Olga, Queen of the Rus

The novel “Olga, Queen of the Rus” continues the cycle of historical novels about the princes of Ancient Rus created by Boris Vasiliev. Grand Princess Olga, wife of the Kievan prince Igor and mother of Prince Sviatoslav, is one of the most astonishing women in Russian history. When the Drevlians kill Igor, Olga cruelly takes revenge on them for her husband. After his death, she becomes the full-fledged ruler of Kievan Rus. Her deeds are great. Independent and resolute, endowed with a brilliant gift for governance, she established and organized tribute, distributing taxes in favor of Kyiv and uniting Russian lands around it. She sought ties with other countries and was the first stateswoman whose status they acknowledged. In 955, Olga adopted Christianity, began introducing Christianity on Rus’ land, and later became the first woman in Rus to be canonized as a saint. She raised worthy grandchildren, one of whom—Vladimir Sviatoslavich—became the Baptizer of Rus’. This fascinating novel by Boris Vasiliev tells of a woman of love and passions, of transformations and upheavals, her circle, and the truly great era of our ancestors in Ancient Rus’.