Olga
b. circa 890; d. 969, Kiev, Russia
Olga ruled Kievan Rus’, a Russian principality, with her husband, Igor, who she probably married around 903. After his death, she ruled as regent in the name of her minor son, Svyatoslav, from 945 to 964. She energetically pursued her husband’s assassins, and murdered their followers by the hundreds. She was the first of the Rus’ rulers to convert to Christianity. Olga was later canonized as the first Russian saint in the Orthodox Church.
