KYIV -- Orthodox faithful are gathering by the thousands in the Ukrainian capital to mark a major milestone in the region's religious history. Not everyone, however, appears to be in a Christian mood.

It was the mid-10th century AD when Kievan Rus was ruled for the first time by a woman, appointed as regent on behalf of her three-year-old son. She was the one who defeated the Drevlians, a Slavic ...