Princess Olga, the ruthless regent of Rus

It would be interesting to look back into the history of women at the helm of Ukraine's government. The first woman to be named the head of the country's executive body was Princess Olga, who occupied the seat of the throne in Kyiv Rus in the middle of the 10^th century.

As legend has it, Olga (Olha in contemporary Ukrainian) was of noble origin, being the granddaughter of Gostomysl, the famous ruler of the town of Velyky Novgorod.

Olha was born around 890 near the town of Pskov (on the present-day territory of Russia). Her parents raised the young princess-to-be with such virtues as honor, decency and dignity. One day, Prince Igor (in Ukrainian, Ihor) was hunting in the forest and spotted the young and attractive Olha.

The prince was so taken aback by the stunning beauty that the young girl radiated that he took to trying to seduce the stranger. That said, Olha managed to rather bravely put the admirer in his place with the words, "Remember that you are a prince and a prince must serve as an example to the people and be their ruler and judge. And you are now on the threshold of lawlessness!"

The independent behavior of the girl, her courage, wit and tact made a huge impression on Ihor. Soon thereafter, Ihor traveled to Kyiv to ascend the throne as prince. When it came time for him to get married, wealthy families brought young women to Ihor for him to select a bride, but none of them made a strong impression on the prince. Moreover, the young ruler could not forget his encounter with the amazing girl in the forest. Finally, Ihor sent a messenger to the distant province of Pskov with the assignment to find the girl, who had captured his heart, and bring her to Kyiv. And this is the tale of how Olha became the wife of the Kyivan prince.

Under Ihor's reign, the country became richer and its territories were expanded. Nevertheless, the prince's greed in trying to exact as many taxes or tributes as possible from the local residents ended up doing him a disservice. In 945, taking an annual tribute from the local villagers, Ihor suddenly decided to double it. The infuriated locals decided to teach the prince a lesson for his greed. After killing Ihor's guards, the locals took the prince into captivity. They then strung him up between two fir trees, tying one of his legs to one tree and the other to one to his head. Naturally, when they let cut the ropes tied to the treetops, the unfortunate prince was torn asunder... After Ihor's death, the throne was handed over to his three-year-old son, Svyatoslav. Given the fact that Svytoslav was not of a ruling age, his mother Princess Olha was officially sworn in as the regent and basically became the new ruler of the state.

Six months later, the residents of Pskov made an attempt at reestablishing amicable relations with Kyiv and sent 12 messengers to Olha. They explained, ''We killed your husband, who was literally like a ruthless and hungry wolf, for plundering and robbing us. "And then came the most unexpected proposal: "Marry our Prince Mai".

Contemporary readers might consider it blasphemy to propose to a widow that she marry the killer of her husband. But according to the beliefs of those years, the killer of a tribe's chief can inherit power only by marrying his widow.

Having promised to accept the proposal, the princess invited guests to a banquet on one condition: the matchmakers were to enter her palace atop a hill the same way in which they arrived in Kyiv that is sitting in boats. When in the morning the residents of Podil carried the ambassadors in the boats to the palace, Olha ordered that the guests be thrown into a pit and be buried alive.

Then she sent her herald to the villagers with the announcement that she would marry Mai, if they would send a more representative delegation. In response, fifty more ambassadors were sent to Kyiv. Upon their arrival, Olha proposed to them to take a bath after their trip. As soon as the guests went inside the bathhouse, its doors were tightly sealed and the bathhouse was set on fire. Needless to say, the messengers had no way of escaping and were burned alive.

After this incident, Olha sent her messenger to the locals in Pskov once again. He informed the locals that the princess would like to hold a funeral feast in honor of Ihor prior to the marriage to her new husband. Elated that the wed- ding was truly going to happen, the locals accepted any terms. Having prepared food and drink, they eagerly awaited the arrival of their Prince Mai with his future wife. Meanwhile, Olha set out from Kyiv with a massive military detachment.

When the local hosts in Pskov got drunk during the feast, she ordered her warriors to slaughter them all. The following year the princess set off on a campaign against the enemy. In a ruthless bloodbath, the Kyivans forced the enemy back to the town of Korosten where the siege of the local fortress lasted for nearly a year. Convinced that the local fortress could not be seized in using the standard methods of war, Olha turned to her cunning by proposing to the drevlyany tribe that they pay her a tribute: three doves and three sparrows from each homestead. The locals in Korosten eagerly accepted the proposal and laughed that they got off so easily.

A chronicler in those years wrote: "Olha ordered to attach a fuse to each dove and sparrow. When it grew dark, Olha ordered her warriors to set the doves and sparrows free. Naturally, the doves and sparrows flew to their nests under the awnings of homes. Thus, everything was set afire: somewhere the dovecotes were burning, in other places stands, sheds and haylofts were ablaze. There was no homestead spared from the uncontrollable fire. When local residents attempted to flee the town, Olha ordered her warriors to seize them. Once the princess had seized the settlement and burnt it down, she imprisoned the local senior citizens, killed others and gave the remaining residents of the town into captivity, making them pay her a tribute. "

Needless to say, the ruling princess of Kyiv fully avenged her offenders for the cruel death of her husband. Now, the most difficult task was ahead of her, namely how to rule the state.

"She was wise and clever", the chronicle reads. She began her rule with the most wide-reaching financial reform in the history of Kyiv Rus, which turned out to be a great success. At the same time, she set clear and transparent "rules of the game". Specifically, she set the size of the yearly tribute and established payment of the tax on a regular basis.

Under Olha's rule, the first buildings made of stone were raised in ancient Kyiv. Mount Starokyivska, which was previously a large cemetery, was turned into the grand palace and administrative center of the capital.

The famous visit of the princess to Constantinople and her skilful negotia-tions with Emperor Konstantin VII Bahryanorodny justify calling the princess the first female diplomat in Ukrainian history.

And finally, she was one of the first residents of ancient Kyiv who made the decision to be baptized. So, it should come as no surprise that several decades later her grandson Volodymyr introduced Christianity to the ancient city of Kyiv.

Olha had ruled for 21 years. In 964, the grown up Svyatoslav ascended to the prince's throne. The deeds of the princess were so significant, that the Orthodox Church canonized her. The monument to the first female ruler created by the renowned sculptor Ivan Kavaleridze was erected in modern-day
Kyiv on Mykhailivska Square.

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