Forgotten Names of Ukraine: Princess Anastasia Zaslavska

Guardian of faith and enlightenment

Princess Anastasia Zaslavska, seen by AI. Image created by the author / Kandinsky 2.2 based on historical data

Anastasia Yuryivna Zaslavska was an Orthodox princess from Volyn, which in the 16th century became the cradle of Ukrainian national identity. The year of her birth is unknown, but historians tend to believe that the princess was most likely born in the 1510s. She was the daughter of Kyiv Governor Yuri Ivanovich Golshansky and belonged to the highest circles of the Orthodox aristocracy. In 1529 she married Prince Kuzma Ivanovich Zaslavsky. She gave birth to two children: Janusz and Hanna.

Her happy family life was shattered by the unexpected death of her husband in 1556. After that, the princess devoted herself entirely to her children, to the service of the Church, and to her people.

Princess Anastasia was known for her generosity, modesty and church charity. On June 12, 1556, in accordance with the will of her deceased husband, she and her son Yanush Zaslavsky donated four villages to the Holy Trinity Church of the Dviretsky Monastery: Dvirets, “with a lake and a mill”, Volizhintsi, Zavadintsi and Senyutki.

Realizing the importance of religious enlightenment and education, the princess focused on a new project: the translation of the Holy Gospel into a simple “folk” language.