As the chronicles are silent on the subject of Malusha's pedigree, 19th-century Russian historians devised various theories to explain her parentage and name. Malusha Malkovna is said to be the daughter of Malk of
Liubech, prince of the
Drevlians. The same one that wanted to marry
Olga of Kiev after she became a widow. However, historian
Leo Loewenson rebutted that Malk was not Drevlian nor a prince, pointing out that the
Primary Chronicle only mentions his name as 'Malk Lyubechinin' or 'Malk of Lyubech' and that "there is not the faintest indication that Malyusha's father was a prince". Loewenson further notes that Lyubech "was a town of the
Severians not the Drevlians". Dmitry Prozorovsky believed that Malusha was the daughter of
Mal, a Drevlyan leader. The same one that wanted to marry Olga of Kiev after she became a widow. The
Primary Chronicle records that a certain "
Malfrid" died in 1000. This record follows that of
Rogneda's death. Since Rogneda was Vladimir's wife, historians assume that Malusha was another close relative of the ruling prince, preferably his wife or mother. The
anti-Normanist historian
Dmitry Ilovaisky managed to draw an opposite conclusion: that the Slavic name Malusha was turned into a Scandinavian Malfried. This claim received no wider support. ==Legacy==