Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (Old Russian: Oleksandr Yaroslavich, in monasticism Alexy). Born on May 13, 1221 in Pereslavl-Zalessky - died on November 14, 1263 in Gorodets. Prince of Novgorod (1236-1240, 1241-1252 and 1257-1259), Grand Duke of Kiev (1249-1263), Grand Duke of Vladimir (1252-1263), famous Russian commander.
The second son of the Pereyaslavl prince (later the Grand Duke of Kyiv and Vladimir) Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and Rostislava (Feodosia) Mstislavna, princess of Toropets, daughter of the prince of Novgorod and Galicia Mstislav Udatny. Born in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky in May 1221.
In 1225, Yaroslav “conducted princely tonsure on his sons” - a rite of initiation into warriors, which was performed by Bishop of Suzdal Saint Simon in the Transfiguration Cathedral of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky.
In 1228, Alexander, together with his older brother Fyodor, were left by his father, along with the Pereyaslav army, which was preparing to march on Riga in the summer, in Novgorod under the supervision of Fyodor Danilovich and tiun Yakim, but during the famine that came in the winter of this year, Fyodor Danilovich and tiun Yakim , without waiting for Yaroslav's answer to the request of the Novgorodians to abolish the religious order, in February 1229 they fled from the city with the young princes, fearing reprisals from the rebel Novgorodians. In 1230, when the Novgorod Republic summoned Prince Yaroslav, he, after spending two weeks in Novgorod, installed Fedor and Alexander as reigners, but three years later, at the age of thirteen, Fedor died.
In November 1232, Pope Gregory IX proclaimed a crusade against the Finnish pagans and Russians, and the conflict ended with the victory of the Novgorodians at Omovzha (1234).
In 1236, Yaroslav left Novgorod to reign in Kyiv (from there in 1238 - to Vladimir). From that time on, Alexander’s independent activities began. In 1238, during the Mongol invasion of North-Eastern Rus', Yuri Vsevolodovich Vladimirsky expected the regiments of the brothers Yaroslav and Svyatoslav, but there is no information about the participation of the Novgorodians in the Battle of the City. The Mongols then took Torzhok after a two-week siege and did not go to Novgorod.
Back in 1236-1237, the neighbors of the Novgorod land were at enmity with each other (200 Pskov soldiers took part in the unsuccessful campaign of the Order of the Swordsmen against Lithuania, which ended with the Battle of Saul and the entry of the remnants of the Order of the Swordsmen into the Teutonic Order), but already in December 1237, Pope Gregory IX proclaimed a second crusade to Finland, and in June 1238, the Danish king Valdemar II and the master of the united order, Herman Balk, agreed on the division of Estonia and military operations against Rus' in the Baltic states with the participation of the Swedes.
In 1239, at the end of the war with the Lithuanians for Smolensk, Alexander built a series of fortifications southwest of Novgorod along the Sheloni River and married the daughter of Bryachislav of Polotsk. The wedding took place in Toropets in the Church of St. George. Already in 1240, the prince’s first-born son, named Vasily, was born in Novgorod.
In July 1240, the Swedish fleet (Russian sources attribute the leadership of the campaign to Jarl Birger; there is no mention of the battle in Swedish sources; the jarl at that moment was Ulf Fasi, not Birger; Birger commanded the crusade to Finland in 1249), with which several bishops, entered the Neva, planning to take possession of Ladoga. Alexander, having learned about their arrival from local elders, without requesting help from Vladimir and even without fully collecting the militia, with his squad and the detachments of Novgorodians and Ladoga residents who managed to gather, attacked the Swedish camp at the mouth of Izhora and won a brilliant victory (July 15).
Already in August, the Order began an offensive from the southwest with the participation of the Russian prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich and the king’s troops, which may explain the wait-and-see position previously taken on the Neva by the Swedes. The Germans took Izborsk, defeating 800 Pskovites who came to his aid, and besieged Pskov, the gates of which were opened by their supporters from the Pskov boyars. These events did not prevent the Novgorodians from expelling Alexander to Pereyaslavl-Zalessky in the winter of 1240/1241, and only when the Germans captured the land of the Vozhans and Koporye, approaching Novgorod at a distance of 30 versts, did the Novgorodians turn to Yaroslav for a prince. He tried to keep his eldest son with him, sending Andrei to them, but they insisted on Alexander's candidacy.
In 1241, Alexander came to Novgorod and cleared his region of enemies, and in 1242, having waited for Vladimir’s help led by Andrei, he took Pskov (70 knights died). The Germans gathered in the Yuryev area, where Alexander moved. But after the forward detachment of the Novgorodians was destroyed while feeding, Alexander retreated to the ice of Lake Peipsi for the decisive battle, which took place on April 5. The order's army dealt a powerful blow to the center of the Russian battle formation, but then the princely cavalry struck from the flanks and decided the outcome of the battle. According to the Novgorod chronicle, the Russians pursued the Germans across the ice for 7 versts. Under the terms of peace, the Order abandoned all recent conquests and ceded part of Latgale to the Novgorodians, immediately after which Nevsky’s father was summoned to Batu.
In 1245, the Lithuanian army, led by Prince Mindovg, attacked Torzhok and Bezhetsk. Alexander, who arrived with the Novgorod army, took Toropets and killed more than eight Lithuanian princes, after which he sent the Novgorodians home. Then, with the forces of his court, he caught up with and completely destroyed the remnants of the Lithuanian army, including the princes, at Lake Zhizhitsky, then on the way back he defeated another Lithuanian detachment near Usvyat. According to the chronicler, the Lithuanians fell into such fear that they began to “watch his name.” Nevsky's father Yaroslav was summoned to Karakorum and poisoned there on September 30, 1246. Almost simultaneously with this, on September 20, Mikhail Chernigovsky was killed in the Golden Horde, who refused to undergo a pagan rite.
After the death of his father, in 1247, Alexander went to the Horde to see Batu. From there, following his brother Andrei, who had previously left, he went to the Great Khan in Mongolia. Alexander and Andrey returned from Karakorum in 1249. In their absence, their brother, Mikhail Khorobrit of Moscow (the fourth son of Grand Duke Yaroslav), took the Vladimir great reign from his uncle Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich in 1248, but in the same year he died in a battle with the Lithuanians in Battle on the Protva River. Svyatoslav managed to defeat the Lithuanians at Zubtsov.
Batu planned to give the great reign of Vladimir to Alexander, but according to Yaroslav’s will, Andrei was to become the prince of Vladimir, and Alexander of Novgorod and Kyiv. And the chronicler notes that they had “a direct message about the great reign.” As a result, the rulers of the Mongol Empire, despite the death of Guyuk during the campaign against Batu in 1248, implemented the second option. Alexander received Kyiv and “All Russian Land.” Modern historians differ in their assessment of which of the brothers held formal seniority. After the Tatar devastation, Kyiv lost any real significance; therefore, Alexander did not go to him, but settled in Novgorod (According to V.N. Tatishchev, the prince was still going to leave for Kyiv, but the Novgorodians “kept him for the sake of the Tatars,” but the reliability of this information is in question).
There is information about two messages from Pope Innocent IV to Alexander Nevsky. In the first, the pope invites Alexander to follow the example of his father, who agreed (the pope referred to Plano Carpini, in whose works this news is absent) to submit to the Roman throne before his death, and also proposes coordination of actions with the Teutons in the event of an attack by the Tatars on Rus'. In the second message, the pope mentions Alexander’s agreement to be baptized into the Catholic faith and build a Catholic church in Pskov, and also asks to receive his ambassador, the Archbishop of Prussia.
In 1251, two cardinals came to Alexander Nevsky in Novgorod with a bull. Almost simultaneously in Vladimir, Andrei Yaroslavich and Ustinya Danilovna were married by Metropolitan Kirill, an associate of Daniil of Galitsky, to whom the pope offered the royal crown back in 1246-1247. In the same year, the Lithuanian prince Mindovg adopted the Catholic faith, thereby securing his lands from the Teutons. According to the chronicler's story, Nevsky, after consulting with wise people, outlined the entire history of Rus' and in conclusion said: “We have learned everything that is good, but we do not accept teachings from you.”
In 1251, with the participation of the troops of the Golden Horde, Batu's ally Munke won the victory in the struggle for supreme power in the Mongol Empire, and the following year Alexander came to the Horde again. At the same time, troops led by Nevruy were moved against Andrei. Andrei, in alliance with his brother Yaroslav Tverskoy, opposed them, but was defeated and fled to Sweden through Novgorod, Yaroslav gained a foothold in Pskov. This was the first attempt to openly counteract the Mongol-Tatars in North-Eastern Rus'. After Andrei's flight, the great reign of Vladimir passed to Alexander. Perhaps, as a number of researchers believe, this indicates that Alexander, during his trip to the Horde, contributed to organizing a punitive campaign against his brother, but there is no direct evidence in favor of this conclusion. In the same year, Prince Oleg Ingvarevich the Red, captured in 1237 wounded, was released from Mongol captivity to Ryazan.
Alexander's reign in Vladimir was followed by a new war with its western neighbors. In 1253, shortly after the start of Alexander's great reign, his eldest son Vasily and the Novgorodians were forced to repel the Lithuanians from Toropets, in the same year the Pskovians repulsed the Teutonic invasion, then, together with the Novgorodians and Karelians, invaded the Baltic states and defeated the Teutons on their land, after whereby peace was concluded on the entire will of Novgorod and Pskov. In 1256, the Swedes came to Narova and began to build a city (probably we are talking about the Narva fortress that was already founded in 1223). The Novgorodians asked for help from Alexander, who led a successful campaign against him with the Suzdal and Novgorod regiments. In 1258, the Lithuanians invaded the Smolensk principality and approached Torzhok.
In 1255, the Novgorodians expelled Alexander's eldest son Vasily and summoned Yaroslav Yaroslavich from Pskov. Nevsky forced them to accept Vasily again, and replaced the displeased mayor Anania, a champion of Novgorod freedom, with the obliging Mikhalka Stepanich. In 1257, the Mongol census took place in the Vladimir, Murom and Ryazan lands, but was disrupted in Novgorod, which was not devastated during the invasion. The big people, with the mayor Mikhalka, persuaded the Novgorodians to submit to the will of the khan, but the smaller ones did not want to hear about it. Mikhalko was killed. Prince Vasily, sharing the feelings of the younger ones, but not wanting to quarrel with his father, went to Pskov. Alexander Nevsky himself came to Novgorod with Tatar ambassadors, exiled his son to the Suzdal land, seized and punished his advisers (“cut off one’s nose, and plucked out the eyes of another”) and placed his second son, seven-year-old Dmitry, as prince with them. In 1258, Alexander went to the Horde to “honor” the Khan’s governor Ulavchiy, and in 1259, threatening a Tatar pogrom, he obtained consent from the Novgorodians to a census and tribute (“tamgas and tithes”).
Daniil Galitsky, who accepted the royal crown in 1253 with his own forces (without allies from North-Eastern Rus', without the Catholicization of the subject lands and without the forces of the crusaders) was able to defeat the Horde, but soon, under the threat of invasion by the Horde, he submitted and was forced to raze all the new fortresses he had built. The Lithuanians were repulsed from Lutsk, after which followed the Galician-Horde campaigns against Lithuania and Poland, the break of Mindaugas with Poland, the Order and the alliance with Novgorod. In 1262, the Novgorod, Tver and allied Lithuanian regiments, under the nominal command of 12-year-old Dmitry Alexandrovich, undertook a campaign in Livonia and besieged the city of Yuryev, burned the settlement, but did not take the city.
In 1262, Tatar tribute farmers were killed in Vladimir, Suzdal, Rostov, Pereyaslavl, Yaroslavl and other cities, and the Sarai khan Berke demanded military recruitment among the inhabitants of Rus', since a threat arose to his possessions from the Iranian ruler Hulagu. Alexander Nevsky went to the Horde to try to dissuade the khan from this demand. There Alexander fell ill. Already sick, he left for Rus'.
Having adopted the schema under the name Alexy, he died on November 14, 1263 in Gorodets (there are 2 versions - in Gorodets Volzhsky or in Gorodets Meshchersky). Metropolitan Kirill announced to the people in Vladimir about his death with the words: “My dear children, understand that the sun of the Russian land has set,” and everyone cried out with tears: “We are already perishing.”
“The preservation of the Russian land,” says the famous historian Sergei Solovyov, “from trouble in the east, famous exploits for faith and land in the west brought Alexander a glorious memory in Rus' and made him the most prominent historical figure in ancient history from Monomakh to Donskoy.” Alexander became the favorite prince of the clergy. In the chronicle tale that has reached us about his exploits it is said that he was “born of God.” Victorious everywhere, he was not defeated by anyone. A knight who came from the west to see Nevsky said that he had passed through many countries and peoples, but nowhere had he seen anything like this “neither in the kings of the king, nor in the princes of the prince.” The Tatar Khan himself allegedly gave the same review about him, and Tatar women frightened children with his name.
Alexander Nevsky was initially buried in the Nativity Monastery in Vladimir. In 1724, by order of Peter I, the relics of Alexander Nevsky were solemnly transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (since 1797 - Lavra) in St. Petersburg.
Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as wonderworkers under Metropolitan Macarius at the Moscow Council in 1547. Memory (according to the Julian calendar): November 23 and August 30 (transfer of relics from Vladimir-on-Klyazma to St. Petersburg, to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (from 1797 - Lavra) on August 30, 1724).
According to the canonical version, Alexander Nevsky is regarded as a saint, as a kind of golden legend of medieval Rus'. In the 13th century, Rus' was attacked from three sides - the Catholic West, the Mongol-Tatars and Lithuania. Alexander Nevsky, who never lost a single battle in his entire life, showed his talent as a commander and diplomat, making peace with the most powerful (but at the same time more tolerant) enemy - the Golden Horde - and repelling the attack of the Germans, while simultaneously protecting Orthodoxy from Catholic expansion. This interpretation was officially supported by the authorities both in pre-revolutionary and Soviet times, as well as by the Russian Orthodox Church. The idealization of Alexander reached its zenith before the Great Patriotic War, during and in the first decades after it. In popular culture, this image was captured in the film “Alexander Nevsky” by Sergei Eisenstein.
Lev Gumilyov, as a representative of Eurasianism, saw in Alexander Nevsky the architect of the Russian-Horde alliance. He claims that in 1251 “Alexander came to Batu’s horde, became friends, and then fraternized with his son Sartak, as a result of which he became the son of the khan and in 1252 brought the Tatar corps to Rus' with the experienced noyon Nevryuy.” From the point of view of Gumilyov and his followers, Alexander’s friendly relations with Batu, whose respect he enjoyed, his son Sartak and his successor, Khan Berke, made it possible to establish the most peaceful relations with the Horde, which contributed to the synthesis of East Slavic and Mongol-Tatar cultures.
The third group of historians, generally agreeing with the pragmatic nature of Alexander Nevsky’s actions, believes that objectively he played a negative role in the history of Russia. Some historians, in particular John Fennell, Igor Danilevsky and Sergei Smirnov, believe that the traditional image of Alexander Nevsky as a brilliant commander and patriot is exaggerated. They focus on evidence in which Alexander Nevsky appears as a power-hungry and cruel person. They also express doubts about the scale of the Livonian threat to Rus' and the real military significance of the clashes on the Neva and Lake Peipsi. According to their interpretation, there was no serious threat from the German knights (and the Battle of the Ice was not a major battle), and the example of Lithuania (to which a number of Russian princes moved with their lands), according to Danilevsky, showed that the successful fight against the Tatars was quite possible. Alexander Nevsky deliberately entered into an alliance with the Tatars in order to use them to strengthen his personal power. In the long term, his choice predetermined the formation of despotic power in Rus'.
Spouses: Alexandra, daughter of Bryachislav of Polotsk;
Vassa.
Sons:
Vasily (before 1245-1271) - Novgorod prince;
Dmitry (1250-1294) - Prince of Novgorod (1260-1263), Prince of Pereyaslavl, Grand Duke of Vladimir in 1276-1281 and 1283-1293;
Andrey (c. 1255-1304) - Prince of Kostroma (1276-1293, 1296-1304), Grand Duke of Vladimir (1281-1284, 1292-1304), Prince of Novgorod (1281-1285, 1292-1304), Prince of Gorodets (1264 -1304);
Daniel (1261-1303) - first prince of Moscow (1263-1303).
Daughters:
Evdokia, who became the wife of Konstantin Rostislavich Smolensky.
The wife and daughter Evdokia were buried in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary of the Dormition Princess Monastery in Vladimir.
Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword.
This is what the Russian Land has stood for and will stand for.
There are many worthy personalities in Russian history of whom we can be proud, whom we should honor and remember. But there are also those in our history that we should treat with special trepidation. Alexander Nevsky, of course, belongs to such individuals.
Having secured North-Western Rus' from the intervention of the Teutonic Order and the Swedes, he accomplished a Great Deed. If not for these victories, there might not have been such a country as Russia today. Nevsky entered our history as a prince, a warrior who won many important victories; like a skillful politician, beautifully flirting with the horde, thinking primarily about Russian interests.
Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich was born in the city of Pereslavl Suzdal on May 30, 1220. His paternal grandfather is the famous Grand Duke of Vladimir Vsevolod the Big Nest. Yaroslav's father is Theodore. Nevsky was tall, his voice sounded like a trumpet among the people, his face was beautiful, like the biblical Joseph, his strength was part of the strength of Samson, and in his courage he was like the Roman Caesar Vespasian. This is what a contemporary and close person spoke about him.
From 1236 to 1240 he reigned in Novgorod, fulfilling the will of his father. A huge responsibility fell on his shoulders: the defense of the Novgorod borders from warlike neighbors who wanted to seize the northwestern regions of Rus'. Several years of fierce struggle for the inviolability of the Novgorod and Pskov borders brought the prince immortal glory. In 1237, the forces of the Order of the Sword united with the Teutonic Order. In 1239, the prince married Alexandra Bryachislavovna, daughter of the Polotsk prince. After the wedding, the Novgorodians began to strengthen their borders.
A city was built on the Shelon River. And already in 1240 the Swedes struck the first blow, entering the Neva. There was a battle, and the Swedes fled. And Birger himself was wounded in the head by the prince with a spear. The victory brought Alexander fame and the honorary “Nevsky”. That same summer, the Germans moved to the Pskov lands, took possession of Pskov, and then began to plunder Novgorod villages. The enemy did not receive any resistance, because The prince quarreled with the Novgorodians and went to his father in Suzdal. Sensing great trouble, they sent Bishop Spiridon to Prince Yaroslav with a request to return Alexander.
The father released his son and gave help to the Vladimir army, led by his youngest son, Andrei Yaroslavovich. The brothers returned Pskov. The main clash with the German knights took place on April 5, 1242, where the Russians won. Alexander Nevsky was known as a talented commander and competent politician and diplomat. He skillfully fought off his western neighbors with one hand, and skillfully appeased the Horde with the other. He managed to delay more than one raid by the Tatars - the Mongols.
Alexander Nevsky is canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. The prince died in 1263, during a trip to the Horde. Whether he died a natural death or was poisoned is one of the mysteries of Russian history. On November 14, 1263, Alexander Nevsky accepted the schema (he became a monk) and ended his earthly journey. All Rus' mourned the prince. Metropolitan Kirill said in connection with his death: “The sun of the Russian land has set.” Alexander Nevsky will forever remain in the memory of the Russian people as a fearless warrior and skillful politician.
Born on May 13, 1221 in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky. He was the son of the Pereyaslavl prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. In 1225, according to the decision of his father, initiation into warriors took place in Nevsky’s biography.
In 1228, together with his older brother, he was transported to Novgorod, where they became princes of the Novgorod lands. In 1236, after the departure of Yaroslav, he began to independently defend the lands from the Swedes, Livonians, and Lithuanians.
Personal life
In 1239, Alexander married the daughter of Bryachislav of Polotsk, Alexandra. They had five children - sons: Vasily (1245 - 1271, Prince of Novgorod), Dmitry (1250 - 1294, Prince of Novgorod, Pereyaslavl, Vladimir), Andrey (1255 - 1304, Prince of Kostroma, Vladimir, Novgorod, Gorodets), Daniil ( 1261 – 1303, Moscow prince), as well as daughter Evdokia.
Military activities
The biography of Alexander Nevsky is significant for its many victories. So, in July 1240, the famous Battle of the Neva took place, when Alexander attacked the Swedes on the Neva and won. It was after this battle that the prince received the honorary nickname “Nevsky”.
When the Livonians took Pskov, Tesov, and approached Novgorod, Alexander again defeated the enemies. After this, he attacked the Livonians (German knights) on April 5, 1242 and also won a victory (the famous Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipsi).
After the death of his father in 1247, Alexander took over Kyiv and “The Whole Russian Land.” Kyiv at that time was devastated by the Tatars, and Nevsky decided to stay and live in Novgorod.
The prince repelled enemy attacks for 6 years. Then he left Novgorod for Vladimir and began to reign there. At the same time, wars with our western neighbors continued. The prince was assisted in his military campaigns by his sons, Vasily and Dmitry.
Death and legacy
Alexander Nevsky died on November 14, 1263 in Gorodets and was buried in the Nativity Monastery in the city of Vladimir. By order of Peter I, his relics were transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (St. Petersburg) in 1724.
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky plays an exceptional role in the history of Rus'. Throughout his entire life, Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky did not lose a single battle. He was considered the favorite prince of the clergy, the patron of the Orthodox Church. He can be briefly described as a talented diplomat, a commander who was able to protect Rus' from many enemies, as well as prevent the campaigns of the Mongol-Tatars.
Nowadays, streets and squares are named after him, monuments have been erected in his honor, and Orthodox churches have been erected in many cities of Russia.
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Yaroslav (Theodore) Vsevolodovich, the third son of Vsevolod the Big Nest, was born in Vladimir-on-Klyazma on February 8, 1190. His mother Maria was a princess of Iasi. Under the year 1194, in the chronicle we find a mention of the ceremonial tonsure of Prince Yaroslav on April 27 (according to ancient custom, having received the boy from his mother’s hands, the father cut off a lock of his hair and put him in the saddle). "And there was great joy in Volodymeri." From now on, the child was entrusted to the “uncle” - this is how military education began. The early timing of the “tonsuring” is noteworthy - in this case, already in the fourth year: the princes of the Vladimir House were in a hurry to prepare assistants.
The childhood of the rulers then ended early. Yuri Dolgoruky arrived to reign in the Rostov land barely out of infancy. Vsevolod sent his ten-year-old son to distant Pereyaslavl, and in 1203 the young prince was already listed among the participants in the campaign against the Polovtsians of Roman Mstislavich of Kyiv.
In his youth, Yaroslav did not gain any noticeable military glory. However, it can be assumed that he did not lose his hereditary honor. In 1206, the inhabitants of the Carpathian Galich invited him to reign. Rurik Rostislavich of Kyiv opposed this. No longer valuing family relations with the powerful Zalessk matchmaker (Verkhuslav Vsevolodovich’s daughter-in-law followed his son Rostislav), he, together with his Chernigov allies, forced Yaroslav to go back. Soon the last one from Pereyaslavl was driven out by the troops of Vsevolod Chermny, Grand Duke of Chernigov.
Having gone to his father in Zalesye, Yaroslav two years later participated in the war with the Ryazan princes, after which he remained governor in the conquered Ryazan, where he was unable to cope with the uprising. It was necessary to resort to extreme measures, and as a result of a punitive raid by the Vladimir people, Ryazan was burned.
Soon after the army returned from the banks of the Oka, Vsevolod sent his sons on a campaign against Novgorod to prevent Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny (Udaly) from becoming a prince there. The campaign ended with negotiations, and the Novgorodians achieved their goal - Prince Udat sat down on the Novgorod table.
After the death of his father, Yaroslav, who received Pereyaslavl Zalessky as an inheritance, supported Yuri in the strife against his older brother Konstantin. At first, the fighting was conducted without much bitterness and was interspersed with truces, until a bloody battle broke out near Rostov, which somewhat sobered the Vsevolodovichs.
However, in the same year, 1215, Mr. Veliky Novgorod called Yaroslav Vsevolodovich to reign. The new prince (together with his brother Svyatoslav) began to rule with unusual authority and harshness, even cruelty, and in material (fiscal) terms he oppressed worse than his own subjects.
Unrest arose, which ended with the “head of the administration” - mayor Yakov Zubolomich - being arrested and, chained “in iron”, sent to Tver. Of course, Yaroslav would hardly have been able to sit in free Novgorod after this, and he, leaving the city, stood in Torzhok, blocking the supply of bread from the “Nizovsky land”.
Hunger began. Twice Novgorod dispatched “the best men” for negotiations, but they only replenished the number of hostages sent to Pereyaslavl, where they were treated rather harshly. This continued until Mstislav Udatny came out on the side of the townspeople.
This conflict overlapped with the Vladimir strife. The illustrious commander, finding himself in Novgorod, entered into an alliance with Constantine and, having enlisted the support of warlike brothers from Pskov and Smolensk, convened the Novgorod militia, eager to settle accounts with Yaroslav. In response, the Vsevolodovichs gathered a huge army, which, in addition to squads and militias of the Upper Volga and Opolye, included detachments of Murom vassals, as well as steppe vagabonds of half-Turks - “wanderers”, that is, Cossacks1. In addition to collecting the rural militia, which had not been practiced in these relatively calm regions for a very long time, even slaves were put into service.
In March the vanguards clashed. Mstislav's governor Yarun (under Kalka he would also command the vanguard of his prince), having occupied the town of Rzhevka, fought off Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, after which Udatny occupied Zubtsov and from here sent people to Yaroslav in Torzhok, trying to negotiate peace. He rejected the negotiations in arrogant and defiant terms, and began setting up impassable abatis (“Ouchinisha Tver”) on the road to Novgorod and even along the Tvertsa River.
The Novgorodians offered the princes another route to Tver, where Yarun again distinguished himself by defeating Yaroslav’s “watchman” (combat guard). Then the Allies ravaged the entire upper Volga region with the cities of Ksnyatin, Dubna and Shosha. Having united with Konstantin, they came to Pereyaslavl, but Yaroslav was not in the city.
Finally, in mid-April 1216, countless armies concentrated on the hilly fields near Yuryev Polsky, on the Lipitsa River. The flower of the Russian army gathered here. As part of the squad, or, as they recently began to say, the “court” of Mstislav Udatny, there were “very brave men and great heroes, like lions and like bears, who could not hear wounds on themselves.” Among them stood out “two brave men, Dobrynya the Golden Belt and Alexander Popovich with his servant Torop, glorious heroes”2.
These were our first nobles - “court servants”. However, at the same time, in relation to the low-born part of the “court”, as opposed to the boyars, the ancient term “men” came into use again.
The Vladimir princes camped on Avdova Mountain, a steep slope facing the valley of the Tuneg stream. Beyond the stream, the gently sloping Yuryeva Mountain began. On it, regiments of Novgorodians, Rostovians, Smolensk and Pskovians lined up for battle.
The noble Mstislav, to whom Constantine ceded leadership in the coalition, tried to end the matter peacefully, but received an arrogant refusal. In the juicy ancient Russian ambassador it was stated: “They naturally went far and came out, like fish to dry land.” It is possible that these words belong to Yaroslav as the most lively among the brothers. Nevertheless, the Vsevolodovichs were not going to attack. They surrounded their camp along the edges of the cliff with fences and stakes and refused to leave it. Here the features of a specifically Russian (north-eastern) military art began to appear - a preference for defense in a fortified position over active attacking actions.
It is also felt that there was no strong-willed leader among the brothers. Yuri was not suitable for this role, and Yaroslav was not suitable for his age. This circumstance, however, did not stop the Suzdal boyars from drunkenly boasting that they would “throw saddles at their opponents.”
The cold, gloomy and rainy day of April 20 passed in small skirmishes, skirmishes and altercations. The coalition troops attacked sluggishly with small forces - rather, they carried out reconnaissance in force: Mstislav Mstislavich felt for weak points in the enemy’s defense, which subsequently allowed him to make effective decisions.
It was decided to deliver the main blow by detachments of Novgorodians with the support of Smolensk on the right flank of Vsevolodovichi, where the banners of Yaroslav’s consolidated regiment stood. It was also true psychologically - to pit the Novgorodians against him, who were burning with the desire to take revenge for the famine, the extortions, and the “insult” of the ambassadors. Mstislav brilliantly managed to turn the enemy's strength - the security of the position and superiority in numbers - into his weakness. By concentrating the troops along the edges of the horseshoe-shaped cliff and placing the convoy in the center, the Vsevolodovichs deprived themselves of the opportunity to maneuver. The Vladimir-Suzdal squads could now be beaten one by one, concentrating selected units in the chosen direction3.
The next morning, Mstislav, having “organized the regiments,” inspired them with a fiery speech. The Novgorodians, according to the custom of their grandfathers, preferred to go into battle on foot. The Smolensk people also dismounted. Having overcome a swampy stream valley overgrown with bushes, under a hail of arrows they climbed a steep slope and struck at the Yaroslavl warriors. They managed to somewhat push Yaroslav away from the edge of the mountain. One of his seventeen banners was cut down. However, the townspeople, Murom residents and Brodniks subordinate to Yaroslav continued to desperately resist. The noise of the battle carried far away - in Yuryev, several miles away, they heard “the cry of the living and the howling of the perforated.”
Mstislav sent the Smolensk cavalry of the governor Ivor Mikhailovich to help the Novgorodians. On rough terrain, the cavalry could not take advantage of its advantages; it only further pushed back Yaroslav’s regiment. Another of his banners fell. But this did not bring the desired turning point. The battle became protracted. Then Mstislav led the best forces - his “yard” - into the attack.
The “brave men” clad in steel, walking over the bodies of the Pereyaslav and Murom warriors, “reaped like ears of corn” from the militia farmers. Mstislav with an ax and Alexander Popovich with a sword made bloody clearings in their ranks and, colliding near the enemy’s carts, almost killed each other. In the end, Yaroslav’s regiment could not stand it and “flew away,” dooming the regiments of Yuri, Svyatoslav and Ivan Vsevolodovich, who continued to hold their positions, to extermination.
The battle turned into a beating. No prisoners were taken. Those running died under swords and arrows, and drowned wounded in rivers. Rus' lost more than nine thousand of its sons on that terrible day.
The Vsevolodovichs fled from the battlefield in different directions. Yuri a few hours later found himself under the walls of Vladimir. Yaroslav, having driven four horses, rushed to his Pereyaslavl on the fifth and, burning with revenge, ordered the Smolensk and Novgorod merchants to be seized. Many of them, thrown into a cramped prison, suffocated there.
The winners approached Vladimir and placed Konstantin on his father’s table (Yuri went to the Volga, to the small town of Radilov), after which they moved to Pereyaslavl, where Yaroslav tried to sit out, “still being in anger and breathing anger.” To save his estate from ruin, he had to go to meet his older brother and ask him for forgiveness and protection from Mstislav. Tents were pitched in front of the city; Yaroslav treated and presented gifts to the “dear guests.” Mstislav, having accepted the gifts, sent people to the city, freed the surviving Novgorodians and Smolensk residents and took the Yaroslav princess - his daughter. Yaroslav repented many times (“in truth, the cross killed me”) and begged to let at least the princess go, but in vain. For about three years Mstislav did not return her to her husband, forcing Vsevolodovich to humble his pride with humiliation. Pereyaslavl remained untouched mainly thanks to the intercession of Constantine.
Meanwhile, Novgorod surrendered one position after another in Estonia, which was once subject to it, especially after the departure of Mstislav Udatny from there. To fight the Order4, one’s own forces were not enough, and in 1221 Yaroslav again became the Prince of Novgorod. He was, undoubtedly, a different person who had experienced a lot and changed his mind. A new stage begins in his military and political career. Fate entrusted Yaroslav Vsevolodovich to lead the defense of the northwestern borders of the country against the expansion of Catholicism. Soon after arriving in Novgorod, he set out on a campaign with an army of twenty thousand and besieged Wenden, the residence of the Master of the Order. It was not possible to take the stone castle - there was no necessary experience for this. I had to return - albeit with a lot of booty.
The following year, a powerful anti-Catholic uprising broke out throughout Estonia. Messengers were sent to Novgorod asking for help. Help was hastily collected and sent, but it turned out to be insufficient. The entire first half of 1223 was spent in battles. The brother knights pushed back the Baltic pagans and their Orthodox allies. Only towards the end of August did the grand ducal regiments finally arrive in Novgorod, who had probably gone on a campaign against Kalka before, but were late and therefore survived. The united army under the command of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich entered Estonia.
Yaroslav strengthened the garrison of Yuryev and took Odenpe, the most important Estonian fortress, which had already been captured by the Order by that time. Initially, it was planned to go to Riga - the residence of the bishop and the center of German influence in the Baltic states, but the Ezelian ambassadors persuaded the Novgorodians to first take Revel and put an end to the Danes. For four weeks, the Russian army, suffering significant losses from stone throwers, besieged Revel, but to no avail. The Novgorodians retreated: Yaroslav was too preoccupied with the situation that had developed in Rus' after the Battle of Kalka, and he hurried home, abandoning his allies. Soon after his return, he left Novgorod.
In the winter of 1225, a new disaster struck Rus', which had just survived the Kalka catastrophe. The power that had long been accumulating in the Neman forests and had been troubling the most far-sighted Russian princes for decades finally spilled out. “The army is very great, but it has not been from the beginning of the world,” the Novgorod chronicler commented on the invasion of the Lithuanian horde into the very center of Rus': horsemen in animal skins on small skates raced along deserted watersheds, quickly covering vast distances. Having flooded the entire region from Polotsk to Novgorod and Toropets, they were already intercepting merchants on the roads near Smolensk!
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich hastened from Pereyaslavl to help the Smolensk people. He was joined by Torop residents, Novotorzh residents and part of the Novgorod residents. The Lithuanians were overtaken near Usvyat. They lined up in battle formation on the ice of the lake and put up fierce resistance. Having cut into the Lithuanian ranks, the first to fall were Vasily, the sword-bearer of Yaroslav, and the Toropets prince Davyd, the nephew of Mstislav Udatny. But the enemy was defeated. Lithuanian losses amounted to two thousand killed and captured. Their princes were captured.
This victory, of course, greatly increased the authority of the Pereyaslav prince. The Novgorodians again began to invite him to their table. Returning in 1226, Yaroslav immediately planned a campaign against Riga with the goal of destroying Catholic influence in the Baltic states. However, he failed to implement this plan. The march to Riga, which had already become a prominent intermediary center of Baltic trade, was not supported either in Novgorod or Pskov. The trade interests of not only the boyar groups, but also the broad merchant and artisan strata, who sought peace at any cost, had long suffered from wars.
Instead of Riga, in the winter of 1227, Yaroslav led the Novgorodians to em - to the “land of darkness”. Hikes to the land of Emi were occasionally made before, but not in winter, through Finnish forests covered with a meter-thick layer of snow, where “it was not possible for the Russian princes to visit and the whole land was captured by them.” The Russians got rich booty, and the threat to Karelia from Sweden was eliminated. The chronicler was especially pleased that “everyone returned healthy.”
The following year, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich quarreled with the Novgorodians. Now - because of his desire to subjugate Pskov. Having left the city, he left two sons here - Fyodor and Alexander, and soon took part in Yuri Vsevolodovich’s campaign against the Mordovians, after which he captured Volok and, as in his youth, began to threaten the free city with famine, throwing the arriving ambassadors into prison.
Meanwhile, the state of affairs in the Baltic states forced the Novgorodians to once again turn to the Pereyaslavl prince for military assistance as the most powerful ruler and experienced commander. There was practically no choice: inviting another candidate threatened an inevitable war not only with Yaroslav, but also with the entire Vladimir “brotherhood” and their vassals from Ryazan and Murom. In addition, the Chernigov princes were mired deeper and deeper in the southern Russian political “mouse race” around Galicia and the completely decrepit Kyiv, and Smolensk established such close trade ties with Riga that it became doubtful as an ally against the Germans. In addition, Lithuania, which was growing stronger every day and had almost completely crushed the exhausted Polotsk, took away all the attention and strength of the local princes. Lithuania also ravaged the Novgorod volosts (in 1229 - Lobnya, Moreva, Seliger). Yaroslav turned out to be simply irreplaceable as the guarantor of the most powerful - Vladimir support in the fight against the Order and the young raging people.
So in 1230, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich again returned to the “city of his dreams.”
The war of the Novgorodians against the Order resumed in 1233. The German knights, having captured Yuriev in 1224, and with it eastern Estonia, were not going to stop there - they captured Izborsk and staged a raid on Tesovo near Novgorod. The prisoners were put in prison, and a ransom was demanded for them. The Pskovites returned Izborsk and were now eager to get even.
A year later, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich brought his regiments from Pereyaslavl to Novgorod and, “having combined forces,” entered the Peipsi land. His son Alexander, the future Nevsky, most likely also took part in this campaign. Yaroslav's army encountered German patrols and stopped before reaching Yuryev. Information soon received about the approaching enemy forced the Russians to come forward to meet them.
The battle took place on the ice of the Embakh River - “on Omyvzha”, under the walls of Yuryev-Dorpt. The "Great Pig" - a column of heavy cavalry, crowded in front of the Russian formation, "broke off" under the ice "and trampled a lot of them." The surviving Teutons fled to the city and locked themselves in it. Yaroslav did not starve the knights; they were not the main danger at that moment, and therefore the prince made peace with them “in all his truth,” forcing Yuryev and the region to henceforth pay an annual tribute, which symbolized the supreme power of Novgorod over Eastern Estonia.
In 1234, the Lithuanians attacked Rusa and captured the settlement, but were repulsed by the local feudal militia (“Gridba”, “Ognishchane”) and armed merchants. Having robbed a nearby monastery, the raiders retreated. Prince Yaroslav with the mounted Novgorodians caught up with them “at Dubrovna”, in the Toropetsk volost, and scattered them, losing ten people.
In 1236, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, at the request of Daniil of Galitsky and his brother Yuri, took the Kiev table and nominally became the Grand Duke, without making absolutely any effort. But it seems that he did not show himself in any way in the south. Obviously, all his interests and passions remained connected with Novgorod, where his son Alexander reigned for him.
With a great deal of confidence, although without direct indications in the sources, we can assume that in February-March of the fateful year 1237, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich was in Novgorod and organized its defense in the Vladimir direction. Why didn’t he respond to his brother’s call and help Yuri out either in the City or earlier? Apparently, before the Ryazan tragedy, the Vladimir Grand Duke relied on his own strength, and after the fall of Vladimir, the Novgorodians did not allow Yaroslav to dispose of the zemstvo militia. Having assessed the scale of the invasion and realizing that the time to unite forces had been lost, in Novgorod they decided to defend their land, having been spotted on the Seliger road. Going to the rescue of Torzhok further meant putting the fate of one’s fatherland on the line. One can imagine how eager the Pereyaslav warriors were to defend their homes (let us add to this that Tver was defended by one of Yaroslav’s sons, whose name is unknown, who died during the capture of the city in February), but the appearance of Novgorod forces in the “Nizovskaya land” in conditions when the best its troops had already died near Kolomna and in Vladimir, it would hardly have changed anything. As a result, cruel expediency won.
Why didn’t the Novgorod prince come to the rescue in December-January? Didn't have time to return to Novgorod from Kyiv? The chronicles, “cleaned up” and more than once edited during the years of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, do not tell us anything about the actions of Yaroslav - probably for fear of compromising him in the eyes of the winner and overlord. One thing is indisputable: any personal motives could not be decisive in this case. The relationship between Yaroslav and Yuri Vsevolodovich, although it worsened in the thirties (it came to open strife in 1232, however, without bloodshed), was not enough to prevent the Novgorod prince from coming to the aid of his fatherland in a time of terrible trouble.
In the spring, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich returned to the ashes of the capital city. The ruins of Vladimir were still littered with thousands of corpses, and the first concern was to collect and bury them. Residents hiding in the forests began to return for the prince. Axes clattered on new buildings.
The respite did not last long. The following year, the Lithuanians attacked again, ravaging most of the principality and threatening Smolensk. Yaroslav rushed there with all his available forces and unblocked the city, but at that time Murom blazed behind the forests with a huge fire - there was no one to repel the Tatar raid. From the Oka, the Tatars moved to Nizhnyaya Klyazma, swept through the surviving volosts east of Vladimir with fire and sword and took Gorokhovets. The population fled in horror, not thinking about resistance.
In 1243, Batu demanded Yaroslav Vsevolodovich to his new capital on the Volga. He arrived in Sarai, and his son Constantine had to be sent to Karakorum. The new ruler of the Russian Land met his vassal with honor and mercifully released him, issuing a label for the reign of Vladimir.
In 1245, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich was forced to go to the Horde a second time. Now he himself had to leave Sarai for the Far East. He experienced “a lot of languor” there. There was an intrigue against the old prince with the participation of his close boyar Fyodor Yarunovich. At the feast before leaving, the prince accepted a cup of poison from the hands of the khansha and set off on the return journey, already sick. On September 30, 1246, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich died on the road, “lay down his soul for his friends and for the Russian land.” His body was brought to Vladimir and buried in the Assumption Cathedral.
This is how the father and forerunner of Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky lived and died.
1. “Cossack” in Turkic means not only “rider”, “light cavalry warrior”, but also “tramp”.
Considering the habit of our chroniclers to write foreign terms in Russian, it can be assumed that the Brodniks called themselves in Kipchak - “Cossacks”.
There is a well-founded hypothesis: the wanderers lived on the Danube, and their very name means a person leading an aquatic lifestyle. But in this case, it is difficult to imagine that the inhabitants of the extreme South-West would get so far - to the opposite edge of Rus'. These were probably residents of the Middle Don region - the so-called Chervleny Yar.
2. Tver collection. Source of the 15th century. PSRL. T.7. P.70. Here on p. 72 Dobrynya is named Ryazanich, and another outstanding warrior is mentioned with him - Savely Dikun.
3. The so-called "Epaminondas principle": "uneven distribution of forces along the front", otherwise - "massage of forces in the direction of the main attack."
4. Order of the Sword. From 1188 to 1237 it was called the "Brotherhood of Christ's Soldiers" ("Fratris milites Dei"). In the spring of 1237, united with the Prussian Order of the Virgin Mary under the name Teutonic. Since the 16th century - the Livonian Order.
Alexander Nevsky will always attract the attention of historians. His personality still causes fierce debate: some argue that Nevsky’s victories - both military and diplomatic - were of great importance for Rus'. Others believe that the Grand Duke should not have humbled himself before the Golden Horde - he should have fought it.
Be that as it may, the reign of Grand Duke Alexander left a significant mark on Russian history.
The future commander was born in 1220, and the throne of the Grand Duke went to him only in 1252. By this time, the prince who owned the Novgorod lands was already a matured and battle-hardened man. He already bore the nickname Nevsky - for the battle in 1240 on the Neva, when the Russian army under his command brilliantly defeated the Swedish fleet that threatened the borders of his native land.
Another 2 years later, the Battle of Lake Peipus took place (aka the Battle of the Ice): the knights of the Teutonic Order were defeated by the young Novgorod prince Alexander.
In total, Alexander Nevsky fought 12 battles, without losing a single one. By the time he took the Grand Duke's throne, his military talents were already known to the Russians. It soon became clear: the prince has considerable diplomatic skills and knows how to calculate any situation several steps ahead.
Alexander understood perfectly well that the forces of the Russian principalities did not correspond to the power of the Golden Horde. This is not the time to go to war against the khans, trying to throw off the hated yoke! However, it is possible to alleviate the situation of the native lands by reaching peace agreements with the khans.
In addition, it was necessary to strengthen the position of Rus' in the west. In the 50s and early 60s. In the 13th century, Alexander concluded a number of peace treaties: in 1253 - with the Germans, in 1254 - with the Norwegians, in 1264 - with the Lithuanians (and the latter also secured favorable terms of trade).
Meanwhile, relations with the Horde were heating up. Khan Berke, who had just sat on the throne, decided to increase the tribute imposed on Rus' and began a new census. This caused waves of protest, and Novgorod, where Nevsky’s son Vasily was imprisoned, was especially indignant. Vasily did not want to obey his father, he wanted to resist the Horde. Alexander Nevsky captured and imprisoned his son, and the boyars executed him. Then he had to travel to the Horde to beg forgiveness for rebellious Rus', to make amends for the brewing conflict and to prevent a new invasion of the Horde. Alexander did even more: he achieved the right for the Russian princes to collect tribute themselves.
Berke kept Alexander in the Horde for more than a year. The Russian Grand Duke fell ill there. He returned home already very ill and had a presentiment of his death. The prince died in Gorodets in 1263, having accepted the schema.
The Orthodox Church canonized Alexander Nevsky. He is worshiped as a saint. Peter I transferred his relics to the specially built Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg. If you are there, bow to the relics of the great Alexander Nevsky: no matter what spiteful critics say, his role in the creation of a strong Russian principality, preparing to throw off the Horde yoke, was truly enormous.
Brief information about Alexander Nevsky.
