Section 03: The Regent and Reformer
Olga’s secular reign: the regency she held for her young son Svyatoslav after Igor’s death, and the administrative reforms — the pogosts and the regularization of tribute — that are the most historically substantial part of her statecraft. The first file treats the firm rule of Kyiv during Svyatoslav’s minority and long campaigning; the second treats the rationalization of the tribute economy whose disorder had killed Igor.
Tradition: Russian Orthodox (Equal-to-the-Apostles)
Contents
| File | Topic |
|---|---|
| Regent for Svyatoslav | The regency for the young Svyatoslav and the firm rule of Kyiv; the child-prince of the saga; Olga governing while her warrior son campaigned against the Khazars and in Bulgaria; the Pecheneg siege of 968 |
| Administrative Reforms | The pogosts and the regularization of tribute: from the arbitrary poliudie circuit that killed Igor to fixed dues collected at fixed centres — an early step in the state-formation of Rus’ |
How to Use
- Read Regent for Svyatoslav for the shape of her rule — the woman who held a realm together while its nominal prince made war abroad.
- Read Administrative Reforms for her statecraft: the most concrete and least legendary achievement the Chronicle credits to her, and the source-critical question of how much is tenth-century fact and how much twelfth-century order.
Cross-References
- For the tribute disorder that provoked Igor’s death, see Princess of Kyiv
- For her diplomatic and religious turn abroad, see The Journey and Baptism
- For Svyatoslav’s pagan reign and refusal of the faith, see Svyatoslav and the Pagan Reaction
- For the institutional history of the Church of Rus’, see Orthodoxy: Russian Orthodox Tradition