Olga was a regent of Kievan Rus' for her son Sviatoslav from 945 until 957. Following her baptism, Olga took the name Elenа. She is known for her subjugation of the Drevlians, a tribe that had killed her husband Igor. Even though it was her grandson Vladimir who adopted Christianity and made it the state religion, she was the first ruler to be baptized.
Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych, given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Eastern Orthodox Church canonised him as Saint Vladimir.
Yaroslav I Vladimirovich, better known as Yaroslav the Wise, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death in 1054. He was also earlier Prince of Novgorod from 1010 to 1034 and Prince of Rostov from 987 to 1010, uniting the principalities for a time. Yaroslav's baptismal name was George after Saint George.
The Christianization of Kievan Rus' was a long and complicated process that took place in several stages. In 867, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople told other Christian patriarchs that the Rus' people were converting enthusiastically, but his efforts seem to have entailed no lasting consequences, since the Russian Primary Chronicle and other Slavonic sources describe the tenth-century Rus' as still firmly entrenched in Slavic paganism. The traditional view, as recorded in the Russian Primary Chronicle, is that the definitive Christianization of Kievan Rus' dates happened c. 988, when Vladimir the Great was baptized in Chersonesus (Korsun) and proceeded to baptize his family and people in Kiev. The latter events are traditionally referred to as baptism of Rus' in Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian literature.
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, is an architectural monument of Kievan Rus'. The former cathedral is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first heritage site in Ukraine to be inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the Kyiv Cave Monastery complex. Aside from its main building, the cathedral includes an ensemble of supporting structures such as a bell tower and the House of Metropolitan. In 2011 the historic site was reassigned from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Regional Development of Ukraine to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. One of the reasons for the move was that both Saint Sophia Cathedral and Kyiv Pechersk Lavra are recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage Program as one complex, while in Ukraine the two were governed by different government entities. It is currently a museum.
Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv were three legendary brothers—often mentioned along with their sister Lybid' —who, according to the Primary Chronicle, founded the city of Kyiv, which eventually became the capital of Kievan Rus'. Today, the city serves as the capital of Ukraine.
St Andrew's Church is an Orthodox church in Kyiv, constructed between 1747 and 1754 to a design by the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli. It is a rare example of Elizabethan Baroque in Ukraine. Situated on a steep hill, where Andrew the Apostle is believed to have foretold the great future of the place as the cradle of Christianity in the Slavic lands, the church overlooks the historic Podil neighborhood.
St Volodymyr's Cathedral is a cathedral in the centre of Kyiv, and one of the city's major landmarks. Since the unification council of the Eastern Orthodox churches of Ukraine in December 2018, it has been under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Before that, it was the mother church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate.
The architecture of Kievan Rus' comes from the medieval state of Kievan Rus' which incorporated parts of what is now modern Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, and was centered on Kiev and Novgorod. Its architecture is the earliest period of Russian and Ukrainian architecture, using the foundations of Byzantine culture but with great use of innovations and architectural features. Most remains are Russian Orthodox churches or parts of the gates and fortifications of cities.
The Alexander Column, also known as Alexandrian Column, is the focal point of Palace Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The monument was raised after the Russian victory in the war with Napoleon's France. The column is named for Emperor Alexander I of Russia, who reigned from 1801 to 1825.
Zoloti Vorota is a station on the Kyiv Metro system that serves Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. The station was opened as part of the first segment of the Syretsko-Pecherska Line on 31 December 1989. It serves as a transfer station to the Teatralna station of the Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line. It is located near the city's Golden Gate, from which the station takes its name.
Mother Ukraine is a monumental Soviet-era statue in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The sculpture is a part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. In 2023, the Soviet heraldry was removed from the monument's shield and replaced with Ukraine's coat of arms, the tryzub.
Volodymyrska Hill or Saint Volodymyr Hill is a large 10.6 hectares (0.106 km2) park located on the steep right-bank of the Dnipro River in central Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Its most famous and prominent landmark is the Monument to Prince Volodymyr. The monument, with its prominent location and overlooking the scenic panorama of the left-bank of Kyiv, has since become one of the symbols of Kyiv, often depicted in paintings and photographic works of the city. The Hill provides an excellent panorama of the Dinpro River, the Left Bank, and Podil.
The Monument to the Magdeburg Rights is a monument commemorating the return to Kyiv of its Magdeburg rights, which granted its right to self-government. It is located in Podil Raion, Kyiv, at the foothills of the former Mykhailo Hill, next to the Shore Highway. It is considered to be the city's oldest monument. It is also called the Column of the Magdeburg Rights, the Baptizing of Ruthenia Monument, and the Lower Monument of the Saint Volodymyr. It is a scenic spot overlooking the Dnipro river, popular for local baptisms.
The Bohdan Khmelnytsky Monument is a monument in Kyiv dedicated to Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the first Hetman of the Zaporizhian Host. It was built in 1888 and is one of the oldest sculptural monuments in Kyiv. It is a dominating feature of Sophia Square and one of the city's symbols.
Volodymyrska Street is a street in the center of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, which is named after the prince of Kievan Rus' Vladimir the Great and which is one of the oldest streets in the city, and arguably among the oldest constantly inhabited residential street in Europe. There are many educational, culture and government institutions on this street, as well as historical monuments. Four buildings from Volodymyrska Street are depicted on reverses of Ukrainian hryvnia banknotes.
The statue of Saint Volodymyr in Holland Park, London, England, is a work of 1988 by the Canadian-Ukrainian sculptor Leo Mol. The bronze statue stands on the corner of Holland Park and Holland Park Avenue. It was unveiled on 29 May 1988, to commemorate the 1,000th anniversary of the Christianisation of Kievan Rus'. Later that year, another statue of Volodymyr by the same sculptor was erected in Rome.
The Ukrainian hryvnia has been the national currency of Ukraine since 1996. It was briefly used in the Ukrainian People's Republic before the karbovanets was adopted as a national currency. The hryvnia is named after the grivna, which was used in Kievan Rus' and other states.
The 1500th anniversary of Kiev, the capital of the Ukrainian SSR, was an event held in 1982. Although archaeologists have found evidence that Kiev was founded in either the 6th or 7th century, and the settlement may have been mentioned in documents more than two millennia ago, the observance of the 1500th anniversary in 1982 is based on a now traditional founding date of 482 for the city.
