Olga of Kiev is among the most frequently studied figures of the early Kievan Rus— something which is hardly surprising, given that she played a very important role in reshaping the government, culture, and religion of the East Slavs. With little more than a cursory glance, it may seem that there is nothing more that can be said about Olga of Kiev in a scholarly context. This is not so. As this paper will illustrate, the importance of gender has been downplayed—if not altogether ignored—in most historical scholarship on the life of Olga of Kiev. Even more concerningly, when gender is mentioned, it is misrepresented—inconsistent with what the broader scholarship on the Kievan Rus would indicate. Even seminal works like Sergei M. Soloviev’s History of Russia Volume I: The Origins of the Kievan Rus from Earliest Times to 1054 are pervaded by authorial understandings of gender—often drawing on contemporary Christian and East Slavic culture and society—which have been superimposed onto Olga of Kiev and the Kievan Rus. Naturally, this has hampered the overall quality of the scholarship. Therefore, I have seen it fit to intervene in the scholarship to more faithfully and holistically represent the role of gender in the life of Olga of Kiev and the Kievan Rus.

This paper is available upon request.