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Alexander Nevsky is a hero of Russian history. Alexander Nevsky - the hero of Russia The insignificance of the battles won

Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky (1220-1263) defended the core of Russia from the armed and spiritual aggression of Russia's geopolitical opponents in the middle of the 13th century.

Alexander Nevsky won famous victories over the Swedes (Battle of the Neva on July 15, 1240, hence the nickname) and the knights of the Livonian Order (Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipsi on April 5, 1242).

In 1237, the knight-monks of two orders - the Teutonic and the Sword-bearers, united to create a powerful Livonian order. In fact, a state was formed, the purpose of which was to seize the Baltic states, advance to Russia and forcibly catholicize the conquered population.

The conquest that had begun was difficult. The Baltic States were then inhabited by the ancient Baltic peoples: Estonians, Lithuania, Zhmud, Yatvingians and Prussians. All of them were in a state of homeostasis (equilibrium with the natural environment), and the strength of these peoples was only enough to survive in their native landscape. Therefore, in the fight against the Livonian Order, the Balts limited themselves to defense. But since they defended themselves to the last, they surrendered only dead, initially the Germans did not have much success. The knights were helped by the fact that they were supported by a very warlike tribe - the Livs. In addition, the knights found a valuable ally - the Swedes, who subjugated the Finnish tribes of Sum and Em.

Gradually, the Germans turned the Letts into a serfdom, but the Estonians refused to submit to them, having significant ties with the Russians. The existence of these ties is confirmed by the following fact: the cities that are now called Tallinn and Tartu (before the revolution, respectively: Revel and Dorpat), have the Russian historical names Kolyvan and Yuryev (after the Christian name of the founder of this city Yaroslav the Wise).

In 1240, the Swedish fleet entered the mouth of the Neva, approached the place where the Izhora River flows into it, and landed troops ready to launch an offensive on Novgorod.

The Novgorodians called for the help of the young prince Alexander Yaroslavich, known to grateful descendants under the name of Alexander Nevsky. Then he was only twenty-two years old, but he was an intelligent, energetic and brave man, and most importantly, a real patriot of his homeland. Alexander did not manage to collect large forces. With his small Suzdal detachment and with a few Novgorod volunteers, Alexander reached the Neva in a forced march and attacked the Swedish camp. In this battle, the Novgorodians and the Suzdal people covered themselves with eternal glory. So, one Novgorodian named Gavrila Oleksich stormed into a Swedish boat on horseback, fought with the Swedes on their ship, was thrown into the water, survived and entered the battle again. A servant of Alexander, Ratmir, died heroically, fighting on foot with many opponents at once. The Swedes, who did not expect an attack, were completely defeated and at night fled in ships from the place of defeat.

Novgorod was saved by the sacrifice and valor of Alexander's comrades-in-arms, but the threat to Russia remained. Teutonic Knights 1240-1241 intensified the onslaught on Izborsk, seeking to conquer Pskov. And in Pskov, a strong pro-German party was found among the boyars. Relying on her help, by 1242 the Germans captured this city, as well as Yam and Koporye, and again began to threaten Novgorod. In the winter of 1242, Alexander Nevsky with his Suzdal, or, as they said, "lower" squads, with the support of Novgorod and Pskov, attacked against the German detachment stationed in Pskov. Having liberated Pskov, he moved on the main forces of the Livonians, who were retreating, bypassing Lake Peipsi. On the western shore of the lake, at the Crow Stone, the Germans had to fight.

On the ice of Lake Peipsi ("on Uzmen, near the Crow's Stone"), a battle took place, which went down in history as Battle on the Ice.

The knights were supported by foot mercenaries armed with spears, and the order's allies - the Livs. The knights lined up as a "pig": the most powerful warrior in front, behind him - two others, behind those - four, and so on. The onslaught of such a wedge was irresistible for the lightly armed Russians, and Alexander did not even try to stop the blow of the German army. On the contrary, he weakened his center and enabled the knights to break through it. Meanwhile, the reinforced flanks of the Russians attacked both wings of the German army. The Livs ran, the Germans resisted desperately, but since it was spring time, the ice cracked and the heavily armed knights began to sink.

"And they chased them, beating them, seven miles on the ice." According to the Novgorod Chronicle, countless Chuds and 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 their horses those who call themselves" God's knights. "

The Battle on the Ice was of great importance for the fate of not only Novgorod, but also the whole of Russia. On the ice of Lake Peipsi, the Latin crusading aggression was stopped. Russia received peace and stability on its northwestern borders.

The Battle of the Ice, together with the victory of the Neva, gave full triumph to Orthodoxy over the intrigues against him by the Pope and for a long time stopped the offensive movements against Russia of the Swedes and Germans in the most sorrowful and difficult years of Russian life.

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 have occupied by force without the prince Vod, Luga, Pskov, Latygola - we retreat from all that. And that we have captured your husbands, we are ready to exchange them: we will release yours, and you will let ours in ".

Having suffered defeat on the battlefield, the Roman Church decided to subjugate the Russian lands by other, diplomatic means. An extraordinary embassy arrived in Novgorod from Pope Innocent IV.

The Pope sent to Alexander Nevsky two of his most noble nobles - Cardinals Gold and Gement with a letter in which he demanded that Alexander, together with his Russian people, go to Latinism. The cunning cardinals, having handed Alexander the papal message, marked on February 8, 1248, began, of course, in every possible way to persuade him to convert to Latinism, assuring that only by renouncing Orthodoxy, he would find help from the Western sovereigns and thereby save both himself and his people from the Tatars. To this Alexander, deeply indignant at such a proposal, menacingly replied to them: "Hear, messengers of the papacy and the most repentant beauties. From Adam to the flood, and from the flood to separation, the language and let Abraham begin, and from Abraham to the arrival of Israel through the Red Sea , and from the beginning of the kingdom of Solomon to Augustus the king, and from the beginning of August to the Nativity of Christ, and to passion and to His Resurrection and to Heaven of entry, and to the kingdom of Great Constantine, and to the first Council and to the seventh Council: we will bring all this together to goodness, but we do not accept teaching from you. "

In this answer Alexander should not be seen as any of his limitations. The reluctance to even enter into debate with the papal legates meant the prince's moral, religious and political choice. He refused a possible alliance with the West against the Tatars, because, probably, he understood too well that in reality the West could not help Russia in any way; the fight against the Tatars, to which the papal throne called him, could be disastrous for the country.

Alexander Nevsky rejected the Pope's offer to accept Catholicism and the title of king and remained faithful to Orthodoxy (this was agreed by Daniel Galitsky, Grand Duke of Galicia-Volyn Rus).

The Pope announced a crusade against ORTHODOXY AND RUSSIA (recall that at the instigation of the pope, in 1204 the crusaders seize Orthodox Constantinople, which is subjected to terrible robberies and devastation).

In 1247 Alexander Nevsky became the Grand Duke of Vladimir. To protect against external military and spiritual aggression, A. Nevsky entered into a strategic military-political alliance with the Golden Horde. He bound himself with an oath of twinning with Batu's son, Sartak (a Nestorian Christian). Batu, becoming the adoptive father of Alexander Nevsky, helps the Russians to repel the aggression of Catholicism. ORTHODOXY AND RUSSIA WERE SAVED. The armed forces of Catholicism were defeated. Aggression from the West has failed.

Batu's campaign from the Aral Sea to the Adriatic put the whole of Eastern Europe into the power of the Mongols, and it seemed that everything would be over with Orthodoxy. But circumstances developed in such a way that events flowed in a different direction. During the campaign, Batu quarreled with his cousins, Guyuk, the son of the supreme khan Ogedei, and Buri, the son of the great guardian of Yasa Chagatai. The fathers took the side of Batu and punished their presumptuous sons with disgrace, but when Ogedei died in 1241 and power fell into the hands of Guyuk's mother, the khansha Turakins, the guards of Guyuk and Buri were recalled - and poor Baty turned out to be the ruler of a huge country, having only 4 thousand faithful warriors in an over-strained relationship with the central government. The forcible retention of the conquered territories was out of the question. Returning to Mongolia meant a cruel death. And then Batu, an intelligent and far-sighted man, began a policy of seeking an alliance with the Russian princes Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and his son Alexander. Their lands were not levied.

At the beginning of 1248, Guyuk suddenly died. Batu, who gained the advantage of power, elevated Tolui's son, Mongke, the leader of the Christian-Nestorian party, to the throne, and Guyuk's supporters were executed in 1251. The foreign policy of the Mongol ulus immediately changed. The offensive against Catholic Europe was canceled, and instead the "yellow crusade" was launched, which resulted in the fall of Baghdad (1258). Batu, who became the de facto head of the empire, strengthened his position, tied new subjects to himself and created the conditions for the transformation of the Golden Horde into an independent khanate, which happened after Mongke's death, when a new wave of unrest tore the Chinggisid empire apart. Nestorianism, associated with the princes of the Tolui line, found itself outside the Golden Horde.

This situation (friendship and alliance between Alexander Nevsky and Sartak) continued until the death of Sartak in 1256, after which Berke Khan converted to Islam, but allowed the establishment of a diocese in Sarai in 1261 and favored the Orthodox, relying on them in the war with the Persian Ilkhans.

Alexander Nevsky had to experience an incredible shock: his entire political line was under threat. In 1256, his ally Batu died, and in the same year, due to sympathies for Christianity, Batu's son Sartak was poisoned. And by whom? Batu's brother Berke-khan, who relied on the Horde Muslims. Berke converted to Islam, massacred the Nestorians in Samarkand, poisoned his nephew and established a Muslim dictatorship, albeit without further religious persecution. True to his principle of fighting for the interests of the Fatherland, Alexander Nevsky this time "laid down his soul for his friends." He went to Berke and agreed to pay tribute to the Mongols in exchange for military aid against the Lithuanians and Germans.

In 1261, through the efforts of Alexander Nevsky and the Mongol khans Berke and Mengu-Timur, a courtyard of an Orthodox bishop was opened in Sarai. He was not subjected to any persecution; it was believed that the bishop of Sarsk was the representative of the interests of Russia and all Russian people at the court of the great khan. If a princely strife began in Russia, the khan sent a Sarsk bishop with a Tatar bek (necessarily a Christian), and they resolved controversial issues at princely congresses. If someone did not reckon with the decision and tried to continue the specific war, he was forced to peace with the help of the Tatar cavalry.

Relying on an alliance with Berke, Alexander decided not only to stop the movement of the Germans to Russia, but also to undermine his very possibility. He concluded with the Lithuanian prince Mindovg, his own age, an alliance directed against the crusaders.

Alexander Yaroslavich was on the verge of his second, no less significant than in the case of the Horde, diplomatic victory. But in 1263, in the midst of preparations for a joint campaign against the Livonian Order, returning from another trip to the Horde, the prince died. It can be assumed that Alexander Yaroslavich died, in modern terms, from stress. Indeed, such complex diplomatic actions, brilliant victories, the struggle against compatriots required too much nervous tension, which not everyone can do. However, it seems strange that Mindaugas also died soon after. The thought involuntarily suggests itself that the cause of death of Prince Alexander was not stress; rather, in the death of Alexander and Mindaugas to see the efforts of Catholic agents operating in Russia and Lithuania.

The military-political unification of Russia with the Golden Horde in 1247 is undoubted. This unification took place 9 years after Batu's campaign. Russian princes began to pay tribute only in 1258. The coup of Mamai in 1362 led to the rupture of the traditional alliance of Russia and the Golden Horde. Then Mamai entered into an alliance with Catholics to fight Orthodox Moscow. In 1380, during the Battle of Kulikovo, this alliance against Orthodoxy and Russia was destroyed.

In other words, Alexander Nevsky recognized the sovereignty of the Khan of the Golden Horde, and this happened in the very year when the Pope announced a crusade against Orthodox Russia. The obvious interconnection of these events gives the right to understand the situation of RUSSIA-ORDA as a military-political union. The Grand Duke of Vladimir becomes an ally of the Khan of the Golden Horde. It was the Russian troops that formed the basis of the Mongol army, which conquered Persia and Syria, captured Baghdad in 1258.

The union of the Horde and Russia was realized thanks to the patriotism and dedication of Prince Alexander Nevsky. In the conciliar opinion of the descendants, the choice of Alexander Yaroslavich received the highest approval. For unparalleled feats in the name of his native land, the Russian Orthodox Church recognized the prince as a saint.

The Golden Horde gave the Russian Orthodox Church special labels, according to which any defamation of the Orthodox faith was punishable by death.

The dominant behavior formulated by Alexander - altruistic patriotism - determined the principles of the structure of Russia for several centuries ahead. The traditions of an alliance with the peoples of Asia, founded by the prince, based on national and religious tolerance, until the 19th century, attracted peoples living in adjacent territories to Russia. And finally, it was the descendants of Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky that the new Russia was built on the ruins of ancient Kievan Rus. At first it was called Moscow, and from the end of the 15th century it began to be called Russia. The youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, Daniel, received a tiny town in the middle of nowhere - Moscow.

He was born in 1220 in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky (now Yaroslavl region). Childhood was short-lived. In the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Holy Savior, tonsure were performed - a solemn ceremony of the transition of the prince from childhood to adolescence. The boy was seated on a high pillow, the bishop cut off the child's curls with scissors, and after the healthy prayers of the future warrior, they girded him with a sword and put him on a horse.

The teenager successfully mastered book wisdom, comprehended the Holy Scripture, knew the lives of the saints, understood the meaning of icons. He learned from his father courage in judgment and decisiveness in action. When Alexander first came to Vladimir, the capital of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, he comprehended the artistic history of the Motherland in the architecture of the magnificent temples.

But the main place in the training of the young prince was given to military affairs: possession of a horse, defensive and offensive weapons, knowledge of foot and equestrian formation, tactics of field battle and siege of fortresses. His father took him on campaigns more than once. In 1228, Alexander was brought to Novgorod. Here the prince studied diplomacy, learned the art of subjugating the willful boyars, learned to command a changeable and formidable crowd.

In 1236, when his father had to go to Kiev, he gathered the Novgorod veche, solemnly kissed his son and handed him a sword. So at the age of 16, Alexander became the prince-governor in Novgorod. He understood that the future would be formidable, he would have to defend his native land from enemies more than once, the interests of Russia in Novgorod and Pskov, in the North and in the Baltic states. And things have been getting worse here since the Order of the German Knights of the Sword was created. Behind him stood the German Empire and the papacy. On the occupied lands of Latvia and Estonia, the crusaders built stone castles, forcibly converted the local population to the Roman Catholic religion. And from the east there was another misfortune: the Mongol hordes, led by Batu, went to the Kama and moved north, to the lands where the horses of nomads had never set foot. Ryazan and Kolomna fell, the enemies approached Moscow. Novgorod lived in anxiety. But the lacustrine-wooded area and the spring floods of river crossings forced Batu 100 kilometers from Novgorod to turn back ... The tornado of Batu's invasion turned many Russian cities into ashes, tens of thousands of inhabitants fell under the Horde sabers, others were taken prisoner. But the great losses in the Russian lands greatly weakened the army of the nomads. With its tragic struggle with the Tatars, Russia saved Western Europe. How did Europe repay the tortured and tormented Russia? The fact that she sent greedy conquerors to its north-western borders, who were sure that the Russian lands would become their easy prey. Knights of Germany, Norway, Denmark, Finland were going on a campaign. But the Swedes decided to strike first. Their 100 ships with 5 thousand soldiers sailed up the Neva and stopped near the mouth of the Izhora River flowing into it from the south. Nobles, bishops, knights came ashore. The announcement of the landing of the Swedes did not take Alexander by surprise. His cavalry, having overcome 150 kilometers, on the morning of July 15, 1240, struck the center of the enemy camp. Alexander with a spear killed Colonel Birger, and he fell into the arms of the squires. A fierce battle raged around the prince. Menacing cries rang out: "For the Russian land!" In panic, the Swedes rushed to their ships, but the Russian foot soldiers moving along the Neva, pushing the enemies, destroyed the bridges that connected the ships to the land. The knights' escape route was cut off. Few Swedes managed to escape by moving away from the coast on ships. They were followed by the ridicule of the sharp-tongued Novgorodians. The losses of the Russians amounted to only 20 people. This is how the baptism of fire of 20-year-old Alexander took place. For the courage shown in the battle, the people called Alexander "Nevsky". The victory over the Swedes prevented the loss of the shores of the Gulf of Finland for Russia and prevented the interruption of trade exchange with European countries.

Alexander showed his leadership talent in 1242 in the battle with the German crusaders. As a strategist and tactician, the prince thought about how and where to meet this formidable force. Deep snow and wooded and swampy surroundings did not allow the deployment of battle formation on land. On the eve of the battle, Alexander examined Lake Peipsi near Pskov and decided that it was necessary, retreating in front of the knights, to lure them onto the ice. At dawn on April 5, standing on the Voroniy Kamen rock, Alexander saw the Germans advancing on the open ice, at a glance. They walked in a terrifying iron wedge, flashing armor, fancy helmets, crosses and red swords on their white cloaks. When the whole wedge was drawn into the Russian ranks, the foot warriors showered the enemies with arrows and took the knights into spears. The Russian army was slowly retreating, and the enemy believed that the case had already been won. His cavalry lost its formation, a fighting impulse and ... found itself in front of a wooded coast, covered with deep, impassable snow. Alexander gave a sign, and the main forces of the Russians rushed to the knights from both sides. "And the fast was cruel, and there was the crackle of breaking spears and the clink of the blows of swords, and it seemed that the frozen lake moved, and there was no ice visible, for it was covered with blood."

The Russians who had turned to flee were furiously pursued for another 7 kilometers. In many places, the ice sheet of the lake cracked, and many of the knights drowned in the icy water. The captured were tied to horse tails and taken to Pskov. The people greeted the heroes of the Battle on the Ice with jubilation, people sang, hugged, beat tambourines, trumpets, danced. The victory of Alexander Nevsky saved the Russian people from a cruel foreign yoke. For the first time, a limit was put on the predatory onslaught on the East that had lasted for centuries.

However, 15 years later, a new misfortune came: the Golden Horde insisted on the subordination of Novgorod and Pskov. The Tatars demanded tamga - a trade duty (hence the customs, where the duty is collected). They also wanted to receive a tenth of all the income of the townspeople. In case of refusal, the Tatars threatened with invasion and complete ruin. "It's better to pay in hryvnias than with lives!" - that was the general opinion. Prince Alexander decided to go (and this was not the first time) to Sarai in order to convince the khans to transfer the collection of tribute to the hands of the Russian princes themselves. He looked far ahead. Alexander saw the only possible way then to the revival of Russia. It was followed by Ivan Kalita and his successors in the Moscow reign. In Sarai, the prince achieved the liberation of the Russians from participating in the wars of the Tatars with other peoples.

Returning from the Golden Horde, Alexander fell ill and died in Gorodets on the Volga. The body of the prince was brought to Vladimir, where on November 23, 1253, the burial took place in the monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin. Soon the Life of Alexander Nevsky was compiled. In 1547, by the Church Cathedral, the prince was canonized, that is, canonized among the all-Russian saints. In 1724, by the will of Emperor Peter I, the relics of Alexander Nevsky were solemnly transported to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg. By the will of Peter the Great, on May 21, 1725, the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was established. Such an order was also established on July 29, 1942, during the most difficult period of the Great Patriotic War for our people.

Mikhail Lomonosov immortalized Alexander Nevsky in a mosaic, artists Viktor Vasnetsov, Nicholas Roerich and Pavel Korin depicted him either in a battle helmet or with a saint's halo. Composer Sergei Prokofiev dedicated an inspired cantata to him, Konstantin Simonov - a poem, and film director Sergei Eisenstein - a film that has entered the classics of world cinema. And how many temples were built in honor of Alexander Nevsky! Three of them are on the Crimean land: in Yalta, in Kuchuk-Lambat (the former estate of Princess Anastasia Gagarina), and in Simferopol, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is being revived. Our people are grateful to their national hero Alexander Nevsky for saving our Russian land and the Orthodox faith!

Note: the article uses materials from the book "Alexander Nevsky" by Vladimir Pashuto. (Moscow, "Young Guard", 1975).

Either good or nothing about Alexander Nevsky, but a real historical figure is lost behind the glorification of the exploits of the Russian prince. Analysis of historical sources shows that the figure of Alexander Nevsky is not devoid of intrigue.

Loyal to the Horde

Historians are still arguing about the relationship between Alexander Nevsky and the Horde. Eurasian scientist Lev Gumilev wrote that in 1251 Alexander Nevsky fraternized with Batu's son Sartak, "as a result of which he became the son of a khan and in 1252 brought the Tatar corps to Russia with an experienced noyon Nevryuy". According to Gumilyov, Alexander confidently created an alliance with the Golden Horde, and this alliance is seen not as a yoke, but as a blessing.

The scientist declares that during the time of Alexander Nevsky there was a political and military alliance between Russia and the Horde.
According to another version, more common, Alexander Nevsky had no other choice, and he chose the lesser of two evils. Pressure from the West, the desire of Rome to spread Catholicism in Russia forced Alexander to make concessions to the East, because he was tolerant of Orthodoxy. Thus, Alexander Nevsky preserved Orthodox Russia.

But the historian Igor Danilevsky focuses on the fact that sometimes in the chronicle sources Alexander Nevsky appears as a power-hungry and cruel man who entered into an alliance with the Tatars to strengthen his personal power.

But the harshest assessment of Nevsky's “Tatarophilia” belongs to academician Valentin Yanin: “Alexander Nevsky, having concluded an alliance with the Horde, subordinated Novgorod to the Horde's influence. He extended Tatar power to Novgorod, which was never conquered by the Tatars. Moreover, he gouged out the eyes of dissenting Novgorodians, and there are many sins behind him. "

In 1257, news came to Novgorod that the Horde wanted to take tamga and tithes from the Novgorodians. At that time, Alexander's son Vasily ruled in Veliky Novgorod, and Nevsky himself reigned in Vladimir. Novgorodians refuse to pay tribute to the Horde, and Alexander sets up a punitive campaign against the rebellious city. Vasily Alexandrovich flees to neighboring Pskov. But soon his father catches up with him and sends him “to Niz”, to the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, and those “who led Vasily to evil,” he executed: “you cut your nose to another, and to another you have your eyes.” For this, the Novgorodians killed Aleksandrov, the mayor's henchman Mikhalko Stepanich.

General

Recently, there is a stable opinion that Western Europe did not seriously threaten Russia, and therefore the value of the battles won by Alexander Nevsky is not great. This is, in particular, about the underestimation of the significance of the victory in the Battle of the Neva.

For example, the historian Igor Danilevsky notes that "the Swedes, judging by the" Chronicle of Eric ", which tells in detail about the events in this region in the 13th century, generally managed not to notice this battle."

However, such an assessment is opposed by Igor Shaskolsky, a prominent Russian specialist on the history of the Baltic region, noting that "in medieval Sweden until the beginning of the 14th century, no major narrative works on the history of the country such as Russian chronicles and large Western European chronicles were written."

The Battle of the Ice is also being devalued. The battle appears to be a battle in which numerous troops were killed. Based on the information of the "Elder Livonian Rhymed Chronicle", which indicates only 20 knights who died during the battle, some experts say that the scale of the battle is insignificant. However, according to the historian Dmitry Volodikhin, the Chronicle did not take into account the losses among the Danish mercenaries who participated in the battle, the Baltic tribes, as well as the militias, who formed the backbone of the army.

Some historians estimate the army of Alexander Nevsky at 15-17 thousand people, and the German soldiers who opposed him - 10-12 thousand. It happens even more - 18 thousand to 15.

However, on the 78th page of the Novgorod first chronicle of the older edition, it is written: "... and Chudi's pad was beshisla, and Nemets 400, and 50 with the hands of a yash and brought them to Novgorod." The figure grows in the next chronicle, the younger edition: "... and Chudi's pad was beshisla, and Nemets 500, and with other 50 hands I brought him to Novgorod."

The Laurentian Chronicle fits the entire story of the battle into three lines and does not even indicate the number of soldiers and killed. Apparently, this is unimportant and not significant?
The Life of Alexander Nevsky is a more artistic source than documentary. It has a completely different angle of view: spiritual. And on the spiritual side, sometimes one person is stronger than a thousand.

It is impossible to ignore the successful campaigns of Alexander Nevsky against the German, Swedish and Lithuanian feudal lords. In particular, in 1245, with the Novgorod army, Alexander defeated the Lithuanian prince Mindovg, who attacked Torzhok and Bezhetsk. Moreover, having released the Novgorodians, Alexander pursued the remnants of the Lithuanian army with the forces of his squad, during which he defeated another Lithuanian detachment near Usvyat. In total, judging by the sources that have come down to us, Alexander Nevsky conducted 12 military operations and did not lose in any of them.

How many wives?

In the life of Alexander Nevsky it is reported that in 1239 Saint Alexander entered into marriage, taking as his wife the daughter of the Polotsk prince Bryachislav. Some historians say that the princess in holy Baptism was the same name for her holy husband and bore the name of Alexander. At the same time, you can find reports that there was another wife: "In the Cathedral of the Princess of the monastery were buried Alexander - the first wife of the prince, Vassa - his second wife and daughter Evdokia". This is what is written in the "History of the Russian State" by N.M. Karamzin: "

After the death of his first wife, named Alexandra, the daughter of Prince Bryachislav of Polotsk, Nevsky was married in a second marriage to an unknown to us Princess Vassa, whose body lies in the Assumption Monastery of Vladimir, in the Church of the Nativity of Christ, where his daughter, Evdokia is buried. "

And yet, the existence of Alexander's second wife raises doubts both among historians and among ordinary people who honor the holy noble Prince Alexander Nevsky. There is even an opinion that Vassa is the monastic name of Alexandra Bryachislavovna.

Overthrowing a brother

It is known that in 1252, the brother of Alexander Nevsky, Andrei Yaroslavich, was expelled from the Vladimir reign by the "Nevrueva army" sent to him by Batu. According to popular belief, the prince was deprived of the label for failure to appear in the Horde, however, there is no information in the sources about the summoning of Andrei Yaroslavich to Sarai.
The annals say that Alexander went to the Don to see Batu's son Sartak and complained that Andrey received the grand-ducal table not by seniority and did not pay tribute to the Mongols in full.

The historian Dmitry Zenin is inclined to see the initiator of the overthrow of Andrei by his brother Alexander, since, in his opinion, Batu did not particularly understand all the intricacies of Russian inter-princely accounts and could not take on such responsibility.

Moreover, some researchers under the name "Nevryuy" mean Alexander Nevsky himself. The basis for this is the fact that the Neva in the common Mongolian language sounded like "Nevra". In addition, it is rather strange that the name of the commander Nevryuya, who was of a rank higher than the temnik, is not mentioned anywhere else.

Arabic script on the helmet

On the helmet of Alexander Nevsky, in addition to diamonds and rubies, there is Arabic script, the 3rd verse of the 61st sura of the Koran: "Please the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and a quick victory."

In the course of countless checks and examinations, it was found that the "Erichon cap" was forged in the East (from where the Arabic inscriptions come from) in the 17th century. Then, with an opportunity, the helmet turned out to be at Mikhail Fedorovich, where he underwent "Christian tuning". It is interesting that the Arabic script also adorned the helmet of Ivan the Terrible, as well as other noble persons of medieval Russia. Of course, we can say that these were trophies. But it is difficult to imagine that the regulated Ivan IV would put a used helmet on his crowned head. And in use by the "Basurman". The question of why the noble prince wore a helmet with Islamic letters still remains open.

Saint

Prince Alexander Nevsky canonized as a faithful. Because of Soviet propaganda, this ruler is most often presented as a successful warrior (he really did not lose a single battle in his entire life!), And it seems that he became famous only for his military merits, and holiness became something of a "reward" from Churches.

Why was he canonized? Not only because the prince did not agree to an alliance with the Latins. Surprisingly, through his efforts, an Orthodox diocese was created in the Golden Horde. And the preaching of Christianity spread to the north - to the lands of the Pomors.
To this face of the saints - the faithful - are ranked laymen who became 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."

This prince went down in history as a great commander who did not lose a single battle. His image became for the Russian people a symbol of independence and the struggle against foreign invaders. And yet, historians still cannot come to a consensus about who to consider Alexander Nevsky: a hero, savior of Russia, or an enemy who betrayed his people.
Let's see why.

Pavel Korin. "Alexander Nevsky", fragment of a triptych. 1942 year

Alexander was born around 1220 in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, where his father Yaroslav Vsevolodovich reigned. However, his childhood was spent mostly in Novgorod, of which Yaroslav became ruler in 1222.

When the young prince was about eight years old, he almost died. In 1228, his father left to gather an army for a campaign against Riga, while in Novgorod he left his sons Fyodor and Alexander. That year in the Novgorod land there was a severe crop failure: for several months in a row there were incessant rains, "people could not get hay, nor harvest fields." By winter, a terrible famine began. The Novgorod rulers and the priest were blamed for all the troubles. The Novgorodians sent a messenger to Yaroslav with a demand to urgently return to the city, but did not wait for the prince - and the people themselves decided to punish the guilty.

In December, a rebellion broke out in Novgorod, the rioters began to plunder and ravage the courtyards of local officials. The city split into two opposing camps, which dispersed along different banks of the Volkhov and were ready to pounce on each other with weapons in their hands. The elements prevented the bloodshed: blocks of ice brought from Lake Ilmen to Volkhov, they hit the bridge, and it collapsed. The opponents remained on different banks. At this time, Boyar Feodor Danilovich with tiun (boyar manager. - Ed.) Yakim, whom the prince instructed to look after the children, fearing that the anger of the Novgorodians might fall on the sons of Yaroslav, they secretly took the princes out of the city. Perhaps their fears were not in vain, since upon learning about the flight of the Yaroslavichs, the Novgorodians exclaimed: “Some of the guilty can be timid fugitives! We do not regret them.

After the Novgorodians renounced Yaroslav and invited Mikhail of Chernigov to reign. True, they soon made peace with the former prince and asked him to return.

Battle on the Neva

Alexander began to reign on his own when he was about 16 years old. In 1236, Yaroslav went to Kiev, and left Novgorod to his son.

When, two years later, the army of the Mongol-Tatars fell on Russia, the Novgorod Republic was lucky - the invasion almost did not affect it. The Horde suffered heavy losses during the capture of the Ryazan and Vladimir principalities, and therefore decided to abandon the advance towards the Baltic.

However, Novgorod did not remain aloof from the battles. Weakened by the arrival of the Horde, Russia was increasingly encroached upon by invaders from the west.

In the summer of 1240, the Swedish king, seeking to take control of the Izhora land, which is part of the Novgorod Republic, sent troops there. The invaders arrived on boats and, having landed at the mouth of the Neva, camped there. The leader of this army, Jarl Birger, sent ambassadors to Alexander with the words: “Fight with me if you dare. I already stand in your land! "

The invading army was clearly superior to the Novgorod one. Alexander understood that the neighboring principalities were unlikely to be able to help: in the same year, Batu ravaged most of the Russian lands and burned Kiev. The prince did not even begin to turn to his father for help, who, after the death of his brother, assumed the great reign and was engaged in the restoration of Vladimir destroyed by the Horde. Alexander decided to fight back Birger on his own.

- We are few, and the enemy is strong, - he turned to the squad. - But God is not in power, but in truth! Go with your prince!

Alexander did not hesitate. Not having time to really gather the Novgorod militia, he as soon as possible moved to the Neva with the small squad that he had. A few days later, on July 15, 1240, Russian soldiers suddenly attacked the enemy camp. The invaders were confused - they did not expect that the enemy could appear in such a short time. The Swedes, taken by surprise, suffered huge losses. The battle lasted until dark, and only the onset of night saved them from complete defeat. In the twilight, the remnants of the Swedish army plunged into boats and departed home, taking with them the wounded Birger, whom Alexander personally "put a stamp on his face" with a spear.

Unlike the Swedes, the losses of the Novgorodians were insignificant. Thanks to this victory, Alexander received his famous nickname - Nevsky.

Hero's return

Despite the fact that Alexander saved the Izhora land from the Swedes, soon after the Battle of the Neva, the Novgorodians quarreled with him. The prince left for Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. However, the very next year Novgorod was threatened by a new misfortune - the soldiers of the Livonian Order crossed the Russian borders. The crusaders captured Izborsk, took Pskov. The order began to strengthen in the Russian lands and even built a fortress in Koporye.

The Novgorodians understood that the crusaders were about to approach their city. They needed an experienced general to stop the invasion. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich offered them his son Andrey.

However, Novgorodians, mindful of the feat on the Neva, wanted to see another son of the Grand Duke - Alexander. But they were at odds with him! The boyars and the archbishop had to personally go to Pereyaslavl-Zalessky and persuade the prince to forget past grievances. Nevsky agreed to return.

As soon as he appeared in Novgorod, Alexander immediately got down to business. The prince gathered under his banners all the militia that was in the surrounding lands, and led the army against the enemy. First of all, he took by storm and destroyed the Livonian fortress in Koporye, then in the spring of 1242 he recaptured Pskov. Having conquered the Russian lands, Nevsky did not rest on this. He decided to finally defeat the invaders in order to stop new invasion attempts, and to give battle on the territory of the enemy. In this campaign, brother Andrey joined him with the Vladimir regiments.

The Livonian knights were also not alone: in the crusade they were supported by Danish vassals, as well as by the local population of the Baltic states, which at that time in Russia was called chudyu.

Battle on the Ice

The crusaders managed to defeat a small detachment walking in front of the Russian army. Alexander retreated to Lake Peipsi and lined up troops "on Uzmen at the Crow Stone". A line of crusaders attacked the Russian regiments head-on. As the chroniclers wrote, "the Germans made their way like a pig through the shelves of the Alexandrovs, and there was a wicked slaughter here." However, the knights did not even suspect that while the battle was going on, some of the previously hidden Russian soldiers bypassed them from the flanks. When the crusaders realized that they were surrounded, confusion began in their army. For seven miles the Russians pursued the defeated enemy, and only a few were saved. Some of the fugitives ran out onto the melted spring ice, which cracked, and the soldiers were swallowed up by the cold waters of Lake Peipsi.

Having won the victory, Nevsky did not continue the campaign, but returned to Novgorod. Shortly thereafter, an embassy from the order arrived there with a request to make peace. At the same time, the crusaders officially renounced their claims to Russian territories and even conceded some of their own.

Alexander agreed.

With the defeat of the crusaders, the invasions of Russia from the west did not stop. Already in 1243, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania invaded the Novgorod lands. Alexander Nevsky also found strength for him: he successively defeated seven Lithuanian armies. Lithuania came to Russia two years later, but the result was the same - the complete defeat of the invaders.

New brother

In the 1240s, most of Russia was under the rule of the Horde. In 1246, the Horde demanded that Alexander's father arrive in the capital of the Mongol Empire, Karakorum. This trip became fatal for Yaroslav Vsevolodovich - he was poisoned there. According to the law, his brother Svyatoslav became the head of Russia. However, Alexander and Andrew felt that the father's throne should go to them. They went to the Horde and in 1249 really returned as princes: Andrew - the capital of Russia Vladimir, Alexander - Kiev. But three years later, the Mongol-Tatars suddenly changed their mind: for some reason, Andrei fell into the disfavor of the Horde, and moreover, Batu's son Sartak sent the commander Nevryuy against him with an army. Andrew was defeated and hid abroad, and Alexander became the new Grand Duke.

The Russian researcher of the 18th century Vasily Tatishchev wrote in his "History of Russia" that Alexander went to the Horde and complained about his brother: they say that he begged the Horde for reign with flattery and was not paying tribute in full. Of course, after such a statement, Sartak became angry with Andrey. The Soviet historian Lev Gumilev even stated that Alexander Nevsky, during his visit to the Horde, became Sartak's brother. There is also an opinion that the commander Nevryuy is Alexander: this is how the nickname of the prince - Nevsky - could have sounded like this in Horde, because in one of the Mongolian dialects the Neva was called Nerva. True, all these versions have no factual confirmation - there is not a word about this either in the annals or in the writings of other researchers.

It is only known that Alexander was indeed in the Horde at the time of Andrei's quarrel with Sartak.

Novgorod tribute

Having become the Grand Duke of Vladimir in 1252, Alexander moved to the capital. In Novgorod, he left his son Vasily to reign. Five years later, the Mongol-Tatars decided to conduct a population census in Russia in order to establish how much tribute should be paid to each of the principalities. They wanted to tax Novgorod as well. However, the Novgorodians refused to submit to the Horde, because, as already mentioned, the Mongol-Tatars did not seize their lands. Prince Vasily supported his subjects.

Upon learning of this, Alexander ordered to put his son in shackles. All Novgorod nobles who did not want to obey the Horde were executed by order of Nevsky: who had their ears and noses cut off, who had their hands cut off, who were blinded. Thus, by the will of Alexander Nevsky, free Novgorod also became a tributary of the Mongol Empire. True, some historians justify the prince, believing that in this way he saved the Novgorodians.

Otherwise, the Horde with fire and sword would have passed through their land.

Alexander Nevsky ruled Russia until he was 43 years old. During the next visit to the Horde, he became very sick. Khan let him go home. Alexander reached Gorodets and died there on November 14, 1263.

Pavel Korin. "Alexander Nevsky", fragment of a triptych. 1942 year

This prince went down in history as a great commander who did not lose a single battle. His image has become for the Russian people a symbol of independence and the fight against foreign invaders.

And yet, historians still cannot come to a consensus about who to consider Alexander Nevsky: a hero, savior of Russia, or an enemy who betrayed his people.

Let's see why.

Yaroslav's son

Alexander was born around 1220 in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, where his father Yaroslav Vsevolodovich reigned. However, his childhood was spent mostly in Novgorod, of which Yaroslav became ruler in 1222.

When the young prince was about eight years old, he almost died. In 1228, his father left to collect an army for a campaign against Riga, while in Novgorod he left his sons Fyodor and Alexander. That year in the Novgorod land there was a severe crop failure: for several months in a row there were incessant rains, "people could not get hay, nor harvest fields." By winter, a terrible famine began. The Novgorod rulers and the priest were blamed for all the troubles. The Novgorodians sent a messenger to Yaroslav with a demand to urgently return to the city, but did not wait for the prince - and the people themselves decided to punish the guilty.

At this time, Boyar Feodor Danilovich with tiun (boyar manager. - Ed.) Yakim, whom the prince instructed to look after the children, fearing that the anger of the Novgorodians might fall on the sons of Yaroslav, they secretly took the princes out of the city. Perhaps their fears were not in vain, since upon learning about the flight of the Yaroslavichs, the Novgorodians exclaimed: “Some of the guilty can be timid fugitives! We do not regret them.

After the Novgorodians renounced Yaroslav and invited Mikhail of Chernigov to reign. True, they soon made peace with the former prince and asked him to return.

Battle on the Neva

Alexander began to reign on his own when he was about 16 years old. In 1236, Yaroslav went to Kiev, and left Novgorod to his son.
When, two years later, the army of the Mongol-Tatars fell on Russia, the Novgorod Republic was lucky - the invasion almost did not affect it. The Horde suffered heavy losses during the capture of the Ryazan and Vladimir principalities, and therefore decided to abandon the advance to the Baltic.
However, Novgorod did not remain aloof from the battles. Weakened by the arrival of the Horde, Russia was increasingly encroached upon by invaders from the west.
In the summer of 1240, the Swedish king, seeking to take control of the Izhora land, which is part of the Novgorod Republic, sent troops there. The invaders arrived on boats and, having landed at the mouth of the Neva, camped there. The leader of this army, Jarl Birger, sent ambassadors to Alexander with the words: “Fight with me if you dare. I already stand in your land! "

We are few, and the enemy is strong, - he turned to the squad. - But God is not in power, but in truth! Go with your prince!

Alexander did not hesitate. Not having had time to really gather the Novgorod militia, he as soon as possible moved to the Neva with that small squad that he had. A few days later, on July 15, 1240, Russian soldiers suddenly attacked the enemy camp. The invaders were confused - they did not expect that the enemy could appear in such a short time. The Swedes, taken by surprise, suffered huge losses. The battle lasted until dark, and only the onset of night saved them from complete defeat. In the twilight, the remnants of the Swedish army plunged into boats and departed home, taking with them the wounded Birger, whom Alexander personally "put a stamp on his face" with a spear.

Unlike the Swedes, the losses of the Novgorodians were insignificant. Thanks to this victory, Alexander received his famous nickname - Nevsky.

Hero's return

The Novgorodians understood that the crusaders were about to approach their city. They needed an experienced general to stop the invasion. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich offered them his son Andrey.

Battle on the Ice

Alexander agreed.

New brother

Henryk Semiradsky. The Death of Alexander Nevsky. 1876 year

According to the law, his brother Svyatoslav became the head of Russia. However, Alexander and Andrew felt that the father's throne should go to them. They went to the Horde and in 1249 really returned as princes: Andrew - the capital of Russia Vladimir, Alexander - Kiev. But three years later, the Mongol-Tatars unexpectedly changed their mind: for some reason Andrei fell out of favor with the Horde, and moreover, Batu's son Sartak sent the commander Nevryuy against him with an army. Andrew was defeated and disappeared abroad, and Alexander became the new Grand Duke.

The Russian researcher of the 18th century Vasily Tatishchev wrote in his "History of Russia" that Alexander went to the Horde and complained about his brother: they say that he begged for reign from the Horde people with flattery and was not paying tribute in full. Of course, after such a statement, Sartak became angry with Andrey. The Soviet historian Lev Gumilev even stated that Alexander Nevsky, during his visit to the Horde, became Sartak's brother. There is also an opinion that the commander Nevryuy is Alexander: this is how the nickname of the prince - Nevsky - could have sounded like this in Horde, because in one of the Mongolian dialects Neva was called Nerva. True, all these versions have no factual confirmation - there is not a word about this either in the annals or in the writings of other researchers.

It is only known that Alexander was indeed in the Horde at the time of Andrei's quarrel with Sartak.

Novgorod tribute

Otherwise, the Horde with fire and sword would have passed through their land.

Alexander Nevsky ruled Russia until he was 43 years old. During the next visit to the Horde, he became very sick. Khan let him go home. Alexander reached Gorodets and died there on November 14, 1263.