Why Alexander Nevsky. Why did Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich of Novgorod receive the nickname Nevsky?

Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich, nicknamed Nevsky, is most often remembered in the context of the Battle of the Ice in 1242. Also, the phrase “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword!” comes to mind for many. But it doesn’t belong to the prince at all, but to the screenwriter and part-time director of the film “Alexander Nevsky” Sergei Eisenstein. And the battle on Lake Peipus, although the most famous, is far from the only victory of Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich.

Despite the fact that events of this magnitude usually take place in schools, it is often forgotten to say that the famous battle was a small episode of the Second Swedish Crusade.

In a bull issued on December 9, 1237, the Pope appealed to the Swedish archbishop to organize a crusade in Finland “against the Tavasts” - the western branch of the Finns, different from the eastern, Karelian, both in appearance and in character and language. In addition, the Pope ordered the destruction of their “close neighbors,” that is, the Karelians and Russians, in alliance with whom the Tavastes resisted Catholic expansion.

The point is that for many years preceding the crusade, the Swedes tried to persuade the nobility of the Tavasts, that is, representatives of the Finnish tribes Suomi and Heme, to accept Catholicism. In the early 1220s, they succeeded, but when expansion of a political nature began, which continued the religious one, the Finns again decided to try to find protection in Novgorod, so as not to completely lose their lands. And if the Sumy tribe ultimately remained under Swedish rule, then representatives of the Em tribe raised a real uprising against the Swedes in the mid-1230s and received support from Novgorod.

The result of this uprising was an appeal to the Pope. And Gregory IX disliked Rus' for a long time: back in 1232, he called for “defending the new planting of the Christian faith against the infidel Russians.”

At the same time, the Russian princes had enough problems even without a crusade: in 1237, the Mongol invasion of Rus' began.

At the beginning of 1238, the Danish crusaders, led by King Valdemar II the Victorious, agreed with the united Livonian and Teutonic orders, as well as the Swedish knights, on how they would divide the lands that they managed to capture. Then Pope Gregory IX blessed the Swedish Jarl Birger for a crusade against the Novgorod lands, and promised absolution to all participants in this campaign.

“The Swedish authorities took upon themselves to strike from the sea across the Neva on Ladoga and Novgorod, the German knights began to strike by land - on Pskov and Novgorod... for the only time in history, three forces of Western European knighthood united: the Swedes, the Germans and the Danes - for an attack to Russian lands,” Soviet historian Igor Shaskolsky wrote about these events.

According to the historian, “if their campaign was successful, the Swedish knights hoped to capture the banks of the Neva - the only access to the sea for Novgorod and all of Rus' - and take control of all Novgorod foreign trade.” In general, the Swedes hoped to conquer the entire Novgorod land and complete the conquest of Finland.

Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich, who received news of the approach of the enemy, decided to act with lightning speed, without waiting for help from his father, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. According to Igor Shaskolsky, “the surprise of the attack on the Swedish camp was the most important condition for the success of the Russian army,” since Alexander Nevsky needed to stop the enemy advance on the Neva.

Thus, the prince had to fight with a Swedish army that was numerically superior to his forces, which was also better armed.

Most likely, Russian ships entered the Tosna River, which flows into the Neva above the mouth of the Izhora River, and walked up 6 km to the point of closest approach to the flow of the Izhora tributary - the Bolshaya Izhorka River, reached the Bolshaya Izhorka River by land and descended along the wooded shore to its mouth , located near the confluence of the Izhora and the Neva.

“Thus, the Russian army managed to unexpectedly attack the Swedish camp not from the Neva, from where the Swedes could most likely expect an attack, but from land. The surprise of the blow provided the Russian army with an important strategic advantage and allowed the battle to end in complete victory,” argued Igor Shaskolsky.

Historians agree on one thing: the Battle of the Neva, like other battles of the Middle Ages, did not take place in the form of a continuous confrontation between two warring military masses, but in the form of clashes between individual detachments.

“After that, Alexander hastened to attack the enemies at six o’clock in the afternoon, and there was a great slaughter with the Romans, and the prince killed countless numbers of them, and on the face of the king himself he left the mark of his sharp spear,” says the life of Alexander Nevsky.

According to historian Anatoly Kirpichnikov, the “mark on the face” can be interpreted as a sign, mark, damage inflicted on the Swedish army by a blow from mounted spearmen. Consequently, already in the first attack the Novgorodians caused damage to the Swedes’ formation.

According to him, the battle, as was usual at that time, began with an attack by mounted spearmen. During the protracted hand-to-hand combat, the ranks of the Swedes were upset and broken, and their individual detachments did not fight together, but may have been partly separated.

“The battle at the mouth of the Izhora River apparently dragged on until the evening. By nightfall the hosts separated. Judging by the chronicle notes, the Swedish army, despite the defeat, was not destroyed. By morning, the enemy was unable to continue the fight and completely cleared the battlefield, sailing away on ships. The departure of the remnants of the Swedish army was not prevented.

“Whether it was the knightly methods of warfare that made it possible to bury their own during a respite, or whether the Novgorodians considered further bloodshed in vain, or Alexander Yaroslavich did not want to risk his army that had suffered losses - none of these explanations can be ruled out,” writes Anatoly Kirpichnikov.

Despite the fact that Alexander Nevsky defeated the Swedes, he simply did not have the forces at his disposal to repel the invasion of the late Germans from the west. In addition, the Novgorod boyars soon expelled the victorious prince, fearing that his influence would begin to grow and he would try to rule alone. Meanwhile, the Germans captured the Izborsk fortress, took Pskov and approached Novgorod. In addition, they occupied the banks of the Neva, the Ladoga lands and Karelia, and also erected the Koporye fortress in the immediate vicinity of the Gulf of Finland. And if the Mongol-Tatars simply devastated the Russian lands, taking away everything that could be taken with them, then the Germans settled in the occupied territories and established their own order on them

Residents of Novgorod had no choice but to once again call for help from Alexander Yaroslavovich, nicknamed Nevsky.

Used literature:

Shaskolsky I.P. The struggle of Rus' against crusader aggression on the shores of the Baltic in the 12th-13th centuries. L.: Nauka, 1978

Shaskolsky I.P. Battle of the Neva 1240 in the light of modern science // Prince Alexander Nevsky and his era: Research and materials / Ed. Yu.K. Begunov and A.N. Kirpichnikov. St. Petersburg, 1995.

Kirpichnikov A.N. Two great battles of Alexander Nevsky // Alexander Nevsky and the history of Russia. St. Petersburg pp. 29-41.

In the winter of 1237/38, the multi-tribal hordes of Batu Khan, usually called by the collective name “Mongol-Tatars,” devastated the Ryazan and Vladimir-Suzdal lands. In 1239-1240 they devastated the southern Russian lands (which is in present-day Ukraine). The strategy of the “Mongol-Tatars,” if you believe the chronicle news of their invasion, was to first terrify the enemy land, passing through it with fire and sword, and then demand from its rulers submission and regular payment of tribute. The Horde themselves did not establish colonies in the Russian lands, but for some time after the invasion their officials (Baskaks) lived there to census the population and collect tribute from them.

In establishing the vassal dependence of the Russian lands on the “Mongol-Tatars,” the Grand Duke of Vladimir Alexander Yaroslavich, nicknamed Nevsky, played a large role. The chronicle tradition, and after it Russian historiographers, habitually justify Alexander by the fact that the power of the Golden Horde left him no choice. He was forced to submit to the power of the khans in order to save Rus' from new devastating devastation. However, a careful study of the sources shows that these excuses are far-fetched. Alexander Nevsky was an active figure in establishing the Golden Horde yoke in Rus', hoping with the help of the khans to assert his power over other Russian princes. His reign was marked not by the weakening of the Golden Horde oppression, but by its strengthening and spread to those regions of Rus' that were not affected by Batu’s invasion. Punitive campaigns of khans against Rus' became the norm since the time of Alexander Nevsky.

In 1243, Batu called Nevsky’s father, Yaroslav Vsevolodich, to his headquarters to confirm him for the great reign. From that moment on, only that Russian prince was considered legitimate to whom the Horde khan gave the label to reign. In 1246, Yaroslav died, and, as usual, a struggle for the throne broke out between the brothers. But now the applicants had an arbiter - the khan, and two senior Yaroslavichs - Alexander and Andrey - went to him. Batu appointed Alexander, the eldest of the two brothers, as the Grand Duke of Kyiv and all Southern Rus', and Andrei as the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Novgorod. With these labels, the princes returned to Rus' in 1249. Alexander was dissatisfied, since the Kiev throne had long lost its actual significance, and was waiting for an opportunity to take away the reign of Vladimir from his brother.
The opportunity was not slow to present itself. Andrei intensively communicated with the Galician prince Daniil Romanovich on the subject of a general uprising against the Horde. Alexander undoubtedly knew about this conspiracy, but not only did not join it, but, on the contrary, decided to go to the Golden Horde with a denunciation of his brother in order to obtain his volost from the khan. The huge “Mongol-Tatar” empire could not be controlled from one center, and the Golden Horde with its capital in Sarai (in the lower reaches of the Volga) became almost an independent state. It was then ruled by Khan Sartak.

An unknown chronicle used by historian V.N. Tatishchev reports the following on this matter: “Great Prince Alexander Yaroslavich went to the Horde to Khan Sartak, Batu’s son, and his khan received him with honor. And Alexander complained about his brother Grand Duke Andrei, as if he had seduced the khan [Batu - Ya.B.], taking the great reign under him [Alexander - Ya.B.], as if he were the eldest, and took his father’s burghs, and did not pay tamgas to the khan in full The Khan became angry with Andrei and ordered Nevrui Saltan to go to Andrei and bring him before him.” The Horde army under the command of Nevryuy with a sudden invasion upset all Andrei's plans. He was forced to oppose the Horde with his few forces, was defeated and was forced to flee to the lands of the Livonian Order in the Baltic states. The Horde devastated the entire Vladimir-Suzdal land, burned, captured, and killed. After which Alexander, having the khan's label with him, sat on the throne in Vladimir. This was in 1252.

Most Russian historians, starting with Karamzin, without any reason, declared many passages in Tatishchev’s “Russian History” to be the author’s fiction. In their opinion, Alexander headed to the Horde after Andrei was the first to speak out against the khan, and Alexander did not want to join him, allegedly fearing the inevitable consequences of this action. However, they did not provide any rational arguments against the reliability of this news, except for the desire to whitewash Alexander. The news looks quite likely, especially taking into account the preceding and subsequent events. Major pre-revolutionary historian D.I. Ilovaisky considered Tatishchev’s version to be the most reliable.

In 1256, Batu died, and Berke became the supreme khan. Sartak was killed in the struggle for power, and Ulagchi became the governor of the Golden Horde. In 1257, Nevsky went to Sarai to see Ulagchi, and the latter demanded that all lands subject to Alexander, including Novgorod, be rewritten and pay tribute. Following the Khan's instructions, Alexander personally came to Novgorod (in 1259) with the Horde Baskaks. Nevsky's son, Vasily, the governor in Novgorod, did not want to obey his father and fled.

Nevsky frightened the Novgorodians with brutal repressions. Even N.M., who favored him. Karamzin wrote that Alexander “executed the boyars, the mentors of the Vasilievs, without mercy. Some were blinded, others had their noses cut off." Despite this, unrest did not subside in the city. Alexander and Horde officials were forced to flee Novgorod. But they promised to return with the Horde army and punish the population. This threat gradually led the citizens to submission. “The Mughals traveled from street to street, registering houses; silence and sorrow reigned in the city,” describes Karamzin.

There is no indication in any source that Alexander Nevsky bowed under the Horde yoke and brought the hitherto unconquered Russian lands under it because he hoped that in the future Rus' would be able to gather its strength and overthrow foreign rule. Not a single statement of Nevsky, transmitted to us by his contemporaries, preserved even a shadow of a hint of such motivation. All justifications for his actions with the hope of overthrowing the yoke in the future were invented in retrospect, not earlier than the 19th century. Without inventing unnecessary entities, we are forced to assume, as the most probable, that Alexander Nevsky saw in strengthening the Horde yoke over Russia a means to strengthen his own power, and did not disdain to sacrifice the property and independence of the Russian land for this purpose.

After one of my articles on the history of the 13th century, dedicated to debunking the myth of Alexander Nevsky as a national hero of Russia, I received from one of the regular readers of my blog ein_arzt legitimate question: “Why, contrary to obvious facts, are they making Alexander a hero and a national shrine?”
By the way, I constantly hear this question from my students.
I promised to devote a separate post to this topic, and now I’m finally keeping my promise.

So, why is Alexander Nevsky a saint, moreover, highly revered on Russian soil, and why was his historical figure, quite controversial from the point of view of patriotism, so heroized?

One often hears the point of view according to which the recognition of Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich as a saint was due to Christian humility with which he accepted Horde power, following the apostolic: "He who resists authority resists God's ordinance" (Rom 13:2).

In general, any performance of power functions is hardly compatible with Christian humility; that’s why it’s government, that is, violence (it’s not for nothing that the word "right" cognate with ancient Indian prabhus - "outstanding in strength" and Anglo-Saxon fram - "strong"). For example, I know only two humble ancient Russian princes: Boris and Gleb Vladimirovich. But in order to demonstrate this quality and become saints thanks to it, they had to voluntarily renounce power and accept martyrdom. But Alexander Yaroslavich did not try to do either one or the other. And the veneration of him by such personalities as Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great and I.V. Stalin speaks volumes, but not about the humility allegedly inherent in this saint.

In addition, it should be noted that the holiness of Alexander Nevsky doesn't justify all his actions. It’s one thing to not resist the Horde’s plunder, and quite another to be an active accomplice. Canonization is only redeems sins committed by the prince. In any case, I hope that the holiness of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vadamir does not interfere with condemning the corruption of minors, which, as is known, this prince sinned before accepting Christianity?

So "humility" There is clearly nothing to do with Alexander Nevsky as the reason for his canonization.

So why was Alexander Nevsky still canonized?

To answer this question, we will have to at least briefly consider what happened in the Christian world in those times that befell this ancient Russian prince.

In 1204, Constantinople fell to the attacks of the crusaders, which ultimately not only forced Emperor Michael VIII to seek help in the West, but also ultimately led to the complete religious capitulation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Pope (Union of Lyons 1274).
It is not without reason that, concluding his sad story about the conquest of Constantinople by the “fryags” in 1204, the ancient Russian scribe, an eyewitness to this event, concludes: “And so the kingdom of God-protected Constantinegrad and the land of Grch perished in the wedding of the crown princes, which Fryazi possessed.” .

“Once upon a time, ambassadors from the Pope from great Rome came to him, crying: “Our Pope says this: I hear you are an honest and wondrous prince, and your land is great. For this reason, two khithresh - Agaldad and Gemont - have sent to you from the twelfth century, so that you may listen to their teachings about the law of God."
Prince Alexander, having thought with his wise men, wrote to him and said: “... we do not accept teachings from you.” They returned home."

It turns out that in the conditions of the terrible trials that befell the Orthodox lands in the 13th century, perceived by contemporaries as harbingers of the coming Apocalypse, the Great Prince of Vladimir Alexander Yaroslavich found himself almost the only one of the secular rulers who did not doubt their spiritual righteousness, did not waver in their faith and did not renounce their - Orthodox God. Having refused joint actions with Catholics against the Horde, he became the last powerful stronghold of Orthodoxy at that time, the last defender of the Orthodox world (and the Horde khans, following the behests of Genghis Khan, did not persecute Orthodoxy in Rus' and did not try to convert the people they conquered to their faith, first pagan, and from the second quarter of the 14th century Muslim. Moreover, the Horde were distinguished by significant religious tolerance and did not interfere with the spread of Christianity, in including Orthodoxy even on the territory of the Horde; so in the capital of the Horde, Sarai, there were several Orthodox churches that peacefully coexisted with mosques, headed by an Orthodox bishop).

Could the Orthodox Church not recognize such a ruler as a saint? And obviously, precisely for the above reasons, Alexander Nevsky was not canonized as "righteous" (there was not a penny of righteousness in his policy, as Russian chronicles clearly indicate), but how "blessed" prince.

I hope I was able to answer the question: why is Alexander Nevsky revered? as a saint .
Now I propose to move on to considering the reasons for the glorification of this prince as military intercessor for the Russian land.

Until the end of the 17th century, the image of Alexander Nevsky corresponded to the original one - "holy noble prince" .
This image begins to transform at the very beginning of the 18th century, when Peter I began a war with Sweden for access for Russia to the coast of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, which is so necessary for the development of foreign economic relations with Western Europe. To substantiate claims to lands that belonged to Sweden at that time, Tsar Peter Alekseevich needed to find evidence that they were ancestral territory of the Russian state . Moreover, the further in history such evidence is found, the more justified these claims will be.
The Livonian War of Ivan the Terrible was not very suitable here, if only because it was not so long ago, from the point of view of the beginning of the 18th century, and besides, it was ultimately lost. Another was needed - a more ancient and victorious example.
This is where the image of the “blessed” Prince Alexander Nevsky surfaced, who, firstly, defeated no one, namely Peter’s enemies, the Swedes, in the Battle of Neva, and secondly, was already a saint.

Peter I takes a lot of actions, which we would now call propaganda, to glorify Alexander Nevsky.

In 1724, by order of the first Russian emperor and with his direct participation, the remains of the holy prince were solemnly transferred from Vladimir-on-Klyazma to the new capital of Russia - St. Petersburg.
Peter I establishes a day to celebrate the memory of Alexander (by the way, August 30, i.e., the day the Treaty of Nystadt was concluded with Sweden).

Subsequently, the image of Alexander as a defender of the Russian land was consolidated in the mass consciousness by a number of official events.

So, in 1725 Catherine I established the highest military order named after him .

At the same time, an annual religious procession was established from the St. Petersburg Kazan Cathedral to Alexander Nevsky Lavra (one of the four largest monasteries in Russia). By the way, this religious procession took place along Nevsky Prospekt, which is not called that along the Neva River, as many still think.

On the eve of the war, in 1938 S. M. Eisenstein withdrew his apologetic film "Alexander Nevsky" . The script of this film received a sharply negative assessment from historians. The film was banned from showing, but the reason for this was not discrepancies with historical truth, but foreign policy considerations, in particular the reluctance to spoil relations with Germany, with which it was planned to conclude a military-political alliance.

The film by S. M. Eisenstein was released in 1941 , since the foreign policy situation has completely changed, and the image of the “great commander” Alexander Nevsky, burning the German invaders on the ice of Lake Peipus to the cheerful music, has again become more than relevant.

July 29 1942 was established Soviet military order of Alexander Nevsky , which depicts none other than actor Nikolai Cherkasov, who played the role of the prince in S. Eisenstein’s film:

However, the installation of monuments to this prince continues in modern times:

It is in this guise that Alexander Nevsky remains today as a cult figure in the mass consciousness.

If you ask again: "Why?" , then the answer will be simple: from the point of view of modern official Russian ideology (does anyone else believe that, according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, no ideology can be mandatory?) the image of Alexander Nevsky as a national hero is a “spiritual bond” (to be honest, this clumsy neologism just pisses me off). But it is not me who selects the “spiritual bonds,” and it is not me who writes history textbooks for schools and universities, in which, as before, the traitor to Russian national interests is extolled as “the defender of the Russian Land.”

I think that I have now answered all the questions about the personality of Alexander Nevsky. If you, my dear readers, have any other questions, I will try to answer them to the best of my ability.

Sergey Vorobiev.
Thank you for your attention.

NOTES

1. Danilevsky I. N. Russian lands through the eyes of contemporaries and descendants (XII - XIV centuries): A course of lectures. M., 2001. P. 221.
2. Osipova K. A. The restored Byzantine Empire: Internal and foreign policy of the first Palaiologos // History of Byzantium: In 3 volumes. M., 1967. Vol. 3. P. 83.
3. Novgorod first chronicle of the older and younger editions. // PSRL. M., 2000. T. 3. P. 49.
4. Stories about the life and courage of the blessed and Grand Duke Alexander // Monuments of literature of Ancient Rus': XIII century. M., 1981. P. 436.
5. See, for example: Tikhomirov M. N. Mockery of history // Marxist historian. 1938. No. 3. P. 92.

Why he is considered a saint, you will learn from this article.

Why is Alexander Nevsky canonized?

Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky died on November 14, 1263 in Gorodets and was buried in Vladimir in the Nativity Monastery. Almost immediately, veneration of him began in Vladimir-Suzdal Rus'. And later the prince was canonized.

According to the “canonical” version, Prince Alexander Nevsky played an important role in Russian history. In the 13th century, Great Rus' was attacked from three sides - the Mongol-Tatars, the Catholic West and Lithuania. Prince Nevsky, who had never lost a single battle in his entire life, showed great talent as a diplomat and commander, and made peace with a stronger enemy - the Golden Horde. Having secured the support of the Horde, he repelled the attack of the Germans, while at the same time protecting Orthodoxy from Catholic expansion.

In Vladimir, already in the 1280s, the veneration of Prince Alexander Nevsky as a saint began; later he was officially canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. Alexander Nevsky was the only secular Orthodox ruler not only in Rus', but throughout Europe, who did not compromise with the Catholic Church in order to maintain power.

With the active participation of Dmitry Alexandrovich, his son, and Metropolitan Kirill, a hagiographical story was written. For his feat of endurance and patience, Alexander Nevsky was canonized in 1549, and the Alexander Nevsky Lavra was founded in his honor in 1710.

Veneration as a saint for Alexander Nevsky began long before the prince was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1547. Where people sincerely and from the bottom of their hearts asked him for a miracle, it certainly happened. Legends say that the holy prince rose from the tomb and encouraged his compatriots to perform exploits, for example, in 1380 on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo.

In memory of the holy prince, a monastery was built in St. Petersburg, the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where, by decree of Peter the Great, the relics of Nevsky were transported in 1724. Peter the Great also decided to celebrate August 30 as the day of memory of Alexander Nevsky, in honor of the conclusion of a victorious peace with Sweden.

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

Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the ranks of the faithful under Metropolitan Macarius at the Moscow Council in 1547. Commemorated on December 6 and September 12 according to the new style (transfer of relics from Vladimir-on-Klyazma to St. Petersburg, to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (from 1797 - Lavra) on August 30, 1724).

: just the facts

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

– Prince Alexander won his main military victories in his youth. During the Battle of the Neva (1240) he was at most 20 years old, during the Battle of the Ice - 22 years old.

Subsequently, he became famous more as a politician and diplomat, but he also periodically acted as a military leader. In his entire life, Prince Alexander did not lose a single battle.

– Alexander Nevsky canonized as a noble prince.

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

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

–Through the efforts of Alexander Nevsky, the preaching of Christianity spread to the northern lands of the Pomors.

He also managed to promote the creation of an Orthodox diocese in the Golden Horde.

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

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

The official canonization of the prince took place in 1547.

The Life of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky

Portal “Word”.

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

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

Very early, Alexander became involved in the turbulent political events that unfolded around his reign in Veliky Novgorod, one of the largest cities of medieval Rus'. It is with Novgorod that most of his biography will be connected. Alexander came to this city for the first time as a baby - in the winter of 1223, when his father was invited to reign in Novgorod. However, the reign turned out to be short-lived: at the end of the same year, having quarreled with the Novgorodians, Yaroslav and his family returned to Pereyaslavl. So Yaroslav will either make peace or quarrel with Novgorod, and then the same thing will happen again in the fate of Alexander.

This was explained simply: the Novgorodians needed a strong prince from North-Eastern Rus' close to them so that he could protect the city from external enemies. However, such a prince ruled Novgorod too harshly, and the townspeople usually quickly quarreled with him and invited some South Russian prince to reign, who did not annoy them too much; and everything would be fine, but he, alas, could not protect them in case of danger, and he cared more about his southern possessions - so the Novgorodians had to again turn to the Vladimir or Pereyaslavl princes for help, and everything was repeated all over again.

Prince Yaroslav was again invited to Novgorod in 1226. Two years later, the prince again left the city, but this time he left his sons - nine-year-old Fyodor (his eldest son) and eight-year-old Alexander - as princes. Together with the children, the boyars of Yaroslav remained - Fyodor Danilovich and the princely tiun Yakim. They, however, were unable to cope with the Novgorod “freemen” and in February 1229 they had to flee with the princes to Pereyaslavl.

For a short time, Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, a future martyr for the faith and a revered saint, established himself in Novgorod. But the southern Russian prince, who ruled remote Chernigov, could not protect the city from outside threats; In addition, severe famine and pestilence began in Novgorod. In December 1230, the Novgorodians invited Yaroslav for the third time. He hurriedly came to Novgorod, concluded an agreement with the Novgorodians, but stayed in the city for only two weeks and returned to Pereyaslavl. His sons Fyodor and Alexander again remained to reign in Novgorod.

Novgorod reign of Alexander

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

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

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

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

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

Battle with the Swedes on the Neva

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

Having gathered a small squad, Alexander did not wait for help from his father and set out on a campaign. Along the way, he united with the Ladoga residents and on July 15, he suddenly attacked the Swedish camp. The battle ended in complete victory for the Russians. The Novgorod Chronicle reports huge losses on the part of the enemy: “And many of them fell; they filled two ships with the bodies of the best men and sent them ahead of them on the sea, and for the rest they dug a hole and threw them there without number.”

The Russians, according to the same chronicle, lost only 20 people. It is possible that the losses of the Swedes are exaggerated (it is significant that there is no mention of this battle in Swedish sources), and the Russians are underestimated. The synodikon of the Novgorod Church of Saints Boris and Gleb in Plotniki, compiled in the 15th century, has been preserved with the mention of “princely governors, and Novgorod governors, and all our beaten brethren” who fell “on the Neva from the Germans under the Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich”; their memory was honored in Novgorod in the 15th and 16th centuries and later. Nevertheless, the significance of the Battle of the Neva is obvious: the Swedish onslaught in the direction of North-Western Rus' was stopped, and Rus' showed that, despite the Mongol conquest, it was able to defend its borders.

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

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

Soon after his victorious return, Alexander quarreled with the Novgorodians. In the winter of 1240/41, the prince, together with his mother, wife and “his court” (that is, the army and the princely administration), left Novgorod for Vladimir, to his father, and from there “to reign” in Pereyaslavl. The reasons for his conflict with the Novgorodians are unclear. It can be assumed that Alexander sought to rule Novgorod with authority, following the example of his father, and this caused resistance from the Novgorod boyars. However, having lost a strong prince, Novgorod was unable to stop the advance of another enemy - the crusaders.

In the year of the Neva Victory, the knights, in alliance with the “chud” (Estonians), captured the city of Izborsk, and then Pskov, the most important outpost on the western borders of Rus'. The next year, the Germans invaded the Novgorod lands, took the city of Tesov on the Luga River and established the Koporye fortress. The Novgorodians turned to Yaroslav for help, asking him to send his son. Yaroslav first sent his son Andrei, Nevsky’s younger brother, to them, but after a repeated request from the Novgorodians he agreed to release Alexander again. In 1241, Alexander Nevsky returned to Novgorod and was enthusiastically received by the residents.

Ice battle

And again he acted decisively and without any delay. In the same year, Alexander took the Koporye fortress. Some of the Germans were captured and some were sent home, but the traitors of the Estonians and leaders were hanged. The next year, with the Novgorodians and the Suzdal squad of his brother Andrei, Alexander moved to Pskov. The city was taken without much difficulty; the Germans who were in the city were killed or sent as booty to Novgorod. Building on their success, Russian troops entered Estonia. However, in the first clash with the knights, Alexander’s guard detachment was defeated.

One of the governors, Domash Tverdislavich, was killed, many were taken prisoner, and the survivors fled to the prince’s regiment. The Russians had to retreat. On April 5, 1242, a battle took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi (“on Uzmen, at the Raven Stone”), which went down in history as the Battle of the Ice. The Germans and Estonians, moving in a wedge (in Russian, “pig”), penetrated the leading Russian regiment, but were then surrounded and completely defeated. “And they chased them, beating them, seven miles across the ice,” the chronicler testifies.

Russian and Western sources differ in their assessment of the losses of the German side. According to the Novgorod Chronicle, countless “chuds” and 400 (another list says 500) German knights died, and 50 knights were captured.

“And Prince Alexander returned with a glorious victory,” says the Life of the saint, “and there were many captives in his army, and they led barefoot next to the horses of those who call themselves “God’s knights.” There is also a story about this battle in the so-called Livonian Rhymed Chronicle of the late 13th century, but it reports only 20 dead and 6 captured German knights, which is apparently a strong understatement.

However, the differences with Russian sources can partly be explained by the fact that the Russians counted all killed and wounded Germans, and the author of the “Rhymed Chronicle” only counted “brother knights,” that is, actual members of the Order.

The Battle of the Ice was of great importance for the fate of not only Novgorod, but all of Russia. The crusader aggression was stopped on the ice of Lake Peipsi. Rus' received peace and stability on its northwestern borders.

In the same year, a peace treaty was concluded between Novgorod and the Order, according to which an exchange of prisoners took place, and all Russian territories captured by the Germans were returned. The chronicle conveys the words of the German ambassadors addressed to Alexander: “What we took by force without the prince, Vod, Luga, Pskov, Latygola - we are retreating from all of that. And if your husbands were captured, we are ready to exchange them: we will release yours, and you will let ours go.”

Battle with Lithuanians

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

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

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

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

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

Relations with the Horde

After the death of Alexander's father, Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Vladimir, in 1246, who was poisoned in distant Karakorum, the grand-ducal throne passed to Alexander's uncle, Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich. However, a year later, Alexander’s brother Andrei, a warlike, energetic and decisive prince, overthrew him. Subsequent events are not entirely clear. It is known that in 1247 Andrei, and after him Alexander, made a trip to the Horde, to Batu. He sent them even further, to Karakorum, the capital of the huge Mongol Empire (“to the Kanoviches,” as they said in Rus').

The brothers returned to Rus' only in December 1249. Andrei received from the Tatars a label for the grand-ducal throne in Vladimir, while Alexander received Kyiv and “the entire Russian land” (that is, Southern Rus'). Formally, Alexander’s status was higher, because Kyiv was still considered the main capital city of Rus'. But devastated by the Tatars and depopulated, it completely lost its significance, and therefore Alexander could hardly be satisfied with the decision made. Without even visiting Kyiv, he immediately went to Novgorod.

Negotiations with the Papal throne

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

The papal legates did not find Alexander in Novgorod. However, one can think that even before his departure (and before receiving the first papal message), the prince held some negotiations with representatives of Rome. In anticipation of the upcoming trip “to the Kanoviches,” Alexander gave an evasive answer to the pope’s proposals, designed to continue negotiations. In particular, he agreed to build a Latin church in Pskov - a church, which was quite common for ancient Rus' (such a Catholic church - the “Varangian goddess” - existed, for example, in Novgorod since the 11th century). The pope regarded the prince's consent as a willingness to agree to union. But such an assessment was deeply erroneous.

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

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

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

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

In this answer of the prince, in his reluctance to even enter into debates with the Latin ambassadors, it was by no means some kind of religious limitation that was revealed, as it might seem at first glance. It was a choice both religious and political. Alexander was aware that the West would not be able to help Rus' liberate itself from the Horde yoke; the fight against the Horde, to which the papal throne called, could be disastrous for the country. Alexander was not ready to agree to a union with Rome (namely, this was an indispensable condition for the proposed union).

Acceptance of the union - even with the formal consent of Rome to preserve all Orthodox rites in worship - in practice could only mean simple submission to the Latins, both political and spiritual. The history of the dominance of the Latins in the Baltic states or in Galich (where they briefly established themselves in the 10s of the 13th century) clearly proved this.

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

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

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

In the Horde

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

The sources at our disposal are silent about any connection between Alexander’s trip to the Horde and the actions of the Tatars (4). However, one can guess that Alexander’s trip to the Horde was connected with changes on the khan’s throne in Karakorum, where in the summer of 1251 Mengu, an ally of Batu, was proclaimed great khan.

According to sources, “all the labels and seals that were indiscriminately issued to princes and nobles during the previous reign,” the new khan ordered to be taken away. This means that those decisions in accordance with which Alexander’s brother Andrei received the label for the great reign of Vladimir also lost force.

Unlike his brother, Alexander was extremely interested in revising these decisions and getting his hands on the great reign of Vladimir, to which he, as the eldest of the Yaroslavichs, had more rights than his younger brother.

One way or another, in the last open military clash between the Russian princes and the Tatars in the history of the turning point of the 13th century, Prince Alexander found himself - perhaps through no fault of his own - in the Tatar camp. It was from this time that we can definitely talk about the special “Tatar policy” of Alexander Nevsky - the policy of pacifying the Tatars and unquestioning obedience to them.

His subsequent frequent trips to the Horde (1257, 1258, 1262) were aimed at preventing new invasions of Rus'. The prince strove to regularly pay a huge tribute to the conquerors and to prevent protests against them in Rus' itself. Historians have different assessments of Alexander's Horde policies. Some see in it simple servility to a ruthless and invincible enemy, a desire to retain power over Russia by any means; others, on the contrary, consider the prince’s most important merit.

“The two feats of Alexander Nevsky - the feat of warfare in the West and the feat of humility in the East,” wrote the greatest historian of the Russian Abroad G.V. Vernadsky, “had one goal: the preservation of Orthodoxy as the moral and political force of the Russian people. This goal was achieved: the growth of the Russian Orthodox kingdom took place on the soil prepared by Alexander.”

The Soviet researcher of medieval Russia, V. T. Pashuto, also gave a close assessment of the policies of Alexander Nevsky: “With his careful, prudent policy, he saved Rus' from final ruin by the armies of nomads. By armed struggle, trade policy, and selective diplomacy, he avoided new wars in the North and West, a possible but disastrous alliance with the papacy for Rus', and a rapprochement between the curia and the crusaders and the Horde. He gained time, allowing Rus' to grow stronger and recover from the terrible ruin.”

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

The prince erected churches, rebuilt cities

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

Novgorod unrest

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

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

In Novgorod, which was not directly affected by either Batu’s invasion or the “Nevryuev’s army,” the news of the census was greeted with particular bitterness. The unrest in the city continued for a whole year. Even Alexander’s son, Prince Vasily, was on the side of the townspeople. When his father appeared, accompanying the Tatars, he fled to Pskov. This time the Novgorodians avoided the census, limiting themselves to paying a rich tribute to the Tatars. But their refusal to fulfill the Horde’s will aroused the wrath of the Grand Duke.

Vasily was exiled to Suzdal, the instigators of the riots were severely punished: some, on the orders of Alexander, were executed, others had their noses “cut,” and others were blinded. Only in the winter of 1259 did the Novgorodians finally agree to “give a number.” Nevertheless, the appearance of Tatar officials caused a new rebellion in the city. Only with the personal participation of Alexander and under the protection of the princely squad was the census carried out. “And the accursed began to travel through the streets, copying Christian houses,” reports the Novgorod chronicler. After the end of the census and the departure of the Tatars, Alexander left Novgorod, leaving his young son Dmitry as prince.

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

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

The last days of Alexander

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

Church veneration

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

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

If we turn to the subsequent centuries of Russian history, then we will see a kind of second, posthumous biography of the prince, whose invisible presence is clearly felt in many events - and above all in the turning points, the most dramatic moments in the life of the country. The first discovery of his relics took place in the year of the great Kulikovo victory, won by the great-grandson of Alexander Nevsky, the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Donskoy in 1380. In miraculous visions, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich appears as a direct participant in both the Battle of Kulikovo itself and the Battle of Molodi in 1572, when the troops of Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky defeated the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey just 45 kilometers from Moscow.

The image of Alexander Nevsky is seen above Vladimir in 1491, a year after the final overthrow of the Horde yoke. In 1552, during the campaign against Kazan, which led to the conquest of the Kazan Khanate, Tsar Ivan the Terrible performed a prayer service at the tomb of Alexander Nevsky, and during this prayer service a miracle occurred, regarded by everyone as a sign of the coming victory. The relics of the holy prince, which remained in the Vladimir Nativity Monastery until 1723, exuded numerous miracles, information about which was carefully recorded by the monastic authorities.

A new page in the veneration of the holy and blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky began in the 18th century, under the emperor Peter the Great. The conqueror of the Swedes and the founder of St. Petersburg, which became for Russia a “window to Europe,” Peter saw in Prince Alexander his immediate predecessor in the fight against Swedish domination on the Baltic Sea and hastened to transfer the city he founded on the banks of the Neva under his heavenly protection. Back in 1710, Peter ordered that the name of St. Alexander Nevsky be included in the dismissals during divine services as a prayer representative for the “Neva Country.” In the same year, he personally chose the place to build a monastery in the name of the Holy Trinity and St. Alexander Nevsky - the future Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Peter wanted to transfer the relics of the holy prince here from Vladimir.

Wars with the Swedes and Turks slowed down the fulfillment of this desire, and only in 1723 did they begin to fulfill it. On August 11, with all due solemnity, the holy relics were taken out of the Nativity Monastery; the procession headed towards Moscow and then towards St. Petersburg; Everywhere she was accompanied by prayer services and crowds of believers. According to Peter's plan, the holy relics were supposed to be brought into the new capital of Russia on August 30 - the day of the conclusion of the Treaty of Nystadt with the Swedes (1721). However, the distance of the journey did not allow this plan to be implemented, and the relics arrived in Shlisselburg only on October 1. By order of the emperor, they were left in the Shlisselburg Church of the Annunciation, and their transfer to St. Petersburg was postponed until next year.

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

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

Days of celebration of St. Alexander Nevsky:

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

Myths about Alexander Nevsky

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

Not true! This idea was born out of pure ignorance. The Battle of Lake Peipsi is reflected in German sources, in particular in the “Elder Livonian Rhymed Chronicle”. Based on it, some historians talk about the insignificant scale of the battle, because the Chronicle reports the death of only twenty knights. But here it is important to understand that we are talking specifically about the “brother knights” who performed the role of senior commanders. Nothing is said about the death of their warriors and representatives of the Baltic tribes recruited into the army, who formed the backbone of the army.

As for the Battle of the Neva, it was not reflected in any way in the Swedish chronicles. But, according to the largest Russian specialist on the history of the Baltic region in the Middle Ages, Igor Shaskolsky, “... this should not be surprising. In medieval Sweden, until the beginning of the 14th century, no major narrative works on the history of the country, such as Russian chronicles and large Western European chronicles, were created.” In other words, the Swedes have nowhere to look for traces of the Battle of the Neva.

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

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

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

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

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

This is completely groundless journalism. All Russian princes were in contact with the Horde at that time. After 1240, they had a choice: to die themselves and subject Rus' to new devastation, or to survive and prepare the country for new battles and ultimately for liberation. Someone rushed headlong into battle, but 90 percent of our princes of the second half of the 13th century chose a different path. And here Alexander Nevsky is no different from our other sovereigns of that period.

As for the “Asian power”, there are indeed different points of view here today. But as a historian, I believe that Rus' never became one. It was not and is not part of Europe or Asia or some kind of mixture where the European and Asian take on different proportions depending on the circumstances. Rus' represents a cultural and political essence that is sharply different from both Europe and Asia. Just as Orthodoxy is neither Catholicism, nor Islam, nor Buddhism, nor any other confession.

Metropolitan Kirill about Alexander Nevsky - the name of Russia

On October 5, 2008, in a television program dedicated to Alexander Nevsky, Metropolitan Kirill gave a fiery 10-minute speech in which he tried to reveal this image so that it would become accessible to a wide audience. The Metropolitan began with questions: Why can a noble prince from the distant past, from the 13th century, become the name of Russia? What do we know about him? Answering these questions, the Metropolitan compares Alexander Nevsky with the other twelve contenders: “You need to know history very well and you need to feel history in order to understand the modernity of this man...

I looked carefully at everyone's names. Each of the candidates is a representative of his workshop: politician, scientist, writer, poet, economist... Alexander Nevsky was not a representative of the workshop, because he was at the same time the greatest strategist... a person who sensed not political, but civilizational dangers for Russia. He did not fight against specific enemies, not against the East or the West. He fought for national identity, for national self-understanding. Without him there would be no Russia, no Russians, no our civilizational code.”

According to Metropolitan Kirill, Alexander Nevsky was a politician who defended Russia with “very subtle and courageous diplomacy.” He understood that it was impossible at that moment to defeat the Horde, which “ironed Russia twice,” captured Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, reached the Adriatic Sea, and invaded China. “Why doesn’t he start a fight against the Horde? – asks the Metropolitan. – Yes, the Horde captured Rus'. But the Tatar-Mongols did not need our soul and did not need our brains. The Tatar-Mongols needed our pockets, and they turned these pockets out, but did not encroach on our national identity. They were not able to overcome our civilizational code.

But when danger arose from the West, when the Teutonic knights clad in armor went to Rus', there was no compromise. When the Pope writes a letter to Alexander, trying to win him over to his side... Alexander answers “no”. He sees a civilizational danger, he meets these armored knights on Lake Peipsi and defeats them, just as he, by a miracle of God, defeated the Swedish warriors who entered the Neva with a small squad.”

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

As Metropolitan Kirill asserts, following Gumilyov, Alexander Nevsky was the creator of that multinational and multi-confessional “Russian world” that exists to this day. It was he who “teared the Golden Horde away from the Great Steppe”*.

With his cunning political move, he “persuaded Batu not to pay tribute to the Mongols. And the Great Steppe, this center of aggression against the whole world, found itself isolated from Rus' by the Golden Horde, which began to be drawn into the area of ​​Russian civilization. These are the first vaccinations of our union with the Tatar people, with the Mongol tribes. These are the first inoculations of our multinationality and multireligion. This is where it all started. He laid the foundation for the world-being of our people, which determined the further development of Rus' as Russia, as a great state.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prayer to the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky

(to schemamonastic Alexy)

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

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

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

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

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

Icons of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky