Princess Olga's revenge against the Drevelians was so brutal it shocked even Byzantine historians.
As heard by us
Kiev's long recovery from Mongol devastation gives the city's history a stark, enduring shape.
Kiev's history comes through as a pattern of collapse, survival, and return. The episode traces a city that stood at 100,000 people in 1050, was reduced to 50 or 100 after the Mongol conquest in 1241, and did not regain that earlier population until 1870.
Why you'd press play
You want a city history that moves from medieval strength to near-erasure, then watches Kiev keep rebuilding across centuries.
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