Princess Olga Saint
Years of life: ?-969
Reign: 945-966

Grand Duchess Olga, baptized Elena. Holy Russian Orthodox Church, the first of the rulers of Russia who converted to Christianity even before the Baptism of Russia. After the death of her husband, Prince Igor Rurikovich, she ruled Kievan Rus from 945 to 966.

Baptism of Princess Olga

Since ancient times, in the Russian land, people called Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga "the head of the faith" and "the root of Orthodoxy." The patriarch, who baptized Olga, marked the baptism with prophetic words: « Blessed are you in Russian wives, for you have left the darkness and loved the Light. Russian sons will glorify you to the last generation! »

At baptism, the Russian princess was honored with the name of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Helena, who worked hard to spread Christianity in the vast Roman Empire, but did not find the Life-Giving Cross on which the Lord was crucified.

In the vast expanses of the Russian land, like her heavenly patroness, Olga became the Equal-to-the-Apostles seer of Christianity.

There are many inaccuracies and mysteries in the chronicle about Olga, but most of the facts of her life, brought to our time by the grateful descendants of the organizer of the Russian land, do not raise doubts about their authenticity.

History of Olga - Princess of Kyiv

One of the oldest chronicles, The Tale of Bygone Years, in the description of the marriage of the Kievan prince Igor, names the name of the future ruler of Russia and her homeland: « And they brought him a wife from Pskov named Olga » . The Jokimov Chronicle specifies that Olga belonged to one of the ancient Russian princely dynasties - to the Izborsky family. The Life of the Holy Princess Olga specifies that she was born in the village of Vybuty, Pskov land, 12 km from Pskov, up the Velikaya River. The names of the parents have not been preserved. According to the Life, they were not of a noble family, of Varangian origin, which is confirmed by her name, which corresponds in Old Norse as Helga, in Russian pronunciation - Olga (Volga). The presence of Scandinavians in those places is noted next to archaeological finds dating from the first half of the 10th century.

The later Piskarevsky chronicler and typographic chronicle (end of the 15th century) tells a rumor that Olga was the daughter of the Prophetic Oleg, who began to rule Kievan Rus as the guardian of the infant Igor, the son of Rurik: « Netsyi say, like Olga's daughter was Olga » . Oleg married Igor and Olga.

The life of St. Olga tells that here, "in the Pskov region" for the first time, her meeting with her future spouse took place. The young prince was hunting and, wishing to cross the Velikaya River, he saw "a certain person floating in a boat" and called him to the shore. Having sailed from the shore in a boat, the prince found that he was being carried by a girl of amazing beauty. Igor was inflamed with lust for her and began to incline her to sin. The carrier was not only beautiful, but chaste and intelligent. She shamed Igor, reminding him of the princely dignity of the ruler and judge, who should be a "bright example of good deeds" for his subjects.

Igor broke up with her, keeping in mind her words and beautiful image. When it came time to choose a bride, the most beautiful girls principalities. But none of them pleased him. And then he remembered the "wonderful in girls" Olga and sent for her a relative of his prince Oleg. So Olga became the wife of Prince Igor, the Grand Russian Duchess.

Princess Olga and Prince Igor

Upon his return from a campaign against the Greeks, Prince Igor became a father: a son, Svyatoslav, was born. Soon Igor was killed by the Drevlyans. After the murder of Igor to his widow Olga, the Drevlyans, fearing revenge, sent matchmakers to call her to marry their prince Mal. Duchess Olga pretended to agree and consistently dealt with the elders of the Drevlyans, and then led the people of the Drevlyans to obedience.

The Old Russian chronicler details Olga's revenge for her husband's death:

1st revenge of Princess Olga: Matchmakers, 20 Drevlyans, arrived in a boat, which the Kievans carried and threw into a deep pit in the yard of Olga's tower. The matchmakers-ambassadors were buried alive along with the boat. Olga looked at them from the tower and asked: « Are you satisfied with the honor? » And they shouted: « Oh! We are worse than Igor's death » .

2nd revenge: Olga asked, for respect, to send new ambassadors to her from the best husbands, which was readily done by the Drevlyans. An embassy of noble Drevlyans was burned in a bathhouse while they were washing, preparing for a meeting with the princess.

3rd revenge: The princess, with a small retinue, came to the lands of the Drevlyans to, as usual, celebrate a feast at her husband's grave. Having drunk the Drevlyans during the feast, Olga ordered them to be cut down. The chronicle reports about 5 thousand killed Drevlyans.

4th revenge: In 946, Olga went on a campaign against the Drevlyans with an army. According to the Novgorod First Chronicle, the Kyiv squad defeated the Drevlyans in battle. Olga walked through the Drevlyane land, established tributes and taxes, and then returned to Kyiv. In The Tale of Bygone Years, the chronicler made an insert into the text of the Initial Code about the siege of the Drevlyan capital Iskorosten. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, after an unsuccessful siege during the summer, Olga burned the city with the help of birds, to which she ordered to tie incendiary means. Part of the defenders of Iskorosten were killed, the rest submitted.

The reign of Princess Olga

After the massacre with the Drevlyans, Olga began to rule Kievan Rus until Svyatoslav came of age, but even after that she remained the de facto ruler, since her son was absent from military campaigns most of the time.

The chronicle testifies to her tireless "walking" on the Russian land with the purpose of building the political and economic life of the country. Olga went to the Novgorod and Pskov lands. Established a system of "graveyards" - centers of trade and exchange, in which taxes were collected in a more orderly manner; then temples began to be built around the graveyards.

Russia grew and strengthened. Cities were built surrounded by stone and oak walls. The princess herself lived behind the reliable walls of Vyshgorod (the first stone buildings of Kyiv - the city palace and Olga's country house), surrounded by a faithful retinue. She closely followed the improvement of the lands subject to Kyiv - Novgorod, Pskov, located along the Desna River, etc.

Reforms of Princess Olga

In Russia, the Grand Duchess erected the churches of St. Nicholas and St. Sophia in Kyiv, the Annunciation of the Virgin in Vitebsk. According to legend, on the Pskov River, where she was born, she founded the city of Pskov. In those parts, at the place of seeing three luminous rays from the sky, a temple of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity was erected.

Olga tried to introduce Svyatoslav to Christianity. He was angry with his mother for her persuasion, fearing to lose the respect of the squad, but “he did not even think of listening to this; but if someone was going to be baptized, he did not forbid, but only mocked him.

Chronicles consider Svyatoslav the successor on the Russian throne immediately after the death of Igor, so the date of the beginning of his independent reign is rather arbitrary. He entrusted the internal administration of the state to his mother, being all the time in military campaigns against the neighbors of Kievan Rus. In 968, the Pechenegs for the first time raided the Russian land. Together with the children of Svyatoslav, Olga locked herself in Kyiv. Returning from Bulgaria, he lifted the siege and did not want to stay in Kyiv for a long time. Already next year he was going to leave for Pereyaslavets, but Olga kept him.

« You see, I'm sick; where do you want to go from me? “ Because she's already sick. And said: « When you bury me, go wherever you want “ . Three days later, Olga died (July 11, 969), and her son, and her grandchildren, and all the people, wept for her with a great cry, and carried and buried her in the chosen place, Olga bequeathed not to perform funeral feasts for her, as she had with a priest - he buried the blessed Olga.

Holy Princess Olga

Olga's burial place is unknown. During the reign of Vladimir, they began to venerate her as a saint. This is evidenced by the transfer of her relics to the Church of the Tithes. During the invasion of the Mongols, the relics were hidden under the vault of the church.

In 1547 Olga was canonized as a saint Equal-to-the-Apostles. Only 5 more holy women in Christian history have received such an honor (Mary Magdalene, the first martyr Thekla, the martyr Apphia, Queen Elena and the Enlightener of Georgia Nina).

Memorial Day of St. Olga (Helena) began to be celebrated on July 11. Revered as the patroness of widows and newly converted Christians.

Official canonization (general church glorification) occurred later - until the middle of the 13th century.

Option 1

The sad fate of Grand Duke Igor, who was killed by the Drevlyans for excessive extortions, forced his widow princess Olga streamline the system of collecting state revenues. She established the so-called graveyards , i.e. special collection points. Olga wants to set a reasonable limit on tribute. She does not try to estimate the income, she divided the units that she taxed. In the southern part of the country, where agriculture is developed, such a unit has become "black plow", it meant the area land plot, which m. b. plow with a plow during daylight hours. The princess overlaid only arable land. On the places she appoints managers, combatants - deputies of the prince - tiunov .Tiun, in turn, looks at how much he was drying, and reports to Kyiv. In the northern part of the country, the unit of taxation is smoke (hot ). Tiun counts how many hearths, and reports what kind of tribute they pay. Collecting tribute is entrusted to the elders of the communities.
A system of various direct taxes, as well as trade, judicial and other duties, has developed. Taxes were usually collected in furs, but this does not mean that they were only natural. Marten furs, squirrels were a certain monetary unit. Even when they lost their presentation, their value as a means of payment did not disappear if they retained the princely sign. These were, as it were, the first Russian banknotes. In Russia, there were no deposits of precious metals, therefore, already from the 8th century. along with furs, foreign currency (dirhams, later - denarii) enters into circulation. This currency was often melted down into Russian grivnas.
Gradually there is an administrative-territorial division. A group of churchyards stretch along the river to the fortress - the city. So the churchyards are combined into volosts, headed by the volost. Introducing the tax, the princess began the formation of adm-territorial districts. THEN. Olga is the founder of the Russian state.

Option 2

Start tax reform
The reform began in 946. “And Olga went with her son and with her retinue through the Drevlyane land, setting tributes and taxes,” this is how Nestor describes this event in The Tale of Bygone Years.
Princess Olga established a "lesson" - a fixed amount of tribute that had to be paid within a certain period. Tribute instead of "polyudya" was a more civilized form of taxes, carried out once a year by collecting food, furs and various products.
In each administrative district, graveyards and camps were built where tribute was collected. The meaning of these buildings was that Olga, having divided the principality into administrative components, built small fortresses in each part of it, capable of repelling any dissatisfied decrees of the princess. Graveyards were also used for trade.
People were identified to collect tribute on graveyards - "tiuns". The tribute collector is no longer called a "cattleman", as among the Eastern Slavs before they became part of Old Russian state. This indicates a special stage of development monetary relations- From cattle as the equivalent of money, the Russians are moving to their other equivalents, reminiscent of metallic money.
Importance of tax reform
As a result of the tax reform, it was possible to streamline the taxation system, strengthen the central government, and create an administrative division of the state. It was an important effective step towards the creation of the Russian statehood.

Civil and family law Kievan Rus.

Civil law

For a free person, legal capacity arose at the moment of birth and ended either at the moment of death or the moment of turning into a slave. Legal capacity - with reaching the age of majority, i.e. for men - leaving the parental home, for women - marriage.

Real right. Subjects things were: clan, free persons, corporations (family, community, church), state. Objects rights - movable and immovable property. Movable: money, grain, serfs, commercial products, clothes, jewelry. Immovable - real estate or land (in the Republic of Poland, however, there are no such rules - it was decided according to customs)

Ownership Institute. Possession is the possession of a thing, coupled with the intention to treat it as one's own. The institution of ownership takes shape in the 9th-12th century and precedes the institution of ownership. The rightful owners and illegal ones are distinguished, which are conscientious, unscrupulous, on the basis of delusion. Possession is protected by law as a fact, whether or not there is a legal basis. The law did not allow the owner to withdraw a thing from illegal possession at the time of discovery.

Ownership- a set of legal norms that fix, protect and regulate the state of ownership of material goods by specific persons. The owner has the right to own, use and dispose of. Formed since the 11th century. Acquisition methods :

1. Capture or occupation of previously unowned

2. Prescription possession

3. Award

4. Find

5. Transfer

6. Fruit separation

Types of property:

1. Community

2. Generic

3. State

4. Church

5. Princely - domain

6. Private.

Ways to terminate ownership: Broadcast; the loss; destruction; forcible removal by judicial decision ....

The right to property is guaranteed by law through the introduction of penalties and fines. Restoration of the violated property right was carried out only through the court.

Lien law. A form of property law associated with the possibility of extracting useful properties from a thing left as a pledge. Pledge - if the subject of security was an immovable thing, if it was a movable thing, then a pledge.

Law of Obligations. Obligations - a legal relationship by virtue of which a person who has violated the interests of another, or by virtue of an agreement, is obliged to perform certain actions in favor of another person.

Arise from the contract and from the offense.

Obligations are terminated - upon fulfillment, upon the death of the obligated subject, upon novation, replacement of the former obligation with new ones, from the moment the obligation was concluded, the right to the person arose, and not to the actions of the person. In obligatory relationship lacked individual responsibility.

Ways to ensure : self-mortgage, pledge, guarantee

Treaties – purchase and sale (in the presence of witnesses, septs officials and the object of sale)

Mena - movable things

Commissions - a transaction in which an authorized person concludes transactions on his own behalf, but at the expense of the guarantor

Loan - up to 3 hryvnia without witnesses, over 3 hryvnia - with a certificate.

Unfortunate bankruptcy - which occurred as a result of force majeure, such a bankrupt was exempted from the immediate payment of the debt. Guilty - the creditor himself decided the fate of the debtor.

Donation - in relation to movable property only.

Personal hiring - purchasing, in a row.

The load is not legal, but moral x-r.

Family law

Option 1

Family law developed in Ancient Russia in accordance with canonical rules. Initially, there were customs associated with a pagan cult. There was bride kidnapping, polygamy. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, then men had two or three wives. BUT Grand Duke Vladimir Svyatoslavich had five wives and several hundred concubines before baptism. With the introduction of Christianity, new principles are established family law- monogamy, difficulty in divorce, lack of rights for illegitimate children, cruel punishments for extramarital affairs that came to us from Byzantium.

According to Byzantine law, there was a rather low age of marriage: 12-13 years for the bride and 14-15 years for the groom. In Russian practice, earlier marriages are also known. It is no coincidence, obviously, that the requirement of parental consent to marriage was put forward. The conclusion of marriage was preceded by betrothal, which was given decisive importance. The marriage took place and was registered in the church. The Church took upon itself the registration of other important acts of civil status - birth, death, which gave her a considerable income and dominance over human souls. It should be noted that church marriage met with stubborn resistance from the people. If it was quickly accepted by the ruling elite, then among the working masses new orders had to be introduced by force, and this took more than one century. However, Byzantine family law was not fully applied in Russia at all.

The question of property relations between spouses is not entirely clear. However, it is obvious that the wife had a certain property independence. In any case, the law allowed property disputes between spouses. The wife retained ownership of her dowry and could pass it on through inheritance.

Children were completely dependent on their parents, especially on their father, who had almost unlimited power over them.

Option 2

Family law developed in Ancient Russia in accordance with canonical rules. With the introduction of Christianity, new principles of family law are established - monogamy, difficulty in divorce, lack of rights for illegitimate children, punishment for extramarital affairs. Marriage age: for the bride - 12-13 years; for the groom - 14-15 years. The marriage was concluded with the consent of the parents. The marriage was preceded betrothal. The marriage took place and was registered in the church. The wife had a certain independence and could completely dispose of her dowry. Children were completely dependent on their parents, especially their father.

According to ancient chronicles, the girl had a peasant origin. Thanks to their positive qualities, as well as extraordinary wisdom, as a young teenager she was noticed by the Grand Duke Igor and chosen by him as his wife. It so happened that for quite a long period the princely couple had no children. This fact contributed to the fact that Olga began to pray to the Christian god, and after a short time the spouses had an heir. Thus, among the pagan people, Olga was the first to accept Christianity and began to help spread it in Russia. In a sense, the very fact of Olga's decision to accept the Christian faith testified to her rationality and subtle intellect. Despite this, Olga's husband and son remained faithful to their pagan gods, who helped them in battles. Nevertheless, Olga's actions had an important impact on her grandson, Prince Vladimir, who baptized Russia. He also chose the Christian religion as the state religion.

Accession to the throne

Princess Olga became a widow early: during the collection of tribute, Igor was brutally killed by angry Drevlyans. Since the heir was still small, the princess herself came to the throne.

The first thing she did was to deal with the Drevlyans who executed her husband, sharply suppressing their uprising. After that, a period began during which the reforms of Princess Olga were implemented. During this time there were structural changes in the system of government. Olga's main task was to prevent future incidents like the one that led to the death of her husband.

Innovations and transformations

What reforms did Princess Olga carry out? First of all, she dealt with the issue of collecting tribute, establishing an orderly system of taxation. Princess Olga carried out a reform, the purpose of which was to weaken tribal power by strengthening her influence. This event is described in The Tale of Bygone Years by Nestor: “And Olga went with her son and with her retinue through the Drevlyane land, setting tributes and taxes.” Princess Olga's reforms began in 946.

tax reform

An important step was the establishment of the so-called "lessons". Princess Olga fixed clearly defined amounts of tribute, which had to be paid within certain time limits. Unlike "polyudya", this became a more civilized form of taxation, since tribute was collected only once a year in kind: products, furs, and various kinds of products.

The meaning of churchyards

The reforms of Princess Olga did not end there. An important innovation was the establishment of graveyards. They were small centers of princely power. From now on, each administrative district acquired its own churchyard and camp, where tribute was collected. Graveyards were also used for trade. Thus, the administrative reforms of Princess Olga contributed to the creation of territorial divisions that were under the authority of the vicegerent prince and capable of repelling anyone dissatisfied with the policy and decrees of the princess. Later, to XII century, pogosts turned into district control centers.

Before Olga's reign, tribute was collected in the form of polyudya - an annual winter tour of the possessions by government officials, during which tax could be collected twice from one yard. Undoubtedly, given fact caused discontent and indignation of payers. However, with the introduction of graveyards, people who brought tribute received a special princely seal, which saved them from re-collecting the tax. Olga carefully put this reform into action, gradually honing its mechanism. In progress new system majority local princes lost their power, and the independence of the autonomous tribes was sharply curtailed. The work carried out by Olga did not receive publicity and rave reviews, but was of great importance in the development of statehood.

Tiun approval

The next step was the appointment of tiuns-tribute collectors at the churchyards. Before joining the Old Russian state, the Eastern Slavs called the Tiuns “cattlemen.” First of all, this reform testified that there had been a development of commodity-money relations. Instead of cattle, the Russians approved special form equivalent, reminiscent of metallic money.

If we list the reforms of Princess Olga briefly, then we can highlight certain aspects. This is the approval of lessons, the creation of churchyards and the appointment of collectors of tribute-tiuns. Princess Olga during her reign carried out the first financial reform in Russia. She established a fixed amount of tribute and the procedure for its collection. The meaning of the activities of Princess Olga was the rationing of duties, the centralization of Kyiv power, the weakening of local (tribal) power.

In other words, the reforms of Princess Olga contributed to the fact that the tribute that was collected from the autonomous tribes was replaced by the same fixed tax, which was paid by the entire population. At the same time, the possibility of repeated collection from one payer was avoided.

Thus, the reforms of Princess Olga finally approved the central government of Kyiv, streamlined the taxation system, created an administrative division of the state. Later, Olga's domestic policy was sung by the people in legends and songs. Thanks to the introduction of the Christian religion, Olga was elevated to the rank of saints and became an Equal-to-the-Apostles preacher. Changes in the social, political and economic, spiritual sphere made it possible to strengthen Russia. Undoubtedly, this was the most important stage in the history of the creation of the Russian statehood.

After the murder of Prince Igor, the Drevlyans decided that from now on their tribe was free and they could not pay tribute to Kievan Rus. Moreover, their prince Mal made an attempt to marry Olga. Thus, he wanted to seize the throne of Kyiv and single-handedly rule Russia. For this purpose, an embassy was assembled, which was sent to the princess. The ambassadors brought with them rich gifts. Mal hoped for the cowardice of the "bride" and that she, having accepted expensive gifts, would agree to share the throne of Kyiv with him.

At this time, Grand Duchess Olga was raising her son Svyatoslav, who, after the death of Igor, could claim the throne, but was still too small. Governor Asmud took over the guardianship of the young Svyatoslav. The princess herself took up state affairs. In the fight against the Drevlyans and other external enemies, she had to rely on her own cunning and prove to everyone that a country that had previously been ruled only by the sword could be ruled by a woman's hand.

The war of Princess Olga with the Drevlyans

Accepting the ambassadors, Grand Duchess Olga showed cunning. By her order, the boat on which the ambassadors sailed , lifted up and carried into the city along the abyss. At one point, the boat was thrown into the abyss. The ambassadors were buried alive. Then the princess sent a message with her consent to the marriage. Prince Mal believed in the sincerity of the message, deciding that his ambassadors had achieved their goal. He gathered noble merchants and new ambassadors to Kyiv. According to the ancient Russian custom, a bath was prepared for the guests. When all the ambassadors were inside the bath, all exits from it were closed, and the building itself was burned. After that, a new message was sent to Mal, that the "bride" was going to him. The Drevlyans prepared a luxurious feast for the princess, which, at her request, took place not far from the grave of her husband, Igor. The princess demanded that as many Drevlyans as possible be present at the feast. The prince of the Drevlyans did not mind, believing that this only increased the prestige of his fellow tribesmen. All guests were drunk to satiety. After that, Olga gave a signal to her warriors and they killed everyone who was there. In total, about 5,000 Drevlyans were killed that day.

In 946 Grand Duchess Olga organizes a military campaign against the Drevlyans. The essence of this campaign was a show of force. If earlier they were punished by cunning, now the enemy had to feel the military power of Russia. The young Prince Svyatoslav was also taken on this campaign. After the first battles, the Drevlyans retreated to the cities, the siege of which lasted almost the entire summer. By the end of the summer, the defenders received a message from Olga that she was fed up with revenge and no longer wants it. She only asked for three sparrows, and also one dove from every inhabitant of the city. The Drevlyans agreed. Having accepted the gift, the princess's team tied an already lit sulfur tinder to the paws of the birds. After that, all the birds were released. They returned to the city, and the city of Iskorosten plunged into a huge fire. The townspeople were forced to flee the city, and fell into the hands of the warriors of Russia. Grand Duchess Olga condemned the elders to death, some to slavery. On the whole, the murderers of Igor were subjected to an even heavier tribute.

Acceptance of Orthodoxy by Olga

Olga was a pagan, but often visited Christian cathedrals, noticing the solemnity of their rites. This, as well as Olga's extraordinary mind, which allowed her to believe in God Almighty, was the reason for baptism. In 955, Grand Duchess Olga went to the Byzantine Empire, in particular to the city of Constantinople, where the adoption of a new religion took place. The patriarch himself was her baptist. But this was not the reason for the change of faith in Kievan Rus. This event did not alienate the Russians from paganism. Having adopted the Christian faith, the princess left the administration of the state, devoting herself to serving God. She also took up helping in the construction of Christian churches. The baptism of the ruler did not yet mean the baptism of Russia, but it was the first step towards the adoption of a new faith.

The Grand Duchess died in 969 in Kyiv.

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Presentation on the topic: Tax reform of Princess Olga

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The Essence of the Object of the Reform - Polyudya Before Olga's reform, the collection of tribute was carried out in the form of polyudya. Polyudye - an annual detour by the prince and the retinue of subject lands to collect tribute. On the one hand, polyudye is a contribution from the conquered tribes, on the other hand, a certain collection from the population, which had a traditionally voluntary character. In this sense, polyudye was a gift presented to the prince by his subjects. Polyudye was charged in kind, its size was not the same for different parts of the state. The size and nature of the tribute became the custom by the middle of the 10th century. They were regarded as legal, and deviation from them as a violation of the norms of customary unwritten law.

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Start of tax reform The reform began in 946. “And Olga went with her son and with her retinue through the Drevlyane land, setting tributes and taxes,” this is how Nestor describes this event in The Tale of Bygone Years. Journey book. Olga. Painting of the vault of the Tsarina's Chamber in the Moscow Kremlin

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Establishment of "lessons" Princess Olga established a "lesson" - a fixed amount of tribute that had to be paid within a certain period. Tribute instead of "polyudya" was a more civilized form of taxes, carried out once a year by collecting food, furs and various products.

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People were identified to collect tribute on the churchyards - "tiuns". The tribute collector is no longer called a "cattleman", as among the Eastern Slavs before they became part of the Old Russian state. This indicates a special stage in the development of monetary relations - from cattle as the equivalent of money, the Russians are moving to their other equivalents, reminiscent of metallic money.

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