Attributed to Nestor the Chronicler · Complete work
945–954: Igor's Death and Olga's Revenge
945–954: Igor's Death and Olga's Revenge of 46. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Old East Slavic
В лѣто 6453. Ркоша дружина Игореви: «Отроци Свѣнделжи изодѣлѣся суть оружьемь и порты, а мы нази. И поиди, княже, с нами в дань, да и ты добудешь и мы». И послуша ихъ Игорь, иде в Дерева в дань, и примысляше къ пѣрвой дани, и насиляше имъ и мужи его. И возмя дань и поиде въ свой городъ. Идущю же ему въспять, размысли, рече дружинѣ своей: «Идете вы с данью домови, а язъ възвращюся и похожю еще». И пусти дружину свою домови, с маломъ же дружины възвратися, желая болшая имѣнья. Слышавше же древляне, яко опять идеть, съдумавше древляне съ княземъ своимъ Маломъ и ркоша: «Аще ся въвадить волкъ въ овцѣ, то относить по единой все стадо, аще не убьють его; тако и сий, аще не убьем его, то вси ны погубить», И послаша к нему, глаголюще: «Почто идеши опять? Поималъ еси вьсю дань». И не послуша ихъ Игорь, и шедше из города Искоростѣня противу древляне и убиша Игоря и дружину его, бѣ бо ихъ мало. И погребенъ бысть Игорь, и есть могила его у Искоростиня города в Деревѣхъ и до сего дни.
Ольга же бяше в Киевѣ съ сыномъ своимъ дѣтьском Святославомъ, и кормилець бѣ его Асмудъ, и воевода бѣ Свинделдъ, — то же отець Мьстишинъ. Ркоша же деревлянѣ: «Се князя рускаго убихомъ, поимемъ жену его Олгу за князь свой Малъ и Святослава, и створимъ ему, якоже хощемъ». И послаша деревляне лучьшии мужи свои, числомъ 20, в лодьи къ Ользѣ. И присташа подъ Боричевом въ лодьи. Бѣ бо тогда вода текущи возлѣ горы Киевьскыя, и на Подолѣ не сѣдяхуть людье, но на горѣ. Городъ же бяше Киевъ, идеже есть нынѣ дворъ Гордятинъ и Никифоровъ, а дворъ кьняжь бяше в городѣ, идеже есть нынѣ дворъ Воротиславль и Чюдинь, а перевѣсище бѣ внѣ города. Дворъ теремный и другый — идеже есть дворъ демесниковъ за святою Богородицею, надъ горою. Бѣ бо ту теремъ каменъ. И повѣдаша Олзѣ, яко деревляни придоша, и възва Ольга к собѣ и рече имъ: «Добрѣ, гостье, приидоша?» И ркоша древляне: «Придохомъ, княгини».
И рече имъ Ольга: «Да глаголите, что ради приидосте сѣмо?» И ркоша деревляни: «Посла ны Деревьская земля, ркущи сице: мужа твоего убихомъ, бяшеть бо мужь твой яко волкъ, въсхыщая и грабя, а наши князи добри суть, иже роспасли суть Деревьскую землю, да иди за нашь князь за Малъ» — бѣ бо ему имя Малъ, князю деревьскому. Рече же имъ Олга: «Люба ми есть рѣчь ваша, уже мнѣ своего мужа не крѣсити, но хощю вы почтити наутьрѣя пред людми своими, а нынѣ идете в лодью свою и лязьте в лодьи величающеся. Азъ утро пошлю по вы, вы же речете: „Не ѣдемъ ни на конехъ, ни пѣши идемъ, но понесете ны в лодьи“, и възьнесуть вы в лодьи». И отпусти я в лодью. Ольга же повелѣ ископати яму велику и глубоку на дворѣ теремьскомъ внѣ города. И заутра Ольга, сѣдящи в теремѣ, посла по гости, и приидоша к нимъ, глаголюще: «Зоветь вы Ольга на честь велику». Они же ркоша: «Не ѣдемъ ни на конехъ, ни на возѣх, ни пешь идемъ, но понесите ны в лодьи». Ркоша же киянѣ: «Намъ неволя: князь нашь убитъ, а княгини наша хощеть за вашь князь», и понесоша я в лодьи. Они же сѣдяху в перегбех въ великихъ сустогахъ гордящеся.
И принесоша я на дворъ къ Ользѣ, и, несъше я, и вринуша въ яму и съ лодьею. И приникши Олга и рече имъ: «Добьра ли вы честь?» Они же ркоша: «Пуще ны Игоревы смѣрти». И повелѣ засыпати я живы, и посыпаша я.
И пославши Олга къ деревляном, рече: «Да аще мя право просите, то пришлите къ мнѣ мужи нарочиты, да въ велице чести поиду за вашь князь, еда не пустять мене людье киевьсции». Се слышавше, древляне изъбраша лучьшая мужи, иже дѣржать Деревьскую землю, и послаша по ню. Деревляномъ же пришедъшим, повелѣ Олга мовницю створити, ркущи сице: «Измывшеся, придета къ мнѣ». Они же пережьгоша мовницю, и влѣзоша древляне и начаша мытися, и запроша мовницю о них, и повелѣ зажечи я от двѣрий, и ту изгорѣша вси.
И посла къ деревляном, ркущи сице: «Се уже иду к вамъ, да пристройте меды мьногы у города, идеже убисте мужа моего, да поплачюся надъ гробомъ его, и створю трызну мужю моему». Они же, слышавше, свезоша меды многы зѣло. Олга же, поемши мало дружинѣ и легъко идущи, приде къ гробу его и плакася по мужи своемъ. И повелѣ людем съсути могилу велику, и, яко съспоша, повелѣ трызну творити. Посем сѣдоша деревлянѣ пити, и повелѣ Олга отроком своимъ служити передъ ними. И ркоша деревляне къ Олзѣ: «Кдѣ суть друзѣ наши, ихъже послахомъ по тя?» Она же рече: «Идуть по мнѣ съ дружиною мужа моего». И яко упишася деревляне, повелѣ отрокомъ своим пити на ня, а сама отиде прочь и потомъ повелѣ отроком сѣчи я, и исъсѣкоша ихъ 5000. А Ольга възвратися къ Киеву и пристрои воя на прокъ ихъ.
Начало княженья Святославьля.
В лѣто 6454. Ольга съ сыномъ Святославомъ събра вои многы и храбры, и иде на Деревьскую землю. И изыдоша древляне противу. И снемъшемася обѣма полкома на скупь, суну копьемъ Святославъ на деревляны, и копье летѣвъ сквози уши коневи и удари в ногы коневи, бѣ бо велми дѣтескъ. И рече Свенгелдъ и Асмудъ: «Князь уже почалъ, потягнемъ, дружино, по князи». И побѣдиша деревьляны. Деревлянѣ же побѣгоша и затворишася в городѣхъ своихъ. Ольга же устрѣмися съ сыномъ своимъ на Искоростѣнь городъ, яко тѣ бяху убилѣ мужа ея, и ста около города съ сыномъ своимъ, а деревляне затворишася в городѣ, и боряху крѣпько из города, вѣдаху бо, яко сами убилѣ князя и на что ся предати. И стоя Ольга лѣто цѣло, и не можаше взяти города, и умысли сице: посла къ городу, ркущи: «Чего хощете досѣдѣти? А вси ваши городи передашася мнѣ, и ялися по дань, и дѣлають нивы своя и землю свою, а вы хощете голодомъ измерети, не имучися по дань».
Деревляни же рькоша: «Ради быхомъ ся яли по дань, но хощеши мьшати мужа своего». Рече же имъ Ольга, яко «Азъ уже мьстила есмь мужа своего, когда придоша къ Киеву, и второе, и третьее, еже когда творяхут трызъну мужю моему. А уже не хощю отмщения творити, но хощю дань имати помалу и, смирившися с вами, поиду опять». Ркоша же древляне: «Что хощеши у нас? Ради даемъ и медом и скорою». Она же рече имъ: «Нынѣ у вас нѣту меду, ни скоры, но мала у васъ прошю: дайте ми от двора по три голуби и по три воробьи. Азъ бо не хощю тяжькы дани възложити на васъ, якоже мужь мой, но сего у вас прошю мала: изнемогли бо ся есте въ осадѣ, да вдайте ми се малое». Деревляне же ради быша, събраша же от двора по три голуби и по три воробьи, и послаша къ Ользѣ с поклоном.
Ольга же рече имъ: «Се уже ся есте покорилѣ мнѣ и моему дѣтяти, а идете в городъ, а язъ заутра отступлю от города и поиду в городъ свой». Деревьляне же ради быша, вънидоша в город и повѣдаша людемъ, и обрадовашася людье в городе. Ольга же раздая воемъ комуждо по голуби, а дьругимъ по воробьеви, и повелѣ къемуждо голубеви и воробьеви привязати чѣрь и, обѣрътываючи въ платкы малы, нитькою повѣрьзаючи къ всѣмъ голубемъ и воробьемъ. И повелѣ Ольга, яко смѣрчеся, пустити голуби и воробии воемъ своимъ. Голуби же и воробьеве полетѣша въ гнѣзда своя, ови в голубникы своя, воробьеве же подъ острѣхы, и тако загарахуться голубници, и от нихъ клѣти и одрины. И не бѣ двора, идеже не горяше, и не бѣ льзѣ гасити, вси бо дворѣ възгорѣшася. И побѣгоша людье из города, и повелѣ Олга воемъ своимъ имати я.
И яко взя городъ и пожьже и́, старѣйшины же города изънима и прочая люди овѣхъ изби, а другия работѣ преда мужем своимъ, а прокъ остави ихъ платити дань.
И възложи на ня дань тяжьку, и двѣ части идета Киеву, а третьяя — Вышегороду къ Ользѣ; бѣ бо Вышегородъ Ольжинъ город. И иде Олга по Деревьской земли съ сыномъ своимъ и дружиною своею, уставляющи уставы и урокы, и суть становища ея и ловища ея. И приде в городъ свой Киевъ съ сыномъ своимъ Святославом и, пребывши лѣто едино, в лѣто 6455 иде Олга Новугороду. И устави по Мьстѣ погосты и дань, и по Лузѣ погосты и дань, и оброкы; и ловища ея суть по всей земли, и знамения и мѣста и погосты. И сани ея стоять въ Плесъковѣ и до сего дни, и по Днѣпру перевѣсища и по Деснѣ, и есть село ея Ольжичи и до сего дни. Изрядивши, възвратися къ сыну своему в Киевъ и пребываше с ним въ любви.
В лѣто 6456.
В лѣто 6457.
В лѣто 6458.
В лѣто 6459.
В лѣто 6460.
В лѣто 6461.
В лѣто 6462.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Old East Slavic text of the Hypatian Codex (O. V. Tvorogov’s 1997 edition, pinned Russian Wikisource revision), covering the undated introduction and every annal from 6360 to 6625 (852–1117 CE). Worker drafts were checked against the source paragraph by paragraph before publication. Years keep the chronicle’s own reckoning from the creation of the world; subtract 5508 for the approximate year CE, as the chapter titles do.
In the year 6453. And Igor's retinue said to him: “The squires of Sveneld have outfitted themselves with weapons and fine garments, and we are naked. Go, prince, with us for tribute, that you too may gain, and we.” And Igor listened to them, and went to Dereva for tribute, and devised an increase upon the first tribute, and he and his men used violence on them. And he took the tribute and went back to his city. But as he was going back, he thought again and said to his retinue: “Go you home with the tribute; I will turn back and go again.” And he sent his retinue home, and returned with a small band of his retinue, desiring greater wealth. And the Derevlianians, hearing that he was coming again, took counsel with their prince Mal and said: “If a wolf takes to coming among the sheep, he carries off the whole flock one by one, unless he is killed; so will this one destroy us all, unless we kill him.” And they sent to him, saying: “Why do you come again? You have taken all the tribute.” And Igor did not listen to them; and the Derevlianians came out of the city of Iskorosten against him, and killed Igor and his retinue, for they were few. And Igor was buried, and his grave is by the city of Iskorosten in the land of Dereva to this day.
Olga was in Kyiv with her son, the child Sviatoslav; his tutor was Asmud, and his commander was Sveneld — the same was Mstisha's father. And the Derevlianians said: “See, we have killed the prince of Rus'; let us take his wife Olga as wife for our prince Mal, and take Sviatoslav too, and do with him as we please.” And the Derevlianians sent their best men, 20 in number, in boats to Olga. And they moored their boats below Borichev. For at that time the water ran beside the Kyiv hill, and people did not dwell on the Podol, but on the hill. And the city of Kyiv was where the court of Gordiata and of Nikephoros now stands, and the prince's court was in the city, where the court of Vratislav and of Chudin now stands, and the landing place was outside the city. The court of the terem was the other, where the court of the household men now stands behind the holy Mother of God, on the hilltop; for there stood a stone terem. And it was told Olga that the Derevlianians had come, and Olga called them to her and said: “Well, guests, have you come?” And the Derevlianians said: “We have come, princess.”
And Olga said to them: “Speak then: why have you come here?” And the Derevlianians said: “The land of Dereva has sent us, saying thus: we have killed your husband, for your husband was like a wolf, seizing and plundering; but our princes are good, they who have made the land of Dereva prosper; so go, and be the wife of our prince Mal” — his name was Mal, prince of Dereva. And Olga said to them: “Your words are pleasing to me; I can no longer raise my husband; but I wish to honor you tomorrow before my people. Now go to your boat, and lie down in the boat, and make much of yourselves. In the morning I will send for you, and you shall say: 'We will not ride on horses, nor go on foot, but you shall carry us in a boat,' and they will bear you up into the boat.” And she let them go to their boat. Olga then commanded a great and deep pit to be dug in the courtyard of the terem, outside the city. And in the morning Olga, sitting in the terem, sent for the guests, and they came to them, saying: “Olga summons you to great honor.” And they said: “We will not ride on horses, nor in wagons, nor go on foot, but carry us in a boat.” And the people of Kyiv said: “We are in sore need: our prince has been slain, and our princess wishes to marry your prince”; and they carried them in the boat. And they sat on the benches in their great garments, swelling with pride.
And they carried them into Olga's court, and, as they were setting them down, they flung them into the pit together with the boat. And Olga bent over them and said: “Is this honor to your liking?” And they said: “It is worse for us than Igor's death.” And she commanded them to be buried alive, and they were covered over.
And Olga sent to the Derevlianians, saying: “If you truly desire me, then send your great men to me, that I may go to your prince with great honor; otherwise the people of Kyiv will not let me go.” Hearing this, the Derevlianians chose their chief men, who held the land of Dereva, and sent them to fetch her. And when the Derevlianians had come, Olga commanded a bath-house to be made ready, saying to them: “Wash yourselves, and then come to me.” And they heated the bath-house, and the Derevlianians went in and began to wash, and the bath-house was shut on them; and she commanded it to be set afire from the doors, and there they were all burned.
And she sent to the Derevlianians, saying: “See, I am already coming to you: prepare much mead in the city where you killed my husband, that I may weep over his grave and hold a funeral feast for my husband.” And they, hearing it, brought together much mead in great plenty. And Olga, taking a small retinue and going lightly, came to his grave and wept for her husband. And she commanded the people to heap up a great mound; and when they had heaped it, she commanded a funeral feast to be held. Then the Derevlianians sat down to drink, and Olga commanded her young servants to serve before them. And the Derevlianians said to Olga: “Where are our friends, whom we sent to fetch you?” She said: “They are coming after me with my husband's retinue.” And when the Derevlianians were drunk, she commanded her servants to drink against them, and she herself went aside, and then she commanded her servants to cut them down, and they cut down 5000 of them. And Olga returned to Kyiv and made ready her troops against the rest of them.
Here begins the reign of Sviatoslav.
In the year 6454. Olga with her son Sviatoslav gathered a great and valiant host and went against the land of Dereva. And the Derevlianians came out against them. And when the two armies met in one place, Sviatoslav cast a spear at the Derevlianians; but the spear, as it flew, passed between the ears of the horse and struck the horse's legs, for he was still but a child. And Sveneld and Asmud said: “The prince has already begun; follow, retinue, after the prince.” And they defeated the Derevlianians. The Derevlianians fled and shut themselves in their cities. And Olga hastened with her son against the city of Iskorosten, for they had killed her husband, and she stood about the city with her son; and the Derevlianians shut themselves in the city and fought fiercely from it, for they knew that they themselves had killed the prince, and that surrender could bring them nothing. And Olga stood the whole summer and could not take the city, and she devised this: she sent to the city, saying: “What do you wait for? All your cities have surrendered to me and made terms for tribute, and till their fields and their land; but you wish to die of hunger, refusing to come to terms for tribute.”
And the Derevlianians said: “Gladly would we make terms for tribute, but you wish to avenge your husband.” And Olga said to them: “I have already avenged my husband, when you came to Kyiv, and a second time, and a third, when you held the funeral feast for my husband. Now I wish no further vengeance; I wish to take tribute, but small, and having made peace with you, I will go back.” And the Derevlianians said: “What do you want of us? Gladly we will give honey and furs.” And she said to them: “You have now neither honey nor furs; but I ask little of you: give me from every household three pigeons and three sparrows. I do not wish to lay a heavy tribute upon you, as my husband did; I ask this little of you, for you are worn out with the siege: give me this small thing.” And the Derevlianians were glad; they gathered from every household three pigeons and three sparrows, and sent them to Olga with obeisance.
And Olga said to them: “See, you have submitted to me and to my child; now go into your city, and in the morning I will withdraw from it and go to my own city.” And the Derevlianians were glad; they went into the city and told the people, and the people in the city rejoiced. And Olga gave to her warriors, to some a pigeon and to others a sparrow, and she commanded that to each pigeon and sparrow a piece of sulfur be tied, wrapped in small cloths, bound with thread to every pigeon and sparrow. And Olga commanded that, when it grew dark, the pigeons and sparrows be set loose by her warriors. And the pigeons and sparrows flew to their nests: the pigeons to their cotes, and the sparrows under the eaves; and so the cotes caught fire, and from them the storehouses and the barns. And there was no courtyard where it did not burn, nor could it be quenched, for all the courtyards had caught fire. And the people fled from the city, and Olga commanded her warriors to seize them.
And when she had taken the city and burned it, she took the elders of the city prisoner, and of the rest of the people she slew some, and gave others into slavery to her men; but the remainder she left to pay tribute.
And she laid upon them a heavy tribute: two parts went to Kyiv, and the third to Vyshhorod, to Olga; for Vyshhorod was Olga's city. And Olga went through the land of Dereva with her son and her retinue, establishing statutes and dues; and her encampments and her hunting grounds are there. And she came to her city of Kyiv with her son Sviatoslav, and having remained a year, in the year 6455 Olga went to Novgorod. And she established trading posts and tribute along the Msta, and trading posts and tribute and dues along the Luga; and her hunting grounds are throughout the land, and her boundary marks and places and trading posts. And her sledge stands at Pskov to this day, and her fowling grounds are on the Dnieper and on the Desna, and her village of Olzhichi is there to this day. And when she had made her dispositions, she returned to her son in Kyiv, and lived with him in love.
In the year 6456.
In the year 6457.
In the year 6458.
In the year 6459.
In the year 6460.
In the year 6461.
In the year 6462.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the same Old East Slavic text of the Hypatian Codex, paragraph for paragraph, and checked against the source before publication.
In the year 6453. Igor's retinue said to him: “Sveneld's pages have outfitted themselves with weapons and fine clothes, and we are bare. Come with us, prince, to collect tribute, so that you win something and we too.” Igor listened to them and went to Dereva land for tribute. He added to the first tribute, and he and his men used force against the people. He took the tribute and set off for his city. On the way back he thought it over and said to his retinue: “You go home with the tribute; I will turn back and go around again.” He sent his retinue home and came back with only a small band, wanting greater wealth. The Derevlianians heard that he was coming again. They took counsel with their prince Mal and said: “If a wolf gets in among the sheep, he carries off the whole flock one by one, unless he is killed. So with this one: if we do not kill him, he will destroy us all.” They sent men to him to say: “Why do you come again? You have taken all the tribute.” Igor did not listen to them. They came out of the city of Iskorosten against him and killed Igor and his men, for they were few. Igor was buried, and his grave is by the city of Iskorosten in Dereva land to this day.
Olga was in Kyiv with her son Sviatoslav, who was still a small child. His tutor was Asmud, and his general was Sveneld—the same Sveneld who was Mstisha's father. The Derevlianians said: “We have killed the Rus' prince. We will take his wife Olga as wife for our prince Mal, and Sviatoslav we will deal with as we please.” The Derevlianians chose 20 of their best men and sent them by boat to Olga. They moored their boats below Borichev. In those days the water flowed along the foot of the Kyiv hill, and people did not live down by the water but up on the hill. The city of Kyiv then stood where the courts of Gordiata and Nikephoros are now, and the prince's court in the city was where the courts of Vratislav and Chudin are now, and the ferry landing was outside the city. The terem court and the other court stood where the demestiki's court is now, behind the church of the Holy Mother of God, up on the hill; there was a stone terem there. Olga was told that the Derevlianians had come. She called them to her and said: “Good day, merchants. So you have come?” The Derevlianians said: “We have come, princess.”
Olga said to them: “Tell me, why have you come here?” The Derevlianians said: “Dereva land sent us with this message: We killed your husband, because your husband was like a wolf, snatching and robbing, while our princes are good men who have made Dereva land prosper. So come and marry our prince Mal.” (His name was Mal; he was prince of the Derevlianians.) Olga said to them: “Your words please me. I cannot bring my husband back to life. But tomorrow I will honor you before my people. Now go to your boat and lie down in it, boasting proudly. In the morning I will send for you. You are to say: ‘We will not go on horseback, and we will not walk—carry us in the boat.’ Then they will carry you in the boat.” She sent them to their boat. Olga ordered a great deep pit dug in the terem courtyard outside the city. In the morning Olga, sitting in her terem, sent for the guests. Messengers came to them and said: “Olga calls you to great honor.” They said: “We will not go on horseback, nor in wagons, nor on foot—carry us in the boat.” The people of Kyiv said: “We have no choice: our prince is dead, and our princess wants to marry your prince.” And they carried them in the boat. They sat in the stern, in magnificent robes, puffed up with pride.
They carried them to Olga's court and, as they carried them, threw them into the pit together with the boat. Olga bent over the pit and said to them: “Is this honor good for you?” They said: “It is worse for us than Igor's death.” She ordered them buried alive, and they were covered over.
Olga sent this word to the Derevlianians: “If you truly want me, send your chief men to me, so that I may go to your prince with great honor; otherwise the people of Kyiv will not let me go.” When they heard this, the Derevlianians chose the leading men who governed Dereva land and sent them. When the Derevlianians arrived, Olga ordered a bathhouse made ready and said: “Wash yourselves, and then come to me.” They heated the bathhouse, and the Derevlianians went in and began to wash. The bathhouse was locked behind them, and Olga ordered it set on fire from the doors, and they all burned there.
Then she sent this word to the Derevlianians: “Now I am coming to you. Prepare plenty of mead in the town where you killed my husband, so that I may weep over his grave and hold a funeral feast for my husband.” When they heard this, they brought together a great deal of mead. Olga took a small retinue and traveled light. She came to the grave and wept over her husband. She ordered the people to heap up a great mound, and when it was heaped up, she ordered a funeral feast held. Then the Derevlianians sat down to drink, and Olga told her pages to serve them. The Derevlianians said to Olga: “Where are our friends whom we sent to fetch you?” She said: “They are coming behind me with my husband's retinue.” When the Derevlianians were drunk, Olga told her pages to drink to them. She herself went away, and then ordered the pages to cut them down, and the pages killed 5000 of them. Olga returned to Kyiv and prepared her troops against the rest.
The beginning of the reign of Sviatoslav.
In the year 6454. Olga and her son Sviatoslav gathered a large and brave army and marched on Dereva land. The Derevlianians came out against them. When the two armies met in battle, Sviatoslav threw his spear at the Derevlianians. The spear flew between the ears of his horse and struck the horse's legs, for he was still very much a child. Sveneld and Asmud said: “The prince has already begun—follow the prince, men!” And they defeated the Derevlianians. The Derevlianians fled and shut themselves up in their towns. Olga hastened with her son to the town of Iskorosten, because they had killed her husband there, and she camped around the town with her son. The Derevlianians shut themselves inside and fought hard from the town, for they knew that they had killed the prince themselves and that giving themselves up would gain them nothing. Olga stood before the town the whole year and could not take it. Then she thought of this: she sent word to the town, saying: “What are you waiting for? All your other towns have surrendered to me and agreed to pay tribute; they till their fields and work their land. Do you want to die of hunger, refusing to pay tribute?”
The Derevlianians said: “We would gladly agree to pay tribute, but you want revenge for your husband.” Olga said to them: “I have already taken revenge for my husband, when you came to Kyiv, and the second time, and the third time, when you held the funeral feast for my husband. I do not want revenge anymore. I want to take only a small tribute, make peace with you, and go back.” The Derevlianians said: “What do you want from us? We will gladly give honey and furs.” She said to them: “You have no honey or furs now. I ask little of you: give me three pigeons and three sparrows from each household. I do not want to lay a heavy tribute on you, as my husband did. I ask this little, because you are worn out by the siege.” The Derevlianians were glad. They gathered three pigeons and three sparrows from each household and sent them to Olga with bows.
Olga said to them: “Now you have submitted to me and to my child. Go into your town, and tomorrow I will lift the siege and go away to my own city.” The Derevlianians were glad. They went into the town and told the people, and the people of the town rejoiced. Olga gave her soldiers pigeons and sparrows: to some a pigeon, to others a sparrow. She ordered a piece of tinder tied to each pigeon and sparrow, wrapped in small cloths and bound with thread to every pigeon and sparrow. When it grew dark, Olga told her soldiers to release the pigeons and sparrows. The pigeons and sparrows flew to their homes: the pigeons to their dovecotes, the sparrows under the rooftops. The dovecotes caught fire, and from them the storehouses and the hay barns. There was no courtyard where nothing burned, and there was no way to put the fire out, because all the courtyards caught fire at once. The people fled from the town, and Olga told her soldiers to seize them.
She took the town and burned it. She took the elders of the town prisoner. Of the rest of the people she killed some, and gave others to her men as slaves, and left the remainder to pay tribute.
She laid a heavy tribute on them: two parts of it went to Kyiv, and the third part to Vyshhorod, to Olga, for Vyshhorod was Olga's town. Olga went through Dereva land with her son and her retinue, setting up rules and fixed payments, and her stopping places and her hunting grounds are still there. She came to her own city of Kyiv with her son Sviatoslav. After spending one year there, in the year 6455 Olga went to Novgorod. She set up trading posts and tribute along the Msta, and trading posts and tribute and dues along the Luga. Her hunting grounds are all through the land, and her boundary marks, her places, and her trading posts. Her sleigh still stands in Pskov to this day, and her bird-snaring grounds are on the Dnieper and on the Desna, and her village of Olzhichi is there to this day. When she had finished all this, she returned to her son in Kyiv, and she lived with him in love.
In the year 6456.
In the year 6457.
In the year 6458.
In the year 6459.
In the year 6460.
In the year 6461.
In the year 6462.