Princess Olga Monument, Kiev

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The monument to Cyrill and Methodius, St. Andrew and Princess Olga is located in Mikhaylovsky Square, close to the St. Michael's Cathedral. The monument was built in 1911, but stolen after the Revolution in 1917. It was found in 1995 and rebuilt one year later. The original monument was built of concrete, but the new one is made of white marble. Princess Olga was the first female ruler of the country and St. Andrew was an apostle. Cyril and Methodius are given credit for creating the Cyrillic alphabet, which are the cryptic characters no tourist can understand.

Hmm… I actually think the name of the monument is “Monument to Cyrill, Methodius, St. Andrew and Princess Olga”, but I’m not sure. The monument is located on the Mikhaylovsky Square very close to the Mikhaylovsky Gold Domed Monastery.

The monument shows Princess Olga (first known female ruler of the country), Cyrill and Methodius and the apostle St. Andrew.

It was built in 1911 (of concrete), but was stolen by the communists after the Revolution in 1917. In many years the monument was considered to be lost, but during a renovation of the Mikhaylovsky Square in 1995, it was found buried right under the Square. In 1996 the monument was rebuilt - this time with the figures made of white marble.

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The monument to princess Olga sits in the open area in front of St Michails monastery complex. It was unveiled on September 4, 1911. In the middle of the monument stands Olga, the first and only woman to have ruled the Ukrainan state, from 945 to 962. Flanking her are Cyrill and Methodius - the men behind the cyrillic alphabet - on one side and St Andryiv on the other side.
The monument of Olga was destroyed in 1919, due to revenge of the local community for that the monument took the place of Shevchenko, the national poet hero. The statue was buried under a roundabout close by. In 1926 the monument was completely demolished, and there became a small garden on that spot. It was reconstructed and once again installed in 1996.

Olga was married to Prince Igor, son of the Novgorod Prince Rurik. In 912, Igor became the ruler of Kievan Rus. In 945 he went to the Slavic tribe of the Drevlyans to gather tributes. After he demanded a much higher payment than earlier, the Drevlyans killed him. Igor’s son, Svyatoslav, was only three years old, and hence Olga took the power into her hands. After killing Igor, the Drevlyans sent their matchmakers to propose that Olga marry their Prince Mal. But she wasn't interested and took revenge upon her husband’s death by killing all of the ambassadors. Olga’s rule over Kievan Rus officially lasted until Svyatoslav grown up. But he preferred to spend most of his time abroad, organizing military campaigns in order to widen and strengthen the borders of his state so Olga was left in charge of the internal policies of Kievan Rus. She became known for establishing the system of tribute gathering, which is sometimes considered to be the first legal tax system in Eastern Europe.
She was born in June 925 and died in July 969.