Saint Olga was princess of Kievan Rus during the 10th century. Kievan Rus was a powerful kingdom in Eastern Europe at that time. After her husband was killed in a dispute with a neighboring tribe, Saint Olga ruled Kievan Rus as regent, as her son Svyatoslav was still a child. She traveled to Constantinople to receive the Christian faith, and was baptized by the Patriarch of Constantinople, with Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII serving as her godfather. She returned to Kiev and tried to introduce Christianity to her country, but paganism was to remain a powerful force in Kiev. Her son Svyatoslav too refused to convert. Nevertheless, her grandson Prince Vladimir the Great would follow her in accepting Christ, and under his rule Kievan Rus would embrace the Christian faith.