Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky - Russian historical library. Alexander Yaroslavovich, Prince of Novgorod: biography. The situation in the state

Alexander Nevsky is a great Russian ruler, commander, thinker and, finally, a saint, especially revered by the people. His life, icons and prayers are in the article!

Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (1220 - November 14, 1263), Prince of Novgorod, Pereyaslavl, Grand Duke Kiev (from 1249), Grand Duke of Vladimir (from 1252).

Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the ranks of the faithful under Metropolitan Macarius at the Moscow Council in 1547.

Memorial Day of Alexander Nevsky

Commemorated on December 6 and September 12 according to the new style (transfer of relics from Vladimir-on-Klyazma to St. Petersburg, to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (from 1797 - Lavra) on August 30, 1724). In honor of the memory of St. Alexander Nevsky, many churches have been built throughout Russia, where prayer services are held on these days. There are such churches outside our country: the Patriarchal Cathedral in Sofia, cathedral in Tallinn, temple in Tbilisi. Alexander Nevsky is such a significant Saint for the Russian people that even in Tsarist Russia an order was established in his honor. It's surprising that in Soviet years The memory of Alexander Nevsky was honored: on July 29, 1942, the Soviet military order of Alexander Nevsky was established in honor of the great commander.

Alexander Nevsky: just the facts

– Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich was born in 1220 (according to another version - in 1221) and died in 1263. At different years of his life, Prince Alexander had the titles of Prince of Novgorod, Kyiv, and later Grand Duke of Vladimir.

– Prince Alexander won his main military victories in his youth. During the Battle of the Neva (1240) he was at most 20 years old, during the Battle of the Ice - 22 years old. Subsequently, he became famous more as a politician and diplomat, but he also periodically acted as a military leader. In his entire life, Prince Alexander did not lose a single battle.

– Alexander Nevsky canonized as a noble prince. This rank of saints includes lay people who have become famous for their sincere deep faith and good deeds, as well as Orthodox rulers who managed to remain faithful to Christ in their public service and in various political conflicts. Like any Orthodox saint, the noble prince is not at all an ideal sinless person, but he is, first of all, a ruler, guided in his life primarily by the highest Christian virtues, including mercy and philanthropy, and not by the thirst for power and not by self-interest.

– Contrary to popular belief that the Church canonized almost all the rulers of the Middle Ages, only a few of them were glorified. Thus, among Russian saints of princely origin, the majority were glorified as saints for their martyrdom for the sake of their neighbors and for the sake of preserving the Christian faith.

–Through the efforts of Alexander Nevsky, the preaching of Christianity spread to the northern lands of the Pomors. He also managed to promote the creation of an Orthodox diocese in the Golden Horde.

– The modern idea of ​​Alexander Nevsky was influenced by Soviet propaganda, which spoke exclusively about his military merits. As a diplomat building relations with the Horde, and even more so as a monk and saint, he was completely inappropriate for the Soviet government. That’s why Sergei Eisenstein’s masterpiece “Alexander Nevsky” does not tell about the prince’s entire life, but only about the battle on Lake Peipsi. This gave rise to a common stereotype that Prince Alexander was canonized for his military services, and holiness itself became something of a “reward” from the Church.

– The veneration of Prince Alexander as a saint began immediately after his death, and at the same time a fairly detailed “Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky” was compiled. The official canonization of the prince took place in 1547.

The Life of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky

Portal “Word”

Prince Alexander Nevsky is one of those great people in the history of our Fatherland, whose activities not only influenced the destinies of the country and people, but largely changed them and predetermined the course of Russian history for many centuries to come. It fell to him to rule Russia in the most difficult, turning point that followed the ruinous Mongol conquest, when it came to the very existence of Rus', whether it would be able to survive, maintain its statehood, its ethnic independence, or disappear from the map, like many other peoples of Eastern Europe , who were invaded at the same time as her.

He was born in 1220 (1), in the city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and was the second son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, at that time the Prince of Pereyaslavl. His mother Feodosia, apparently, was the daughter of the famous Toropets prince Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny, or Udaly (2).

Very early, Alexander became involved in the turbulent political events that unfolded around the reign of Veliky Novgorod - one of the largest cities of medieval Rus'. It is with Novgorod that most of his biography will be connected. Alexander came to this city for the first time as a baby - in the winter of 1223, when his father was invited to reign in Novgorod. However, the reign turned out to be short-lived: at the end of the same year, having quarreled with the Novgorodians, Yaroslav and his family returned to Pereyaslavl. So Yaroslav will either make peace or quarrel with Novgorod, and then the same thing will happen again in the fate of Alexander. This was explained simply: the Novgorodians needed a strong prince from North-Eastern Rus' close to them so that he could protect the city from external enemies. However, such a prince ruled Novgorod too harshly, and the townspeople usually quickly quarreled with him and invited some South Russian prince to reign, who did not annoy them too much; and everything would be fine, but he, alas, could not protect them in case of danger, and he cared more about his southern possessions - so the Novgorodians had to again turn to the Vladimir or Pereyaslavl princes for help, and everything was repeated all over again.

Prince Yaroslav was again invited to Novgorod in 1226. Two years later, the prince again left the city, but this time he left his sons - nine-year-old Fyodor (his eldest son) and eight-year-old Alexander - as princes. Together with the children, the boyars of Yaroslav remained - Fyodor Danilovich and the princely tiun Yakim. They, however, were unable to cope with the Novgorod “freemen” and in February 1229 they had to flee with the princes to Pereyaslavl. For a short time, Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, a future martyr for the faith and a revered saint, established himself in Novgorod. But the southern Russian prince, who ruled remote Chernigov, could not protect the city from outside threats; In addition, severe famine and pestilence began in Novgorod. In December 1230, the Novgorodians invited Yaroslav for the third time. He hurriedly came to Novgorod, concluded an agreement with the Novgorodians, but stayed in the city for only two weeks and returned to Pereyaslavl. His sons Fyodor and Alexander again remained to reign in Novgorod.

Novgorod reign of Alexander

So, in January 1231, Alexander formally became the Prince of Novgorod. Until 1233 he ruled together with his older brother. But this year Fyodor died (his sudden death happened just before the wedding, when everything was ready for the wedding feast). Real power remained entirely in the hands of his father. Alexander probably took part in his father’s campaigns (for example, in 1234 near Yuryev, against the Livonian Germans, and in the same year against the Lithuanians). In 1236, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich took the vacant Kiev throne. From this time on, sixteen-year-old Alexander became the independent ruler of Novgorod.

The beginning of his reign came at a terrible time in the history of Rus' - the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. The hordes of Batu, who attacked Rus' in the winter of 1237/38, did not reach Novgorod. But most of North-Eastern Rus', its largest cities - Vladimir, Suzdal, Ryazan and others - were destroyed. Many princes died, including Alexander’s uncle, Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich and all his sons. Alexander's father Yaroslav received the Grand Duke's throne (1239). The catastrophe that occurred turned the entire course of Russian history upside down and left an indelible imprint on the fate of the Russian people, including, of course, Alexander. Although in the first years of his reign he did not have to directly confront the conquerors.

The main threat in those years came to Novgorod from the west. From the very beginning of the 13th century, the Novgorod princes had to hold back the onslaught of the growing Lithuanian state. In 1239, Alexander built fortifications along the Sheloni River, protecting the southwestern borders of his principality from Lithuanian raids. In the same year, an important event occurred in his life - Alexander married the daughter of the Polotsk prince Bryachislav, his ally in the fight against Lithuania. (Later sources give the princess’s name as Alexandra (3).) The wedding was held in Toropets, an important city on the Russian-Lithuanian border, and a second wedding feast was held in Novgorod.

An even greater danger for Novgorod was the advance from the west of the German crusading knights from the Livonian Order of the Swordsmen (united in 1237 with the Teutonic Order), and from the north - from Sweden, which in the first half of the 13th century intensified its attack on the lands of the Finnish tribe Em (Tavasts), traditionally included in the sphere of influence of the Novgorod princes. One might think that the news of Batu’s terrible defeat of Rus' prompted the rulers of Sweden to transfer military operations to the territory of the Novgorod land itself.

The Swedish army invaded Novgorod in the summer of 1240. Their ships entered the Neva and stopped at the mouth of its tributary Izhora. Later Russian sources report that the Swedish army was led by the future famous Jarl Birger, the son-in-law of the Swedish king Erik Erikson and the long-time ruler of Sweden, but researchers are doubtful about this news. According to the chronicle, the Swedes intended to “capture Ladoga, or, simply put, Novgorod, and the entire Novgorod region.”

Battle with the Swedes on the Neva

This was the first truly serious test for the young Novgorod prince. And Alexander withstood it with honor, showing the qualities of not only a born commander, but also a statesman. It was then, upon receiving news of the invasion, that his now famous words were spoken: “ God is not in power, but in righteousness!”

Having gathered a small squad, Alexander did not wait for help from his father and set out on a campaign. Along the way, he united with the Ladoga residents and on July 15, he suddenly attacked the Swedish camp. The battle ended in complete victory for the Russians. The Novgorod Chronicle reports huge losses on the part of the enemy: “And many of them fell; they filled two ships with the bodies of the best men and sent them ahead of them on the sea, and for the rest they dug a hole and threw them there without number.” The Russians, according to the same chronicle, lost only 20 people. It is possible that the losses of the Swedes are exaggerated (it is significant that there is no mention of this battle in Swedish sources), and the Russians are underestimated. The synodikon of the Novgorod Church of Saints Boris and Gleb in Plotniki, compiled in the 15th century, has been preserved with the mention of “princely governors, and Novgorod governors, and all our beaten brethren” who fell “on the Neva from the Germans under the Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich”; their memory was honored in Novgorod in the 15th and 16th centuries and later. Nevertheless, the significance of the Battle of the Neva is obvious: the Swedish onslaught in the direction of North-Western Rus' was stopped, and Rus' showed that, despite the Mongol conquest, it was able to defend its borders.

The life of Alexander especially highlights the feat of six “brave men” from Alexander’s regiment: Gavrila Oleksich, Sbyslav Yakunovich, Polotsk resident Yakov, Novgorodian Misha, warrior Sava from the junior squad (who cut down the golden-domed royal tent) and Ratmir, who died in the battle. The Life also tells about a miracle that occurred during the battle: on the opposite side of Izhora, where there were no Novgorodians at all, many corpses of fallen enemies were subsequently found, who were struck by the angel of the Lord.

This victory brought great fame to the twenty-year-old prince. It was in her honor that he received the honorary nickname - Nevsky.

Soon after his victorious return, Alexander quarreled with the Novgorodians. In the winter of 1240/41, the prince, together with his mother, wife and “his court” (that is, the army and the princely administration), left Novgorod for Vladimir, to his father, and from there “to reign” in Pereyaslavl. The reasons for his conflict with the Novgorodians are unclear. It can be assumed that Alexander sought to rule Novgorod with authority, following the example of his father, and this caused resistance from the Novgorod boyars. However, having lost a strong prince, Novgorod was unable to stop the advance of another enemy - the crusaders. In the year of the Neva Victory, the knights, in alliance with the “chud” (Estonians), captured the city of Izborsk, and then Pskov, the most important outpost on the western borders of Rus'. The next year, the Germans invaded the Novgorod lands, took the city of Tesov on the Luga River and established the Koporye fortress. The Novgorodians turned to Yaroslav for help, asking him to send his son. Yaroslav first sent his son Andrei, Nevsky’s younger brother, to them, but after a repeated request from the Novgorodians he agreed to release Alexander again. In 1241, Alexander Nevsky returned to Novgorod and was enthusiastically received by the residents.

Ice battle

And again he acted decisively and without any delay. In the same year, Alexander took the Koporye fortress. Some of the Germans were captured and some were sent home, while the traitors of the Estonians and leaders were hanged. The next year, with the Novgorodians and the Suzdal squad of his brother Andrei, Alexander moved to Pskov. The city was taken without much difficulty; the Germans who were in the city were killed or sent as booty to Novgorod. Building on their success, Russian troops entered Estonia. However, in the first clash with the knights, Alexander's guard detachment was defeated. One of the governors, Domash Tverdislavich, was killed, many were taken prisoner, and the survivors fled to the prince’s regiment. The Russians had to retreat. On April 5, 1242, a battle took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi (“on Uzmen, at the Raven Stone”), which went down in history as the Battle of the Ice. The Germans and Estonians, moving in a wedge (in Russian, “pig”), penetrated the leading Russian regiment, but were then surrounded and completely defeated. “And they chased them, beating them, seven miles across the ice,” the chronicler testifies.

Russian and Western sources differ in their assessment of the losses of the German side. According to the Novgorod Chronicle, countless “chuds” and 400 (another list says 500) German knights died, and 50 knights were captured. “And Prince Alexander returned with a glorious victory,” says the Life of the saint, “and there were many captives in his army, and they led barefoot next to the horses of those who call themselves “God’s knights.” There is also a story about this battle in the so-called Livonian Rhymed Chronicle of the late 13th century, but it reports only 20 dead and 6 captured German knights, which is apparently a strong understatement. However, the differences with Russian sources can partly be explained by the fact that the Russians counted all killed and wounded Germans, and the author of the “Rhymed Chronicle” only counted “brother knights,” that is, actual members of the Order.

The Battle of the Ice was of great importance for the fate of not only Novgorod, but all of Russia. The crusader aggression was stopped on the ice of Lake Peipsi. Rus' received peace and stability on its northwestern borders. In the same year, a peace treaty was concluded between Novgorod and the Order, according to which an exchange of prisoners took place, and all Russian territories captured by the Germans were returned. The chronicle conveys the words of the German ambassadors addressed to Alexander: “What we took by force without the prince, Vod, Luga, Pskov, Latygola - we are retreating from all of that. And if your husbands were captured, we are ready to exchange them: we will release yours, and you will let ours go.”

Battle with Lithuanians

Success accompanied Alexander in battles with the Lithuanians. In 1245, he inflicted a severe defeat on them in a series of battles: at Toropets, near Zizhich and near Usvyat (not far from Vitebsk). Many Lithuanian princes were killed, and others were captured. “His servants, mocking, tied them to the tails of their horses,” says the author of the Life. “And from that time on they began to fear his name.” So the Lithuanian raids on Rus' were stopped for a while.

Another, later one is known Alexander's campaign against the Swedes - in 1256. It was undertaken in response to a new attempt by the Swedes to invade Rus' and establish a fortress on the eastern, Russian, bank of the Narova River. By that time, the fame of Alexander’s victories had already spread far beyond the borders of Rus'. Having learned not even about the performance of the Russian army from Novgorod, but only about preparations for the performance, the invaders “fled overseas.” This time Alexander sent his troops to Northern Finland, which had recently been annexed to the Swedish crown. Despite the hardships of the winter march through the snowy desert area, the campaign ended successfully: “And they all fought Pomerania: they killed some, and took others as captives, and returned back to their land with many captives.”

But Alexander not only fought with the West. Around 1251, an agreement was concluded between Novgorod and Norway on the settlement of border disputes and differentiation in the collection of tribute from the vast territory in which Karelians and Sami lived. At the same time, Alexander negotiated the marriage of his son Vasily to the daughter of the Norwegian king Hakon Hakonarson. True, these negotiations were not successful due to the invasion of Rus' by the Tatars - the so-called “Nevryu Army”.

IN recent years life, between 1259 and 1262, Alexander, on his own behalf and on behalf of his son Dmitry (proclaimed Prince of Novgorod in 1259), “with all Novgorodians”, concluded an agreement on trade with the “Gothic Coast” (Gotland), Lubeck and German cities; this agreement played important role in the history of Russian-German relations and turned out to be very durable (it was referred to even in 1420).

In the wars with Western opponents - the Germans, Swedes and Lithuanians - the military leadership talent of Alexander Nevsky clearly manifested itself. But his relationship with the Horde was completely different.

Relations with the Horde

After the death of Alexander's father, Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Vladimir, in 1246, who was poisoned in distant Karakorum, the grand-ducal throne passed to Alexander's uncle, Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich. However, a year later, Alexander’s brother Andrei, a warlike, energetic and decisive prince, overthrew him. Subsequent events are not entirely clear. It is known that in 1247 Andrei, and after him Alexander, made a trip to the Horde, to Batu. He sent them even further, to Karakorum, the capital of the huge Mongol Empire (“to the Kanovichi,” as they said in Rus'). The brothers returned to Rus' only in December 1249. Andrei received from the Tatars a label for the grand-ducal throne in Vladimir, while Alexander received Kyiv and “the entire Russian land” (that is, Southern Rus'). Formally, Alexander’s status was higher, because Kyiv was still considered the main capital city of Rus'. But devastated by the Tatars and depopulated, it completely lost its significance, and therefore Alexander could hardly be satisfied by decision. Without even visiting Kyiv, he immediately went to Novgorod.

Negotiations with the Papal throne

His negotiations with the papal throne date back to the time of Alexander’s trip to the Horde. Two bulls of Pope Innocent IV, addressed to Prince Alexander and dated 1248, have survived. In them, the head of the Roman Church offered the Russian prince an alliance to fight against the Tatars - but on the condition that he accepted the church union and came under the protection of the Roman throne.

The papal legates did not find Alexander in Novgorod. However, one can think that even before his departure (and before receiving the first papal message), the prince held some negotiations with representatives of Rome. In anticipation of the upcoming trip “to the Kanoviches,” Alexander gave an evasive answer to the pope’s proposals, designed to continue negotiations. In particular, he agreed to build a Latin church in Pskov - a church, which was quite common for ancient Rus' (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 agree to union. But such an assessment was deeply erroneous.

The prince probably received both papal messages upon his return from Mongolia. By this time he had made a choice - and not in favor of the West. According to researchers, what he saw on the way from Vladimir to Karakorum and back made a strong impression on Alexander: he became convinced of the indestructible power of the Mongol Empire and the impossibility of ruined and weakened Rus' to resist the power of the Tatar “kings”.

This is how the Life of the Prince conveys it famous response to papal envoys:

“Once upon a time, ambassadors from the Pope from great Rome came to him with the following words: “Our Pope says this: We heard that you are a worthy and glorious prince and your land is great. That’s why they sent to you two of the most skilled of the twelve cardinals... so that you could listen to their teaching about the law of God.”

Prince Alexander, having thought with his sages, wrote to him, saying: “From Adam to the flood, from the flood to the division of languages, from the confusion of languages ​​to the beginning of Abraham, from Abraham to the passage of Israel through the Red Sea, from the exodus of the children of Israel to death King David, from the beginning of the kingdom of Solomon to Augustus the king, from the beginning of Augustus to the Nativity of Christ, from the Nativity of Christ to the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord, from His Resurrection to the Ascension to Heaven, from the Ascension to Heaven to the Kingdom of Constantine, from the beginning of the Kingdom of Constantine until the first council, from the first council to the seventh - all that We know well, but we don’t accept teachings from you“. They returned home.”

In this answer of the prince, in his reluctance to even enter into debates with the Latin ambassadors, it was by no means some kind of religious limitation that was revealed, as it might seem at first glance. It was a choice both religious and political. Alexander was aware that the West would not be able to help Rus' liberate itself from the Horde yoke; the fight against the Horde, to which the papal throne called, could be disastrous for the country. Alexander was not ready to agree to a union with Rome (namely, this was an indispensable condition for the proposed union). Acceptance of the union - even with the formal consent of Rome to preserve all Orthodox rites in worship - in practice could only mean simple submission to the Latins, both political and spiritual. The history of the dominance of the Latins in the Baltic states or in Galich (where they briefly established themselves in the 10s of the 13th century) clearly proved this.

So Prince Alexander chose a different path for himself - the path of refusing all cooperation with the West and at the same time the path of forced submission to the Horde, accepting all its conditions. It was in this that he saw the only salvation both for his power over Russia - albeit limited by the recognition of Horde sovereignty - and for Rus' itself.

The period of the short-lived great reign of Andrei Yaroslavich is very poorly covered in Russian chronicles. However, it is obvious that a conflict was brewing between the brothers. Andrei - unlike Alexander - showed himself to be an opponent of the Tatars. In the winter of 1250/51, he married the daughter of the Galician prince Daniil Romanovich, a supporter of decisive resistance to the Horde. The threat of uniting the forces of North-Eastern and South-Western Rus' could not but alarm the Horde.

The denouement came in the summer of 1252. Again, we don’t know exactly what happened then. According to the chronicles, Alexander again went to the Horde. During his stay there (and perhaps after his return to Rus'), a punitive expedition under the command of Nevruy was sent from the Horde against Andrei. In the battle of Pereyaslavl, the squad of Andrei and his brother Yaroslav, who supported him, was defeated. Andrei fled to Sweden. The northeastern lands of Rus' were plundered and devastated, many people were killed or taken prisoner.

In the Horde

St. blgv. book Alexander Nevsky. From the site: http://www.icon-art.ru/

The sources at our disposal are silent about any connection between Alexander’s trip to the Horde and the actions of the Tatars (4). However, one can guess that Alexander’s trip to the Horde was connected with changes on the khan’s throne in Karakorum, where in the summer of 1251 Mengu, an ally of Batu, was proclaimed great khan. According to sources, “all the labels and seals that were indiscriminately issued to princes and nobles during the previous reign,” the new khan ordered to be taken away. This means that those decisions in accordance with which Alexander’s brother Andrei received the label for the great reign of Vladimir also lost force. Unlike his brother, Alexander was extremely interested in revising these decisions and getting his hands on the great reign of Vladimir, to which he, as the eldest of the Yaroslavichs, had more rights than his younger brother.

One way or another, in the last open military clash between the Russian princes and the Tatars in the history of the turning point of the 13th century, Prince Alexander found himself - perhaps through no fault of his own - in the Tatar camp. It was from this time that we can definitely talk about the special “Tatar policy” of Alexander Nevsky - the policy of pacifying the Tatars and unquestioning obedience to them. His subsequent frequent trips to the Horde (1257, 1258, 1262) were aimed at preventing new invasions of Rus'. The prince strove to regularly pay a huge tribute to the conquerors and to prevent protests against them in Rus' itself. Historians have different assessments of Alexander's Horde policies. Some see in it simple servility to a ruthless and invincible enemy, a desire to retain power over Russia by any means; others, on the contrary, consider the prince’s most important merit. “The two feats of Alexander Nevsky - the feat of warfare in the West and the feat of humility in the East,” wrote the greatest historian of the Russian Abroad G.V. Vernadsky, “had one goal: the preservation of Orthodoxy as the moral and political force of the Russian people. This goal was achieved: the growth of the Russian Orthodox kingdom took place on the soil prepared by Alexander.” The Soviet researcher of medieval Russia V. T. Pashuto also gave a close assessment of the policies of Alexander Nevsky: “With his careful, prudent policy, he saved Rus' from final ruin by the armies of nomads. By armed struggle, trade policy, and selective diplomacy, he avoided new wars in the North and West, a possible but disastrous alliance with the papacy for Rus', and a rapprochement between the curia and the crusaders and the Horde. He gained time, allowing Rus' to grow stronger and recover from the terrible ruin.”

Be that as it may, it is indisputable that Alexander’s policy for a long time determined the relationship between Russia and the Horde, and largely determined Rus'’s choice between East and West. Subsequently, this policy of pacifying the Horde (or, if you prefer, currying favor with the Horde) will be continued by the Moscow princes - the grandchildren and great-grandsons of Alexander Nevsky. But the historical paradox - or rather, the historical pattern - is that it is they, the heirs of the Horde policy of Alexander Nevsky, who will be able to revive the power of Rus' and ultimately throw off the hated Horde yoke.

The prince erected churches, rebuilt cities

...In the same 1252, Alexander returned from the Horde to Vladimir with a label for the great reign and was solemnly placed on the grand prince's throne. After the terrible devastation of Nevryuev, he first of all had to take care of the restoration of the destroyed Vladimir and other Russian cities. The prince “erected churches, rebuilt cities, gathered dispersed people into their homes,” testifies the author of the prince’s Life. The prince showed special concern for the Church, decorating churches with books and utensils, and bestowing them with rich gifts and land.

Novgorod unrest

Novgorod gave Alexander a lot of trouble. In 1255, the Novgorodians expelled Alexander's son Vasily and put Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich, Nevsky's brother, in reign. Alexander approached the city with his squad. However, bloodshed was avoided: as a result of negotiations, a compromise was reached, and the Novgorodians submitted.

A new unrest in Novgorod occurred in 1257. It was caused by the appearance in Rus' of Tatar “chislenniks” - census takers who were sent from the Horde to more accurately tax the population with tribute. Russian people of that time treated the census with mystical horror, seeing in it a sign of the Antichrist - a harbinger of the last times and the Last Judgment. In the winter of 1257, the Tatar “numerals” “numbered the entire land of Suzdal, and Ryazan, and Murom, and appointed foremen, and thousanders, and temniks,” the chronicler wrote. From the “numbers,” that is, from tribute, only the clergy were exempted - “church people” (the Mongols invariably exempted the servants of God from tribute in all the countries they conquered, regardless of religion, so that they could freely turn to various gods with words of prayer for their conquerors).

In Novgorod, which was not directly affected by either Batu’s invasion or the “Nevryuev’s army,” the news of the census was greeted with particular bitterness. The unrest in the city continued for a whole year. Even Alexander’s son, Prince Vasily, was on the side of the townspeople. When his father appeared, accompanying the Tatars, he fled to Pskov. This time the Novgorodians avoided the census, limiting themselves to paying a rich tribute to the Tatars. But their refusal to fulfill the Horde’s will aroused the wrath of the Grand Duke. Vasily was exiled to Suzdal, the instigators of the riots were severely punished: some, on the orders of Alexander, were executed, others had their noses “cut,” and others were blinded. Only in the winter of 1259 did the Novgorodians finally agree to “give a number.” Nevertheless, the appearance of Tatar officials caused a new rebellion in the city. Only with the personal participation of Alexander and under the protection of the princely squad was the census carried out. “And the accursed began to travel through the streets, copying Christian houses,” reports the Novgorod chronicler. After the end of the census and the departure of the Tatars, Alexander left Novgorod, leaving his young son Dmitry as prince.

In 1262, Alexander made peace with the Lithuanian prince Mindaugas. In the same year, he sent a large army under the nominal command of his son Dmitry against the Livonian Order. This campaign was attended by the squads of Alexander Nevsky’s younger brother Yaroslav (with whom he managed to reconcile), as well as his new ally, the Lithuanian prince Tovtivil, who settled in Polotsk. The campaign ended in a major victory - the city of Yuryev (Tartu) was taken.

At the end of the same 1262, Alexander went to the Horde for the fourth (and last) time. “In those days there was great violence from the Gentiles,” says the Prince’s Life; “they persecuted Christians, forcing them to fight on their side. The great prince Alexander went to the king (Horde Khan Berke - A.K.) to pray his people away from this misfortune.” Probably, the prince also sought to rid Rus' of the new punitive expedition of the Tatars: in the same year, 1262, a popular uprising broke out in a number of Russian cities (Rostov, Suzdal, Yaroslavl) against the excesses of Tatar tribute collectors.

The last days of Alexander

Alexander obviously managed to achieve his goals. However, Khan Berke detained him for almost a year. Only in the fall of 1263, already ill, Alexander returned to Rus'. Having reached Nizhny Novgorod, the prince became completely ill. In Gorodets on the Volga, already feeling the approach of death, Alexander took monastic vows (according to later sources, with the name Alexei) and died on November 14. His body was transported to Vladimir and on November 23 buried in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Vladimir Nativity Monastery in front of a huge crowd of people. The words with which Metropolitan Kirill announced to the people about the death of the Grand Duke are known: “My children, know that the sun of the land of Suzdal has already set!” The Novgorod chronicler put it differently - and perhaps more accurately: Prince Alexander “worked for Novgorod and for the entire Russian land.”

Church veneration

Church veneration of the holy prince began, apparently, immediately after his death. The life tells of a miracle that happened during the burial itself: when the prince’s body was laid in the tomb and Metropolitan Kirill, according to custom, wanted to put a spiritual letter in his hand, people saw how the prince, “as if alive, stretched out his hand and accepted the letter from his hand.” Metropolitan... Thus God glorified his saint.”

Several decades after the death of the prince, his Life was compiled, which was subsequently repeatedly subjected to various alterations, revisions and additions (in total there are up to twenty editions of the Life, dating from the 13th-19th centuries). The official canonization of the prince by the Russian Church took place in 1547, at a church council convened by Metropolitan Macarius and Tsar Ivan the Terrible, when many new Russian wonderworkers, previously revered only locally, were canonized. The Church equally glorifies the prince’s military prowess, “never defeated in battle, but always victorious,” and his feat of meekness, patience “more than courage” and “invincible humility” (in the seemingly paradoxical expression of the Akathist).

If we turn to the subsequent centuries of Russian history, then we will see a kind of second, posthumous biography of the prince, whose invisible presence is clearly felt in many events - and above all in the turning points, the most dramatic moments in the life of the country. The first discovery of his relics took place in the year of the great Kulikovo victory, won by the great-grandson of Alexander Nevsky, the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Donskoy in 1380. In miraculous visions, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich appears as a direct participant in both the Battle of Kulikovo itself and the Battle of Molodi in 1572, when the troops of Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky defeated the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey just 45 kilometers from Moscow. The image of Alexander Nevsky is seen above Vladimir in 1491, a year after the final overthrow of the Horde yoke. In 1552, during the campaign against Kazan, which led to the conquest of the Kazan Khanate, Tsar Ivan the Terrible performed a prayer service at the tomb of Alexander Nevsky, and during this prayer service a miracle occurred, regarded by everyone as a sign of the coming victory. The relics of the holy prince, which remained in the Vladimir Nativity Monastery until 1723, exuded numerous miracles, information about which was carefully recorded by the monastic authorities.

A new page in the veneration of the holy and blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky began in the 18th century, under the emperor Peter the Great. The conqueror of the Swedes and the founder of St. Petersburg, which became for Russia a “window to Europe,” Peter saw in Prince Alexander his immediate predecessor in the fight against Swedish domination on the Baltic Sea and hastened to transfer the city he founded on the banks of the Neva under his heavenly protection. Back in 1710, Peter ordered that the name of St. Alexander Nevsky be included in the dismissals during divine services as a prayer representative for the “Neva Country.” In the same year, he personally chose the place to build a monastery in the name of the Holy Trinity and St. Alexander Nevsky - the future Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Peter wanted to transfer the relics of the holy prince here from Vladimir. Wars with the Swedes and Turks slowed down the fulfillment of this desire, and only in 1723 did they begin to fulfill it. On August 11, with all due solemnity, the holy relics were taken out of the Nativity Monastery; the procession headed towards Moscow and then towards St. Petersburg; Everywhere she was accompanied by prayer services and crowds of believers. According to Peter's plan, the holy relics were supposed to be brought into the new capital of Russia on August 30 - the day of the conclusion of the Treaty of Nystadt with the Swedes (1721). However, the distance of the journey did not allow this plan to be implemented, and the relics arrived in Shlisselburg only on October 1. By order of the emperor, they were left in the Shlisselburg Church of the Annunciation, and their transfer to St. Petersburg was postponed until next year.

The meeting of the shrine in St. Petersburg on August 30, 1724 was distinguished by special solemnity. According to legend, on the last leg of the journey (from the mouth of Izhora to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery), Peter personally ruled the galley with a precious cargo, and at the oars were his closest associates, the first dignitaries of the state. At the same time, an annual celebration of the memory of the holy prince was established on the day of the transfer of the relics on August 30.

Nowadays the Church celebrates the memory of the holy and blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky twice a year: November 23 (December 6, new style) and August 30 (September 12).

Days of celebration of St. Alexander Nevsky:

May 23 (June 5, new art.) - Cathedral of Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints
August 30 (September 12 according to the new art.) - the day of transfer of the relics to St. Petersburg (1724) - the main one
November 14 (November 27 according to the new art.) - day of death in Gorodets (1263) - canceled
November 23 (December 6, New Art.) - day of burial in Vladimir, in the schema of Alexy (1263)

Myths about Alexander Nevsky

1. The battles for which Prince Alexander became famous were so insignificant that they are not even mentioned in Western chronicles.

Not true! This idea was born out of pure ignorance. The Battle of Lake Peipsi is reflected in German sources, in particular in the “Elder Livonian Rhymed Chronicle”. Based on it, some historians talk about the insignificant scale of the battle, because the Chronicle reports the death of only twenty knights. But here it is important to understand that we are talking specifically about the “brother knights” who performed the role of senior commanders. Nothing is said about the death of their warriors and representatives of the Baltic tribes recruited into the army, who formed the backbone of the army.
As for the Battle of the Neva, it was not reflected in any way in the Swedish chronicles. But, according to the largest Russian specialist on the history of the Baltic region in the Middle Ages, Igor Shaskolsky, “... this should not be surprising. In medieval Sweden, until the beginning of the 14th century, no major narrative works on the history of the country, such as Russian chronicles and large Western European chronicles, were created.” In other words, the Swedes have nowhere to look for traces of the Battle of the Neva.

2. The West did not pose a threat to Russia at that time, unlike the Horde, which Prince Alexander used exclusively to strengthen his personal power.

Not like that again! It is hardly possible to talk about a “united West” in the 13th century. Perhaps it would be more correct to talk about the world of Catholicism, but it, as a whole, was very variegated, heterogeneous and fragmented. Rus' was really threatened not by the “West”, but by the Teutonic and Livonian Orders, as well as the Swedish conquerors. And for some reason they were defeated on Russian territory, and not at home in Germany or Sweden, and, therefore, the threat posed by them was quite real.
As for the Horde, there is a source (Ustyug Chronicle) that makes it possible to assume the organizing role of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich in the anti-Horde uprising.

3. Prince Alexander did not defend Rus' and the Orthodox faith, he simply fought for power and used the Horde to physically eliminate his own brother.

This is just speculation. Prince Alexander Yaroslavich first of all defended what he inherited from his father and grandfather. In other words, with great skill he performed the task of a guardian, a guardian. As for the death of his brother, it is necessary, before such verdicts, to study the question of how he, in his recklessness and youth, put down the Russian army to no avail and in what way he acquired power in general. This will show: it was not so much Prince Alexander Yaroslavich who was his destroyer, but rather he himself laid claim to the role of the quick destroyer of Rus'...

4. By turning to the east, and not to the west, Prince Alexander laid the foundations for the future rampant despotism in the country. His contacts with the Mongols made Rus' an Asian power.

This is completely groundless journalism. All Russian princes were in contact with the Horde at that time. After 1240, they had a choice: to die themselves and subject Rus' to new devastation, or to survive and prepare the country for new battles and ultimately for liberation. Someone rushed headlong into battle, but 90 percent of our princes of the second half of the 13th century chose a different path. And here Alexander Nevsky is no different from our other sovereigns of that period.
As for the “Asian power”, there are indeed different points of view here today. But as a historian, I believe that Rus' never became one. It was not and is not part of Europe or Asia or some kind of mixture where the European and Asian take on different proportions depending on the circumstances. Rus' represents a cultural and political essence that is sharply different from both Europe and Asia. Just as Orthodoxy is neither Catholicism, nor Islam, nor Buddhism, nor any other confession.

Metropolitan Kirill about Alexander Nevsky - the name of Russia

On October 5, 2008, in a television program dedicated to Alexander Nevsky, Metropolitan Kirill gave a fiery 10-minute speech in which he tried to reveal this image so that it would become accessible to a wide audience. The Metropolitan began with questions: Why can a noble prince from the distant past, from the 13th century, become the name of Russia? What do we know about him? Answering these questions, the Metropolitan compares Alexander Nevsky with the other twelve applicants: “You need to know history very well and you need to feel history in order to understand the modernity of this person... I looked carefully at the names of everyone. Each of the candidates is a representative of his workshop: politician, scientist, writer, poet, economist... Alexander Nevsky was not a representative of the workshop, because he was at the same time the greatest strategist... a person who sensed not political, but civilizational dangers for Russia. He did not fight against specific enemies, not against the East or the West. He fought for national identity, for national self-understanding. Without him there would be no Russia, no Russians, no our civilizational code.”

According to Metropolitan Kirill, Alexander Nevsky was a politician who defended Russia with “very subtle and courageous diplomacy.” He understood that it was impossible at that moment to defeat the Horde, which “ironed Russia twice,” captured Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, reached the Adriatic Sea, and invaded China. “Why doesn’t he start a fight against the Horde? – asks the Metropolitan. – Yes, the Horde captured Rus'. But the Tatar-Mongols did not need our soul and did not need our brains. The Tatar-Mongols needed our pockets, and they turned these pockets out, but did not encroach on our national identity. They were not able to overcome our civilizational code. But when danger arose from the West, when the Teutonic knights clad in armor went to Rus', there was no compromise. When the Pope writes a letter to Alexander, trying to win him over to his side... Alexander answers “no”. He sees a civilizational danger, he meets these armored knights on Lake Peipsi and defeats them, just as he, by a miracle of God, defeated the Swedish warriors who entered the Neva with a small squad.”

Alexander Nevsky, according to the Metropolitan, gives away “superstructural values”, allowing the Mongols to collect tribute from Russia: “He understands that this is not scary. Mighty Russia will return all this money. We must preserve the soul, national self-awareness, national will, and we must give the opportunity to what our wonderful historiosopher Lev Nikolayevich Gumilyov called “ethnogenesis.” Everything is destroyed, we need to accumulate strength. And if they had not accumulated forces, if they had not pacified the Horde, if they had not stopped the Livonian invasion, where would Russia be? She wouldn't exist."

As Metropolitan Kirill asserts, following Gumilyov, Alexander Nevsky was the creator of that multinational and multi-confessional “Russian world” that exists to this day. It was he who “teared the Golden Horde away from the Great Steppe”*. With his cunning political move, he “persuaded Batu not to pay tribute to the Mongols. And the Great Steppe, this center of aggression against the whole world, found itself isolated from Rus' by the Golden Horde, which began to be drawn into the area of ​​Russian civilization. These are the first vaccinations of our union with the Tatar people, with the Mongol tribes. These are the first inoculations of our multinationality and multireligion. This is where it all started. He laid the foundation for the world-being of our people, which determined the further development of Rus' as Russia, as a great state.”

Alexander Nevsky, according to Metropolitan Kirill, is a collective image: he is a ruler, thinker, philosopher, strategist, warrior, hero. Personal courage is combined in him with deep religiosity: “At a critical moment, when the power and strength of the commander should be shown, he enters into single combat and hits Birger in the face with a spear... And where did it all start? He prayed at Hagia Sophia in Novgorod. A nightmare, hordes many times larger. What resistance? He comes out and addresses his people. With what words? God is not in power, but in truth... Can you imagine what words? What power!”

Metropolitan Kirill calls Alexander Nevsky an “epic hero”: “He was 20 years old when he defeated the Swedes, 22 years old when he drowned the Livonians on Lake Peipsi... 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, commander, Alexander Nevsky became a saint. “Oh my God! – Metropolitan Kirill exclaims. – If Russia had had holy rulers after Alexander Nevsky, what would our history be like! This is a collective image as much as a collective image can be... This is our hope, because today we still need what Alexander Nevsky did... Let us give our not only our voices, but also our hearts to the holy noble Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky - the savior and organizer of Russia !”

(From the book of Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) “Patriarch Kirill: life and worldview”)

Answers of Vladyka Metropolitan Kirill to questions from viewers of the “Name of Russia” project about Alexander Nevsky

Wikipedia calls Alexander Nevsky “the favorite prince of the clergy.” Do you share this assessment and, if so, what is the reason for it? Semyon Borzenko

Dear Semyon, it’s difficult for me to say what exactly guided the authors of the free encyclopedia “Wikipedia” when they named St. Alexander Nevsky. Perhaps because the prince was canonized and is revered in the Orthodox Church, solemn services are held in his honor. However, the Church also reveres other holy princes, for example, Dimitri Donskoy and Daniil of Moscow, and it would be wrong to single out a “beloved” from among them. I believe that such a name could also have been adopted by the prince because during his lifetime he favored the Church and patronized it.

Unfortunately, the pace of my life and the amount of work I do allow me to use the Internet exclusively for business purposes. I regularly visit, say, informational sites, but I have absolutely no time left to view those sites that would be personally interesting to me. Therefore, I was not able to take part in the voting on the “Name of Russia” website, but I supported Alexander Nevsky by voting by telephone.

He defeated Rurik's descendants (1241), fought for power in civil wars, betrayed his own brother to the pagans (1252), and scratched out the eyes of the Novgorodians with his own hands (1257). Is the Russian Orthodox Church really ready to canonize Satan to maintain a split in churches? Ivan Nezabudko

When talking about certain acts of Alexander Nevsky, it is necessary to take into account many different factors. This is also the historical era in which St. lived. Alexander - then many actions that seem strange to us today were completely commonplace. This is the political situation in the state - remember that at that time the country was experiencing a serious threat from the Tatar-Mongols, and St. Alexander did everything possible to reduce this threat to a minimum. As for the facts you cite from the life of St. Alexander Nevsky, then historians still cannot confirm or refute many of them, much less give them an unambiguous assessment.

For example, there are many ambiguities in the relationship between Alexander Nevsky and his brother Prince Andrei. There is a point of view according to which Alexander complained to the khan about his brother and asked to send an armed detachment to deal with him. However, this fact is not mentioned in any ancient source. The first time this was reported was only by V.N. Tatishchev in his “Russian History”, and there is every reason to believe that the author here got carried away with historical reconstruction - he “thought out” something that actually did not happen. N.M. Karamzin, in particular, thought so: “According to Tatishchev’s invention, Alexander informed Khan that his younger brother Andrei, having appropriated the Great Reign, was deceiving the Mughals, giving them only part of the tribute, etc.” (Karamzin N.M. History of the Russian State. M., 1992. T.4. P. 201. Note 88).

Many historians today tend to adhere to a different point of view than Tatishchev. Andrei, as is known, pursued a policy independent of Batu, while relying on the khan’s rivals. As soon as Batu took power into his own hands, he immediately dealt with his opponents, sending detachments not only against Andrei Yaroslavich, but also against Daniil Romanovich.

I am not aware of a single fact that could at least indirectly indicate that the veneration of St. Alexander Nevsky is a reason for a church schism. In 1547, the noble prince was canonized, and his memory is sacredly revered not only in the Russian, but also in many other Local Orthodox Churches.

Finally, let us not forget that when deciding on the canonization of a person, the Church takes into account such factors as the prayerful veneration of the people and the miracles performed through these prayers. Both of these took place and are happening in large numbers in connection with Alexander Nevsky. As for the mistakes such a person makes in life, or even his sins, we must remember that “there is no man who will live and not sin.” Sins are expiated by repentance and sorrow. Both of these, and especially the other, were present in the life of the noble prince, as they were in the lives of such sinners who became saints as Mary of Egypt, Moses Murin and many others.

I am sure that if you carefully and thoughtfully read the life of St. Alexander Nevsky, you will understand why he was canonized.

How does the Russian Orthodox Church feel about the fact that Prince Alexander Nevsky handed over his brother Andrei to the Tatars and threatened his son Vasily with war? Or is this as canonical as the blessing of warheads? Alexey Karakovsky

Alexey, in the first part, your question echoes the question of Ivan Nezabudko. As for the “blessing of warheads,” I am not aware of a single similar case. The Church has always blessed its children for the defense of the Fatherland, guided by the commandment of the Savior. It is for these reasons that the rite of blessing weapons has existed since ancient times. At every Liturgy we pray for the army of our country, understanding how heavy a responsibility lies on the people who stand guard with arms in their hands to guard the security of the Fatherland.

Is it not so, Vladyka, that when choosing Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich we are choosing a myth, a film image, a legend?

I'm sure not. Alexander Nevsky is a very specific historical figure, a man who did a lot for our Fatherland and laid the foundations for the very existence of Russia for a long time. Historical sources allow us to learn quite definitely about his life and activities. Of course, in the time that has passed since the death of the saint, human rumor has introduced a certain element of legend into his image, which once again testifies to the deep veneration that the Russian people have always given to the prince, but I am convinced that this shade of legend cannot serve as an obstacle to that so that today we perceive Saint Alexander as a real historical character.

Dear Lord. What qualities, in your opinion, of the Russian hero, Saint Alexander Nevsky, could the current Russian government pay attention to, and, if possible, adopt? What principles of government are still relevant today? Victor Zorin

Victor, Saint Alexander Nevsky belongs not only to his time. His image is relevant for Russia today, in the 21st century. The most important quality, which, it seems to me, should be inherent in power at all times, is boundless love for the Fatherland and one’s people. The entire political activity of Alexander Nevsky was determined by this strong and sublime feeling.

Dear Vladyka, answer me, is Alexander Nevsky close to the souls of people today? modern Russia, and not only Ancient Rus'. Especially nations professing Islam and not Orthodoxy? Sergey Krainov

Sergey, I am sure that the image of St. Alexander Nevsky is close to Russia at all times. Despite the fact that the prince lived several centuries ago, his life and activities are still relevant for us today. Do such qualities as love for the Motherland, for God, for one’s neighbor, or the willingness to lay down one’s life for the sake of the peace and well-being of the Fatherland, have a statute of limitations? Can they be inherent only to the Orthodox and be alien to Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, who have long lived peacefully, side by side, in multinational and multi-confessional Russia - a country that has never known wars on religious grounds?

As for Muslims themselves, I will give you just one example that speaks for itself - in the program “The Name of Russia”, shown on November 9, there was an interview with a Muslim leader who came out in support of Alexander Nevsky because it was the holy prince who laid the foundations for dialogue East and West, Christianity and Islam. The name of Alexander Nevsky is equally dear to all people living in our country, regardless of their nationality or religious affiliation.

Why did you decide to take part in the “Name of Russia” project and act as Alexander Nevsky’s “lawyer”? In your opinion, why do most people today choose not a politician, scientist or cultural figure, but a saint, to name Russia? Vika Ostroverkhova

Vika, several circumstances prompted me to participate in the project as a “defender” of Alexander Nevsky.

Firstly, I am convinced that it is Saint Alexander Nevsky who should become the name of Russia. In my speeches, I repeatedly argued my position. Who, if not a saint, can and should be named “in the name of Russia”? Holiness is a concept that has no temporal boundaries, extending into eternity. If our people choose a saint as their national hero, this indicates a spiritual revival taking place in the minds of people. This is especially important today.

Secondly, this saint is very close to me. My childhood and youth were spent in St. Petersburg, where the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky rest. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to often resort to this shrine, to pray to the holy prince at his resting place. While studying at the Leningrad theological schools, which are located in close proximity to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, all of us, then students, clearly felt the gracious help that Alexander Nevsky provided to those who called on him with faith and hope in their prayers. At the relics of the holy prince I received ordination to all degrees of the priesthood. Therefore, I have deeply personal experiences associated with the name of Alexander Nevsky.

Dear Master! The project is called “Name of Russia”. For the first time the word Russia was heard almost 300 years after the prince’s dormition! Under Ivan the Terrible. And Alexander Yaroslavich just reigned in one of the fragments Kievan Rus– an upgraded version of Great Scythia. So what does St. Alexander Nevsky have to do with Russia?

The most direct thing. In your question you touch on a fundamentally important topic. Who do we consider ourselves to be today? Heirs of what culture? Bearers of what civilization? From what point in history should we count our existence? Is it really only since the reign of Ivan the Terrible? A lot depends on the answer to these questions. We have no right to be Ivans who do not remember our kinship. The history of Russia begins long before Ivan the Terrible, and it is enough to open a school history textbook to be convinced of this.

Please tell us about the posthumous miracles of Alexander Nevsky from the moment of his death to the present day. Anisina Natalya

Natalya, there are a great many such miracles. You can read about them in detail in the life of the saint, as well as in many books dedicated to Alexander Nevsky. Moreover, I am sure that every person who sincerely, with deep faith called upon the holy prince in his prayers, had his own small miracle in his life.

Dear Lord! Is the Russian Orthodox Church considering the issue of canonizing other Princes, such as Ivan IV the Terrible and I.V. Stalin? After all, they were autocrats who increased the power of the state. Alexey Pechkin

Alexey, many princes besides Alexander Nevsky have been canonized. When deciding on the canonization of a person, the Church takes into account many factors, and achievements in the political field do not play a decisive role here. The Russian Orthodox Church does not consider the issue of canonization of Ivan the Terrible or Stalin, who, although they did a lot for the state, did not show qualities in their lives that could indicate their holiness.

Prayer to the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky

(to schemamonastic Alexy)

Quick helper to all those who diligently come running to you, and our warm representative before the Lord, holy and blessed Grand Duke Alexandra! look mercifully upon us, unworthy, who have created for ourselves by many iniquities, who now flow to the race of your relics and cry out from the depths of your soul: in your life you were a zealot and defender of the Orthodox faith, and you have unshakably established us in it with your warm prayers to God. You carefully carried out the great service entrusted to you, and with your help, instruct us to abide in what we were called to do. You, having defeated the regiments of adversaries, drove away from the borders of Russia, and brought down all visible and invisible enemies against us. You, having left the corruptible crown of the earthly kingdom, you chose a silent life, and now, righteously crowned with an incorruptible crown, reigning in heaven, you intercede for us too, we humbly pray to you, a quiet and serene life, and arrange for us a steady march towards the eternal Kingdom of God. Standing before the throne of God with all the saints, pray for all Orthodox Christians, may the Lord God preserve them with His grace in peace, health, longevity and all prosperity in the coming years, may we ever glorify and bless God, in the Trinity of the Holy Saints, the Father and the Son and The Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Troparion, Tone 4:
Know your brethren, Russian Joseph, not in Egypt, but reigning in heaven, faithful Prince Alexander, and accept their prayers, multiplying the lives of people with the fruitfulness of your land, protecting the cities of your dominion with prayer, and helping Orthodox people to resist.

Troparion, Voice of the same:
As you were at the root of a pious and most honorable branch, blessed Alexandra, for Christ manifests you as a kind of Divine treasure of the Russian land, a new miracle worker, glorious and God-pleasing. And today, having come together in your memory with faith and love, in psalms and singing we joyfully glorify the Lord, who gave you the grace of healing. Pray to him to save this city, and for our country to be pleasing to God, and for our sons of Russia to be saved.

Kontakion, Tone 8:
As we honor your bright star, which shone from the east and came to the west, enriching this entire country with miracles and kindness, and enlightening with faith those who honor your memory, blessed Alexandra. For this reason, today we celebrate yours, your existing people, pray to save your Fatherland, and all your relics flowing to the race, and truly crying out to you: Rejoice, strengthening of our city.

In Kontakion, Tone 4:
Just like your relatives, Boris and Gleb, appeared from Heaven to help you, struggling against Weilger Sveisk and his warriors: so you too now, blessed Alexandra, come to the aid of your relatives, and overcome those who fight us.

Icons of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky

In 1238-1240, Rus' was subjected to a terrible invasion of the Tatars. Russian-Tatar relations are beyond the scope of our work, so we will only briefly mention them.

The Russian principalities fell under the rule of the Golden Horde. At the same time, not only the principalities of the central and southern Rus', but also the northern lands where the Tatars did not reach. In fact, Rus' 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. The Russian princes paid tribute to the Horde, went to the khan to sue each other, sent their squads to help the Tatar army and, in turn, demanded Tatar armies for protection from enemies, for example, from the Litvins. The name of the ruling Tatar khan was indicated on Russian coins. All over Rus' priests offered prayers for his health. For the XIII-XIV centuries, these were the usual relations of a feudal lord to his overlord. At that time, many counts in France had more sovereignty in relation to their king than the Russian princes had in relation to the khan. This situation remained until the middle of the 14th century.

Batu's invasion of Rus', Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria in 1240 gave Rome an excellent opportunity to strengthen its influence by organizing a large crusade against the Tatars. Discussions about this took place 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 Rus'. Thus, Rome directed the main attack on the Christian principalities, which suffered the most from Batu’s invasion.

At the beginning of the 13th century there was a war between the Gothic and Swedish ruling houses. In the mid-20s of the 13th 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, which hereditarily owned the dignity of jarl. A powerful representative of this family, Birger, prompted by papal messages, undertook a crusade against Rus' in 1249.

There is no reliable data on the strength of the Swedish army, although in the works of our historians numbers that appear from nowhere periodically appear. So, I.A. Zaichkin and I.N. Pochkaev writes about a 5,000-strong army and 100 ships of Earl Birger.

Since 1236, young Alexander Nevsky, the son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, reigned in Novgorod, or rather, served as prince (i.e., leader of the army). Generally speaking, the phrase Alexander Nevsky first appeared in the chronicles 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 called 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 tell the prince: “If you are able to resist me, then I am already here, captivating your land.” However, this message is most likely an interpolation by the compiler of the “Tale of the Life...”, since surprise of an attack was often a decisive factor in battles in the north.

In fact, the Swedes were noticed by the Novgorod “sea guards”. This function was performed by the Izhora tribe, led by their elder Pelugius. According to the version of the “Tale of Life...” Pelugius was supposedly already Orthodox and had the Christian name Philip, and the rest of his tribe remained pagan. The Izhora naval guard discovered the Swedes in the Gulf of Finland and quickly reported them to Novgorod. Surely there was a system of operational communication from the mouth of the Neva to Novgorod, otherwise the very existence of the sea guard becomes meaningless. Perhaps these were signal lights on the mounds; perhaps a horse relay race; but, in any case, the warning system worked quickly.

Subsequently, the naval guards conducted secret surveillance of the Swedish ships that entered the Neva. In the “Tale of Life...” it is described as follows: “He (Pelugius) stood on the seashore, watching both routes, and spent the whole night without sleep. When the sun began to rise, he heard a strong noise on the sea and saw one boat floating on the sea, and standing in the middle of the boat were the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb in red clothes, holding their hands on each other’s shoulders. The rowers sat as if dressed in darkness. Boris said: “Brother Gleb, let us row, let us help our relative the prince. Alexander." Seeing such a vision and hearing these words of the martyrs, Pelugius stood trembling until the attack 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.

Earl Birger was completely unaware of the movement of the Novgorod army and decided to rest the army on the southern bank of the Neva, not far from the confluence of the Izhora River.

On July 15, 1240, “at six o’clock in the afternoon,” the Russian army suddenly attacked the Swedes. According to the “Tale of Life...”, Alexander Yaroslavovich personally wounded Earl Birger in the face with a spear. The surprise of the attack and the loss of the commander decided the matter. The Swedes began to retreat to the ships.

The “Tale of Life...” describes the exploits of six Russian soldiers. The first of them, Gavrila Oleksich, rode on horseback along the gangplank onto the Swedish ship (auger) and began to chop down the enemy there. The Swedes threw him from his horse into the water, but he emerged from the water unharmed and attacked the enemy again. The second, named Sbyslav Yakunovich, a Novgorodian, attacked the army of the Swedes many times and fought with one ax, without fear, and many fell by his hand, and they marveled at his strength and courage. The third, Yakov, a Polotsk resident, was a hunter for the prince. He attacked the regiment with a sword, and the prince praised him. The fourth, Mesha, a Novgorodian, on foot with his squad attacked the ships and sank three ships. The fifth, Sava, from the junior squad, burst into the jarl’s golden-domed tent and cut down the tent pole. The sixth, Ratmir, from Alexander’s servants, fought on foot simultaneously with several Swedes, fell from multiple wounds and died.

With the onset of darkness, most of the Swedish ships went downstream of the Neva, and some were captured by the Russians. By order of Alexander, two captured augers were loaded with the bodies of the killed Swedes, and they were sent adrift into the sea, and “drowned into the sea,” and the rest of the killed enemies, “dug a hole, swept them into the nude without number.”

Russian losses turned out to be negligible, only 20 people. This fact, as well as the lack of mention of the Battle of the Neva in Swedish chronicles, gave rise to a number of Russophobic historians to reduce the battle to the level of a minor skirmish. In my opinion, the death of 20 selected warriors in a surprise attack is not such a small loss. In addition, the Izhora were also supposed to participate in the battle on the side of the Russians. After the battle, Orthodox Russians and pagan Izhorians 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 be much smaller 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 the ringing of bells. However, within a few weeks, the power-hungry prince and the restless citizens of free Novgorod quarreled. Alexander Yaroslavovich and his squad went home to his Pereslavl-Zalessky.

But the Novgorodians clearly chose the wrong time for “great sedition” and a quarrel with Prince Alexander. In the same 1240, the knights of the Order of the Sword, under the command of Vice-Master Andreas von Velven, launched a major offensive against Rus'. The defector known to us, Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, walked with the Germans. The Germans took Izborsk. The Pskov army came out to meet the Germans, but was defeated. The Pskov governor Gavrila Gorislavovich died. It is curious that the German chroniclers made Gavrila Gorislavovich 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 Pskov residents agreed to all the enemy’s demands and gave their children as hostages. A German garrison entered Pskov.

The Germans were not content with the Pskov lands, but together with detachments of Chukhonians attacked the Novgorod volost (Votskaya Pyatina). In the Koporye churchyard, 16 km from the Gulf of Finland, the knights built a powerful fortress. 35 km from Novgorod, the Germans captured the town of Tesov.

In such a situation, the Novgorodians again needed a prince and 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 (the younger one). The Novgorodians thought about it and refused; they only needed Alexander. In the end, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich gave in and gave Alexander, but on more stringent conditions.

In 1241, Alexander Yaroslavovich arrived in Novgorod. To begin with, he recalled old grievances to the townspeople and hanged “many seditious people.” Then Alexander besieged the Koporye fortress and took it. The prince sent some of the captured Germans to Novgorod, and released some (presumably for a good ransom), but he hanged all the Chud from the Koporye garrison. However, Alexander refrained from further actions against the knights until a strong Vladimir squad led by his brother Andrei arrived to help.

In 1242, Alexander and Andrei 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 to the possessions of the Livonian Order. However, the advance detachment of Russians under the command of Novgorodian Domash Tverdislavovich fell into a German ambush and was defeated. Having received news of the death of his vanguard, Prince Alexander withdrew his army to the ice of Lake Peipsi near the Uzmen tract at the “Voroneya 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. The German wedge penetrated the center of the Russian army, and individual warriors fled. However, the Russians launched strong flank counterattacks and captured the enemy in a pincer movement. The Germans began to retreat. The Russians drove them for about 8 km to the opposite Sobolitsky bank. In a number of places the ice broke under the crowded Germans, and many of them ended up in the water.

The Novgorod (“first”) chronicle reports that 400 knights were killed in the battle, and 50 knights were taken prisoner, while Chuds were beaten “innumerably.” Western historians, for example, John Fennell, question the reliability of this figure in the chronicle, since there were then just over 100 knights in the united order. Livonian Chronicle, written in last decade XIII century, says that only twenty knights died in the battle and six more were captured. In our opinion, we should not forget that each knight in the warrior was accompanied by one or two dozen mounted warriors in armor. Apparently, the chronicler by 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: “Grand Duke Yaroslav sent his son Andrea to Novgorod Velikiy to help Oleksandrov against the Germans and I won for Pleskov (Pskov) on the lake and “Filled with many captivities, Andrei returned to his father with honor.”

This message should be taken seriously, since Andrei Yaroslavovich subsequently showed himself to be a brave warrior (he became the first prince to rebel against the Horde). And Yaroslav Vyacheslavovich sent with him from Vladimir not men-lapotniks, but selected warriors - a “forged army”.

In general, there is no reason to dispute that Alexander led the battle, but an objective historian must give credit to his undeservedly forgotten brother Andrei.

When Alexander returned to Pskov after the victory, the captured knights were led alongside their horses. All of Pskov came out to meet its savior, abbots and priests walked with crosses. The “Tale of Life...” says: “O Pskovites! If you forget this and retreat from the family of Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavovich, then you will be like the Jews whom the Lord nourished in the desert, and they forgot all his good deeds. If one of Alexander’s most distant descendants comes to live in sorrow with you in Pskov and you do not accept him, do not honor him, then you will be called second Jews.”

After this glorious campaign, Alexander had to go to Vladimir to say goodbye to his father, who was going to the Horde. In his absence, the Germans sent ambassadors to Novgorod with a bow, who said: “What we entered with the sword, Vot, Luga, Pskov, Letgola, from that we retreat from everything. We will exchange as many of your people as prisoners: we will let yours go, and you will let ours go.”

The Germans also released the Pskov hostages. Peace was concluded on conditions favorable for Pskov and Novgorod.

In 1245, Alexander Nevsky repelled several Litvin raids that attacked Torzhok and Bezhetsk. In 1247, Alexander and Andrei Yaroslavovich separately went to the Horde, first to Sarai, and then to distant Mongolia to Karakorum. There, the regent Ogul-Gamish, the widow of the great Khan Guyuk, gave Andrei the grand-ducal throne in Vladimir, and ordered Alexander to reign in Kyiv. According to seniority, Vladimir should have gone to Alexander, and not to his younger brother. Historians have been scratching their heads about the motives for such a decision by the Khans 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 Andrei returned to Rus'. Alexander did not want to go to Kyiv, devastated by the Tatars, but began to wander around northern Rus'. The following winter (1250-1251), Andrei Yaroslavovich married the daughter of the Galician prince Daniil Romanovich. This marriage cemented the alliance of the two most powerful princes who controlled most of the Russian lands. The union clearly had an anti-Tatar orientation.

In 1252, the offended Alexander went to the Don, to the headquarters of Batu Khan Sartak’s son and denounced his brother. Sartak's reaction was more than prompt. He sent two large Tatar troops to Rus'. One of them, under the command of Nevryuy, went against Vladimir against Andrey, and the other, under the command of Kuremsha, went against Daniil Galitsky.

Daniel managed to repel Kuremshi's attack. However, Andrei's army was defeated, and he and his young wife had to flee to Sweden. Alexander solemnly entered Vladimir and sat on the grand-ducal throne, won for him by Tatar sabers. In the summer of 1252, the Tatars terribly devastated northern Rus'. It is not for nothing that the chronicler compared the “Nevryuev’s army” with Batu’s invasion.

The Catholic Church continued its expansion into Russian lands. The Crusades alternated with attempts to convert Russian princes to Catholicism. Thus, Pope Innocent IV (reigned 1243-1254) sent two legates to Vladimir - Gald and Gemont - to Alexander Yaroslavovich. According to the “Tale of Life...”, the legates told Alexander: “Our dad said this: “I heard that you are a worthy and glorious prince and that your land is great,” and offered him to accept Catholicism.

The prince ordered the answer to be written to the pope: “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 children of Israel to the death of David the king, from the beginning of the reign of Solomon to Augustus the king, from the power of Augustus until the birth of Christ, from the birth of Christ until the passion and resurrection of the Lord, from his resurrection until his ascension into heaven, from his ascension into heaven until the reign of Constantine, from the beginning of the reign of Constantine until the first council, from the first council to the seventh - both We all know this well, but we don’t accept teaching from you.”

The legates had to return to Rome empty-handed.

At the same time, Innocent IV began a relationship with Daniil Galitsky, the ruler of southern Rus'. Moreover, he offered Daniel not a change of faith, but some kind of union. Thus, the pope agreed that the Russian clergy would perform services on fermented prosphira, etc., and the pope offered the royal crown to the Galician prince as a “carrot”. Daniel, in principle, did not object to the merger of churches, much less to the royal title. However, at first he demanded effective military assistance against the Tatars. “The Tatar army does not cease: how can I accept the crown before you give me help?” he wrote to the pope.

In 1254, when Daniel was in Krakow with Prince Brleslav, papal ambassadors with a crown also came there, demanding a meeting with Daniel. Daniel managed to avoid meeting them under the pretext that it was not suitable for him to see them in a foreign land. The next year, the ambassadors appeared again, and again with a crown and a promise of help. Daniel, not believing the empty promises, did not want to accept the crown here either, but his mother and the Polish princes persuaded him: “Just accept the crown, and we will already help you in the filthy.” At the same time, the pope cursed those who blasphemed the Orthodox faith and promised to convene a council to discuss the common union of churches. In the end, Daniel was persuaded, and he was crowned in Drogichin.

King Daniel did not receive any real military assistance from the West and soon broke off all relations with the papal throne, despite the reproaches of Pope Alexander IV. And Daniel retained the royal title received from the pope 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 “knights and those close to the rank of knighthood, as well as peasants and armed servants” (that is, he announced a total mobilization for a campaign against the Tavasts). The king instructed his son-in-law Birger to command the army. the same one marked by 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 confront the numerically superior and better armed Swedish army in open battle. The Swedes committed a bloody massacre to “everyone who submitted to them. , became a Christian and was baptized, they abandoned life and goods and allowed them to live peacefully, and those pagans who did not want this were put to death. The Christians built a fortress there and planted their people. This fortress is called Tavastaborg - it is a disaster for the pagans!.. “The Russian prince, I think, lost that side that was all baptized.”

Finnish historians have long debated where the Tavastaborg fortress (another name for Tavastgus) was located. Some believe that this is still an existing medieval stone castle in the city of Hämenlinna.

However, Hämenlinna is not very similar to the “baby” described in the chronicle. Judging by the chronicle, the “detinets” stood on a high and steep hill, while the castle in Hämenlinna stands on a small hill, only a few meters above the level of the surrounding area. The ancient settlement of Hakoistenlinna, located in the same part of the land, in the area of ​​Yanakkala, is more suitable for the chronicle description. This settlement is located on a steep and high rocky inaccessible hill. Let us note that the “Chronicle of Eric” admits that, firstly, the Tavasts before the Swedish invasion were Russians, more precisely, Novgorod subjects, and, secondly, the Russians did not try to forcefully impose Christianity on the Tavasts (emi) and they overwhelmingly remained pagans.

Following the Tavasts, the Swedes managed to conquer the Sumy tribes who lived in southwestern Finland. In 1256, the 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.

The 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. Having gathered the Novgorod troops, Alexander went 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 moved not to chud, as the whole army and the enemy thought, but to em, that is, not to Estland, but to Central Finland. As the chronicle says: “And the way was evil, but we saw 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 under their control, and then returned home with great booty and abundance. 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 Rus' for ten years. Only in 1253, encouraged by successful wars with Lithuania, they violated the treaty, came near Pskov and burned the settlement, 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 “lay down the German volost (that is, Livonia), and the Karelians also did a lot of harm to it.” The Pskovites defeated some kind of order “regiment”. As a result, the knights “sent to Pskov and Novgorod to ask for peace over the entire 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” (Dorpt). 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 Mindovg besieged the Wenden (Kes) fortress, but waited in vain for the Russians, and, without waiting, lifted the siege, content only with the devastation of the surrounding lands. When Lithuania left, Russian regiments arrived and besieged Yuryev. By this time the Germans had strongly fortified the city. The chronicler wrote: “the city of Yuryev was solid, with three walls, and there were a lot of people in it, and they built a strong defense on the city.” The Russians took the settlement by storm, plundered it and burned it, captured many prisoners, but could not take the fortress and went back. The Livonian chronicler claims that the Russians left Yuryev after learning about the approach of Master Werger von Breithausen, that the Master, pursuing the Russians, invaded their possessions, devastated them, but fell ill and was forced to return.

These were the last Russian military operations in the north of Rus' 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 Mary 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 princes and ordinary people at the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th centuries 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, became the first Moscow appanage prince in 1277. Before this, Moscow was such a small town that it did not have its own prince. The grandson of Alexander Nevsky, Ivan Danilovich Kalita, became the “collector of Russian lands” around Moscow. Naturally, the Moscow princes were extremely interested in exalting their ancestor. Kalita's grandson Dmitry Donskoy especially needed the support of his great-great-grandfather Alexander 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 a vision of Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich. The monks dug up his grave and discovered his incorrupt relics there. Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich was immediately canonized and introduced into the pantheon of Moscow saints.

Alexander Nevsky was introduced into the all-Russian pantheon only in 1547. The reader remembers that this was the year of the crowning of Ivan IV (not yet the Terrible). Here, too, famous and preferably holy ancestors were needed. In the future, it is easy to notice that the surges in the 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, at the end of the 30s of the 20th century during the aggravation of relations with Nazi Germany.

Modern historians (not to mention writers) tend to modernize Alexander Nevsky, attributing to him unusual traits and actions. He was an ordinary person XIII century, an intelligent and very cruel ruler and, of course, a talented commander, but not so much that his two victories closed us a whole century of our own history.

The pro-Horde sympathies of Alexander Nevsky are an extremely controversial issue. As they say, history does not have a subjunctive mood, so it is pointless to guess what would have happened if Alexander had not gone to Khan Sartak in 1252, but supported his brother Andrei and Prince Daniil of Galitsk.

At the same time, the anti-Western orientation of Alexander’s policy is quite understandable and justified. The hordes of Batu and Nevryu brought countless sacrifices to the Russian people. But the khans of the Golden Horde did not seek to destroy Rus'. 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 crusading knights and popes pursued completely different goals. The Russian state and even 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, disastrous for the Orthodox Church, Russian culture and the Russian language. In this case, Rus' awaited the fate of Great Moravia and Prussia, of which “the bearers of enlightenment and the faith of Christ” left no trace.

XV. ALEXANDER NEVSKY AND NORTHEASTERN RUSSIA

(continuation)

Alexander. - Neva Victory. - Battle on the ice. – Rivalry with brother Andrei. – Policy towards the Tatars. - Novgorod Troubles. – Tatar numerals and tribute collectors. – The last journey to the Golden Horde and the death of Alexander. – The nature of Tatar dependence established by him.

Personality of Prince Alexander Nevsky

Alexander Yaroslavich belongs to those historical figures of Northern Rus' in whom the main features were most reflected Great Russian people: practical mind, firmness of will and flexibility of character, or the ability to adapt to circumstances. He spent most of his youth in Novgorod the Great, where, under the leadership of the Suzdal boyars, he took the place of his father Yaroslav Vsevolodovich; and from 1236, when Yaroslav received the Kiev table, Alexander remained an independent Novgorod prince. These years spent in Veliky Novgorod undoubtedly had a great influence on the development of his mind and character. The active, vibrant life of the trading city, the constant presence of Western foreigners and the almost continuous struggle of the veche with the princely power, of course, made a deep impression on him and greatly contributed to the development of that consistency of character and that flexibility, combined with a strong will, which distinguishes all his subsequent activities. Inner qualities Alexander’s very appearance, beautiful and majestic, also corresponded.

In 1239, twenty-year-old Alexander Yaroslavich married the daughter of the Polotsk prince Bryachislav. The wedding took place in Toropets, where he “fixed the porridge”, i.e. gave a wedding feast; “and the other is in Novgorod”; Consequently, upon returning to his reign, Alexander arranged a wide treat here too. Then he and the Novgorodians set up towns on the Sheloni River, i.e. strengthens the western outskirts of their possessions; Obviously, there was an urgent need for such fortifications at that time.

Battle of Neva 1240

As is known, Veliky Novgorod was so happy that the threat of Batu’s invasion passed him and only the south-eastern part of his land was devastated. But at the same time, the western neighbors, as if by conspiring among themselves, are rushing to take advantage of the defeat of North-Eastern Rus' in order to squeeze Veliky Novgorod, take away its volosts, rob, and ruin its suburbs and villages. They were: Swedes, Livonian Germans and Lithuania. It was here, in the fight against these external enemies, that Alexander discovered his brilliant talents and covered himself with unfading glory. The Swedes were the first to experience his heavy hand. It is known that for a long time there were clashes with the Novgorodians on the northern coasts of the Gulf of Finland, where the Swedes gradually spread their rule, and at the same time their religion. But we do not know exactly what was the immediate reason for the Swedish campaign against the Novgorodians in 1240, during the reign of King Erich Erikson. It is very likely that it was undertaken under the influence of papal messages, which encouraged the Swedes and Livonian Germans to subjugate the Russian Baltic lands to Catholicism by force. The real goal of the Swedish campaign was, apparently, the conquest of the Neva coast, and therefore the capture of the main route of Novgorod trade with North-Western Europe; Moreover, perhaps, Ladoga was also meant, which the Varangian kings had long sought to take possession of.

When news of the appearance of the Swedish militia at the mouth of the Neva came to Novgorod, Alexander did not want to waste time sending for help to his father, then the Grand Duke of Vladimir, or even collecting an army from various suburbs and volosts of Novgorod. He realized that success depended on speed and determination. And therefore, having prayed in the St. Sophia Cathedral and taking a blessing from Bishop Spiridon, he immediately set out only with the Novgorod and his own squad; On the way he joined the Ladoga residents and with these few forces hastened to meet the enemies. He found them encamped on the southern bank of the Neva at the confluence of the Izhora River, and, without allowing them to come to their senses, he quickly attacked them (July 15, 1240). The Swedes suffered a complete defeat; The next night they hurried on their augers to retire to their fatherland. According to the Russian chronicle, the Ladoga and Novgorod residents supposedly lost no more than twenty people killed. She describes the exploits of six Russian knights, the most distinguished; It is curious that three of them were Novgorodians, and the other three belonged to the prince’s own squad. For example, the Novgorodian Gavrilo Oleksinich, chasing enemies who were fleeing to a ship, jumped onto a board and was thrown from it into the water along with his horse; but came out of the water unharmed and returned to the battle again. Sava, one of the princely youths, made his way to the golden-domed tent of the Swedish leader and cut down its pillar; the tent collapsed; which made the Russians happy and brought despondency to their enemies. Another princely youth, Ratmir, beat many enemies on foot, was surrounded by them and fell from serious wounds. The Neva victory drew general attention to Alexander and brought him great fame. What a strong impression this victory made on his contemporaries is indicated by the legend that arose at the same time about the appearance of St. before the battle. Boris and Gleb to a certain Pelgusius, an elder of the Izhora land.

Battle on the ice with the Germans 1242

A more stubborn war was to occur with the Livonian Germans. Around that time, the Order of the Sword, having strengthened itself by uniting with the Teutonic Order, resumed its offensive movement against Novgorod Rus' and in particular directed its attacks on the Pskov region closest to it. In the very year of the Battle of the Neva, the Germans, together with the Russian traitor Yaroslav Vladimirovich (who followed in the footsteps of his father Vladimir Pskovsky), took the Pskov suburb of Izborsk. The Pskovites opposed them, but were defeated. Then the Germans besieged Pskov itself, where internal unrest was then taking place. According to the chronicle, the enemies were let down by some treacherous party led by Tverdil Ivankovich. This Tverdilo (it seems a descendant of the famous Novgorod mayor Miroshka Nezdilich) seized the mayor in Pskov and began to rage against his rivals; so many citizens with their families fled to Novgorod. Without meeting resistance, the Germans extended their conquests further; crossed the Luga River and, in order to strengthen this region, founded a fortress in the Koporye churchyard. Together with the crowds of Chudi and Vodi who were handed over to them, they reached thirty miles to Novgorod, captured merchants with goods, took away horses and cattle from the villagers; so there was nothing to plow the land with. To complete the disasters, Lithuanian raids on Novgorod land intensified at that time. Meanwhile, it so happened that the Novgorodians were then sitting without a prince.

The citizens, always jealous of their liberties and restrictions on princely power, managed to quarrel with Alexander, and he retired to his father in the Suzdal region. The Novgorodians sent to Yaroslav to ask the prince, and he appointed his other son Andrei. But they understood that in such difficult circumstances they needed Alexander, and they sent Vladyka Spiridon with the boyars to ask him. Yaroslav fulfilled their request. Alexander deftly and quickly corrected matters. He destroyed the Koporye fortress that was under construction, drove the Germans out of the Vodskaya region and hanged many of the re-transporters from Chud and Vozhan. But meanwhile, the Germans, with the assistance of traitors, managed to seize Pskov itself into their hands. Alexander begged his father to help himself from the lower, or Suzdal, regiments with his brother Andrei; unexpectedly appeared near Pskov and captured the German garrison. From here, without wasting time, he moved to the borders of Livonia.

Before setting out on this campaign against the Germans, Alexander, as was his pious custom, prayed fervently in the cathedral church. By the way, according to the chronicle, he asked the Lord to judge between him and this lofty people. And the Germans, having gathered great strength, allegedly then boasted of “subduing Slavic people". In any case, from the chronicle story it is clear that the struggle of Rus' with the Germans at that time had already taken on the character of tribal enmity, flaring up from German claims to dominance, truly exorbitant. The nature of the bitterness in this struggle is confirmed by the German chronicle, which says that in it up to seventy knights died; and six knights taken prisoner were allegedly tortured.

When the advanced Novgorod detachments failed, Alexander retreated to Lake Peipus, and here on the ice he gave battle to the combined forces of the Germans and the Livonian Chud, somewhere near the Uzmen tract. This is the so-called The ice battle occurred on April 5; but the ice was still strong and withstood the weight of both fighting armies. The Germans lined up in their usual formation like a wedge (or, as Rus' called it, a pig) and penetrated right through the Russian regiments. But the latter were not embarrassed: after a brutal hand-to-hand battle, the Russians crushed and completely defeated the enemy; and then they drove him across the ice at a distance of seven miles. Some knights were taken up to fifty; They followed Alexander's horse on foot when he solemnly entered Pskov with the victorious regiments, greeted by citizens and clergy with crosses and banners. The author of the Legend of the Grand Duke Alexander, depicting his glory, which spread “to the mountains of Ararat and to Rome the Great,” exclaims: “O Pskovites! If you forget the Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich (who freed you from foreigners) or retreat from his family and do not accept him any of his descendants, who in misfortune will resort to you, then you will become like the Jews who forgot God, who brought them out of the work of Egypt and soaked them in the desert with manna and baked dyes.” After the Battle of the Ice, the Livonian Germans sent to Novgorod with a request for peace and concluded it, abandoning the Voda and Pskov regions, returning prisoners and hostages. Thus, Alexander repulsed the movement of the Livonian and Teutonic Orders to the eastern side of Lake Peipsi; This world established between both sides approximately the same boundaries that remained in subsequent centuries.

The Battle of Alexander Nevsky on the Ice. Painting by V. Nazaruk, 1984

Victory of Alexander Nevsky over Lithuania 1245

Novgorod Rus' took advantage of the victory moderately, leaving Yuryev and other possessions on the western side of Lake Peipus to the Germans; for besides them, there were then many other enemies. By the way, Lithuania, which was gaining more and more power, invaded the very depths of the Novgorod possessions. In 1245 it penetrated to Bezhets and Torzhok. Returning from here with a large crowd, pursued by the Novotors and Tverians, the Lithuanian princes took refuge in Toropets. But Alexander came with the Novgorodians, liberated Toropets from Lithuania and took away its entire population, exterminating up to eight Lithuanian princes with their squads. The Novgorodians then returned home. But Alexander considered it necessary to complete the blow in order to discourage Lithuania from attacking Rus'. He has one yard of his own, i.e. with one princely squad, pursued the Lithuanians in the Smolensk and Polotsk lands and defeated them two more times (near Zhizhich and near Usvyat).

Thus, Alexander tamed all three Western enemies of Rus' by force of the sword. But he had to act differently in another field, on the part of the Asian barbarians.

Alexander Nevsky's trip to the Horde and to the court of the great Mongol Khan

The author of the Tale of the Nevsky Hero tells that after the death of his father Yaroslav, Batu sent to call Alexander to the Horde and ordered him to say: “God has conquered many nations to me; aren’t you the only one who wants to submit to my power? If you want to save your land, then come to me , may you see the honor and glory of my kingdom." Alexander took the blessing from the Rostov Bishop Kirill and went to the Horde. Seeing him, Batu said to his nobles: “They told me the truth that there is no prince like him”; gave him great honors and even many gifts. Such stories are nothing more than an ordinary decoration of a story about a favorite hero. The Horde did not shower our princes with gifts; on the contrary, the latter were there to diligently distribute gifts to the khan, his wives, relatives and nobles. According to other chronicles, the young prince had previously been to the Batyeva Horde, probably accompanying his father there: no doubt, from this latter he learned to humble himself before the formidable Tatar force and no longer think about any open resistance. After the death of Yaroslav, his brother Svyatoslav Yuryevsky, who followed him, took over the senior Vladimir table. But now any changes in the reigns were made only with the khan’s permission. Therefore, Alexander and his brother Andrei again went to the Golden Horde, probably to bother about reigning. Batu sent them to the Great Horde to Khan Meng. The brothers made this difficult and long journey. They returned home after about two years, carrying with them the khan's labels for both great reigns: Alexander - for Kiev, Andrei - for Vladimir. And in the past, nephews did not always respect the seniority of their uncles, but now even higher power has appeared over the princes, disrespect for old tribal customs is becoming more and more common. Even before the return of Alexander and Andrey, their younger brother Mikhail, Prince of Moscow, took away the great reign of Vladimir from his uncle Svyatoslav. But Mikhail, nicknamed Horobrit, soon died in the battle with Lithuania.

Alexander Nevsky and his brother Andrei

Alexander, obviously, was not happy that the reign of Vladimir went to his younger brother Andrei. Although Kyiv was considered older than all the cities of Rus', it lay in ruins. The Nevsky hero did not go there, but stayed either in Novgorod the Great or in his Suzdal volosts, waiting for an opportunity to take possession of the capital Vladimir. Andrei's carelessness helped him achieve this goal.

At that time, in Suzdal Rus' the memory of lost freedom and independence was still too fresh, both among the princes and warriors, and among the people themselves. Many eagerly endured the shameful yoke. Andrei Yaroslavich was one of them. Being the Grand Duke of Vladimir, he married the daughter of the famous Daniil Romanovich of Galitsky and, probably, together with his father-in-law, began to harbor plans to overthrow the yoke. But there were rivals and ill-wishers who informed Sartak about Andrei’s plans. The Khan sent an army against him under the command of the Horde prince Nevruy with the governors Kotyan and Alabuga. Hearing about this, Andrei exclaimed: “Lord! How long will we quarrel and bring the Tatars against each other; it is better for me to go to a foreign land than to serve the Tatars.” He, however, dared to fight, but, of course, was too weak to win it, and fled to Novgorod. Not accepted by the Novgorodians, he, his wife and his boyars, retired overseas to the Swedish king, with whom he found refuge for a while. Nevryu's invasion of the Suzdal land led to new devastation of some regions; Pereyaslavl-Zalessky suffered especially in this case. There is news, we don’t know how fair it is, which attributes the sending of the Tatar army to Andrei to the machinations of Alexander Yaroslavich himself. We only know that during the Nevryuev invasion (1252) Alexander was in the Horde near Sartak and returned from there with the khan’s label to the reign of Vladimir. Metropolitan Kirill II of Kiev and All Rus' was then in Vladimir. He, the clergy with crosses and all the citizens met Alexander at the Golden Gate and solemnly seated him in the cathedral church on his father’s table.

Alexander Nevsky and Novgorod

Alexander actively began to destroy traces of the last Tatar invasion of Suzdal land: he restored temples, fortified cities and gathered residents who had taken refuge in forests and wilds. But times were difficult, unfavorable for peaceful civil activity. Alexander I Nevsky spent his entire ten-year great reign in continuous labor and anxiety caused by internal and external enemies. Most of all, the affairs of Novgorod gave him trouble. Although the Mongol yoke, which weighed heavily on the Suzdal land, initially weakened its dominance over Novgorod the Great, at the first opportunity the previous mutual relations between these two halves of Northern Rus' were repeated. Having established himself in the great reign of Vladimir, Alexander resumed the policy of his predecessors, i.e. he tried to constantly keep Novgorod under his hand and appoint one of his own sons there as a prince, in essence, his governor. This place was taken by his son Vasily. The young man followed in the footsteps of his father, and soon managed to distinguish himself in the fight against Lithuania and the Livonian Germans, who again opened hostile actions against the Novgorodians and Pskovians. But the majority of the citizens of Veliky Novgorod most of all valued their veche orders and liberties and again began to be burdened by dependence on the strong Suzdal prince. In connection with these relations, there was an ordinary change of mayors. Stepan Tverdislavich died in 1243; he represents the only example of a posadnik known to us who retained his position for thirteen years and died peacefully in his position. When Vasily Alexandrovich occupied the Novgorod table, the mayor was Anania, beloved by the people as a zealous defender of Novgorod liberties. But Tverdislav’s family did not abandon their claims to the mayorship; his grandson Mikhalko Stepanovich, apparently, achieved this rank with the help of Suzdal supporters. The triumph of the people's side, however, was expressed in the fact that they expelled Vasily Alexandrovich, and summoned Yaroslav Yaroslavich, Alexandrov's younger brother, to reign.

The Grand Duke was not slow to show that he did not intend to tolerate such self-will. He quickly came with the Suzdal regiments to Torzhok, where his son Vasily was still holding out; and from here he moved to Novgorod. Yaroslav hurried to leave; The usual turmoil and stormy evenings occurred in the city. Smaller people, i.e. The common people, led by the mayor, armed themselves, gained the upper hand at the main meeting and swore an oath to stand as one person and not hand over anyone to the prince if he demands the handing over of his opponents. And the weaker, or more prosperous, sided with the prince and planned to transfer the posadnyship to Mikhalk Stepanovich. The latter, with a crowd of armed people, retired to the Yuryevsky Monastery, in the vicinity of the Settlement, or princely residence. The mob wanted to attack Mikhalko's courtyard and plunder it; but the magnanimous mayor Ananias kept her from violence. Meanwhile, some interpreters went to the Grand Duke and informed him about what was happening in Novgorod. Having positioned his army around the Settlement, Alexander sent a demand at the assembly for the extradition of the mayor Ananias, threatening otherwise to attack the city. The citizens sent the ruler of Dalmatia and the thousand's Klim to the Grand Duke with a plea not to listen to slander evil people, put aside anger against Novgorod and Ananias and take their table again. Alexander was not inclined to these requests. For three days both sides stood against each other with weapons in their hands. On the fourth day, Alexander ordered to say at the veche: let Anania lose his post of mayor, and then he will put aside his anger. Anania left, and the Grand Duke solemnly entered Novgorod, greeted by the ruler and the clergy with crosses (1255). Mikhalko Stepanovich received posadnichestvo, and Vasily Alexandrovich returned to the princely table.

At this time, the Swedes again tried to take away the Finnish coast from Novgorod and, together with the Emyu people at hand, began to build a fortress on the Narova River. But at one rumor about the movement of Alexander with the Suzdal and Novgorod regiments, they left. However, Alexander wanted to give them a new lesson and continued his march into the interior of the country inhabited by Emyu; and beat up a lot of people or captured them. According to the chronicle, the Russian army had to overcome great difficulties on this campaign in cold, foggy weather, in a region filled with rocks and swamps. The goal was achieved; for a long time after that the Swedes did not dare to attack the Novgorod borders.

Tatar census in Novgorod

Already in the next 1257, the Novgorod unrest resumed. This time the reason for them was a rumor that the Tatars wanted to introduce their tamgas and tithes into Novgorod.

In 1253, Batu died, and after him Sartak. Batu's brother Berke reigned in the Kipchak Horde. Around that time, the Great Khan Mengu ordered a general census of the inhabitants in all Tatar possessions in order to more accurately determine the amount of tribute from the conquered peoples. Such an order resonated heavily in the Russian land. Of course, in connection with this matter and to soften its conditions, Alexander Yaroslavich in the summer of 1257 traveled with gifts to the Horde, accompanied by some appanage Suzdal princes, including his brother Andrei, who managed to return from Sweden and reconcile with the Tatars. And the next winter the enlisted men arrived from the Horde; They counted the population in the lands of Suzdal, Ryazan, Murom and appointed their foremen, centurions, thousanders and temniks. Only monks, priests and other clergy were not included in the number, because the Tatars exempted the clergy of all religions from tribute. Such an exception was established by Genghis Khan and Ogodai, who were guided not only by Mongol religious tolerance, but probably also by political considerations. Since the clergy of all nations constituted the most influential class, the founders of the great Tatar Empire avoided inciting religious fanaticism, the dangerous effect of which they could notice especially among Muslim peoples. The Tatars usually registered all men from the age of ten, and collected tribute partly in money, partly in the most valuable natural products of each country; from Rus', as is known, they received huge amount furs. The main tributes were: tithe, i.e. a tenth of the grain collection, tamga and myt, probably duties on trading merchants and transported goods. In addition, the residents were subject to various duties, such as, for example, food and food, i.e. duties to provide carts and food supplies to Tatar ambassadors, messengers and all kinds of officials, especially taxes for the Khan’s army, Khan’s hunt, etc.

The severity of all these taxes and duties, and especially the cruel methods of collecting them, of course, were known to the Novgorodians, and therefore they were very excited when they heard that the Tatar enlisted men would come to them. Until now, Novgorod had not seen Tatars within its walls and did not consider itself subject to the barbarian yoke. Stormy turmoil began. Hotheads, calling those who advised to submit to necessity as traitors, called on the people to lay down their heads for St. Sophia and Novgorod. Among these turmoil, the unloved mayor Mikhalko Stepanovich was killed. The young Prince of Novgorod Vasily Alexandrovich himself also sided with the ardent patriots. Hearing that his father was approaching with the Khan's ambassadors, he did not wait for him and fled to Pskov. This time, the Novgorodians did not allow themselves to be listed and, having presented gifts to the khan’s ambassadors, escorted them out of their city. Alexander was very angry with his son Vasily and sent him to Niz, i.e. to Suzdal land; and he cruelly punished some of his warriors for their rebellious advice: he ordered someone to be blinded, someone whose nose was to be cut off. The barbaric yoke was already making itself felt in these punishments.

It was in vain that the Novgorodians thought that they had gotten rid of the Tatar numbers. In the winter of 1259, Alexander again came to Novgorod with the khan's dignitaries Berkai and Kasachik, who were accompanied by a large Tatar retinue. Previously, a rumor was started that the Khan's army was already in the Lower Land, ready to move to Novgorod in the event of a second disobedience. Here again a split occurred: the boyars and noble people in general expressed consent to the census; and the smaller ones, or the mob, armed themselves with cries: “We will die for St. Sophia and for the houses of the angels!” These cliques frightened the Tatar dignitaries; they asked the Grand Duke for guards, and he ordered all the boyar children to guard them at night; and he threatened to leave the Novgorodians again and leave them as prey to the Khan’s terrible revenge. The threat worked; the mob calmed down and allowed in the numbers. Tatar officials went from street to street, listing houses and residents and calculating the amount of tribute. At the same time, the mob was angry with the boyars, who managed to arrange it in such a way that tribute was imposed almost equally on rich and poor; therefore, for the former they were easy, and for the latter they were difficult. At the end of the census, the Tatar dignitaries left. And it was already a considerable blessing for Novgorod that, probably at the request of the Grand Duke, the Baskaks did not settle there, as in other capital cities. Alexander installed his other son, Demetrius, as prince here. How unpleasant and alarming this last trip to Novgorod was for him is shown by the words spoken to Bishop Kirill. On the way back to Vladimir, the Grand Duke stopped in Rostov, where he was treated to cousins, princes Boris Vasilkovich Rostovsky and Gleb Vasilyevich Belozersky with their mother Marya Mikhailovna (daughter of Mikhail Chernigovsky, who was martyred in the Horde). Of course, the first thing upon arrival here was to pray in the Assumption Cathedral Church and venerate the tomb of St. Leontia. Here, accepting the blessing and kissing the cross from the hands of the famous scribe, the elderly Bishop Kirill, Alexander said to him: “Holy Father! by your prayer I went to Novgorod healthy, and by your prayer I came here healthy.”

Unrest against the Tatars in Suzdal land

There was no peace, however. As soon as the unrest caused by the Tatar tribute subsided in Novgorod, even greater ones arose in the Suzdal land itself, and for the same reason.

Around this time, the Horde rulers began to farm out tributes and taxes to Mohammedan merchants from Central Asia, i.e. Khiva and Bukhara; The Russian people generally called them besermen. Having paid large sums in advance into the khan's treasury, naturally, tax farmers then tried to reward themselves with interest and squeezed the last of their funds from the people. For any delay in payments they imposed exorbitant increases, or interest; they took away livestock and all property, and whoever had nothing to take, they took him or his children and then sold him into slavery. The people, who still vividly remembered their independence, could not bear such extreme oppression; Religious excitement was also added here, as fanatical Muslims began to abuse the Christian Church. In 1262, in large cities such as Vladimir, Rostov, Suzdal, Yaroslavl, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, residents rebelled at the ringing of veche bells and drove out the Tatar tribute collectors, and beat some. Among the latter was some apostate Zosima, in the city of Yaroslavl he was a monk, but then he converted to Islam, became one of the tribute collectors and, more than the foreigners, oppressed his former compatriots. They killed him and threw his body to be eaten by dogs and crows. During this disturbance, some of the Tatar officials saved themselves by converting to Christianity. For example, this is what the noble Tatar Bug did in Ustyug, who later, according to legend, acquired common love with his piety and kindness.

Naturally, this rebellion was inevitably followed by cruel retribution from the barbarians. And indeed, Berkai was already gathering an army for a new invasion of North-Eastern Rus'. At such a critical time, all the political dexterity of Alexander was revealed, who managed to avert a new thunderstorm. He went to the khan to “pray people from trouble,” as the chronicle puts it. Since the Novgorodians were again at war with the Livonian Germans, when leaving for the Horde, the Grand Duke ordered the defense of Rus' from this side. He sent his regiments and his brother Yaroslav Tverskoy to help his son Dimitri. The Novgorod-Suzdal army entered the Livonian land and besieged Dorpat, or the old Russian city of Yuryev. The latter was heavily fortified with triple walls. The Russians took the outer city, but could not take possession of the Kremlin and left without having time to recapture this ancient property of their princes. The main reason for the failure was that the Russians were late: they agreed with the Lithuanian prince Mindovg to attack the Germans at the same time; but they arrived already when Mindovg returned home.

Death of Alexander Nevsky

Meanwhile, Alexander, with great difficulty, begged the angry khan not to send troops to Suzdal land; and, of course, he had to bribe everyone who had influence on the khan with great gifts. He was also helped by the fact that the Sarai Khan was distracted by an internecine war with his cousin Gulagu, the ruler of Persia. Berke kept Alexander in the Horde for many months, so that the Grand Duke finally became seriously ill, and only then was he released. Being no more than forty-five years old, Alexander could have served Russia for a long time. But constant work, worry and grief obviously broke his strong body. On the way back, sailing the Volga, he stopped to rest at Nizhny Novgorod; then he continued his journey, but did not reach Vladimir and died in Gorodets on November 14, 1263. According to the custom of the pious princes of that time, he took monastic vows before his death. The author of the Tale of Alexander says that when the news of his death came to Vladimir, Metropolitan Kirill announced it to the people in the cathedral church, exclaiming: “My dear children! Understand that we are perishing!” The Metropolitan and the clergy with candles and smoking censers, the boyars and the people came out to Bogolyubovo to meet the body of the Grand Duke and then laid it in the monastery Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. Already contemporaries, apparently, ranked the late prince among the saints, among the saints of God. The author of his life, who knew Alexander in his youth, adds the following legend. When the prince's body was placed in a stone tomb, the metropolitan steward approached him and wanted to unclench his hand so that the archpastor could put a letter of release into it. Suddenly the deceased extended his hand and himself took the letter from the Metropolitan.

The significance of the activities of Alexander Nevsky

The main significance of Alexander in Russian history is based on the fact that his activities coincided with a time when the nature of the Mongol yoke was just being determined, when the very relations of conquered Rus' to its conquerors were being established. And there is no doubt that Alexander’s political dexterity greatly influenced these established relations. As a Grand Duke, he knew how not only to reject new Tatar invasions and give some rest to the people from terrible pogroms; but with signs of deep humility, as well as the promise of rich tributes, he was able to prevent closer cohabitation with the barbarians and keep them away from Rus'. Already, due to their savagery and steppe habits, not inclined towards city life, especially in the northern wooded and swampy countries, unaccustomed to the complex administration of sedentary and more social peoples, the Tatars were all the more willing to limit themselves to a temporary stay in Russia for their Baskaks and officials with their retinue. They did not touch either her religion or her political system and completely left power in the hands of local princely families. Their khans and nobles found it so convenient and easy to enjoy the huge incomes from the conquered country, without bothering themselves with the petty concerns of court and administration, and most importantly, remaining among their beloved steppe nature. Alexander acted diligently and successfully in this sense; by removing the Tatars from interference in the internal affairs of Russia, limiting it only to vassal relations and not allowing any weakening of the princely power over the people, he, of course, thereby contributed to the future strengthening and liberation of Rus'. Apparently, he also deftly knew how to evade the well-known obligation of subordinate rulers to lead their squads to help the khan in his wars with other peoples. We repeat, he was a brilliant representative of the Great Russian type, who knows how to command and obey with equal dexterity when necessary.

Alexander Nevsky on Lake Pleshcheyevo. Painting by S. Rubtsov

The author of the life reports interesting news about the embassy of the Pope to Alexander. The Pope sent two “cunning” cardinals to him to teach him the Latin faith. The cardinals laid before him the Sacred History from Adam to the Seventh Ecumenical Council. Alexander, having consulted with his “wise men”, i.e. with the boyars and clergy, gave the following answer: “We know all this well, but we do not accept teachings from you”; then he released the embassy in peace. And indeed, we have papal letters to Alexander and his predecessors, which show the persistent efforts of the Roman Curia to subjugate the Russian Church. And in the letter of Innocent IV to Alexander, for this purpose, even false references are made to Plano Carpini, according to which Yaroslav’s father allegedly converted to Latinism while he was in the great Horde at Gayuk. There is not a word about this in the known records of Carpini.

The legend of Pelgusia, as well as the exploits of six husbands, were included in the legend of Alexander Nevsky, which is found in later chronicles (Novgorod, fourth, Sofia, Voskresensky, Nikonov.). We present this legend (according to Nov. 4).

“There was a certain man, an elder in the land of Izhera, named Pelgusia; the guard of the sea was entrusted to him; he received holy baptism, and living in the midst of his generation was a filthy creature, and his name in holy baptism was called Philip; living in a manner pleasing to God, remaining on Wednesday and Friday in greed; with the same God granted him a terrible vision. Having seen the strength of the warriors, he went against Prince Alexander, so that he would find them, standing at the edge of the sea, and stay all night in vigil; The sun rose and heard a terrible noise across the sea, and saw one boat rowing, in the middle of the boat stood Boris and Gleb in scarlet robes, and besta’s hands on the frames, the rowers sitting like they were dressed in lightning, and Boris said: “Brother Gleb! ordered to row; Let us help our relative Alexander." Seeing Pelgusia such a vision and hearing such a voice from the saint, he stood trembling until he left his sight; then he quickly went to Alexander: he saw him with joyful eyes, and confessed to him only, as he had seen and heard The prince answered him: “Don’t tell this to anyone.”

A remarkable analogy with this story is provided by a similar legend, which adorned the victory of Alexander’s contemporary, the Czech king Przemysl Ottokar, over the Ugric Belaya on the banks of the Morava in 1260. Ottokar himself, in his letter to the pope, says that one pious husband devoted to him, who remained at home for illness, on the day of the battle he was awarded a vision. The patrons of the Czech land, St. Wenceslaus, Adalbert and Procopius; Moreover, Wenceslaus told his comrades that their (Czech) army was weak and needed help (Turgenev Histor. Russ. Monumenta, II. 349).

Although the compiler of the Legend of Alexander says that he wrote from the stories of his fathers, and heard about the Neva victory from the participants and even from Alexander himself; however, the story of this battle is replete with obvious exaggeration regarding the enemies. Firstly, in addition to the Sveevs (Swedes), the Murmans (Norwegians), Sum and Yem allegedly took part in the enemy militia. There were supposedly so many killed enemies that three ships were filled with noble people alone; and the others for whom the pits were dug were countless. No more than 20 killed on the Russian side contradicts this too much and shows that the battle was not large at all. The name of the Swedish leader is usually not mentioned, although he is called the King of Rome (that is, Latin, or Catholic). Only in a few chronicles is Bergel added, i.e. Berger (Novgorod quarter). When describing the battle, some lists also say that their governor Spiridon (Novgorod First) was killed here; while the name of Spiridon was borne at that time by the Archbishop of Novgorod. As for the famous Folkung Birger, married to the daughter of King Erich, he was elevated to the dignity of jarl somewhat later, in 1248 (Geschichte Schwedens von Geijer. I. 152).

P.S.R. Years. The chronicles mention Alexander's trip to Sartak and the Tatars' campaign against Andrei in the same year, without connecting these two events. We find direct news of Alexander’s slander against his brother Andrei only in Tatishchev (IV. 24). Karamzin considers this news to be Tatishchev’s invention (Vol. IV, note 88). Belyaev tries to justify Alexander from this accusation by referring to the silence of the chronicles known to us and repeats the opinion of Prince Shcherbatov that the slander was made by his uncle Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, to whom he refers the words of Andrei: “until we bring the Tatars on each other” (“Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky ". Temporary Ob. I. and Others IV. 18). In his history, Soloviev considers Tatishchev’s news to be completely reliable (T. II, note 299). We also find it reliable, all things considered; Alexander, obviously, considered himself offended after his younger brother took possession of the Vladimir table, probably using some clever tricks in front of the khan.

About the great reign of Alexander Nevsky, see Chronicles of Lavrent., Novgorod., Sofiysk., Voskresen., Nikonov, and Trinity. See papal letters: to Yuri Vsevolodovich (Historica Russiae Monumenta. I. N. LXXIII) and Alexander Yaroslavich (ibid. LXXXVIII). Leben des heiligen Alexandri Newsky at Miller in Sammlung Russischer Geschichte. I.

Alexander Nevsky - Novgorod prince and commander. Prince of Novgorod (1236-1240, 1241-1252 and 1257-1259), Grand Duke of Kiev (1249-1263), Grand Duke of Vladimir (1252-1263). Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. Traditionally considered by Russian historians to be a Russian national hero, a truly Christian ruler, custodian of the Orthodox faith and freedom of the people.

Childhood and youth

Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky was born in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, Alexander's father, was the Prince of Pereyaslavl at the time of his son's birth, and later the Grand Duke of Kyiv and Vladimir. Rostislava Mstislavna, the mother of the famous commander - Princess of Toropets. Alexander had an older brother Fedor, who died at the age of 13, as well as younger brothers Andrei, Mikhail, Daniil, Konstantin, Yaroslav, Afanasy and Vasily. In addition, the future prince had sisters Maria and Ulyana.

At the age of 4, the boy underwent the rite of initiation into warriors in the Transfiguration Cathedral and became a prince. In 1230, his father put Alexander and his older brother in charge of Novgorod. But after 3 years, Fedor dies, and Alexander remains the only legal successor of the principality. In 1236, Yaroslav left for Kyiv, then to Vladimir, and the 15-year-old prince was left to rule Novgorod on his own.

First campaigns

The biography of Alexander Nevsky is closely connected with wars. Alexander took his first military campaign with his father to Dorpat with the goal of recapturing the city from the Livonians. The battle ended with the victory of the Novgorodians. Then the war for Smolensk with the Lithuanians began, victory in which remained with Alexander.

On July 15, 1240, the Battle of the Neva took place, significant in that Alexander’s troops, without the support of the main army, set up a Swede camp at the mouth of the Izhora River. But the Novgorod boyars were afraid of Alexander's increased influence. Representatives of the nobility, with the help of various tricks and incitements, ensured that the commander went to Vladimir to his father. At this time, the German army made a campaign against Rus', capturing the Pskov, Izborsk, and Vozh lands; the knights took the city of Koporye. The enemy army came close to Novgorod. Then the Novgorodians themselves began to beg the prince to return.

In 1241, Alexander Nevsky arrived in Novgorod, then liberated Pskov, and on April 5, 1242, the famous battle took place - the Battle of the Ice - on Lake Peipsi. The battle took place on a frozen lake. Prince Alexander used tactical cunning, luring knights dressed in heavy armor onto a thin layer of ice. The Russian cavalry attacking from the flanks completed the defeat of the invaders. After this battle, the knightly order abandoned all recent conquests, and part of Latgale also went to the Novgorodians.

After 3 years, Alexander liberated Torzhok, Toropets and Bezhetsk, captured by the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Then, solely with the help of his own army, without the support of the Novgorodians and Vladimirites, he caught up with and destroyed the remnants of the Lithuanian army, and on the way back he defeated another Lithuanian military formation near Usvyat.

Board

In 1247 Yaroslav died. Alexander Nevsky becomes Prince of Kyiv and All Rus'. But since Kyiv lost its strategic importance after the Tatar invasion, Alexander did not go there, but stayed to live in Novgorod.

In 1252, Andrei and Yaroslav, Alexander's brothers, opposed the Horde, but the Tatar invaders defeated the defenders of the Russian land. Yaroslav settled in Pskov, and Andrei was forced to flee to Sweden, so the Principality of Vladimir passed to Alexander. Immediately after this a new war followed with the Lithuanians and Teutons.

The role of Alexander Nevsky in history is perceived ambiguously. The Novgorod prince constantly fought battles with Western troops, but at the same time bowed to the khan of the Golden Horde. The prince repeatedly traveled to the Mongol Empire to honor the ruler, and especially supported the allies of the khan. In 1257, he even personally appeared in Novgorod with Tatar ambassadors to express support for the Horde.

In addition, Alexander exiled his son Vasily, who resisted the invasion of the Tatars, to the Suzdal land, and put 7-year-old Dmitry in his place. Such a policy of the prince in Russia itself is often called treacherous, since cooperation with the rulers of the Golden Horde suppressed the resistance of the Russian princes for many years to come. Many do not perceive Alexander as a politician, but they consider him an excellent warrior, and they do not forget his exploits.

In 1259, Alexander, with the help of threats of a Tatar invasion, obtained from the Novgorodians consent to a population census and payment of tribute to the Horde, which the Russian people resisted for many years. This is another fact from Nevsky’s biography that does not please the prince’s supporters.

Ice battle

At the end of August 1240, the crusaders of the Livonian Order invaded the Pskov land. After a short siege, the German knights captured Izborsk. Then the defenders of the Catholic faith besieged Pskov and occupied it with the assistance of the traitor boyars. This was followed by an invasion of Novgorod land.

At the call of Alexander Nevsky, troops from Vladimir and Suzdal arrived to help the Novgorodians under the command of Prince Andrey, the brother of the Novgorod ruler. The united Novgorod-Vladimir army launched a campaign against Pskov land and, cutting off the roads from Livonia to Pskov, took this city, as well as Izborsk, by storm.

After this defeat, the Livonian knights, having gathered a large army, marched to the Pskov and Peipsi lakes. The basis of the army of the Livonian Order was the heavily armed knightly cavalry, as well as infantry, which many times outnumbered the knights. In April 1242, a battle took place that went down in history as the Battle of the Ice.

For a long time, historians could not determine the exact location of the battle, because the hydrography of Lake Peipus often changed, but scientists later managed to indicate the coordinates of the battle on the map. Experts agreed that the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle more accurately describes the battle.

The “Rhymed Chronicle” states that Novgorod had a large number of shooters who were the first to take the blow of the knights. The knights lined up in a “pig” - a deep column starting with a blunt wedge. This formation allowed the heavily armed knightly cavalry to deliver a ramming attack on the enemy line and break battle formations, but in this case such a strategy turned out to be wrong.

While the advanced detachments of the Livonians tried to break through the dense formation of the Novgorod infantry, the princely squads remained in place. Soon the vigilantes struck the enemy’s flanks, crushing and confusing the ranks of the German troops. The Novgorodians won a decisive victory.

Some historians claim that the knightly formations consisted of 12-14 thousand soldiers, and the Novgorod militia numbered 15-16 thousand people. Other experts consider these figures to be exorbitantly high.

The result of the battle decided the outcome of the war. The Order made peace, abandoning the conquered Pskov and Novgorod territories. This battle played a huge role in history, influenced the development of the region, and preserved the freedom of the Novgorodians.

Personal life

Alexander Nevsky married in 1239, immediately after the victory over the Lithuanians near Smolensk. The prince's wife was Alexandra, daughter of Bryachislav of Polotsk. The newlyweds got married in the Church of St. George in Toropets. A year later their son Vasily was born.

Later, the wife gave Alexander three more sons: Dmitry, the future prince of Novgorod, Pereyaslav and Vladimir, Andrei, who would be the prince of Kostroma, Vladimir, Novgorod and Gorodets, and Daniel, the first prince of Moscow. The princely couple also had a daughter, Evdokia, who later married Konstantin Rostislavich of Smolensk.

Death

In 1262, Alexander Nevsky went to the Horde to try to prevent the planned Tatar campaign. The new invasion was provoked by the murders of tribute collectors in Suzdal, Rostov, Pereyaslavl, Yaroslavl and Vladimir. In the Mongol Empire, the prince became seriously ill, and returned to Rus' already dying.

Upon returning home, Alexander Nevsky takes a solemn oath of Orthodox monks under the name Alexy. Thanks to this act, as well as due to the regular refusals of the Roman Papacy to accept Catholicism, Grand Duke Alexander became the favorite prince of the Russian clergy. Moreover, in 1543 he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as a miracle worker.

Alexander Nevsky died on November 14, 1263, and was buried in the Nativity Monastery in Vladimir. In 1724, the emperor ordered the relics of the holy prince to be reburied in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg. The monument to the prince was erected on Alexander Nevsky Square in front of the entrance to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. This monument is presented in photographs in historical publications and magazines.

It is known that part of the relics of Alexander Nevsky is located in the Temple of Alexander Nevsky in Sofia (Bulgaria), as well as in the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir. In 2011, the image with a particle of the relics was transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Church in the Ural village of Shurala. The icon of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky can often be found in Russian churches.

• Prince Alexander won his main military victories in his youth. By the time of the Battle of the Neva, the commander was 20 years old, and during the Battle of the Ice the prince was 22 years old. Subsequently, Nevsky was considered a politician and diplomat, but more of a military leader. In his entire life, Prince Alexander did not lose a single battle.
• Alexander Nevsky is the only secular Orthodox ruler in all of Europe and Rus' who did not compromise with the Catholic Church in order to maintain power.

• After the death of the ruler, “The Tale of the Life and Courage of the Blessed and Grand Duke Alexander” appeared, literary work hagiographic genre, created in the 80s of the 13th century. It is assumed that the compilation of “The Life of Alexander Nevsky” was carried out in the Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Vladimir, where the prince’s body was buried.
• Feature films are often made about Alexander Nevsky. In 1938, the most famous film was released, called “Alexander Nevsky”. The film was directed by, and the Soviet composer created the cantata “Alexander Nevsky” for the choir and soloists with an orchestra.

• In 2008, the “Name of Russia” competition took place. The event was organized by representatives of the state TV channel “Russia” together with the Institute Russian history RAS and the Public Opinion Foundation.
• Internet users chose the “Name of Russia” from a ready-made list of “five hundred great figures of the country.” As a result, the competition almost ended in scandal, because it took the leading position. Organizers said that “numerous spammers” voted for the communist leader. As a result, Alexander Nevsky was named the official winner. According to many, it was the figure of the Novgorod prince that should have satisfied both the Orthodox community and Slavophile patriots, as well as simply lovers of Russian history.

The two main opponents of Novgorod - the Swedes and the Swordsmen - were repelled and temporarily retreated from the attacks. There remained a third enemy - warlike and semi-savage Lithuania.

Divided into many small principalities, it raided Rus' in relatively small detachments. These detachments appeared from Lithuanian forests in front of one or another Russian city, sometimes captured it and plundered the surrounding area. Then they disappeared into the forests again. If the Russian princes overtook such a detachment and destroyed it, then this did not stop the raids. One Lithuanian prince or several, uniting together, again came to Rus'.

The constant struggle with Lithuania was different from the struggle with the order and the Swedes. There was no threat of enslavement to another world and another culture. There was no tragic expectation of battle in it, as on the Neva or at the Raven Stone. The struggle was a constantly drawn-out guerrilla war. She gradually bled the earth dry.

All Novgorod princes waged a constant war with Lithuania. This became part of the Novgorod princely tradition, as did the war with the Swordsmen.

St. Alexander Nevsky had to defend Russian land from this enemy. The constant raids of the Lithuanians especially intensified in 1242, the summer following the Battle of the Ice.

St. Alexander went to Lithuania. He defeated, one after another, seven Lithuanian detachments that penetrated Novgorod soil. The Novgorodians caught the Lithuanians who survived the defeat and, embittered with them, took them captive, tying them to the tails of their horses. This quick defeat stopped the Lithuanian raids. Several years after the Battle of the Ice and the defeat of Lithuania passed quietly. The constant enemies of Novgorod - the Swedes, the Order and the Lithuanians - fell silent. There was peace in Novgorod too. During this time, no riots, uprisings, or quarrels with the prince were heard. As the Novgorod prince, St. Alexander took part in the governance of Novgorod.

In 1244, on May 5, the mother of St. Alexander, Princess Theodosia Yaroslavna, who lived in Novgorod, died. Before her death, she was tonsured a monk at the monastery of St. George with the name Euphrosyne and buried in the same monastery, next to her son, Prince Theodore.

In 1245, Lithuania again raided the Novgorod possessions. Several Lithuanian princes united together and marched to Bezhetsk and Torzhok. Residents of Torzhok with their prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich opposed them and were defeated. The Lithuanians captured a large ship and turned back to Lithuania. This raid raised all of northern Rus'. The Tverichs, Dmitrovtsy and Novotorzhtsy chased after Lithuania, which was leaving with its full force, and defeated it near Toropets. The Lithuanian princes and their army disappeared behind the city walls. The Russians besieged the city. The morning after this battle, St. Alexander approached Toropets with the Novgorodians. Taking the city by storm, he took away the entire city from the Lithuanians. Eight Lithuanian princes fell in this battle.

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 lord's regiment with the mayor and the thousand returned to Novgorod, and St. Alexander with his princely squad went to the Lithuanian borders. Entering the Smolensk land, he met Lithuania near Zhizhich and defeated it. On the way back, he defeated another army near Usvyat.

The defeat of the Lithuanians is not Novgorod land, and in the Lithuanian forests he stopped raiding for a long time. This war, like all the wars of St. Alexander, was defensive in essence, but offensive in action.