Prince Oleg the Prophetic (869-912) is known as the founder of Kievan Rus. But his biography is far from being as unambiguous as it might seem at first glance. This is due to the limited number of sources that tell about the life of this prince, and significant differences between the opinions of modern historians.
Prophetic Oleg in the legend
According to chronicle legend, the appearance of Oleg in the Slavic lands is associated with the "calling of the Varangians." In one of the chronicles, he is called the Prince of Urman (Norman). In the legend, Prophetic Oleg is called either the brother-in-law of Prince Igor, or the nephew of Rurik. Chronicles say that when he died, Rurik made Oleg regent for his son Igor.
Oleg began his reign in Novgorod. Chronicles say that he was engaged in urban planning and conquered neighboring peoples. In Novgorod, Oleg reigned from 869 to 872, after which he began to move south. First he conquered Smolensk, and then Lyubech. In these cities, Oleg planted governors. The prince himself moved further south until he reached Kyiv, where Askold and Dir ruled at that time. According to the chronicle, Oleg lured them out of the city and killed them. After that, he turned Kyiv into the capital (882), christening it "the mother of Russian cities."
Board in KyivOleg began by strengthening the southeastern border, where he built a number of towns and prisons. Then he began to conquer the lands to the east and west of the Dnieper. Having conquered the Drevlyans, Radimichi, Northerners, Dulebs, Croats and Tivertsy, Oleg significantly expanded the borders of Kievan Rus. And in 907 he went on a campaign against Constantinople. The chronicle story about this campaign ex alts the courage and cunning of the prince.
Frightened Greeks concluded a peace agreement with Oleg. The prince who defeated the Greeks was called Prophetic (wise, knowledgeable). In 911, Oleg sent an embassy to Byzantium, which concluded a new treaty. According to legend, the prince dies in 912 from the bite of a poisonous snake.
Prophetic Oleg in historiography
Some modern historians believe that Prophetic Oleg was a Norwegian, and some even identify him with Odd from the Norwegian sagas. In particular, there is an opinion that the name Oleg is a transcription of the word "Helgi", denoting a native of Helgaland (Norway). Other scholars believe that "Helgi" is translated as "holy" or "prophetic". Historians have not come to an agreement on who Oleg the Prophet was. The biography calls him either a prince, or a boyar, or an ordinary Varangian warrior.
Oleg's sudden death causes even more controversy. Thus, some researchers, based on a Khazar document of the 10th century, believe that the Khazars defeated the Kyiv prince and forced him to make another attack on Constantinople. But the campaign was unsuccessful, and Oleg fled to Persia, where he was soon killed. Scientists are sure thatRussian chroniclers did not know what happened to the prince, so they placed in their chronicles the poetic story of the death of Oleg, associated with their beloved horse and snake. As for the opinions of individual historians, the Polish Slavist G. Lovmyansky believed that the original rule of Oleg in Novgorod was doubtful, and the Ukrainian historian N. Kostomarov argued that this prince was a “fabulous person”, and not a historical figure.
