The Story of Russia | Page 8

interference from the prince. The successors of
Rurik attended to the defense of the country, the administration of
justice, and the collection of tribute and taxes, which sources of
revenue were appropriated by them and served for their support and for

that of the drujina.
The Slavs of that time exhibited many characteristics which we
recognize in the Russians of our time. Leo the Deacon, a noted writer
of that time, mentions that they fought in a compact body, and seemed
like a wall of iron, bristling with lances, glittering with shields, whence
rang a ceaseless clamor like the waves of the sea. A huge shield
covered them to their feet, and, when they fought in retreat, they turned
this enormous buckler on their backs and became (p. 035) invulnerable.
The fury of the battle frenzied them. They were never seen to surrender.
When victory was lost they stabbed themselves, for they believed that
those who died by the hand of an enemy were condemned to serve him
in the life after death. The emperors of Byzantium were glad to secure
their services, and the ross, as they called them, often formed the
body-guard. In the Byzantine expedition against Crete, 700 Russians
served in the army.
The Norsemen readily adapted themselves to the habits, customs, and
language of the people among whom they settled. We find the Norse
names of Rurik, Oleg, and Igor, but after the last named their
descendants were Russians and bore Russian names.
At Igor's death his son Sviatoslaf was still a minor, whose mother, Olga,
became Regent. She was a woman of determination, whose first
thought was to avenge the death of her husband. The Drevlians, hearing
of her preparations, sent two deputations to appease her: not a man
returned. They were all put to death at her command. Nestor tells us
that Olga herself commanded her warriors at the siege of Korosthenes,
and that she offered to make peace on payment of a tribute of three
pigeons and three sparrows for every house. This was accepted and the
birds were delivered, when she ordered lighted tow to be fastened to
their tails, and when they flew back to the wooden town, they set fire to
the houses and barns. Korosthenes was then captured and a great
number of its inhabitants were slaughtered and the rest were made
slaves.
It seems strange that such a woman should have been the first of
(p. 036) Rurik's house to embrace Christianity. There is no doubt that

she visited Constantinople where she astonished the emperor by the
force of her character. She was baptized and received the name of
Helen. It is quite possible that she came to Constantinople for that
purpose, because we read that she refused to be baptized at Kief "for
fear of the pagans." This confirms the Greek records in which it is
stated that a bishop was established in Russia, probably at Kief, in the
time of Oleg.
It is not strange that Christianity should have taken root in Russia after
the frequent wars with the Byzantine Empire, and considering the
commerce carried on between Kief and Constantinople. Missionaries
entered Russia at an early period. Two of them, Cyril and Methodius,
prepared a Slavonic alphabet, in which many Greek letters were used,
and the Bible was translated into that language. There is a tradition that
Askold was baptized after his defeat at Constantinople, and that this is
the reason why the people still worship at his tomb at Kief, as of that of
the first Christian prince. The Norsemen had no taste for persecution on
account of religious belief, but for themselves they clung to the heathen
deities. When Igor swore to observe the treaty concluded with Emperor
Leo VI, he went up to the hill of Perun and used the ancient Slavonic
rites; but the emperor's deputies went to the church of St. Elias, and
there laid their hands upon the Bible as a token of good faith.
The drujina and warriors did not take kindly to Christianity. They, as
well as the peasants, preferred to worship Perun and Voloss. The same
thing happened elsewhere. Christianity made the greatest progress
(p. 037) in cities, whereas the dwellers on the "heath" remained
"heathen." "When one of the warriors of the prince wished to become a
convert," says Nestor, "he was not prevented; they simply laughed at
him." When Olga returned from Constantinople, she was anxious that
her son, who was of age and had succeeded to his father, should follow
her example. Sviatoslaf refused; "my men will laugh at me," was his
usual answer. Nestor mentions that he sometimes lost his temper.
Christianity did not make much progress during his reign.
He was a warrior, like his Norse ancestors. In the brief time of eight