Princess olga of kiev biography of albert

To be revered as a saint by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, one must have led an extraordinary life.

Such is the life of Olga of Kiev, a ruler whose deadly deeds and bureaucratic triumphs led to her reputation as a vindictive family-loyal autocrat who executed vengeance. Her life makes for chilling reading, but she had her admirable traits to consider too.

Princess olga of kiev biography of albert

She was entirely three-dimensional, and complex.

Olga of Kiev’s early life is an overshadowed mystery and lost to historians. Even her exact birthdate isn’t known. It may have been sometime between 890 CE and 925 CE, into a prominent Varangian—or Viking raider—family in Pleskov (now known as Pskov, a city in northwestern Russia).

How she was educated is also an unsolved riddle, but she was likely prepared in some way for the duties and responsibilities of a royal bride.