Date of the Battle of Kulikovo and its significance in history. Progress of the Battle of Kulikovo

It is not known to all schoolchildren, but this battle is an important event in the history of Rus'. It largely determined the fate of our state and became the beginning of the liberation of the Russian people from the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

Background of the battle

The growing power of the Moscow Principality, its growing authority and the refusal to pay tribute to the Golden Horde were the main reasons why the Battle of Kulikovo began. The date of this battle is 1380. This massacre became one of the largest in the history of the Middle Ages. More than 100 thousand soldiers gathered on the battlefield.

The threshold of the massacre

The date of the Battle of Kulikovo is 1380, in the fall of which the main forces of Mamai began to cross the Volga, slowly moving towards the Oka River, where their meeting with the allies was to take place. Russian troops concentrated on Kolomna. On September 6 they reached the Don, at night they moved to the other bank and began to prepare for battle.

Fighting

The date of the Battle of Kulikovo is not just numbers, because people who defended their Motherland at the cost of their lives took part in this battle. Russian soldiers were lined up in the traditional three-line order. The Guard Regiment was the vanguard of this formation, behind it was the Advance Regiment, and the Big Regiment was placed in the center, the flanks of which were covered by the regiments of the Right and Left Hands. Trying to predict the course of the battle, the Russian commanders left the Left Hand Zasadny regiment, which consisted of the best cavalry squads, on the eastern side. Mamai's troops were also located in linear order. They had infantry in the center, and cavalry and mercenaries on the flanks.

It is known that the date of the Battle of Kulikovo fell in the autumn of 1380. On the morning of 11 o'clock on September 8, the battle itself began. The first to attack were the Horde cavalry and infantry. After the first onslaught of the enemy, the Russians suffered huge losses and retreated to their main forces. At first, ours suffered considerable losses; the Left Hand regiment was practically defeated. Then there was a real threat of encirclement and direct destruction of Russian troops, but the battle took the people of the Golden Horde by surprise.

The Battle of Kulikovo is an important event in the history of our country, which once again proved the inflexibility of the Russian people. On the 500th anniversary of this battle, in the village of Monastyrshchina, in memory of the fallen soldiers, a stone temple was erected in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.

BATTLE OF KULIKOVO- the battle of Russian regiments led by the Grand Duke of Moscow and Vladimir Dmitry Ivanovich and the Horde army under the command of Khan Mamai on September 8, 1380 on the Kulikovo field (on the right bank of the Don, in the area where the Nepryadva River flows into it), a turning point in the struggle of the Russian people against the yoke Golden Horde.

After the defeat of the Golden Horde troops on the Vozha River in 1378, the Horde temnik (the military leader who commanded the “darkness”, that is, 10,000 troops), chosen by the khan, named Mamai, decided to break the Russian princes and increase their dependence on the Horde. In the summer of 1380 he gathered an army numbering approx. 100–150 thousand warriors. In addition to the Tatars and Mongols, there were detachments of Ossetians, Armenians, Genoese living in the Crimea, Circassians, and a number of other peoples. The Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello agreed to be an ally of Mamai, whose army was supposed to support the Horde, moving along the Oka. Another ally of Mamai - according to a number of chronicles - was the Ryazan prince Oleg Ivanovich. According to other chronicles, Oleg Ivanovich only verbally expressed his readiness to ally, promising Mamai to fight on the side of the Tatars, but he himself immediately warned the Russian army about the threatening union of Mamai and Jagiello.

At the end of July 1380, having learned about the intentions of the Horde and Lithuanians to fight with Russia, the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich made an appeal for the gathering of Russian military forces in the capital and Kolomna, and soon gathered an army slightly smaller than Mamai’s army. Mostly it consisted of Muscovites and warriors from lands that recognized the power of the Moscow prince, although a number of lands loyal to Moscow - Novogorod, Smolensk, Nizhny Novgorod - did not express their readiness to support Dmitry. The main rival of the Prince of Moscow, the Prince of Tver, did not give his “wars”. The military reform carried out by Dmitry, having strengthened the core of the Russian army at the expense of the princely cavalry, gave access to the number of warriors to numerous artisans and townspeople who made up the “heavy infantry”. The foot warriors, by order of the commander, were armed with spears with narrow-leaved triangular tips, tightly mounted on long strong shafts, or with metal spears with dagger-shaped tips. Against the foot soldiers of the Horde (of which there were few), Russian warriors had sabers, and for long-range combat they were provided with bows, knobby helmets, metal ears and chain mail aventails (shoulder collars), the warrior’s chest was covered with scaly, plate or stacked armor, combined with chain mail . The old almond-shaped shields were replaced by round, triangular, rectangular and heart-shaped shields.

Dmitry's campaign plan was to prevent Khan Mamai from connecting with an ally or allies, to force him to cross the Oka, or to do it themselves, unexpectedly going out to meet the enemy. Dmitry received a blessing to fulfill his plan from Abbot Sergius of the Radonezh Monastery. Sergius predicted victory for the prince and, according to legend, sent with him “to battle” two monks of his monastery - Peresvet and Oslyabya.

From Kolomna, where Dmitry’s army of thousands had gathered, at the end of August he gave the order to move south. The rapid march of Russian troops (about 200 km in 11 days) did not allow the enemy forces to unite.

On the night of August 7–8, having crossed the Don River from the left to the right bank along floating bridges made of logs and having destroyed the crossing, the Russians reached the Kulikovo Field. The Russian rear was covered by the river - a tactical maneuver that opened a new page in Russian military tactics. Prince Dmitry rather riskily cut off his possible retreat routes, but at the same time he covered his army from the flanks with rivers and deep ravines, making it difficult for the Horde cavalry to carry out outflanking maneuvers. Dictating his terms of battle to Mamai, the prince positioned the Russian troops in echelon: in front stood the Advance Regiment (under the command of the Vsevolzh princes Dmitry and Vladimir), behind him was the Greater Foot Army (commander Timofey Velyaminov), the right and left flanks were covered by the cavalry regiments of the “right hand” "(commander - Kolomna thousand Mikula Velyaminova, brother of Timofey) and "left hand" (commander - Lithuanian prince Andrei Olgerdovich). Behind this main army stood a reserve - light cavalry (commander - Andrei's brother, Dmitry Olgerdovich). She was supposed to meet the Horde with arrows. In a dense oak grove, Dmitry ordered the reserve Zasadny floor to be located under the command of Dmitry’s cousin, Serpukhov prince Vladimir Andreevich, who after the battle received the nickname Brave, as well as an experienced military commander, boyar Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky. The Moscow prince tried to force the Horde, whose first line was always cavalry, and the second - infantry, to a frontal attack.

The battle began on the morning of September 8 with a duel of heroes. From the Russian side, Alexander Peresvet, a monk of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, was put up for the duel, before he was tonsured - a Bryansk (according to another version, Lyubech) boyar. His opponent turned out to be the Tatar hero Temir-Murza (Chelubey). The warriors simultaneously thrust their spears into each other: this foreshadowed great bloodshed and a long battle. As soon as Chelubey fell from the saddle, the Horde cavalry moved into battle and quickly crushed the Advanced Regiment. Further onslaught of the Mongol-Tatars in the center was delayed by the deployment of the Russian reserve. Mamai transferred the main blow to the left flank and began to press back the Russian regiments there. The situation was saved by the Ambush Regiment of Serpukhov Prince Vladimir Andeevich, who emerged from the oak grove, struck the rear and flank of the Horde cavalry and decided the outcome of the battle.

It is believed that Mamaev’s army was defeated in four hours (if the battle lasted from eleven to two o’clock in the afternoon). Russian soldiers pursued its remnants to the Krasivaya Mecha River (50 km above the Kulikovo Field); The Horde Headquarters was also captured there. Mamai managed to escape; Jagiello, having learned of his defeat, also hastily turned back.

The losses of both sides in the Battle of Kulikovo were enormous. The dead (both Russians and Horde) were buried for 8 days. 12 Russian princes and 483 boyars (60% of the command staff of the Russian army) fell in the battle. Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, who participated in the battle on the front line as part of the Big Regiment, was wounded during the battle, but survived and later received the nickname “Donskoy”.

The Battle of Kulikovo instilled confidence in the possibility of victory over the Horde. The defeat on the Kulikovo Field accelerated the process of political fragmentation of the Golden Horde into uluses. For two years after the victory on the Kulikovo field, Rus' did not pay tribute to the Horde, which marked the beginning of the liberation of the Russian people from the Horde yoke, the growth of their self-awareness and the self-awareness of other peoples who were under the yoke of the Horde, and strengthened the role of Moscow as the center of the unification of Russian lands into a single state.

The memory of the Battle of Kulikovo was preserved in historical songs, epics, stories Zadonshchina, The Legend of the Massacre of Mamayev, etc.). Created in the 90s of the 14th - first half of the 15th centuries. following the chronicle stories, the Legend of the Massacre of Mamayev is the most complete coverage of the events of September 1380. More than 100 copies of the Legend are known, from the 16th to the 19th centuries, which have survived in 4 main editions (Basic, Distributed, Chronicle and Cyprian). The widespread one contains a detailed account of the events of the Battle of Kulikovo, which are not found in other monuments, starting with the prehistory (the embassy of Zakhary Tyutchev to the Horde with gifts in order to prevent bloody events) and about the battle itself (participation in it of the Novgorod regiments, etc.). Only the Legend preserved information about the number of Mamai’s troops, descriptions of preparations for the campaign (“harnessing”) of Russian regiments, details of their route to the Kulikovo Field, features of the deployment of Russian troops, a list of princes and governors who took part in the battle.

The Cyprian edition highlights the role of Metropolitan Cyprian, in it the Lithuanian prince Jagiello is named as Mamai’s ally (as it actually was). The Legend contains a lot of didactic church literature: both in the story about the trip of Dmitry and his brother Vladimir to St. Sergei of Rodonezh for a blessing, and about the prayers of Dmitry’s wife Evdokia, by which the prince himself and their children were “saved,” and what was said in the mouth of the governor Dmitry Bobrok - Volynets contains the words that “the cross is the main weapon”, and that the Moscow prince “carries out a good deed”, which is guided by God, and Mamai - darkness and evil, behind which stands the devil. This motif runs through all the lists of the Legend, in which Prince Dmitry is endowed with many positive characteristics (wisdom, courage, courage, military talent, courage, etc.).

The folklore basis of the Legend enhances the impression of the description of the battle, presenting an episode of single combat before the start of the battle between Peresvet and Chelubey, a picture of Dmitry dressing up in the clothes of a simple warrior and handing over his armor to the governor Mikhail Brenk, as well as the exploits of the governor, boyars, ordinary warriors (Yurka the shoemaker, etc. ). The Legend also contains poetics: a comparison of Russian warriors with falcons and gyrfalcons, a description of pictures of nature, episodes of farewells to soldiers leaving Moscow for the battle site with their wives.

In 1807, the Legend was used by the Russian playwright V.A. Ozerov when writing the tragedy Dmitry Donskoy.

The first monument to the heroes of the Kulikovo battle was the church on the Kulikovo field, assembled shortly after the battle from the oak trees of the Green Oak Forest, where the regiment of Prince Vladimir Andreevich was hidden in ambush. In Moscow, in honor of the events of 1380, the Church of All Saints on Kulichiki (now located next to the modern Kitay-Gorod metro station), as well as the Mother of God Nativity Monastery, which in those days gave shelter to widows and orphans of warriors who died in the Battle of Kulikovo, were built. On the Red Hill of Kulikovo Field in 1848, a 28-meter cast-iron column was built - a monument in honor of the victory of Dmitry Donskoy over the Golden Horde (architect A.P. Bryullov, brother of the painter). In 1913–1918, a temple was built on the Kulikovo Field in the name of St. Sergei Radonezhsky.

The Battle of Kulikovo was also reflected in the paintings of O. Kiprensky - Prince Donskoy after the Battle of Kulikovo, Morning on the Kulikovo Field, M. Avilov - The Duel of Peresvet and Chelubey, etc. The theme of the glory of Russian weapons in the 14th century. represented by Yu. Shaporin's cantata On the Kulikovo field. The 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo was widely celebrated. In 2002, the Order “For Service to the Fatherland” was established in memory of St. V. book Dmitry Donskoy and Venerable Abbot Sergius of Radonezh. Attempts to prevent the declaration of the day of the Battle of Kulikovo as the day of glory of Russian weapons, which came in the 1990s from a group of Tatar historians who motivated their actions with the desire to prevent the formation of an “enemy image,” were categorically rejected by the President of Tatarstan M. Shaimiev, who emphasized that Russians and Tatars have long “gathered in a single Fatherland and they must mutually respect the pages of the history of the military glory of peoples.”

In Russian church history, the victory on the Kulikovo Field began to be celebrated over time simultaneously with the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated annually on September 21 (September 8, old style).

Lev Pushkarev, Natalya Pushkareva

Battle of Kulikovo (Mamaevo Massacre), a battle between the united Russian army led by the Moscow Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and the army of the temnik of the Golden Horde Mamai, which took place on September 8, 1380 on the Kulikovo field (a historical area between the Don, Nepryadva and Krasivaya Mecha rivers in the south- east of the Tula region.

Strengthening the Moscow Principality in the 60s of the 14th century. and the unification around him of the remaining lands of North-Eastern Rus' occurred almost simultaneously with the strengthening of the power of the temnik Mamai in the Golden Horde. Married to the daughter of the Golden Horde Khan Berdibek, he received the title of emir and became the arbiter of the destinies of that part of the Horde, which was located west of the Volga to the Dnieper and in the steppe expanses of the Crimea and Ciscaucasia.

Militia of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich in 1380 Lubok, 17th century.

In 1374, Moscow Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, who also had a label for the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, refused to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. Then the khan in 1375 transferred the label to the great reign of Tver. But virtually the entire North-Eastern Rus' opposed Mikhail Tverskoy. The Moscow prince organized a military campaign against the Tver principality, which was joined by Yaroslavl, Rostov, Suzdal and regiments of other principalities. Novgorod the Great also supported Dmitry. Tver capitulated. According to the concluded agreement, the Vladimir table was recognized as the “fatherland” of the Moscow princes, and Mikhail Tverskoy became Dmitry’s vassal.

However, the ambitious Mamai continued to consider the defeat of the Moscow principality, which had escaped subordination, as the main factor in strengthening his own positions in the Horde. In 1376, the Khan of the Blue Horde, Arab Shah Muzzaffar (Arapsha of Russian chronicles), who went over to the service of Mamai, ravaged the Novosilsk principality, but returned back, avoiding a battle with the Moscow army that had gone beyond the Oka border. In 1377 he was on the river. It was not the Moscow-Suzdal army that defeated Pian. The governors sent against the Horde showed carelessness, for which they paid: “And their princes, and boyars, and nobles, and governors, consoling and having fun, drinking and fishing, imagining the existence of the house,” and then ruined the Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan principalities.

In 1378, Mamai, trying to force him to pay tribute again, sent an army led by Murza Begich to Rus'. The Russian regiments that came out to meet were led by Dmitry Ivanovich himself. The battle took place on August 11, 1378 in Ryazan land, on a tributary of the Oka river. Vozhe. The Horde were completely defeated and fled. The Battle of Vozha showed the increased power of the Russian state emerging around Moscow.

Mamai attracted armed detachments from the conquered peoples of the Volga region and the North Caucasus to participate in the new campaign; his army also included heavily armed infantrymen from the Genoese colonies in the Crimea. The Horde's allies were the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello and the Ryazan Prince Oleg Ivanovich. However, these allies were on their own: Jagiello did not want to strengthen either the Horde or the Russian side, and as a result, his troops never appeared on the battlefield; Oleg Ryazansky entered into an alliance with Mamai, fearing for the fate of his border principality, but he was the first to inform Dmitry about the advance of the Horde troops and did not participate in the battle.

In the summer of 1380 Mamai began his campaign. Not far from the place where the Voronezh River flows into the Don, the Horde set up their camps and, wandering, awaited news from Jagiello and Oleg.

In the terrible hour of danger hanging over the Russian land, Prince Dmitry showed exceptional energy in organizing resistance to the Golden Horde. At his call, military detachments and militias of peasants and townspeople began to gather. All of Rus' rose up to fight the enemy. The gathering of Russian troops was appointed in Kolomna, where the core of the Russian army set out from Moscow. The court of Dmitry himself, the regiments of his cousin Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky and the regiments of the Belozersk, Yaroslavl and Rostov princes walked separately along different roads. The regiments of the Olgerdovich brothers (Andrei Polotsky and Dmitry Bryansky, the Jagiello brothers) also moved to join the troops of Dmitry Ivanovich. The brothers' army included Lithuanians, Belarusians and Ukrainians; citizens of Polotsk, Drutsk, Bryansk and Pskov.

After the troops arrived in Kolomna, a review was held. The assembled army on the Maiden Field was striking in its numbers. The gathering of troops in Kolomna had not only military, but also political significance. The Ryazan prince Oleg finally got rid of his hesitations and abandoned the idea of ​​​​joining the troops of Mamai and Jagiello. A marching battle formation was formed in Kolomna: Prince Dmitry led the Big Regiment; Serpukhov Prince Vladimir Andreevich with the Yaroslavl people - the regiment of the Right Hand; Gleb Bryansky was appointed commander of the Left Hand regiment; The leading regiment was made up of Kolomna residents.

Saint Sergius of Radonezh blesses Saint Prince Demetrius Donskoy.
Artist S.B. Simakov. 1988

On August 20, the Russian army set out from Kolomna on a campaign: it was important to block the path of Mamai’s hordes as soon as possible. On the eve of the campaign, Dmitry Ivanovich visited Sergius of Radonezh at the Trinity Monastery. After the conversation, the prince and the abbot went out to the people. Having made the sign of the cross over the prince, Sergius exclaimed: “Go, sir, against the filthy Polovtsians, calling on God, and the Lord God will be your helper and intercessor.” Blessing the prince, Sergius predicted victory for him, albeit at a high price, and sent two of his monks, Peresvet and Oslyabya, on the campaign.

The entire campaign of the Russian army to the Oka was carried out in a relatively short time. The distance from Moscow to Kolomna is about 100 km; the troops covered it in 4 days. They arrived at the mouth of Lopasnya on August 26. Ahead there was a guard guard, which had the task of protecting the main forces from a surprise attack by the enemy.

On August 30, Russian troops began crossing the Oka River near the village of Priluki. Okolnichy Timofey Velyaminov and his detachment monitored the crossing, awaiting the approach of the foot army. On September 4, 30 km from the Don River in the Berezuy tract, the allied regiments of Andrei and Dmitry Olgerdovich joined the Russian army. Once again, the location of the Horde army was clarified, which, awaiting the approach of the allies, was wandering around the Kuzmina Gati.

The movement of the Russian army from the mouth of Lopasnya to the west was intended to prevent the Lithuanian army of Jagiello from uniting with the forces of Mamai. In turn, Jagiello, having learned about the route and number of Russian troops, was in no hurry to unite with the Mongol-Tatars, hovering around Odoev. The Russian command, having received this information, decisively sent troops to the Don, trying to forestall the formation of enemy units and strike at the Mongol-Tatar horde. On September 5, the Russian cavalry reached the mouth of the Nepryadva, which Mamai learned about only the next day.

To develop a plan for further action, on September 6, Prince Dmitry Ivanovich convened a military council. The votes of the council members were divided. Some suggested going beyond the Don and fighting the enemy on the southern bank of the river. Others advised staying on the northern bank of the Don and waiting for the enemy to attack. The final decision depended on the Grand Duke. Dmitry Ivanovich uttered the following significant words: “Brothers! An honest death is better than an evil life. It was better not to go out against the enemy than to come back and do nothing and return back. Today we will all cross the Don and there we will lay our heads for the Orthodox faith and our brothers.” The Grand Duke of Vladimir preferred offensive actions that made it possible to maintain the initiative, which was important not only in strategy (hitting the enemy in parts), but also in tactics (choosing the location of the battle and the surprise of a strike on the enemy’s army). After the council in the evening, Prince Dmitry and voivode Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky moved beyond the Don and examined the area.

The area chosen by Prince Dmitry for the battle was called Kulikovo Field. On three sides - west, north and east, it was limited by the Don and Nepryadva rivers, cut by ravines and small rivers. The right wing of the Russian army forming into battle formation was covered by the rivers flowing into the Nepryadva (Upper, Middle and Lower Dubiki); on the left is the rather shallow Smolka River, which flows into the Don, and dried up stream beds (gums with gentle slopes). But this lack of terrain was compensated for - behind Smolka there was a forest in which a general reserve could be placed to guard the fords across the Don and strengthen the wing’s battle formation. Along the front, the Russian position had a length of over eight kilometers (some authors significantly reduce it and then question the number of troops). However, the terrain convenient for enemy cavalry action was limited to four kilometers and was located in the center of the position - near the converging upper reaches of Nizhny Dubik and Smolka. Mamai's army, having an advantage in deployment along a front of more than 12 kilometers, could attack the Russian battle formations with cavalry only in this limited area, which excluded maneuver by cavalry masses.

On the night of September 7, 1380, the crossing of the main forces began. Foot troops and convoys crossed the Don along built bridges, and cavalry forded. The crossing was carried out under the cover of strong guard detachments.

Morning on the Kulikovo field. Artist A.P. Bubnov. 1943-1947.

According to the guards Semyon Melik and Pyotr Gorsky, who had a battle with enemy reconnaissance on September 7, it became known that the main forces of Mamai were at a distance of one crossing and should be expected at the Don by the morning of the next day. Therefore, so that Mamai would not forestall the Russian army, already on the morning of September 8, the army of Rus', under the cover of the Sentinel Regiment, took up battle formation. On the right flank, adjacent to the steep banks of Nizhny Dubik, stood the Right Hand regiment, which included Andrei Olgerdovich’s squad. The squads of the Big Regiment were located in the center. They were commanded by the Moscow okolnichy Timofey Velyaminov. On the left flank, covered from the east by the Smolka River, the regiment of the Left Hand of Prince Vasily Yaroslavsky formed. Ahead of the Big Regiment was the Advanced Regiment. Behind the left flank of the Big Regiment, a reserve detachment was secretly located, commanded by Dmitry Olgerdovich. Behind the Left Hand regiment in the Green Dubrava forest, Dmitry Ivanovich placed a selected cavalry detachment of 10-16 thousand people - the Ambush Regiment, led by Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky and the experienced governor Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky.

Battle of Kulikovo. Artist A. Yvon. 1850

This formation was chosen taking into account the terrain and the method of fighting used by the Golden Horde. Their favorite technique was to envelop one or both flanks of the enemy with cavalry detachments and then move to his rear. The Russian army took up a position reliably covered on the flanks by natural obstacles. Due to the terrain conditions, the enemy could attack the Russians only from the front, which deprived him of the opportunity to use his numerical superiority and use the usual tactics. The number of Russian troops, formed in battle order, reached 50-60 thousand people.

Mamai’s army, which arrived on the morning of September 8 and stopped 7-8 kilometers from the Russians, numbered about 90-100 thousand people. It consisted of a vanguard (light cavalry), main forces (mercenary Genoese infantry were in the center, and heavy cavalry deployed in two lines on the flanks) and a reserve. Light reconnaissance and security detachments scattered in front of the Horde camp. The enemy's plan was to cover the Russian. army from both flanks, and then surround it and destroy it. The main role in solving this problem was assigned to powerful cavalry groups concentrated on the flanks of the Horde army. However, Mamai was in no hurry to join the battle, still hoping for Jagiello’s approach.

But Dmitry Ivanovich decided to draw Mamai’s army into the battle and ordered his regiments to march. The Grand Duke took off his armor, handed it over to the boyar Mikhail Brenk, and he himself put on simple armor, but not inferior in its protective properties to the prince’s. The Grand Duke's dark red (black) banner was placed in the Big Regiment - a symbol of honor and glory of the united Russian army. It was handed to Brenk.

Duel between Peresvet and Chelubey. Artist. V.M. Vasnetsov. 1914

The battle began around 12 o'clock. As the main forces of the parties converged, a duel between the Russian warrior monk Alexander Peresvet and the Mongolian hero Chelubey (Temir-Murza) took place. As folk legend says, Peresvet rode out without protective armor, with only one spear. Chelubey was fully armed. The warriors dispersed their horses and struck their spears. A powerful simultaneous blow - Chelubey fell dead with his head towards the Horde army, which was a bad omen. Pere-light stayed in the saddle for several moments and also fell to the ground, but with his head towards the enemy. This is how the folk legend predetermined the outcome of the battle for a just cause. After the fight, a fierce battle broke out. As the chronicle writes: “The strength of the Tatar greyhound from Sholomyani is great, coming and then again, not doing, stasha, for there is no place for them to make way; and so stasha, a copy of the pawn, wall against wall, each of them has on the shoulder of his predecessors, the ones in front are more beautiful, and the ones in the back are longer. And the great prince, also with his great Russian strength, went against another Sholomyan against them.”

For three hours, Mamai’s army unsuccessfully tried to break through the center and right wing of the Russian army. Here the onslaught of the Horde troops was repulsed. Andrei Olgerdovich’s detachment was active. He repeatedly launched a counterattack, helping the center regiments hold back the enemy onslaught.

Then Mamai concentrated his main efforts against the Left Hand regiment. In a fierce battle with a superior enemy, the regiment suffered heavy losses and began to retreat. Dmitry Olgerdovich's reserve detachment was brought into the battle. The warriors took the place of the fallen, trying to hold back the onslaught of the enemy, and only their death allowed the Mongol cavalry to move forward. The soldiers of the Ambush Regiment, seeing the difficult situation of their military brothers-in-arms, were eager to fight. Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovskoy, who commanded the regiment, decided to join the battle, but his adviser, the experienced governor Bobrok, held the prince back. Mamaev's cavalry, pressing the left wing and breaking through the battle formation of the Russian army, began to go to the rear of the Big Regiment. The Horde, reinforced by fresh forces from the Mamaia reserve, bypassing Green Dubrava, attacked the soldiers of the Big Regiment.

The decisive moment of the battle had arrived. The Ambush Regiment, the existence of which Mamai did not know, rushed into the flank and rear of the Golden Horde cavalry that had broken through. The attack by the Ambush Regiment came as a complete surprise to the Tatars. “I fell into great fear and horror of wickedness... and cried out, saying: “Alas for us!” ... the Christians have become wise over us, the daring and daring princes and governors have left us in hiding and have prepared plans for us that are not tired; Our arms are weakened, and the shoulders of the Ustasha, and our knees are numb, and our horses are very tired, and our weapons are worn out; and who can go against them?..." Taking advantage of the emerging success, other regiments also went on the offensive. The enemy fled. Russian squads pursued him for 30-40 kilometers - to the Beautiful Sword River, where the convoy and rich trophies were captured. Mamai's army was completely defeated. It practically ceased to exist.

Returning from the chase, Vladimir Andreevich began to gather an army. The Grand Duke himself was shell-shocked and knocked off his horse, but was able to get to the forest, where he was found unconscious after the battle under a felled birch tree. But the Russian army also suffered heavy losses, amounting to about 20 thousand people.

For eight days the Russian army collected and buried the dead soldiers, and then moved to Kolomna. On September 28, the winners entered Moscow, where the entire population of the city was waiting for them. The Battle of Kulikovo Field was of great importance in the struggle of the Russian people for liberation from the foreign yoke. It seriously undermined the military power of the Golden Horde and accelerated its subsequent collapse. The news that “Great Rus' defeated Mamai on the Kulikovo field” quickly spread throughout the country and far beyond its borders. For his outstanding victory, the people nicknamed Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich “Donskoy”, and his cousin, Prince Vladimir Andreevich of Serpukhov, nicknamed him “Brave”.

Jagiello's troops, having not reached the Kulikovo field 30-40 kilometers and having learned about the Russian victory, quickly returned to Lithuania. Mamai’s ally did not want to take risks, since there were many Slavic troops in his army. In the army of Dmitry Ivanovich there were prominent representatives of Lithuanian soldiers who had supporters in Jagiello’s army, and they could go over to the side of the Russian troops. All this forced Jagiello to be as careful as possible in making decisions.

Mamai, abandoning his defeated army, fled with a handful of comrades to Kafa (Feodosia), where he was killed. Khan Tokhtamysh seized power in the Horde. He demanded that Rus' resume the payment of tribute, arguing that in the Battle of Kulikovo it was not the Golden Horde that was defeated, but the usurper of power, Temnik Mamai. Dmitry refused. Then, in 1382, Tokhtamysh undertook a punitive campaign against Rus', captured and burned Moscow by cunning. The largest cities of the Moscow land - Dmitrov, Mozhaisk and Pereyaslavl - were also subjected to merciless destruction, and then the Horde marched through the Ryazan lands with fire and sword. As a result of this raid, Horde rule over Russia was restored.

Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo field. Artist V.K. Sazonov. 1824.

In terms of its scale, the Battle of Kulikovo has no equal in the Middle Ages and occupies a prominent place in the history of military art. The strategy and tactics used in the Battle of Kulikovo by Dmitry Donskoy were superior to the strategy and tactics of the enemy and were distinguished by their offensive nature, activity and purposefulness of action. Deep, well-organized reconnaissance allowed us to make the right decisions and make an exemplary march-maneuver to the Don. Dmitry Donskoy managed to correctly assess and use the terrain conditions. He took into account the enemy’s tactics and revealed his plan.

Burial of fallen soldiers after the Battle of Kulikovo.
1380. Front chronicle of the 16th century.

Based on the terrain conditions and the tactical techniques used by Mamai, Dmitry Ivanovich rationally positioned the forces at his disposal on the Kulikovo field, created a general and private reserve, and thought through the issues of interaction between the regiments. The tactics of the Russian army received further development. The presence of a general reserve (Ambush Regiment) in the battle formation and its skillful use, expressed in the successful choice of the moment of entry into action, predetermined the outcome of the battle in favor of the Russians.

Assessing the results of the Battle of Kulikovo and the activities of Dmitry Donskoy preceding it, a number of modern scientists who have most fully studied this issue do not believe that the Moscow prince set himself the goal of leading the anti-Horde struggle in the broad concept of the word, but only spoke out against Mamai as a usurper of power in Zolotaya Horde. So, A.A. Gorsky writes: “Open disobedience to the Horde, which developed into an armed struggle against it, occurred during a period when power there fell into the hands of an illegitimate ruler (Mamai). With the restoration of the “legitimate” power, an attempt was made to limit itself to a purely nominal, without paying tribute, recognition of the supremacy of the “king,” but the military defeat of 1382 thwarted it. Nevertheless, the attitude towards foreign power changed: it became obvious that, under certain conditions, its non-recognition and successful military opposition to the Horde were possible.” Therefore, as other researchers note, despite the fact that the uprisings against the Horde still occur within the framework of previous ideas about the relationship between the Russian princes - “ulusniks” and the Horde “kings”, “The Battle of Kulikovo undoubtedly became a turning point in the formation of a new self-awareness of the Russian people,” and “the victory on the Kulikovo Field secured Moscow’s role as the organizer and ideological center of the reunification of the East Slavic lands, showing that the path to their state-political unity was the only path to their liberation from foreign domination.”

Monument-column, made according to the design of A.P. Bryullov at the Ch. Berd plant.
Installed on the Kulikovo field in 1852 on the initiative of the first explorer
battles of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod S. D. Nechaev.

The times of the Horde invasions were becoming a thing of the past. It became clear that in Rus' there were forces capable of resisting the Horde. The victory contributed to the further growth and strengthening of the Russian centralized state and raised the role of Moscow as a center of unification.

_____________________________________

September 21 (September 8 according to the Julian calendar) in accordance with the Federal Law of March 13, 1995 No. 32-FZ “On the Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of Russia” is the Day of Military Glory of Russia - Victory Day of the Russian regiments led by Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy over the Mongol-Tatar troops in the Battle of Kulikovo.

A chronicle collection called the Patriarchal or Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. St. Petersburg, 1897. P. 27.

Quote by: Borisov N.S. And the candle would not go out... Historical portrait of Sergius of Radonezh. M., 1990. P.222.

Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. P. 56.

Kirpichnikov A.N. Battle of Kulikovo. L., 1980. P. 105.

This number was calculated by the Soviet military historian E.A. Razin based on the total population of Russian lands, taking into account the principles of recruiting troops for all-Russian campaigns. See: Razin E.A. History of military art. T. 2. St. Petersburg, 1994. P. 272. The same number of Russian troops is determined by A.N. Kirpichnikov. See: Kirpichnikov A.N. Decree. op. P. 65. In the works of historians of the 19th century. this number varies from 100 thousand to 200 thousand people. See: Karamzin N.M. History of the Russian State. T.V.M., 1993.S. 40; Ilovaisky D.I. Collectors of Rus'. M., 1996. P. 110.; Soloviev S.M. History of Russia from ancient times. Book 2. M., 1993. P. 323. Russian chronicles provide extremely exaggerated data on the number of Russian troops: Resurrection Chronicle - about 200 thousand. See: Resurrection Chronicle. PSRL. T. VIII. St. Petersburg, 1859. P. 35; Nikon Chronicle - 400 thousand. See: Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. P. 56.

See: Skrynnikov R.G. Battle of Kulikovo // Battle of Kulikovo in the cultural history of our Motherland. M., 1983. S. 53-54.

Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. P. 60.

Right there. P. 61.

“Zadonshchina” talks about the flight of Mamai himself-nine to the Crimea, that is, about the death of 8/9 of the entire army in the battle. See: Zadonshchina // Military stories of Ancient Rus'. L., 1986. P. 167.

See: The Legend of the Massacre of Mamaev // Military Tales of Ancient Rus'. L., 1986. P. 232.

Kirpichnikov A.N. Decree. op. P. 67, 106. According to E.A. Razin’s Horde lost about 150 thousand, the Russians killed and died from wounds - about 45 thousand people (See: Razin E.A. Decree. Op. T. 2. P. 287-288). B. Urlanis speaks of 10 thousand killed (See: Urlanis B.Ts. History of military losses. St. Petersburg, 1998. P. 39). The “Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev” says that 653 boyars were killed. See: Military stories of Ancient Rus'. P. 234. The figure given there for the total number of dead Russian combatants of 253 thousand is clearly overestimated.

Gorsky A.A. Moscow and Horde. M. 2000. P. 188.

Danilevsky I.N. Russian lands through the eyes of contemporaries and descendants (XII-XIV centuries). M. 2000. P. 312.

Shabuldo F.M. The lands of Southwestern Rus' as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Kyiv, 1987. P. 131.

Yuri Alekseev, senior researcher
Research Institute of Military History
Military Academy of the General Staff
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Background

Correlation and deployment of forces

Performance of the Russian army at Battle of Kulikovo(Ancient miniature).

Russian army

The gathering of Russian troops was scheduled in Kolomna on August 15. The core of the Russian army set out from Moscow to Kolomna in three parts along three roads. Separately there was the court of Dmitry himself, separately the regiments of his cousin Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky and separately the regiments of the assistants of the Belozersk, Yaroslavl and Rostov princes.

Representatives of almost all lands of North-Eastern Rus' took part in the all-Russian gathering. In addition to the princes' henchmen, troops arrived from the Suzdal, Tver and Smolensk great principalities. Already in Kolomna, the primary battle formation was formed: Dmitry led a large regiment; Vladimir Andreevich - right-hand regiment; Gleb Bryansky was appointed commander of the left-hand regiment; The leading regiment was made up of Kolomna residents.

Having gained great fame thanks to the life of Sergius of Radonezh, the episode with Sergius blessing the army is not mentioned in early sources about the Battle of Kulikovo. There is also a version (V.A. Kuchkin) according to which the story of the Life of Sergius of Radonezh’s blessing of Dmitry Donskoy to fight against Mamai refers not to the Battle of Kulikovo, but to the battle on the Vozha River (1378) and is related in “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamai "and other later texts with the Battle of Kulikovo later, as with a larger event.

The immediate formal reason for the upcoming clash was Dmitry’s refusal to Mamai’s demand to increase the tribute paid to the amount in which it was paid under Dzhanibek. Mamai counted on joining forces with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello and Oleg Ryazansky against Moscow, while he counted on the fact that Dmitry would not risk withdrawing troops beyond the Oka, but would take a defensive position on its northern bank, as he had already done in 1379. The connection of allied forces on the southern bank of the Oka was planned for September 14.

However, Dmitry, realizing the danger of such a unification, on August 26 quickly withdrew his army to the mouth of Lopasnya and crossed the Oka River to the Ryazan borders. It should be noted that Dmitry led the army to the Don not along the shortest route, but in an arc west of the central regions of the Ryazan principality, ordered that not a single hair should fall from the head of a Ryazan citizen, “Zadonshchina” mentions 70 Ryazan boyars among those killed on the Kulikovo field, and in 1382, when Dmitry and Vladimir went north to gather troops against Tokhtamysh, Oleg Ryazansky would show him the fords on the Oka, and the Suzdal princes would generally take the side of the Horde. The decision to transfer Oka was unexpected not only for Mamai. In Russian cities that sent their regiments to the Kolomna gathering, the crossing of the Oka River with the leaving of a strategic reserve in Moscow was regarded as a movement towards certain death:

Russian cities send soldiers to Moscow. Detail of the Yaroslavl icon “Sergius of Radonezh with the Life”.

On the way to the Don, in the Berezuy tract, the Russian army was joined by the regiments of the Lithuanian princes Andrei and Dmitry Olgerdovich. Andrei was Dmitry's governor in Pskov, and Dmitry was in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, however, according to some versions, they also brought troops from their former appanages, which were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - Polotsk, Starodub and Trubchevsk, respectively. At the last moment, the Novgorodians joined the Russian army (in Novgorod in the -1380s, the Lithuanian prince Yuri Narimantovich was the governor). The right-hand regiment, formed in Kolomna, led by Vladimir Andreevich, then served in the battle as an ambush regiment, and Andrei Olgerdovich led the right-hand regiment in the battle. The historian of military art Razin E. A. points out that the Russian army in that era consisted of five regiments, however, he considers the regiment led by Dmitry Olgerdovich not part of the right-hand regiment, but the sixth regiment, a private reserve in the rear of a large regiment.

Russian chronicles provide the following data on the size of the Russian army: “The Chronicle of the Battle of Kulikovo” - 100 thousand soldiers of the Moscow Principality and 50-100 thousand soldiers of the allies, “The Tale of the Battle of Mamayev”, also written on the basis of a historical source - 260 thousand. or 303 thousand, the Nikon Chronicle - 400 thousand (there are estimates of the number of individual units of the Russian army: 30 thousand Belozersts, 7 or 30 thousand Novgorodians, 7 or 70 thousand Lithuanians, 40-70 thousand in an ambush regiment). However, it should be borne in mind that the figures given in medieval sources are usually extremely exaggerated. Later researchers (E.A. Razin and others), having calculated the total population of Russian lands, taking into account the principle of recruiting troops and the time of crossing of the Russian army (the number of bridges and the period of crossing over them), settled on the fact that under the banner of Dmitry gathered 50-60 thousand soldiers (this agrees with the data of the “first Russian historian” V.N. Tatishchev about 60 thousand), of which only 20-25 thousand are troops of the Moscow Principality itself. Significant forces came from territories controlled by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but in the period -1380 became allies of Moscow (Bryansk, Smolensk, Drutsk, Dorogobuzh, Novosil, Tarusa, Obolensk, presumably Polotsk, Starodub, Trubchevsk). S. B. Veselovsky believed in his early works that there were about 200-400 thousand people on the Kulikovo field, but over time he came to the conclusion that in the battle the Russian army could only number 5-6 thousand people. According to A. Bulychev, the Russian army (like the Mongol-Tatar) could be about 6-10 thousand people with 6-9 thousand horses (that is, it was mainly a cavalry battle of professional horsemen). The leaders of archaeological expeditions on the Kulikovo field also agree with his point of view: O. V. Dvurechensky and M. I. Gonyany. In their opinion, the Battle of Kulikovo was a horse battle, in which about 5-10 thousand people took part on both sides, and it was a short-term battle: about 20-30 minutes instead of the chronicle 3 hours. The Moscow army included both princely courts and city regiments of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir and Moscow.

Army of Mamai

The critical situation in which Mamai found himself after the battle on the Vozha River and Tokhtamysh’s advance from across the Volga to the mouth of the Don forced Mamai to use every opportunity to gather maximum forces. There is interesting news that Mamai’s advisers told him: “ Your horde has become impoverished, your strength has failed; but you have a lot of wealth, let's go hire the Genoese, Circassians, Yasses and other peoples". Muslims and Burtases are also named among the mercenaries. According to one version, the entire center of the Horde’s battle formation on the Kulikovo field was mercenary Genoese infantry, with cavalry standing on the flanks. There is information about the number of Genoese at 4 thousand people and that Mamai paid them with a section of the Crimean coast from Sudak to Balaklava for their participation in the campaign.

Battle

Battle site

From chronicle sources it is known that the battle took place “on the Don at the mouth of Nepryadva.” Using paleogeographic methods, scientists established that “at that time there was a continuous forest on the left bank of the Nepryadva River.” Taking into account that cavalry is mentioned in the descriptions of the battle, scientists have identified a treeless area near the confluence of rivers on the right bank of the Nepryadva, which is bounded on one side by the Don, Nepryadva and Smolka rivers, and on the other by ravines and ravines that probably existed already in those days . The expedition estimated the size of the fighting area at "two kilometers with a maximum width of eight hundred meters." In accordance with the size of the localized area, it was necessary to adjust the hypothetical number of troops participating in the battle. A concept was proposed for the participation in the battle of equestrian formations of 5-10 thousand horsemen on each side (such a number, while maintaining the ability to maneuver, could be placed in the specified area). In the Moscow army these were mainly princely servicemen and city regiments.

For a long time, one of the mysteries was the lack of burials of those who fell on the battlefield. In the spring of 2006, an archaeological expedition used a new design of ground penetrating radar, which identified “six objects located from west to east with an interval of 100-120 m.” According to scientists, these are the burial places of the dead. Scientists explained the absence of bone remains by the fact that “after the battle, the bodies of the dead were buried at a shallow depth,” and “chernozem has increased chemical activity and, under the influence of precipitation, almost completely destructs the bodies of the dead, including bones.” At the same time, the possibility of arrowheads and spears getting stuck in the bones of fallen people, as well as the presence of crosses on the buried bodies, which, despite the “aggressiveness” of the soil, could not disappear completely without a trace. Forensic identification personnel involved in the examination confirmed the presence of ashes, but “were unable to determine whether the ashes in the samples were human or animal remains.” Since the mentioned objects are several absolutely straight shallow trenches, parallel to each other and up to 600 meters long, they are just as likely to be traces of some agricultural activity, for example, adding bone meal to the soil. Examples of historical battles with known burials show the construction of mass graves in the form of one or several compact pits.

Historians explain the lack of significant finds of military equipment on the battlefield by the fact that in the Middle Ages “these things were incredibly expensive,” so after the battle all the items were carefully collected. A similar explanation appeared in popular scientific publications in the mid-1980s, when for several field seasons, starting with the anniversary of 1980, no finds had been made at the canonical site, even indirectly related to the great battle, and this urgently needed a plausible explanation.

In the early 2000s, the diagram of the Battle of Kulikovo, first compiled and published by Afremov in the middle of the 19th century, and after that wandering for 150 years from textbook to textbook without any scientific criticism, was already radically redrawn. Instead of a picture of epic proportions with a formation front length of 7-10 versts, a relatively small forest clearing was localized, sandwiched between the openings of ravines. Its length was about 2 kilometers and its width was several hundred meters. The use of modern electronic metal detectors for a complete survey of this area made it possible to collect representative collections of hundreds and thousands of shapeless metal fragments and fragments during each field season. During Soviet times, agricultural work was carried out on this field, and ammonium nitrate, which destroys metal, was used as fertilizer. Nevertheless, archaeological expeditions manage to make finds of historical interest: a sleeve, the base of a spear, a chain mail ring, a fragment of an ax, parts of a sleeve hem or a chain mail hem made of brass; armor plates (1 piece, has no analogues), which were attached to a base made of leather strap.

Preparing for battle

In order to force a decisive battle on the enemy in the field even before the approach of the Lithuanians or Ryazans allied with Mamai, and also to use the water line to protect their own rear in the event of their approach, Russian troops crossed to the southern bank of the Don and destroyed the bridges behind them.

On the evening of September 7, Russian troops were lined up in battle formations. A large regiment and the entire court of the Moscow prince stood in the center. They were commanded by the Moscow okolnichy Timofey Velyaminov. On the flanks were a regiment of the right hand under the command of the Lithuanian prince Andrei Olgerdovich and a regiment of the left hand of princes Vasily Yaroslavsky and Theodore of Molozhsky. Ahead in front of the large regiment was the guard regiment of princes Simeon Obolensky and John of Tarusa. An ambush regiment led by Vladimir Andreevich and Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky was placed in an oak grove up the Don. It is believed that the ambush regiment stood in the oak grove next to the regiment of the left hand, however, in “Zadonshchina” it is said that the ambush regiment struck from the right hand. The division into regiments according to military branches is unknown.

Progress of the battle

Battle of Kulikovo. Miniature from a 17th century chronicle

The morning of September 8 was foggy. Until 11 o'clock, until the fog cleared, the troops stood ready for battle and kept in touch (“ called to each other") with the sound of trumpets. The prince again traveled around the regiments, often changing horses. At 12 o'clock the Tatars also appeared on the Kulikovo field. The battle began with several small skirmishes of the advanced detachments, after which the famous duel between the Tatar Chelubey (or Temir Bey) and the monk Alexander Peresvet took place. Both fighters fell dead (perhaps this episode, described only in “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev,” is a legend). This was followed by a battle between the guard regiment and the Tatar vanguard, led by the military leader Telyak (in some sources - Tulyak). Dmitry Donskoy was first in a guard regiment, and then joined the ranks of a large regiment, exchanging clothes and horses with the Moscow boyar Mikhail Andreevich Brenok, who then fought and died under the banner of the Grand Duke.

« The strength of the Tatar greyhound from Sholomyani is great, coming and then again, not moving, stasha, for there is no place for them to make way; and so stasha, a copy of the pawn, wall against wall, each of them has on the shoulder of his predecessors, the ones in front are more beautiful, and the ones in the back are longer. And the great prince also with his great Russian strength went against them with another Sholomian". The battle in the center was protracted and long. Chroniclers indicated that the horses could no longer avoid stepping on the corpses, since there was no clean place. " The Russians are a great army, like trees that have been broken and like hay has been cut, they lie down and are terribly green to see...". In the center and on the left flank, the Russians were on the verge of breaking through their battle formations, but a private counterattack helped when “Gleb Bryansky with the Vladimir and Suzdal regiments walked through the corpses of the dead.” " In the right country, Prince Andrei Olgerdovich attacked not a single Tatar and beat many, but did not dare to chase into the distance, seeing a large regiment motionless and like all the Tatar strength had fallen in the middle and lay there, wanting to tear it apart". The Tatars directed the main attack on the Russian left-hand regiment, he could not resist, broke away from the large regiment and ran to Nepryadva, the Tatars pursued him, and a threat arose to the rear of the Russian large regiment.

Vladimir Andreevich, who commanded the ambush regiment, proposed to strike earlier, but Voivode Bobrok held him back, and when the Tatars broke through to the river and exposed the rear to the ambush regiment, he ordered to engage in battle. The cavalry attack from an ambush from the rear on the main forces of the Horde became decisive. The Tatar cavalry was driven into the river and killed there. At the same time, the regiments of Andrei and Dmitry Olgerdovich went on the offensive. The Tatars became confused and fled.

The tide of the battle turned. Mamai, who watched the progress of the battle from afar, fled with small forces as soon as the Russian ambush regiment entered the battle. The Tatars did not have reserves to try to influence the outcome of the battle or at least cover the retreat, so the entire Tatar army fled from the battlefield.

The ambush regiment pursued the Tatars to the Beautiful Sword River 50 versts, “ beating" their " countless" Returning from the chase, Vladimir Andreevich began to gather an army. The Grand Duke himself was shell-shocked and knocked off his horse, but was able to get to the forest, where he was found unconscious after the battle under a felled birch tree.

Loss estimates

Chroniclers greatly exaggerate the number of dead Horde soldiers, bringing it to 800 thousand (which corresponds to the estimate of Mamai’s entire army) and even 1.5 million people. “Zadonshchina” talks about the flight of Mamai himself-nine to the Crimea, that is, about the death of 8/9 of the entire army in the battle.

At the sight of the strike of the ambush regiment, the Horde people are attributed the phrase “the young fought with us, but the nobles (the best, the elders) survived.” Immediately after the battle, the task was set to count “how many governors we don’t have and how many young (service) people.” Moscow boyar Mikhail Alexandrovich made a sad report on the death of more than 500 boyars (40 Moscow, 40-50 Serpukhov, 20 Kolomna, 20 Pereyaslav, 25 Kostroma, 35 Vladimir, 50 Suzdal, 50 Nizhny Novgorod, 40 Murom, 30-34 Rostov, 20-23 Dmitrovsky, 60-70 Mozhaisk, 30-60 Zvenigorod, 15 Uglitsky, 20 Galician, 13-30 Novgorod, 30 Lithuanian, 70 Ryazan), “and there is no count for young people (younger combatants); but we only know that all 253 thousand of our squads died, and we have 50 (40) thousand squads left.” Also killed were 12 Belozersk and two Tarusa princes; among the dead, Semyon Mikhailovich and Dmitry Monastyrev are mentioned, whose deaths are also known, respectively, in the battle on the river. Drunk in 1377 and the battle on the river. Vozhe in 1378. In total, about 60% of the entire command staff of the Russian army died. E. A. Razin believed that about 25-30 thousand people died on the part of the Russian army in the Battle of Kulikovo. A. N. Kirpichnikov made a cautious assumption that about 800 boyars and 5-8 thousand people could have died in the battle. A. Bulychev, based on a study of similar battles in medieval Europe, made the assumption that the Russian army could have lost about a third of all soldiers.

After the battle

When the convoys, in which numerous wounded soldiers were taken home, fell behind the main army, the Lithuanians of Prince Jagiello finished off the defenseless wounded. On the day of the battle, Jogaila's main forces were located only 35-40 km west of the Kulikovo field. The time of Jagiel's campaign is associated with the loss of his former inheritance by Dmitry Olgerdovich (the inheritance was transferred by Jagiel to his younger brother Dmitry-Koribut).

Some Ryazan residents, in the absence of their prince, who advanced with his army to the south, also robbed convoys returning to Moscow from the Kulikovo field through the Ryazan land. However, already in 1381, Oleg Ryazansky recognized himself as a “younger brother” and concluded an anti-Horde treaty with Dmitry, similar to the Moscow-Tver Treaty of 1375, and promised to return the prisoners captured after the Battle of Kulikovo.

Consequences

As a result of the defeat of the main forces of the Horde, its military and political dominance was dealt a serious blow. Another foreign policy opponent of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, entered a period of protracted crisis. “The victory on the Kulikovo Field secured Moscow’s importance as the organizer and ideological center of the reunification of the East Slavic lands, showing that the path to their state-political unity was the only path to their liberation from foreign domination.”

For the Horde itself, the defeat of Mamaev’s army contributed to its consolidation “under the rule of a single ruler, Khan Tokhtamysh.” Mamai hastily gathered the rest of his forces in Crimea, intending to go into exile again to Rus', but was defeated by Tokhtamysh. After the Battle of Kulikovo, the Horde raided many times (the Crimean Horde burned Moscow under Ivan the Terrible in 1571), but did not dare to fight the Russians in the open field. In particular, Moscow was burned by the Horde two years after the battle and was forced to resume paying tribute.

Memory

From September 9 to 16, the dead were buried; a church was erected on the common grave, which had long since ceased to exist. The Church has legalized commemoration of the murdered in Dmitriev's parents' Saturday, “while Russia stands.”

The people rejoiced at the victory and nicknamed Dmitry Donskoy, and Vladimir Donskoy or Brave(according to another version, the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich received the honorary name Donskoy only under Ivan the Terrible).

History of the study

The first explorer of the Kulikovo field was Stepan Dmitrievich Nechaev (1792-1860). The collection of finds he made formed the basis of the Museum of the Battle of Kulikovo.

Historical assessment

The historical assessment of the significance of the Battle of Kulikovo is ambiguous. The following main points of view can be distinguished:

• According to the traditional point of view, dating back to Karamzin, the Battle of Kulikovo was the first step towards the liberation of Russian lands from Horde dependence.
• Supporters of the Orthodox approach, following the unknown author of the Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev, see in the Battle of Kulikovo the confrontation of Christian Rus' with the steppe infidels.
• The largest Russian historian of the 19th century, S. M. Solovyov, believed that the Battle of Kulikovo, which stopped another invasion from Asia, had the same significance for Eastern Europe that the battle on the Catalaunian fields in 451 and the Battle of Poitiers in 732 had for Western Europe.
• The Eurasian approach of Gumilyov and his followers sees in Mamai (in whose army the Crimean Genoese fought) a representative of the trade and political interests of hostile Europe; Moscow troops objectively came out to defend the legitimate ruler of the Golden Horde, Tokhtamysh. In this interpretation, the Battle of Kulikovo appears as just an intermediate stage in the struggle for power within the Golden Horde, and the entire previous historiographical tradition is completely crossed out.

Objectively, the development of Gumilyov’s ideas are the constructions of a number of modern writers (Nabiev R.F., 2001, 2010; Zvyagin 2010; V. Egorov 2011), who claim that the Battle of Kulikovo in its traditional form did not exist at all. In fact, according to the reconstructions of these authors, Moscow troops took part in the spring campaign of Tokhtamysh Khan (along with the troops of other principalities and countries) and suffered significant losses during the fighting. The bearers of these views ignore Western European news about the Battle of Kulikovo and argue that the “legend” about it is just the result of a rethinking of events by the ideologists of the growing Moscow state and the weakening Crimean Khanate, and references to the battle allegedly geographically correspond to the spread of influence of the tsarist government and the Russian Orthodox Church. They also claim, recapping the news about the events of 1382 known from the chronicles, that Tokhtamysh repeatedly encouraged Dmitry for his loyalty and even returned him to the throne, despite the Muscovites' uprising against him.

• Some modern historians, who do not at all share Gumilyov’s views, still agree that the significance of the battle is greatly exaggerated in the historiographic tradition. In the realities of 1380, there could still be no talk of liberating Russian lands from the power of the Golden Horde. The goals of the Moscow government were much more modest: to change the balance of power in the region in its favor and rise among other Russian principalities, taking advantage of the protracted internal political conflict in the Horde.

See also

Notes

Scientific and journalistic literature

• Ashurkov V.N. On the Kulikovo field. - Tula: Priokskoe book. publishing house, 1980. - 135 p.
• Buganov V.I. Battle of Kulikovo. - M.: Pedagogy, 1985. - 112 p. - (Scientists to schoolchildren).
• Gumilyov, L. N. Echo of the Battle of Kulikovo // Ogonyok. - 1980. - No. 36. - P. 16-17.
• Degtyarev A. Ya., Dubov I. V. From Kalka to Ugra. - L.: Children's literature, 1980. - 159 p.
• Zhuravel A.V. Like lightning on a rainy day. In 2 books. - M.: Russian Panorama, Russian Historical Society, 2010. - T. 1-2. - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-93165-177-4, ISBN 978-5-93165-178-1, ISBN 978-5-93165-179-8
• Zadonshchina; Chronicle story about the Battle of Kulikovo; The Legend of the Massacre of Mamayev // Library of Literature of Ancient Rus' / RAS. IRLI; Ed. D. S. Likhacheva, L. A. Dmitrieva, A. A. Alekseeva, N. V. Ponyrko. - St. Petersburg. : Nauka, 1999. - T. 6: XIV - mid-XV century. - 583 p.
• Zvyagin Yu. Yu. Mysteries of the Kulikov field. - M.: Veche, 2010. - T. 368. - (Secrets of the Russian Land). - 5000 copies. - ISBN ISBN 978-5-9533-4527-9
• Kargalov V.V. Battle of Kulikovo. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1985. - 126 p. - (The heroic past of our Motherland).
• Kargalov V.V. The end of the Horde yoke. - M.: Nauka, 1985. - 152 p. - (Pages of the history of our Motherland).
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• Karnatsevich V. L. 100 famous battles. - Kharkov, 2004.
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Battle of Kulikovo (Mamaevo or Don Massacre) - the battle of the troops of the Russian principalities against the Horde on September 8, 1380 (summer 6888 from the creation of the world) on the territory of the Kulikovo field between the rivers Don, Nepryadva and Krasivaya Mecha on the territory currently belonging to the Kimovsky and Kurkinsky districts of the Tula region, on an area of ​​​​about 10 km².

Story

In 1380, the Horde emir and temnik Mamai, who claimed the power of the khan, decided to carry out a devastating raid on Rus' in order to strengthen his position in the Horde. Mamai was not a Genghisid (descendant of Genghis Khan) and therefore had no rights to the throne, but his power reached such an extent that he could place khans on the throne of his choice and rule on their behalf. A successful campaign would take him to unprecedented heights and allow him to put an end to his rivals. Mamai agreed on an alliance with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila and the Grand Duke of Ryazan Oleg. Having learned about Mamai's campaign, Dmitry Ivanovich announced the mobilization of forces from all his subordinate and allied principalities. Thus, for the first time, the Russian army acquired a national character. His organization has improved significantly. Back in 1375, Dmitry Ivanovich ordered the establishment of the so-called “rank books”, where information was entered on the military and other service performed by the governors, on the number and places of formation of regiments.

The first “rank book” was compiled for the campaign against Tver, the second - for the fight against Mamai in 1380. The compilation of “rank books” in that period successfully fulfilled the tasks of all-Russian mobilization. The enemy was no longer met by separate squads, but by a single army under a single command, organized into four regiments plus an ambush regiment (reserve). Western Europe did not know such a clear military organization at that time.

The Russian army (100-120 thousand people) gathered in Kolomna. From there the army headed to the Don. Dmitry was in a hurry: intelligence reported that Mamai’s army (150-200 thousand people) was waiting for Yagaila’s Lithuanian squads near Voronezh. Having learned about the approach of the Russians, Mamai moved towards them. When the Russians approached the Don along the Ryazan land, the governors argued whether to cross or not, since beyond that the territory of the Golden Horde began. At that moment, a messenger from Sergius of Radonezh rode up with a letter calling on Dmitry to be firm and courageous. Dmitry ordered to cross the Don.

On the night of September 8, 1380, the Russians crossed the Don and lined up on the Kulikovo field (modern Tula region) at the mouth of the Nepryadva River, a tributary of the Don. Two regiments (“right” and “left hand”) stood on the flanks, one in the center (“large regiment”), one in front (“advanced regiment”) and one in ambush (“ambush regiment”) on the eastern edge of the field , behind the “green oak grove” and the Smolka River. The ambush regiment was commanded by Dmitry's cousin, the brave and honest warrior of Serpukhov, Prince Vladimir Andreevich. With him was the experienced governor Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynets, brother-in-law of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich. The Russians had nowhere to retreat: behind them there was a cliff 20 m high and the Nepryadva River. Dmitry destroyed the bridges across the Don. It was win or die.

Mamai placed in the center of his army the hired Genoese heavily armed infantry, which he had recruited from the Italian colonies in the Crimea. She had heavy spears and advanced in close formation of the Greek phalanx. Its task was to break through the Russian center. Mamai concentrated the cavalry on the flanks, with which the Horde usually immediately “encompassed” the enemy.

On the morning of September 8, there was a thick, impenetrable fog over the Kulikovo Field, which dissipated only by twelve o’clock. The duel between the Tatar Temir-Murza (Chelubey) and the monk Alexei Peresvet, who both died, marked the beginning of the battle...

At 10 o'clock in the morning there was a clash between the guard regiment and Mamai's archers. Then the Mongol-Tatar cavalry, having knocked down the guard and defeated the advanced regiment, tried for three hours to break through the center and right wing of the Russian army. The Russian regiments suffered significant losses. Dmitry Ivanovich himself, who fought in the armor of an ordinary warrior, was also wounded. When Mamai suffered the main blow against the left flank and began to press back the Russian regiments, a private reserve was brought into action. But the enemy managed to break through the Russian left wing and reach the rear of the main forces.

At this decisive moment of the battle, the ambush regiment of Governor Bobrok struck the flank and rear of the Mongol-Tatar cavalry that had broken through. The sudden and rapid attack of this regiment, supported by the attack of other regiments, decided the outcome of the battle in favor of the Russians.

The enemy army wavered and fled. Russian soldiers captured the Khan's headquarters and for almost 50 kilometers (to the Beautiful Sword River) the cavalry pursued and destroyed the remnants of Mamai's troops.

Historians have differing opinions about losses, as well as about the number of troops. It is known that 12 princes (out of 23) and 483 boyars, or about 60% of the command staff, died. According to A.N. Kuropatkin, 100 thousand Russian soldiers died, i.e. 2/3 of those who fought, or half - 75 thousand (V.V. Kargalov), or 40 thousand (D. Maslovsky). The Tatar losses are approximately estimated at 150 thousand people.

In the Battle of Kulikovo, 12 princes, 483 boyars and many soldiers died on the Russian side. Enemy losses exceeded the Russians. Prince Dmitry Ivanovich received a serious wound to the head. Subsequently, his chopped helmet was found on the Kulikovo field. Russian heroes distinguished themselves in the battle - the Bryansk boyar Peresvet, who became a monk of St. Sergius of Radonezh and Oslyabya (Oslyabya in Kaluga means “pole”). The people surrounded them with honor, and when they died, they were buried in the temple of the Old Simonov Monastery. (Near the modern Avtozavodskaya metro station). Under Soviet rule, the Dynamo plant was set up in the monastery and a machine stood on the graves of Peresvet and Oslyaby. Now the tombstones have been restored.

The battle received wide international response. In the literary work of that time “Zadonshchina” it is said that the glory of Rus' reached Italy, Germany and Byzantium. On the Kulikovo Field, the Russians realized the power of political unity. The authority of the Moscow Principality increased immeasurably. The victory was an important step towards complete liberation from the Horde yoke. Returning with his army to Moscow on October 1, 1380, Dmitry immediately founded the Church of All Saints on Kulishki and soon began construction of the Vysokopetrovsky monastery in memory of the battle.