Saint Olga ordered to have people murdered, Today I found out about Princess Olga of Kiev, the saint who buried people alive and didn’t exactly take to heart the whole “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.” [Leviticus 19:18] thing- she hadn’t converted yet after all- when she burned down a city and had much of the populace killed or enslaved out of revenge.
The exact year that Princess Olga was born is disputed. The Primary Chronicle states her birth year was 879, while other sources claim she was born in 890. Given that we know her only son was born in 942, the earlier date is very unlikely, and even the later date is questionable. There is also no solid evidence as to her place of birth, with sources placing her in Pskov or Veshchy.
What is known about Olga is that sometime before 912, she married Prince Igor, the son of the founder of the Rurik Dynasty of Russian tsars. In 912, the pair took to the throne of Kievan Rus. As previously mentioned, the pair had a son named Svyatoslav in 942.
Three years after the birth of his son, Igor travelled to meet the Drevlyans, a Slavic tribe who owed him tribute. When Igor demanded more than the Drevlyans thought his rule was worth, instead of paying him, they simply killed him.
Igor and Olga must have had a pretty happy marriage, because she did not take his death very well. Her three-year-old son was next in line to the throne, which meant that, as his mother, she became regent until he was old enough to rule by himself. While having a woman in charge of the government wasn’t exactly the norm, she had the full support of the Rus army to back her regency.
The Drevlyans weren’t so keen on a female leader. They decided to send ambassadors to negotiate a marriage between Olga and Prince Mal, their top choice for king. According to the Primary Chronicles, originally compiled in 1113 in Kiev, Princess Olga had all of the ambassadors buried alive as follows:
Now Olga gave command that a large deep ditch should be dug in the castle with the hall, outside the city. Thus, on the morrow, Olga, as she sat in the hall, sent for the strangers, and her messengers approached them and said, “Olga summons you to great honor.” But they replied, “We will not ride on horseback nor in wagons, nor go on foot; carry us in our boats….” So they carried the Derevlians in their boat. The latter sat on the cross-benches in great robes, puffed up with pride. Thus they were borne into the court before Olga, and when the men had brought the Derevlians in, they dropped them into the trench along with the boat. Olga bent over and inquired whether they found the honor to their taste. They answered that it was worse than the death of Igor’. She then commanded that they should be buried alive, and they were thus buried.
