Alexander Yaroslavich became famous for two victories: on Lake Peipsi over the German knights and on the Neva over the Swedes. However, the Russian commander took part in other equally important military campaigns.
Divided into a number of small principalities, in the middle of the 13th century Lithuania made regular raids into the northwestern lands of Rus. Lithuanian feudal lords adhered to the same tactics: avoiding open clashes with the Russian army, they attacked small towns and settlements, ruined them and quickly retreated. The only force opposing the Lithuanian raids were the united detachments under the command of Alexander Nevsky.
The author of the story "On the Life of Alexander Nevsky" tells us about the struggle of the Novgorod prince against the invaders: “At the same time, the Lithuanian people multiplied and began to harm the Alexandrovs' possessions. He drove out and beat them. Once it happened to him to leave, and in one departure he defeated seven regiments, killed many princes, and took some prisoners; and his servants, mocking, tied them to the tails of their horses. And from that time they began to be afraid of his name. "
In 1245, Lithuania made another raid on the Novgorod possessions. Several Lithuanian princes united in attacking Torzhok and Bezhetsk. The inhabitants of Torzhok, led by Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, opposed the invaders, but were defeated by the enemy. After capturing the "Big Polon", the Lithuanians turned back.
Following the Lithuanian detachments, the united forces of the Tver, Dmitrov and Novotorzhites marched out. They overtook the Lithuanians and defeated them near Toropets. The remnants of the Lithuanian army disappeared outside the city walls. Later, the Novgorod squad of Alexander Nevsky joined the siege of the city. Here is how the chronicler tells about it further:
“In the morning, Alexander and the Novgorodians ripened, and they took away the whole thing, and they chopped up eight or more princes. And then the Novgorodians returned; the prince chased the Lithuanians with his court, and beat them near Zizhich, and did not let a single husband out of them, and beat the rest of the princes here. [Alexander] himself took his son from Vitebsk, went with a small squad and met another army at Usvyat. And then God helped him, and beat these, and he himself came healthy, and his squad. "
Alexander was well aware that the defeat of one Lithuanian detachment would not save Novgorod from further raids. The decision of the Grand Duke to drive the retreating enemy within the borders of Lithuania made the Lithuanian feudal lords forget the road to the east for a long time.
In the early 1250s, Swedish feudal lords intensified their policy of conquest in Finland. Under the slogan of baptizing local pagan peoples, they sought to subjugate the lands of one of the Finnish tribes - the Emi, which traditionally acted in alliance with the Novgorodians. Novgorod's strategy was clear. Helping Emi overthrow the Swedes, the Novgorod government primarily sought to secure its own lands.
In the winter of 1256, the Emi revolted against the Swedish conquerors. The Novgorod army of Alexander Yaroslavich came to Emi's aid. Russian forces were limited in number: there was no talk of establishing control over the vast territories of Finland, but there were enough resources for a deep raid.
According to the chronicles, the campaign of the Russian army took place in extremely unfavorable climatic and natural conditions: short days of light, cold, snowstorms, complete impassability, dense forests and the almost complete absence of villages made it extremely difficult to conduct military operations.
Alexander, of course, did not even think about the complete expulsion of the invaders. However, despite the difficulties, he still managed to defeat several strongholds of the Swedish army. At the end of winter, as the chronicles note, the victorious army returned to Novgorod with glory. Although Alexander did not subjugate the Emi lands to Novgorod, he prevented the attempts of the Swedes to seize the original Novgorod territories off the coast of the Gulf of Finland and significantly tempered the aggressive appetites of the warlike Scandinavians.
In March 1256, 14 years after the defeat of the German feudal lords on Lake Peipsi, Pope Alexander IV, with a published bull, called on Catholics for a new crusade against the "pagans" of northeastern Europe. In his sermons, the Pope urged Christians in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Gotland, Germany and Poland to support this godly idea. However, it was not possible to attract large forces to the campaign. Only Sweden, which had its own scores with Novgorod, responded to the Vatican's call.
As the chronicle says, "Svei and Yem and Sum and Didman came with their volost and a multitude of [rati], and began to repair the city on the Narov." Here, apparently, it was about an attempt by the Swedish knights to build a stronghold on the border of the Vodskaya land and only then, having a ready-made fortress in the rear, begin the gradual conquest of the Voda, Izhora and Karelians.
The construction of a fortress at the mouth of the Narova on the eastern bank for the residents of the Novgorod Republic was already an act of aggression. The Novgorod authorities figured out the plans of the conquerors and began collecting the militia. Alexander Yaroslavich was not in Novgorod at that time, and therefore messengers were sent to him with a request to come with the "lower" regiments.
Large-scale military preparations of the Russians were noticed by the Swedes and the knights, most likely fearing an unfavorable outcome of the battle, hastened to leave such a remote land. In addition, the mercenary detachments of the Finns and Chudi Ests, which made up more than half of the Swedish army, seemed to the crusaders to be very unreliable allies. So, Alexander Nevsky won such an important strategic victory with only one type of military training.
As you know, Alexander Yaroslavich built a flexible policy of relations with the Golden Horde. “Having entered into an alliance with the Horde, he subordinated Novgorod to the Horde's influence. He extended Mongol power to Novgorod, which was never conquered by the Mongols, ”wrote Valentin Yanin, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, about Nevsky.
Nevertheless, a number of researchers believe that submission to the Horde was only an external manifestation of the policy of Alexander, who sought to minimize the dependence of the Russian lands on the Golden Horde.
In 1259, the violence and abuse of the Horde tax farmers caused a series of uprisings in Novgorod, three years later, protests were picked up by residents of Rostov, Vladimir, Suzdal and Yaroslavl. The people's veche decided to expel the khan's "besermen" from the city limits.
Vsevolod Merkulov, Candidate of Historical Sciences, admits that there was a general leadership of the anti-Mongol uprisings. He writes: “it is logical to assume that messengers were sent to the cities, who were supposed to ensure simultaneity. In addition, the geography of popular demonstrations, which took place in such a way as not only to inflict maximum damage on the invaders, but also to cut off their path to retreat, suggests such thoughts. "
Russian chronicles are silent on this score. Everything except Ustyuzhskaya. It contains a very interesting message, dating back to 1262: "And I came to Ustyug a letter from the Grand Duke Oleksandr Yaroslavovich that the Tatars were beaten." At this time in Russia, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich was only one - Nevsky.
According to local historians, the largest number of toponyms reflecting the resistance to the Mongol-Tatars is observed in northeastern Russia - the patrimonial lands of the Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich. In particular, this may be evidenced by the settlement of Treparevo on the Vorsmita River. According to the Khlebnikov chronicler, a battle took place here between the Russians and the Mongol-Tatars, who were given a "scourge". The Tatars fled, but according to legend, they were overtaken in the place where the village of Dushilovo is now located.
As is known from the chronicle sources, Alexander promised the Horde khans to find and punish those guilty of disobedience and riots. However, no one was found and, moreover, punished. Moreover, practically all the Horde tax collectors were killed in all cities. From that time on, the Tatars refused to go for the ransom, transferring the rights to collect tribute to the Russian princes.
Vsevolod Merkulov believes that the Horde suspected Alexander Nevsky and his entourage of preparing the uprisings, since it was impossible not to notice their simultaneity. “And most importantly, the uprising also took place in the prince’s patrimony, in Pereyaslavl. This logically explains his sudden death after a trip to the Khan's headquarters the following year. It is assumed that he was poisoned and died on November 14, 1263 in Gorodets, ”the historian concludes.
The two main opponents of Novgorod - the Swedes and the sword-bearers - were repelled and temporarily retreated from the attacks. The third enemy remained - the warlike and semi-savage Lithuania.
Both the Swedes and the order exhibited the army gathered together. The defeat of this army also meant the defeat of the enemy, the offensive - if not peace, then a long-term truce.
It was different with Lithuania. Divided into many small principalities, it raided Russia in relatively small detachments. These detachments emerged from the Lithuanian forests in front of this or that Russian city, sometimes captured it and plundered the surroundings. Then they disappeared into the woods again. If the Russian princes overtook such a detachment and destroyed it, this did not stop the raids. One Lithuanian prince or several Lithuanian princes, joining together, again came to Russia.
The constant struggle with Lithuania was different from the struggle with the order and the Swedes. There was no threat of another world and another culture in it. There was no tragic expectation of a battle in it, as on the Neva or at the Crow's Stone. The fight was a constantly dragging out guerrilla war. She was gradually bleeding the earth. As in the Kiev region, the raids of the steppe nomads, so the raids of Lithuania made the life of the population uneasy and unstable. In dangerous times for Novgorod, this enemy hidden in the forests became a serious threat, weakening Novgorod and strengthening other, more powerful enemies.
All Novgorod princes waged a constant war with Lithuania. This became part of the Novgorod princely tradition, as well as the war with the sword-bearers.
The graves in the monastic crypts and the crosses on the village graveyards of the Pechersk Territory, erected over the “slain from Lithuania” in the 13th-15th centuries, remain the monuments of this constant war.
St. Alexander Nevsky had to defend the Russian land from this enemy as well. The constant raids of the Lithuanians intensified especially in 1242, in the summer following the Battle of the Ice.
“In the same summer,” says the chronicle, “the Lithuanian language multiplied and dirty tricks began in the area of the Grand Duke Alexander.” St. Alexander went to Lithuania. With the Novgorod army, he defeated, one after the other, seven Lithuanian detachments that penetrated the Novgorod land. The Novgorodians caught the Lithuanians who survived the defeat and, angry with them, took them prisoner, tying their horses to their tails. This swift rout ended the Lithuanian raids. "Ottole began to observe and tremble in his name." Several years after the Battle of the Ice and the defeat of Lithuania passed calmly. The constant enemies of Novgorod - the Swedes, the Order and the Lithuanians - fell silent. There was peace in Novgorod too. During this time, it was not heard of any rebellions, or uprisings, or quarrels with the prince. This rare case in the history of Novgorod testifies to the strong connection between St. Alexander and Novgorod, and to the peculiarities of his historical path. As a Novgorod prince, St. Alexander took part in the administration of Novgorod. In the difficult days of constant war with many enemies, its external strength and its ability to defend depended on the internal state of the principality. The past centuries distinguish St. Alexander from all those who lived at that time. The names of his political opponents - Novgorodians - have been forgotten. Above the intertwining of Novgorod parties, we see only his clear and direct view, leading Russia along the correct historical path. Along the way, he was constantly confronted with misunderstanding, blinding by his local interests and personal tenacity. With the awareness of the correctness of the path, it is especially difficult to yield to those who are in error. There are historical figures who have always gone ahead. St. Alexander was not one of them. It has a special combination of a clear and direct path, adamant towards its goal, and at the same time great flexibility and ability to yield. We will see further that there were clashes between St. Alexander and Novgorod, when he became adamant and became an enemy of Novgorod up to the threat of his army. But the years of long peace after the Swedish and Order wars testify to St. Alexander's flexibility, his ability to give in if these concessions could be made.
These years of inner tranquility mark only brief information about the life of the princely family and about the Lithuanian raids.
In 1244, on May 5, the mother of St. Alexander, Princess Theodosia Yaroslavna, who lived in Novgorod, died. Before her death, she was tonsured into monasticism at the monastery of St. George with the name Euphrosinia and was buried in the same monastery next to her son Prince Theodore.
In 1245, Lithuania again raided the Novgorod possessions. Several Lithuanian princes, joining together, marched as far as Bezhetsk and Torzhok. The inhabitants of Torzhok with their prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich opposed them and were defeated. The Lithuanians captured a large polon and turned back to Lithuania. This raid raised the whole of Northern Russia. Tverichi, Dmitrovites and Novotorzhians chased after Lithuania, which was leaving with full, and defeated it near Toropets. The Lithuanian princes with their army hid behind the walls of the city. The Russians laid siege to the city. On the morning after this battle, St. Alexander approached Toropets with the Novgorodians. Taking the city by storm, he took the whole city away from the Lithuanians. Eight Lithuanian princes fell in this section.
Here, under the walls of Toropets, St. Alexander had a disagreement with the Novgorodians. The Novgorodians believed that the campaign was over. But St. Alexander knew that the defeat of one Lithuanian detachment would not save Novgorod from further raids. After lengthy disputes between the prince and the mayor and the governors, the Novgorod army was divided. The Novgorod militia and the Vladychin's regiment with the mayor and the tysyatsky returned to Novgorod, and St. Alexander with his princes' squad went to the Lithuanian borders.
In 1238-1240, Russia was subjected to a terrible invasion of the Tatars. Russian-Tatar relations are beyond the scope of our work, so we will only briefly recall them.
The Russian principalities came under the rule of the Golden Horde. At the same time, not only the principalities of central and southern Russia began to pay tribute to the Horde, but also the northern lands, where the Tatars did not reach. In fact, Russia became part of this state. Another question is that the Golden Horde was an early feudal state with very weak political, administrative and economic ties. Russian princes paid tribute to the Horde, went to the khan to sue among themselves, sent their squads to help the Tatar army and, in turn, demanded Tatar armies for protection from enemies, for example, from the Litvin. The name of the ruling Tatar khan was indicated on Russian coins. Priests offered prayers for his health throughout Russia. For the XIII-XIV centuries, these were the usual relations of a feudal lord to his overlord. During that period, many counts in France had more sovereignty in relation to their king than Russian princes to the khan. This situation persisted until the middle of the XIV century.
Batu's invasion of Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria in 1240 gave Rome an excellent reason to strengthen its influence by organizing a large crusade against the Tatars. This was talked about in the papal circle. But alas, in practice they led to the continuation of the 12th century crusades against the Lithuanian and Finnish tribes, and most importantly, against Russia. Thus, Rome sent the main blow to the Christian principalities, which suffered the most from the Batu invasion.
At the beginning of the 13th century, there was a war between the Gothic and Swedish sovereign houses. In the mid-20s of the XIII century, this struggle ended with the strengthening of the power circles of the feudal lords, among which the first place was occupied by the Folkung family, who inherited the dignity of a jarl. A powerful representative of this family, Birger, prompted by papal messages, undertook a crusade against Russia in 1249.
There are no reliable data on the strength of the Swedish army, although in the writings of our historians periodically emerge numbers that have appeared from nowhere. So, I.A. Zaichkin and I.N. Pochkaev write about the five thousandth army and 100 ships of Jarl Birger.
Since 1236, the young Alexander Nevsky, the son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, reigned in Novgorod, or rather, served as a prince (i.e., the leader of the army). Generally speaking, the phrase Alexander Nevsky first appeared in the annals of the 15th century. Even in The Tale of the Life and Courage of the Blessed and Grand Duke Alexander, created 40 years after the events described, Alexander is never named Nevsky. But since our reader is accustomed to this phrase, we will continue to call Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich Nevsky.
According to "The Tale of the Life and Courage of the Blessed and Grand Duke Alexander", Birger, having arrived with an army at the mouth of the Neva, sent his ambassadors to Novgorod to declare to the prince: "If you can resist me, then I am already here, capturing your land." However, this message is most likely an interpolation of the compiler of the "Tale of a Life ...", since the surprise of the attack was often a decisive factor in the battles in the north.
In fact, the Novgorod "maritime guards" noticed the Swedes. This function was performed by the Izhora tribe, headed by their elder Pelugiy. According to the version of "The Story of a Life ..." Pelugius was allegedly already Orthodox and had the Christian name Philip, and the rest of his tribe remained in paganism. The Izhora naval guards found the Swedes in the Gulf of Finland and quickly reported them to Novgorod. Surely there was a system of operational communications from the mouth of the Neva to Novgorod, otherwise the very existence of the sea guard becomes meaningless. Perhaps these were the signal lights on the mounds; possibly an equestrian relay; but, in any case, the warning system worked quickly.
Subsequently, the naval guards conducted covert surveillance of the Swedish ships that entered the Neva. In the "Tale of a Life ..." it is described as follows: "He (Pelugius) stood on the seashore, watching both paths, and spent the whole night without sleep. When the sun began to rise, he heard a loud noise on the sea and saw one embankment floating on the sea, and the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb in red robes, standing in the middle of the embankment, holding their hands on each other's shoulders. Alexander. "Seeing such a vision and hearing these words of the martyrs, Pelugius stood trembling, until the nozzle disappeared from his eyes."
Prince Alexander, who was about 20 years old, quickly gathered a squad and moved on boats along the Volkhov to Ladoga, where he was joined by the Ladoga squad.
Jarl Birger was completely unaware of the movement of the Novgorod army and decided to give the army a rest on the southern bank of the Neva, not far from the place where the Izhora river flows into it.
On July 15, 1240, "at six o'clock in the afternoon," the Russian army suddenly attacked the Swedes. According to "The Tale of a Life ...", Alexander Yaroslavovich personally wounded Jarl Birger in the face with a spear. The suddenness of the attack and the loss of the commander decided the matter. The Swedes began to retreat to the ships.
The Tale of a Life ... describes the exploits of six Russian soldiers. The first of them, Gavrila Oleksich, rode on a horse along the gangplank onto a Swedish ship (auger) and began to chop down the enemy there. The Swedes threw him from his horse into the water, but he came out of the water unharmed and again attacked the enemy. The second, by the name of Sbyslav Yakunovich, a Novgorodian, many times attacked the army of the Swedes and fought with one ax, having no fear, and many fell at his hand, and marveled at his strength and courage. The third, Yakov, a Polotsk resident, was a cunning prince. He attacked the regiment with a sword, and the prince praised him. The fourth, Mesha, a Novgorodian, on foot with his retinue, attacked the ships and sank three ships. The fifth, Sava, from the younger squad, burst into the jarl's golden-domed tent and cut down the tent pole. The sixth, Ratmir, one of Alexander's servants, fought on foot at the same time with several Swedes, fell from multiple wounds and died.
With the onset of darkness, most of the Swedish ships left downstream of the Neva, and some were captured by the Russians. By order of Alexander, two trophy augers were loaded with the bodies of the killed Swedes, and they were let downstream into the sea, and "drowned in the sea", and the rest of the killed enemies, "dug a hole, sweeping them into nudes without number."
The losses of the Russians turned out to be negligible, only 20 people. This fact, as well as the absence of any mention of the Battle of the Neva in the Swedish chronicles, gave rise to a number of Russophobic historians to reduce the battle to the level of a small skirmish. In my opinion, the death of 20 elite warriors in a surprise attack is not such a small loss. In addition, Izhora was to participate in the battle on the side of the Russians. After the battle, Orthodox Russians and pagans were buried in different places and according to different rituals. The Izhorians burned the bodies of their fellow tribesmen. Therefore, the Russian participants in the battle hardly knew how many were killed among the Izhora.
Another thing is that the number of Swedes who came with Birger could have been much less than our patriotic historians assumed. There could well have been about a thousand people. But, in any case, the Battle of the Neva became a good lesson for the Swedes.
The Novgorodians greeted Alexander and his squad with a bell ringing. However, not even a few weeks had passed when the power-hungry prince and the restless citizens of free Novgorod fell out. Alexander Yaroslavovich, together with his retinue, went home to his Pereslavl-Zalessky.
But the time for "great sedition" and a quarrel with Prince Alexander was clearly unsuccessful for the Novgorodians. In the same year 1240, the knights of the Order of the Swordsmen, under the command of Vice-Master Andreas von Velven, launched a major offensive against Russia. Together with the Germans, there was a deserter known to us, Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich. The Germans took Izborsk. The Pskov army went out to meet the Germans, but was defeated. The Pskov voivode Gavrila Gorislavovich was killed. It is curious that the German chroniclers made Gavrila Gorislavovich at first Gernolt, and then Prince Yaropolk, forcing him to "live after death" and surrender Pskov to the Germans.
In fact, the Germans besieged Pskov for about a week, and then the Pskovites agreed to all the demands of the enemy and gave their children hostage. The German garrison entered Pskov.
The Germans were not content with the Pskov lands, and together with the Chukhont detachments they attacked the Novgorod volost (Votskaya pyatina). In the Koporsky churchyard, 16 km from the Gulf of Finland, the knights built a powerful fortress. The Germans captured the town of Tesov 35 km from Novgorod.
In such a situation, the Novgorodians again needed a prince with his retinue. Ambassadors urgently went to Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich to ask for Prince Alexander to be given to Novgorod. However, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich gave them his other son Andrei (younger). Novgorodians thought and refused, they only needed Alexander. In the end, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich conceded and gave Alexander, but on tougher conditions.
In 1241, Alexander Yaroslavovich came to Novgorod. To begin with, he recalled old grievances to the townspeople and hanged "many seditious." Then Alexander laid siege to the fortress of Koporye and took it. The prince sent part of the captured Germans to Novgorod, and released some (presumably for a good ransom), but he hanged all the chud from the Koporsk garrison. However, Alexander refrained from further actions against the knights until the arrival of a strong Vladimir squad, led by his brother Andrey, to the rescue.
In 1242 Alexander and Andrey Yaroslavovich took Pskov. During the assault, 70 knights and many bollards were killed. According to the Livonian Chronicle, Alexander ordered six knights to be tortured in Pskov.
From Pskov, Alexander moved into the possession of the Livonian Order. However, the advance detachment of the Russians under the command of Domash Tverdislavovich from Novgorod fell into a German ambush and was defeated. Having received news of the death of his vanguard, Prince Alexander led his army to the ice of Lake Peipsi near the Uzmen tract near the Voronei Kameni.
At dawn on April 5, 1242, the German-Chukhon army formed a closed phalanx in the form of a wedge, in Europe such a formation was often called the "iron pig". At the top of the wedge were the best knights of the order. A German wedge pierced the center of the Russian army, and individual warriors fled. However, the Russians launched strong flank counterattacks and took the enemy in pincers. The Germans began to retreat. The Russians drove them for about 8 km to the opposite Sobolitsky coast. In a number of places the ice broke under the crowded Germans, and many of them found themselves in the water.
The Novgorod ("first") chronicle reports that 400 knights were killed in the battle, and 50 knights were taken prisoner, while Chudi was beaten "without number." Western historians, such as John Fennell, question the reliability of this figure in the annals, since there were a little more than 100 knights in the united order at that time. The Livonian Chronicle, written in the last decade of the 13th century, says that only twenty knights were killed in the battle and six more were captured. In our opinion, one should not forget that each knight on a warrior was accompanied by one or two dozen mounted warriors in armor. Apparently, the chronicler under the knights meant well-armed mounted warriors.
It is also worth noting that the Suzdal Chronicle assigns the main role in the Battle of the Ice not to Alexander, but to Andrei Yaroslavovich and his squad: “Great Prince Yaroslav, the ambassador of his son Andrea to Veliky Novgorod and to help Oleksandrov in Germany and I will win over Pleskov (Pskov) on the lake and full of many captivity and Andrei climbed to his father with honor. "
This message should be taken seriously, since later Andrei Yaroslavovich showed himself to be a brave warrior (he became the first prince to revolt against the Horde). Yes, and Yaroslav Vyacheslavovich sent with him from Vladimir not peasants-lapotniks, but selected warriors - "forged men."
In general, there is no reason to dispute that Alexander led the battle, but an objective historian must pay tribute to his undeservedly forgotten brother Andrey.
When Alexander returned to Pskov after the victory, the captured knights were led alongside their horses. All of Pskov went out to meet their deliverer, the abbots and priests walked with crosses. The "Tale of Life ..." says: "O Pskovites! If you forget this and depart from the family of the Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavovich, then you will be like the Jews whom the Lord nourished in the desert, but they forgot all his good deeds. If one of the most distant descendants of Alexander comes to live in sorrow in Pskov and you don’t accept him, don’t honor him, then you will be called the second Jews ”.
After this glorious campaign, Alexander had to go to Vladimir to say goodbye to his father, who was leaving for the Horde. In his absence, the Germans sent ambassadors to Novgorod with a bow, who said: “That we entered with a sword, Vot, Luga, Pskov, Letgola, we retreat from everything. How many have taken your people captive, we will exchange them: we will let yours in, and you will let ours in ”.
The Germans also released the Pskov hostages. The peace was concluded on conditions favorable for Pskov and Novgorod.
In 1245, Alexander Nevsky repulsed several raids of the Litvinians who attacked Torzhok and Bezhetsk. In 1247, Alexander and Andrey Yaroslavovich went separately to the Horde, first to Sarai, and then to distant Mongolia in Karakorum. There the regent Ogul-Hamish, the widow of the great khan Guyuk, gave Andrei the grand-princely throne in Vladimir, and ordered Alexander to reign in Kiev. By seniority, Vladimir was supposed to go to Alexander, and not his younger brother. Historians have been racking their brains about the motives of such a decision of the khanshi for many years. According to one version, the khansha did not like Alexander's friendly relations with the Sarai khan, according to another, she entered into a relationship with the handsome Andrei.
In the winter of 1249-1250, Alexander and Andrey returned to Russia. Alexander did not want to go to Kiev, devastated by the Tatars, and began to wander around northern Russia. The following winter (1250-1251) Andrei Yaroslavovich married the daughter of the Galician prince Daniil Romanovich. This marriage cemented the union of the two most powerful princes who controlled most of the Russian lands. The union was clearly anti-Tatar.
In 1252, the offended Alexander went to the Don, to the headquarters of Batu Khan's son Sartak and reported on his brother. Sartak's reaction was more than prompt. He sent two large Tatar troops to Russia. One of them, under the command of Nevryu, went to Vladimir against Andrey, and the other, under the command of Kuremsha, went against Daniil Galitsky.
Daniel managed to repel the attack of Kuremsha. However, Andrey's army was defeated, and he and his young wife had to flee to Sweden. Alexander solemnly entered Vladimir and sat on the grand princely throne, which he had obtained with Tatar sabers. In the summer of 1252, the Tatars devastated northern Russia terribly. No wonder the chronicler compared the "Nevryuev army" with the invasion of Baty.
The Catholic Church continued its expansion into the Russian lands. Crusades alternated with attempts to convert Russian princes to Catholicism. So, Pope Innocent IV (reigned in 1243-1254) sent two legates to Vladimir Yaroslavovich - Galda and Gemont. According to the "Tale of a Life ...", the legates said to Alexander: "Our dad said so:" I heard that you are a worthy and glorious prince and that your land is great, "and offered him to convert to Catholicism.
The prince ordered the Pope to write the answer: “From Adam to the flood, from the flood to the division of nations, from the mixing of nations to Abraham, from Abraham to the passage of Israel through the Red Sea, from the exodus of the sons of Israel to the death of King David, from the beginning of the reign of Solomon to Augustus the king, from the power of Augustus to the birth of Christ, from the birth of Christ to the suffering and resurrection of the Lord, from his resurrection to his ascension to heaven, from his ascension to heaven to the reign of Konstantinov, from the beginning of the reign of Konstantinov to the first council, from the first council to the seventh - about we know all this well, but the teaching from you is not acceptable. "
The legates had to return to Rome with nothing.
At the same time, Innocent IV struck up a relationship with Daniil Galitsky, the ruler of southern Russia. Moreover, he offered Daniel not a change of faith, but a kind of union. So, the Pope agreed that the Russian clergy performed services on fermented prosphyras, etc., and the Pope offered the Galician prince a royal crown as a "carrot". Daniel, in principle, did not object to the merger of churches, and even more so to the royal title. However, at first he demanded effective military assistance against the Tatars. “The Tatar warrior does not stop: how can I accept the crown before you give me help?” He wrote to dad.
In 1254, when Daniel was in Krakow with Prince Brleslav, the papal ambassadors also came there with a crown, demanding a meeting with Daniel. Daniel managed to avoid meeting them under the pretext that it was not good for him to see them in a foreign land. The next year the ambassadors appeared again, and again with the crown and the promise of help. Daniel, not believing empty promises, did not want to accept the crown even here, but his mother and the Polish princes persuaded him: "Take only the crown, and we will already help you with the nasty ones." At the same time, the Pope cursed those who blasphemed the Orthodox faith, and promised to convene a council to discuss the general unification of churches. In the end, Daniel was persuaded, and he was crowned in Drogichin.
King Daniel did not receive real military assistance from the West and soon broke off all relations with the papal throne, despite the reproaches of Pope Alexander IV. And the royal title received from the pope, Daniel retained for himself and his offspring.
As already mentioned, papacy and chivalry in the East combined persuasion with coercion. In 1249, the Swedish king Eric summoned "both knights and those close to the knighthood, as well as peasants and armed servants" (that is, he announced a total mobilization for a campaign against the Tavasts (e). The king instructed his son-in-law Birger to command the army, the same one marked with the spear of Alexander Nevsky. Several dozen Swedish ships crossed the Gulf of Bothnia and landed a large army in Finland. Naturally, the Tavasts did not begin to resist the numerically superior and better armed Swedish army in open battle. The Swedes inflicted a bloody massacre. "Anyone who obeyed them , became a Christian and was baptized, they left life and goodness and allowed them to live in peace, and those pagans who did not want this were put to death. Christians built a fortress there and planted their people. This fortress is called Tavastaborg - a trouble from it to the pagans! .. The Russian prince, as I think, lost the side that was all baptized. "
Finnish historians have been arguing for a long time where the fortress Tavastaborg (another name is Tavastgus) was located. Some believe that it is a medieval stone castle in the city of Hamenlinna that still exists today.
However, Hamenlinna is not very similar to the "detinets" described in the annals. According to the chronicle, "Detinets" stood on a high and steep hill, while the castle in Hamenlinna stands on a small hill, just a few meters above the level of the surrounding area. The Hakoistenlinna settlement, located in the same part of the Emi land, in the Yanakkala area, is more suitable for the chronicle description. This settlement is located on a steep and high rocky inaccessible hill. Note that the Chronicle of Eric admits that, firstly, the Tavasts before the Swedish invasion were Russian, or rather, Novgorodian subjects, and, secondly, the Russians did not try to force Christianity on the Tavasts (Emi), and they remained in the overwhelming majority pagans.
Following the Tavasts, the Swedes managed to subdue the Sum tribes who lived in southwestern Finland. In 1256, Swedes, Danes and baptized Finns undertook a campaign in Northern Estonia, where they began to restore the Narva fortress on the right bank of the river. This fortress was founded in 1223 by the Danish king Valdemar II, but later it was destroyed by the Novgorodians.
Novgorodians in 1256 did not have a prince, so they had to send messengers to Vladimir for Alexander Nevsky. In the winter of 1256-1257, Alexander and his retinue arrived in Novgorod. Gathering the Novgorod troops, Alexander set out on a campaign. As the chronicler says, no one in the army knew where the prince was going. Alexander drove the Swedes and the company out of Koporye, but then he moved not on a chud, as the whole army and the enemy thought, but on em, that is, not to Estonia, but to Central Finland. As the chronicle says: "And the way was evil, how have you seen neither days, nor nights." Yes, the days in winter in Central Finland are extremely short. Despite this, the Russians beat both the Swedes and the Tavasts they controlled, and then returned home with a lot of booty and full. The Tavastaborg fortress was not taken, but this campaign of Alexander for a long time discouraged the Swedes from raiding the Novgorod lands.
After the peace of 1242, the Livonian knights did not bother Russia for ten years. Only in 1253, encouraged by successful wars with Lithuania, they violated the treaty, came to Pskov and burned the posad, but, according to the chronicler, they themselves suffered heavy losses from the Pskovites. Apparently, the siege of the fortress lasted until the Novgorod regiment came to the rescue of the Pskovites. Then the Germans got scared, lifted the siege and left.
The Novgorodians were not satisfied with the liberation of Pskov, but moved to Livonia. The Novgorodians were joined by their faithful allies, the Karelians. As the chronicler wrote, the Novgorodians "laid the German volost (that is, Livonia) empty, the Karelians also did a lot of harm to it." The Pskovites defeated some order "regiment". As a result, the knights "sent to Pskov and Novgorod to ask for peace in all the will of Novgorod and Pskov."
In 1262, Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavovich (brother of Alexander Nevsky) and his son Dmitry Yaroslavovich decided to return "their fatherland, the city of Yuryev" (Dorpat). They entered into an alliance with the Lithuanian prince Mindovg and the Zhmud prince Troinat. However, the Livonians were saved by the asynchronous actions of the Russians and their allies. Prince Mindaugas besieged the fortress Venden (Kes), but in vain waited for the Russians, and, without waiting, lifted the siege, content only with the devastation of the surrounding lands. When Lithuania left, Russian regiments appeared and laid siege to Yuryev. By this time, the Germans had strongly fortified the city. The chronicler wrote: "the city of Yuryev was solid, with three walls, and a lot of people in it all, and they built a strong defense for themselves in the city." The Russians attacked the posad, plundered it and burned it, took many prisoners, but could not take the fortress and went back. The Livonian chronicler claims that the Russians left Yuriev, having learned about the approach of Master Verger von Breithausen, that the master, pursuing the Russians, invaded their possessions, devastated them, but fell ill and had to return.
These were the last military actions of the Russians in the north of Russia during the life of Alexander Nevsky. On November 14, 1263, Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich died in Gorodets on the Volga on the way from the Horde to Vladimir. On November 23, he was buried in the monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin in Vladimir. Metropolitan Kirill said over his coffin: “My dear children! Know that the sun of the Russian land has set, "and all the people shouted in response:" We are already perishing! " It should be noted here that Metropolitan Kirill was an old associate and friend of Alexander Nevsky. Most of the princes and common people at the end of the XIII - the beginning of the XIV century looked at Alexander as an ordinary prince, albeit more successful than others.
After Alexander's death, his four sons ruled northern Russia for a long time, although they fought with each other. His youngest son, Daniel, in 1277 became the first Moscow appanage prince. Before that, Moscow was such a small town that it did not have its own prince. The grandson of Alexander Nevsky, Ivan Danilovich Kalita, became a "gatherer of Russian lands" around Moscow. Naturally, the Moscow princes were extremely interested in the exaltation of their ancestor. The support of Alexander's great-great-grandfather, Dmitry Donskoy, the grandson of Kalita, was especially needed on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo. And as you know, a miracle always happens when there is a social order for it. And then, one fine night, the monk of the Vladimir Mother of God Monastery saw Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich. The monks dug his grave and found imperishable relics there. Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich was immediately canonized and introduced into the pantheon of Moscow saints.
Alexander Nevsky was introduced to the all-Russian pantheon only in 1547. The reader will remember that this was the year of the wedding to the kingdom of Ivan IV (not yet the Terrible). Here, too, famous and preferably holy ancestors were needed. In the future, it is easy to see that the bursts of popularity of Alexander Nevsky each time coincided in time with the next conflicts with the Swedes and Germans, for example, at the beginning of the 18th century during the Northern War, in the late 30s of the 20th century when relations with Nazi Germany were aggravated.
Modern historians (let alone writers) are inclined to modernize Alexander Nevsky, attributing to him unusual features and actions. He was an ordinary person of the 13th century, an intelligent and very cruel ruler and, of course, a talented commander, but not so much that his two victories covered us a whole century of our own history.
The pro-Horde sympathies of Alexander Nevsky are an extremely controversial issue. As they say, history has no subjunctive mood, so it makes no sense to guess what would have happened if Alexander had not gone to Khan Sartak in 1252, but had supported his brother Andrew and Prince Daniel of Galitsky.
At the same time, the anti-Western orientation of Alexander's policy is quite understandable and justified. The hordes of Batu and Nevryuya brought innumerable sacrifices to the Russian people. But the khans of the Golden Horde did not strive to destroy Russia. The khans needed loyal vassals and their squads, and most importantly, money. Therefore, the khans not only did not destroy the power structures of the Russian principalities and the Orthodox Church, but, on the contrary, tried to use them for their own purposes.
Unlike the Tatars, the Crusader Knights and Popes pursued completely different goals. The Russian state and even the appanage principalities were of no use to them. They needed Slavic slaves who would meekly work for their European masters and pay tithes to the Pope. Defeat in the fight against the crusaders threatened the Russian principalities with complete destruction, disastrously for the Orthodox Church, Russian culture and the Russian language. In this case, Russia awaited the fate of Great Moravia and Prussia, from which the "carriers of the enlightenment and the faith of Christ" did not leave a trace.
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Alexander Nevsky is a great Russian ruler, commander, thinker and, finally, a saint, especially revered among the people. His life, icons and prayers are in the article!
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (1220 - November 14, 1263), Prince of Novgorod, Pereyaslavsky, Grand Duke of Kiev (from 1249), Grand Duke of Vladimir (from 1252).
Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the guise of the faithful under Metropolitan Macarius at the Moscow Cathedral in 1547.
Commemoration of December 6 and September 12 in a new style (transfer of 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 prayers are held 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 an order was established in his honor back in Tsaras Russia. It is surprising that in the 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.
- Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich was born in 1220 (according to another version - in 1221) and died in 1263. In different years of his life, Prince Alexander had the titles of Prince of Novgorod, Kiev, and later the 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 occasionally acted as a military leader. Throughout his life, Prince Alexander has not lost a single battle.
– Alexander Nevsky canonized as a faithful prince... These saints include the laity, 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 primarily a ruler who was guided in his life primarily by the highest Christian virtues, including mercy and philanthropy, and not a thirst for power and not selfishness.
- Contrary to popular belief that the Church canonized almost all the rulers of the Middle Ages in the face of the faithful, only a few of them were glorified. Thus, among the Russian saints of princely origin, the majority are glorified as saints for their martyrdom for the sake of their neighbors and for the preservation of the Christian faith.
–Through the efforts of Alexander Nevsky, the preaching of Christianity spread to the northern lands of the Pomors. He also succeeded in helping to create 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 a saint, he was completely out of place for the Soviet regime. That is why Sergei Eisenstein's masterpiece "Alexander Nevsky" tells not about the prince's whole life, but only about the battle on Lake Peipsi. This gave rise to the widespread stereotype that Prince Alexander was numbered among the saints for his military services, and that holiness itself became something of a "reward" from the Church.
- The veneration of Prince Alexander as a saint began immediately after his death, at the same time a rather detailed "The Story of the Life of Alexander Nevsky" was compiled. The official canonization of the prince took place in 1547.
Portal "Word"
Prince Alexander Nevsky is one of those great people in the history of our Fatherland, whose activities not only influenced the fate of the country and the people, but in many ways changed them, predetermined the course of Russian history for many centuries to come. It fell to him to rule Russia in the most difficult, a turning point that followed the ruinous Mongol conquest, when it came to the very existence of Russia, about whether it will be able to survive, preserve its statehood, its ethnic independence, or disappear from the map, like many other peoples of Eastern Europe , underwent an invasion at the same time.
He was born in 1220 (1), in the city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and was the second son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, at that time a Pereyaslavl prince. His mother Theodosia, apparently, was the daughter of the famous Toropets prince Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny, or Udatny (2).
Very early Alexander became involved in the turbulent political events that unfolded around the reign in Veliky Novgorod - one of the largest cities in medieval Russia. It is with Novgorod that most of his biography will be associated. For the first time, Alexander came to this city as a baby - in the winter of 1223, when his father was invited to the Novgorod reign. However, the reign was short-lived: at the end of the same year, having quarreled with the Novgorodians, Yaroslav and his family returned to Pereyaslavl. So Yaroslav will put up, then quarrel with Novgorod, and then the same will be repeated in the fate of Alexander. This was simply explained: the Novgorodians needed a strong prince from close to them North-Eastern Russia so that he could protect the city from external enemies. However, such a prince ruled Novgorod too abruptly, and the townspeople usually soon quarreled with him and invited some southern 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 Novgorodians had to turn to the Vladimir or Pereyaslavl princes for help again, and everything was repeated anew.
Prince Yaroslav was again invited to Novgorod in 1226. Two years later, the prince left the city again, but this time he left his sons in it as princes - nine-year-old Fedor (his eldest son) and eight-year-old Alexander. Together with the children, Yaroslav's boyars - Fyodor Danilovich and the princely tiun Yakim - remained. However, they did not manage 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, the future martyr for the faith and revered saint, established himself in Novgorod. But the South Russian prince, who ruled distant Chernigov, could not defend the city from outside threats; in addition, a severe famine and pestilence began in Novgorod. In December 1230, the Novgorodians invited Yaroslav for the third time. He hastily arrived in 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 remained in the reign of Novgorod again.
Novgorod reign of Alexander
So, in January 1231, Alexander formally became the prince of Novgorod. Until 1233, he ruled with his older brother. But this year Fedor died (his sudden death happened just before the wedding, when everything was already ready for the wedding feast). Real power remained entirely in the hands of his father. Probably, Alexander took part in his father's campaigns (for example, in 1234 under Yuryev, against the Livonian Germans, and in the same year against the Lithuanians). In 1236 Yaroslav Vsevolodovich occupied the vacated Kiev throne. From that time on, sixteen-year-old Alexander became the independent ruler of Novgorod.
The beginning of his reign fell on a terrible time in the history of Russia - the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. The hordes of Batu, which fell on Russia in the winter of 1237/38, did not reach Novgorod. But most of North-Eastern Russia, its largest cities - Vladimir, Suzdal, Ryazan and others - were destroyed. Many princes died, including Alexander's uncle, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich and all his sons. Alexander's father Yaroslav (1239) received the Grand Ducal throne. The disaster that occurred turned the whole course of Russian history 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 face 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 restrain 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, an important event took place in his life - Alexander married the daughter of the Polotsk prince Bryachislav, his ally in the struggle with Lithuania. (Later sources call the name of the princess Alexandra (3).) The wedding was held in Toropets, an important city on the Russian-Lithuanian border, and the second wedding feast was in Novgorod.
An even greater danger for Novgorod was the advance from the west of the German knights-crusaders from the Livonian Order of the Swordsmen (united in 1237 with the Teutonic Order), and from the north - to Sweden, which in the first half of the 13th century intensified the offensive on the lands of the Finnish tribe Eme (Tavastov), traditionally included in the sphere of influence of the Novgorod princes. One might think that the news of Batu's terrible defeat of Russia prompted the rulers of Sweden to transfer hostilities to the territory of the Novgorod land proper.
The Swedish army invaded the Novgorod borders 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 Eric Erikson and the long-term ruler of Sweden, but researchers are doubtful about this news. According to the chronicle, the Swedes intended “to seize Ladoga, or to put it simply, 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 the news of the invasion, that his famous words sounded: “ God is not in power, but in truth!”
Gathering a small squad, Alexander did not wait for help from his father and set out on a campaign. On the way, he joined up with the Ladozhians and on July 15, he suddenly attacked the Swedish camp. The battle ended in complete victory for the Russians. The Novgorod Chronicle reports on huge losses on the part of the enemy: “And many of them fell; they filled two ships with the bodies of the best men and let them sail ahead of them on the sea, and for the others they dug a hole and threw it 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 the Swedish sources), and the losses of the Russians are understated. The synodikon of the Novgorod church of Saints Boris and Gleb in Plotniki, compiled in the 15th century, has survived, mentioning “the princely governors, and the Novgorod governors, and all our slaughtered 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 Battle of the Neva is obvious: the Swedish onslaught in the direction of North-Western Russia was stopped, and Russia showed that, despite the Mongol conquest, it was able to defend its borders.
The life of Alexander highlights the feat of six "brave men" from Alexander's regiment: Gavrila Oleksich, Sbyslav Yakunovich, Yakov from Polotsk, Misha from Novgorod, Sava's warrior from the junior squad (who chopped down the golden-domed royal tent) and Ratmir, who died in the battle. The Life also tells about the miracle performed during the battle: on the opposite side of Izhora, where there were no Novgorodians at all, later found many corpses of fallen enemies, who were struck by the angel of the Lord.
This victory brought resounding glory to the twenty-year-old prince. It was in her honor that he received the honorary nickname - Nevsky.
Soon after his victorious return, Alexander fell out 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” to Pereyaslavl. The reasons for his conflict with the Novgorodians are unclear. It can be assumed that Alexander strove imperiously, following the example of his father, to rule Novgorod, and this provoked resistance from the Novgorod boyars. However, having lost a strong prince, Novgorod could not stop the offensive 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 Russia. The next year, the Germans invaded the Novgorod lands, took the city of Tesov on the Luga River and built the Koporye fortress. The Novgorodians turned to Yaroslav for help, asking him to send a son. Yaroslav first sent his son Andrei, the younger brother of Nevsky, to them, but after a repeated request from the Novgorodians, he agreed to let Alexander go again. In 1241, Alexander Nevsky returned to Novgorod and was enthusiastically received by the residents.
Battle on the Ice
Once again, he acted decisively and without delay. In the same year, Alexander took the Koporye fortress. He took the Germans partly, and partly let them go home, while the traitors to the Estonians and the 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 war booty to Novgorod. Building on this success, Russian troops entered Estonia. However, in the very 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 regiment to the prince. The Russians had to retreat. On April 5, 1242, a battle took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi (“on Uzmen, near the Crow's Stone”), which went down in history as the Battle of the Ice. The Germans and Estonians, moving in a wedge (in Russian, "pig"), pierced the advance regiment of the Russians, but were then surrounded and completely defeated. “And they chased them, beating them, seven miles on the ice,” the chronicler testifies.
In assessing the losses of the German side, Russian and Western sources differ. According to the Novgorod Chronicle, countless "Chuds" and 400 (in another list of 500) German knights perished, and 50 knights were taken prisoner. “And Prince Alexander returned with a glorious victory,” says the Life of the saint, “and there were many prisoners in his army, and they led barefoot beside horses those who call themselves“ God's knights ”.” There is a story about this battle in the so-called Livonian Rhymed Chronicle of the late 13th century, but it only reports about 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 the killed and wounded Germans, and the author of the Rhymed Chronicle - only the “knight brothers”, that is, the actual members of the Order.
The Battle on the Ice was of great importance for the fate of not only Novgorod, but the whole of Russia. On the ice of Lake Peipsi, the crusading aggression was stopped. Russia 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 the 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 retreat from everything. And that they took your husbands prisoner - we are ready to exchange them: we will release yours, and you will let ours ”.
Battle with the Lithuanians
Alexander was also successful in the battles with the Lithuanians. In 1245, he inflicted a severe defeat on them in a number 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 they began to be afraid of his name.” So the Lithuanian raids on Russia were also stopped for a while.
Another one is known, later Alexander's campaign against the Swedes - in 1256... It was undertaken in response to a new attempt by the Swedes to invade Russia 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 Russia. Having learned not even about the performance of the Russian army from Novgorod, but only about the preparation for the action, the invaders "fleeing across the sea." This time Alexander sent his squads to Northern Finland, recently annexed to the Swedish crown. Despite the hardships of the winter crossing over the snow-covered desert terrain, the campaign ended successfully: “And they fought all of Pomorie: they killed some, and took others in full, and returned back to their land with a lot of fullness”.
But Alexander was not only at war with the West. Around 1251, an agreement was concluded between Novgorod and Norway on the settlement of border disputes and delimitation in collecting tribute from the vast territory inhabited by the Karelians and the Sami. At the same time, Alexander was negotiating the marriage of his son Vasily to the daughter of the Norwegian king Hakon Hakonarson. True, these negotiations were not crowned with success due to the invasion of Russia by the Tatars - the so-called “Nevruyeva rati”.
In the last years of his life, between 1259 and 1262, Alexander, on his own behalf and on behalf of his son Dmitry (proclaimed in 1259 by the Novgorod prince), "with all Novgorodians" concluded a trade agreement with the "Gothic Coast" (Gotland), Lubeck and the German cities; this treaty played an important role in the history of Russian-German relations and proved to be very durable (it was referred to even in 1420).
In the wars with Western opponents - the Germans, Swedes and Lithuanians - Alexander Nevsky's military leadership was clearly manifested. But his relationship with the Horde was completely different.
Relations with the Horde
After the death in 1246 of Father Alexander, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who was poisoned in the distant Karakorum, the Grand Duke's 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 Kanovichs,” as they said in Russia). The brothers returned to Russia only in December 1249. Andrei received from the Tatars a label for the grand-princely throne in Vladimir, Alexander - Kiev and “the entire Russian land” (that is, South Russia). Formally, the status of Alexander was higher, for Kiev was still considered the main capital city of Russia. But devastated by the Tatars and depopulated, it completely lost its significance, and therefore Alexander could hardly be satisfied with the decision he made. Without even visiting Kiev, he immediately went to Novgorod.
Negotiations with the papal see
By the time of Alexander's trip to the Horde, his negotiations with the papal see were related. Two bulls of Pope Innocent IV, addressed to Prince Alexander and dated 1248, have survived. In them, the primate of the Roman Church offered the Russian prince an alliance to fight the Tatars - but on condition that he accepts the church union and passes under the patronage 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 kind of negotiations with representatives of Rome. In anticipation of the upcoming trip “to the Kanovichs,” Alexander gave an evasive answer to the Pope's proposals, calculated to continue the negotiations. In particular, he agreed to the construction in Pskov of a Latin church - a kirche, which was quite common in ancient Russia (such a Catholic church - the "Varangian goddess" - existed, for example, in Novgorod since the 11th century). The Pope regarded the prince's consent as a willingness to go to union. But this assessment was deeply mistaken.
The prince probably received both papal messages on his return from Mongolia. By this time, he had made a choice - and not in favor of the West. Researchers believe that 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 Russia to resist the power of the Tatar “kings”.
This is how the Life of his prince is conveyed famous response to papal messengers:
“Once ambassadors from the Pope came to him from great Rome with the following words:“ Our Pope says so: We have heard that you are a worthy and glorious prince and your land is great. Therefore, out of the twelve cardinals, two of the most skilled were sent to you ... so that you would listen to their teaching about the law of God. "
Prince Alexander, having thought with his wise men, wrote to him, thus saying: “From Adam to the flood, from the flood to the separation of tongues, from the confusion of tongues to the beginning of Abraham, from Abraham to the passage of Israel through the Red Sea, from the exodus of the sons of Israel to death King David, from the beginning of the kingdom of Solomon to August the king, from the beginning of August to Christ's Nativity, from the Nativity of Christ to the Suffering and Resurrection of the Lord, from His Resurrection to His Ascension to Heaven, from Ascension to Heaven to the kingdom of Constantine, from the beginning of the kingdom of Constantine to the first cathedral, from the first cathedral to the seventh - all that we know well, but we do not accept teachings from you“. They have returned home. "
In this response of the prince, in his unwillingness to even enter into a debate with the Latin ambassadors, it was not at all some of his religious limitations that appeared, 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 Russia in liberation from the Horde yoke; the struggle with the Horde, to which the papal throne called, could be disastrous for the country. Alexander was not ready to go to union with Rome (namely, this was an indispensable condition of the proposed union). The acceptance of the union - even with the formal consent of Rome to the preservation of all Orthodox rituals in worship - in practice could only mean simple submission to the Latins, both political and spiritual at the same time. The history of the domination of the Latins in the Baltics or in Galich (where they briefly established themselves in the 10s of the XIII century) clearly proved this.
So Prince Alexander chose a different path for himself - the path of refusal of any cooperation with the West and at the same time the path of forced obedience 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 Russia itself.
The period of the short 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 enemy 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 the unification of the forces of North-Eastern and South-Western Russia could not but alarm the Horde.
The denouement came in the summer of 1252. Again, we do not know exactly what happened then. According to the chronicles, Alexander went to the Horde again. During his stay there (or maybe after returning to Russia) a punitive expedition led by Nevryu was sent from the Horde against Andrey. In the battle at Pereyaslavl, the squad of Andrei and his brother Yaroslav, who supported him, was defeated. Andrei fled to Sweden. The northeastern lands of Russia were plundered and ruined, 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 associated with changes in 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 issued to princes and nobles indiscriminately in the previous reign”, the new khan ordered to take away. This means that those decisions, in accordance with which Alexander's brother Andrei received a 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 Yaroslavichi - had more rights than his younger brother.
One way or another, but 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 ended up - perhaps through no fault of his own - in the Tatars' camp. It was from this time that we can definitely talk about the special “Tatar policy” of Alexander Nevsky - the policy of appeasing the Tatars and unquestioning obedience to them. His subsequent frequent trips to the Horde (1257, 1258, 1262) were aimed at preventing new invasions of Russia. The prince strove to regularly pay a huge tribute to the conquerors and not allow any uprisings against them in Russia itself. Historians have different assessments of Alexander's Horde policy. Some see it as a simple servility before a ruthless and invincible enemy, a desire by any means to keep power over Russia in their hands; others, on the contrary, consider it the most important merit of the prince. “The two exploits of Alexander Nevsky — the feat of battle in the West and the feat of humility in the East,” wrote the prominent historian of the Russian Diaspora GV Vernadsky, “had one goal: the preservation of Orthodoxy as a 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. " A close assessment of the policy of Alexander Nevsky was also given by the Soviet researcher of medieval Russia, VT Pashuto: “With his cautious, prudent policy, he saved Russia from the final ruin of the nomads' armies. Armed struggle, trade policy, electoral diplomacy, he avoided new wars in the North and West, a possible, but disastrous for Russia, alliance with the papacy and rapprochement of the curia and crusaders with the Horde. He gained time, allowing Russia to grow stronger and recover from the terrible devastation. "
Be that as it may, it is indisputable that the policy of Alexander for a long time determined the relationship between Russia and the Horde, largely determined the choice of Russia between East and West. Subsequently, this policy of appeasing the Horde (or, if you like, currying favor with the Horde) will be continued by the Moscow princes - the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Alexander Nevsky. But the historical paradox - or rather, the historical pattern - lies in the fact that it is they, the heirs of the Horde policy of Alexander Nevsky, who will be able to revive the power of Russia and eventually throw off the hated Horde yoke.
The prince erected churches, rebuilt cities
... In the same 1252, Alexander returned from the Horde to Vladimir with the label of the great reign and was solemnly seated on the grand 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 people who were dispersed into their homes," the author of the prince's Life testifies. The prince showed special care in relation to the Church, decorating churches with books and utensils, granting them rich gifts and land.
Novgorod unrest
Novgorod caused a lot of troubles for Alexander. In 1255, the Novgorodians expelled the son of Alexander Vasily and put Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich, brother of Nevsky, on the reign. Alexander approached the city with his retinue. However, bloodshed was avoided: as a result of negotiations, a compromise was reached, and the Novgorodians obeyed.
New unrest in Novgorod occurred in 1257. It was caused by the appearance in Russia of the Tatar “census” - census takers, who were sent from the Horde for a more accurate taxation of the population with tribute. The Russian people of that time treated the census with mystical horror, seeing in it the sign of the Antichrist - a harbinger of the last times and the Last Judgment. In the winter of 1257, the Tatar “censors” “counted all the land of Suzdal, Ryazan, and Murom, and appointed foremen, and thousanders, and temniks," the chronicler wrote. From the “number”, that is, from tribute, only the clergy - “church people” were exempted (the Mongols invariably freed servants of God from tribute in all the countries they conquered, regardless of religion, so that they could freely address various gods with words of prayer for their conquerors).
In Novgorod, which was not directly affected by either Batu's invasion or Nevryuev's army, the news of the census was greeted with particular bitterness. The riots in the city continued for a whole year. Even the son of Alexander, 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 provoked the wrath of the Grand Duke. Vasily was exiled to Suzdal, the instigators of the riots were severely punished: some, by order of Alexander, were executed, others "cut off" their nose, others were blinded. It was only in the winter of 1259 that the Novgorodians finally agreed to "give the number." Nevertheless, the appearance of Tatar officials provoked a new revolt 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 damned began to travel through the streets, rewriting Christian houses,” says the Novgorod chronicler. After the end of the census and the departure of the Tatars, Alexander left Novgorod, leaving his young son Dmitry as a prince.
In 1262 Alexander made peace with the Lithuanian prince Mindovg. 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 Tovtivila, who settled in Polotsk. The campaign ended with 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. “There was great violence from the infidels in those days,” says the prince’s Life, “they persecuted Christians, forcing them to fight on their side. The great prince Alexander went to the king (the Horde khan Berke. - A. K.) to pray to his people to pray for this misfortune. " Probably, the prince also sought to rid Russia of a new punitive expedition of the Tatars: in the same 1262, a popular uprising broke out in a number of Russian cities (Rostov, Suzdal, Yaroslavl) against the atrocities of the collectors of Tatar tribute.
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 sick, did Alexander return to Russia. Reaching Nizhny Novgorod, the prince fell completely ill. In Gorodets on the Volga, already feeling the approach of death, Alexander took monastic vows (according to later sources, with the name of Alexei) and died on November 14. His body was transported to Vladimir and on November 23 was buried in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin of the Vladimir Rozhdestvensky monastery with 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
The church veneration of the holy prince began, apparently, immediately after his death. The Life tells about a miracle that happened at the very burial: when the prince's body was placed in the tomb and Metropolitan Kirill, as usual, wanted to put a spiritual letter in his hand, people saw how the prince, “as if alive, stretched out his hand and received 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 (there are up to twenty editions of the Life dating back to 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 miracle workers, previously venerated only locally, were canonized. The Church equally glorifies the military valor of the prince, “she is conquered in battle, but always conquers”, and his feat of meekness, patience “more than courage” and “invincible humility” (according to the outwardly paradoxical expression of 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 at the turning point, the most dramatic moments in the life of the country. The first acquisition of his relics took place in the year of the great Kulikovo victory won by the great-grandson of Alexander Nevsky, the great Moscow prince 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 Molodya 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 over 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 performs a prayer service at the tomb of Alexander Nevsky, and during this prayer service a miracle occurs, regarded by everyone as a sign of the coming victory. The relics of the holy prince, which remained until 1723 in the Vladimir Nativity monastery, exuded numerous miracles, information about which was carefully recorded by the monastic authorities.
A new page in the veneration of the saint and faithful Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky began in the 18th century, under the emperor Peter the Great... The winner of the Swedes and the founder of St. Petersburg, which became a "window to Europe" for Russia, Peter saw in Prince Alexander his immediate predecessor in the struggle against Swedish rule in the Baltic Sea and hastened to transfer the city he founded on the banks of the Neva to his heavenly patronage. Back in 1710, Peter ordered to include the name of St. Alexander Nevsky as a prayer representative for the "Nevskaya Strana" in the service dispensations. In the same year, he personally chose a 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 here from Vladimir the relics of the holy prince. The wars with the Swedes and Turks slowed down the fulfillment of this desire, and only in 1723 they began to fulfill it. On August 11, with all appropriate solemnity, the holy relics were carried out of the Nativity monastery; the procession went to Moscow and then to St. Petersburg; everywhere she was accompanied by prayers 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 - on the day of the conclusion of the Nystadt peace with the Swedes (1721). However, the range of the path 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 stretch of the journey (from the mouth of Izhora to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery), Peter personally ruled a galley with a precious cargo, and behind 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.
Today, the Church celebrates the memory of the saint and faithful Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky twice a year: on November 23 (December 6 in the new style) and August 30 (September 12).
Days of celebration of St. Alexander Nevsky:
May 23 (June 5 new.Art.) - Cathedral of the Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints
August 30 (September 12, new. Art.) - the day of the transfer of the relics to St. Petersburg (1724) - the main
November 14 (November 27 new.Art.) - the day of death in Gorodets (1263) - canceled
November 23 (December 6 according to new Art.) - the day of burial in Vladimir, in the schema of Alexy (1263)
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 sheer ignorance. The battle on 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 about the "knight brothers" who performed the role of the highest commanders. Nothing is said about the death of their warriors and the representatives of the Baltic tribes recruited into the army, who formed the backbone of the army.
As for the Battle of the Neva, it did not find any reflection in the Swedish chronicles. But, according to Igor Shaskolsky, a prominent Russian specialist in the history of the Baltic region in the Middle Ages, “... this should not be surprising. In medieval Sweden until the beginning of the XIV century, there were no major narrative works on the history of the country such as Russian chronicles and large Western European chronicles ”. In other words, the Swedes have no place 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.
Wrong again! It is unlikely that in the 13th century one can speak of a “united West”. Perhaps it would be more correct to talk about the world of Catholicism, but as a whole it was very motley, heterogeneous and fragmented. It was not the "West" that really threatened Russia, but the Teutonic and Livonian orders, as well as the Swedish conquerors. And for some reason they smashed them 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), which makes it possible to assume the organizing role of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich in the anti-Horde uprising.
3. Prince Alexander did not defend Russia 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 primarily defended what he inherited from his father and grandfather. In other words, with great skill he performed the task of a guardian, a keeper. As for the death of his brother, it is necessary, before such verdicts, to study the question of how he, in recklessness and youth, put the Russian army uselessly and in what way he generally acquired power. This will show: not so much Prince Alexander Yaroslavich was his destroyer, as he himself claimed the role of an early destroyer of Russia ...
4. Turning to the east, not to the west, Prince Alexander laid the foundations for the future revelry of despotism in the country. His contacts with the Mongols made Russia an Asian power.
This is already completely groundless journalism. All Russian princes were then in contact with the Horde. After 1240, they had a choice: to die on their own and subject Russia to another ruin, 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", different points of view are really being voiced here today. But as a historian, I believe that Russia has never become it. It was not and is not part of Europe or Asia, or something like a mixture, where European and Asian take on different proportions depending on the circumstances. Russia is a cultural and political essence that is sharply different from both Europe and Asia. In the same way, Orthodoxy is neither Catholicism, nor Islam, nor Buddhism, nor any other confession.
On October 5, 2008, in a television program dedicated to Alexander Nevsky, Metropolitan Kirill made a fiery 10-minute speech in which he tried to reveal this image so that it would become available to a wide audience. The Metropolitan began with questions: p Why can a faithful prince from the distant past, from the XIII 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 carefully looked at the names of everyone. Each of the candidates is a representative of his own shop: a politician, scientist, writer, poet, economist ... Alexander Nevsky was not a representative of the shop, because he was at the same time the greatest strategist ... a man who sensed not political, but civilizational dangers for Russia. He fought not with specific enemies, not with 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 and 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, entered the Adriatic Sea, invaded China. “Why doesn't he raise the fight against the Horde? - asks the metropolitan. - Yes, the Horde captured Russia. But the Tatar-Mongols did not need our soul and did not need our brains. The Tatar-Mongols needed our pockets, and they turned out these pockets, but did not encroach on our national identity. They were not able to transcend our civilization code. But when a danger arose from the West, when the Teutonic knights clad in armor went to Russia - there was no compromise. When the Pope writes a letter to Alexander, trying to take him to his side ... Alexander replies “no”. He sees a civilizational danger, he meets these armored knights on Lake Peipsi and breaks them, just as he miraculously breaks with a small squad of Swedish soldiers who entered the Neva. "
Alexander Nevsky, according to the metropolitan, gives "superstructure values", allowing the Mongols to collect tribute from Russia: “He understands that this is not scary. Mighty Russia will get all this money back. It is necessary to preserve the soul, national identity, national will, and it is necessary to give an opportunity for what our remarkable historiosophist Lev Nikolayevich Gumilyov called “ethnogenesis”. Everything is destroyed, you have to accumulate strength. And if it had not accumulated forces, if it had not pacified the Horde, if it had not stopped the Livonian invasion, where would Russia be? She wouldn't exist. "
According to Metropolitan Kirill, following Gumilyov, Alexander Nevsky was the creator of the multinational and multi-confessional “Russian world” that exists to this day. It was he who “tore 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, was isolated from Russia 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 vaccinations of our multinationality and multi-religiousness. This is how it all started. He laid the foundation for such a world of our people, which determined the further development of Russia 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 stabs Birger in the face with a spear ... And how did it all start? He prayed at St. Sophia in Novgorod. Nightmare, hordes many times greater. What is the resistance? Goes out and addresses his people. With what words? God is not in power, but in truth ... Can you imagine what words? What a 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 ... A young, handsome guy! .. Brave ... strong.” Even his appearance is “the face of Russia”. But the most important thing is that, being a politician, strategist, military leader, Alexander Nevsky became a saint. “Oh my God! - exclaims Metropolitan Kirill. - If in Russia there were saints rulers after Alexander Nevsky, what would our history be! This is a collective image as much as there can be a collective image ... This is our hope, because even today we need what Alexander Nevsky did ... We will give our not only our votes, 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")
Wikipedia calls Alexander Nevsky "the beloved prince of the clergy." Do you share this assessment and, if so, what is the reason for it? Semyon Borzenko
Dear Semyon, it's hard for me to say what exactly the authors of the free encyclopedia "Wikipedia" were guided by, calling St. Alexander Nevsky. Perhaps, because the prince was canonized and is venerated in the Orthodox Church, solemn services are performed in his honor. However, other holy princes are also venerated by the Church, for example, Demetrius Donskoy and Daniel of Moscow, and it would be wrong to single out “beloved” from them. I believe that such a naming could also have been adopted by the prince because during his lifetime he favored and patronized the Church.
Unfortunately, the pace of my life and the volume of work 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 could not take part in the voting on the site "Name of Russia", but supported Alexander Nevsky by voting by phone.
He defeated the descendants of Rurik (1241), fought for power in civil wars, took part, betrayed his brother to the pagans (1252), gouged out the eyes of Novgorodians with his own hand (1257). Is the Russian Orthodox Church ready to canonize Satan to maintain the schism in the churches? Ivan Nezabudko
Speaking about certain acts of Alexander Nevsky, it is necessary to take into account many different factors. This is the historical era in which St. 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 his best to minimize this threat. As for the facts you cite from the life of St. Alexander Nevsky, historians still cannot confirm or deny many of them, let alone give them an unambiguous assessment.
For example, there are many ambiguities in the relationship between Alexander Nevsky and his brother Prince Andrey. There is a point of view according to which Alexander complained to the khan about his brother and asked to send an armed detachment in order to deal with him. However, this fact is not mentioned in any ancient source. The first time this was reported only by VN Tatishchev in his "History of Russia", and there is every reason to believe that the author was carried away by historical reconstruction here - he "thought out" something that actually did not exist. In particular, N.M. Karamzin thought so: “According to Tatishchev’s invention, Alexander informed Khan that his younger brother Andrey, having appropriated the Great Duke for himself, was deceiving the Mughals, giving them only a part of the tribute, and so on.” (Karamzin N.M. History of the Russian state. M., 1992. Vol. 4. P. 201. Approx. 88).
Many historians today tend to adhere to a point of view different from Tatishchev's. Andrei, as you know, pursued a policy independent of Batu, 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 to Andrei Yaroslavich, but also to Daniil Romanovich.
I am not aware of a single fact that could at least indirectly testify to the fact that the veneration of St. Alexander Nevsky is a pretext for a schism in the Church. In 1547, the noble prince was canonized, and his memory is sacredly honored not only in the Russian, but also in many other Local Orthodox churches.
Finally, let's 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 that, and another in the multitude took place in connection with Alexander Nevsky. As for the mistakes made by such a person in life, or even his sins, it must be remembered that "a person is not, who will live and will not sin." Sins are expiated by repentance and sorrow. Both that and especially the other were present in the life of the faithful prince, as was also present in the life of such sinners who became saints, like 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 for reprisal and threatened his son Vasily with war? Or is it as canonical as the consecration of warheads? Alexey Karakovsky
Alexey, in the first part your question echoes the question of Ivan Nezabudko. As for the "consecration of warheads", I am not aware of any such case. The Church has always blessed her children to defend the Fatherland, guided by the Savior's commandment. It is for these reasons that since ancient times there has been a rite of consecration of weapons. During each Liturgy, we pray for the army of our country, realizing how heavy the responsibility lies on the people who, with arms in their hands, are guarding the security of the Fatherland.
Is it not so, Vladyka, that in choosing Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky we will choose a myth, a cinematic image, a legend?
I’m sure not. Alexander Nevsky is a completely concrete historical personality, a man who has done a lot for our Fatherland and laid the foundations of the very existence of Russia for a long time. Historical sources allow us to know quite definitely about his life and work. Of course, during the time that has passed since the death of the saint, human rumor has brought into his image a certain element of legend, which once again testifies to the deep veneration that the Russian people have always accorded the prince, but I am convinced that this shade of legend cannot serve as an obstacle to that. so that we today perceive Saint Alexander as a real historical character.
Dear Vladyka. What, in your opinion, the qualities of the Russian hero, St. Alexander Nevsky, could the current Russian government draw attention to, and, if possible, adopt them? What principles of state governance are still relevant to this day? 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, as it seems to me, should be inherent in power at all times, is boundless love for the Fatherland and its people. The entire political activity of Alexander Nevsky was determined precisely by this strong and sublime feeling.
Dear Vladyka, tell me if Alexander Nevsky is close to the souls of the people of today's modern Russia, and not just Ancient Russia. Especially nations professing Islam and not Orthodoxy? Sergey Krainov
Sergei, 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, his activities are relevant to us today. Do such qualities as love for the Motherland, for God, for one's neighbor, as the willingness to lay down one's life for the peace and well-being of the Motherland have a statute of limitations? Can they be inherent only in Orthodox Christians and be alien to Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, who have lived peacefully for a long time, side by side in multinational and multi-confessional Russia - a country that has never known wars on religious grounds?
As for the 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 spoke in support of Alexander Nevsky because it was the holy prince who laid the foundations for the 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 a "lawyer" for Alexander Nevsky? In your opinion, why do most people today choose the name of Russia not for a politician, scientist or cultural figure, but a saint? Vika Ostroverkhova
Vika, several circumstances prompted me to participate in the project as a “defender” of Alexander Nevsky.
First, I am convinced that it is Saint Alexander Nevsky who should become the name of Russia. In my speeches, I have repeatedly argued my position. Who, if not a saint, can and should be called "the name of Russia"? Holiness is a timeless concept that extends into eternity. If our people choose a saint as their national hero, this testifies to the spiritual rebirth 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 fortunate enough to have the opportunity to often resort to this shrine, to pray to the holy prince at his place of rest. While studying at the Leningrad Theological Schools, which are located in the immediate vicinity of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, all of us, then students, clearly felt the blessed help that Alexander Nevsky provided to those who, with faith and trust, called on him in their prayers. At the relics of the holy prince, I received the ordination in all degrees of the priesthood. Therefore, I have deeply personal experiences associated with the name of Alexander Nevsky.
Dear Vladyka! The project is called "The Name of Russia". For the first time, the word Russia was spoken almost 300 years after the dormition of the prince! Under Ivan the Terrible. And Alexander Yaroslavich only 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. In your question, you are raising a fundamentally important topic. Who do we consider ourselves today? The heirs of what culture? The bearers of which 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 Ivanov who do not remember their kinship. The history of Russia begins long before Ivan the Terrible, and it is enough to open a school history textbook in order 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
Natalia, there are a great many such miracles. You can read more about them 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 invoked the holy prince in his prayers, had his own little miracle in his life.
Dear Vladyka! Is the ROC not considering the canonization of other Princes, such as Ivan IV the Terrible and JV Stalin? After all, they were autocrats who increased the power of the state. Alexey Pechkin
Alexey, many princes besides Alexander Nevsky are canonized. When deciding on the canonization of a particular person, the Church takes into account many factors, and achievements in the political arena play here by no means a decisive role. The Russian Orthodox Church does not consider the question of the canonization of Ivan the Terrible or Stalin, who, although they did a lot for the state, did not display qualities in their lives that could testify to their holiness.
(in schemonasekh to Alexy)
An early helper of all those who are earnestly running towards you, and our warm greetings to the Lord's proponent, holy faithful Grand Duke Alexandre! Seemingly mercifully unworthy of us, who have created many iniquities for themselves, who now come to your relics and cry out from the depths of your soul: in your life you are a zealot and defender of the Orthodox faith you were, and your Gods are invincible to us in her. You have carefully passed the great service entrusted to you, and with your help, take someone, you are called to be, instruct us. You, having defeated the regiments of supostats, drove you away from the limits of the Russians, and put down all visible and invisible enemies against us. You, having left the perishable crown of the earthly kingdom, have chosen a silent life, and now, rightly crowned with an incorruptible crown, reigning in heaven, come to us, we humbly pray thee, a quiet and serene life, and the eternal procession of God. Standing with all the saints in the prayer of God, pray for all Orthodox Christians, may the Lord God preserve them by His grace in peace, health, long life and all prosperity in the due summer, may we praise and bless God in the Holy Father and the Holy Father. Holy Spirit, now and in order and forever and ever. Amen.
Troparion, Voice 4:
Get to know your brethren, Russian Joseph, not in Egypt, but reigning in heaven, faithful to Prince Alexandra, and accept their prayers, multiplying the life of people with the fruitfulness of your land, protecting the cities of your dominion with prayer, with Orthodox people fighting resistance.
In troparion, Glas the same:
As for the pious root, the most honorable branch was you, blessed Alexandra, for Christ as a kind of Divine treasure of the Russian land, the new wonder-worker is glorious and God-favorable. And today, having come together in your memory by faith and love, in psalms and songs we rejoice in praising the Lord, who has given you the grace of healings. Himself pray to save this city, and the country of our God-pleasing existence, and the son of Russia to be saved.
Kontakion, Voice 8:
As if we honor the bright star that shone from the east, and came to the west, enrich this whole country with miracles and kindness, and enlighten with faith honoring your memory, blessed Alexandra. For this, for the sake of this day we celebrate yours, your people in existence, pray to save your Fatherland, and everything that flows to the race of your relics, and truly crying to you: Rejoice, our hail affirmation.
Ying kondak, Voice 4:
Like your relatives, Boris and Gleb, appearing to you from Heaven to help you ascetic to Veilger Sveiskago and fighting him: so you now, blessed Alexandra, come to the aid of your relatives, and overcome the struggling us.
