139. Saint Olga of Kyiv
Over a millennium ago, Norsemen loaded up their boats and moved south toward the heart of Europe, traversing its abundant rivers to raid, trade, and conquer. One of these conquests was the city of Kyiv, which these Rus' invaders ('Swedes,' in the local long-ago parlance, Stacie thinks, but also 'men who row') made the seat of the first Eastern Slavic State, way before Moscow was a thing, the Kyivan Rus. The Kyivan Rus's second ruler, Igor I, took a wife at some point during his long reign, and upon his murder, she took both his crown and his vengeance on those who had wronged them both, and their kingdom.
In a notably bloodthirsty series of events, Olga of Kyiv murdered the
offending peoples' diplomats, envoys, citizens, and laid siege to the
capitol of the Drevlians, ultimately destroying the city entirely. But
her story wasn't all revenge; she was an able ruler and regent to her
son, establishing the first vestiges of modern governance in the region.
After his age of majority, Olga continued to govern the city of Kyiv
during his many military expeditions abroad. Olga, perhaps thinking
better of some of the aftermath of Igor's death, later converted from
Paganism to become a devout Christian, building churches and, through
her grandson, ushering in the permanent Christianization of the Kyivan
Rus.
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