Olelko Volodymyrovych

Olelko Volodymyrovych, b ?, d 1455. Prince of Kyiv; son of Prince Volodymyr, son of Algirdas, and grandson of Grand Duke Algirdas of Lithuania. He married Anastasiia, the daughter of the Muscovite prince Vasilii Dimitrievich. An appanage prince in the Lithuanian-Ruthenian state (ca 1443–55), Olelko sought to develop Kyiv principality into an autonomous entity. He fostered the development of the Ukrainian church and culture, and he strengthened the southern frontiers of his lands against Tatar attacks. He was succeeded by Semen Olelkovych. (See also Olelkovych family.)

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).]