Oleg Ivanovich Ryazansky (baptized Jacob, schema Joachim) (d. 1402) - Grand Duke of Ryazan from 1350. Inherited the reign upon the death of Vasily Alexandrovich. According to one version, the son of Prince Ivan Alexandrovich (and nephew of Vasily Alexandrovich), according to another version, the son of Prince Ivan Korotopol.

Oleg Ivanovich is a prominent representative of the dynasty of Ryazan princes. The chronicles pass over the period of his father's reign in silence (unless, of course, we consider him the father of Ivan Alexandrovich), so it is difficult to say under what conditions his character was formed. Oleg was no more than 15 years old when he took the Ryazan grand-ducal table. However, he had smart and devoted advisers who made it possible not only to maintain silence in the Ryazan principality, but also to expand his possessions. In 1353, when the Black Death devastated North-Eastern Rus', anarchy began there for some time. Prince Semyon the Proud died suddenly, and his heirs hastened to the Horde to claim their inheritance. Taking advantage of the moment (the Ryazan region was not affected by the epidemic), the Ryazan regiments captured Lopasnya, capturing the local governor, Mikhail Alexandrovich. The peace-loving Ivan the Red, returning from the Horde, did not start a war because of Lopasnya and left the Ryazans alone. Ivan Ivanovich made up for the loss by seizing other Ryazan lands, and paid a rich ransom for the governor.

In subsequent years, the Ryazan principality began to recover from a series of Tatar raids and internal turmoil. Even the Tatar raid of 1358 and the reappearance of the plague in 1364 could not prevent this process. The next year, Pereyaslavl was attacked by the Horde Tagai, who burned the city and plundered the nearest volosts, but Oleg with Vladimir Pronsky and Titus Kozelsky caught up with him near the Shishevsky forest and recaptured all the loot.

In 1371, the long peace between Moscow and Ryazan was broken. For an unknown reason, Dmitry Donskoy moved regiments under the command of Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky to Ryazan. In the battle of Skornishchev, not far from Pereyaslavl, the Ryazan people were defeated, and Oleg and his small squad barely escaped. Apparently, by that time the agreement between the Ryazan and Pron princes had also been violated. The Ryazan table was immediately occupied by the Pron prince Vladimir Yaroslavich (perhaps he was the initiator of Dmitry Donskoy’s campaign), but his triumph was short-lived. The next year, Oleg brought the squad of the Tatar Murza Salakhmir and expelled Vladimir from his principality. Dmitry Donskoy did not interfere this time. Perhaps he decided that Oleg Ryazansky would be more useful to him as an ally to protect the southeastern borders of the Moscow state. And indeed, over the next seven years, the Moscow and Ryazan Grand Dukes lived in peace.

In 1377, Mamai’s Tatars ravaged the Ryazan region - Dmitry did not have time to come to the aid of his neighbor. In 1375, Tsarevich Arapsha captured Pereyaslavl. Oleg, taken by surprise, barely managed to escape, all wounded by Tatar arrows. The next year, Mamai sent Murza Begich to Moscow. On August 11, 1378, the famous battle took place on the Vozha River, not far from Pereyaslavl, when Moscow regiments defeated the Tatars. However, Oleg did not take part in the battle. The enraged Mamai unleashed his anger on Ryazan. Oleg was not ready for defense and fled to the left bank of the Oka, allowing the Tatars to ravage their possessions. Finally, in the summer of 1380, the Horde, joined by many other peoples, crossed the Volga and migrated to the mouth of Voronezh. Dmitry Donskoy, having learned about the danger, began to collect shelves.

Oleg offered Mamai his help. Chroniclers of North-Eastern Rus', and after them historians, traditionally branded Oleg as a traitor. However, Ryazan, located on the outskirts of Rus', on the border with the steppe, always suffered more than others from Tatar raids, especially in recent years. If Oleg now openly sided with Dmitry, then the Ryazan principality would probably have a hard time again. When making a difficult decision, Oleg was guided primarily by the interests of his principality. However, the Ryazan prince was not completely devoid of all-Russian patriotism, and therefore made a difficult decision, which required cunning and diplomatic dexterity from him.

Oleg secretly started negotiations with Mamai, promising to pay him the traditional way out and give troops, and also entered into an alliance with Jogaila, but at the same time sent to Moscow to warn about the approach of the Tatars. Dmitry learned about Oleg’s betrayal while on the way. He changed the route of his army to bypass the Ryazan principality, but he forbade his guard regiment left near Lopasny to inflict violence on the local residents, that is, he did not provoke Oleg into aggression. Oleg, meanwhile, was weaving intrigues, promising help to both Mamaia and Yagaila. But in the end, the Ryazan regiments did not come either to the Kulikovo field, where Mamai was waiting for them, or to Odoev, where Jagiello was waiting for them.

The outcome of the Battle of Kulikovo is known: the Tatars were defeated. But for us, the result achieved by Oleg for his principality is more interesting: the Ryazan lands are not touched, the squad is intact, and the powerful neighbor is defeated. After the Battle of Kulikovo, however, there was one unpleasant episode when the Ryazan people attacked a convoy of troops returning to Moscow, which contained the wounded, and plundered it. Dmitry seemed to be going to take revenge, but the Ryazan people sent their boyars to him, reporting that Oleg had fled to the Lithuanian border, and begged him to leave them alone. Dmitry agreed, sending his governors to Ryazan. However, Oleg soon returned and in 1381 concluded with Dmitry a treaty humiliating for Ryazan, according to which he recognized the Moscow prince as senior over himself, ceded Talitsa, Vypolzov and Takasov to Moscow, renounced the kiss of the cross with Jogaila, and generally pledged to act in concert with the Moscow prince as against Lithuanians and against the Tatars.

In 1382, the Tatars launched another campaign against Rus' under the leadership of Tokhtamysh, and Oleg again found himself between two fires. He again offered his help to the Tatars and pointed out the fords to Oka, but this did not save him. On the way back, the Tatars ravaged the Ryazan region, and then Dmitry Donskoy punished the traitor. Offended Oleg attacked Kolomna in 1385. Dmitry again sent an army to Ryazan, but this time the Moscow army was defeated. Not wanting to spend money on fighting his southern neighbor, Dmitry asked for peace, but Oleg did not agree to his terms. Only in 1386, thanks to the efforts of Sergius of Radonezh, peace was concluded, and the next year it was sealed by family ties: the Ryazan prince Fyodor Olgovich married the Moscow princess Sofya Dmitrievna. Since then, there have been no more quarrels between the Moscow and Ryazan princes.

The Tatars continued to harass Ryazan. Oleg sent his son Rodoslav as a hostage to the Horde, but he fled from there in 1387; the consequence of this flight was the Tatar invasion of Ryazan and Lyubutsk, during which Oleg himself was almost captured. The Tatars made three successful raids in 1388 - 1390, and in 1394 and 1400. Oleg gave them a fitting rebuff. The last time the Tatars disturbed Oleg was in 1402, but then the elderly prince no longer resisted them.

After the Battle of Kulikovo, Oleg’s relations with Lithuania became openly hostile. In 1396, Oleg received his son-in-law Yuri Svyatoslavich, expelled from Smolensk by the Lithuanians. Oleg twice attacked the Lithuanian city of Lyubutsk, and Vitovt, in response, twice ravaged the Ryazan land. In 1401, heeding the requests of Yuri, Oleg prepared a campaign against Smolensk. Yuri's supporters among the Smolensk residents gained the upper hand. They killed the Lithuanian governor and let in their former prince. On the way back, Oleg again fought the Lithuanian border lands and returned with a rich load.

In relations with other, smaller neighboring princes - Pronsky, Muromsky, Yeletsky, Kozelsky - Oleg Ivanovich acted as the eldest. The chronicles contain many references to how neighboring princes acted as his henchmen.

Oleg did a lot as an organizer and defender of Ryazan, thanks to which he won the love and respect of the Ryazan people. It is not for nothing that the residents of Ryazan believe that the prince depicted on the city’s coat of arms is none other than Oleg Ivanovich.

Oleg Ivanovich Ryazansky died on July 5, 1402, having adopted the schema under the name Joachim before his death, and was buried in the Solotchinsky monastery he founded near Pereyaslavl.

Performance evaluation

Prince Oleg had a difficult and controversial fate and a posthumous bad reputation, which was created by Moscow chroniclers and has survived to this day. A traitor who nevertheless became a saint. The prince, who was dubbed the “second Svyatopolk” in Moscow, but whom the people of Ryazan loved and were faithful to him both in victories and after defeats, who is a bright and significant figure in the life of Rus' in the 14th century. A noteworthy fact is that in the final letter of 1375 between Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy and Mikhail Alexandrovich Tverskoy - the main competitors for dominance and the great reign of Vladimir, Prince Oleg Ryazansky is indicated as an arbitrator in controversial cases. This indicates that Oleg was at that time the only authoritative figure, the Grand Duke, who stood neither on the side of Tver nor on the side of Moscow. It was almost impossible to find a more suitable candidate for the role of arbitrator.

Coat of arms of Ryazan

“In a golden field stands a prince holding a sword in his right hand and a scabbard in his left; he is wearing a scarlet cap, and a green dress and hat, lined with sables” (Winkler, p. 131). According to Ryazan legends, the coat of arms depicts the Grand Duke Oleg Ivanovich Ryazansky himself.

Prince Oleg Ryazansky- one of the most mysterious characters in Russian history. Called a “traitor” by Moscow historians, he is still respected by the people of Ryazan as a patriot, wise ruler and defender of the Fatherland.

Oleg Ivanovich, in the schema Joachim (1351-1402) - Grand Duke of Ryazan from 1350. Inherited the reign upon the death of Vasily Alexandrovich. With the accession of Oleg Ivanovich to the Grand Duke's throne, the era of the greatest power of the Ryazan Principality begins. Unfavorable geographical and historical conditions prevented Oleg from creating a special center from Ryazan, around which North-Eastern Rus' could gather.

During the era of the “great turmoil” in the Golden Horde, before the concentration of power in the hands of Mamai, Oleg, in alliance with Vladimir Pronsky and Titus Kozelsky, defeated the Horde prince Tagai in 1365 on the Voyda River.

The period from 1370 to 1387 dates back to Oleg’s persistent attempts to defend the independence of his principality bordering the steppe, which was most vulnerable to Horde raids, at a time when national interests required the unification of Russian forces in the fight against the Horde.
Oleg in 1370 became one of the organizers of the gathering of troops to help Moscow besieged by Olgerd, but in 1371 he was defeated by the troops of Dmitry of Moscow under the command of Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky in the battle of Skornishchevo, Vladimir Pronsky took over the Ryazan reign (in 1373, with the support of Mamai, he was able to regain his reign; the Moscow army reached the northern bank of the Oka).

In 1377, Ryazan was ravaged by the Horde prince Arapsha, Oleg barely escaped capture. In 1378, Dmitry led his troops beyond the Oka and, in alliance with Danila Pronsky, defeated the Horde army in the Battle of Vozha. In 1379, Ryazan was again devastated by Mamai himself.
In 1380, Oleg entered into negotiations with Mamai and Jagiello against Dmitry, however, Dmitry defeated the Horde outside the Ryazan land in the Battle of Kulikovo, in which 70 Ryazan boyars from the Russian side died.

Could Dmitry Donskoy, going on a campaign to the Kulikovo Field, leave a strong squad and the cavalry army of the traitor prince in his rear? Of course, the Moscow prince could not commit such a frivolous act. In this case, Dmitry Donskoy could be left without an army and without convoys.
Another historical fact is that Mamai was waiting on the field for the army of his ally, the Lithuanian prince Jagiello. Later chroniclers wrote that Jagiello was simply late for the battle. Well, how could he not be late if the Lithuanian prince was informed through his intelligence that the Ryazan people would not allow him to pass through their lands to join the Horde army? He also understood that such a mood of the warriors could not have happened without the knowledge of Prince Oleg. Jagiello was frightened by the meeting with the Ryazan army.
It turns out that Dmitry Donskoy and Oleg Ryazansky agreed on everything in advance. And the Ryazan army remained to cover the rear of the Russian army from Jagiello’s army.

During the years of his reign, Oleg Ryazansky gained fame not only as a great warrior, but also as a great diplomat. Part of the prince’s squad went to the field under the guise of militia. Without standards or other identifying marks. Mamai's scouts reported to the Horde that Oleg and his army remained in Ryazan. But at the same time, hundreds and hundreds of Ryazan warriors took part in the Battle of Kulikovo. This is what the leopist testifies to in “Zadonshchina”:
“Mr. Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, we don’t have more than 40 Moscow boyars, 12 Belozersk princes, and 70 Ryazan boyars.”

It turns out that Ryazan fielded the largest number of boyars, and consequently, militias. It is unlikely that any of the Ryazan boyars with their militia would dare to fight the Horde without the permission of Prince Oleg.

In 1381, Oleg concluded an unequal anti-Horde treaty with Dmitry, similar to the Moscow-Tver treaty of 1375, but in 1382 he showed Tokhtamysh the fords on the Oka River, which, however, did not save Ryazan from ruin during the return of the Horde to the steppes and became the reason for the ruin of the Ryazan principality Dmitry Donskoy in the fall of the same year.

Chroniclers claim that the Ryazan prince showed the khan the road to Moscow and the fords on the Oka. But it is doubtful that only Oleg could provide such information to Tokhtamysh. Moscow by that time had existed for more than three hundred years and was a city with a developed trading history. The routes along which numerous merchants reached Moscow were not a secret. It's the same with the fords on the Oka. They were known not only by Oleg Ryazansky himself and his associates, but also by many others.
Apparently, Oleg really convinced Tokhtamysh to march on Moscow, bypassing the Ryazan principality. But this was an element of a double political game. Oleg tried to protect his devastated lands from the Khan’s army, but there was no reason for him to quarrel with Dmitry Donskoy. Perhaps he warned the Moscow prince of the impending danger. Dmitry, thanks to the information received, went to Pereslavl-Zalessky and managed to assemble the regiments.
And Tokhtamysh ran into the stone walls of the Moscow Kremlin. The first cannons were installed on the walls of the fortress, and the assault was drowned in the blood of the Horde. The Muscovites were let down by the betrayal of the Nizhny Novgorod princes Vasily and Semyon. They persuaded the Kremlin defenders to open the gates and enter into negotiations. Tokhtamysh burst into Moscow and carried out a massacre, but was forced to retreat. The troops of Vladimir Serpukhovsky and Dmitry himself approached the city.
Tokhtamysh nevertheless went back to the steppe through the Ryazan principality and ruined it. Most likely, the khan realized who the Ryazan prince was actually helping and took revenge.

During the Moscow-Ryazan showdown in 1385, Oleg, taking advantage of the weakening of Moscow after the invasion of Tokhtamysh, captured Kolomna.
Thanks to the intervention of St. Sergius of Radonezh, another internecine war was prevented. Oleg made an eternal peace with Dmitry Donskoy and in 1387 married his son Fyodor to Dmitry's daughter Sophia.

In subsequent years, Oleg supported his son-in-law, the Smolensk prince Yuri Svyatoslavich, against Vytautas of Lithuania, who sought to capture Smolensk. Clashes took place in Lithuanian and Ryazan territories (1393-1401).

Just before the end of his life, Oleg accepted monasticism and schema under the name Joachim in the Solotchinsky monastery he founded 18 versts from Ryazan. There he lived in harsh labors, wearing a hair shirt, and under it a steel chain mail. His wife, Princess Euphrosyne, also ended her life as a nun. Their common tomb is located in the monastery cathedral.

Solotchinsky Monastery

Prince Oleg had a difficult and controversial fate and a posthumous bad reputation, which was created by Moscow chroniclers and has survived to this day. A “traitor” who nevertheless became a saint...

The prince, who was dubbed the “second Svyatopolk” in Moscow, but whom the people of Ryazan loved and were faithful to him both in victories and after defeats, who is a bright and significant figure in the life of Rus' in the 14th century.

In history textbooks, Grand Duke Oleg Ryazansky is written as a traitor - they say, he took the side of the Tatar-Mongols in the Battle of Kulikovo... Describing the era of the Battle of Kulikovo, chronicles (written almost exclusively in Moscow!) accuse him of treason, calling him a “traitor”, “adviser to the godless Mamai.” This bitterness of the chroniclers against the Ryazan prince survived centuries.

How unfair all this is to Oleg, we can only judge now, when the rehabilitation of the great Ryazan sovereign has begun in Russian historical science.
As he writes in his essay “Oleg Ivanovich, Grand Duke of Ryazan” Vladyka Simon , Archbishop of Ryazan and Kasimov : “The Russian historian of the 18th century was the first to raise his voice in his defense. M.M.Scherbatov (1733 - 1790). He tried to explain Oleg Ivanovich’s behavior by the circumstances of that time (in the period 1771-1777, M.M. Shcherbatov was the State Master of Arms - approx. M. Shelkovenko).
Then the historian N.S. Artsybashev (1773 - 1841) in the book “The Narrative of Russia” (M., 1888, vol. II, book III) critically examined the statements of Moscow chroniclers about Oleg. He wrote: “The circumstances of this war are so distorted by the ornateness and heteroglossia of the chroniclers that it is very difficult to discern the real thing in the many additions and alterations.”

D.I. Ilovaisky wrote:
“Undoubtedly, Oleg’s half-century-long reign was the most glorious and happiest in comparison with previous and subsequent reigns, despite the grave disasters that often visited the Ryazan region during his lifetime. The people paid him for this with love and devotion.”

Soviet historian M.N. Tikhomirov (1893-1965) already in the fifties of our century, in his writings on the Battle of Kulikovo, again raised the question of the need for a critical study and verification of chronicle sources. He pointed to the Simeonovskaya Chronicle, which reflects in part before 1390 the burned Trinity and Rogozhskaya Chronicle and therefore contains the oldest story about the Battle of Kulikovo. The peculiarity of the narration of these chronicles is, firstly, laconicism, and secondly, integrity. There are no obvious abbreviations or insertions in this presentation. Moreover, in the story about the Battle of Kulikovo the name of Oleg Ryazansky is not mentioned.

Modern historian A. G. Kuzmin in the work “Ryazan Chronicle” (M, Nauka, 1965) notes that all accusations against Oleg Ivanovich are of later origin. "The story in its original form,- he says, - hardly contained numerous and contradictory attacks against the Ryazan prince". As A.G. Kuzmin points out, “rumor about Oleg’s participation in the fight on Mamai’s side” was circulated in Moscow to justify the seizure of the Tula region from Ryazan and - very important! - that it appeared only in the 15th century.

You can also mention the writer's publications F. Shakhmagonova “Secret mission of the Ryazan prince. (On the history of the Battle of Kulikovo 1380)" and "Who did the Ryazan prince Oleg betray?", where it is proven that in fact Oleg Ryazansky, not being able to openly confront the Tatars, so as not to destroy his principality, was at the same time secret ally of Dimitri Donskoy,

In an article by a researcher at the USSR Academy of Sciences A. Nadirova “A story for the old, and a memory for the young” (Secrets of the Ages. M., 1977, pp. 404—414) provides a commentary on the material by F. Shakhmagonov. "The attempt itself,- writes the scientist, - rethinking the personality of the Grand Duke of Ryazan Oleg Ivanovich seems extremely humane and beneficial, because we are talking about restoring the good name of a man who played a significant role in the fate of our Motherland... If the “presumption of innocence” had been applied to historical figures, Oleg would have long been posthumous rehabilitated (or acquitted due to insufficient evidence).”

This is what the books say A. Khludeneva "Oleg Ryazansky", and the book of the same name Yu. Limanova .

Speaking about the circumstances and real events of that era, L.N. Gumilev in his book “From Rus' to Russia” he wrote that Prince Oleg was not on the Kulikovo field precisely because he, having only a five-thousand-strong detachment and skillfully maneuvering, distracted the eighty-thousand-strong Lithuanian army of Jogaila, who was just one day’s march from the place of the main events . This did not allow the Lithuanians to connect with Mamai in time and, to a large extent, predetermined the outcome of the battle.

L.N. Gumilyov:
“Without in any way diminishing the heroism of the Russians on the Kulikovo field, we note that the absence of eighty thousand Lithuanian troops in the battle turned out to be important for the victory. Jagiello was late for the battle by only one day’s march. And this was not accidental. It turns out that Oleg Ryazansky, who was accused of treason and betrayal, with a detachment of five thousand, he managed, by skillfully maneuvering, to detain the Lithuanians. When the Lithuanians drove Oleg away, the battle was already over, and then Jogaila’s warriors attacked the Russian convoys and cut off the wounded.”

At the same time, as medieval chronicles testify, 70 Ryazan boyars fell on the Kulikovo field itself - more than any others. And they were there on Dmitry’s side with their squads and, of course, not without Oleg’s knowledge.
Ryazan residents believe that there were more Ryazan warriors in the Battle of Kulikovo than Muscovites, and they fought more bravely.

If we turn to the times of Oleg himself (bypassing biased chroniclers), to the authorities of his contemporaries - the great Russian ascetics and saints Dmitry Donskoy and Sergius of Radonezh, then even here, hot on the heels of events, one cannot find justified reproaches for Oleg. Just a year after the Battle of Kulikovo, in the treaty document of 1381 establishing relations between Ryazan and Moscow, Oleg Ivanovich recognizes Dmitry Donskoy as his elder brother - and such treaties are not concluded with “traitors.”
And, despite the discord that arose soon after this between the princes, they, through the mediation of St. Sergius of Radonezh, restored peace and even became related: Dmitry gave his beloved daughter Sophia in marriage to Oleg’s son Fedor in Ryazan. And now they rest together in the Nativity Cathedral in the Ryazan Kremlin.

Sergius would not have gone to the “adviser of the godless Mamai” and would not have given his daughter Dmitry to his family. All this, of course, is indirect evidence, but what kind of evidence!

It is noteworthy that in the final letter of 1375 between Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy and Mikhail Alexandrovich Tverskoy, the main competitors for dominance and the great reign of Vladimir, Prince Oleg Ryazansky was indicated as an arbitrator in controversial cases.
This indicates that Oleg was at that time the only authoritative figure, the Grand Duke, who stood neither on the side of Tver nor on the side of Moscow. It was almost impossible to find a more suitable candidate for the role of arbitrator.

Professor of the State Educational Institution "Ryazan Institute for Educational Development"Boris Gorbunov:
- Oleg Ryazansky was the sovereign sovereign of a vast principality, the borders of which reached modern Voronezh and covered almost the entire territory of the present Tula region. The complexity and ambiguity of the historical activities of Oleg Ryazansky is most likely explained by his position of benevolent neutrality. After all, as a sovereign sovereign, he was forced to pursue a policy of maneuvering between the Horde, the Moscow Principality and Lithuania (bordering the Ryazan Principality in the West).
Later chronicles portray Oleg Ryazansky as a traitor to the Russian cause. However, in the early chronicles, as the academician found out L. V. Cherepnin , nothing is said about Oleg’s betrayal. Most likely, this is explained by the fact that later chronicles were rewritten to please the Moscow rulers in order to justify the attack of the Moscow principality on Ryazan in 1385. In general, the period of Oleg Ryazansky’s reign was the era of greatest prosperity for the Ryazan principality.

Archbishop of Ryazan and Kasimov Simon wrote in his work:
“The entire period of independent principality for the people of Ryazan was concentrated in one Oleg Ivanovich; they do not remember other princes. It is for him that the people's memory preserves love and respect. It is no coincidence that the Ryazan coat of arms depicts Oleg Ivanovich, the most famous and most beloved Grand Duke of Ryazan by his people.” “Never before or after has the Ryazan principality achieved such strength and greatness.”

Coat of arms of Ryazan (approved on May 29, 1779):
“In a golden field stands a prince holding a sword in his right hand and a scabbard in his left; he is wearing a scarlet cap, and a green dress and hat, lined with sables.”(Winkler, p. 131, approved on May 29.)

According to local Ryazan legends, the coat of arms depicts Grand Duke Oleg Ivanovich Ryazansky.

Now it is difficult to say unequivocally who was the first to name the prince Oleg in the Ryazan coat of arms, but in his popular work “Pereyaslavl Ryazan. The past of Ryazan in ancient monuments" (1922) Ryazan historian and local historian D.D. Solodovnikov already definitely states: “On the Ryazan coat of arms is the image of the most famous Ryazan prince Oleg Ivanovich.” He even called the chapter dedicated to Oleg “Ryazan coat of arms.”

A reflection of a similar point of view can be found on the pages of the book by the leading modern researcher of Russian heraldry N.A. Soboleva “Ancient coats of arms of Russian cities” (M.: Nauka, 1985), where she writes: “The image of the Ryazan prince Oleg did not leave the people of Ryazan indifferent.” True, for some reason, she attributed this statement to the original Ryazan emblem in the form of a walking horse from the seal of Ivan the Terrible, suggesting that the horse is “an allusion to the famous legend about “the prophetic Oleg,” who, according to A.S. Pushkin “accepted death from his horse.” But this happened in Kyiv in 912, and here N.A. Soboleva inadvertently mixed up Oleg the Prophet (reigned in 882-912) and Oleg Ivanovich of Ryazan (reigned in 1350-1402), who lived 500 years apart. But, nevertheless, in the main N.A. Soboleva turned out to be right: the image of Oleg, although not so long ago, firmly occupied the main historical place in the minds of Ryazan residents.

This was also revealed in the fact that he is revered here as a locally revered saint. His official canonization by the Russian Orthodox Church has not yet occurred, but, as many believe, things are moving towards this.

"Before the revolution, Ryazan residents turned to the Synod with a request to canonize their favorite. Naturally, they were refused. Simultaneously with the revival of Orthodoxy after 1988, the cult of Oleg was also revived in the Ryazan region. Metropolitan Simon of Ryazan and Kasimov (1972 - 2003), in preparation for the glorification of the Council of Ryazan Saints, included Prince Oleg in it, and an icon of St. Oleg was prepared. But at the last moment, the Synod excluded Oleg from the list of Ryazan saints. After this, as the nuns of the Nativity of the Mother of God Solotchinsky Monastery told me, Metropolitan Simon argued that the day of glorification of Prince Oleg would definitely come. Then there will be a great celebration in Ryazan and spiritual and material prosperity will come in the homeland of Prince Oleg.

Metropolitan Simon paid special attention to the revival of the Nativity of the Mother of God Monastery in Solotch. This monastery was founded by Prince Oleg. He and his wife Eupraxia were buried there. Since 1994, when monastic life was resumed in this monastery, it has become a center of veneration for Prince Oleg. The Ryazan Museum of Local Lore donated the honorable head of Oleg to the monastery (the chain mail remained in the museum). And now, according to the nuns, she is again showing her miraculous power. The lamp at the saint’s tomb does not go out. The nuns claim that Grand Duke Oleg, in his youth, took monastic vows together with his wife, the saint (her holiness is also not officially recognized) Eupraxia. He was a unique prince - an ascetic of the faith, a prince and monk.

The monastery enjoys the love and care of the surrounding population. If more pilgrims and tourists from all over the country come to other famous monasteries of the Ryazan land (John the Theologian Monastery and the Assumption Vyshensky Women's Monastery), then Solotcha is the favorite place of Ryazan residents (both believers and non-believers). Oleg is a great ascetic of the land of Ryazan not only for Orthodox Christians, but also for university teachers in the city, for officers and officials. Old Believers and some Protestants speak of Oleg with great respect.

Under Archbishop Paul, who replaced Metropolitan Simon in 2003, there was another surge in veneration for Prince Oleg of Ryazan, in which the bishop plays an important role. Archbishop Pavel and Governor Georgy Shpak, realizing how widespread the veneration of Prince Oleg is, energetically support his cult. With the blessing of the archbishop, the Historical and Archival Department of the diocese, headed by Archpriest Sergius Trubin, is preparing a new large collection of documents and evidence of the holiness of Prince Oleg. In public speeches, the archbishop and the governor do not forget to remember Prince Oleg. In the fall of 2006, on the Kulikovo Field, Archbishop Pavel, in the presence of Shpak, solemnly consecrated the monument to the Ryazan people who died on the Kulikovo Field (according to the widespread opinion in Ryazan, the Ryazan militia on the Kulikovo Field was the most numerous and the bravest, the victory was achieved thanks to the Ryazan people, and not the Muscovites)."
"History, culture and traditions of the Ryazan region"

At one time, Archbishop Simon of Ryazan and Kasimov, who made a great contribution to restoring the good name of the slandered Ryazan prince, wrote an interesting article “Oleg Ivanovich, Grand Duke of Ryazan” (published in the magazine “Moscow Patriarchate”, No. 1 for 1988).
A scan of the article can be read here: "Oleg Ivanovich, Grand Duke of Ryazan"

The memory of the valiant defenders of the Fatherland of bygone times inspires today's soldiers. Ryazan is rightfully considered the capital of the Airborne Forces. And the paratroopers treat the holy noble prince Oleg of Ryazan with great respect:

And yet who is on your emblem? Ilya Muromets, I guess?

No, this is the holy noble prince Oleg Ryazansky.

Saint? - I was surprised and deliberately teased: - I thought the paratroopers were just jocks, healthy guys, breaking bricks. And then there's the saint...

The officer (as I later found out, his name is Timofey Mikhailovich Yudin, he is a teacher at the Ryazan Airborne Command School) frowned, did not understand my joke:

What do you think, our guys only break bricks with their heads? Last year we went to an international competition on the legal law of armed conflicts, that is, on knowledge of the laws and customs of warfare. 23 teams from fifteen countries took part in the competition. And who do you think took first place? Cadets of our school. And as for holiness... Of course, we are not saints, but most of our cadets are baptized, half regularly go to church for services. And, in general, we are paratroopers. If you have heard, in Chechnya there is no looting or cruelty among our people, and we do not tolerate hazing.

Do you have your own church at the school?

We have our own priest, Father Lavrenty. And the parish church is the Cathedral of the Holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb. Our school is located in the historical center of Ryazan, just between this cathedral and the Kremlin, where there is also a functioning cathedral. From the windows of the school six ancient churches can be seen. And the names all around are symbolic, we are right at the intersection of Seminarskaya Street with Army General Margelov Street - the creator of the Airborne Forces, whose name the school bears... And here is Vyacheslav Ivanovich!

An elderly man with a white bushy beard and gentle, networked eyes came up to us. It is immediately obvious that he is a church man, probably the headman of some temple.

Retired lieutenant colonel Zikunkov, head of the department of cultural studies at our school,” the officer introduced his colleague. - And here I am, Vyacheslav Ivanovich, talking about the Boris and Gleb Church.

“Oh, the history of the cathedral is instructive, I tell it to the cadets every year,” the teacher immediately picked up. - The temple in honor of the passion-bearing princes was built in Ryazan in memory of the “peace”, which was concluded by Oleg Ryazansky and Dmitry Donskoy through the mediation of Sergius of Radonezh - he came to Ryazan especially for this.

Is Oleg Ryazansky the saint depicted on your emblem? - I’ll clarify.

It is he, but only he is revered as a saint in our diocese, but he is not glorified by the whole church.

There is a lot of politics here, as I say: he fought with Dmitry Donskoy, because he grabbed a piece of land from him. And before that, he allegedly refused to participate in the Battle of Kulikovo. But this is a misconception. Oleg’s military cunning, on the contrary, predetermined our victory on the Kulikovo field. The fact is that the Ryazan principality was very large, bordering both the Steppe and Lithuania. And Grand Duke Oleg fought with both. And on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo he suffered a series of defeats and concluded a peace treaty with the steppe inhabitants. And how did he respond to Dmitry Donskoy’s call? He sent 70 of his boyars with an army to help him, but he himself remained in Ryazan and, in military terms, misinformed the enemy. On the one hand, he sent correct information to Dmitry Donskoy about Mamai’s progress, and on the other, he sent “misinformation” to the Lithuanian Jagiello, who was moving from the west to join Mamai. So, when the battle began, Jagiello’s army was far from the Kulikovo field and could not hit our rear.

This story is very instructive for our paratrooper cadets. There is military cunning, valor, and holiness here. The blessed Oleg was the first of the Russian princes to begin to conquer our territories in the west - he liberated part of the Oka lands and took the city of Smolensk. For the last 12 years of his life, instead of chains, he wore heavy chain mail under his monastic clothes, dressed on his naked body. Before his death, he accepted the schema and was buried in the Solotchensky Monastery, which he founded 20 kilometers from Ryazan. Now this monastery is active, thirty nuns live in it, and the relics of the holy prince are open for veneration. And his chain mail, weighing 16 pounds, is exhibited in the Ryazan Kremlin.

According to a famous heraldry expert M. Shelkovenk O , all of the above gives grounds for raising the question of the legal consolidation of the name of Oleg Ivanovich in the coats of arms of Ryazan and the Ryazan region - directly in the blazons of the coats of arms or in their official interpretation. The prince is even depicted on these coats of arms, by the will of fate, on a golden background, as is customary to depict saints in icon painting. Although there is, of course, a happy coincidence here. But nevertheless, very symbolic.

Ryazan coat of arms

Over the entire history of the existence of the Ryazan region, many remarkable personalities were born there who glorified the Motherland. But Prince Oleg was not just outstanding, but a great citizen of Ryazan. Before all the slander, Lady History herself justified this worthy citizen of Ryazan, transferring his Holy image to the coat of arms of the Fatherland. And this coat of arms suits, by and large, believers and non-believers, left and right, young and old, invisibly uniting us all, so different, into a single community.

June 10/23 is the day of remembrance of the holy noble prince Oleg of Ryazan, in the schema of Joachim, in the Cathedral of Ryazan Saints.

Holy Blessed Prince Oleg Ryazansky

Holy Blessed Prince Oleg of Ryazan, in schema Joachim, - a contemporary of St. Sergius of Radonezh. At the request of Grand Duke Dimitri Donskoy, the Monk Sergius sent the cellarer of the Trinity Monastery to the Ryazan prince, and a year later he himself went on foot to Ryazan to ask Oleg to stop the strife. Through the prayers of St. Sergius, Prince Oleg concluded eternal peace with Prince Dmitry Donskoy and in 1387 married his son Theodore to Dmitry's daughter Sophia. In memory of the World War, the Boris and Gleb Church was built in Ryazan.

Prince Oleg Ivanovich Ryazansky was born in 1338 and received the name Jacob in Holy Baptism. Three times great-grandfather Prince. Oleg was St. blgv. book Roman Ryazansky, passion-bearer.

In 1350, when Oleg was 12 years old, he inherited the Ryazan princely table. While he was young, boyar-advisers led by the thousand helped govern the principality. The young prince’s entourage protected him, nurtured in him the beneficial shoots of the Orthodox faith and feelings of Christian love for the Motherland, and raised him in readiness to “protect” his native land from enemies.

The Lord has prepared great trials for Oleg Ryazansky. The time of his reign was complex and controversial. The Ryazan principality was a Russian border land between the Wild Field and other Russian principalities, so it was the first to take the blows of the steppe inhabitants. With the book Oleg had twelve Tatar raids. There was no peace among the Russian princes: civil strife continued. Under 1353, when Prince Oleg was only 15 years old, the chronicles contain a message about his conquest of Lopasnya from Moscow.

In 1365, the Tatars led by Tagai suddenly attacked the Ryazan lands. They burned Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky and, having robbed the nearest volosts, returned to the Mordovians. Prince Oleg, having gathered troops, faithful to the Orthodox duty of defending the Fatherland, hastily marched behind Tagai, repeating the feat of Evpatiy Kolovrat. “Under the Shishevsky forest on Voin” they “beat the princes of Ryazan Tatars” and returned to Pereyaslavl as winners. This was the first major victory of the Russians over the Horde.

In connection with the “Lithuanian war,” the chronicles note that in 1370, “Prince Volodymer Dmitrievich Pronsky, and with him the Ryazan army,” came to the aid of those besieged in Moscow. The Nikon and Simeonov chronicles specify that with the Pronsky prince was “the army of Grand Duke Olga Ivanovich of Ryazan.”

After this, Prince Oleg had some kind of litigation with his son-in-law, Prince Vladimir of Pron. The Prince of Pron turned to Moscow for help, and the Moscow army was sent to Ryazan. On December 14, 1371, Oleg Ryazansky was defeated at Skornishchev near Pereyaslavl (now Kanishchevo, one of the microdistricts of Ryazan). But already in the summer of 1372 St. Dimitri considered Oleg Ryazansky and Vladimir Pronsky as allied princes. Together they signed a truce with the Lithuanian prince Olgerd. For eight years, friendly relations based on mutual assistance and trust were not broken between the princes. This is confirmed by the Treaty of 1375 between St. Dimitri Ivanovich and St. Mikhail Tverskoy. She recognizes Grand Duke Oleg Ryazansky as an arbitrator in controversial cases between Moscow and Tver. The Grand Dukes placed such trust in Oleg Ivanovich, paying tribute to his moral virtues and divinely revealed wisdom.

The interstate union of Oleg Ryazansky and St. Demetrius of Moscow in their relations with the Tatars. The Nikon Chronicle narrates that in “1373 the Tatars came from the Horde from Mamai to the Ryazan prince Oleg Ivanovich, burned his city, beat many people and returned to their homes with great abundance.” St. Demetrius Ivanovich of Moscow and his brother Vladimir Andreevich of Serpukhov gathered “all the strength of the great reign” and hurried to help the people of Ryazan, but were too late. The anti-Horde orientation is heard in many treaty documents of the Russian princes. Thus, in the agreement of 1375 with St. Mikhail Tverskoy, where Oleg Ryazansky is named among Moscow’s allies, one of the main points read: “And the Tatars will come against us or you, we and you will fight with one and all of them. Or we will go against them, and you and us will go against them alone.”

In the fall of 1377, the hordes of Arapsha (Arab Shah) broke into the borders of the Ryazan principality, destroying its capital - Pereyaslavl. Taken by surprise by this sudden attack and captured, Prince Oleg, however, did not lose his composure and, according to the Sofia Chronicle, “was shot from the hands of the escapee.”

The next summer, Khan Mamai sent Murza Begich with a large army to Rus'. Begich, having gone far into the Ryazan land, stopped at the Vozha River, the right tributary of the Oka. The people of Ryazan promptly warned St. Dimitri about all of Begich’s movements. St. blgv. Prince Dimitri had very little time left to gather the militia, but Oleg Ryazansky and his son-in-law Prince Pronsky appeared at the first call of the Moscow prince and stood on the Vozha River. The battle took place on August 11, 1378 on the banks of this Ryazan river, 15 versts from Pereyaslavl-Ryazan. Begich was completely defeated by the Moscow-Ryazan militia. The battle won by the Allies was a harbinger of the Kulikovo victory.

Mamai, having gathered the remnants of the defeated troops, moved his regiments to Moscow. But on his way - on the Oka - stood the warriors of St. Demetrius, and with them the squads of the Ryazan and Pronsky princes. Defending Moscow and crossings across the Oka, Prince Oleg Ryazansky thereby left his land defenseless. Then Mamai took revenge on Prince Oleg of Ryazan: in the fall of 1378, the wicked burned Pereyaslavl, Dubok and other Ryazan cities, many villages, took a large full, “the whole earth was empty and burned with fire.”

Mamai set out to remind Rus' of the invasion of Khan Batu, gathering huge forces from everywhere, sending squads of Armenians, Genoese, Circassians, Yasses and other peoples to neighboring countries. And the Lithuanian prince Jagiello, as noted by the medieval writer A. Kranz, tried to treacherously take advantage of the situation.

Holy book Demetrius began preparations for a decisive battle with the Tatars. Squads from the principalities adjacent to Moscow flocked to him.

In the summer of 1380, the Horde crossed to the right bank of the Volga and migrated to the mouth of the Voronezh River, and then to the Ryazan region. Russian armies came out to meet them. Army of St. blgv. book Demetrius passed unhindered through the Ryazan land and reached the banks of the Don.

The strategy and tactics of the great Ryazan prince, striving to achieve the best results with the least losses for the principality, were deeply thought out. During negotiations with Mamai and Jagiello about joint actions, he learned their plans and, as B.A. writes. Rybakov, reported them to the blgv. book Dimitrimu. Academician B.A. Rybakov in the article “Battle of Kulikovo” noted: “The important news, which the steppe Russian intelligence could not convey, was conveyed to Dimitri by the Ryazan prince Oleg Ivanovich... his letter to Dimitri contained important and truthful information that determined the entire strategic calculation of the Moscow commanders. It turned out that Moscow has not one obvious enemy, which border patrols report, but two enemies. The second - Jagiello - is making his way through his lands from the west and is about to pour his troops into the hordes of Mamai.”

The squads led by Vladimir Serpukhovsky moved slowly towards the battlefield; they covered the right flank of the troops of St. blgv. Prince Dimitri from Jogaila, moving parallel to his movement. The troops were not covered from the left flank, since there was no need to guard them. On this side stood the prince's troops. Oleg Ryazansky.

L.N. Gumilyov noted that, without downplaying the heroism of the Russians on the Kulikovo field, an important factor in the victory was the absence of the 80,000-strong Lithuanian army of Jogaila in the battle, who was late by only one day's march - and it was no coincidence. According to the agreement, he was obliged to enter the battle only if he united with the troops of Oleg Ivanovich. But Oleg did not move his troops. He “... came to the Lithuanian border, and there he became and spoke to his boyars: “I want to wait here for news of how the great prince will pass through my land and come to his homeland, and then I will return to my home.” He blocked the left flank of the Moscow army and stood in the way of Jogaila to Moscow.

Of particular importance for us is the news of the chronicler about Jogaila’s repentance that he trusted Oleg and allowed himself to be deceived: “Never before did Lithuania learn from Ryazan... but now I almost fell into madness,” the Nikon Chronicle quotes Jogaila’s words. Jagiello understood everything correctly, he saw that he had been deceived, and, according to the Nikon Chronicle, “having run back, we are chasing no one.”

The medieval author A. Kranz wrote about attacks on the returning Moscow troops by Lithuanians. Prince Jagiello's warriors attacked the Russian convoys and slaughtered the wounded. The Lithuanian prince Keistut, outraged by this massacre, removed Jagiello from the throne.

In addition to chronicle records, a monument close in time to the events is “Zadonshchina” by Zephanius Ryazan. In it, in the list of killed boyars of different cities, 70 Ryazan boyars are indicated (and each of them was with his own detachment!) - much more than from any other city.

The result of allied relations in the era of the Battle of Kulikovo was the “Treaty Letter (1381) of the Grand Duke of Ryazan Oleg Ivanovich with the Grand Duke Dimitri Ioannovich and his brother Prince Volodymer Andreevich: about their existence in friendship and harmony; about the management of everyone's lands, according to old charters and boundaries; about not making peace with anyone, and especially with Lithuania and the Tatars, without general consent; about mutual assistance against their common enemies...”

In 1382, Khan Tokhtamysh came to Rus'. After the devastation of Moscow, he “burned” the Ryazan land with fire. The chronicles tell: “that same autumn (i.e. in 1382) the Great Prince Dmitry Ivanovich sent his army to Prince Olga of Ryazan. Prince Oleg of Ryazan did not flee into a multitude of squads, but took all the land and took it to the last, and burned it with fire and created a wasteland, so that the Tatar army became stronger for him.” The struggle was waged between Ryazan and Moscow from 1382 to 1385, and Moscow suffered one defeat after another. Under 1385, chronicles speak of the capture by Grand Duke Oleg of Kolomna, a Ryazan city that passed to Moscow after 1301.

Discord between St. Demetrius of Moscow and Oleg of Ryazan, which ended in the defeat of St. blgv. book Demetrius, forced Moscow to ask for peace. Oleg Ivanovich did not agree at first and demanded greater concessions. Then St. Dimitri Donskoy decided to send an embassy to Oleg Ivanovich with a plea for peace, headed by St. Sergius of Radonezh. The Monk Sergius talked for a long time with the prince about the benefits of the soul, about peace and love, and “with meek words and quiet speeches and kind verbs” softened Oleg Ivanovich. Touched by his soul, Oleg Ryazansky “took eternal peace with the prince (Dimitri). And from then on, the princes had “great love” among themselves. In 1386, this world was sealed by the marriage of Vel's son. book Oleg of Ryazan Theodore with Sophia, daughter of St. blgv. book Dimitry Donskoy. As Russian historian D.I. writes. Ilovaisky, “this world is especially remarkable in that it actually justified its name “eternal”: since that time there has not been a single war, not only between Oleg and Dimitri, but also between their descendants.”

Oleg Ivanovich, a caring family man, raised and raised two sons and four daughters. His first wife, according to legend, was a Tatar princess. After her death, Euphrosyne Olgerdovna of Lithuania became the prince’s wife. Historians, relying on documentary evidence, unanimously note Oleg Ryazansky’s love for his wife Euphrosyne, with whom he walked hand in hand throughout his entire earthly journey, and for his children. The Grand Duke of Ryazan was generous to his sons-in-law, among whom the chronicles indicate Prince Vasily Drutsky, Prince Ivan Titovich of Kozel, Yuri Svyatoslavich of Smolensk, Vladimir Dmitrievich of Pronsky.

The visit to St. Sergius had a profound influence on the entire subsequent life of Oleg Ryazansky. He fell in love with staying in monasteries and monastic life. One day, Prince Oleg Ivanovich and his wife Efrosinia, in a remote, secluded place in the vicinity of the Solotcha River, beyond the Oka, met two monks who lived there - the hermits Vasily and Evfimy Solotchinsky, who amazed the prince with their spiritual height. Perhaps, in memory of this meeting, Prince Oleg founded a monastery on this site. The monastery was founded in 1390. At the same time, Bishop Feognost of Ryazan and Murom tonsured Oleg Ivanovich into monasticism with the name Jonah.

Monk Jonah often stayed in the Solotchinsk monastery and worked as a simple novice, diligently striving for his salvation and pleasing God, adorning himself with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The chains that the ascetic prince voluntarily placed upon himself were his chain mail, which he constantly wore under his monastic vestments.

The letters of grant of Prince Oleg Ryazansky testify to the construction of many churches and monasteries by him on Ryazan land.

Oleg Ryazansky, having become a monk, did not leave his secular, princely rank, continuing to bear the cross of a warrior prince, and had ardent concern for the interests of the land and people given to him by the Lord. In the treaty documents of the late 14th century, the names of many Ryazan cities are given for the first time, which indicates the active creative activity of the prince. Extensive construction, of course, was carried out primarily in Pereyaslavl-Ryazan, which became the capital of the principality under Prince Oleg.

In the nineties of the XIV century. The great Ryazan prince Oleg Ivanovich became equal in strength to the most powerful princes of Rus'. He expanded and strengthened the borders of the principality, returned the lands seized by the Lithuanian prince Vitovt, and in 1400 he conquered Smolensk from the Lithuanians, where he placed his son-in-law Yuri Svyatoslavich on the princely table.

The Grand Duke of Ryazan Oleg Ivanovich died on June 5, 1402 at the age of 65. Before his death, he accepted the schema with the name Joachim and bequeathed to be buried in the Solotchinsky Monastery. After the closure of the monastery, in 1923, the honest remains of Prince Oleg Ryazansky were confiscated and transferred to the Ryazan Provincial Museum. On July 13, 1990, the honest remains of Oleg Ivanovich were transferred to the St. John the Theologian Monastery. On June 22, 2001, they were transferred to the Solotchinsky monastery. From that day on, myrrh flow and fragrance were observed from the honest head of Prince Oleg Ryazansky.

On the Ryazan land, the blessed Prince Oleg was revered as a saint for many centuries. Many sufferers flocked to the relics of Prince Oleg of Ryazan. It was believed that most of all, the petition of the blessed Prince Oleg before the Throne of God helps with drunkenness and “epileptic illness” (i.e. epilepsy).

S.D. Yakhontov in his report dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince. Oleg Ivanovich, emphasized that “Ryazan owes its strength and significance in contemporary Russian life; he did the most for its improvement; in the most troubled times in Rus', he knew how to protect and defend his people... The Ryazan principality, neither before nor after him, achieved such strength and greatness.”

Ryazan residents keep the dear name of the prince in their hearts. Oleg Ivanovich. After 1626, the figure of a warrior prince appeared for the first time on the emblem of the Ryazan land. The popular consciousness immediately connected this image with the name of Oleg Ryazansky.

The Day of Remembrance of the Holy Blessed Prince Oleg of Ryazan, in the schema of Joachim, in the Cathedral of Ryazan Saints is celebrated on June 10/23.

Prince Oleg had a difficult and controversial fate and a posthumous bad reputation, which was created by Moscow chroniclers and has survived to this day. A traitor who nevertheless became a saint. The prince, who was dubbed the “second Svyatopolk” in Moscow, but whom the people of Ryazan loved and were faithful to him both in victories and after defeats, who is a bright and significant figure in the life of Rus' in the 14th century. A noteworthy fact is that in the final letter of 1375 between Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy and Mikhail Alexandrovich Tverskoy - the main competitors for dominance and the great reign of Vladimir, Prince Oleg Ryazansky is indicated as an arbitrator in controversial cases. This indicates that Oleg was at that time the only authoritative figure, the Grand Duke, who stood neither on the side of Tver nor on the side of Moscow. It was almost impossible to find a more suitable candidate for the role of arbitrator.

The reign of Oleg is a series of attempts to defend the independence and independence of the Ryazan principality at the Tatar-Moscow crossroads at a time when national interests required the unification of Russian forces in the fight against the Horde. Hence, given the impossibility of fully resisting either the Tatars (only in a belated and short-term alliance with Prince Vladimir Pronsky, the Tatar detachment of the Horde prince Tagai was defeated and driven out in the city), or Dmitry Donskoy (in the city of Oleg, was defeated by the troops of Dmitry Donskoy, under the command Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Volynsky-Bobrok in the battle of Skornishchevo, after which he was replaced in the principality in Ryazan by Prince Vladimir Pronsky, then managed to regain his reign), Oleg’s hesitation towards Moscow (the defeat of Ryazan by the Tatars in 1378 and 1379 for an alliance with Moscow ), then towards the Tatars (alliance with Mamai before the Battle of Kulikovo in the city) and the need to take blows for political duplicity (in the city a humiliating agreement on an alliance with Moscow, assistance to Tokhtamysh in the city) and from both (in 1382 g. and from Tokhtamysh and from Donskoy). In the city, Oleg, taking advantage of the weakening of Moscow, after the invasion of Tokhtamysh, captured Kolomna and only with the participation of Sergius of Radonezh was another internecine war prevented, Oleg forever reconciled with Dmitry Donskoy and in the city the wedding of his son Fyodor to Dmitry’s daughter Sophia took place: in addition the interests of the son-in-law, the Smolensk prince Yuri Svyatoslavich, require special attention to the aggressive policy of Vytautas of Lithuania, seeking to capture Smolensk. Clashes with Vytautas on the Lithuanian and Ryazan territories (1393-1401) and with small Tatar detachments on the border did not allow Oleg to think about returning a number of populated areas ceded to Moscow back in 1381. Before the very end of his life, tormented by remorse for everything that happened in dark, he accepted monasticism and schema under the name Joachim, in the Solotchinsky monastery he founded 18 versts from Ryazan. There he lived in harsh exploits, wearing a hair shirt, and under it a steel chain mail, which he did not want to wear in order to defend the fatherland against Mamai. His wife, Princess Euphrosyne, also ended her life as a nun. Their common tomb is located in the monastery cathedral.

“In a golden field stands a prince holding a sword in his right hand and a scabbard in his left; he is wearing a scarlet cap, and a green dress and hat, lined with sables” (Winkler, p. 131, approved on May 29. According to local Ryazan legends, the coat of arms depicts Grand Duke Oleg Ivanovich Ryazansky).

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Oleg Ivanovich, in the schema Joachim (d. 1402) Grand Duke of Ryazan since 1350. Inherited the reign upon the death of Vasily Alexandrovich. According to one version, the son of Prince Ivan Alexandrovich (and nephew of Vasily Alexandrovich), according to another... ... Wikipedia

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OLEG- Oleg, Russian prince. 879. Laurel. 22. Oleg, son of Svyatoslav. 970. Laurel. 67. Oleg, son Svyatoslavl. 1076. Laurel. 193. Oleg Igorevich. XII century Ipat. 407. Oleg Romanovich, Prince of Debryansky. XIII century Ipat. 575. Oleg Nastaschich, son of Yaroslav Vladimirovich.… … Biographical Dictionary

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Oleg Ivanovich, Prince of Ryazan, in the schema Joachim, son of the Prince of Ryazan, Ivan Ivanovich Korotkopol (died in 1402). The reign of Oleg is a series of attempts to defend the uniqueness of the Ryazan principality at the Tatar-Moscow crossroads at a time when national... Biographical Dictionary

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Prince Oleg Ryazansky

Prince Oleg Ryazansky

It is generally accepted that Oleg Ryazansky is almost a traitor, who allegedly was on the side of Mamai and on the day of the battle on the Kulikovo Field only by chance did not have time to come to the aid of the Tatars. This is what the Moscow chronicler wrote after the victory. In reality, everything was much more complicated. The Ryazan principality is the “extreme” land closest to the steppe, and usually the first blows of the nomads fell precisely on the Ryazan people. How many times have they bravely fought off the Horde! Let us not forget that Prince Oleg is famous for the fact that he was the first of the Russian princes in almost a century and a half of the Mongol-Tatar yoke to defeat the army of the Horde: in 1365, he, together with Prince Ivan Pronsky, defeated the army of Emir Tagai. In 1378, in the glorious battle on the Vozha River, the Muscovites defeated Begich's army shoulder to shoulder with the Ryazan people. Soon, in retaliation for this, Mamai suddenly attacked the Ryazan land and burned its capital, Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky. Grand Duke Oleg of Ryazan fled across the Oka River, closer to the Moscow borders.

He had uneven relations with Moscow. And although Oleg never went for a label to the reign of Vladimir, he “did not fight” in Moscow, nevertheless he was constantly subjected to raids by Muscovites and their allies. So, in December 1371, Moscow governors defeated Oleg’s army, overthrew him from the Ryazan table, and his place was taken by Dmitry Ivanovich’s vassal, Prince Vladimir Pronsky. Not without difficulty, through concessions to Moscow, Oleg regained his fatherland.

And then the year 1380 came. The people of Ryazan were famous for their courage, but they well understood that the terrible power of the Horde moving towards Rus' would grind their principality into powder and no one would help them. Therefore, on the eve of the Horde’s speech, Prince Oleg recognized the power of Mamai and paid him a “exit”... Perhaps he really came out with his army to help Mamai as an obedient vassal, but he didn’t get there... The same thing happened 2 years later, when Khan Tokhtamysh moved to Rus'. Moscow chronicles claim that Prince Oleg showed him the fords across the Oka River. It is difficult to imagine that the Horde, without the help of the guides-“leaders” of Prince Oleg, would not have been able to cross the border river. And although Oleg and Tokhtamysh did not go to Moscow, Dmitry Donskoy took out all his frustration for the death of the capital on the Ryazan people in the fall of 1382: “Taking all the land to the last and burning it with fire and creating a waste, the Tatar armies are even worse for him,” i.e. worse than the Tatars. In retaliation for this, in 1386, Prince Oleg captured and plundered Kolomna. Then Dmitry Donskoy sent the squad of Prince Vladimir Andreevich against him. With great difficulty, Sergius of Radonezh managed to reconcile the Moscow and Ryazan princes... Prince Oleg died in 1402, and his full-length image can be seen on the modern coat of arms of Ryazan.

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2. GRAND DUKE OLEG

From the book The Beginning of Russian History. From ancient times to the reign of Oleg author Tsvetkov Sergey Eduardovich

Chapter 3 PRINCE OLEG “The Bright Prince” In the dynastic concept of the “Tale of Bygone Years”, the history of the reign of Askold and Dir plays the role of a kind of transitional period, an intermediate stage in the state development of the principality of the “Polyans”. The crown of this process is drawn

From the book Ancient Russian history before the Mongol yoke. Volume 1 author Pogodin Mikhail Petrovich

GRAND DUKE OLEG 879-912 Oleg, young, ardent, active, did not sit still for long. Whether it was the thirst for activity innate to the Norman, the desire to find another home, more convenient and more fun than the low-lying northern swamps, or feuds with the obstinate Novgorodians were the reason, but he soon

From the book Whom did the Ryazan prince Oleg betray? author Shakhmagonov Fedor Fedorovich

Who did the Ryazan prince Oleg betray? While working on a chronicle novel about the formation of the Moscow state during the time of Demetrius Donskoy and the victory of Russian weapons over the Golden Horde Khan Mamai, I thought about the role of the great Ryazan prince Oleg Ioannovich in

From the book The Epoch of the Battle of Kulikovo author Bykov Alexander Vladimirovich

OLEG RYAZANSKY – FIRST MEETING It’s time to meet another hero of our story. Oleg Ryazansky is a prince with a difficult fate and posthumous ill fame created by Moscow chroniclers. A “traitor” who nevertheless became a saint. Prince, whom

author Nikitin Andrey Leonidovich

PRINCE OLEG AND HIS EXPEDITION TO

From the book Foundations of Russian History (editing required) author Nikitin Andrey Leonidovich

PRINCE OLEG AND HIS EXPEDITION TO

From the book Foundations of Russian History (editing required) author Nikitin Andrey Leonidovich From the book Legendary commanders of antiquity. Oleg, Dobrynya, Svyatoslav author Kopylov N. A.

Prince Oleg (Prophetic Oleg) A line from the encyclopedia... Prince Oleg, also nicknamed Oleg the Prophetic, is the legendary ruler of Rus' at the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries. Of course, the prototype of the chronicle Oleg was a historical figure, about whom, unfortunately, little is reliable

From the book Alphabetical reference list of Russian sovereigns and the most remarkable persons of their blood author Khmyrov Mikhail Dmitrievich

152. OLEG IVANOVICH, in St. baptism Jacob (monastic name Joachim), Prince of Ryazan, son of Ivan Ivanovich (according to other genealogies - Mikhailovich) Korotopol, Prince of Ryazan, from a marriage with an unknown woman, the smartest of the Ryazan rulers. Born in Ryazan around 1330; received from