Ivan Olshanski is the first known and undisputed member of the princely Olshanski

Olshanski

Olshanski was a Lithuanian princely family from Galšia , Belarus, which used to be a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Their Coat of Arms was Hipocentaur...

 family. Historians only know his fathers name, Algimantas. Ivan was a faithful companion of Vytautas the Great

Vytautas the Great

Vytautas ; styled "the Great" from the 15th century onwards; c. 1350 October 27, 1430) was one of the most famous rulers of medieval Lithuania. Vytautas was the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which chiefly encompassed the Lithuanians and Ruthenians...

, Grand Duke of Lithuania. They both were married to daughters of Sudimantas of Eišiškės

Eišiškes

Eišiškės ) is a city in southeastern Lithuania on the border with Belarus. It is situated on a small group of hills, surrounded by marshy valley of Verseka and Dumblė Rivers. Rivers divide the town into two parts; the northern part is called Jurzdika. As of January 2008, Eišiškės had a population...

. Ivan's daughter Juliana became the third wife of Vytautas in 1418.

When Vytautas escaped to the Teutonic Knights

Teutonic Knights

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

 in 1382, Ivan followed him and Jogaila

Jogaila

Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...

 took away his estate. However, as Vytautas and Jogaila reconciled few years later, Ivan gifted Jogaila with a golden belt and received his estate back. Ivan followed Vytautas when he escaped to the knights once again in 1390 during the Lithuanian Civil War

Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392)

The Lithuanian Civil War of 1389–1392 was the second civil conflict between Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas the Great. At issue was control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then the largest state in Europe. Jogaila had been crowned King of Poland in...

. In 1391 Ivan escorted Sophia

Sophia of Lithuania

Sophia was the only daughter of Vytautas the Great of Lithuania and his first wife Anna. On January 21, 1391, while her father was engaged in the Lithuanian Civil War, she married Vasili I of Russia. She was the longest serving consort of Russia.After his death in 1425 she became regent for their...

, the only child of Vytautas, to Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 where she married Vasili I of Russia

Vasili I of Russia

Vasiliy I Dmitriyevich was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1389.He was the oldest son of Dmitri Donskoi and Grand Princess Eudoxia, daughter of Grand Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich of Nizhny Novgorod.-Domestic policy:...

. After Vytautas gained a powerful ally in the east, Jogaila agreed to make peace and Treaty of Astravas was signed in 1392. Ivan became the right hand of Vytautas, and after Skirgaila

Skirgaila

Skirgaila , also known as Ivan; ca. 1353 or 1354 – 11 January 1397 in Kiev; baptized 1383/1384 as Casimir) was a regent of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for his brother Jogaila from 1386 to 1392. He was son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his second wife Uliana of Tver.-Biography:After...

 death, he ruled Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

 as viceregent.

The influence Ivan had in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

 is showcased by the fact that he signed many treaties, including Treaty of Salynas

Treaty of Salynas

Treaty of Salynas was a peace treaty signed on October 12, 1398 by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Konrad von Jungingen. It was signed on an islet of the Neman River, probably between Kulautuva and the mouth of the Nevėžis River...

 in 1398 and Union of Vilnius and Radom in 1401. Ivan was mentioned in 1402 for the last time, and it is believed he died in that year. There are four known sons of Ivan: Alexandr, Andrew, Micheal and Simanas.