Abigail R Williams is a young historian with a passion for exploring the intersections of language, culture, and history. Having graduated from the University of Nottingham with a Joint Honours degree in Russian Language and History, Abigail has fostered a deep academic understanding of the medieval Rus and engaged in religious studies that have fuelled a lifelong fascination with the region’s history and culture. Having visited Russia for both study and exploration, she has developed a particular fondness for Saint Petersburg, where she spent much of 2019 wandering the halls of the Winter Palace; people watching and reading in little nooks within Catherine the Great’s extensive portrait galleries. A firm believer that no visit to Russia is complete without trying Medovik, Abigail is always eager to share her passion for Eastern European history and culture.

As a graduate of the University of Nottingham with a degree in Russian Language and History, I studied the Rus under the guidance of Dr. Monica White. My academic journey introduced me to a wealth of fascinating topics, yet some areas of profound interest remained largely unexplored. Looking back, I like to tell myself that time constraints during my degree limited my ability to delve deeper. However, I suspect that, had I pursued Olga with the intensity I now bring to this book, I would have risked neglecting all my assessments, my dissertation, and perhaps even my timely graduation.

St. Olga of Kyiv first appeared on my academic radar during an early module on the formation of the Rus. She immediately struck me as a figure of immense complexity and significance. Her role in shaping the political landscape of the Rus (transforming it into a kingdom both feared and respected) is foundational. Yet, Olga’s legacy is often reduced to her baptism and subsequent sainthood, overshadowing her earlier, equally remarkable, contributions.

What captivates me most about Olga is her duality. She is saintly and murderous, Christian and Pagan, rational and extreme. This multifaceted woman is often flattened into a one-dimensional figure, remembered in fragments rather than as an extraordinary whole.

With this book, I aim to restore Olga’s complexity and vibrancy. I hope to give her the space to exist in her entirety: a towering figure of the medieval period who defies simple categorisation. Olga was not just a saint or a ruler, but a woman who wielded power in a world that demanded cunning, resilience, and, at times, brutality. This is the Olga I wish to bring to life. A woman of enduring significance whose duality makes her story as compelling now as it was in her own time.