Having lost her beloved husband, she did not lose heart, but brutally took revenge on the murderers and strengthened the power of the state. “She shone like the moon in the night, and shone among the pagans, like pearls in the mud,” the chronicler wrote about her. The light of her life still shines on us today.
Circumstances of the birth of the future princess Olga are still shrouded in mystery. It is known that she was born between 885 and 895, and left this world in 969.
One of the legends says that Olga was the daughter of the Varangian Oleg, the founder of the ancient Russian state. The Varangian origin of the princess is also proven by her name: from Old Scandinavian Helga (analogue of the name Olga) is translated as “saint”.
According to another legend, Olga was born in the village of Vybuty, Pskov land, into the family of princes Izborsky. But scientists are in no hurry to believe him, because in the chronicles of those years, the authors often confused the city of Pskov with Pleskov (or Pliska) - the Bulgarian capital of that time. And if so, Olga could have been born in the family of Prince Boris from Bulgaria.
There is a third version of Olga’s origin: she is from the family of Askold, one of the princes of Kyiv. However, the question of the pedigree of the future ruler of Kievan Rus is hardly of fundamental importance for us. After all, over the centuries she became famous for her personal qualities - marital fidelity, wisdom and beauty.
"Wonderful in girls"
An accident brought the girl together with her future husband. Young Prince Igor was hunting in the forests of the Pskov region. On the Velikaya River, he noticed a boy in a boat and asked to be transported to the other side.
Only in the middle of the river did Igor realize that this was not a guy at all, but beautiful girl, dressed as a man. The brave hunter decided not to waste time and admitted to the stranger that he fell in love with her at first sight.
However, the maiden’s answer struck the prince even more than her beauty. “Why do you embarrass me, prince, with immodest words?- said Olga. - I may be young and ignorant, and alone here, but know: it is better for me to throw myself into the river than to endure reproach!”. The girl also reminded Igor of his princely dignity: “You are the ruler of the Russian land, and you should be an example of good deeds for your subjects!”.
Olga’s wise words remained in Igor’s memory forever. And when the time came to choose a life partner, the prince remembered “wonderful in maidens.”
Hostage to debt
Olga lost her beloved husband early, when their son, heir to the throne Svyatoslav, was only three years old. The sophistication of revenge against the Drevlyans who killed her husband shocked more than one generation of Russian people.
Having dealt with Igor, Drevlyans They sent matchmakers to the widow - they wanted her to marry their prince Mal. This would allow them to take power in Kievan Rus: after the death of Igor Olga became regent under the young ruler Svyatoslav.
Olga gave the most cordial welcome to the two dozen ambassadors who arrived by river. She pretended she was ready to accept the offer Drevlyans, and warned that tomorrow they would be brought with honors to the princely feast right in the boat. In the morning, the ambassadors, proudly akimbo, stood in their boat, and Olga's squad carried the ship on their shoulders. Having reached the middle of the courtyard, the boat was thrown into a deep hole, which the princess ordered to dig overnight. “Is honor good for you?”- Olga asked from above. “Worse than Igor’s death!”- the doomed ones answered from below, after which they were buried alive.
But the widow did not stop there. She asked the Drevlyans to send new ambassadors to her - even more noble and even larger in number. Unaware of the fate that befell the first delegation, fifty were inspired by the success Drevlyans arrived at the place. Olga received them graciously and suggested that before the evening feast they wash thoroughly from the road. They agreed and thereby signed their own death warrant: the prince’s servants propped up the doors from the outside, surrounded the bathhouse with brushwood and “let in the red rooster.” All the guests were burned alive.
Olga took her third revenge on the land of the offending tribe, where she went to honor the memory of her husband at his grave. The Drevlyans also arrived for the funeral feast, still knowing nothing about the fate of their ambassadors. Having generously treated and drunk the Drevlyans, the ruler Kievan Rus ordered to chop them down. The chronicle mentions five thousand killed.
The final point in Olga’s vendetta against the Drevlyans was the famous burning of their villages with the help of pigeons. As a conciliatory tax, the princess asked the Drevlyans to give her one dove from each house. The tribesmen obeyed. When Olga had all the birds, she ordered pieces of smoldering tow to be tied to their legs and released under their native thatched roofs. All the villages of the Drevlyans flared up like matches.
How could a woman decide to brutally kill so many people? Moreover, Prince Igor was executed by the Drevlyans for trying to take tribute from them for the third time in a row, and even then under pressure from a squad mad with greed? Olga could not do otherwise, because she was a hostage to debt.
Firstly, she had to take revenge on the Drevlyans for her husband in order to earn the respect of the Kyivans. Secondly, she should have shown the rebellious Drevlyans, and all other tribes, that with the death of the prince, Rus' not only did not weaken, but became even stronger. And both goals were achieved by her.
Wise ruler
But people cannot live in fear forever; a strong state is law and order. Therefore, for all the tribes subordinate to Kyiv, the far-sighted princess established fixed amounts of tribute - “lessons”. Now the tax was levied only once a year in kind: furs, products, etc.
Olga also installed so-called graveyards. These were small centers of princely power where tribute was collected and trade was conducted. Later they turned into district control centers and divided Rus' into prototypes of future provinces. Already under Olga, each of them was controlled by the princess’s governor, who suppressed, if necessary, political riots among the population.
Under Olga, stone urban planning began in Kievan Rus: she understood that a strong state could not rest on wooden fortresses.
Faithful wife
Princess Olga was the first of the rulers in Rus' to accept the Christian faith, although her son Svyatoslav, and the squad, and all the people remained pagans under her. Olga was baptized in 955 in Constantinople - she arrived in Byzantium on state affairs. The ceremony was performed by Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus and Patriarch Theophylact.
According to one of the legends, this event was not complete without a marriage proposal to the stately Russian princess from the emperor. Olga’s answer was cunning: she hinted to the sovereign that it was not appropriate for Christians to woo pagans, wished to be baptized and asked to become her godfather.
When, after the ceremony, Konstantin resumed his courtship, Olga noticed to him that now he was her godfather, and therefore there could no longer be a marriage between them. The Emperor only exclaimed in admiration: “You outwitted me, Olga!” Thanks to this feminine trick, Princess Olga remained faithful to her only husband, Igor.
From grandmother to grandson
The princess died in 969 and was buried according to Christian rites. She never managed to convince her son Svyatoslav to accept Christianity. But her speeches are about beauty and greatness Orthodoxy touched the heart of their grandson - the future Prince Vladimir the Red Sun, who baptized Rus' in 988.
In 1547, Olga was canonized as Saint Equal to the Apostles. Besides her, such an honor in history Christianity Only five women were honored: Mary Magdalene, Queen Helen, the first martyr Thekla of Iconium, the martyr Apphia of Colossia and the enlightener of Georgia Nina.
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From:
In The Tale of Bygone Years.
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After the Drevlyans killed Prince Igor in 945, Olga became the Kyiv princess, since at the time of Igor’s death their son Svyatoslav was still very young to rule. Having become the head of the state, Olga decided to avenge the death of her husband and force the Drevlyans to submit.
First revenge
After the murder of Igor, the Drevlyans sent 20 " best husbands"to Olga, deciding to woo her to his prince Mal. The ambassadors sailed to Kyiv by boat along the Dnieper and landed near Borichev (opposite the modern St. Andrew's Church). Olga feignedly agreed to the proposal of the Drevlyans, and, supposedly in order to honor the ambassadors, she ordered her subjects to solemnly carry them on boats to her palace. Meanwhile, a hole had already been dug in the courtyard, into which, on Olga’s orders, the ambassadors were thrown. Then Olga left the palace wearing them, leaning over the pit and asked: “Is honor good for you?” To which the Drevlyans replied: “Igor’s death is worse for us.” After this, the princess ordered them to be buried alive.
Second revenge
After this, Olga asked the Drevlyans to send her their best husbands again. The Drevlyans responded to her request by sending their most notable people to Kyiv - the princely family, merchants, and boyars. When the new ambassadors arrived to Olga, she ordered to create a “movie”, that is, to heat a bathhouse for them and told the ambassadors “come to me when you are exhausted.” Then, after waiting for the ambassadors to go inside, Olga locked the Drevlyan ambassadors in the “istoba”, after which the bathhouse was set on fire, and the Drevlyans burned alive along with her.
Third revenge
The Kiev army was ready to march on the Drevlyansky land. Before the performance, Olga addressed the Drevlyans with the words: “Behold, I am already coming to you, and arrange for me many honeys, and when I kill my husband, I will perform a funeral feast on him.”. After that, she set off with a small squad. Near the city of Iskorosten, at the grave of her husband, she ordered to build a huge mound and perform a funeral feast. The Drevlyans drank, and Holga’s youths served them. The Drevlyans asked Olga: “Where are our matchmakers whom we sent to you?”. She replied that they were coming here together with the Kyiv squad. In pagan times, at the funeral feast they not only drank, but also held competitions and military games; Olga decided to use this ancient custom for another revenge. When the Drevlyans got drunk, the princess first ordered her youths to drink for them, and then ordered them to be killed.
Fourth revenge
In 946, Olga went with an army on a campaign against the Drevlyans. A large Drevlyan army marched against the Kyivans. Olga's army besieged main city Drevlyans - Iskorosten, whose inhabitants killed Igor. However, the townspeople steadfastly defended themselves, realizing that there would be no mercy for them. The siege lasted a whole year, but Olga never managed to take the city. Then Olga sent ambassadors to the Drevlyans with the following words: “What do you want to wait until? Or do you want to all die of hunger without agreeing to tribute. Your cities have already been taken, and people have been cultivating their fields for a long time.". To which the townspeople replied: “We would be glad to get off with tribute, only you want to take revenge for your deceased husband.”. Olga said this: “I already avenged my husband when you came to Kyiv, and the second and third time when they performed a funeral feast for my husband. Therefore, I will not take revenge further, I just want to take a little tribute from you and, having made peace with you, I will go back.”. The Drevlyans asked: “What do you want to take from us? We’ll be happy to give you honey and fur.”. She responded to this like this: “Now you have neither honey nor furs. I need a little from you: give me three pigeons and three sparrows from each yard. For I do not want to impose a heavy tribute on you, like my husband, but I ask you for a small one of mine. For you are tired in the siege, so give me only this little.”. The Drevlyans agreed and, having collected the required number of birds from each yard, sent them to the princess with a bow. Such an easy tribute did not arouse their suspicions, since it was customary among the Eastern Slavs to give birds as sacrifices to the gods.
At this time, Olga, having distributed pigeons and sparrows to her warriors, ordered to tie a tinder to each, and when it got dark, set it on fire and release the birds to freedom. And so they did. The pigeons flew into their dovecotes, the sparrows flew under the eaves; A fire started in the city. When the residents began to leave the burning city, Olga ordered her soldiers to catch them: some of the Drevlyans were killed, others were taken prisoner. Later, some prisoners were given into slavery, and Olga imposed a heavy tribute on the rest.
Olga, the wife of Prince Igor, the mother of Svyatoslav and the grandmother of the Baptist of Rus' Vladimir, entered our history as the holy princess who was the first to bring the light of Christianity to our land. However, before becoming a Christian, Olga was a pagan, cruel and vindictive. This is exactly how she entered the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years.” What did Olga do?
Igor's campaign
We should start with the last campaign of her husband, Prince Igor. The entry for 945 says that the squad began to complain to Igor that “the youths of Sveneld,” that is, the people who make up the inner circle of his governor Sveneld, were all “dressed in weapons and clothes,” while Igor’s warriors themselves “ naked." It is unlikely that the prince’s warriors were so “naked” that it was worth talking about this seriously, but in those days they tried not to argue with the squad, since it depended on it whether the prince would sit on the Kiev throne. Therefore, Igor went to the Drevlyans - a tribe that lived in the territory of Ukrainian Polesie - and carried out a formal pogrom there, adding new payments to the previous tribute in order to cover up the blatant nakedness of his warriors. Having collected this tribute, he was about to go home, but on the way, apparently, he decided that the cunning Drevlyans had hidden something else somewhere. Having sent the bulk of his people home, he himself and a small retinue returned to the Drevlyan capital Iskorosten, “wishing more wealth.” This was a mistake. The Drevlyans, led by their prince Mal, repulsed him, killed all the soldiers, and subjected Igor himself to terrible execution: They tore him apart, tying him by his legs to the tops of two bent trees.
Olga's first revenge
Having dealt with Igor in this way, the Drevlyan prince sent a delegation to Kyiv, to what he thought was a helpless widow. Mal offered Olga his hand and heart, as well as protection and patronage. Olga received the ambassadors kindly, said pleasantries in the spirit that Igor, they say, cannot be returned, and why not marry such a wonderful prince as Mal. And to make the wedding arrangement even more magnificent, she promised the ambassadors to show them great honor, promising that tomorrow they would be brought with honor to the prince’s court right in the boat, after which the prince’s will would be solemnly announced to them. While the ambassadors were sleeping at the pier, Olga ordered to dig a deep hole in the yard. In the morning, the boat with the Drevlyans was lifted by Olga’s servants in their arms and solemnly carried through Kyiv to the prince’s court. Here they, along with the boat, were thrown to the bottom of the pit. The chronicler reports that Olga, approaching the edge of the pit and bending over it, asked: “Well, what is your honor?”, to which the Drevlyans answered: “Igor’s death is worse for us.” At a sign from Olga, the wedding embassy was buried alive in the earth.
Olga's second revenge
After this, the princess sent an ambassador to Mal with a request to send her the best people for matchmaking, so that the people of Kiev could see what honor they were showing her. Otherwise, they might resist and not let the princess go to Iskorosten. Mal, not suspecting a trick, immediately equipped a large embassy. When the matchmakers arrived in Kyiv, Olga, as befits a hospitable hostess, ordered a bathhouse to be prepared for them so that the guests could wash themselves off the road. And as soon as the Drevlyans began to wash, the doors of the bathhouse were propped open from the outside, and the bathhouse itself was set on fire from four sides.
Olga's third revenge
Having dealt with the matchmakers, the princess sent to tell Mal that she was going to him, but before the wedding she would like to perform a funeral feast at her husband’s grave. Mal began to prepare for the wedding, ordering honey to be brewed for the feast. Appearing to Iskorosten with a small retinue, Olga, accompanied by Mal and the most noble Drevlyans, came to Igor’s grave. The feast on the mound was almost overshadowed by questions from Mal and his entourage: where, in fact, were the matchmakers he sent to Kyiv? Why are they not in the princess? Olga replied that the matchmakers were following and were about to appear. Satisfied with this explanation, Mal and his men began drinking intoxicating drinks. As soon as they got drunk, the princess gave a sign to her warriors, and they killed all the Drevlyans in their place.
Hike to Iskorosten
After this, Olga immediately returned to Kyiv, gathered a squad and set out on a campaign against Derevskaya land. In open battle, the Drevlyans were defeated; they fled and hid behind the walls of Iskorosten. The siege lasted all summer. Finally, Olga sent an ambassador to Iskorotsten, who proposed lifting the siege on very mild terms: Olga will limit herself to expressions of submission and tribute: three doves and three sparrows from each yard. Of course, the requested tribute was sent immediately. Then Olga ordered to tie a lighted tinder to each bird and release it. The birds naturally flew to their nests, and a fire started in the city. Thus fell Iskorosten, the capital of the Drevlyan prince Mal. With this Olga had enough of revenge. Further, as the chronicle reports, she no longer behaved like an angry woman, but like a wise statesman. She set out across the vast lands subject to the Kyiv princes, establishing “lessons and graveyards” - that is, the amount of tribute and the places where it was collected. Now no one, like the unreasonable Igor, could go to the same place for tribute several times, arbitrarily setting its amounts. The princely tribute began to turn from robbery booty into normal taxation.
Historical and literary roots of the tale of Princess Olga's revenge
The Tale of Olga's Revenge - the Lost Original
Olga's appearance as actor Russian history is reminiscent of the lightning-fast striking leap of a tigress, hitherto hidden in the forest thicket. The energy, determination, courage, cunning and calculated ferocity of her actions are both terrifying and fascinating at the same time. These blood-soaked pages of “The Tale of Bygone Years” convince better than any other arguments that the murder of her husband was avenged not by the old woman into whom the hagiographic tradition turned Olga, but by a young woman, not even thirty years old.
Tales of Igor's death and Olga's revenge appeared, in all likelihood, in the 11th century. Moreover, the legend about Igor’s death seems to have developed several decades earlier than the plot about Olga’s revenge, since it is characterized by great geographical and terminological accuracy. Igor goes on a campaign precisely to the “Trees”, which in the introductory part of the “Tale of Bygone Years” are referred to the region of the Northern Black Sea Coast, and not to the “Tree Land”, which Olga pacifies and which, upon subsequent mention, is localized on the right bank of the Dnieper, according to the understanding of this toponym in the 11th–12th centuries.
In the time of Nestor, both tales already constituted a single cycle, as evidenced by their plot continuity and the presence in both works of the same “anti-hero” - Prince Mal. Unfortunately, original text of this heroic cycle is irretrievably lost. In The Tale of Bygone Years we are dealing not with the original source itself, but with an arbitrary retelling of it, and a retelling so careless that we can talk about irreparable damage to the structure and the very meaning of the entire work.
In the chronicle rendering of the tale of Olga's revenge, the textual and semantic destruction of the original can be clearly traced. Visual evidence of the chroniclers’ reduction of the original text of the tale is found in the Pereyaslav-Suzdal Chronicle, which preserved a fragment not included in any other list of the “Tale of Bygone Years” - the so-called “dream of Prince Mal”: “I create joy for the prince for marriage, and a dream often in vain the Little Prince: when he came, Olga gave him ports of great value, all the worms were covered with pearls, and the blankets were black with green patterns, and the boats that were carried in them were tar.”
The removal of Mal's dream from most chronicles is explained, in all likelihood, by the intervention of spiritual censorship in the 12th–13th centuries. The pagan belief in “prophetic” dreams, in “sleepy reverie” was opposed to Christian spiritual sobriety. The collection of 1076 teaches: “Just as we embrace the wall and the driving winds, so we embrace faith with a dream,” that is, believing a dream is the same as believing visions (shadows, ghosts) and the blowing of the wind. A truly prophetic dream could only be sent down to a person experienced in spiritual life, as a rule, a monk.
This view of sleep was in no way canonical or orthodox: it was entirely determined by historical conditions - the fight against pagan remnants and the exceptionally important place occupied by monasticism in the Orthodox (Byzantine and Old Russian) church. The Middle Ages, which deified its class and caste barriers, too often forgot that “The Spirit breathes where it wants.” IN Old Testament The Lord reveals the future more than once to the pagans: to the imprisoned Egyptian (Gen. 40–41), to simple soldiers from the army of Midian and Amalek (Judg. 7:13–15), to King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 2:4). True, the correct interpretation of these dreams is still given only by His chosen ones - Joseph, Gideon, Daniel.
But what is most striking is the inexplicable disappearance of Prince Mal from all famous lists“Tales” immediately after his matchmaking with Olga. The sudden oblivion of this character turns out to be so complete that he is not found even in his “ancestral” city of Korosten/Iskorosten, captured by Olga’s army. As a result, it turns out that Igor’s widow’s revenge falls on everyone except the main culprit in the murder of her husband, whose fate remains unknown.
The loss of large fragments and entire storylines of the original text of the legends, the processing of the remaining material as " historical information“It’s all the more sad that the “Drevlyansky” cycle as a whole has value primarily and primarily as literary work. With their efforts to remake it into “history,” the ancient Russian scribes only hopelessly ruined the beauty and harmony of the artistic concept, without coming any closer to historical authenticity. The “Drevlyans” send new ambassadors to be slaughtered without waiting for the return of the old ones; Before the big punitive campaign, Olga, “having caught a few squads,” goes to “Dereva,” beats 5,000 “Derevlyans” at Igor’s grave and returns to Kyiv safe and sound; pigeons and sparrows fly to their nests, carrying burning sulfur on their paws (this behavior of birds is completely implausible), as a result of which “the whole courtyard was set on fire” - all this, of course, is very far from reality. In the chronicle retelling, literature still undividedly triumphs over history, including in style, which differs from the chronicle short stories themselves by their artistic imagery, which is unusual for them. In particular, the observations of A.S. are interesting. Demina above a “great and deep hole” dug on Olga’s orders, to which the unknown author of the legend gave the features of a very deep and steep cliff, almost an abyss. The Kievans, having brought the “Drevlyans” in a boat to the prince’s court, “delivered [them] into a pit and with the boat.” What is characteristic here is precisely this “vrinusha” instead of the usual “throw into the Dnieper”, thanks to which the action takes on the shade of being thrown from a great height (it is also said about the idol of Perun that it is “vrinusha into the Dnieper” from a high cliff). While talking with the ambassadors who were in the “pit,” Olga “leaned” to the edge of the “pit” - she did not bend down, but rather leaned down, as if to the edge of a dangerous cliff. The final phrase of this fragment completes the image of the pit-abyss: Olga ordered the ambassadors to be buried alive, “and sprinkled [them],” that is, according to the narrator, the performers stood high on top above the “Derevlyans” ( Demin A.S. On some features of archaic literary creativity (posing the question on the material of “The Tale of Bygone Years”). - In the book: Culture of the Slavs and Rus'. M., 1998. pp. 206–207).
Old Russian or Scandinavian roots?
Historians and philologists discovered the folklore and literary roots of the chronicle story about Olga’s revenge back in the first half of the 19th century, and the Normanists, of course, hastened to attribute them to borrowings from the Scandinavian epic. For example, regarding Olga’s burning of the “Drevlyan” ambassadors in the bathhouse, F.I. Buslaev, following Schletser and Pogodin ( Pogodin M.P. Research, remarks and lectures on Russian history. T. I–VII. M., 1846–1854. T.I.S. 179; Shletser A.L. Nestor. Russian chronicles in the Old Slavic language. Collated, translated and explained by A.L. Schletzer. Parts 1–3. St. Petersburg, 1809–1819. II, p. 765), noted that this “execution is very common in the northern Scandinavian sagas” (Quoted from: Shmurlo E.F. Russian history course. The emergence and formation of the Russian state (862–1462). Ed. 2nd, rev. T. 1. St. Petersburg, 1999. P. 392). They also pointed out Scandinavian and German parallels to the plot of the capture of the city with the help of birds.
But in order to talk about borrowing, the fact of burning (of people or a city) is not enough - a coincidence of circumstances and causes of events is also necessary. Meanwhile, this is not visible. For example, E. A. Rydzevskaya compared the burning of ambassadors by Olga in a bathhouse with the story of the sagas about how the Swedish queen Sigrid Storrada (Severe) burned her two suitors: “And she considered herself humiliated by the fact that small kings wooed her, and their self-confident , because they dared to dream of such a queen, and therefore she then burned them both in the house one night" ( Rydzevskaya E.A. Ancient Rus' and Scandinavia IX – XIV centuries. M., 1978. pp. 196–198).
The convergence of both plots, in my opinion, is not justified. Olga is also offended by Mal's matchmaking, but she takes revenge primarily for the murder of her husband, and not for her insulted greatness. Sigrid from the saga is not like Olga the Avenger, but like the fairy-tale princess Zmeevna, who burned the good fellows who wooed her in the oven. Brides from Russian fairy tales are, as a rule, two-faced creatures. “Those who imagine the princess of a fairy tale only as a “soul-beautiful maiden,” “an invaluable beauty,” which “neither can be said in a fairy tale, nor described with a pen,” are mistaken,” notes V. Ya. Propp. - On the one hand, she is, however, a faithful bride, she is waiting for her betrothed, she refuses everyone who seeks her hand in the absence of the groom. On the other hand, she is an insidious, vengeful and evil creature, she is always ready to kill, drown, maim, rob her fiancé, and the main task of the hero who has reached or almost reached her possession is to tame her... Sometimes the princess is depicted as a hero, a warrior, she is skilled in shooting and running, rides a horse, and enmity towards the groom can take the form of open competition with the hero" ( Propp V.Ya. Historical roots fairy tale. St. Petersburg, 1996. P. 298).
S. A. Gedeonov showed much more critical flair when he wrote about the completely opposite direction of borrowing various plots and episodes of “Olga’s Epic” - from the Slavs to the Scandinavians. According to him, between the Russian legend of Olga’s revenge and the Scandinavian sagas “there is all the difference between the original manifestations of the folk spirit and the dry, artificial imitation of inexperienced literary industrialists... The legend of Olga’s revenge is a folk poem about the conquest of the Drevlyansky land. Just as in the Iliad, the wrath of Achilles and the destruction of Troy, so in the Russian poem the vengeance of Igor’s widow and the burning of Korosten reveal all the poetic conditions of folk legends and are deeply connected with people’s life. Scandinavian storytellers were struck by one thing - military cunning; they use it when talking about the capture of all kinds of cities, even those they do not know by name; There was only one thing they could not come up with: a means of obtaining pigeons and sparrows from the besieged city. Fridlev catches swallows near Dublin; Harald will grind down an entire forest under the walls of an unknown Sicilian city” (Quoted from: Shmurlo E.F. Course of Russian History. P. 392).
A fragment from the “Danish History” of Saxo Grammar is very indicative in this regard: “Hading [the Swedish king] went to war against Handwan, king of the Hellespont *, to the city of Dune, surrounded by impregnable walls ... Since the walls presented an insurmountable obstacle, he ordered experienced bird-catchers to catch various birds , dwelling in the dwellings of this enemy people, and attach lighted wicks to their feathers. The birds, returning to their nests, set the city on fire. The townspeople rushed to put out the fire, leaving the gates unprotected. By a surprise attack, Hading captured Khandwana.”
* “Hellespontics” Saxo calls the tribes allied with the Ruthenians/Russians - the Pomeranian and Eastern Slavs and, possibly, the Balts. According to the ideas of medieval writers of the 11th–12th centuries, the Sea of Marmara (Hellespont) began immediately behind the Eastern Baltic and Russia.
It is easy to see that in the Russian legend the plot of the “bird tribute” is given a natural character - the “Drevlyans” themselves give Olga the birds nesting in their houses, while in Saxo “experienced bird catchers” somehow catch them “in the dwellings” of the not yet taken cities - it’s hard to imagine how this is even possible.
In a word, the secondary nature of the corresponding episodes of the Scandinavian sagas in relation to Russian legend is quite obvious, although it should be noted that the plot itself about the capture of the city with the help of birds (or animals), being typological, is not the property of any one people. Thus, in one Korean legend, swallows are used to liberate the city of Jeju from the Japanese (“How a Peasant Saved Jeju” // Korean Tales. M., 1956). The Mongols told a similar story about how Genghis Khan took possession of the nomadic camp of the rebellious Jurshid tribe. The Mongol leader “demanded a small tribute from the besieged nomads: 10,000 swallows and 1,000 cats. They tied a piece of cotton to each swallow and each cat’s tail, lit it, the swallows flew to their nests, the cats rushed to their roofs, and everything burst into flames” ( Ivanov Vs. We. Harbin, 1926. P. 85). As we see, the original folk fantasy here did without “experienced bird catchers.”
The plot motif of revenge can generally be considered characteristic of ancient Russian epic and literature. In almost every epic, Russian heroes take revenge on their enemies for some kind of insult - sometimes personal, sometimes inflicted on the prince or the entire Russian land, so that fair retribution becomes the culmination of the work. The methods of retribution are also impressive: Volkh Vseslavyevich “grabs” the “Indian king” and, hitting the “brick” floor, smashes him “into shitty crumbs”; Dobrynya “teaches a lesson” to his unfaithful wife Maria Ignatievna, cutting off her hands, feet, lips, nose and tongue; Ilya Muromets tears the “daring clearing” (by the way, his daughter) in two by stepping on her right leg and pulling the left one, etc.
However, literary parallels are not so important. The main thing is that the legend of Olga’s revenge reveals an organic kinship with the spiritual and moral structure of ancient Russian life. “Given the then underdevelopment public relations“, writes S. M. Solovyov, “revenge for a relative was a feat par excellence; That’s why the story of such a feat aroused everyone’s lively attention and was therefore preserved so freshly and ornately in the people’s memory” ( Soloviev S.M. Essays. History of Russia from ancient times. Book I. T. 1. M., 1993. P. 147).
And in fact, Russian Truth elevates revenge to a moral law: “If a husband kills a husband, then take revenge on a brother’s brother, or on a father’s son, or on a father’s son,” etc. And this is the rare case when the moral law reigns supreme in life. Vladimir takes revenge on Rogneda for refusing to marry him by raping her in front of her parents, and she, in turn, plots his murder in revenge for her insulted honor. The Rogvolozhichi, who have not forgotten this insult, generation after generation raise the sword “against Yaroslavl’s grandson.”
No one gets away with an attempt on the life of a Russian prince so easily. In 1079, the Polovtsians, on the advice of the “kozars,” killed the “red Roman Svyatoslavich” after they “made peace” with him. Four years later, Roman’s brother, Prince Oleg Svyatoslavich, took full revenge for this treacherous murder: “Oleg from Greek [came to] Tmutorokan and killed Kozary, who were like the Svetnitsy [advisers] to kill his brother...”. The author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” calls for revenge on the “filthy” for “Igor’s wounds,” and revenge falls on the entire Polovtsian land, ending with the execution of the Polovtsian leader: the “formidable” Prince Svyatoslav with his regiments “step on the Polovtsian land, trampling the hills and yarugs [ ravines], stir up rivers and lakes; dry up the streams and swamps. And the filthy Kobyak was snatched from the bow of the sea, from the great iron regiments of the Polovtsians, like a whirlwind: and Kobyak fell in the city of Kyiv, in the grid of Svyatoslavl.”
The mass extermination of enemies without distinction of gender and age was not only not something unusual and unheard of in ancient Rus', but, on the contrary, was extremely characteristic of the “Russian” custom of warfare. “Having landed in the country of some people,” writes Ibn Ruste, “they [the Russians] do not leave until they exterminate their opponents, rape their wives and turn those who remain into slavery.” Foreign sources and our chronicles are replete with similar messages. Patriarch Photius, recalling the Rus’ raid on Constantinople in 860, says: “He [the people “ros”] ruins and destroys everything: fields, pastures, herds, women, children, elders, youths, killing everyone with the sword, not having mercy on anyone, sparing nothing...” “They [the Rus] were alien to any sense of mercy for those closest to them,” horrifies the author of “Notes of a Greek Toparch,” who witnessed the pacification of the subject population of the Northern Black Sea region by the Rus at the end of the 10th century, when “they [the Rus] decided not to stop killing "and devastate the lands of rebellious peoples, even "to their own evil and detriment." One can also recall the massacre of the Rus against the inhabitants of Berdaa.
And here is the memorable order of the epic Volkh Vseslavyevich to his squad, as if copied from these historical reports:
Hey you, good squad!
Walk through the kingdom of the Indians,
Chop the old, the young,
Don't leave the kingdom for seeds,
Leave only us by choice
Not much, not little - seven thousand
Darlings are beautiful girls!So why go far, looking for overseas influences on the original work of our folklore? Russian law and the most Russian life of the 10th century. - these are the true sources of the tale of Olga’s revenge, and not the German epic at all.
History and legend in the tale of Olga's revenge
The chronicle story about Olga’s pacification of the “Village Land”, which has a purely literary basis, is very small degree corresponds to real events. About the specific circumstances of this military enterprise of “Rus” it is possible to express only the most general considerations, however, not devoid of interest and significance.
The inglorious death of Igor in the distant “Trees” should have caused despondency and confusion in Kyiv. The Kiev “reign” suddenly found itself beheaded. Svyatoslav was not fit to be a full-fledged heir to his father. And it wasn’t even a matter of his youth. According to pagan beliefs, Svyatoslav lost his fatherly protection, for the spirit of Igor, who was not buried in a proper way, was now not only not inclined to help him, but, on the contrary, could bring disaster to him and the entire grand-ducal family. The Russian land was plunged into a state of sacred insecurity. This extremely dangerous situation for the Rus is emphasized at the very beginning of the legend with the words of the “Drevlyans”: “Behold, the prince was killed by the Russian! Let’s take his wife Volga for our prince Mal and Svyatoslav, and do it to him as we want” (here, obviously, we are faced with another evidence of the loss of part of the text of the legend, since from the further narration it is impossible to understand what they wanted to “do” to Svyatoslav "Drevlyans")
The triumph and arrogant dreams of the old rivals of “Rus” were based on an ancient custom, according to which the one who kills the leader of an enemy tribe inherits his sacred strength, power, property, women and family in general. The Russian princes themselves were subsequently guided more than once by this order. So, Vladimir “laid away” the wife of Yaropolk, whom he killed; The pagan Rededya, offering Mstislav a duel, sets the condition: “If you prevail, then disturb my property, and my wife, and my children, and my land.” And the Christian Mstislav agrees: “So be it.” In 1085, Prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich expelled Prince Yaropolk Izyaslavich from Vladimir-Volyn, “and brought his mother Yaropol and his wife and squad to Kyiv, and took his property.” Olga’s Polyans/Kiyans also express feigned agreement with this custom, responding to the “Drevlyan” ambassadors-matchmakers: “We are in bondage; Our prince has been killed, and our princess wants your prince.” From here it becomes clear what exactly struck the ancient Russian people so strongly in Olga’s subsequent actions: this woman did not want to submit to the generally accepted canon, she went against the fate destined for her by society. Apparently, Olga’s high princely origin largely determined her spiritual mood. And the presence of her own squad allowed her to lead the organization of resistance to the claims of the “Drevlyans”.
Let's remember how events are developing. Instead of the flotilla of Igor, who disappeared in the “Trees”, loaded with all sorts of goods, a boat with ambassadors from Prince Mal arrives at Borichev’s carriage, who announce to Olga: “We have been sent [us] by the land of Dervy, which speaks in Sitsa [so]: we have killed your husband, for your husband is like a wolf delighting and robbing, and our princes are good, who have destroyed the essence of the Derevsk land, but go for our prince Mal.”
To the proposal of the “Drevlyansky” matchmakers, Olga responds with feigned humility: “Whatever your speech is, I can no longer baptize my husband [not resurrect]; but I want you to honor the morning before your people, and now you go to your boat, and climb into the boat with magnificence, and I will send the morning to you, but you will say [saying]: we will not ride on horseback, we will not go on foot, but you will carry us into the boat ; and you will be carried into boats..."
Meanwhile, at her command, “in the courtyard there is a tower outside the city,” a “great and deep hole” is being dug. The next morning, the Kievans carried the unsuspecting ambassadors, who were sitting in the boat “in bends [probably with their hips on] in great sastugs [luxurious buckles or, perhaps, embassy plaques] proudly,” to Olga’s courtyard and then “throwing them into a pit and with boat." Before they were buried alive in the earth, Olga did not deny herself the pleasure of asking her victims: “Are you honorable?” And the legend puts into the mouths of the “Drevlyan” ambassadors a worthy assessment of the sophistication of the revenge that befell them: “Igor’s death is worse,” that is: you know how to take revenge well, Olga, our death is worse than Igor’s death.
The meaning of this episode is the mocking “great honor” shown to the great Kyiv princess to the matchmakers of Prince Mal (“little prince”, as the legend plays on this name). Olga’s proposal, enthusiastically accepted by the “Drevlyansky” ambassadors: “We are not going on horseback, nor on a cart, nor on foot, but you will carry us in boats,” was based on the then concepts of the dignity of a “husband” and diplomatic etiquette. Riding on someone else's horse, and especially in a cart, was considered an unworthy and shameful thing for a man ( Lipets R.S. Images of a batyr and his horse in the Turkic-Mongol epic. M., 1984. P. 246). The invitation to sit in the boat, on the contrary, was extremely honorable, which is why the “Drevlyan” ambassadors, carried in the boat by the Kievans, sat in it “proudly.” One may recall that, sitting in the boat, as equal to equal, Prince Svyatoslav spoke with Emperor John Tzimiskes. Among the Indians North America the transmission and acceptance of the invitation to the potlatch (celebratory feast) “was accompanied by dances and songs on both sides. Those who came to invite were sometimes carried in a boat into the leader’s house, they were treated and given gifts” ( Averkieva Yu.P. The decomposition of the tribal community and the formation of early class relations in the society of the Indians of the northwestern coast of North America. M., 1961. P. 180).
But Olga’s words also had another, secret meaning. After all, the boat among the Russians symbolized a journey to another world. Thus, under the guise of the greatest honors, Olga doomed the ambassadors to death, performing funeral rites over them while they were still alive ( Likhachev D.S. Comments // “The Tale of Bygone Years”. Part 2. M. – L., 1950. P. 297). Burying alive in a hole is a plot known to Russian epics. This is exactly how “White Marya Swan” tried to deal with Mikhailo Potok, who was drugged with a sleeping potion:
She ordered the servants to be faithful
And dig a deep hole.
Like servants here and faithful to her
They dug a deep hole,
I took Mikhail under my bosom here,
How Mikhaila threw herself into the damp earth,
And she ordered to bury him in the yellow sand.Now Olga herself sends an embassy to the “Derevlyans” to say: “If you ask me for the right, then send your husband deliberately, so that I will come to your great prince for your prince, when the people of Kiev will not let me in.” Hearing these words, “the Derevlyans chose the best men who held the Derevsk land and sent them around.” Before meeting with them, Olga invited them to “create something” - take a steam bath. “And the villagers climbed [into the bathhouse] and began to wash; and [Olga] asked for a source about them, and commanded me to light it from the doors, and it would burn them all out.” Thus, the “great honor” again turns into the face of death for the ambassadors, and the “movement” turns into a lifetime funeral rite (washing the dead man).
Again Olga sends news to the Drevlyans: “Behold, I am already coming to you, so that you can build a lot of honey in the city, and when you kill my husband, I will cry over his grave, and I will punish my husband.” The overjoyed “Derevlyans” heard this, bringing together a lot of honey and boiling. Olga, having taken a small squad, easily walked to his [Igor’s] tomb and cried for her husband; and he commanded his people to build [fill] a great grave, and as soon as it was ready [and when it was ready], and he commanded them to make a grave. The Derevlyans sat down to drink, and Olga commanded her youth to serve before them...” Olga again plays cat and mouse with the doomed “Derevlyans”, bringing them a healthy cup. “And when the Derevlyans had drunk themselves, they commanded their youth to drink for her, but she herself left, and commanded her squad to slaughter the Derevlyans, and cut down 5,000 of them. And Olga returned to Kyiv...” The guests invited to the funeral feast turn out to be victims destined for slaughter.
According to V. Grebenshchikov, Olga’s three revenges seem to reproduce in epic form a well-known fairy tale plot: “The ambassadors did not understand the hidden... meaning of Olga’s proposals. And she seems to be asking the matchmakers a riddle; the groom or his matchmakers, who were unable to solve the riddles of the princess-bride, must die" ( Grebenshchikov V. “Dennitsa before the sun” (Prophetic Olga) // Notes of the Russian academic group in the USA. T. XXI. New York, 1988. P. 62). O. V. Tvorogov’s observation that, taken together, Olga’s three revenges “reflect elements of a pagan funeral rite” is also interesting: carrying the deceased in a boat, burning, funeral feast ( Tvorogov O.V. Commentary to the book: “The Tale of Bygone Years.” Petrozavodsk, 1991. P. 178).
At the same time, in the chronicle story about Olga’s three-time massacre of the “Drevlyans”, other folklore motifs are clearly heard - for example, echoes of pagan magic. The betrayal of the ambassadors to death at the princely court, where the idols of “Rus” stood, that is, on sacred territory, undoubtedly had a magical meaning. The Ustyug chronicle preserved one important detail: before “throwing” the ambassadors into the pit, Olga poured burning oak coals into it. Since the oak was the sacred tree of Perun, this action was probably intended to neutralize the souls of strangers who could otherwise harm the “kiyans”. The same methods of sacred hygiene include covering ambassadors with earth and placing them in a bathhouse. The Slavs' bathhouse was a sacred place, isolated from the outside world. Entering the bathhouse was preceded by ritual actions; the “mover” itself, among other things, had the meaning of sacred “purification.” According to the chronicler of Pereslavl-Suzdal, before entering the bathhouse, the “Drevlyans” tasted a ritual intoxicating drink: Olga “commanded them to drink.” Lighting the bathhouse “from the door,” through which, according to pagan beliefs, the closed dwelling is connected to the outside world, was supposed to prevent the souls of “deliberate men” from leaving the bathhouse and turning into evil evil spirits - ghouls or navi. In Olga's third revenge, the sinister features of ritual murder visibly emerge. The massacre of 5,000 “Drevlyans” seems to be part of the “princely” funeral rite of the Rus, accompanied by crying, the pouring of a mound, a funeral feast (strava), a funeral feast (ritual games) and abundant human sacrifices.
All this, of course, is pure literature, folklore. But from a historical point of view, Olga’s triple revenge can be interpreted as evidence that the Kiyan’s preparations for the campaign “resulted in a series of human sacrifices designed to ensure the favor of the gods for the Polyan community and give it victory over the enemy” ( Froyanov I.Ya. Ancient Rus': Experience in researching the history of social and political struggle. M.; St. Petersburg, 1995. P. 73). The culmination of the cult rituals was the solemn burial of Igor (which, if it actually took place, should have taken place later - during Olga’s campaign to the “Village Land” or immediately after its end). So we have the right to consider all these acts not so much Olga’s personal revenge, but rather the ritual actions of the entire Kyiv community.
With the help of these rituals, the murdered Igor was transformed into an endowed magical power patron ancestor of the princely family and the entire Russian/Kyiv land. His sacred functions as an earthly leader-priest passed on to Svyatoslav, for “in no one does divinity find better embodiment than in... a son who inherited his sacred influx from his father” ( Fraser J.J. Golden branch. M., 1980. P. 325). Only then did the Russians decide to carry out military operations against the “Derevskaya Land”. Probably, the scene with Svyatoslav throwing a spear was perceived by people of the 10th–11th centuries. in the spirit of precisely these ancient pagan ideas, according to which starting a battle through a certain symbolic gesture (in in this case throwing a spear towards the enemy) belonged to the leader, who possessed divine power: “I will thrust Svyatoslav’s spear at the Derevlyans, and fly the spear through the horse’s ears, and strike at the horse’s feet, for the sake of the child. And Sveneld and Asmold said: “The prince has already begun; pull, squad, according to the prince" (remember that before the start of the battle on the Catalaunian fields, Attila, as Jordan reports, said to his soldiers: “I throw a dart at the enemy. If anyone can remain calm while Attila is fighting, he will has already died"). And the Derevlyans won. The Derevlyans fled in their cities.” Even in the Christian era, ancient Russian scribes directly linked the victory of Svyatoslav (an unyielding pagan) over the “Derevlyans” with the patronage heavenly powers. In the Archangel-City Chronicle, this text has a continuation: “And God help Svyatoslav, and defeat the Drevlyans...”
However, in fact, Svyatoslav most likely did not participate in the campaign against the “Drevlyans”. They tried not to expose the lives of the youth princes to the dangers of war. So, in 1153, during Prince Izyaslav’s campaign against Galich, the boyars of the young Yaroslav Vladimirovich Osmomysl “decided to their prince: “You are the only prince among us, and what should we do [and if something happens to you], then what will we do?” activities? Go to the city, and we ourselves will fight with Izyaslav, and who [of] us will be alive will resort to you, and then we will shut ourselves up with you in the city”; and so shall their prince do.”
In the episode with Olga’s siege of Iskorosten, revenge itself comes first: “Olga rushed with her son to the Iskorosten city, as if you killed her husband, and stood near the city with her son, and the villagers shut themselves up in the city and fought hard from the city , vedekhu bo [for they knew] that they themselves killed the prince and why did they betray [not hoping for mercy in the event of the surrender of the city]. And Olga stood [near the city] all summer, and was unable to take the city, and she sent plans to the city, saying: “Why do you want to sit out? And all your cities were given over to me, and they ate tribute, and made their own fields and their own land; but you want to starve to death without paying tribute.” The Derevlyans said: “For the sake of this, we would have taken tribute [we would be happy to give tribute, to submit], but [after all, you] want to take revenge on your husband.” Olga said to them: “I have already taken revenge on the insult of my husband, when [your ambassadors] came to Kyiv, the second and third, when I punished my husband; but [now] I no longer want to take revenge, but I want to pay tribute little by little, and having resigned myself to you, I will go again.”
However, here too Olga’s actions are characterized by magical symbolism. Her appeal to the Drevlyans with a proposal to pay a small tribute in the transmission of the Pereslavl-Suzdal chronicler reads like this: “Now you have no honey, no matter how quickly, but I ask you to give the gods a sacrifice from you, and if you are weak, give yourself medicine for the main diseases, give I have 3 pigeons and 3 sparrows from the yard, you already have these birds, but now I collect them everywhere and carry them, but I don’t send them to a foreign land; otherwise you will be forever and ever..."
This version is clearly closer to the original text of the legend, since it preserves the sacred-magical background of the story with the “bird tribute”: it turns out that during the entire siege, bird sacrifices were performed in the Rus’ camp, which, apparently, should have made it easier for the Rus to take Iskorosten, - as a result of which the Russians caught all the birds in the area during the “summer” (over the year).
In other copies of the Tale of Bygone Years, Olga’s speech to the residents of Korosten is carefully edited: “She said to them: “Now you have no honey, no speed, but I ask little of you; Give me from the courtyard 3 doves and 3 sparrows: since I don’t want to pay a heavy tribute, like my husband, this is not enough for me, you are naturally exhausted in the siege, but this is not enough for me.”
The removal of references to bird sacrifices is probably explained by censorship considerations: the holy princess, even while still “filthy,” should not take direct part in pagan abominations. Olga's proposal to pay tribute in yard birds should be considered in the light of the symbolic and magical meaning of tribute, which often obscured its material side. The outwardly harmless and unburdensome condition of reconciliation was not at all such in reality, for Olga encroached on the closed world of the house, fenced off by slander, spells and amulets from the invasion of strangers and evil spirits. Thus, each “Drevlyan” lost the integrity of his spiritual cosmos, since some part of it now belonged to the Russian princess. That is why, having received what she demanded, Olga says: “Behold, my children and I have already naturally submitted.” It is possible that setting fire to birds wrapped in sulfur-soaked scarves was also part of some kind of ritual, which was later interpreted by people Christian culture like a stratagem. Ethnographers know the ancient cult custom of setting birds' tails on fire ( Myths of the peoples of the world. T. 2. M., 1992. P. 346 et seq.).
From these observations it is clear in which direction the semantic vector of the legend about Olga’s revenge has changed over time. In the chronicle treatment, the bright pagan flavor of the tale naturally faded, and the dry “graphics” of the plot came to the fore: Olga’s “wisdom” (cunning) and revenge itself. The learned monks stripped the holy princess, “the mother of Russian princes,” of the clothes of a pagan priestess, stained with the dried blood of human victims, and painted the image of an inventive and merciless avenger for her murdered husband - an image that did not lose its attractiveness for the baptized Russian people of the late 11th and early 12th centuries. V.
Having said all this, I have to add that the abundant enrichment of the legend of Olga’s revenge with folklore motifs and details hardly benefited historical authenticity. Its final part is probably more true, since the methods and consequences of pacifying the “Village Land” do not contradict the usual way of action of the Rus in foreign lands, known from other sources. Iskorosten was burned, the city “elders” were captured (apparently in order to obtain a ransom for them, or, perhaps, taken hostage), and “other people were beaten, and others were given to work by their husbands, and the use of them [ leave the rest] to pay tribute. And he would impose a heavy tribute on her...” Two parts of the tribute went to Kyiv, and one to Vyshgorod, “before Vyshgorod is an Olzhin city.”
The distribution of the “Drevlyan tribute” between Kiev and Vyshgorod is an unsolvable mystery for historians. S. M. Solovyov asked: “Why are there places instead of faces? Why not Prince Svyatoslav, but Princess Olga? - and answered like this: “It is natural to use the name of the capital city instead of the name of the prince, for princes change, but capitals remain... But in the passage under discussion, the relationship is shown not to be permanent, but temporary, determined by Olga’s personality, and, despite the fact that the tribute went to Vyshgorod, although it is known that Olga lived in Kyiv... therefore, it must be assumed that Olga’s treasury was kept in Vyshgorod" ( Soloviev S.M. Essays. P. 300, note. 209). AND I. Froyanov explained the mention of Kyiv and Vyshgorod by the fact that the communities of these cities took part in the suppression of the “Drevlyan” uprising ( Froyanov I.Ya. Slavery and tribute among the Eastern Slavs (VI – X centuries). St. Petersburg, 1996). A.L. Nikitin suspected here that the chronicler was transferring into the past the historical realities of the early 12th century, since “Vyshgorod was “Olzhin” (that is, belonging not to Olga, but to Oleg Svyatoslavich) in the 10s. XII century... having been received by him (Oleg Svyatoslavich. - S. Ts.) in 1113, apparently for refusing Kiev in favor of Vladimir Monomakh, to which Oleg had a priority right by seniority" ( Nikitin A.L. Foundations of Russian history. M., 2000. pp. 38–39). In any case, the shared principle of dividing the tribute (two thirds to Kyiv, one third to Vyshgorod) remains unclear.
The Pereslavl-Suzdal Chronicle knows the size and composition of the “Drevlyansky” tribute: “And pay the commandant [Olga] two black kunas, two wild leaves and fasts and honey and give...” But this record rather reflects the contemporary realities of the 12th–13th centuries for the chronicler . In all likelihood, the “heavy tribute” imposed by Olga on the “Drevlyans” (in violation of the previous promise: “for I don’t want to pay a heavy tribute, like my husband”), in quantitative terms corresponded to the previous “cherne kuna”, which was levied on them Svengeld, that is, there was double taxation; It is hardly possible to say anything concrete about its qualitative indicators. In general, the “black kuna” constantly accompanies chronicle reports of the imposition of tribute on the “Drevlyans”, starting with the reign of Oleg.
With the fall of Iskorosten, the fate of the “Village Land” was decided: all the “Derevlyan” cities surrendered to Olga, who “took that land and went to Kiev.”
This aspect of her life is classified as a personality characteristic, because this legend characterizes the princess first of all as a person and only then as a ruler.
The main information about the princess’s revenge on the Drevlyans was found in the PVL and the generalizing works of Karamzin and Solovyov, as well as in the multi-volume “History of the USSR...” (it contains an article that concludes about the deliberate move of the boyar circles of Kiev, who wanted to show “what terrible punishments await all those who disobey the princely will" Princess Olga // History of the USSR. - P. 493.).
Olga's revenge is carefully thought out, scientists emphasize the coldness of her mind, calculation and cunning. The tradition of blood feud against offenders is fully observed. This is one of the features inherent in pagans, speaks of the highest role of family ties in her life. Tatishchev writes most briefly about revenge: “The Drevlyan prince Mal, son of Niskinin, sent ambassadors to Olga asking her to go after her. She commanded the messengers to beat them up, burn them up and, gathering a howl, attacked the Drevlyans, beat up their princes and people, and destroyed and built the city of Korosten.” Tatishchev V.N. - P.109.. The content of this revenge is most clearly conveyed by Solovyov and Karamzin, they are based on data from the PVL.
According to legend, Olga was in Kyiv with her young son Svyatoslav in 945, when Igor died in one of the campaigns against the Drevlyans: “The Drevlyans said: “We have killed the Russian prince; we will take his wife Olga for our prince Mal and Svyatoslav, we will take and make him whatever we want." And the Drevlyans sent their best men, twenty in number, in a boat to Olga, and landed in the boat near Borichev. ... And Olga said to them: “So tell me, why did you come here?” The Drevlyans answered: “The Derevskaya land sent us with these words: “We killed your husband, because your husband, like a wolf, plundered and robbed, and our princes are good, because they protect the Derevskaya land - marry our prince Mala.” "... Olga told them: “Your speech is dear to me, - I can no longer resurrect my husband; but I want to honor you tomorrow before my people; Now go to your boat and lie down in the boat, magnifying yourself, and in the morning I will send for you, and you say: “We will not ride on horses, nor will we go on foot, but carry us in the boat,” and they will carry you up in the boat,” and released them to the boat. Olga ordered to dig a large and deep hole in the tower courtyard, outside the city. The next morning, sitting in the tower, Olga sent for the guests, and they came to them and said: “Olga is calling you for great honor.” They answered: “We do not ride on horses, nor on carts, and we do not go on foot, but carry us in a boat.” And the people of Kiev answered: “We are in bondage; our prince was killed, and our princess wants for your prince,” and they carried them in the boat. They sat, magnified, with their hips on and wearing great breastplates. And they brought them to Olga’s courtyard, and as they carried them, they threw them down together with the boat into the pit. And, bending towards the pit, Olga asked them: “Is honor good for you?” They answered: “Igor’s death is worse for us.” And she ordered to fill them up alive; and they fell asleep.” PVL..
Her revenge was not over there: “And Olga sent to the Drevlyans and told them: “If you really ask me, then send the best men to marry your prince with great honor, otherwise the Kyiv people will not let me in.” Hearing about this, the Drevlyans chose the best men who ruled the Derevskaya land and sent for her. When the Drevlyans arrived, Olga ordered a bathhouse to be prepared, telling them: “After you have washed, come to me.” And they heated the bathhouse, and the Drevlyans entered it and began to wash themselves; and they locked the bathhouse behind them, and Olga ordered it to be set on fire from the door, and then everyone was burned.”
Next, Olga came to the Drevlyan land “to perform a funeral feast for her husband.” They had a feast, and when the Drevlyans were already drunk, the princess ordered the Drevlyans to be beaten. The chronicle says that “5000 Drevlyans were exterminated.” In the end, in the year 6454 (946), Olga burned the Drevlyan city of Iskorosten, collecting three doves and three sparrows from each courtyard and launching them with gunpowder back into the city: “And when she took the city and burned it, she took the city elders captive , and killed other people, and gave others into slavery to their husbands, and left the rest to pay tribute” PVL..
Solovyov considers the legend of revenge on the Drevlyans to be precious for the historian: it “reflects the prevailing concepts of the time, which made revenge for the murder of a loved one a sacred duty; it is clear that even during the compilation of the chronicle these concepts did not lose their power... revenge for a relative was a feat par excellence; ... the story of such a feat aroused everyone's lively attention and ... was preserved in the people's memory. ... the custom of revenge was preservative ... replacing justice.” Solovyov S.M. - P.148.
Olga becomes a hero of truth, a model citizen. Her revenge is worthy - this is what historians of the 18th-19th centuries think. - V.N. Tatishchev, N.M. Karamzin, S.M. Solovyov. Olga becomes an independent example, strong woman, who managed to invent worthy revenge. The duty of avenging a loved one was a religious duty, a duty of piety. Solovyov S.M. - P.148.
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