The reign of Prince Alexander Nevsky. Reports on famous personalities
The 13th century is rightfully considered one of the most difficult periods in the history of Russia: princely strife continues, destroying a single political, economic, spiritual and cultural space, and formidable conquerors from the depths of Asia - the Mongol-Tatars - approach the eastern borders of the country in 1223.
In 1221, another Rurikovich was born - Alexander Yaroslavovich. His father, Prince Yaroslav of Pereyaslavl, will soon take the Kiev throne, which instructs him to maintain order throughout the Russian land. In 1228, the young Prince Alexander, together with his older brother Fyodor, was left by his father to reign in Novgorod under the tutelage of Tiun Yakun and the governor Fyodor Danilovich. Despite Yaroslav's inattention to Novgorod, the Novgorodians again called upon him in 1230, hoping that the prince would act as before: leave his offspring to reign, and he himself would “disappear in the lower lands.” The calculation of the Novgorodians is simple - they want to get a prince who respects their orders and morals. In 1233, Fyodor Yaroslavovich died at the age of 13, and 12-year-old Alexander, under his father’s banner, took part in a military campaign against Dorpat (Yuryev) for the first time. The campaign did not bring success, and Batu’s devastation of North-Eastern Rus' in 1237-1238 became the reason for the intensification of the activities of the Livonian Order and Sweden, aimed at seizing the territories of the Novgorod Republic.
In 1240, the Swedes landed at the mouth of the Neva to march on Novgorod, and the knights of the Livonian Order besieged Pskov. The Swedish leader sent Alexander an arrogant message: “If you can, resist, know that I am already here and will take your land captive.” Alexander decided not to wait for the activity of the Swedes and, with a small squad of Novgorodians and Ladoga residents, advanced to the Neva and, taking the Swedes by surprise, inflicted a crushing defeat on them. Alexander's complete victory turned him into a hero. What gave a special aura to the prince’s personality was that before the battle, the Izhora elder Pelgusius had a vision as if a boat was sailing along the Neva with Russian soldiers and saints Boris and Gleb, who came to help their relative.
However, it seemed to the Novgorodians that the prince was proud of this victory, so they “showed him the way out of the city.” The capture of Pskov by the Livonians and their advance all the way to Novgorod forced the Novgorodians to change their minds, and in 1241 Alexander again became the prince of Novgorod.
On April 5, 1242, on Lake Peipus, the Novgorodians and Suzdalians completely defeated the army of the Livonian Order, thereby destroying the possibility of further advance of their western neighbors to the East. In the Battle of the Ice, 50 knights were captured, which had never happened before.
In 1245, the Lithuanian prince Midoving invaded Russian borders. Having learned about this, Alexander gathered a squad and set out on a campaign. The Lithuanians became aware of the prince's approach and Meadowing's army fled, frightened by his name alone, but the Novgorodians caught up with him and inflicted a crushing defeat. Over the five years of his activity, Alexander managed to expand the Novgorod possessions, winning part of Latgale from the Livonian Order.
Now the main strategic direction foreign policy Alexandra's relationship with the Horde begins. In 1246, Prince Yaroslav was poisoned in Karakorum, and in 1247, Prince Alexander went to the Volga to Batu, who warmly received the prince and even became his adoptive father.
Alexander Nevsky ruled Russia until 1263. On the way home after another trip to Karakorum, the prince died. Perhaps he, too, was poisoned.
Alexander Nevsky, whose brief biography is presented in this article, was not only a Grand Duke, but also a famous commander, whose merits are still revered. Indeed, thanks to his victories in such battles as the Battle of the Neva and Battle on the Ice, our country not only remained independent, but also asserted itself among other states.
For his exploits before the Fatherland and his strong Orthodox faith, Alexander Nevsky was glorified among the saints as the Holy Blessed Prince.
Brief biography of Alexander Yaroslavich
Alexander Nevsky was born on May 13, 1221 in the family of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Vladimir and Princess Rostislava Mstislavovna. He was the second of nine children. Until the age of nine, the prince lived in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and then, together with his older brother Fedor, he left to rule in Veliky Novgorod.
After 3 years, the elder brother died, and after another 3 years, the prince’s father moved to rule in Kyiv. Therefore, by the age of 16, Alexander Nevsky became the independent ruler of Novgorod, one of the richest and most influential cities of the 13th century.
Historical portrait of Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Yaroslavich ruled from 1236 to 1263 in the Novgorod, Kiev and Vladimir principalities.
He began his story as a warrior. While still very young, he fought on Izhora, which flows into the Neva, with German knights. A little later, he fought for Pskov with the Teutonic knights and took part in the Battle of the Ice.
During the reign of Alexander Yaroslavich, the Old Russian state suffered a difficult fate; it had to pay tribute to the Golden Horde and defend the state from Western invaders. At that time, every prince who wanted to receive the title of great had to go to the Horde for a golden label. Alexander Nevsky was no exception.
After the death of his father, he went to Mongolia to ask for the Principality of Vladimir. In total, Alexander Yaroslavich visited the Horde 2 times. The second time he went there because of the unsuccessful campaign of his brothers against the Horde, in order to save Russian cities from the wrath of the Tatar-Mongols. He was able to convince the khan not to attack Rus', but died on the way home.
The childhood of Alexander Nevsky
Almost nothing is known about the childhood and youth of Alexander Yaroslavich. When Alexander was 5 years old, his father initiated him and his brother Fyodor into warriors. After 3 years, the brothers were sent to reign in Veliky Novgorod.
Life in Novgorod with its free and militant disposition played a big role in his worldview. Alexander knew from childhood that someday he would become a warrior and lead an army, like his father once did.
In 1237, disaster befell Rus' - Russian cities were burned and robbed by Batu’s soldiers. At that time, many princes were killed and the survivors were taken prisoner. In order to protect his lands and save the lives of his children, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich agreed with Batu to pay tribute.
However, the worst thing awaited the Russian state ahead. Having learned about the plight of the Russian princes, the Pope decided to forcibly baptize the Russian people into the Catholic faith, and give the conquered territories to the families of the knights of the Order.
Just at this time, 17-year-old Alexander Nevsky was able to establish himself as a wise ruler and a good commander, setting up several defensive points on the Sheloni River and entering into an unequal battle with the crusaders.
Grand Duke's parents
The father of Alexander Nevsky was Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who reigned in Vladimir. His grandfather was Vsevolod the Big Nest, and his great-grandfather was Yuri Dolgoruky, who also went down in history as great figures of Rus'.
Alexander Nevsky's father, Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich
Nothing more is known about the boy’s mother, except that she was of a princely family. Some sources say that she was the daughter of Mstislav the Udal (Lucky) - one of the famous warriors and princes of that time.
Marriage of Alexander Yaroslavich
In 1239, in Toropets, the prince married Alexandra, the daughter of the Prince of Polotsk. They had 5 children - 4 sons and 1 daughter.
Children of Alexander Nevsky
The exact dates of birth of the sons of Alexander Nevsky are unknown. The eldest son Vasily was presumably born before 1245. He inherited the Novgorod inheritance.
The next son of Prince Dmitry was born in 1250. He was the ruler of Novgorod, Pereslavl and Vladimir. Andrey (1255) was the ruler of the Kostroma, Vladimir and Novgorod principalities after the death of his older brothers.
The most famous of his children was his youngest son, Daniel, who was nicknamed the first collector of lands around Moscow and the first Moscow prince.
Nevsky's daughter Evdokia married Prince Konstantin Rostislavich, who ruled in Smolensk.
Who did Alexander Nevsky fight with?
During his short but glorious life, Alexander Nevsky was able to achieve many important victories for the state. To do this, he had to fight several foreign invaders almost simultaneously.
His enemies were the Swedes from the Livonian Order, who appeared at the walls of Veliky Novgorod in 1240. Also, Alexander Nevsky fought with German knights in 1242 and with Lithuanian troops in 1245.
Briefly about the exploits of the great commander
Today he is placed on a par with the most outstanding commanders in the entire history of Russia. And this is no coincidence. He has several victories that are significant for the entire Russian world.
His first victory was won on June 15, 1240 on the Izhora River against the Swedish conquerors. In the summer of that year, knights of the Levon and Teutonic Orders appeared under the walls of Novgorod, who came to Rus' to convert people to the Catholic faith.
The Swedish part of the united order did not wait for the Germans and set out. Alexander Nevsky, without waiting for his father’s help, opposed the invaders and defeated them.
The second feat of Alexander Yaroslavich is known in history as the Battle of the Ice. It happened on April 5, 1242 on Lake Peipsi, which by that time was already in the inhabited territory of the German crusading knights.
Nevsky's last victory dates back to 1245. The battle against the Lithuanian invaders lasted for several days and ended in victory for Nevsky’s squad.
The Battle of the Ice and the victory of Alexander Nevsky
The Battle of the Ice or the battle against the Teutonic Order took place on April 5, 1242 on Lake Peipsi. Thanks to the resourcefulness and cunning tactics of the young prince, the troops of the order were surrounded on the flanks and defeated.
The remnants of the Teutons were overtaken by the princely squad for a long time on the frozen lake. As a result of this battle, about 500 knights drowned in the lake, and another 50 were captured.
In recent years, there has been increasing debate about why so many knights drowned. According to one version, the knights were dressed in heavy armor, due to which the ice on Lake Peipus could not stand it and cracked. However, according to other reports, this information appeared recently and has nothing to do with the actual events taking place.
One way or another, this battle was of great importance for the state. After him, an agreement was concluded that put an end to the Crusaders' raids.
Results of the reign of Alexander Yaroslavich
The reign of Alexander Nevsky is recognized as one of the most beneficial for the state. Indeed, during Nevsky’s time in power, the country strengthened its influence in the West, largely thanks to victories over the Order.
In addition, many Russian cities were able to breathe easy, because the predatory raids of the Baskaks stopped due to Alexander’s competent policy towards the Golden Horde. He ensured that the princes could again independently collect tribute and take it to the Horde.
Death of the Prince
The prince died during one of the campaigns against the land of the Tatar-Mongols. This happened on November 14, 1262 on the way back from the Horde. There are several versions of his death. The most popular assumptions are illness or poisoning.
It is known that before his death the prince converted to Christianity and took the name Alexey. He was about 42 years old. He was buried in the Vladimir Nativity Monastery.
The image of Alexander Nevsky in art
There is no authentic image of the prince left to this day. His image was reconstructed based on descriptions from various sources, which was reflected in Russian literature, art, and cinema. A verbal portrait of the prince can be found in his life, the content of which tells about his many exploits.
One of the most popular portraits of Alexander Nevsky was painted from the actor from the film of the same name directed by Sergei Eisenstein. The prototype for the Order of the Grand Duke was also taken from him.
In addition, many streets and temples are named after the prince, not only in our country, but also abroad. In many cities of Russia you can find monuments dedicated to him.
There are dozens of interesting facts about the activities of this famous person. The most interesting and relevant of them are in this selection.
Why was the prince named Alexander Nevsky?
Alexander received his nickname, Nevsky, for his brilliant victory over the German knights on the Neva. This not only glorified him, but also for a long time discouraged Western states from attacking Rus'.
How tall was Alexander Nevsky?
It is noteworthy that Alexander Nevsky was small, even small by modern standards, in height - no more than 156 cm. Scientists made such conclusions on the basis of the white stone tomb, which supposedly belongs to Nevsky.
When is the day of memory of Alexander Nevsky celebrated by the Orthodox Church?
Orthodox Christians recognize two memorable dates for the Blessed Prince - September 12 and December 6. The first date marks the transfer of holy relics from the Vladimir land to St. Petersburg. The second date denotes the solemn funeral of the prince, which, according to the old style, took place on November 23, 1263.
When did the prince go to war for the first time?
Nevsky began to fight long after he himself stood at the head of the army. His first fight took place when he was 13 years old. Then his father took him to the battle against the Lithuanians in Dorpat. It was then that the young prince realized who his enemies really were.
Conclusion
Alexander Nevsky is an outstanding prince and commander who deserves a special place in history. After all, if not this holy warrior, then it is unknown what our state would be like today.
The task to find information about Alexander Nevsky is also in the textbooks for the lessons. The world, and in literature textbooks for grades 3-4. This message will fit both ways. If you add more pictures, you will get a presentation.
Alexander Nevskiy
Alexander Yaroslavovich was born in Pereslavl-Zalessky in 1221 in the family of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and Princess Feodosia. From the age of four, the child was separated from his mother and given to be raised by princely soldiers. They began to teach the baby military science and literacy. He grew up into an agile, strong young man who loved to read and wrote beautifully.
Already in 1228, young Alexander began to reign in Novgorod with his older brother Fedor under the supervision of the boyars, and in 1236 Alexander reigned independently in Kyiv and Vladimir. The people admired their prince - smart, handsome, tall, with a strong voice that thundered like a trumpet.
In 1240, the Swedes declared war on Novgorod. Their army was led by Birger. Prince Alexander and his army, having prayed in the St. Sophia Cathedral, set out to meet the enemy. On the morning of July 15, 1240, the army of Prince Alexander quietly approached the enemy camp and suddenly attacked the enemies, hitting them with axes and swords. A battle ensued. This battle took place on the Neva River. The Swedes fled, the Novgorodians pursued them. Prince Alexander caught up with Birger and hit him in the face with a spear, leaving scars.
The Russian army returned to Novgorod with victory, and Prince Alexander received an honorary nickname for his name - Nevsky.
Time passed, and enemies from the west again moved towards Novgorod. In 1242, Alexander set out to meet the enemy. The famous battle, known in history as the Battle of the Ice, took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi, near a rock called the Crow Stone. The Russian regiments struck the enemy wedge from the sides and crushed it.
Under the weight of the knight's armor, the ice began to crack and fall through, the defeated knights sank under the water, to the bottom of Lake Peipsi. And again victory over the enemy. The victory in the Battle of the Ice glorified Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky as a great commander of Rus'.
At that time, Rus' was under the rule of the Golden Horde. Russian princes had to confirm their right to reign in the Horde. Batu Khan gave Alexander Kyiv, which had been ravaged by the Mongol-Tatars. The wise reign of Grand Duke Alexander continued, Rus' preserved its faith, its traditions, although it groaned under the Tatar yoke.
In 1263, Alexander again had to visit the Horde. He lived all winter and summer in the Horde. At the same time, Alexander became seriously ill. He returned to Rus' mortally ill. The prince wanted to return home at all costs, but only got as far as Gorodets. There he finally fell ill and felt the approach of death. Before his death, he took monastic vows.
Prince Alexander was buried with honors in the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral. The prince was elevated to the rank of saints. in 1724, the relics of the holy prince Alexander Nevsky, whom the Russian people loved and revered, were transferred from Vladimir to St. Petersburg. The relics were placed in a newly built monastery dedicated to Saint Prince Alexander. Here, in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, in the Trinity Cathedral, at the shrine with holy relics, today you can kneel and pray to the blessed Prince Alexander, our faithful, reliable defender and patron Russian land. And ask him for courage, clear mind, strength and humility, so that we too can preserve and beautify Russia.
Alexander Nevsky is a great Russian ruler, commander, thinker and, finally, a saint, especially revered by the people. His life, icons and prayers are in the article!
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (1220 - November 14, 1263), Prince of Novgorod, Pereyaslavl, Grand Duke of Kiev (from 1249), Grand Duke of Vladimir (from 1252).
Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the ranks of the faithful under Metropolitan Macarius at the Moscow Council in 1547.
Memorial Day of Alexander Nevsky
Commemorated on December 6 and September 12 according to the new style (transfer of the relics from Vladimir-on-Klyazma to St. Petersburg, to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (from 1797 - Lavra) on August 30, 1724). In honor of the memory of St. Alexander Nevsky, many churches have been built throughout Russia, where prayer services are held on these days. There are such churches outside our country: the Patriarchal Cathedral in Sofia, the Cathedral in Tallinn, the temple in Tbilisi. Alexander Nevsky is such a significant Saint for the Russian people that even in Tsarist Russia an order was established in his honor. It's surprising that in Soviet years The memory of Alexander Nevsky was honored: on July 29, 1942, the Soviet military order of Alexander Nevsky was established in honor of the great commander.
Alexander Nevsky: just the facts
– Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich was born in 1220 (according to another version - in 1221) and died in 1263. At different years of his life, Prince Alexander had the titles of Prince of Novgorod, Kyiv, and later Grand Duke of Vladimir.
– Prince Alexander won his main military victories in his youth. During the Battle of the Neva (1240) he was at most 20 years old, during the Battle of the Ice - 22 years old. Subsequently, he became famous more as a politician and diplomat, but he also periodically acted as a military leader. In his entire life, Prince Alexander did not lose a single battle.
– Alexander Nevsky canonized as a noble prince. This rank of saints includes lay people who have become famous for their sincere deep faith and good deeds, as well as Orthodox rulers who managed to remain faithful to Christ in their public service and in various political conflicts. Like any Orthodox saint, the noble prince is not at all an ideal sinless person, but he is, first of all, a ruler, guided in his life primarily by the highest Christian virtues, including mercy and philanthropy, and not by the thirst for power and not by self-interest.
– Contrary to popular belief that the Church canonized almost all the rulers of the Middle Ages, only a few of them were glorified. Thus, among the Russian saints of princely origin, the majority were glorified as saints for their martyrdom for the sake of their neighbors and for the sake of preserving the Christian faith.
–Through the efforts of Alexander Nevsky, the preaching of Christianity spread to the northern lands of the Pomors. He also managed to promote the creation of an Orthodox diocese in the Golden Horde.
– The modern idea of Alexander Nevsky was influenced by Soviet propaganda, which spoke exclusively about his military merits. As a diplomat who built relations with the Horde, and even more so as a monk and saint, he was for Soviet power completely inappropriate. That’s why Sergei Eisenstein’s masterpiece “Alexander Nevsky” does not tell about the prince’s entire life, but only about the battle on Lake Peipsi. This gave rise to a common stereotype that Prince Alexander was canonized for his military services, and holiness itself became something of a “reward” from the Church.
– The veneration of Prince Alexander as a saint began immediately after his death, and at the same time a fairly detailed “Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky” was compiled. The official canonization of the prince took place in 1547.
The Life of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky
Portal “Word”
Prince Alexander Nevsky is one of those great people in the history of our Fatherland, whose activities not only influenced the destinies of the country and people, but largely changed them and predetermined the course of Russian history for many centuries to come. It fell to him to rule Russia in the most difficult, turning point that followed the ruinous Mongol conquest, when it came to the very existence of Rus', whether it would be able to survive, maintain its statehood, its ethnic independence, or disappear from the map, like many other peoples of Eastern Europe, who were invaded at the same time as her.
He was born in 1220 (1), in the city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and was the second son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, at that time the Prince of Pereyaslavl. His mother Feodosia, apparently, was the daughter of the famous Toropets prince Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny, or Udaly (2).
Very early, Alexander became involved in the turbulent political events that unfolded around the reign of Veliky Novgorod - one of the largest cities of medieval Rus'. It is with Novgorod that most of his biography will be connected. Alexander came to this city for the first time as a baby - in the winter of 1223, when his father was invited to reign in Novgorod. However, the reign turned out to be short-lived: at the end of the same year, having quarreled with the Novgorodians, Yaroslav and his family returned to Pereyaslavl. So Yaroslav will either make peace or quarrel with Novgorod, and then the same thing will happen again in the fate of Alexander. This was explained simply: the Novgorodians needed a strong prince from North-Eastern Rus' close to them so that he could protect the city from external enemies. However, such a prince ruled Novgorod too harshly, and the townspeople usually quickly quarreled with him and invited some South Russian prince to reign, who did not annoy them too much; and everything would be fine, but he, alas, could not protect them in case of danger, and he cared more about his southern possessions - so the Novgorodians had to again turn to the Vladimir or Pereyaslavl princes for help, and everything was repeated all over again.
Prince Yaroslav was again invited to Novgorod in 1226. Two years later, the prince again left the city, but this time he left his sons - nine-year-old Fyodor (his eldest son) and eight-year-old Alexander - as princes. Together with the children, the boyars of Yaroslav remained - Fyodor Danilovich and the princely tiun Yakim. They, however, were unable to cope with the Novgorod “freemen” and in February 1229 they had to flee with the princes to Pereyaslavl. For a short time, Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, a future martyr for the faith and a revered saint, established himself in Novgorod. But the southern Russian prince, who ruled remote Chernigov, could not protect the city from outside threats; In addition, severe famine and pestilence began in Novgorod. In December 1230, the Novgorodians invited Yaroslav for the third time. He hurriedly came to Novgorod, concluded an agreement with the Novgorodians, but stayed in the city for only two weeks and returned to Pereyaslavl. His sons Fyodor and Alexander again remained to reign in Novgorod.
Novgorod reign of Alexander
So, in January 1231, Alexander formally became the Prince of Novgorod. Until 1233 he ruled together with his older brother. But this year Fyodor died (his sudden death happened just before the wedding, when everything was ready for the wedding feast). Real power remained entirely in the hands of his father. Alexander probably took part in his father’s campaigns (for example, in 1234 near Yuryev, against the Livonian Germans, and in the same year against the Lithuanians). In 1236, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich took the vacant Kiev throne. From this time on, sixteen-year-old Alexander became the independent ruler of Novgorod.
The beginning of his reign came at a terrible time in the history of Rus' - the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. The hordes of Batu, who attacked Rus' in the winter of 1237/38, did not reach Novgorod. But most of North-Eastern Rus', its largest cities - Vladimir, Suzdal, Ryazan and others - were destroyed. Many princes died, including Alexander’s uncle, Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich and all his sons. Alexander's father Yaroslav received the Grand Duke's throne (1239). The catastrophe that occurred turned the entire course of Russian history upside down and left an indelible imprint on the fate of the Russian people, including, of course, Alexander. Although in the first years of his reign he did not have to directly confront the conquerors.
The main threat in those years came to Novgorod from the west. From the very beginning of the 13th century, the Novgorod princes had to hold back the onslaught of the growing Lithuanian state. In 1239, Alexander built fortifications along the Sheloni River, protecting the southwestern borders of his principality from Lithuanian raids. In the same year it happened an important event in his life - Alexander married the daughter of the Polotsk prince Bryachislav, his ally in the fight against Lithuania. (Later sources name the princess - Alexandra (3).) The wedding was held in Toropets, an important city on the Russian-Lithuanian border, and a second wedding feast was held in Novgorod.
More great danger for Novgorod, it was the advance from the west of the German crusading knights from the Livonian Order of the Swordsmen (united in 1237 with the Teutonic Order), and from the north - from Sweden, which in the first half of the 13th century intensified its attack on the lands of the Finnish tribe Em (Tavasts), traditionally part of sphere of influence of the Novgorod princes. One might think that the news of Batu’s terrible defeat of Rus' prompted the rulers of Sweden to transfer military operations to the territory of the Novgorod land itself.
The Swedish army invaded Novgorod in the summer of 1240. Their ships entered the Neva and stopped at the mouth of its tributary Izhora. Later Russian sources report that the Swedish army was led by the future famous Jarl Birger, the son-in-law of the Swedish king Erik Erikson and the long-time ruler of Sweden, but researchers are doubtful about this news. According to the chronicle, the Swedes intended to “capture Ladoga, or, simply put, Novgorod, and the entire Novgorod region.”
Battle with the Swedes on the Neva
This was the first truly serious test for the young Novgorod prince. And Alexander withstood it with honor, showing the qualities of not only a born commander, but also a statesman. It was then, upon receiving news of the invasion, that his now famous words were spoken: “ God is not in power, but in righteousness!”
Having gathered a small squad, Alexander did not wait for help from his father and set out on a campaign. Along the way, he united with the Ladoga residents and on July 15, he suddenly attacked the Swedish camp. The battle ended in complete victory for the Russians. The Novgorod Chronicle reports huge losses on the part of the enemy: “And many of them fell; filled two ships with bodies best husbands and they let them go ahead of them on the sea, and for the others they dug a hole and threw them there without number.” The Russians, according to the same chronicle, lost only 20 people. It is possible that the losses of the Swedes are exaggerated (it is significant that there is no mention of this battle in Swedish sources), and the Russians are underestimated. The synodikon of the Novgorod Church of Saints Boris and Gleb in Plotniki, compiled in the 15th century, has been preserved with the mention of “princely governors, and Novgorod governors, and all our beaten brethren” who fell “on the Neva from the Germans under the Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich”; their memory was honored in Novgorod in the 15th and 16th centuries and later. Nevertheless, the significance of the Neva Battle is obvious: the Swedish onslaught in the direction of North-Western Rus' was stopped, and Rus' showed that, despite Mongol conquest, able to defend its borders.
The life of Alexander especially highlights the feat of six “brave men” from Alexander’s regiment: Gavrila Oleksich, Sbyslav Yakunovich, Polotsk resident Yakov, Novgorodian Misha, warrior Sava from the junior squad (who cut down the golden-domed royal tent) and Ratmir, who died in the battle. The Life also tells about a miracle that occurred during the battle: on the opposite side of Izhora, where there were no Novgorodians at all, many corpses of fallen enemies were subsequently found, who were struck by the angel of the Lord.
This victory brought great fame to the twenty-year-old prince. It was in her honor that he received the honorary nickname - Nevsky.
Soon after his victorious return, Alexander quarreled with the Novgorodians. In the winter of 1240/41, the prince, together with his mother, wife and “his court” (that is, the army and the princely administration), left Novgorod for Vladimir, to his father, and from there “to reign” in Pereyaslavl. The reasons for his conflict with the Novgorodians are unclear. It can be assumed that Alexander sought to rule Novgorod with authority, following the example of his father, and this caused resistance from the Novgorod boyars. However, having lost a strong prince, Novgorod was unable to stop the advance of another enemy - the crusaders. In the year of the Neva Victory, the knights, in alliance with the “chud” (Estonians), captured the city of Izborsk, and then Pskov, the most important outpost on the western borders of Rus'. The next year, the Germans invaded the Novgorod lands, took the city of Tesov on the Luga River and established the Koporye fortress. The Novgorodians turned to Yaroslav for help, asking him to send his son. Yaroslav first sent his son Andrei, Nevsky’s younger brother, to them, but after a repeated request from the Novgorodians he agreed to release Alexander again. In 1241, Alexander Nevsky returned to Novgorod and was enthusiastically received by the residents.
Battle on the Ice
And again he acted decisively and without any delay. In the same year, Alexander took the Koporye fortress. Some of the Germans were captured and some were sent home, while the traitors of the Estonians and leaders were hanged. The next year, with the Novgorodians and the Suzdal squad of his brother Andrei, Alexander moved to Pskov. The city was taken without much difficulty; the Germans who were in the city were killed or sent as booty to Novgorod. Building on their success, Russian troops entered Estonia. However, in the first clash with the knights, Alexander's guard detachment was defeated. One of the governors, Domash Tverdislavich, was killed, many were taken prisoner, and the survivors fled to the prince’s regiment. The Russians had to retreat. On April 5, 1242, a battle took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi (“on Uzmen, at the Raven Stone”), which went down in history as the Battle of the Ice. The Germans and Estonians, moving in a wedge (in Russian, “pig”), penetrated the leading Russian regiment, but were then surrounded and completely defeated. “And they chased them, beating them, seven miles across the ice,” the chronicler testifies.
Russian and Western sources differ in their assessment of the losses of the German side. According to the Novgorod Chronicle, countless “chuds” and 400 (another list says 500) German knights died, and 50 knights were captured. “And Prince Alexander returned with a glorious victory,” says the Life of the saint, “and there were many captives in his army, and they led barefoot next to the horses of those who call themselves “God’s knights.” There is also a story about this battle in the so-called Livonian Rhymed Chronicle of the late 13th century, but it reports only 20 dead and 6 captured German knights, which is apparently a strong understatement. However, the differences with Russian sources can partly be explained by the fact that the Russians counted all killed and wounded Germans, and the author of the “Rhymed Chronicle” only counted “brother knights,” that is, actual members of the Order.
The Battle of the Ice was of great importance for the fate of not only Novgorod, but all of Russia. The crusader aggression was stopped on the ice of Lake Peipsi. Rus' received peace and stability on its northwestern borders. In the same year, a peace treaty was concluded between Novgorod and the Order, according to which an exchange of prisoners took place, and all Russian territories captured by the Germans were returned. The chronicle conveys the words of the German ambassadors addressed to Alexander: “What we took by force without the prince, Vod, Luga, Pskov, Latygola - we are retreating from all of that. And if your husbands were captured, we are ready to exchange them: we will release yours, and you will release ours.”
Battle with Lithuanians
Success accompanied Alexander in battles with the Lithuanians. In 1245, he inflicted a severe defeat on them in a series of battles: at Toropets, near Zizhich and near Usvyat (not far from Vitebsk). Many Lithuanian princes were killed, and others were captured. “His servants, mocking, tied them to the tails of their horses,” says the author of the Life. “And from that time on they began to fear his name.” So the Lithuanian raids on Rus' were stopped for a while.
Another, later one is known Alexander's campaign against the Swedes - in 1256. It was undertaken in response to a new attempt by the Swedes to invade Rus' and establish a fortress on the eastern, Russian, bank of the Narova River. By that time, the fame of Alexander’s victories had already spread far beyond the borders of Rus'. Having learned not even about the performance of the Russian army from Novgorod, but only about preparations for the performance, the invaders “fled overseas.” This time Alexander sent his troops to Northern Finland, which had recently been annexed to the Swedish crown. Despite the hardships of the winter march through the snowy desert area, the campaign ended successfully: “And they all fought Pomerania: they killed some, and took others as captives, and returned back to their land with many captives.”
But Alexander not only fought with the West. Around 1251, an agreement was concluded between Novgorod and Norway on the settlement of border disputes and differentiation in the collection of tribute from the vast territory in which Karelians and Sami lived. At the same time, Alexander negotiated the marriage of his son Vasily to the daughter of the Norwegian king Hakon Hakonarson. True, these negotiations were not successful due to the invasion of Rus' by the Tatars - the so-called “Nevryu Army”.
In the last years of his life, between 1259 and 1262, Alexander, on his own behalf and on behalf of his son Dmitry (proclaimed Prince of Novgorod in 1259), “with all the Novgorodians,” concluded an agreement on trade with the “Gothic Coast” (Gotland), Lubeck and the German cities; this agreement played an important role in the history of Russian-German relations and turned out to be very durable (it was referred to even in 1420).
In the wars with Western opponents - the Germans, Swedes and Lithuanians - the military leadership talent of Alexander Nevsky clearly manifested itself. But his relationship with the Horde was completely different.
Relations with the Horde
After the death of Alexander's father, Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Vladimir, in 1246, who was poisoned in distant Karakorum, the grand-ducal throne passed to Alexander's uncle, Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich. However, a year later, Alexander’s brother Andrei, a warlike, energetic and decisive prince, overthrew him. Subsequent events are not entirely clear. It is known that in 1247 Andrei, and after him Alexander, made a trip to the Horde, to Batu. He sent them even further, to Karakorum, the capital of the huge Mongol Empire (“to the Kanoviches,” as they said in Rus'). The brothers returned to Rus' only in December 1249. Andrei received from the Tatars a label for the grand-ducal throne in Vladimir, while Alexander received Kyiv and “the entire Russian land” (that is, Southern Rus'). Formally, Alexander’s status was higher, because Kyiv was still considered the main capital city of Rus'. But devastated by the Tatars and depopulated, it completely lost its significance, and therefore Alexander could hardly be satisfied by decision. Without even visiting Kyiv, he immediately went to Novgorod.
Negotiations with the Papal throne
His negotiations with the papal throne date back to the time of Alexander’s trip to the Horde. Two bulls of Pope Innocent IV, addressed to Prince Alexander and dated 1248, have survived. In them, the head of the Roman Church offered the Russian prince an alliance to fight against the Tatars - but on the condition that he accepted the church union and came under the protection of the Roman throne.
The papal legates did not find Alexander in Novgorod. However, one can think that even before his departure (and before receiving the first papal message), the prince held some negotiations with representatives of Rome. In anticipation of the upcoming trip “to the Kanoviches,” Alexander gave an evasive answer to the pope’s proposals, designed to continue the negotiations. In particular, he agreed to the construction of a Latin church in Pskov - a church, which was quite common for ancient Rus' (such Catholic Church- “Varangian goddess” - existed, for example, in Novgorod since the 11th century). The pope regarded the prince's consent as a willingness to agree to union. But such an assessment was deeply erroneous.
The prince probably received both papal messages upon his return from Mongolia. By this time he had made a choice - and not in favor of the West. According to researchers, what he saw on the way from Vladimir to Karakorum and back made a strong impression on Alexander: he became convinced of the indestructible power of the Mongol Empire and the impossibility of ruined and weakened Rus' to resist the power of the Tatar “kings”.
This is how the Life of the Prince conveys it famous response to papal envoys:
“Once upon a time, ambassadors from the Pope from great Rome came to him with the following words: “Our Pope says this: We heard that you are a worthy and glorious prince and your land is great. That’s why they sent to you two of the most skilled of the twelve cardinals... so that you could listen to their teaching about the law of God.”
Prince Alexander, having thought with his wise men, wrote to him, saying: “From Adam to the flood, from the flood to the division of languages, from the confusion of languages to the beginning of Abraham, from Abraham to the passage of Israel through the Red Sea, from the exodus of the children of Israel to death King David, from the beginning of the kingdom of Solomon to Augustus the King, from the beginning of Augustus to the Nativity of Christ, from the Nativity of Christ to the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord, from His Resurrection to the Ascension to Heaven, from the Ascension to Heaven to the Kingdom of Constantine, from the beginning of the Kingdom of Constantine until the first council, from the first council to the seventh - all that We know well, but we don’t accept teachings from you“. They returned home.”
In this answer of the prince, in his reluctance to even enter into debates with the Latin ambassadors, it was by no means some kind of religious limitation that was revealed, as it might seem at first glance. It was a choice both religious and political. Alexander was aware that the West would not be able to help Rus' liberate itself from the Horde yoke; the fight against the Horde, to which the papal throne called, could be disastrous for the country. Alexander was not ready to agree to a union with Rome (namely, this was an indispensable condition for the proposed union). Acceptance of the union - even with the formal consent of Rome to preserve all Orthodox rites in worship - in practice could only mean simple submission to the Latins, both political and spiritual. The history of the dominance of the Latins in the Baltic states or in Galich (where they briefly established themselves in the 10s of the 13th century) clearly proved this.
So Prince Alexander chose a different path for himself - the path of refusal of all cooperation with the West and at the same time the path of forced submission to the Horde, acceptance of all its conditions. It was in this that he saw the only salvation both for his power over Russia - albeit limited by the recognition of Horde sovereignty - and for Rus' itself.
The period of the short-lived great reign of Andrei Yaroslavich is very poorly covered in Russian chronicles. However, it is obvious that a conflict was brewing between the brothers. Andrei - unlike Alexander - showed himself to be an opponent of the Tatars. In the winter of 1250/51, he married the daughter of the Galician prince Daniil Romanovich, a supporter of decisive resistance to the Horde. The threat of uniting the forces of North-Eastern and South-Western Rus' could not help but alarm the Horde.
The denouement came in the summer of 1252. Again, we don’t know exactly what happened then. According to the chronicles, Alexander again went to the Horde. During his stay there (and perhaps after his return to Rus'), a punitive expedition under the command of Nevruy was sent from the Horde against Andrei. In the battle of Pereyaslavl, the squad of Andrei and his brother Yaroslav, who supported him, was defeated. Andrei fled to Sweden. The northeastern lands of Rus' were plundered and devastated, many people were killed or taken prisoner.
In the Horde
St. blgv. book Alexander Nevskiy. From the site: http://www.icon-art.ru/
The sources at our disposal are silent about any connection between Alexander’s trip to the Horde and the actions of the Tatars (4). However, one can guess that Alexander’s trip to the Horde was connected with changes on the khan’s throne in Karakorum, where in the summer of 1251 Mengu, an ally of Batu, was proclaimed great khan. According to sources, “all the labels and seals that were indiscriminately issued to princes and nobles during the previous reign,” the new khan ordered to be taken away. This means that those decisions in accordance with which Alexander’s brother Andrei received the label for the great reign of Vladimir also lost force. Unlike his brother, Alexander was extremely interested in revising these decisions and getting his hands on the great reign of Vladimir, to which he, as the eldest of the Yaroslavichs, had more rights than his younger brother.
One way or another, in the last open military clash between the Russian princes and the Tatars in the history of the turning point of the 13th century, Prince Alexander found himself - perhaps through no fault of his own - in the Tatar camp. It was from this time that we can definitely talk about the special “Tatar policy” of Alexander Nevsky - the policy of pacifying the Tatars and unquestioning obedience to them. His subsequent frequent trips to the Horde (1257, 1258, 1262) were aimed at preventing new invasions of Rus'. The prince strove to regularly pay a huge tribute to the conquerors and to prevent protests against them in Rus' itself. Historians have different assessments of Alexander's Horde policies. Some see in it simple servility to a ruthless and invincible enemy, a desire to retain power over Russia by any means; others, on the contrary, consider the prince’s most important merit. “The two feats of Alexander Nevsky - the feat of warfare in the West and the feat of humility in the East,” wrote the greatest historian of the Russian Abroad G.V. Vernadsky, “had one goal: the preservation of Orthodoxy as the moral and political force of the Russian people. This goal was achieved: the growth of the Russian Orthodox kingdom took place on the soil prepared by Alexander.” The Soviet researcher of medieval Russia V. T. Pashuto also gave a close assessment of the policies of Alexander Nevsky: “With his careful, prudent policy, he saved Rus' from final ruin by the armies of nomads. Through armed struggle, trade policy, and selective diplomacy, he avoided new wars in the North and West, a possible but disastrous alliance with the papacy for Rus', and a rapprochement between the Curia and the Crusaders and the Horde. He gained time, allowing Rus' to grow stronger and recover from the terrible ruin.”
Be that as it may, it is indisputable that Alexander’s policy for a long time determined the relationship between Russia and the Horde, and largely determined Rus'’s choice between East and West. Subsequently, this policy of pacifying the Horde (or, if you prefer, currying favor with the Horde) will be continued by the Moscow princes - the grandchildren and great-grandsons of Alexander Nevsky. But the historical paradox - or rather, the historical pattern - is that it is they, the heirs of the Horde policy of Alexander Nevsky, who will be able to revive the power of Rus' and ultimately throw off the hated Horde yoke.
The prince erected churches, rebuilt cities
...In the same 1252, Alexander returned from the Horde to Vladimir with a label for the great reign and was solemnly placed on the grand prince's throne. After the terrible devastation of Nevryuev, he first of all had to take care of the restoration of the destroyed Vladimir and other Russian cities. The prince “erected churches, rebuilt cities, gathered dispersed people into their homes,” testifies the author of the prince’s Life. The prince showed special concern for the Church, decorating churches with books and utensils, bestowing them with rich gifts and land.
Novgorod unrest
Novgorod gave Alexander a lot of trouble. In 1255, the Novgorodians expelled Alexander's son Vasily and put Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich, Nevsky's brother, in reign. Alexander approached the city with his squad. However, bloodshed was avoided: as a result of negotiations, a compromise was reached, and the Novgorodians submitted.
A new unrest in Novgorod occurred in 1257. It was caused by the appearance in Rus' of Tatar “chislenniks” - census takers who were sent from the Horde to more accurately tax the population with tribute. Russian people of that time treated the census with mystical horror, seeing in it a sign of the Antichrist - a harbinger of the last times and the Last Judgment. In the winter of 1257, the Tatar “numerals” “numbered the entire land of Suzdal, and Ryazan, and Murom, and appointed foremen, and thousanders, and temniks,” the chronicler wrote. From the “numbers,” that is, from tribute, only the clergy were exempted - “church people” (the Mongols invariably exempted the servants of God from tribute in all the countries they conquered, regardless of religion, so that they could freely turn to various gods with words of prayer for their conquerors).
In Novgorod, which was not directly affected by either Batu’s invasion or the “Nevryuev’s army,” the news of the census was greeted with particular bitterness. The unrest in the city continued for a whole year. Even Alexander’s son, Prince Vasily, was on the side of the townspeople. When his father appeared, accompanying the Tatars, he fled to Pskov. This time the Novgorodians avoided the census, limiting themselves to paying a rich tribute to the Tatars. But their refusal to fulfill the Horde’s will aroused the wrath of the Grand Duke. Vasily was exiled to Suzdal, the instigators of the riots were severely punished: some, on the orders of Alexander, were executed, others had their noses “cut,” and others were blinded. Only in the winter of 1259 did the Novgorodians finally agree to “give a number.” Nevertheless, the appearance of Tatar officials caused a new rebellion in the city. Only with the personal participation of Alexander and under the protection of the princely squad was the census carried out. “And the accursed began to travel through the streets, copying Christian houses,” reports the Novgorod chronicler. After the end of the census and the departure of the Tatars, Alexander left Novgorod, leaving his young son Dmitry as prince.
In 1262, Alexander made peace with the Lithuanian prince Mindaugas. In the same year, he sent a large army under the nominal command of his son Dmitry against the Livonian Order. This campaign was attended by the squads of Alexander Nevsky’s younger brother Yaroslav (with whom he managed to reconcile), as well as his new ally, the Lithuanian prince Tovtivil, who settled in Polotsk. The campaign ended in a major victory - the city of Yuryev (Tartu) was taken.
At the end of the same 1262, Alexander went to the Horde for the fourth (and last) time. “In those days there was great violence from non-believers,” says the Prince’s Life; “they persecuted Christians, forcing them to fight on their side. The great prince Alexander went to the king (Horde Khan Berke - A.K.) to pray his people away from this misfortune.” Probably, the prince also sought to rid Rus' of the new punitive expedition of the Tatars: in the same year, 1262, a popular uprising broke out in a number of Russian cities (Rostov, Suzdal, Yaroslavl) against the excesses of Tatar tribute collectors.
The last days of Alexander
Alexander obviously managed to achieve his goals. However, Khan Berke detained him for almost a year. Only in the fall of 1263, already ill, Alexander returned to Rus'. Having reached Nizhny Novgorod, the prince became completely ill. In Gorodets on the Volga, already feeling the approach of death, Alexander took monastic vows (according to later sources, with the name Alexei) and died on November 14. His body was transported to Vladimir and on November 23 buried in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Vladimir Nativity Monastery in front of a huge crowd of people. The words with which Metropolitan Kirill announced to the people about the death of the Grand Duke are known: “My children, know that the sun of the land of Suzdal has already set!” The Novgorod chronicler put it differently - and perhaps more accurately: Prince Alexander “worked for Novgorod and for the entire Russian land.”
Church veneration
Church veneration of the holy prince began, apparently, immediately after his death. The life tells of a miracle that happened during the burial itself: when the prince’s body was laid in the tomb and Metropolitan Kirill, according to custom, wanted to place a spiritual letter in his hand, people saw how the prince, “as if alive, stretched out his hand and accepted the letter from his hand.” Metropolitan... Thus God glorified his saint.”
Several decades after the death of the prince, his Life was compiled, which was subsequently repeatedly subjected to various alterations, revisions and additions (in total there are up to twenty editions of the Life, dating from the 13th-19th centuries). The official canonization of the prince by the Russian Church took place in 1547, at a church council convened by Metropolitan Macarius and Tsar Ivan the Terrible, when many new Russian wonderworkers, previously revered only locally, were canonized. The Church equally glorifies the prince’s military prowess, “never defeated in battle, but always victorious,” and his feat of meekness, patience “more than courage” and “invincible humility” (in the seemingly paradoxical expression of the Akathist).
If we turn to the subsequent centuries of Russian history, then we will see a kind of second, posthumous biography of the prince, whose invisible presence is clearly felt in many events - and above all in the turning points, the most dramatic moments in the life of the country. The first discovery of his relics took place in the year of the great Kulikovo victory, won by the great-grandson of Alexander Nevsky, the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Donskoy in 1380. In miraculous visions, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich appears as a direct participant in both the Battle of Kulikovo itself and the Battle of Molodi in 1572, when the troops of Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky defeated the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey just 45 kilometers from Moscow. The image of Alexander Nevsky is seen above Vladimir in 1491, a year after the final overthrow of the Horde yoke. In 1552, during the campaign against Kazan, which led to the conquest of the Kazan Khanate, Tsar Ivan the Terrible performed a prayer service at the tomb of Alexander Nevsky, and during this prayer service a miracle occurred, regarded by everyone as a sign of the coming victory. The relics of the holy prince, which remained in the Vladimir Nativity Monastery until 1723, exuded numerous miracles, information about which was carefully recorded by the monastic authorities.
A new page in the veneration of the holy and blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky began in the 18th century, under the emperor Peter the Great. The conqueror of the Swedes and the founder of St. Petersburg, which became for Russia a “window to Europe,” Peter saw in Prince Alexander his immediate predecessor in the fight against Swedish domination on the Baltic Sea and hastened to transfer the city he founded on the banks of the Neva under his heavenly protection. Back in 1710, Peter ordered that the name of St. Alexander Nevsky be included in the dismissals during divine services as a prayer representative for the “Neva Country.” In the same year, he personally chose the place to build a monastery in the name of the Holy Trinity and St. Alexander Nevsky - the future Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Peter wanted to transfer the relics of the holy prince here from Vladimir. Wars with the Swedes and Turks slowed down the fulfillment of this desire, and only in 1723 did they begin to fulfill it. On August 11, with all due solemnity, the holy relics were taken out of the Nativity Monastery; the procession headed towards Moscow and then towards St. Petersburg; Everywhere she was accompanied by prayer services and crowds of believers. According to Peter's plan, the holy relics were supposed to be brought into the new capital of Russia on August 30 - the day of the conclusion of the Treaty of Nystadt with the Swedes (1721). However, the distance of the journey did not allow this plan to be implemented, and the relics arrived in Shlisselburg only on October 1. By order of the emperor, they were left in the Shlisselburg Church of the Annunciation, and their transfer to St. Petersburg was postponed until next year.
The meeting of the shrine in St. Petersburg on August 30, 1724 was distinguished by special solemnity. According to legend, on the last leg of the journey (from the mouth of Izhora to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery), Peter personally ruled the galley with a precious cargo, and at the oars were his closest associates, the first dignitaries of the state. At the same time, an annual celebration of the memory of the holy prince was established on the day of the transfer of the relics on August 30.
Nowadays the Church celebrates the memory of the holy and blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky twice a year: November 23 (December 6, new style) and August 30 (September 12).
Days of celebration of St. Alexander Nevsky:
May 23 (June 5, new art.) - Cathedral of Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints
August 30 (September 12 according to the new art.) - the day of transfer of the relics to St. Petersburg (1724) - the main one
November 14 (November 27 according to the new art.) - day of death in Gorodets (1263) - canceled
November 23 (December 6, New Art.) - day of burial in Vladimir, in the schema of Alexy (1263)
Myths about Alexander Nevsky
1. The battles for which Prince Alexander became famous were so insignificant that they are not even mentioned in Western chronicles.
Not true! This idea was born out of pure ignorance. The Battle of Lake Peipsi is reflected in German sources, in particular in the “Elder Livonian Rhymed Chronicle”. Based on it, some historians talk about the insignificant scale of the battle, because the Chronicle reports the death of only twenty knights. But here it is important to understand that we are talking specifically about “brother knights” who performed the role of senior commanders. Nothing is said about the death of their warriors and representatives of the Baltic tribes recruited into the army, who formed the backbone of the army.
As for the Battle of the Neva, it was not reflected in any way in the Swedish chronicles. But, according to the largest Russian specialist on the history of the Baltic region in the Middle Ages, Igor Shaskolsky, “... this should not be surprising. In medieval Sweden, until the beginning of the 14th century, no major narrative works on the history of the country, such as Russian chronicles and large Western European chronicles, were created.” In other words, the Swedes have nowhere to look for traces of the Battle of the Neva.
2. The West did not pose a threat to Russia at that time, unlike the Horde, which Prince Alexander used exclusively to strengthen his personal power.
Not like that again! It is hardly possible to talk about a “united West” in the 13th century. Perhaps it would be more correct to talk about the world of Catholicism, but it, as a whole, was very colorful, heterogeneous and fragmented. Rus' was really threatened not by the “West”, but by the Teutonic and Livonian Orders, as well as the Swedish conquerors. And for some reason they were defeated on Russian territory, and not at home in Germany or Sweden, and, therefore, the threat posed by them was quite real.
As for the Horde, there is a source (Ustyug Chronicle) that makes it possible to assume the organizing role of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich in the anti-Horde uprising.
3. Prince Alexander did not defend Rus' and the Orthodox faith, he simply fought for power and used the Horde to physically eliminate his own brother.
This is just speculation. Prince Alexander Yaroslavich first of all defended what he inherited from his father and grandfather. In other words, with great skill he performed the task of a guardian, a guardian. As for the death of his brother, it is necessary, before such verdicts, to study the question of how he, in his recklessness and youth, put down the Russian army without benefit and in what way he acquired power in general. This will show: it was not so much Prince Alexander Yaroslavich who was his destroyer, but rather he himself laid claim to the role of the quick destroyer of Rus'...
4. By turning to the east, and not to the west, Prince Alexander laid the foundations for the future rampant despotism in the country. His contacts with the Mongols made Rus' an Asian power.
This is completely groundless journalism. All Russian princes were in contact with the Horde at that time. After 1240, they had a choice: to die themselves and subject Rus' to new devastation, or to survive and prepare the country for new battles and ultimately for liberation. Someone rushed headlong into battle, but 90 percent of our princes of the second half of the 13th century chose a different path. And here Alexander Nevsky is no different from our other sovereigns of that period.
As for the “Asian power”, there are indeed different points of view here today. But as a historian, I believe that Rus' never became one. It was not and is not part of Europe or Asia or some kind of mixture where the European and Asian take on different proportions depending on the circumstances. Rus' represents a cultural and political essence that is sharply different from both Europe and Asia. Just as Orthodoxy is neither Catholicism, nor Islam, nor Buddhism, nor any other confession.
Metropolitan Kirill about Alexander Nevsky - the name of Russia
On October 5, 2008, in a television program dedicated to Alexander Nevsky, Metropolitan Kirill gave a fiery 10-minute speech in which he tried to reveal this image so that it would become accessible to a wide audience. The Metropolitan began with questions: Why can a noble prince from the distant past, from the 13th century, become the name of Russia? What do we know about him? Answering these questions, the Metropolitan compares Alexander Nevsky with the other twelve applicants: “You need to know history very well and you need to feel history in order to understand the modernity of this person... I looked carefully at the names of everyone. Each of the candidates is a representative of his workshop: politician, scientist, writer, poet, economist... Alexander Nevsky was not a representative of the workshop, because he was at the same time the greatest strategist... a person who sensed not political, but civilizational dangers for Russia. He did not fight against specific enemies, not against the East or the West. He fought for national identity, for national self-understanding. Without him there would be no Russia, no Russians, no our civilizational code.”
According to Metropolitan Kirill, Alexander Nevsky was a politician who defended Russia with “very subtle and courageous diplomacy.” He understood that it was impossible at that moment to defeat the Horde, which “ironed Russia twice,” captured Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, reached the Adriatic Sea, and invaded China. “Why doesn’t he start a fight against the Horde? – asks the Metropolitan. – Yes, the Horde captured Rus'. But the Tatar-Mongols did not need our soul and did not need our brains. The Tatar-Mongols needed our pockets, and they turned these pockets out, but did not encroach on our national identity. They were not able to overcome our civilizational code. But when danger arose from the West, when the armored Teutonic knights went to Rus', there was no compromise. When the Pope writes a letter to Alexander, trying to win him over to his side... Alexander answers “no”. He sees a civilizational danger, he meets these armored knights on Lake Peipsi and defeats them, just as he, by a miracle of God, defeated the Swedish warriors who entered the Neva with a small squad.”
Alexander Nevsky, according to the Metropolitan, gives away “superstructural values”, allowing the Mongols to collect tribute from Russia: “He understands that this is not scary. Mighty Russia will return all this money. We must preserve the soul, national self-awareness, national will, and we must give the opportunity to what our wonderful historiosopher Lev Nikolayevich Gumilyov called “ethnogenesis.” Everything is destroyed, we need to accumulate strength. And if they had not accumulated forces, if they had not pacified the Horde, if they had not stopped the Livonian invasion, where would Russia be? She wouldn't exist."
As Metropolitan Kirill asserts, following Gumilyov, Alexander Nevsky was the creator of that multinational and multi-confessional “Russian world” that exists to this day. It was he who “teared the Golden Horde away from the Great Steppe”*. With his cunning political move, he “persuaded Batu not to pay tribute to the Mongols. And the Great Steppe, this center of aggression against the whole world, found itself isolated from Rus' by the Golden Horde, which began to be drawn into the area of Russian civilization. These are the first vaccinations of our union with the Tatar people, with the Mongol tribes. These are the first inoculations of our multinationality and multireligion. This is where it all started. He laid the foundation for the world-being of our people, which determined the further development of Rus' as Russia, as a great state.”
Alexander Nevsky, according to Metropolitan Kirill, is a collective image: he is a ruler, thinker, philosopher, strategist, warrior, hero. Personal courage is combined in him with deep religiosity: “At a critical moment, when the power and strength of the commander should be shown, he enters into single combat and hits Birger in the face with a spear... And where did it all start? He prayed at Hagia Sophia in Novgorod. A nightmare, hordes many times larger. What resistance? He comes out and addresses his people. With what words? God is not in power, but in truth... Can you imagine what words? What power!”
Metropolitan Kirill calls Alexander Nevsky an “epic hero”: “He was 20 years old when he defeated the Swedes, 22 years old when he drowned the Livonians on Lake Peipsi... Young, handsome guy!.. Brave... strong.” Even his appearance is the “face of Russia.” But the most important thing is that, being a politician, strategist, commander, Alexander Nevsky became a saint. “Oh my God! – Metropolitan Kirill exclaims. – If Russia had had holy rulers after Alexander Nevsky, what would our history be like! This is a collective image as much as a collective image can be... This is our hope, because today we still need what Alexander Nevsky did... Let us give our not only our voices, but also our hearts to the holy noble Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky - the savior and organizer of Russia !”
(From the book of Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) “Patriarch Kirill: life and worldview”)
Answers of Vladyka Metropolitan Kirill to questions from viewers of the “Name of Russia” project about Alexander Nevsky
Wikipedia calls Alexander Nevsky “the favorite prince of the clergy.” Do you share this assessment and, if so, what causes it? Semyon Borzenko
Dear Semyon, it’s difficult for me to say what exactly guided the authors of the free encyclopedia “Wikipedia” when they named St. Alexander Nevsky. Perhaps because the prince was canonized and is revered in the Orthodox Church, solemn services are held in his honor. However, the Church also reveres other holy princes, for example, Dimitri Donskoy and Daniil of Moscow, and it would be wrong to single out a “beloved” from among them. I believe that such a name could also have been adopted by the prince because during his lifetime he favored the Church and patronized it.
Unfortunately, the pace of my life and the amount of work I do allow me to use the Internet exclusively for business purposes. I regularly visit, say, informational sites, but I have absolutely no time left to view those sites that would be personally interesting to me. Therefore, I was not able to take part in the voting on the “Name of Russia” website, but I supported Alexander Nevsky by voting by telephone.
He defeated Rurik's descendants (1241), fought for power in civil wars, betrayed his own brother to the pagans (1252), and scratched out the eyes of the Novgorodians with his own hands (1257). Is the Russian Orthodox Church really ready to canonize Satan to maintain a split in churches? Ivan Nezabudko
When talking about certain acts of Alexander Nevsky, it is necessary to take into account many different factors. This and historical era, in which St. lived. Alexander - then many actions that seem strange to us today were completely commonplace. This is the political situation in the state - remember that at that time the country was experiencing a serious threat from the Tatar-Mongols, and St. Alexander did everything possible to reduce this threat to a minimum. As for the facts you cite from the life of St. Alexander Nevsky, then historians still cannot confirm or refute many of them, much less give them an unambiguous assessment.
For example, there are many ambiguities in the relationship between Alexander Nevsky and his brother Prince Andrei. There is a point of view according to which Alexander complained to the khan about his brother and asked to send an armed detachment to deal with him. However this fact not mentioned in any ancient source. The first time this was reported was only by V.N. Tatishchev in his “Russian History”, and there is every reason to believe that the author here got carried away with historical reconstruction - he “thought out” something that actually did not happen. N.M. Karamzin, in particular, thought so: “According to Tatishchev’s invention, Alexander informed Khan that his younger brother Andrei, having appropriated the Great Reign, was deceiving the Mughals, giving them only part of the tribute, etc.” (Karamzin N.M. History of the Russian State. M., 1992. T.4. P. 201. Note 88).
Many historians today tend to adhere to a different point of view than Tatishchev. Andrei, as is known, pursued a policy independent of Batu, while relying on the khan’s rivals. As soon as Batu took power into his own hands, he immediately dealt with his opponents, sending detachments not only against Andrei Yaroslavich, but also against Daniil Romanovich.
I am not aware of a single fact that could at least indirectly indicate that the veneration of St. Alexander Nevsky is a reason for a church schism. In 1547, the noble prince was canonized, and his memory is sacredly revered not only in the Russian, but also in many other Local Orthodox Churches.
Finally, let us not forget that when deciding on the canonization of a person, the Church takes into account such factors as the prayerful veneration of the people and the miracles performed through these prayers. Both of these took place and are happening in large numbers in connection with Alexander Nevsky. As for the mistakes such a person makes in life, or even his sins, we must remember that “there is no man who will live and not sin.” Sins are expiated by repentance and sorrow. Both of these, and especially the other, were present in the life of the noble prince, as they were in the lives of such sinners who became saints as Mary of Egypt, Moses Murin and many others.
I am sure that if you carefully and thoughtfully read the life of St. Alexander Nevsky, you will understand why he was canonized.
How does the Russian Orthodox Church feel about the fact that Prince Alexander Nevsky handed over his brother Andrei to the Tatars and threatened his son Vasily with war? Or is this as canonical as the blessing of warheads? Alexey Karakovsky
Alexey, in the first part, your question echoes the question of Ivan Nezabudko. As for the “blessing of warheads,” I am not aware of a single similar case. The Church has always blessed its children for the defense of the Fatherland, guided by the commandment of the Savior. It is for these reasons that the rite of blessing weapons has existed since ancient times. At every Liturgy we pray for the army of our country, realizing how heavy a responsibility lies on the people who stand guard with arms in their hands to guard the security of the Fatherland.
Is it not so, Vladyka, that when choosing Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich we are choosing a myth, a film image, a legend?
I'm sure not. Alexander Nevsky is a very specific historical figure, a man who did a lot for our Fatherland and laid the foundations for the very existence of Russia for a long time. Historical sources allow us to learn quite definitely about his life and activities. Of course, in the time that has passed since the death of the saint, human rumor has introduced a certain element of legend into his image, which once again testifies to the deep veneration that the Russian people have always given to the prince, but I am convinced that this shade of legend cannot serve as an obstacle to that so that today we perceive Saint Alexander as a real historical character.
Dear Lord. What qualities, in your opinion, of the Russian hero, Saint Alexander Nevsky, could the current Russian government pay attention to, and, if possible, adopt? What principles of government are still relevant today? Victor Zorin
Victor, Saint Alexander Nevsky belongs not only to his time. His image is relevant for Russia today, in the 21st century. The most important quality, which, it seems to me, should be inherent in power at all times, is boundless love for the Fatherland and one’s people. The entire political activity of Alexander Nevsky was determined by this strong and sublime feeling.
Dear Vladyka, answer me, is Alexander Nevsky close to the souls of people today? modern Russia, and not just Ancient Rus'. Especially nations professing Islam and not Orthodoxy? Sergey Krainov
Sergey, I am sure that the image of St. Alexander Nevsky is close to Russia at all times. Despite the fact that the prince lived several centuries ago, his life and his activities are still relevant for us today. Do such qualities as love for the Motherland, for God, for one’s neighbor, or the willingness to lay down one’s life for the sake of the peace and well-being of the Fatherland, have a statute of limitations? Can they be inherent only to the Orthodox and be alien to Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, who have long lived peacefully, side by side, in multinational and multi-confessional Russia - a country that has never known wars on religious grounds?
As for Muslims themselves, I will give you just one example that speaks for itself - in the program “The Name of Russia”, shown on November 9, there was an interview with a Muslim leader who came out in support of Alexander Nevsky because it was the holy prince who laid the foundations for dialogue East and West, Christianity and Islam. The name of Alexander Nevsky is equally dear to all people living in our country, regardless of their nationality or religious affiliation.
Why did you decide to take part in the “Name of Russia” project and act as Alexander Nevsky’s “lawyer”? In your opinion, why do most people today choose not a politician, scientist or cultural figure, but a saint, to name Russia? Vika Ostroverkhova
Vika, several circumstances prompted me to participate in the project as a “defender” of Alexander Nevsky.
Firstly, I am convinced that it is Saint Alexander Nevsky who should become the name of Russia. In my speeches, I repeatedly argued my position. Who, if not a saint, can and should be named “in the name of Russia”? Holiness is a concept that has no temporal boundaries, extending into eternity. If our people choose a saint as their national hero, this indicates a spiritual revival taking place in the minds of people. This is especially important today.
Secondly, this saint is very close to me. My childhood and youth were spent in St. Petersburg, where the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky rest. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to often resort to this shrine, to pray to the holy prince at his resting place. While studying at the Leningrad theological schools, which are located in close proximity to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, all of us, then students, clearly felt the gracious help that Alexander Nevsky provided to those who called on him with faith and hope in their prayers. At the relics of the holy prince I received ordination to all degrees of the priesthood. Therefore, I have deeply personal experiences associated with the name of Alexander Nevsky.
Dear Master! The project is called “Name of Russia”. For the first time the word Russia was heard almost 300 years after the prince’s dormition! Under Ivan the Terrible. And Alexander Yaroslavich just reigned in one of the fragments of Kievan Rus - an upgraded version of Great Scythia. So what does St. Alexander Nevsky have to do with Russia?
The most direct thing. In your question you touch on a fundamentally important topic. Who do we consider ourselves to be today? Heirs of what culture? Bearers of what civilization? From what point in history should we count our existence? Is it really only since the reign of Ivan the Terrible? A lot depends on the answer to these questions. We have no right to be Ivans who do not remember our kinship. The history of Russia begins long before Ivan the Terrible, and it is enough to open a school history textbook to be convinced of this.
Please tell us about the posthumous miracles of Alexander Nevsky from the moment of his death to the present day. Anisina Natalya
Natalya, there are a great many such miracles. You can read about them in detail in the life of the saint, as well as in many books dedicated to Alexander Nevsky. Moreover, I am sure that every person who sincerely, with deep faith called upon the holy prince in his prayers, had his own small miracle in his life.
Dear Lord! Is the Russian Orthodox Church considering the issue of canonizing other Princes, such as Ivan IV the Terrible and I.V. Stalin? After all, they were autocrats who increased the power of the state. Alexey Pechkin
Alexey, many princes besides Alexander Nevsky have been canonized. When deciding on the canonization of a person, the Church takes into account many factors, and achievements in the political field do not play a decisive role here. The Russian Orthodox Church does not consider the issue of canonization of Ivan the Terrible or Stalin, who, although they did a lot for the state, did not show qualities in their lives that could indicate their holiness.
Prayer to the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky
(to schemamonastic Alexy)
Quick helper to all those who diligently come running to you, and our warm representative before the Lord, holy and blessed Grand Duke Alexandra! look mercifully upon us, unworthy, who have created for ourselves by many iniquities, who now flow to the race of your relics and cry out from the depths of your soul: in your life you were a zealot and defender of the Orthodox faith, and you have unshakably established us in it with your warm prayers to God. You carefully carried out the great service entrusted to you, and with your help, instruct us to abide in what we were called to do. You, having defeated the regiments of adversaries, drove away from the borders of Russia, and brought down all visible and invisible enemies against us. You, having left the corruptible crown of the earthly kingdom, you chose a silent life, and now, righteously crowned with an incorruptible crown, reigning in heaven, you intercede for us too, we humbly pray to you, a quiet and serene life, and arrange for us a steady march towards the eternal Kingdom of God. Standing before the throne of God with all the saints, pray for all Orthodox Christians, may the Lord God preserve them with His grace in peace, health, long life and all prosperity in the coming years, may we ever glorify and bless God, in the Trinity of the Holy Saints, the Father and the Son and The Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Troparion, Tone 4:
Know your brethren, Russian Joseph, not in Egypt, but reigning in heaven, faithful Prince Alexander, and accept their prayers, multiplying the lives of people with the fruitfulness of your land, protecting the cities of your dominion with prayer, helping Orthodox people to resist.
Troparion, Voice of the same:
As you were at the root of a pious and most honorable branch, blessed Alexandra, for Christ manifests you as a kind of Divine treasure of the Russian land, a new miracle worker, glorious and God-pleasing. And today, having come together in your memory with faith and love, in psalms and singing we joyfully glorify the Lord, who gave you the grace of healing. Pray to him to save this city, and for our country to be pleasing to God, and for our sons of Russia to be saved.
Kontakion, Tone 8:
As we honor your bright star, which shone from the east and came to the west, enriching this entire country with miracles and kindness, and enlightening with faith those who honor your memory, blessed Alexandra. For this reason, today we celebrate yours, your existing people, pray to save your Fatherland, and all your relics flowing to the race, and truly crying out to you: Rejoice, strengthening of our city.
In Kontakion, Tone 4:
Just like your relatives, Boris and Gleb, appeared from Heaven to help you, struggling against Weilger Sveisk and his warriors: so you too now, blessed Alexandra, come to the aid of your relatives, and overcome those who fight us.
Icons of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Yaroslavich |
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Prince of Novgorod |
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Predecessor: |
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich |
Successor: |
Mikhail Vsevolodovich |
Prince of Novgorod |
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Predecessor: |
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich |
Successor: |
Andrey Yaroslavich |
Predecessor: |
Andrey Yaroslavich |
Successor: |
Vasily Alexandrovich |
Predecessor: |
Vasily Alexandrovich |
Successor: |
Dmitry Aleksandrovich |
Grand Duke of Kyiv |
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Predecessor: |
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich |
Successor: |
Yaroslav Yaroslavich |
Grand Duke Vladimir |
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Predecessor: |
Andrey Yaroslavich |
Successor: |
Yaroslav Yaroslavich |
Birth: |
May 1221, Pereslavl-Zalessky |
Religion: |
Orthodoxy |
Buried: |
Nativity Monastery, reburied in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in 1724 |
Dynasty: |
Rurikovich, Yurievich |
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich |
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Rostislava Mstislavna Smolenskaya |
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Alexandra Bryachislavovna Polotskaya |
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Sons: Vasily, Dmitry, Andrey and Daniil |
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Nickname
Biography
Reflecting aggression from the West
Great Reign
Canonical score
Eurasian assessment
Critical Assessment
Canonization
Relics of St. Alexander Nevsky
In ancient Russian literature
Fiction
art
Cinema
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky(Old Russian) Oleksandr Yaroslavich, May 1221, Pereslavl-Zalessky - November 14 (November 21) 1263, Gorodets) - Prince of Novgorod (1236-1240, 1241-1252 and 1257-1259), Grand Duke of Kiev (1249-1263), Grand Duke of Vladimir (1252- 1263).
Nickname
The traditional version says that Alexander received his nickname “Nevsky” after a battle with the Swedes on the Neva River. It is believed that it was for this victory that the prince began to be called that, but for the first time this nickname appears in sources only from the 15th century. Since it is known that some of the prince’s descendants also bore the nickname Nevsky, it is possible that in this way possessions in this area were assigned to them. In particular, Alexander's family had their own house near Novgorod.
Biography
The second son of the Pereyaslavl prince (later the Grand Duke of Kyiv and Vladimir) Yaroslav Vsevolodovich from his second marriage with Rostislava-Feodosia Mstislavovna, daughter of the Prince of Novgorod and Galicia Mstislav Udatny. Born in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky in May 1221.
In 1225 Yaroslav “he gave his sons princely tonsure”- the rite of initiation into warriors, which was performed in the Transfiguration Cathedral of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky by Bishop of Suzdal Saint Simon.
In 1228, Alexander, together with his elder brother Fyodor, were left by their father in Novgorod under the supervision of Fyodor Danilovich and tiun Yakim, together with the Pereyaslavl army, who were preparing to march on Riga in the summer, but during the famine that came in the winter of this year, Fyodor Danilovich and tiun Yakim, did not Having waited for Yaroslav's answer to the request of the Novgorodians to abolish the religious order, in February 1229 they fled from the city with the young princes, fearing reprisals from the rebel Novgorodians. In 1230, when the Novgorod Republic summoned Prince Yaroslav, he spent two weeks in Novgorod and installed Fedor and Alexander as reigners, but three years later, at the age of thirteen, Fedor died. In 1234, Alexander's first campaign (under his father's banner) against the Livonian Germans took place.
In 1236, Yaroslav left Pereyaslavl-Zalessky to reign in Kyiv (from there in 1238 - to Vladimir). From this time on, Alexander’s independent activity began. Back in 1236-1237, the neighbors of the Novgorod land were at enmity with each other (200 Pskov soldiers took part in the unsuccessful campaign of the Order of the Swordsmen against Lithuania, which ended with the Battle of Saul and the entry of the remnants of the Order of the Swordsmen into the Teutonic Order). But after the devastation of North-Eastern Rus' by the Mongols in the winter of 1237/1238 (the Mongols took Torzhok after a two-week siege and did not reach Novgorod), the western neighbors of the Novgorod land almost simultaneously launched offensive operations.
Reflecting aggression from the West
In 1239, Yaroslav repelled the Lithuanians from Smolensk, and Alexander married Alexandra, daughter of Bryachislav of Polotsk. The wedding took place in Toropets in the Church of St. George. Already in 1240, the prince’s first-born son, named Vasily, was born in Novgorod.
Alexander built a series of fortifications on the southwestern border of the Novgorod Republic along the Sheloni River. In 1240, the Germans approached Pskov, and the Swedes moved to Novgorod, according to Russian sources, under the leadership of the ruler of the country himself, the royal son-in-law of Jarl Birger (there is no mention of this battle in Swedish sources; the jarl at that moment was Ulf Fasi, not Birger) . According to Russian sources, Birger sent Alexander a declaration of war, proud and arrogant: “If you can, resist, know that I am already here and will take your land captive.”. With a relatively small squad of Novgorodians and Ladoga residents, Alexander, on the night of July 15, 1240, surprised Birger’s Swedes when they stopped at the mouth of Izhora, on the Neva, to rest in camp, and inflicted complete defeat- Battle of the Neva. Fighting himself in the front ranks, Alexander “The infidel who stole them (Birger) put a seal on his forehead with the edge of a sword”. Victory in this battle demonstrated Alexander's talent and strength.
However, the Novgorodians, always jealous of their liberties, managed to quarrel with Alexander that same year, and he retired to his father, who gave him the principality of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. Meanwhile, the Livonian Germans were approaching Novgorod. The knights besieged Pskov and soon took it, taking advantage of the betrayal among the besieged. Two German Vogts were planted in the city, which became an unprecedented case in the history of the Livonian-Novgorod conflicts. Then the Livonians fought and imposed tribute on the leaders, built a fortress in Koporye, took the city of Tesov, plundered the lands along the Luga River and began to rob Novgorod merchants 30 versts from Novgorod. The Novgorodians turned to Yaroslav for a prince; he gave them his second son, Andrei. This did not satisfy them. They sent a second embassy to ask Alexander. In 1241, Alexander appeared in Novgorod and cleared his region of enemies, and in next year together with Andrei he moved to help Pskov. Having liberated the city, Alexander headed to the Peipus land, to the domain of the order.
On April 5, 1242, a battle took place on the border with the Livonian Order, on Lake Peipus. This battle is known as Battle on the Ice. The exact course of the battle is unknown, but according to the Livonian chronicles, the order knights were surrounded during the battle. According to the Novgorod chronicle, the Russians chased the Germans across the ice for 7 versts. According to the Livonian chronicle, the losses of the order amounted to 20 killed and 6 captured knights, which may be consistent with the Novgorod Chronicle, which reports that the Livonian order lost 400-500 “Germans” killed and 50 prisoners - “and Chudi fell into disgrace, and the German 400, and with 50 hands he brought him to Novgorod”. Considering that for every full-fledged knight there were 10-15 servants and warriors of lower rank, we can assume that the data of the Livonian Chronicle and the data of the Novgorod Chronicle well confirm each other.
With a series of victories in 1245, Alexander repelled the attacks of Lithuania, led by Prince Mindaugas. According to the chronicler, the Lithuanians fell into such fear that they began "Take care of his name".
Alexander's six-year victorious defense of northern Rus' led to the fact that the Germans, according to a peace treaty, abandoned all recent conquests and ceded part of Latgale to the Novgorodians. Nevsky's father Yaroslav was summoned to Karakorum and poisoned there on September 30, 1246. Almost simultaneously with this, on September 20, Mikhail Chernigovsky was killed in the Golden Horde, who refused to undergo a pagan rite.
Great Reign
After the death of his father, in 1247, Alexander went to the Horde to see Batu. From there, together with his brother Andrei, who had arrived earlier, he was sent to the Great Khan in Mongolia. It took them two years to complete this journey. In their absence, their brother, Mikhail Khorobrit of Moscow (the fourth son of Grand Duke Yaroslav), took the great reign of Vladimir from his uncle Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich in 1248, but in the same year he died in battle with the Lithuanians in the Battle of the Protva River. Svyatoslav managed to defeat the Lithuanians at Zubtsov. Batu planned to give the great reign of Vladimir to Alexander, but according to Yaroslav’s will, Andrei was to become the prince of Vladimir, and Alexander of Novgorod and Kyiv. And the chronicler notes that they had “true greatness about the great reign”. As a result, the rulers of the Mongol Empire, despite the death of Guyuk during the campaign against Batu in 1248, implemented the second option. Alexander received Kyiv and “All Russian Land.” Modern historians They differ in their assessment of which of the brothers had formal seniority. After the Tatar devastation, Kyiv lost any real significance; therefore, Alexander did not go to him, but settled in Novgorod (According to V.N. Tatishchev, the prince was still going to leave for Kyiv, but the Novgorodians “kept him for the sake of the Tatars,” but the reliability of this information is in question).
There is information about two messages from Pope Innocent IV to Alexander Nevsky. In the first, the pope invites Alexander to follow the example of his father, who agreed (the pope referred to Plano Carpini, in whose works this news is absent) to submit to the Roman throne before his death, and also proposes coordination of actions with the Teutons in the event of an attack by the Tatars on Rus'. In the second message, the pope mentions Alexander’s consent to be baptized into the Catholic faith and build a Catholic church in Pskov, and also asks his ambassador, the Archbishop of Prussia, to receive him. In 1251, two cardinals came to Alexander Nevsky in Novgorod with a bull. Almost simultaneously in Vladimir, Andrei Yaroslavich and Ustinya Danilovna were married by Metropolitan Kirill, an associate of Daniil of Galitsky, to whom the pope offered the royal crown back in 1246-1247. In the same year, the Lithuanian prince Mindovg converted to the Catholic faith, thereby securing his lands from the Teutons. According to the chronicler's story, Nevsky, after consulting with wise people, outlined the entire history of Rus' and in conclusion said: “We will know all that is good, but we will not accept teaching from you”.
In 1251, with the participation of the troops of the Golden Horde, Batu's ally Munke won the victory in the struggle for supreme power in the Mongol Empire, and the following year Alexander came to the Horde again. At the same time, Tatar hordes led by Nevruy were moved against Andrei. Andrei, in alliance with his brother Yaroslav Tverskoy, opposed the Tatars, but was defeated and fled to Sweden through Novgorod, Yaroslav gained a foothold in Pskov. This was the first attempt to openly oppose the Mongol-Tatars in North-Eastern Rus', and it ended in failure. After Andrei's flight, the great reign of Vladimir passed to Alexander. Perhaps, as a number of researchers believe, this indicates that Alexander, during his trip to the Horde, contributed to organizing a punitive campaign against his brother, but there is no direct evidence in favor of this conclusion. In the same year, Prince Oleg Ingvarevich the Red, captured in 1237 wounded, was released from Mongol captivity to Ryazan. Alexander's reign in Vladimir was followed by a new war with its western neighbors.
In 1253, shortly after the start of Alexander's great reign, his eldest son Vasily and the Novgorodians were forced to repel the Lithuanians from Toropets, in the same year the Pskovians repulsed the Teutonic invasion, then, together with the Novgorodians and Karelians, invaded the Baltic states and defeated the Teutons on their land, after whereby peace was concluded on the entire will of Novgorod and Pskov. In 1256, the Swedes came to Narova and began to build a city (probably we are talking about the Narva fortress that was already founded in 1223). The Novgorodians asked for help from Alexander, who led a successful campaign against him with the Suzdal and Novgorod regiments. In 1258, the Lithuanians invaded the Smolensk principality and approached Torzhok.
In 1255, the Novgorodians expelled Alexander's eldest son Vasily and summoned Yaroslav Yaroslavich from Pskov. Nevsky forced them to accept Vasily again, and replaced the displeased mayor Anania, a champion of Novgorod freedom, with the obliging Mikhalka Stepanovich. In 1257, the Mongol census took place in the Vladimir, Murom and Ryazan lands, but was disrupted in Novgorod, which was not captured during the invasion. Big people, with the mayor Mikhalka, persuaded the Novgorodians to submit to the will of the khan, but the smaller ones did not want to hear about it. Mikhalko was killed. Prince Vasily, sharing the feelings of the younger ones, but not wanting to quarrel with his father, went to Pskov. Alexander Nevsky himself came to Novgorod with Tatar ambassadors and exiled his son to "Bottom", that is, the Suzdal land, his advisers were captured and punished ( “You cut one’s nose, and one’s eyes are taken out”) and placed his second son, seven-year-old Dmitry, as prince with them. In 1258, Alexander went to the Horde to “honor” the Khan’s governor Ulavchiy, and in 1259, threatening a Tatar pogrom, he obtained consent from the Novgorodians for a census and tribute ( "tamgas and tithes").
Daniil Galitsky, who accepted the royal crown in 1253 with his own forces (without allies from North-Eastern Rus', without Catholicization of the subject lands and without the forces of the crusaders) was able to inflict a serious defeat on the Horde, which led to a break with Rome and Lithuania. Daniel was going to organize a campaign against Kyiv, but was unable to do so due to a clash with the Lithuanians. The Lithuanians were repulsed from Lutsk, after which followed the Galician-Horde campaigns against Lithuania and Poland, the break of Mindaugas with Poland, the Order and the alliance with Novgorod. In 1262, the Novgorod, Tver and allied Lithuanian regiments, under the nominal command of 12-year-old Dmitry Alexandrovich, undertook a campaign in Livonia and besieged the city of Yuryev, burned the settlement, but did not take the city.
Death
In 1262, Tatar tribute farmers were killed in Vladimir, Suzdal, Rostov, Pereyaslavl, Yaroslavl and other cities, and the Sarai khan Berke demanded military recruitment among the inhabitants of Rus', since a threat arose to his possessions from the Iranian ruler Hulagu. Alexander Nevsky went to the Horde to try to dissuade the khan from this demand. There Alexander fell ill. Already sick, he left for Rus'.
Having adopted the schema under the name Alexy, he died on November 14 (November 21), 1263 in Gorodets (there are 2 versions - in Gorodets Volzhsky or in Gorodets Meshchersky). Metropolitan Kirill announced his death to the people in Vladimir with the words: “My dear children, understand that the sun of the Russian land has set”, and everyone exclaimed with tears: “We’re already dying”. "Respect for the Russian land,- says the famous historian Sergei Solovyov, - from trouble in the east, famous exploits for faith and land in the west brought Alexander a glorious memory in Rus' and made him the most prominent historical figure in ancient history from Monomakh to Donskoy". Alexander became the favorite prince of the clergy. The chronicle tale that has reached us about his exploits says that he "Born of God". Victorious everywhere, he was not defeated by anyone. A knight who came from the west to see Nevsky said that he had passed through many countries and peoples, but had never seen anything like this "neither in kings is there a king, nor in princes is there a prince". The Tatar Khan himself allegedly gave the same review about him, and Tatar women frightened children with his name.
Alexander Nevsky was initially buried in the Nativity Monastery in Vladimir. In 1724, by order of Peter I, the relics of Alexander Nevsky were solemnly transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.
Family
Spouse:
- Alexandra, daughter of Bryachislav of Polotsk (died on May 5, 1244 and was buried in the Yuryev Monastery next to her son, Prince Fedor).
Sons:
- Vasily (before 1245-1271) - Novgorod prince;
- Dmitry (1250-1294) - Prince of Novgorod (1260-1263), Prince of Pereyaslavl, Grand Duke of Vladimir in 1276-1281 and 1283-1293;
- Andrey (c. 1255-1304) - Prince of Kostroma in (1276-1293), (1296-1304), Grand Duke of Vladimir (1281-1284, 1292-1304), Prince of Novgorod in (1281-1285, 1292-1304), Prince of Gorodets (1264-1304);
- Daniel (1261-1303) - first prince of Moscow (1263-1303).
- Evdokia, who became the wife of Konstantin Rostislavich Smolensky.
The wife and daughter were buried in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary of the Dormition Princess Monastery in Vladimir.
Assessments of board personality and performance
According to the results of a large-scale survey of Russians, on December 28, 2008, Alexander Nevsky was chosen “in the name of Russia.” However, in historical science there is no single assessment of the activities of Alexander Nevsky; the views of historians on his personality are different, sometimes directly opposite. For centuries it was believed that Alexander Nevsky played an exceptional role in Russian history during that dramatic period when Rus' was attacked from three sides; he was seen as the founder of the line of Moscow sovereigns and the great patron of the Orthodox Church. Over time, such canonization of Alexander Yaroslavich began to provoke resistance. As the head of the Department of Russian History of Moscow State University N.S. Borisov states, “those who like to destroy myths are constantly “undermining” Alexander Nevsky, and are trying to prove that he betrayed his brother, and he brought the Tatars to Russian soil, and in general it is not clear why he considered a great commander. Such discrediting of Alexander Nevsky is constantly found in the literature. What was he really like? Sources do not allow us to say 100%.”
Canonical score
According to the canonical version, Alexander Nevsky is regarded as a saint, as a kind of golden legend of medieval Rus'. In the 13th century, Rus' was attacked from three sides - the Catholic West, the Mongol-Tatars and Lithuania. Alexander Nevsky, who never lost a single battle in his entire life, showed his talent as a commander and diplomat, making peace with the most powerful (but at the same time more tolerant) enemy - the Golden Horde - and repelling the attack of the Germans, while simultaneously protecting Orthodoxy from Catholic expansion. This interpretation was officially supported by the authorities both in pre-revolutionary and Soviet times, as well as by the Russian Orthodox Church. The idealization of Alexander reached its zenith before the Great Patriotic War, during and in the first decades after it. In popular culture, this image was captured in the film “Alexander Nevsky” by Sergei Eisenstein.
Eurasian assessment
Lev Gumilyov, as a representative of Eurasianism, saw in Alexander Nevsky the architect of a hypothetical Russian-Horde alliance. He categorically states that in 1251 “Alexander came to Batu’s horde, became friends, and then fraternized with his son Sartak, as a result of which he became the son of the khan and in 1252 brought the Tatar corps to Rus' with the experienced noyon Nevryuy.” From the point of view of Gumilyov and his followers, friendly relations Alexandra with Batu, whose respect he enjoyed, his son Sartak and successor - Khan Berke, allowed him to establish the most peaceful relations with the Horde, which contributed to the synthesis of East Slavic and Mongol-Tatar cultures.
Critical Assessment
The third group of historians, generally agreeing with the pragmatic nature of Alexander Nevsky’s actions, believes that objectively he played a negative role in the history of Russia. Skeptical historians (in particular Fennell, and after him Igor Danilevsky, Sergei Smirnov) believe that the traditional image of Alexander Nevsky as a brilliant commander and patriot is exaggerated. They focus on evidence in which Alexander Nevsky appears as a power-hungry and cruel person. They also express doubts about the scale of the Livonian threat to Rus' and the real military significance of the clashes on the Neva and Lake Peipus. According to their interpretation, there was no serious threat from the German knights (and the Battle of the Ice was not a major battle), and the example of Lithuania (to which a number of Russian princes moved with their lands), according to Danilevsky, showed that a successful fight against the Tatars was quite possible. Alexander Nevsky deliberately entered into an alliance with the Tatars in order to use them to strengthen his personal power. In the long term, his choice predetermined the formation of despotic power in Rus'.
Alexander Nevsky, having concluded an alliance with the Horde, subjugated Novgorod to Horde influence. He extended Tatar power to Novgorod, which was never conquered by the Tatars. Moreover, he gouged out the eyes of dissenting Novgorodians, and he committed many different sins.
- Valentin Yanin, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Canonization
Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the ranks of the faithful under Metropolitan Macarius at the Moscow Council in 1547. Memory (according to the Julian calendar): November 23 and August 30 (transfer of relics from Vladimir-on-Klyazma to St. Petersburg, to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (from 1797 - Lavra) on August 30, 1724). Days of celebration of St. Alexander Nevsky:
- May 23 (June 5, new art.) - Cathedral of Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints
- August 30 (September 12 according to the new art.) - the day of transfer of the relics to St. Petersburg (1724) - the main one
- November 14 (November 27 according to the new art.) - day of death in Gorodets (1263) - canceled
- November 23 (December 6, New Art.) - day of burial in Vladimir, in the schema of Alexy (1263)
Relics of St. Alexander Nevsky
- Nevsky was buried in the Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin in Vladimir, and until the mid-16th century the Nativity Monastery was considered the first monastery in Rus', the “great archimandrite.” In 1380, in Vladimir, his incorruptible relics were discovered and placed in a shrine on top of the ground. According to the lists of the Nikon and Resurrection Chronicles of the 16th century, during a fire in Vladimir on May 23, 1491, “the body of the great Prince Alexander Nevsky burned.” In the same chronicles of the 17th century, the story about the fire is completely rewritten and it is mentioned that the relics were miraculously preserved from the fire. In 1547, the prince was canonized, and in 1697, Metropolitan Hilarion of Suzdal placed the relics in a new shrine, decorated with carvings and covered with a precious shroud.
- Exported from Vladimir on August 11, 1723, the holy relics were brought to Shlisselburg on September 20 and remained there until 1724, when on August 30 they were installed in the Alexander Nevsky Church of the Alexander Nevsky Holy Trinity Monastery by order of Peter the Great. During the consecration of the Trinity Cathedral in the monastery in 1790, the relics were placed there, in a silver shrine donated by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.
In 1753, by order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the relics were transferred to a magnificent silver tomb, for the production of which the craftsmen of the Sestroretsk arms factory used about 90 pounds of silver. In 1790, after the completion of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the tomb was moved to this cathedral and placed behind the right choir.
- In May 1922, the relics were opened and soon confiscated. The seized cancer was transferred to the Hermitage, where it remains to this day.
- The relics of the saint were returned to the Lavra Trinity Cathedral from the storerooms of the Museum of Religion and Atheism, located in the Kazan Cathedral, in 1989.
- In 2007, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus', the saint’s relics were transported throughout the cities of Russia and Latvia for a month. On September 20, the holy relics were brought to the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior; on September 27, the reliquary was transported to Kaliningrad (September 27-29) and then to Riga (September 29 - October 3), Pskov (October 3-5), Novgorod (October 5-7 October), Yaroslavl (October 7 - 10), Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg. On October 20, the relics returned to the Lavra.
A piece of the relics of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky is located in the Temple of Alexander Nevsky in the city of Sofia, Bulgaria. Also, part of the relics (little finger) of Alexander Nevsky is located in the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Vladimir. The relics were transferred by decree of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' in October 1998 on the eve of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the metochion of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Moscow.
Alexander Nevsky in culture and art
Streets, alleys, squares, etc. are named after Alexander Nevsky. They are dedicated to him Orthodox churches, he is the patron saint of St. Petersburg. Not a single lifetime image of Alexander Nevsky has survived to this day. Therefore, to depict the prince on the order, in 1942, its author, architect I. S. Telyatnikov, used a portrait of actor Nikolai Cherkasov, who played the role of the prince in the film “Alexander Nevsky”.
In ancient Russian literature
A literary work written in the 13th century and known in many editions.
Fiction
- Segen A. Yu. Alexander Nevskiy. The Sun of the Russian Land. - M.: ITRK, 2003. - 448 p. - (Library of historical novel). - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-88010-158-4
- Yugov A.K. Warriors. - L.: Lenizdat, 1983. - 478 p.
- Subbotin A. A. For the Russian land. - M.: Military Publishing House of the USSR Ministry of Defense, 1957. - 696 p.
- Mosiyash S. Alexander Nevskiy. - L.: Children's literature, 1982. - 272 p.
- Yukhnov S. M. Scout of Alexander Nevsky. - M.: Eksmo, 2008. - 544 p. - (In the service of the sovereign. Russian frontier). - 4000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-26178-9
- Yan V. G. The youth of a commander // To the “last sea”. The youth of a commander. - M.: Pravda, 1981.
- Boris Vasiliev. Alexander Nevskiy.
art
- Portrait of Alexander Nevsky ( central part triptych, 1942) by Pavel Korin.
- Monument to Alexander Nevsky (equestrian sculpture) in St. Petersburg, opened on May 9, 2002 on Alexander Nevsky Square in front of the entrance to the territory of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Authors - sculptors: V. G. Kozenyuk, A. A. Palmin, A. S. Charkin; architects: G. S. Peychev, V. V. Popov.
Cinema
- Alexander Nevsky, Nevsky - Nikolai Cherkasov, director - Sergei Eisenstein, 1938.
- Life of Alexander Nevsky, Nevsky - Anatoly Gorgul, director - Georgy Kuznetsov, 1991.
- Alexander. Battle of Neva, Nevsky - Anton Pampushny, director - Igor Kalenov, - Russia, 2008.