Olga of Kiev

St. Olga of Kievan Rus is a more popular name for Olga of Kiev, who died in 969 CE. Although she is undoubtedly recognized as a real historical person, the Russian Primary Chronicle, written around 1113 CE, contains a number of mythic/legendary elements that place her among the legendary female Viking (Varangian) warriors during her early reign as regent for her son Sviatoslav I (r. 945–972 CE).

Olga was the spouse of Igor of Kiev (r. 912–945), who was the adoptive son of Oleg the Prophet and the son of Rurik (r. 862–879 CE) (r. 879-912 CE). Igor's overwhelming greed led to the Drevlian tribe assassinating him (a tribe of Early East Slavs). The Drevlians then desired Olga to wed their prince Mai in order to unite the area, but Olga was only concerned with exacting revenge on her murdered husband.

She duped Drevlian messengers into being transported "with honor" in a boat near her residence before ordering them to be dumped into a pit and buried alive. She then sought emissaries from the Drevlians. She then invited the most wise of the Drevlians to her palace, where she burned them alive after inviting them to take a bath before dinner. She then ordered the Drevlians to arrange an elaborate funeral feast in memory of Igor, which she afterwards had her soldiers murder.

She drove the Drevlians into the city of Iskorosten, where Igor had been slaughtered, as her final act of retaliation, and then laid siege. She demanded three pigeons and three sparrows from each residence after realizing she could not conquer the city on her own. When these arrived, she had her soldiers attach sulfur to their claws, release them, and when they went back to their nests in the city, they started a fire that spread over the entire city. Olga spared a specific number so they could continue to pay her homage even when the entire city burned down and those who survived were slaughtered or sold into slavery.