Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky (1220-1263) defended the core of Rus' from the armed and spiritual aggression of geopolitical opponents of Rus' in the mid-13th century.
Alexander Nevsky won famous victories over the Swedes (Battle of the Neva on July 15, 1240, hence the nickname) and the knights of the Livonian Order (Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipus on April 5, 1242).
In 1237, the knights-monks of two orders - the Teutonic and the Sword-Bearers, united and created the powerful Livonian Order. In fact, a state was formed whose purpose of existence was to seize the Baltic states, advance to Rus' and forcefully Catholicize the conquered population.
The conquest that began was difficult. The Baltic states were then inhabited by the ancient Baltic peoples: Estonians, Lithuanians, Zhmud, Yatvingians and Prussians. All of them were in a state of homeostasis (balance with the natural environment), and the strength of these peoples was only enough to survive in their native landscape. Therefore, in the fight against the Livonian Order, the Balts limited themselves to defense. But since they defended to the last, surrendering only dead, the Germans initially did not have much success. The knights were helped by the fact that they were supported by a very warlike tribe - the Livs. In addition, the knights found a valuable ally - the Swedes, who subjugated the Finnish tribes Sumy and Em.
Gradually, the Germans turned the Letts into serfs, but the Estonians refused to submit to them, having significant connections with the Russians. The existence of these connections is confirmed by the following fact: the cities that are now called Tallinn and Tartu (before the revolution, respectively: Revel and Dorpat), have Russian historical names Kolyvan and Yuryev (after the Christian name of the founder of this city, Yaroslav the Wise).
In 1240, the Swedish fleet entered the mouth of the Neva, approached the confluence of the Izhora River and landed troops, ready to launch an attack on Novgorod.
The people of Novgorod called for help from the young prince Alexander Yaroslavich, known to grateful descendants as Alexander Nevsky. At that time he was only twenty-two years old, but he was an intelligent, energetic and brave man, and most importantly, a true patriot of his homeland. Alexander was unable to gather large forces. With his small Suzdal detachment and a few Novgorod volunteers, Alexander reached the Neva with a forced march and attacked the Swedish camp. In this battle, the Novgorodians and Suzdalians covered themselves with eternal glory. So, one Novgorodian named Gavrila Oleksich rushed onto a Swedish boat on horseback, fought with the Swedes on their ship, was thrown into the water, remained alive and again entered the battle. Alexander's servant Ratmir died heroically, fighting on foot with many opponents at once. The Swedes, who did not expect an attack, were completely defeated and fled at night on ships from the place of defeat.
Novgorod was saved by the sacrifice and valor of Alexander's comrades, but the threat to Rus' remained. Teutonic Knights in 1240-1241. intensified the pressure on Izborsk, striving to conquer Pskov. And in Pskov, a strong pro-German party emerged among the boyars. Relying on her help, by 1242 the Germans captured this city, as well as Yam and Koporye and again began to threaten Novgorod. In the winter of 1242, Alexander Nevsky with his Suzdal, or, as they said then, “Nizovsky” squads, with the support of the Novgorodians and Pskovites, attacked against the German detachment stationed in Pskov. Having liberated Pskov, he moved towards the main forces of the Livonians, who were retreating, bypassing Lake Peipsi. On the western shore of the lake, at Raven Stone, the Germans had to take the fight.
On the ice of Lake Peipus (“on Uzmen, at the Crow Stone”) a battle took place, which went down in history as Battle on the Ice.
The knights were supported by foot mercenaries armed with spears and the allies of the order - the Livs. The knights lined up in a “pig” formation: the most powerful warrior in front, followed by two others, followed by four, and so on. The onslaught of such a wedge was irresistible to the lightly armed Russians, and Alexander did not even try to stop the blow of the German army. On the contrary, he weakened his center and gave the knights the opportunity to break through it. Meanwhile, the reinforced Russian flanks attacked both wings of the German army. The Livs ran, the Germans resisted desperately, but since it was spring, the ice cracked and the heavily armed knights began to drown.
“And they chased them, beating them, seven miles across the ice.” According to the Novgorod Chronicle, countless “chuds” and 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.”
The Battle of the Ice was of great importance for the fate of not only Novgorod, but all of Russia. The crusader aggression of Latinism was stopped on the ice of Lake Peipsi. Rus' received peace and stability on its northwestern borders.
The Battle of the Ice, together with the Neva victory, gave complete triumph to Orthodoxy over the machinations against it by the Pope and for a long time stopped the offensive movements against Rus' of the Swedes and Germans in the most sorrowful and difficult years of Russian life
In the same year, a peace treaty was concluded between Novgorod and the Order, according to which prisoners were exchanged and all Russian territories captured by the Germans were returned. The chronicle reports 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 what we captured your husbands - we are ready to exchange them: we will release yours, and you will let ours go.” ".
Having suffered defeat on the battlefield, the Roman Church decided to subjugate the Russian lands by other, diplomatic means. An extraordinary embassy from Pope Innocent IV arrived in Novgorod.
The Pope sent two of his noblest nobles, Cardinals Gold and Gement, to Alexander Nevsky with a letter in which he demanded that Alexander, together with his Russian people, convert to Latinism. The cunning cardinals, having handed Alexander a papal letter dated February 8, 1248, began, of course, in every possible way to persuade him to convert to Latinism, assuring him that only by renouncing Orthodoxy would he find help from Western sovereigns and thereby save both himself and his people from the Tatars. To this Alexander, outraged to the depths of his soul by such a proposal, menacingly answered them: “Hear, messengers of the pope and the most repentant maidens. From Adam and to the flood, and from the flood to the division of the language and the beginning of Abraham, and from Abraham to the coming of Israel through the Red Sea , and from the beginning of the kingdom of Solomon to Augustus the king, and from the beginning of Augustus to the Nativity of Christ, and to the passion and to His Resurrection and entry into heaven, and to the reign of the Great Constantine, and to the first Council and to the seventh Council: we know all this well, but we do not accept teachings from you.”
In this answer, Alexander should not be seen as some kind of limitation. The reluctance to even enter into debates with the papal legates meant the moral, religious and political choice of the prince. He refused a possible alliance with the West against the Tatars, because, probably, he understood too well that in reality the West could not help Rus' in any way; the fight against the Tatars, to which the papal throne called him, could become disastrous for the country.
Alexander Nevsky rejected the Pope's proposal to accept Catholicism and the title of king and remained faithful to Orthodoxy (Daniil Galitsky, Grand Duke of Galicia-Volyn Rus', agreed to this).
The Pope declared a crusade against ORTHODOXY AND Rus' (remember that, at the instigation of the Pope, in 1204 the crusaders captured Orthodox Constantinople, which was subjected to terrible looting and destruction).
In 1247, Alexander Nevsky became the Grand Duke of Vladimir. To protect against external military and spiritual aggression, A. Nevsky concluded a strategic military-political alliance with the Golden Horde. He bound himself by oath of brotherhood with Batu’s son, Sartak (a Nestorian Christian). Batu, having become the adoptive father of Alexander Nevsky, helps the Russians repel the aggression of Catholicism. ORTHODOXY AND Rus' WERE SAVED. The armed forces of Catholicism were defeated. Aggression from the West has failed.
Batu’s campaign from the Aral Sea to the Adriatic gave all of Eastern Europe to the power of the Mongols, and it seemed that everything would be over with Orthodoxy. But circumstances developed in such a way that events flowed in a different direction. During the campaign, Batu quarreled with his cousins, Guyuk, the son of the supreme khan Ogedei, and Buri, the son of the great guardian Yasa Chagatai. The fathers took the side of Batu and punished their presumptuous sons with disgrace, but when Ogedei died in 1241 and power fell into the hands of Guyuk’s mother, Khansha Turakina, the squads of Guyuk and Buri were recalled - and poor Batu found himself the ruler of a huge country, having only 4 thousand faithful soldiers with super-strained relations with the central government. There could be no question of forcibly retaining the conquered territories. Returning to Mongolia meant a cruel death. And then Batu, a smart and far-sighted man, began a policy of seeking an alliance with the Russian princes Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and his son Alexander. Their lands were not subject to tribute.
At the beginning of 1248, Guyuk died suddenly. Batu, who received the preponderance of forces, enthroned Tolui's son, Mongke, the leader of the Christian-Nestorian party, and Guyuk's supporters were executed in 1251. The foreign policy of the Mongol ulus immediately changed. The attack on Catholic Europe was canceled, and instead the “Yellow Crusade” was launched, as a result of which Baghdad fell (1258). Batu, who became the de facto head of the empire, strengthened his position, tied new subjects to himself and created the conditions for the transformation of the Golden Horde into an independent khanate, which happened after the death of Mongke, when a new wave of unrest tore the Chinggisid empire apart. Nestorianism, associated with the princes of the Tolui line, turned out to be outside the Golden Horde.
This situation (the friendship and alliance of Alexander Nevsky and Sartak) continued until the death of Sartak in 1256, after which Berke Khan converted to Islam, but allowed the founding of a diocese in Saray in 1261 and favored the Orthodox, relying on them in the war with the Persian Ilkhans.
Alexander Nevsky had to experience an incredible shock: his entire political line was under threat. In 1256, his ally Batu died, and in the same year Batu’s son Sartak was poisoned because of his sympathies for Christianity. And by whom? Batu's brother Berke Khan, who relied on Horde Muslims. Berke converted to Islam, massacred the Nestorians in Samarkand, poisoned his nephew, and established a Muslim dictatorship, although without further religious persecution. True to his principle of fighting for the interests of the Fatherland, Alexander Nevsky this time “laid down his soul for his friends.” He went to Berke and negotiated the payment of tribute to the Mongols in exchange for military assistance against the Lithuanians and Germans.
In 1261, in Sarai, through the efforts of Alexander Nevsky and the Mongol khans Berke and Mengu-Timur, a metochion of an Orthodox bishop was opened. He was not subjected to any persecution; It was believed that the Bishop of Sarsk was the representative of the interests of Rus' and all Russian people at the court of the Great Khan. If princely strife began in Rus', the khan sent the bishop of Sarya with the Tatar bek (necessarily a Christian), and they resolved controversial issues at princely congresses. If someone did not take into account the decision made and tried to continue the appanage war, he was forced to peace with the help of the Tatar cavalry.
Relying on an alliance with Berke, Alexander decided not only to stop the German movement into Rus', but also to undermine its very possibility. He concluded an alliance with the Lithuanian prince Mindaugas, his peer, directed against the crusaders.
Alexander Yaroslavich was on the verge of his second, no less significant than in the case of the Horde, diplomatic victory. But in 1263, in the midst of preparations for a joint campaign against the Livonian Order, returning from another trip to the Horde, the prince died. It can be assumed that Alexander Yaroslavich died, in modern terms, from stress. Indeed, such complex diplomatic actions, brilliant victories, and struggles with compatriots required too much nervous tension, which not everyone could handle. However, it seems strange that Mindovg also died soon. The thought involuntarily suggests itself that the cause of Prince Alexander’s death was not stress; rather, in the death of Alexander and Mindaugas the efforts of Catholic agents should be seen operating in Rus' and Lithuania.
The military-political unification of Rus' with the Golden Horde in 1247 is undoubtedly. This unification occurred 9 years after Batu’s campaign. The Russian princes began to pay tribute only in 1258. Mamaia's coup in 1362 led to the rupture of the traditional union of Rus' and the Golden Horde. Then Mamai entered into an alliance with Catholics to fight Orthodox Moscow. In 1380, during the Battle of Kulikovo, this alliance against Orthodoxy and Rus' was destroyed.
In other words, Alexander Nevsky recognized the sovereignty of the Khan of the Golden Horde, and this happened in the very year when the pope declared a crusade against Orthodox Rus'. The obvious interconnection of these events gives the right to understand the Rus'-HORDE situation as a military-political alliance. The Grand Duke of Vladimir becomes an ally of the Khan of the Golden Horde. It was Russian troops that formed the basis of the Mongol army that conquered Persia and Syria and captured Baghdad in 1258.
The union of the Horde and Rus' was realized thanks to the patriotism and dedication of Prince Alexander Nevsky. In the conciliar opinion of his descendants, the choice of Alexander Yaroslavich received the highest approval. For his unprecedented feats in the name of his native land, the Russian Orthodox Church recognized the prince as a saint.
The Golden Horde gave the Russian Orthodox Church special labels according to which any defamation of the Orthodox faith was punishable by death.
The dominant behavior formulated by Alexander - altruistic patriotism - determined the principles of the structure of Rus' for several centuries to come. The traditions of alliance with the peoples of Asia, founded by the prince, based on national and religious tolerance, attracted peoples living in adjacent territories to Russia until the 19th century. And finally, it was the descendants of Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky who built the new Rus' on the ruins of ancient Kievan Rus. At first it was called Moscow, and from the end of the 15th century it began to be called Russia. The youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, Daniil, received a tiny town in the wilderness - Moscow - as his reign.
The reign of Alexander Nevsky coincided with one of the most significant moments in Russian history. There was a final transfer of the center of state life from Kyiv to the north of Rus'. A powerful national identity emerged.
By the 13th century, Rus' faced formidable trials. Its very existence - its uniqueness and originality are called into question. Having developed on the great East European Plain as a special cultural world between Europe and Asia, Rus' in the 13th century fell into the clutches, as it was subjected to a formidable attack by both sides - Latin Europe and Mongol Asia.
In 1206, an event occurred in the heart of Asia that largely determined the future fate of history. The Mongol movement began towards China, Turkestan, Asia Minor, and Europe. Less than 20 years after that, the advanced cavalry detachments of Genghis Khan had already inflicted a terrible defeat on the Russian princes on Kalka.
Almost simultaneously, an equally significant event occurred in Europe: in 1204, Western European crusaders took Constantinople by storm and terribly plundered it; the Orthodox Byzantine kingdom was overthrown; in its place the Latin Empire was founded.
Following Byzantium, it was the turn of Rus'. The offensive against it began on all western borders. Hungary and Poland rushed to Galicia and Volhynia; German crusaders established themselves at the beginning of the 13th century in Riga (Livonian Order) and Prussia (Teutonic Order) and from there launched an attack on Pskov and Novgorod; finally, the Swedes moved to Rus' through Finland; With sword and fire, the Germans and Swedes converted both the pagan Lithuanians, Estonians and Finns, as well as the Orthodox Russians, to Latinism.
The years of the highest tension of bilateral danger for Russian lands and principalities were the end of the 1230s - 1240. Winter of 1237 - 1238 - the first Tatar pogrom of Rus' (mainly north-eastern); in 1240 Kyiv was captured by the Tatars (December 6); in July of the same year, encouraged by the pope to embark on a crusade against the infidels, the Swedish ruler and commander Birger landed on the banks of the Neva.
Rus' could perish between two fires, but it could not resist and save itself in a struggle on two fronts simultaneously. We had to choose between East and West. The two strongest princes of this time made different choices. Daniil Galitsky chose the West as an ally and, with its help, tried to fight against the East. Alexander Nevsky chose the East and, under its protection, decided to fight off the West.
As you know, Europe was unable to provide serious military resistance to the Mongol power, which was victorious everywhere (at Legnica in Silesia, on the Solonya River in the Ugra). The Mongolian wave flooded all of Eastern and Central Europe - Hungary, Silesia, Moravia, Croatia, the Balkans; in the spring of 1242, the Horde wiped Budapest off the face of the earth. Thus, the entire “big policy” of Daniil Galitsky ended in failure; he was successful only in the fight against his immediate neighbors - the Lithuanians. He won several separate battles, but lost the most important thing - Orthodox Russia. The result of his policy was long centuries of Latin slavery in southwestern Rus'. Less than a hundred years after Daniel's death, his entire patrimony - the Galicia-Volyn land - was seized by its neighbors: Ugrians, Poles, Lithuanians. Latin slavery in certain parts of Rus' has not been eliminated to this day.
The complete opposite of the activities of Daniil Romanovich is the activities of Alexander Yaroslavich. The historical task facing Alexander was twofold: to protect the borders of Rus' from the attack of the Latin West and to strengthen national identity within the borders. With his deep and brilliant hereditary historical instinct, Alexander understood that in his historical era the main danger to Orthodoxy and the uniqueness of Russian culture came from the West, and not from the East, from Latinism and not from Mongolism. Mongolism brought slavery to the body, but not to the soul. Latinism threatened to distort the very soul. Latinism was a militant religious system that sought to subjugate and remake the Orthodox faith of the Russian people in its own image. Mongolism was not a religious system at all. It carried with it civil-political laws (Chinggis Yasa), and not religious-ecclesiastical ones. One of the principles of the Mongol state was precisely broad religious tolerance.
In 1236, Prince Yaroslav, setting out on a campaign from Novgorod to Kyiv, installed his son Alexander as prince in Novgorod. In 1239, Yaroslav had to personally go to the Horde to express his submission. Under the cover of the Mongol peace in the East, Yaroslav's son Alexander brilliantly repulsed all attacks from the West during these very years. In a battle near the mouth of Izhora on the banks of the Neva in 1240, Alexander defeated a large army of Swedes. For this battle he received the nickname Nevsky. In 1241, Alexander took the Koporye fortress with the entire German garrison, and at the beginning of 1242 he liberated Pskov from the Germans. The main battle with the German knights took place on April 5, 1242 on Lake Peipsi and went down in history as the Battle of the Ice.
The victory over the crusaders glorified Alexander and made him one of the greatest military leaders of his time. Subsequently, he repeatedly had to command Russian soldiers, defending the borders of ancient Rus' along their entire length. Thus, in 1256, the regiments of Alexander Nevsky made a difficult journey across the ice of the Gulf of Finland and attacked the Swedish possessions in Finland. The news of this campaign shocked all of Europe, since the Swedes had never experienced such a blow. Even Pope Alexander IV, in a letter to Alexander Nevsky, recognized his military leadership.
After the death of his father, Alexander found himself in close proximity to the East; he had to independently choose between East and West. Both the East and the West each called him to their side... In 1248, a papal bull was drawn up, in which the pope promised Alexander the help of the Livonian knights against the Tatars for recognition of the Roman throne.
The glorious conqueror of Russia's external and internal enemies was faced with another, more difficult victory - over himself. Until now, he had not bowed down to the Horde and could rightfully be proud of this. Many princes had already visited the Golden Horde, but Alexander had not yet made this difficult journey. Now the time had come when he had to sacrifice the great glory of the commander and, out of love for his homeland, go to bow to Batu. Batu himself demanded Alexander to come to him, and the conqueror of so many enemies obediently went to the Horde. He knew that any contradiction to the Tatar Khan would only bring new disasters to Rus', which was then weakened. Alexander’s submission to the Horde cannot be assessed otherwise than as a feat of humility. The Christian feat is not always external martyrdom, but sometimes, on the contrary, internal: not only visible warfare, but also invisible warfare, a struggle against spiritual temptations, a feat of self-discipline and humility.
To preserve the Russian land from fires and looting, Prince Alexander Nevsky visited the Horde four times and managed, through his diplomatic efforts, to protect it from the merciless Tatar-Mongol raids. In princely affairs, Alexander did not forget the deeds of Christian love: he transferred a lot of gold and silver to the Horde for the ransom of Russian prisoners; He managed to rescue many from the cruel Tatar captivity. Through the efforts of Metropolitan Kirill and Prince Alexander Nevsky, the Sarai Orthodox Diocese was founded in the Golden Horde in 1261 to meet the spiritual needs of Christians living in the steppe empire.
In many northern Russian cities in 1262, people beat up Tatar tribute farmers, not realizing that behind each baskak stood the formidable power of the entire Mongol empire. Alexander had to urgently go to the Horde to appease the khan, who was angry at the rebellion. The prince managed to settle the matter successfully: Khan Berke was satisfied with his apologies and new expressions of humility. Saving the Russian land from new ruin was Alexander's last political act.
Alexander stayed in the Horde for almost a year. On the way back he fell ill (in Nizhny Novgorod) and died in Gorodets on the Volga (November 14, 1263).
The two feats of Alexander Nevsky - the feat of warfare in the West and the feat of humility in the East - 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 the holy noble Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky.
L.P. Kiverina,
Volgograd
Bibliography
1. G.V. Vernadsky. “The Outline of Russian History” - Prague, 1927.
2. Essays on the history of the Volgograd diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. – Volgograd, 2003.
3. Ascetics and sufferers for the Orthodox faith and the land of Svyatorus. Compiled by priest Mikhail Edlinsky. – St. Petersburg, 1903; republished M., 2001.
4. M. Khitrov “The Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky. Detailed biography" - Moscow, 1893; republished M., 1991.
5. G. Shalaeva. Who is in the history of civilization. – Moscow, “Slovo”, 2008.
On December 6, the Church honors the memory of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. A great feat fell to the lot of Saint Alexander - to save Russia, he had to simultaneously demonstrate the valor of a warrior and the humility of a monk. The prince faced a feat of military glory on the banks of the Neva and on the ice of Lake Peipus: knights of Catholic orders sought to enslave Rus' and desecrate the shrines of Russian Orthodoxy. Feeling with all his soul the “pillar and foundation of Truth” in the Church, understanding the fateful significance of this Truth of Christ in Russian life, Saint Prince Alexander took upon himself the heavy cross of the sovereign defender of the purity of faith, the guardian and guardian of the spiritual fullness of Russian statehood.
A feat of humility awaited him in his relations with the arrogant and satiated Mongol Horde. Khan Batu sent to tell the prince: God has conquered many nations to me: are you the only one who doesn’t want to submit to my power? Seeing in what happened God's permission and punishment for the sins of internecine princely enmity, Saint Alexander decided to recognize the seniority of the khan, not wanting to torment his Fatherland with the horrors of another war.
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body,” declares the Word of God. Moreover, fear him who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna (Matt. 10:28). The soul of Russia has always lived and breathed the grace of the Church. Mongol slavery did not threaten it, bringing death only to the state body of fragmented appanage Rus'. But heretical Latinism threatened Russian life with mortal harm.
Having relied on the truths of the Law of God and the Commandments of Christ, Saint Alexander was the first to lead Rus' onto that path, following which it grew and strengthened year by year, turning as a result from a community of small warring principalities into the great Orthodox Kingdom, the protector and custodian of Ecumenical Orthodoxy.
“God is not in power, but in truth.” Many people know this wonderful saying, which has long become a proverb, but few know who it belongs to. It belongs to the holy noble Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, whose memory the Russian Church celebrates on December 6 (the day of his funeral service). And again - September 12 (the day of the transfer of his holy relics from the city of Vladimir to the reigning city of St. Peter).
The reign of Alexander Nevsky (1236-1263) coincided with one of the most difficult and tragic periods of Russian history: Mongol hordes were coming from the east, knightly hordes of “crusaders” (Swedes and German knights of the Livonian Order) were advancing from the west.
The horror of this situation was expressed in the fact that, on the one hand, the threat of invasion of the steppe nomads - the Mongols - loomed over the Russian lands, which certainly led to enslavement, at best, and destruction at worst. On the other hand, on the Baltic side, the best option promised the Russian people a renunciation of the Christian faith and kneeling before the banners of Western Catholicism.
Rus' was weakened by the internecine wars that overwhelmed it. Each principality tried to exist in its own way. Brother went at brother. Everything was used: murder, entering into family ties with authoritative foreign families, incest, intrigue, flirting and simultaneous cruelty with the townspeople. The historical conditions of the period in which the princes were placed pushed them to take certain actions.
The noble prince Alexander Nevsky became the central figure of the new, reborn from the ruins of the petty princely appanages of Rus', and it was to him that eyes were turned as a defender and unifier of the lands in the face of the Golden Horde threat and Catholic invaders.
In 1241, Alexander came to Novgorod and cleared his region of enemies, and the next year, together with his brother Andrei, he moved to the aid of Pskov, where the German governors were sitting.
Alexander liberated Pskov and from here, without wasting time, moved to the border of the Livonian Order, which ran along Lake Peipsi.
In 2008, Alexander Nevsky became the “Name of Russia,” but debate about his role in Russian history continues today. The image of Nevsky was created over centuries, the prince acquired the features of an epic hero, a cult figure.
Neva massacre
The first feat for which Alexander Yaroslavovich received his nickname was the legendary Neva Massacre. Nevsky's squad defeated the Swedes at the mouth of the Izhora River. The prince personally participated in the battle and “put a seal on the face of the king himself with his sharp spear,” that is, he inflicted serious injuries on the Swedish leader Birger with a spear. It is believed that Nevsky’s victory prevented Russia from losing the shores of the Gulf of Finland and stopped Swedish aggression on the Novgorod-Polotsk lands. It is worth recognizing that the battle was not large-scale; rather, it was a special operation in which the prince’s squad seized a strategic and tactical advantage, unexpectedly attacking the Swedes.
Alexander vs the Germans
After returning from the Battle of Neva, Alexander returned to Novgorod, but quarreled with the boyars and was forced to leave for Pereslavl-Zalessky. Meanwhile, the Germans showed extraordinary aggression, taking Izborsk, Pskov, the land of the Vozhans and Koporye. When the adversaries approached Novgorod, it was time to turn to Yaroslav for help. Yaroslav wanted to send his youngest son Andrei to help, but the Novgorodians insisted on Alexander’s candidacy. In 1241, Alexander cleared the Novgorod lands of the Germans. in 1242, having waited for help from Vladimir (led by Andrei), he liberated Pskov.
Battle on the Ice
The decisive battle against the Livonian Order took place on Lake Peipsi in the winter of 1242. A historically important battle, in which Nevsky’s troops won a decisive victory, stopping German aggression. The details of this clash are described in detail, every schoolchild knows about how the Germans walked like a pig and knights, dressed in heavy armor, went under the ice of Lake Peipus. According to legend, the Russians chased the Germans across the ice for 7 miles. Under the terms of peace, the Order abandoned all recent conquests and ceded part of Latgale to the Novgorodians.
Nevsky vs Lithuanians
In 1245, the Lithuanian army led by Mindaugas attacked Torzhok and Bezhetsk. Alexander and the Novgorod army took Toropets, where he killed almost ten Lithuanian princes. After the capture of Toropets, Alexander sent the Novgorodians home and on his own (with the forces of his court and squad) caught up with and completely destroyed the Lithuanian troops at Lake Zhitsa. On the way back, Nevsky defeated another Lithuanian detachment along Usvyatoy. Nevsky’s squad was a formidable force; the mere mention of him instilled fear in his enemies. Such glory could not fail to reach the Great Khan. Nevsky's father, Yaroslav, was sent to Karakorum, and Nevsky was "summoned" to the Horde to Batu.
Nevsky vs Catholics
Alexander Nevsky was canonized not so much for his military exploits and repeated manifestations of devotion to the interests of Rus', but for the fact that he stopped the attempt of Catholics to instill their faith. Pope Innocent IV sent his cardinals to Nevsky, who, as a result, left Nevsky without a slurp, having listened to a fiery speech, not devoid of rhetorical turns: “From Adam to the flood, from the flood to the division of languages, from the confusion of tongues to the beginning of Abraham, from Abraham to the passage of Israel through the Red Sea, from the exodus of the children of Israel to the death of King David, from the beginning of the kingdom of Solomon to King Augustus, 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 into Heaven , from the Ascension into heaven to the kingdom of Constantine, from the beginning of the kingdom of Constantine to the first council, from the first council to the seventh - we know all this well, but we do not accept teachings from you.”
Nevsky the diplomat
Alexander Nevsky was not only a successful commander, but also a good diplomat who concluded important agreements. Around 1251, Alexander concluded an agreement between Novgorod and Norway to settle border disputes and differentiate the collection of tribute from the vast territory in which Karelians and Sami lived. Between 1259 and 1262, Alexander concluded a treaty of trade with the "Gothic Coast" (Gotland), Lübeck and the German cities. This agreement played an important role in the history of Russian-German relations and turned out to be very durable (it was referred to even in 1420).
Nevsky Saint
In addition to his military feats, Nevsky also performed spiritual feats. He strengthened the Orthodox faith and actively contributed to the spread of Orthodoxy to the North, among the Pomors. After the terrible devastation of Nevryuev, Nevsky took care of the restoration of the destroyed Vladimir and other Russian cities. The prince “erected churches, rebuilt cities, gathered dispersed people into their homes,” testifies the author of the prince’s Life. The prince showed special concern for the Church, decorating churches with books and utensils, bestowing them with rich gifts and land.
September 12 - Memorial Day of Alexander Nevsky. In 2008, the legendary prince became the “Name of Russia”; the image of Nevsky was created over the centuries, acquiring the features of an epic hero and cult figure. On the prince’s memorial day, let’s remember his 7 exploits.
Neva massacre The first feat for which Alexander Yaroslavovich received his nickname was the legendary Neva Massacre. Nevsky's squad defeated the Swedes at the mouth of the Izhora River. The prince personally participated in the battle and “put a seal on the face of the king himself with your sharp spear,” that is, he inflicted serious injuries on the Swedish leader Birger with a spear. It is believed that Nevsky’s victory prevented Russia from losing the shores of the Gulf of Finland and stopped Swedish aggression on the Novgorod-Polotsk lands. It is worth recognizing that the battle was not particularly large-scale; rather, it was a special operation in which the prince’s squad seized a strategic and tactical advantage, unexpectedly attacking the Swedes.
Alexander vs the Germans
After returning from the Battle of Neva, Alexander returned to Novgorod, but quarreled with the boyars and was forced to leave for Pereslavl-Zalessky. Meanwhile, the Germans showed extraordinary aggression, taking Izborsk, Pskov, the land of the Vozhans and Koporye. When the adversaries approached Novgorod, it was time to turn to Yaroslav for help. Yaroslav wanted to send his youngest son Andrei to help, but the Novgorodians insisted on Alexander’s candidacy. In 1241, Alexander cleared the Novgorod lands of the Germans. in 1242, having waited for help from Vladimir (led by Andrei), he liberated Pskov.
Battle on the Ice
The decisive battle against the Livonian Order took place on Lake Peipsi in the winter of 1242. A historically important battle, in which Nevsky’s troops won a decisive victory, stopping German aggression. The details of this clash are described in detail, every schoolchild knows about how the Germans walked like a pig and knights, dressed in heavy armor, went under the ice of Lake Peipsi. According to legend, the Russians chased the Germans across the ice for 7 miles. Under the terms of peace, the Order abandoned all recent conquests and ceded part of Latgale to the Novgorodians.
Nevsky vs Lithuanians
In 1245, the Lithuanian army led by Mindaugas attacked Torzhok and Bezhetsk. Alexander and the Novgorod army took Toropets, where he killed almost ten Lithuanian princes. After the capture of Toropets, Alexander sent the Novgorodians home and on his own (with the forces of his court and squad) caught up with and completely destroyed the Lithuanian troops at Lake Zhitsa. On the way back, Nevsky defeated another Lithuanian detachment along Usvyatoy. Nevsky’s squad was a formidable force; the mere mention of him instilled fear in his enemies. Such glory could not fail to reach the Great Khan. Nevsky's father, Yaroslav, was sent to Karakorum, and Nevsky was “summoned” to the Horde to Batu.
Nevsky vs Catholics
Alexander Nevsky was canonized not so much for his military exploits and repeated manifestations of devotion to the interests of Rus', but for the fact that he stopped the attempt of Catholics to instill their faith. Pope Innocent IV sent his cardinals to Nevsky, who, as a result, left Nevsky without a slurp, having listened to a fiery speech, not devoid of rhetorical turns: “From Adam to the flood, from the flood to the division of languages, from the confusion of tongues to the beginning of Abraham, from Abraham to the passage of Israel through the Red Sea, from the exodus of the children of Israel to the death of King David, from the beginning of the kingdom of Solomon to King Augustus, 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 into Heaven , from the Ascension into heaven to the kingdom of Constantine, from the beginning of the kingdom of Constantine to the first council, from the first council to the seventh - we know all this well, but we do not accept teachings from you.”
Nevsky the diplomat Alexander Nevsky was not only a successful commander, but also a good diplomat who concluded important agreements. Around 1251, Alexander concluded an agreement between Novgorod and Norway to settle border disputes and differentiate the collection of tribute from the vast territory in which Karelians and Sami lived. Between 1259 and 1262, Alexander concluded a treaty of trade with the "Gothic Coast" (Gotland), Lübeck and the German cities. This agreement played an important role in the history of Russian-German relations and turned out to be very durable (it was referred to even in 1420).
Nevsky Saint
In addition to his military feats, Nevsky also performed spiritual feats. He strengthened the Orthodox faith and actively contributed to the spread of Orthodoxy to the North, among the Pomors. After the terrible devastation of Nevryuev, Nevsky took care of the restoration of the destroyed Vladimir and other Russian cities. The prince “erected churches, rebuilt cities, gathered dispersed people into their homes,” testifies the author of the prince’s Life. The prince showed special concern for the Church, decorating churches with books and utensils, bestowing them with rich gifts and land.
http://russian7.ru/2013/09/7-podvigov-aleksandra-nevskogo/
Sorokina Agnessa Ivanovna