The icon of Alexander Nevsky and Princess Olga is an original exhibit. The icon is large. Its frame is stylized as a convex colorful relief in the form of a floral ornament with large crosses in the upper corners. Saints Alexander Nevsky and Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga are placed in the center. She is depicted in a dress, a dark blue cloak and a headscarf, holding a cross. Alexander is dressed in military armor, his title is indicated by a red princely mantle over his ammunition.

It is no coincidence that the icon is presented in the collection of the Lenin Memorial. Alexander Nevsky was the patron saint of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s elder brother, Alexander Ulyanov. Princess Olga was the heavenly guardian of their younger sister Olga Ulyanova.

The figures of these two saints have a special significance for the history of Russia.

Alexander Nevsky defended the Russian principalities from the expansion of Western Catholics: he defended Novgorod, Pskov and Koporye from the Livonian Order, and then defeated the Germans during the Battle on the Ice. Alexander received the name “Nevsky” after the Battle of the Neva — the defeat of the Swedes on the Neva River in July 1240. He was canonized in 1547. Throughout his life, Grand Prince Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky did not lose a single battle. He was the beloved prince of the clergy and the patron saint of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Princess Olga, the widow of Prince Igor Rurikovich, ruled Russia for 15 years on behalf of her young son. Olga’s reign led to the strengthening of the state and laid the foundation for the baptism of Russia. During her time, the construction of stone temples began, that is why in the icon she is depicted with a cross in her hands. She was canonized in the middle of the 13th century, and in 1547 she was named equal to the Apostles, that is, a saint who contributed a lot to the spread of the Christian faith.