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Prophetic Oleg years of life and reign. Prophetic Oleg - biography, information, personal life. Prince or warlord

The founder of the great Kievan Rus, Prince Oleg the Prophet, went down in history as one of the most significant people for the Russian people. Numerous campaigns, a trade route with Byzantium and the introduction of writing for the Russian people, all these are the merits of the prince, who, according to legend, could foresee his future, which served as a success in his reign.

One of the most famous princes of ancient Russia to this day is Prince Prophetic Oleg. Which replaced the no less great Rurik and brought quite a few victories to his people. One of the most famous merits of the hero Oleg the Prophet is the creation of Kievan Rus itself and the appointment of the center of its great city of Kyiv. Oleg began to be called Prophetic, only because he could predict the future. He spoke very skillfully about the events of the future, and this was most likely not because he had supernatural powers, but because he thought logically and was a good psychologist. The prince was not only the sovereign of his state, but also a kind of sorcerer for the people and a sorcerer, because people believed that he was given the power to rule the Russian people from above. There is a legend that the death of Prophetic Oleg was brought by a snake and he died from her bite. It was the death of the great king that caused the composition of many songs and legends. Not only songs about his exploits, but also about his death, became obligatory from history, because it is very insulting that such a great Russian sovereign fell victim to a snake.

The legend says that the reign of the prince passed when Rurik was dying. It was on his deathbed that he said that he bequeathed to him the reign, because his son was still small, and Prophetic Oleg was his guardian and confidant of the family. Only to him Rurik could entrust his two most precious treasures. This is a son who is still very young and a state for which he had big plans. And he did not let his comrade down, he became a great commander, he earned the love of his people and served Russia for almost 33 years. If you go superficially through the achievements of the Russian commander, then his biggest victories in life were the rule in Novgorod, Lyubich and the creation of Kievan Rus. But no less important events in his life were campaigns against Byzantium, the taxation of tribute to the East Slavic tribes and the trade routes that the campaign against Byzantium dug. This very campaign opened up a lot of new and interesting things for Russians, not only in terms of trade, but also art.

The beginning of his exploits was laid by a campaign against the Krivichi in 882, during which he captured Smolensk. After down the Dnieper, his path was laid. Which brought him the capture of Lubitsch. And later, he deceived both the life and the throne of the Russian princes Askold and Dir, who ruled Russia before him. After that, Prophetic Oleg became not only the prince of Novgorod, but also the prince of Kyiv. From that moment, according to historical facts, it is considered that the beginning of the creation of the great Kievan Rus was laid.

Further, the year 907 became significant for the prince of Novgorod and Kyiv, the Prophetic Oleg. When he led the army of Kyiv and the Varangians to Byzantium on a long campaign. The army completely devastated the city of Constantinople, and after that an agreement was drawn up and adopted, which was very beneficial for Russia, according to which the Russian people, who went to Byzantium with trade affairs, had privileges even more than those of the citizens of the state.

No less famous was the treaty of the Prophetic Oleg with the Greek rulers, which was concluded in 912, after Constantinople was besieged, and the Byzantines capitulated from that moment. But even there there was not yet a word about the real heir and actual ruler of Russia, Igor. Even during the reign of the Prophetic Prince, all the people understood that it was he who was the founder of their state. History also understands for certain that Oleg first created the state, then expanded its borders, showed everyone that the Ruriks are the completely legitimate power of the Russian people. And most importantly, he dared to challenge the Khazars. Before the guardian of Igor began to rule, the Khazars collected a huge tribute from the entire Slavic people. Not only did they steal from people, they also wanted the Russians to profess their religion, Judaism.

The Tale of Bygone Years is the most reliable source of information about the Prophetic Sovereign of the Russian people, but only the most basic deeds of the hero are described there. A huge gap of 21 years exists in the annals, and for what reason the clerks bypassed this year of the prince's reign is not known to this day. But even since that time, a lot of things significant for history have happened, because every decision of the prince changed the course of all history and the whole people. A very important factor, which was revealed many years later, was that from 885 to 907 in this period there was not only a campaign against the Khazars, but also the overcoming of the Radimichi.

Video: Documentary about Prophetic Oleg

But the chronicle was written by purely Russian people, and therefore they considered it necessary to record those events that only 100% concerned the Russian people and Oleg. A very important detail was the passage in 898 near Kyiv of the emigrating people of the Hungarians (Uvgro). Equally important was the arrival of Igor's future wife, Princess Olga, in 903. By birth, the bride's name was Prekrasa, but by the will of the Prince of Novgorod, they began to call her first Volga, and then Olga. Few people knew that in fact the girl was the daughter of Prophetic Oleg, and so that no one would know the truth, she began to be called by a different name. The girl was not only the daughter of Prophetic Oleg, but also the granddaughter of Gostomysl, it was he who invited Rurik many years ago to become the head of the board of Russia.

Rurik handed over on his deathbed his son and the rule of the state, and thus Oleg continued the dynasty of Gostomysl through his wife, and took the place of Rurik. It turned out that neither the line of rule of the Rurik dynasty, nor Gostomysl was interrupted.

As a result of this, an important question has always arisen as to who has more rights to rule the Russian state, Oleg or Gostomysl. No one knew for sure whether it was true or rumor that Olga was the daughter of Oleg and the granddaughter of Gostomysl, because if this is true, then it turns out that the husband of that very daughter, Oleg. And he can be compared with any of the Rurik dynasty. And it turns out that he has quite legitimate rights to inherit the throne, and not just a verbal donation of land by Russian Rurik. But they always tried to bypass this fact in the annals, so that the retinue of Novgorod would not lay claim to significant state ranks in Kyiv.

And the most unexpected and pleasant event that the reign of the prophetic tsar brought was that, at his suggestion, the Russian people learned what writing is. Cyril and Methodius, also in the Tale of Bygone Years, are recorded as the creators of writing among the Slavs. Such an act of the prince is truly great, only after 90 years in importance he was able to surpass the prince, Vladimir, who converted to Christianity for the Russian people. Oleg adopted written reforms, the alphabet and the alphabet, which is still present in people's lives to this day.

In the period when Rurik appeared in Novgorod, the brothers Cyril and Methodius appeared on Ladoga. There is no difference in time, only there was a difference in territorial space. Cyril laid the foundation for his mission in the south, in 860-801 he reached the Khazar Khaganate. There he tried to introduce writing, but not entirely successfully, and then he retired to a monastery for a while, where he began to create the alphabet and one of the brothers performed these deeds in 862. This year was never even questioned, because then the campaign of both brothers took place already on hands with the alphabet to Moravia.

These events in the next few years will lead to the fact that both in Bulgaria and Serbia they began to use Slavic writing, but this happened after 250 years. But only the creation of writing could not lead to the fact that people would become more literate, the sovereign's decision was needed that this was a necessity and his authority was directly needed.

The olhv hero was very adamant, and although he accepted the alphabet from the missionaries, he categorically rejected their teachings. Then there was only one faith, the pagan and the pagans treated Christians very badly, even then the people were simply not ready for such a faith. Catholic missionaries suffered from the Baltic Slavs. After all, they indiscriminately repaired reprisals against them. Then there was a big confrontation, and the guardian of the young Igor played an important role in this struggle.

Even when the Grand Duke died, he became the one who launched the process of creating a great state, and this process was no longer reversible, since the soil for him was already so solid that it could not be crushed. Even Karamzin once said that Russia had many worthy rulers and sovereigns in its history, but none of them achieved such merits to the state as Prince Oleg did for Russia.

The great ruler Prophetic Oleg deserves that to this day before his person and deeds in the name of Kievan Rus, people bow their heads with gratitude. He became the one who created the state of Russia from scratch. He laid the most profitable trade routes in the history of the Russian people, he was the prince of two states at the same time and married his daughter to the legitimate heir of Kievan Rus. Not to mention the introduction of writing, which was the beginning of literacy education for ordinary people.

Prince Oleg - biography

How do we know about Prince Oleg, nicknamed the Prophet?

From two chronicles:

The Tale of Bygone Years
Novgorod First Chronicle.

Having gained power over the Novgorod lands after the death of Rurik, as regent for his young son Igor, Oleg captured Kyiv and moved the capital there, thereby uniting the two main centers of the Eastern Slavs. Died in 912.

The exact origin of Oleg in The Tale of Bygone Years is not indicated. It is only said that he was a relative (tribesman) of Rurik.

And what does the Novgorod First Chronicle say about Oleg?

In the Novgorod First Chronicle, Oleg is depicted not as a prince, but as a governor under Igor. It is Igor who kills Askold, captures Kyiv and goes to war against Byzantium. And Oleg returned back to the north, to Ladoga, where he died not in 912, but in 922. The Novgorod Chronicle reports another version of Oleg's death: some say that Oleg went "beyond the sea" and died there.

The two chronicles depict events in completely different ways.

Which chronicle to believe?

Let's start with the fact that the Tale of Bygone Years is recognized by all as the main historical source for the reconstruction of the past of the Old Russian state. But this does not mean that all the information that she sets out is considered absolutely reliable. The Russian-Byzantine treaty of 911, where Oleg is called the Grand Duke of Russia, who concludes an agreement on his own behalf, speaks for trust in the information about Oleg from this chronicle.

And what about the Novgorod Chronicle? The Novgorod Chronicle has preserved fragments of an earlier chronicle, on which the Tale of Bygone Years is based, and therefore also deserves a certain amount of trust. According to some researchers, this chronicle is even older than the PVL. Her information is in better agreement with the eastern news about Russia of this period.

And what are historians to do? So far, historians usually use information taken from the Tale of Bygone Years in scientific, popular science and educational texts.

The reign of Prince Oleg

Prince Oleg is presented according to the Tale of Bygone Years as a skilled commander and prudent politician. For the first time in this chronicle, he was reported in 879 in connection with the death of Rurik. The reign passed to him as a "relative" of Rurik and guardian of Igor, his young son. Thus, Oleg ruled in 879-882. in the East Slavic North among the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi and the surrounding Finno-Ugric peoples (tribes Vesi, Meri, Chudi).

In 882, having gathered warriors from many peoples living in the north of Russia, Oleg set out on a campaign to the south. He captured Smolensk, Lyubech, then the path lay on Kyiv. Rurik's former combatants Askold and Dir ruled in Kyiv. In 866 they were released by Rurik on a campaign against Byzantium. After returning from the campaign, Askold and Dir settled in Kyiv.

Having reached Kyiv, Oleg sent an ambassador to them with the words: “We are merchants, we are going to the Greeks from Oleg and from Igor prince, come to your family and to us.” Askold and Dir came ... Oleg, hid some soldiers in the boats, and left the others behind him, and he went ahead, and carried the young prince Igor in his arms, and announced to them: “You are not princes and not a princely family, but I am a princely family ".

Showing them the heir of Rurik, the young Igor, Oleg said: "And he is the son of Rurik." And they killed Askold and Dir.

The location of Kyiv seemed to Prince Oleg very convenient. The city was located approximately in the middle of the most important trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks." He settled there with a retinue, announcing: "Let this be the mother of Russian cities."

Thus, in 882, Prince Oleg of Kyiv united under his rule the two main centers for the formation of statehood among the East Slavic tribes: the Kiev region (“Kuyaba” - in foreign sources) and “Novgorod” (“Slavia”). The lands of Northern and Southern Russia became a single state - Kievan Rus. Many modern historians take the date 882 as a conditional date of birth of the Old Russian state, and Prince Oleg is considered its founder and first ruler.

The years of the reign of Prince Oleg in Kyiv - 882-912. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, after the death of Oleg from a snakebite, Rurik's son Igor (912-945) becomes Prince of Kyiv.

Having reigned in Kyiv, Oleg set a tribute to the Varangians in 300 hryvnias for Novgorod.

Prince Oleg devoted the following years to the conquest of the Slavic peoples neighboring Kyiv on the left and right banks of the Dnieper - the Drevlyans, northerners, glades, Radimichi, many peoples had previously been dependent on the Khazars and paid tribute to them.

Prince Oleg's campaign against Byzantium

We learn about this campaign from the Tale of Bygone Years, which reports that in 907 Prince Oleg, having gathered a huge army, on ships, the number of which reached 2000, moved to Constantinople. According to estimates, the number of soldiers reached 80 thousand, and the army consisted of the Varangians and warriors of Slavic and non-Slavic peoples subject to Russia.

Access to enemy ships in the harbor of Constantinople, the Greeks blocked the chain. However, Prince Oleg figured out how to get around this obstacle. He ordered the ships to be put on wheels. A fair wind drove an innumerable armada overland to the walls of the Byzantine capital. The Greeks were frightened and asked for peace. Prince Oleg demanded a large tribute - 12 hryvnias for each warrior. As a sign of victory, he hung his shield on the gates of Constantinople. Prince Oleg after this campaign was nicknamed the Prophetic.

However, not all researchers are sure that there was such a campaign at all.

Supporters of the idea that the campaign took place, as evidence, refer to the authenticity of the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 911 concluded after it. And the deal was extremely successful. Russian merchants received the right to duty-free trade in Constantinople, they could live in the suburbs of the capital in the monastery of St. Mammoth for six months, receive food and repair their boats at the expense of the Byzantine side. Such an agreement could well have been preceded by a brilliant victory for Prince Oleg.

But there are serious arguments in favor of the opinion that the campaign was legendary, since only Russian sources speak of such a significant event, but Greek sources are silent. But the numerous enemy sieges and attacks that Constantinople was subjected to over the centuries were described by Byzantine authors often and colorfully. This is how the attacks of Russia in 860 and 941 were described. And about this campaign and the capture of Tsargrad - not a word.

Death of Prince Oleg

The prince died in 912. The legend tells that the Magi predicted death from Prince Oleg from his own beloved horse. The prince ordered to take him away and remembered the ominous prophecy only a few years later, when the horse died long ago. Laughing at the Magi, he wanted to look at the bones of the horse, and he said, standing with one foot on the skull: “Should I be afraid of him?” A snake crawled out of the skull at the same moment, and inflicted a fatal bite on the prince.

Of course, this is just a legend, written down several centuries after Oleg's death. Legendary prince - legendary death.

The results of the reign of Prince Oleg

Let us sum up the results of the reign of the first head of the Old Russian state.

Domestic policy of Prince Oleg

Scientists associate significant events of ancient Russian history with the reign of Oleg in Kyiv. First of all, the territorial core of the Old Russian state was laid. Under him, Kyiv became the new residence of the Old Russian state. The tribes of the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, Polyans, Northerners, Drevlyans, Vyatichi, Radimichi, Ulich and Tivertsy were recognized as the supreme ruler of Oleg. Through his governors and local princes, he managed to lay the foundations for the state administration of the young country. Annual detours of the population (Polyudye) laid the foundation for the judicial and tax systems.

The foreign policy of Prince Oleg

Prince Oleg also led an active foreign policy. Before him, for two centuries, the Khazar Khaganate collected tribute from a number of East Slavic lands. Oleg fought with the Khazars, and freed the Slavs from tribute to the Khaganate. At the borders of Oleg's state in 898, Hungarians appeared, moving to Europe from Asia. The prince managed to establish peaceful relations with this warlike people. Oleg's campaign in 907 against the capital of the Byzantine Empire Tsargrad (Constantinople) was crowned with a brilliant victory. In 909, Russia and the Byzantine Empire signed a military treaty of alliance. But the trade agreement of 911 was especially successful, according to which Russian merchants received the unique right for that time of duty-free trade with Byzantium, and, if necessary, full provision of food and ship craftsmen to repair their boats.

Prophetic Oleg - Prince of Novgorod since 879 and Grand Duke of Kyiv since 882. Having gained power over the Novgorod lands after the death of Rurik, as regent for his young son Igor, Oleg captured Kyiv and moved the capital there, thus uniting the two main centers of the Eastern Slavs. Therefore, it is often he, and not Rurik, who is considered as the founder of the Old Russian state. In the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years" his nickname is Prophetic (knowing the future, foreseeing the future). Named so immediately upon his return from the 907 campaign against Byzantium.

Name

The Russian pronunciation of the name Oleg probably originated from the Scandinavian name Helge, which originally meant (in Proto-Swedish - Hailaga) "saint", "possessing the gift of healing." From the sagas, several bearers of the name Helgi are known, whose lifetime dates back to the 6th-9th centuries. In the sagas there are also similar-sounding names Ole, Oleif, Ofeig. Saxo Grammaticus gives the names Ole, Oleif, Ofeig, but their ethnicity remains unclear.

Among historians who do not support the Norman theory, attempts were made to challenge the Scandinavian etymology of the name Oleg and connect it with the original Slavic, Turkic or Iranian forms. Some researchers also note that, given the fact that The Tale of Bygone Years was written in the 11th century by Christian monks, the nickname "Prophetic" cannot be considered authentic. Modern historians see in it Christian motives or even Christian propaganda. So, in particular, the Russian historian and archaeologist V. Ya. Petrukhin believes that the nickname "Prophetic" and the legend of the death of Prince Oleg were included by the monks in the annals in order to show the impossibility of pagan foresight of the future.

Oleg's origin

The chronicles set out two versions of Oleg's biography: the traditional one (in The Tale of Bygone Years) and the Novgorod First Chronicle. The Novgorod chronicle has preserved fragments of an earlier chronicle code (on which the Tale of Bygone Years is based), but contains inaccuracies in the chronology of the events of the 10th century. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, Oleg was a relative (tribesman) of Rurik. V. N. Tatishchev, with reference to the Joachim Chronicle, considers him a brother-in-law - the brother of Rurik's wife, whom he calls Efanda. The exact origin of Oleg in The Tale of Bygone Years is not indicated. The legends associated with his personality are also preserved in the semi-mythical Scandinavian saga about Odd Orvar (Arrow), which testifies to the wide popularity of the prince in Scandinavia. After the death of the founder of the princely dynasty Rurik in 879, Oleg began to reign in Novgorod as the guardian of Rurik's infant son Igor.

Vokniazhenie in Kyiv

In 882, Prince Oleg the prophetic captured Kyiv, by cunning killing his princes Askold and Dir. Immediately after entering Kyiv, he uttered his famous words that from now on Kyiv is destined to be the mother of Russian cities. Prince Oleg uttered these words not by chance. He was very pleased with how well the place was chosen for the construction of the city. The gentle banks of the Dnieper were practically impregnable, which allowed us to hope that the city would be a reliable protection for its inhabitants.

The presence of a barrier from the side of the water border of the city was very relevant, since it was along this part of the Dnieper that the famous trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks passed. This path also represented itself as a journey through the major Russian rivers. It originated in the Gulf of Finland of the Baikal Sea, which at that time was called Varangian. Further, the path went across the Neva River to Lake Ladanez. The path of the Izvaryags to the Greeks continued by the mouth of the Volkhov River to Lake Ilnya. From there, he traveled by small rivers to the sources of the Dnieper, and from there he already passed to the very Black Sea. In this way, starting in the Varangian Sea and ending in the Black Sea, the trade route known so far passed.

Oleg's foreign policy

Prince Oleg the Prophet, after the capture of Kyiv, decided to continue expanding the territory of the state, by including new territories in it, which were inhabited by peoples who had paid tribute to the Khazars since ancient times. As a result, the following tribes became part of Kievan Rus:

radimichi
clearing
Slovenia
northerners
krivichi
Drevlyans.

In addition, Prince Oleg imposed his influence on other neighboring tribes: the Dregovichi, Ulichi and Tivertsy. At the same time, Ugric tribes, ousted from the territory of the Urals by the Polovtsy, approached Kyiv. The annals did not contain data on whether these tribes passed in peace through Kievan Rus, or were knocked out of it. But it can be said for certain that in Russia they put up with their stay near Kyiv for a long time. To this day, this place near Kyiv is called Ugorsky. These tribes later crossed the Dnieper River, captured nearby lands (Moldavia and Bessarabia) and went deep into Europe, where they established the Hungarian state.

Campaign to Byzantium

Oleg's famous campaign against Constantinople deserves special mention, after which he received his historical nickname - "Prophetic". According to The Tale of Bygone Years, the prince equipped an army of 2,000 boats, 40 warriors each. The Byzantine emperor Leo VI the Philosopher, in fear of a numerous enemy, ordered the gates of the city to be closed, leaving the suburbs of Constantinople to be devastated. However, Oleg went to the trick: “he ordered his soldiers to make wheels and put ships on wheels. And when a favorable wind blew, they raised sails in the field and went to the city. After that, supposedly scared to death, the Greeks offered peace and tribute to the conquerors. According to the peace treaty of 907, Russian merchants received the right to duty-free trade and other privileges. Despite the fact that the mention of this campaign can be found in any manual on the history of medieval Russia, many historians consider it a legend. There is not a single mention of him by Byzantine authors, who described in detail similar raids in 860 and 941. The treaty of 907 itself also raises doubts, which, according to researchers, is a compilation of similar agreements from 911, when Oleg sent an embassy in order to confirm the peace. Moreover, the description of the return of the Rus with rich booty: even the sails on their boats were made of golden silk, is compared with the return of the voivode Vladimir from Constantinople, and after the Norwegian king - Olaf Tryggvason, described in the Norwegian saga of the 12th century: “They say, after one great victory he turned home to Gardy (Rus); they sailed then with such great splendor and splendor that they had sails on their ships of precious materials, and so were their tents.

Meeting with the sage and death

The circumstances of the death of Prophetic Oleg are contradictory. "The Tale of Bygone Years" reports that Oleg's death was preceded by a heavenly sign - the appearance of "a great star in the west in a spear way." According to the Kyiv version, reflected in The Tale of Bygone Years, his grave is located in Kyiv on Mount Shchekovitsa. The Novgorod First Chronicle places his grave in Ladoga, but at the same time says that he went "beyond the sea."

In both versions, there is a legend about death from a snakebite. According to legend, the wise men predicted to the prince that he would die from his beloved horse. Oleg ordered the horse to be taken away and remembered the prediction only four years later, when the horse had long since died. Oleg laughed at the Magi and wanted to look at the bones of the horse, stood with his foot on the skull and said: “Should I be afraid of him?” However, a poisonous snake lived in the horse's skull, fatally biting the prince.

This legend finds parallels in the Icelandic saga of the Viking Orvar Odd, who was also mortally stung on the grave of his beloved horse. It is not known whether the saga became the reason for the creation of the Old Russian legend about Oleg, or, on the contrary, the circumstances of Oleg's death served as material for the saga. However, if Oleg is a historical figure, then Orvar Odd is the hero of an adventure saga created on the basis of oral traditions no earlier than the 13th century. The sorceress predicted 12-year-old Odd death from his horse. In order to prevent the prediction from coming true, Odd and a friend killed a horse, threw it into a pit, and covered the corpse with stones.

The date of Oleg's death, like all annalistic dates of Russian history until the end of the 10th century, is conditional. The historian A. A. Shakhmatov noted that the year 912 is also the year of the death of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI, the antagonist of Oleg. Perhaps the chronicler, who knew that Oleg and Leo were contemporaries, dated the end of their reigns to the same date. A similar suspicious coincidence - 945 - is between the dates of Igor's death and the overthrow of his contemporary, the Byzantine emperor Roman I. Considering, moreover, that the Novgorod tradition dates Oleg's death to 922, the date 912 becomes even more doubtful. The duration of the reign of Oleg and Igor is 33 years each, which raises suspicion in the epic source of this information.

The Polish historian of the 18th century, H. F. Friese, put forward a version that Prophetic Oleg had a son, Oleg Moravsky, who, after the death of his father, was forced to leave Russia as a result of a struggle with Prince Igor. Oleg Moravsky, a relative of the Rurikovichs, became the last prince of Moravia in 940, according to the writings of Polish and Czech writers of the 16th-17th centuries, but his family connection with the Prophetic Oleg is only Frize's assumption.

The image of the Prophetic Oleg

To the above brief information about Oleg, which has become a generally accepted tradition, we will add a few scientific comments.

First, according to archaeological data in the 9th century. Novgorod as such did not yet exist. On the site of Novgorod there were three separate settlements. They were connected into a single city by Detinets, a fortress built at the end of the 10th century. It was the fortress in those days that was called the "city". So both Rurik and Oleg were not in Novgorod, but in a certain "Stargorod". They could be either Ladoga or Rurik's settlement near Novgorod. Ladoga, a fortified city on the Volkhov, located near the confluence of the Volkhov into Lake Ladoga, was in the 7th - first half of the 9th century. the largest shopping center in the northeastern Baltic. According to archaeological data, the city was founded by immigrants from Scandinavia, but later there was a mixed population here - the Normans coexisted with the Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples. By the middle of the IX century. includes a terrible pogrom and a fire that destroyed Ladoga. This may well be consistent with the chronicle news of the great war of 862, when the Ilmen Slovenes, Krivichi, all, Merya and Chud “driven the Varangians across the sea”, who collected tribute from them in 859-862, and then began to fight among themselves ( “and generation upon generation stood up…”). After the destruction of the middle of the IX century. Ladoga was rebuilt, but never regained its former significance. Under Nestor, there was no longer any memory of the former greatness of Ladoga or the significance of the Rurik settlement, he wrote two centuries after the time of the calling of the Varangians. But the glory of Novgorod, as a major political center, reached its peak, which made the chronicler believe in its antiquity and place the first rulers of Russia in Novgorod.
The second reservation will concern the origin, activities and death of Prophetic Oleg. The first Novgorod chronicle, which, according to some researchers, is even older than the PVL, calls Oleg not a prince, but a governor under Igor, the son of Rurik. Oleg accompanies Igor on his campaigns. It is Prince Igor who cracks down on Askold, and then goes on a campaign against the Roman (Byzantine) empire and besieges Constantinople. Oleg, according to the First Novgorod Chronicle, finds his end when he leaves Kyiv north to Ladoga, where the legendary snake is waiting for him. Bitten by her, he dies, but not in 912, but in 922. The Novgorod Chronicle reports and another version of Oleg's death: some say that Oleg went "beyond the sea" and died there.
The third comment will be related to the possible participation of Oleg in the eastern campaigns of the Rus. Russian chronicles say that he successfully fought with the Khazars, and eastern sources also tell about the Caspian campaigns of the Rus, directed against Persia, which fall at the time of Oleg. Some historians believe that the vague and fragmentary messages of Eastern documents on this subject can be hypothetically connected not only with time, but also with various historical figures.

By the will of the chronicler who created The Tale of Bygone Years, his successors of the 13th-17th centuries, the first Russian historians and, of course, A.S. Pushkin, who poetically retold the PVL legend about Prophetic Oleg, the legendary Oleg became a part of all subsequent Russian history. His image of the prince-warrior, defender of the Russian land and creator of the Russian state became part of the self-identification of the Russian people throughout its subsequent history after the ninth century.

Oleg Novgorodsky usually begin to deduct the formation of the ancient Russian state. His figure is really significant, because it determined the beginning of a new era, a new era. His life, like his death, has many mysteries for historians. But still, Prince Oleg the Prophet, whose brief biography will be discussed below, is a rather interesting personality for researchers and ordinary lovers of antiquity.

Appearance in Russia

Biography of which we know only briefly, is considered the founder of the Old Russian state. He was a relative of the legendary Varangian Rurik, that is, he was the brother of Efanda, the commander's wife. It is believed that he was an ordinary governor, whom the Viking immensely trusted. Otherwise, would he have ordered him to take away his young son? It is worth assuming that Oleg acted in agreement with Rurik, and maybe he had a certain freedom. One way or another, but rather quickly, he took possession of Smolensk and Lyubech, and then Kyiv. By the way, the golden-domed city was captured by him by cunning: the Varangian lured out of the walls (who were also probably Vikings) and killed them, declaring himself a prince.

Achievements and successes

Prince Oleg, whose biography is discussed in this article, strengthened his power either by enlisting the support of the Slavic tribes neighboring Kyiv, or by conquering them. He established a tribute for them, which did not greatly burden the people. But his military successes were really impressive. Campaigns against the Khazars saved the Russian lands from the need to pay polyudye to the Khaganate. The great Constantinople fell, on the gates of which, according to the chronicle, the prince nailed his shield. As a result, Russian merchants could trade with Byzantium without duties and receive all kinds of support from it. Thus, Prince Oleg the Prophetic, whose brief biography is discussed above, has more merits to Russia than Rurik. Moreover, almost nothing is known about the ancestor of the princely dynasty.

Hike to Tsargrad

Prince Oleg, whose brief biography is covered in the Tale of Bygone Years, is an outstanding personality. He organized the famous campaign against Constantinople, after which he received his nickname - Prophetic. The chronicle says that he sent a huge army to the city on two thousand boats. Each boat contained four dozen vigilantes. The emperor ordered the gates of the capital to be closed, leaving suburbs and villages to be torn apart by enemies. But the prince of Kyiv ordered to attach wheels to the ships, on which the army reached the gates of Constantinople. The Byzantines were at a loss, so they surrendered, offering Oleg a generous tribute and peace.

Was there a trip?

Prince Oleg, whose brief biography can be found in almost every history textbook, is a controversial figure. Researchers have more questions than answers about his life. For example, the fact of a campaign against Byzantium seems unreliable. This is because the authors from Constantinople described in detail all the attacks on their country, but they do not mention Oleg's campaign. In addition, the return of Oleg and Vladimir the Great from Constantinople are very similar. Perhaps this is a description of the same event. At the same time, after Oleg, Igor also went to the southern city, who also won. This is also stated by European authors who chronicled those years.

Was there a snake?

Oleg, whose biography is also known from literature lessons, died as mysteriously as he appeared in Russia. In the same one, it is described that once the sorcerer predicted his death from his beloved horse. The Varangian was superstitious, so he sat on another animal, and entrusted his pet to the servants, ordering him to take care of him until his death. The ruler remembered him during the feast, but it turned out that the horse had died long ago. Saddened by his beloved and angry that he believed the Magi, the prince went to the bones. But when he stepped on the skull, he saw a snake, which immediately stung him in the leg. Oleg died from poison.

Prince Oleg, whose biography has long been studied, could die another death. And the legend of the horse and the snake may have been borrowed from the saga of Orvard Odd. Although some scholars believe that the hero of Scandinavian legends and Prophetic Oleg are one and the same person. But there are several facts that allow you to think about whether the story about the death of the prince could be true. Among them are the following:

Could a snake bite through a leather boot worn in Russia? Most likely not, or did Oleg come to the mountain barefoot to the horse's bones?

But what if the snake jumped and bit the prince above the tops of his boots? But on the territory of Ukraine there are no such vipers!

As a rule, the snake, before stinging, hisses and tries to crawl away. Could Oleg or his entourage not notice this?

Alternatively, the prince died from poison, but the snake was slipped on him on purpose or Oleg was poisoned in advance. Unfortunately, it is impossible to establish where the truth is.

Some more interesting facts

The Russian prince Oleg, whose biography is already known to the reader, is mentioned not only in the annals of Kyiv and Novgorod. Al-Masudi (Arabic author) speaks of the unsuccessful campaign of the Rus (500 ships!) on the forehead with Olvang and Al-dir against Persia. They gave part of the booty to the Khazars, but the latter betrayed them and killed everyone. About thirty thousand warriors died there, and those who retreated beyond the Caspian were killed by the Volga Bulgars. Thus, the legendary prince died on a campaign, as befits a brave Varangian.

Here he is, smart and warlike Prince Oleg. His biography is full of white spots, because of which an aura of mystery and mystery remains around this figure. Perhaps time will find answers to all questions.

Memory of Prophetic Oleg

In dramaturgy

In literature

Panus O. Yu. "Shields on the gates",

To the cinema

Monuments

26.05.0912

Oleg Prophetic
Oddom Orvar Rurik

Grand Russian Prince, Commander

Grand Duke of Novgorod 879-912

Grand Duke of Kyiv 882-912

News & Events

09/15/0911 A peace treaty between Russia and Byzantium is signed

Prophetic Oleg was born in 850 in Western Norway. The boy grew up in a wealthy family of bonds, and is named Odd, then received the nickname Orvar: "Arrow". His sister Efanda subsequently married the ruler of the Varangians, Rurik. Thanks to this, Oleg became his main commander. Arrived with Rurik in Ladoga and Priilmenye between 858 and 862.

After the death of Rurik in 879, Oleg became the sole prince of Novgorod Russia. Rurik was not mistaken in his choice when, on his deathbed, he bequeathed his son and the Novgorod table to Oleg. Oleg became a real father for the prince, raising Igor to be a courageous, hardened, educated person at that time. Oleg also took the title of prince bestowed on him by a friend with all responsibility. The main goal of the rulers of those times was to increase the wealth of the princely and expand the boundaries of the territory subject to them by annexing new lands, subjugating other tribes and collecting tribute.

Standing at the head of the Novgorod principality, Oleg boldly set about seizing all the Dnieper lands. His main goal was to establish complete control over the water trade route to Eastern Byzantium and the conquest of the Kyiv principality. Many princes then wanted to govern this large principality, which by the end of the 9th century had become the center of Russian trade and the main stronghold of Russia in restraining the raids of the Pecheneg hordes. It became quite clear that whoever ruled Kyiv controlled all Russian trade.

Prince Oleg gathered a large army of the Varangians and in 882 captured the cities of Smolensk and Lyubech. Further along the Dnieper in the boats he went down to Kyiv, where two boyars reigned, not the tribe of Rurik, but the Varangians Askold and Dir. On the campaign he took with him the young prince Igor. Oleg seized power in Kyiv by cunning. The prince asked for a meeting with the then rulers of Kyiv, Askold and Dir, stopping at the walls of the city allegedly on his way to the south. When the princes, not suspecting anything, approached the Novgorod boats, Oleg, as the legend says, pointed to Igor and exclaimed: “You are not princes, not a princely family. Here is the son of Rurik! After these words, he killed Askold and Dir. None of the people of Kiev dared to oppose Oleg and his troops. Moreover, many tribes that lived along the banks of the Dnieper voluntarily submitted to the power of the Kyiv prince. The raids of the Pechenegs ravaged the Slavs, and they sought protection from the rulers, agreeing to pay tribute to them for this.

Very soon, Kyiv land closed all the southern borders of the country. But Oleg did not calm down, continuing to subjugate other tribes, more distant from the main river route. They had to act by force, since the Slavs, who did not participate in trade, did not see the point in joining the Kyiv principality, and even more so did not want to pay tribute. Many difficult campaigns had to be made by Prince Oleg with his retinue before he managed to complete the political unification of the Eastern Slavs. The location of Kyiv seemed to Oleg very convenient, and soon moved there with a squad.

When the two alliances, Northern and Southern, were combined with the large principalities in the center, Novgorod and Kyiv, a new political form appeared in Russia - the Kiev Grand Duchy, which in fact became the first Russian state.

For the next twenty-five years, Oleg was busy expanding his state. He subordinated the Drevlyans, northerners, Radimichi to Kyiv. If Rurik had already taken a step forward south along the eastern path, crossing from Ladoga to Novgorod, then his successor Oleg moved much further and reached the end of the path. In the annals of that time, the names of tribes are rarely found, they were replaced by the names of cities and regions. Prince Oleg gave subordinate city regions to the administration of posadniks, who had their own armed squads and were also called princes.

In 907, Prince Oleg made a military campaign against Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium. His army sailed on 2000 rooks, 40 warriors each, and cavalry also walked along the shore. The Byzantine emperor ordered the gates of the city to be closed and the harbor to be blocked with chains, giving the Varangians the opportunity to plunder and ravage the suburbs of Constantinople.

But not satisfied with a petty robbery, Oleg went on an unusual assault on the city: “And Oleg ordered his soldiers to make wheels and put ships on wheels. And when a fair wind blew, they raised sails in the field and went to the city. The Greeks locked themselves in the city, behind high walls, begged for mercy and at the negotiations offered the prince to make peace and agreed to pay tribute of 12 hryvnias of silver per person. As a sign of victory, on September 2, 907, Oleg nailed his shield to the gates of Constantinople.

As a result, the first peace treaty between the Russians and the Greeks on the duty-free trade of Russia in Byzantium appeared, drawn up legally competently and reasonably, even judging by today's norms of international law. According to Oleg's agreement with the Greeks, Russian merchants did not pay any duty. During barter trade, furs, wax, servants were exchanged for wine, vegetables, silk fabrics, and gold. After the expiration of the trading period indicated by the agreement, Russia received at the expense of the Greek side food for the road, as well as ship gear. In addition to trade, the Greeks hired Russian soldiers to serve them. Every time Christian priests and preachers came to Russia together with merchants from Constantinople. More and more Slavs converted to the Orthodox faith, but the prince himself never converted to Christianity.

The last years of his life passed without military campaigns and battles. Oleg died at an advanced age in 912. There is a legend according to which the prince was predicted to die from his beloved horse. Oleg was superstitious and no longer sat on his pet. Many years later, remembering him, the prince came to where the bones of his faithful friend lay. The bite of a snake that crawled out of the skull turned out to be fatal. The plot of this legend formed the basis of the ballads of Alexander Pushkin and Nikolai Yazykov. Information about the place of his burial is contradictory. There is indirect evidence that the grave of the prince is located near Kyiv in one of the barrows.

Undoubtedly, the main historical merit of this ruler can rightfully be considered the unification of all Slavic tribes under a single command, the foundation and strengthening of the first Russian state: the Grand Duchy of Kyiv. It was from the reign of Prince Oleg that the history of Kievan Rus began, and with it the history of the Russian state.

Memory of Prophetic Oleg

In dramaturgy

Lvova A.D. Dramatic panorama in 5 acts and 14 scenes "Prince Oleg the Prophet" (premiered on September 16, 1904 on the stage of the People's House of Nicholas II), music by N.I. Privalov with the participation of the guslar choir O.U. Smolensky.

In literature

Pushkin A. S. "The Song of the Prophetic Oleg" (1822)
Ryleev K.F. Dumas. Chapter I. Oleg the Prophet. (1825)
Vysotsky V. S. "The Song of the Prophetic Oleg" (1967)
Vasiliev B. L. "Prophetic Oleg" (1996)
Panus O. Yu. "Shields on the gates",

To the cinema

The Legend of Princess Olga (1983; USSR), director Yuri Ilyenko, Nikolai Olyalin as Oleg.

Conquest (1996; Hungary), directed by Gabor Koltai, as Oleg Laszlo Helya.

The Viking Saga (2008; Denmark, USA) directed by Mikael Moyal, as Oleg Simon Braeger (as a child), Ken Vedsegaard (as a young man).

Prophetic Oleg. Acquired Reality (2015; Russia) - a documentary film by Mikhail Zadornov about Prophetic Oleg.

In the series "Vikings" (2013-2020), the role of Oleg is played by Russian actor Danila Kozlovsky.