Hikes and achievements of Prince Oleg

A very interesting historical figure is the Russian prince Oleg. His date of birth is for certain unknown. The chronicle says that Rurik, on his deathbed, appointed Prince Oleg a guardian over his son Igor and placed him over the Novgorod principality. This was the right decision. Oleg, in fact, replaced Igor's father and raised him a fairly educated and strong person.

At that time, the main purpose of the princes was to expand the territories of their principalities by peaceful subjugation or conquest of new lands. This became one of the main goals of Prince Oleg. He decided to establish complete control over the trade route to Byzantium by conquering the Kiev principality, which was the center of Russian trade. In Kiev, at that time, voivods Askold and Dir reigned , autocratically seized power. In 882, a mixed-strength squad led by Prince Oleg marched on a campaign. He took Igor with him.

As the chronicle says, when the army led by Prince Oleg approached the city on boats, he asked Askold and Dir to meet with him. His squad allegedly stopped at the city, moving on a campaign to the south. When the Kiev rulers descended to the rooks, Oleg showed them Igor and said that they were not princes or princes, but he was the son of Rurik. After that the Novgorod warriors treacherously killed the Kiev rulers. Residents of the city did not dare to oppose Prince Oleg. In addition, many coastal tribes voluntarily submitted to his authority.

At that time, the Slavs were raided by the Pechenegs and paid tribute to the rulers for their defense. Soon the campaigns and activities of Prince Oleg led to the fact that the southern borders of the state became safer. At the same time the prince continued to subordinate his power to other Slavic tribes, which were more remote from the Dnieper. Often, it was necessary to act by force, because not everyone wanted to pay tribute. However, as a result of many difficult campaigns, Oleg succeeded in politically unifying the Eastern Slavs and, in fact, creating the first Russian state. Already at the beginning of the 10th century, in the annals, it is not often that tribal names are found. They gave way to provinces and cities.

According to the chronicles, in 907 the prince carried out a campaign against Constantinople. His army set out on boats that were no less than two thousand. The cavalry walked along the shore. Nestor the chronicler says that the Byzantines closed in the city, leaving his surroundings for looting. He also tells about the cruelty of the prince's soldiers who tortured the local population and drowned people alive in the sea.

As a result, the Byzantines asked for peace and agreed to pay tribute, which was 12 hryvnias for one person in silver. After that, a peace treaty was signed that was quite literate even by today's standards. According to him, Russian merchants received privileges and could trade duty-free. An interesting fact is that in the service of the Byzantine emperors, then, there were many Rusichs. Prezniki and priests traveled to Russia from Byzantium, which led to an increase in Christians.

Oleg died in 912. According to legend, the prince was predicted that his beloved horse would bring him death. Oleg was a superstitious person and did not sit down with him, although he was very fond of it. However, many years later, remembering his horse, he went to look at his remains. As a result, the prince died of a snake bite, which crawled out of the animal's skull.