, in accordance with their dignity, took part in the implementation of this policy, since the Greek Church itself was part of the feudal state system.

On one of the days between September 9 and October 10, the solemn ceremony of Olga's baptism took place in the Cathedral of St. Sophia. The emperor sat on the imperial throne in ceremonial clothes. The patriarch and all the clergy performed the rite of baptism. All sacred utensils, bowls, vessels, arks were of gold and blinded with the sparkling of precious stones; books of the New and Old Testament with gold bindings and clasps lay in a prominent place. All seven crosses were made of gold, necessary in the court ceremonial for the crowning and baptism of high persons. The temple burned six thousand candelabra and an equal number of portable candlesticks, each weighing 111 pounds. The vaults of the dome sparkled with the glow of candelabra and silver lamps hanging from bronze chains.

He 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 when baptized, Elena began to be called. Olga is known for being the first of the rulers of the Old Russian state to voluntarily adopt Christianity.

Dozens of films and TV series have been shot about Princess Olga. Her portraits are in Russian art galleries, according to ancient chronicles and relics found, scientists have tried to recreate a photograph of a 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 Book of the Degree of the 17th century says that the princess died at eighty years old, which means that she was born at the end of the 9th century. According to the "Arkhangelsk Chronicler", the girl got married when she was ten years old. Historians are still arguing about the year of the princess's birth - from 893 to 928. The official version is the 920th, but this is an 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, since they were peasants, not individuals of noble blood.

The tale of the end of the 15th century says that Olga was the daughter who ruled Russia until Igor, the son of Rurik, grew up. He, according to legends, married Igor and Olga. But this version of the origin of the princess has not been confirmed.

Governing body

At the time 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.

They immediately after the murder of Igor sent matchmakers to Olga, who persuaded her to marry their prince - Mal. So the Drevlyans wanted to unite the land 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 understand that their death is worse than Igor's death. The princess sent Malu a message 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 the bathhouse and burned them alive while they washed to meet her.

Later, the princess came with a small retinue to the Drevlyans, in order, according to tradition, to celebrate a funeral at the grave of her husband. During the funeral, Olga drank the Drevlyans and ordered the soldiers to chop them down. The annals 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, to whose paws incendiary mixtures were tied), burned the whole city. Some of the Drevlyans died in the battle, the rest obeyed and agreed to pay tribute to Russia.

Since the grown-up son of Olga spent most of his time in military campaigns, power over the country was in the hands of the princess. She undertook many reforms, including the creation of trade and exchange centers, which made it easier to collect lodges.

Thanks to the princess, stone construction was born in Russia. After looking at how easily the wooden fortresses of the Drevlyans burned, she decided to build her houses of 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 the frequency. They were called then "polyudya". All lands subject to Kiev 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 her baptism, the woman took the name Elena, but in history she is still better known as Princess Olga.

She returned to Kiev 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 put Christian ones.

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

Olga was never able to make Christianity the main religion. The guards won, and the princess had to end her campaigns, closing in Kiev. She raised the sons of Svyatoslav in the Christian faith, but did not dare to baptize, fearing the anger 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 persecutions 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 was often in 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 Russia.

Olga's influence will be felt during the reign of her grandchildren and. Both of them were raised by their grandmother, from infancy they got used to the Christian faith and continued the formation of Russia on the path of Christianity.

Personal life

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

There is a legend that the couple met at the ferry near Pskov, when the girl was a carrier on a boat (she changed into men's clothes - it was a job only for men). Igor noticed the young beauty and immediately began to pester, to which he was rebuffed. 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 grows up. She did not marry again, and there is no mention of relations with other men in the annals.

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 first raided the Russian lands, and Svyatoslav went to war. Princess Olga and her grandchildren locked themselves in Kiev. When his 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 the approach of her own death. She turned out to be right, 3 days after these words, Princess Olga died. She was buried in the ground according to Christian traditions.

In 1007, the princess's grandson, Vladimir I Svyatoslavich, transferred the relics of all saints, including the remains of Olga, to the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Kiev, 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, they were revered as a saint and called Equal to the Apostles.

Memory

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

Cinema

• 1981 - ballet "Olga"
• 1983 - the film "The Legend of Princess Olga"
• 1994 - cartoon “Pages of Russian history. The land of the ancestors "
• 2005 - the film “The Saga of the Ancient Bulgars. The Legend of Olga Saint "
• 2005 - the film “The Saga of the Ancient Bulgars. Ladder of Vladimir 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.
• 2016 - "United by Power." Oleg Panus