1. The Battle of Kulikovo was not the first successful battle of Russian troops against the Golden Horde. In 1365 the Horde were defeated at the Shishevsky forest, in 1367 on the Piana River, and in 1378 the army Dmitry Donskoy defeated the army Murza Begich on the Vozhe River.

2. Due to inconsistencies in data from sources about the Battle of Kulikovo, there are extremely contradictory estimates of the number of its participants. The smallest number of Russian and Horde troops is indicated at 5-10 thousand people, the largest - at 800 thousand people only as part of the Golden Horde army.

3. The immediate cause of the conflict that led to the Battle of Kulikovo was the refusal of the Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy to pay tribute to the Golden Horde on pre-existing conditions. At the same time, Dmitry Donskoy did not dispute the Horde’s right to tribute, but had reason to resist Mama, who was a usurper, and not the legitimate ruler of the Golden Horde.

4. The outcome of the Battle of Kulikovo was decided by the attack of the ambush regiment led by Dmitry Andreevich Bobrok-Volynsky And Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky. A century and a half earlier, in 1242, a similar reception brought the squad Alexander Nevsky victory over German knights in the battle on Lake Peipsi.

5. Before the start of the battle, Prince Dmitry Donskoy exchanged clothes with the Moscow boyar Mikhail Brenok and took his place among ordinary warriors. Mikhail Brenok, who replaced the prince, died during an attack by the Horde, who hoped to disorganize the Russian army by killing the commander.

6. Troops were supposed to act on the side of the Golden Horde army, led by Mamai Prince of Lithuania Jagiello and squad Prince Oleg Ryazansky. These plans were thwarted by the decisive march of the Russian army towards the Horde. As a result, the Lithuanians and Ryazans, who did not have time for the battle, were noted only by attacks on Russian convoys returning after the battle with the wounded and booty.

7. Dmitry Donskoy decided to give battle to the army of the Golden Horde, crossing the Oka and moving towards the Don. Thus, the prince ruled out the possibility of a sudden appearance of Mamai’s Lithuanian allies in his rear. The maneuver was unexpected not only for the Horde, but also for the Russians. In many cities that sent regiments to the battle with Mamai, it was believed that Dmitry Donskoy was leading the army to certain death

8. The triumphant of the Battle of Kulikovo, Prince Dmitry Donskoy, received a blessing for the battle from Sergius of Radonezh, was canonized under Soviet rule by the decision of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988.

9. Victories on the Kulikovo Field and in the Great Patriotic War were won under the banner of the same color - red. In the Battle of Kulikovo, Russian regiments fought under a dark red banner depicting the golden image of Jesus Christ.

10. The defeat of Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo led to his defeat in the fight against Khan Tokhtamysh for power in the Golden Horde. Two years later, in 1382, Tokhtamysh sacked and burned Moscow and forced the payment of tribute.

Once upon a time, in one of the universities, I happened to hear a comic student song that began with the words “How waders gathered on the Kulikovo Field, and shelves were quickly built in a stupid manner. When you breathe in the fumes, it stinks a mile away. Let's push ourselves guys! The enemy will be defeated!” This was still the case in Soviet times. Why did I remember this joke song now? Moreover, on September 8, 1380, that is, 637 years ago, the Mamaevo Massacre, or the Battle of Kulikovo, took place, in which the Russian army, assembled by the Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy, defeated the army of one of, as they would now say, the leaders of the Golden Horde - Mamai . Some historians believe that this victory became a kind of source of the emergence of Russia - in all its strength and glory, in all its greatness. So what's the joke here? True, there is another point of view, which says that the Battle of Kulikovo is just one of the episodes, which does not stand out in any way from a number of other similar episodes that predetermined the future rise of Rus' and the weakening of its rivals.

History, myths and legends

Be that as it may, the event is, frankly speaking, extraordinary. Even, one might say, majestic. And this despite the fact that those who talk about the massacre as just an episode may be right. We will return to this issue later. For now, we just note that the Battle of Kulikovo still remains largely a mystery, shrouded in darkness. No matter how hard scientists try and try to lift the veil of this mystery, each new version still refutes the previous one, only to be refuted after some time. There are many different layers, contradictory legends, fragmentary information, vague legends. Although scientists still managed to unravel something. In some ways they agree. But who knows if something will appear that will again force them to enter into controversy even on issues that seem to have already been clarified.

Incident belly

Everyone agrees that the immediate, formal reason that ultimately led to the battle was that Dmitry Donskoy refused Mamai’s demand to increase the size of the tribute. Mamai demanded that he be paid as much as he was paid under Dzhanibek. However, if historians are to be believed, this is really just a formal reason. Historians tell us that in the second half of the 14th century there was a simultaneous strengthening of both the Moscow principality and the positions of Mamai, who was fighting for power in the Golden Horde. We will not go into the details of the politics of Mamai and Dmitry now, let’s just say that they simply could not help but clash. And now the moment has come.

“But intelligence reported accurately”

Yes, Mamai’s plans in Moscow became known in advance. The fact is that Zakhary Tyutchev was sent to him with gold. For negotiations. But, apparently, not only for negotiations. Because it was from him that it became known about Mamai’s alliance with the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiel and Oleg Ryazansky. Then two more so-called language guards were sent. The information was confirmed. Even the approximate time of the alleged invasion of Mamaia and her allies became known.

How many were there?

Now it’s worth talking about discrepancies, legends, myths, confusion in assessing facts and figures. Let's start, perhaps, with the number of Russian troops preparing to repel the attack. Here, as accountants say, the numbers don't matter. Suffice it to say that it was said about two hundred thousand soldiers of the Moscow Principality, together with its allies, and about four hundred thousand. However, later scientists agreed on fifty to sixty thousand. But that's not all. Some researchers note that in fact, six to ten (6-10) thousand people could have participated directly in the battle from the Moscow army, as, by the way, from Mamai’s army. At the same time, mostly horsemen. And thus, it was, in fact, a horse fight, and it lasted not three chronicled hours, but about half an hour. There are the same inconsistencies in the estimate of the size of Mamai’s army: from sixty to eight hundred thousand people. And, of course, six to ten thousand horsemen, if we accept the version of a short-term horse fight.

“And then we found a large field”

Scientists, relying on information from the chronicles, which said that the battle took place on the Don at the mouth of the Nepryadva, found out that in those days there was... a forest on the left bank of the Nepryadva. Solid. No field for you. However, a treeless area was still discovered. And the actual size of the fighting site was determined - two kilometers in length, eight hundred (maximum) meters in width. So, having received such dimensions, they began to say that from six to ten thousand horsemen from both sides took part in the battle.

Blessing of Sergius of Radonezh

Everyone who is even more or less interested in the history of the Battle of Kulikovo undoubtedly knows the episode of the blessing of the Russian army by Sergius of Radonezh. As noted, information about him became so widespread thanks to the life of the monk. It is said that at first Sergius of Radonezh advised the prince to show humility and honor Mamai with gifts in order to save Christian lives. When Dmitry said that he had already done this, and Mamai did not calm down, the elder blessed him, predicting victory. But it is also noted that in early sources about the battle there is no fact of such a blessing.

Peresvet and Chelubey

The same story is with the famous fight before the battle of the monk Peresvet with the Tatar warrior Chelubey. And the very course of their duel is described differently in different sources, and even the fact of its holding is not recognized by all historians.

There is another interesting legend associated with the Mamaev massacre. Allegedly, after the battle, returning to Moscow, the prince stopped in Sirotin, a Cossack town. And there he received an icon as a gift, which later became one of the greatest Russian shrines. According to another version, the Cossacks themselves arrived with the icon in the camp of the Russian army even before the battle, and during the battle she was in this camp, and the victory was won thanks to her intercession. In any case, today it is known as the Don Icon of the Mother of God. In the Russian Empire, it was a particularly revered shrine, and people always turned to it when there was a danger of enemy invasion.

Burn your bridges behind you

It is not our task to give a detailed description of the Battle of Kulikovo itself. Everything was there. And sober calculation, and luck, and cunning, and audacity. At first, the Russian army found itself in a very difficult situation, but then the tide of the battle was turned, and only heavy losses, as some historians note, did not allow the success to be developed. One thing can be emphasized: it would not be too much of an exaggeration to say that the battle was won even before it began. Dmitry transferred the army to the southern bank of the Don and destroyed the bridges behind him, thus solving two problems: he did not allow Mamai to connect with the allies and provided the rear of the army in case of their approach.

What calmed my heart

Now let’s return to historians’ assessment of the consequences of the Battle of Kulikovo. As was said above, someone believes that, to some extent, the formation of Great Rus' began with her, or rather, was given the opportunity to continue. That Rus', which then grew into an empire and under different names, having experienced more than one change of political system, exists to this day. Because this is both a huge step towards liberation from dependence on the Golden Horde, and a Christian feat of resisting the aggression of infidels. Others, as noted, say that the significance of this battle should not be exaggerated, that its real beneficiary was Tokhtamysh, who received the weakening of both Mamai and Dmitry, that the rule of the Golden Horde rulers has not gone away. But the fact that after the battle Moscow turned into a kind of ideological center for the unification of the East Slavic lands cannot be overlooked.

Symbol of spiritual achievement

Be that as it may, here we come to the question that real historical facts (the reality and interpretation of which vary so much in the study and understanding of scientists) and their symbolic meaning often do not coincide. Symbols have their own content. And it often and densely plays a much more important role in the formation of a particular state than historical reality (again, a reality that is different for different researchers). The Battle of Kulikovo became one of these symbols. Its content for a Russian person (Russian in the broadest, supranational sense) is uplifting. Here there is something to rely on, something to push off from in order to rush upward.

 16.09.2014 10:05

“Only then can you understand the essence of things
When you know their origin and development" (Aristotle)

Everyone is already accustomed to the fact that since 1917, the History of Russia has been rewritten many times. Many of us assume that even before the Bolsheviks, not everything was written down completely and right away. And very few people realize that even in the depths of centuries, purges of history took place, no matter how large-scale or steeper they were. History is an unpredictable thing: tangled and mixed up, sometimes by chance, sometimes methodically, and sometimes completely deliberately...

I propose to get acquainted with the alternative history of antiquity from the point of view of an independent expert who does not belong to any political party or religious denomination.

The point is that in the 16th-17th centuries there was a global political revolution that greatly affected almost the entire Eurasian civilization: maps were redrawn, cities were renamed, books and chronicles were burned and rewritten.
And only after this did traditional historical science begin to take shape, which today is not able to properly explain many of the inconsistencies and contradictions. There is direct evidence of this in Russia.

Now let me introduce you to a shocking reconstruction of the Battle of Kulikovo based on the sources that I have studied and analyzed.

Putin about the Battle of Kulikovo

Once upon a time there lived at the beginning of the 19th century a nobleman Stepan Dmitrievich Nechaev, the director of a school in the Tula province, a freemason, a Decembrist, a member of the Union of Welfare, and a close acquaintance of Ryleev.
Like all Decembrists, he showed great interest in the struggle of the Russian people against the Horde.

In June 1820, the Tula governor V.F. Vasiliev petitioned Alexander I for the construction of a monument “marking the place where Russia was liberated and glorified in 1380.”

Needless to say, the site of the battle was found on the land of the wealthy landowner Stepan Nechaev. In 1821, in the journal “Bulletin of Europe” Nechaev wrote: “The Kulikovo Field, according to historical legends, was located between the rivers Nepryadva, Don and Mecheya. Its northern part, adjacent to the confluence of the first two, still retains its ancient name among the inhabitants.”

Further, Nechaev points to the toponyms preserved “in this region” - the village of Kulikovka, the village of Kulikovo, the Kulikovsky ravine, etc. In these places, according to Nechaev, “the most ancient weapons, reeds, swords, spears, arrows, as well as copper and silver crosses are dug up and more foldable. Previously, the farmer’s plow even tore off human bones.”

But the author believed that the strongest proof of his opinion was “the position of the Green Oak Forest, where the ambush that decided the bloody battle was hidden.” According to Nechaev, the remains of the oak grove still exist in the dachas of the village of Rozhdestveno or Monastyrshchina, “lying at the very mouth of the Nepryadva.”

THERE WAS NO Tatar-Mongol Yoke

Alas, all of Nechaev’s arguments do not stand up to elementary criticism. For example, why is “Green Oak Forest” a proper name?

And how many such oak forests are there on the vast territory of the Kulikov field? As for Nepryadva, there was no shortage of small rivers, rivulets and streams flowing into the still shallow Don in the Tula province in Nechaev’s destinies. But none of them was called Nepryadva. Moreover, in all of Russia there was no river, channel or other body of water with that name or even one close to it!

As proof of the non-existence of the chronicle Nepryadva, I cite the 540-page work published in 1776, “Geographical and methodological description of the Russian Empire, with a proper introduction to a thorough knowledge of the globe and Europe in general, for the guidance of students studying at the Imperial Moscow Youth University, from the best of the latest and reliable writers collected through the works of university student Khariton Chebotarev.”

In the most detailed index of all geographical names, of everything that was located on the territory of the Empire, such a name, smeared with the honey of chronicles and legends, like Nepryadva, is completely absent in reality!

In 1995, in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta on July 6, an article by Nikolai Kireev appeared under the symbolic title “Where are you, Kulikovo Field?” Which tells about the unsuccessful attempts of archaeologists that have been ongoing for many years to find any traces of the Battle of Kulikovo in the Tula region, where it was sent by Romanov historians and landowner Nechaev.

I will quote the conclusions of this article: “Employees of the Tula Archaeological Expedition, together with colleagues from the State Historical Museum, have been excavating the Kulikovo Field since 1982. More than 350 archaeological sites have been discovered and explored. The general picture of the appearance of the field over three thousand years has been restored... flora, fauna, soil... To study the 70-kilometer corridor, specialists... used not only geomagnetic surveys. Hundreds of meters of trenches were dug here. The area was literally combed by soldiers and schoolchildren. They even invited psychics. However, over the years of searching, not a single important object was found that would allow us to reliably state that the battle took place in the northern part of the field near the village of Khvorostyanka and the Smolka River...

But this time the archaeologists were equipped with the latest American metal detectors from the Fisher company. The devices allow you to detect metal at a depth of up to 30 centimeters and determine its type. The result was immediate: within the first week, an arrowhead was found in the Green Dubrava area. Near the village of Khvorostyanka there are several more, including those from an armor-piercing arrow, as well as waist locks that were part of the warrior’s equipment. The work continues."

So, we found one arrowhead, then several more, plus waist locks. This is too small for the site of the largest battle. In many books telling about the Battle of Kulikovo, there is a photograph of chain mail allegedly found on the Kulikovo field in the Tula region.

However, its excellent state of preservation looks extremely suspicious for chain mail supposedly six hundred years old. They want to convince us that this shirt, woven from thin metal rings, lay in the ground for about six hundred years. Then they allegedly dug it up, carefully straightened it, shook off the wet soil and took it to the museum.

However, after so many years, it should have turned into a sintered stone-metal ball, which would have been impossible not only to straighten, but even to separate individual rings from it. It seems to me that this chain mail was made relatively recently. It was passed off as “ancient” in order to show us at least one example of ancient military equipment, allegedly dug up on the “Kulikovo Field” in the Tula region.

It should be noted that when repelling the raids of the “Crimean Tatars” (Krymchak Turks) throughout the 16th century, dozens of battles and skirmishes took place in the Kulikovo field area. However, relatively few weapons were found on the Kulikovo field (in its broad sense). Moreover, the finds were almost evenly distributed both geographically and chronologically - from the 11th to the 17th centuries (cast iron cannonballs, lead bullets and a flintlock pistol cannot date back to 1380!). The most surprising thing is that on the Kulikovo field, both in the narrow and in the broad sense, no group burials of soldiers were found.

During the great battle, which ended in the complete defeat of Mamai’s warriors, there must inevitably be hundreds, or even thousands, of prisoners. In Russian chronicles, since the 10th century, their number is always given, the most notable captives are named by name. But in this case, all Russian sources of the 14th-15th centuries are silent about them, and modern historians and fiction writers have passed over this curious fact.

Where is Kulikovo Field actually located? Using all the documents available today, as well as the Heritage of our Ancestors, we will try to clarify the question posed above.

Today, like almost two centuries ago, it is believed that the Kulikovo Field is located in the Kurkinsky district of the Tula region. This is approximately 300 kilometers south of Moscow. Allegedly, it was in this place that the most famous battle in Russian history took place between Russian troops led by Dmitry Donskoy and Tatar-Mongol troops led by Mamai.

However, it is known that for some reason no traces of the famous battle were found on this Tula “Kulikovo Field”.

Moreover, the size of this field is clearly small for such a large battle. Many historians have also paid attention to this. Was it worth it for both troops to travel so far, to such a small field? Question: is everyone looking for the Kulikovo Field there?

For now, I suggest to the reader that as a version, transfer the Battle of Kulikovo to the territory of Moscow.

Let's start with the fact that some chronicles directly say that the Kulikovo Field was located in Moscow.

For example, the famous Arkhangelsk chronicler, describing the meeting of the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God in Moscow during Timur’s invasion in 1402, reports that the icon was met in Moscow “on the field on Kulichkovo”. Here's the full quote:

“And he brought the icon and set it up, Metropolitan Cyprian with a multitude of people, in the field on Kulichkovo, where now the stone church stands in the name of the Presentation of the Most Pure One, in the month of August, on the 26th day.”

The mentioned church stands, as you know, on Sretenka. And not far from Sretenka in Moscow there is a place that is still known by its ancient name - Kulishki.

It is on Kulishki that the Church of All Saints still stands, which “according to old legend, was built by Dmitry Donskoy in memory of the soldiers killed on the Kulikovo Field.”

“Stone Church of All Saints on Kulishki, mentioned in the news of 1488. The church has survived to this day in its altered form.” To this day it is still called: “Church of All Saints on Kulishki.” Today, right next to it is the lower exit from the Kitay-Gorod metro station. The square today is called Slavyanskaya. Recently a monument to Cyril and Methodius was erected on it. Just below is the Moscow River. Here is Solyanka Street, which was previously also called Kulizhki, i.e. Kulishki.

It is believed that “Kulizhki also meant marshy areas.” In addition, “Kulizhka” is a forest that has been cut down, uprooted, and burned out for arable land (see V. Dahl’s Explanatory Dictionary). And in Moscow, “most of the area near Kulishki was occupied by gardens.”

The Moscow Kulishki also captured the area of ​​the Pokrovsky Gate, which was also called the Kulish Gate relatively recently - three centuries ago.

The main primary source on the history of the Battle of Kulikovo is considered to be “Zadonshchina”. There is every reason to believe that “Zadonshchina” was written in the eighties of the 14th century, shortly after the Battle of Kulikovo and, in any case, during the life of Dmitry Donskoy. A later source is “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev,” which “most likely was written in the first quarter of the 15th century.”

It is believed that “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev” is based on “Zadonshchina”: “Insertions from Zadonshchina were made into the Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev - both in the original text of this work and in its subsequent editions.”

There is also the chronicle “The Tale of the Battle of Kulikovo,” but historians believe that it was created no earlier than the mid-15th century as a journalistic work. It follows that “Zadonshchina” is the main source of modern historical science.

“Zadonshchina” has reached us in 6 lists. The earliest of them is an abbreviated reworking of only the first half of the entire work. As for the rest, the remaining lists of “Zadonshchina” provide a text that was greatly distorted by the scribes...

Each individual list of “Zadonshchina” has such a number of distortions and defects that publishing the work according to any one of the lists will not give a sufficiently complete and clear idea of ​​the text of the work. Therefore, since ancient times it has been customary to provide a reconstruction of the text of “Zadonshchina” based on a comparative analysis of all copies of the monument.

All lists, except one, date back to the 16th-17th centuries. The earliest list (containing only half of “Zadonshchina”) dates back to the end of the 15th century.

In the fundamental edition of “Zadonshchina,” attention is immediately drawn to the fact that a significant part of the geographical names are highlighted in italics in the text.
This means that these fragments were restored, reconstructed by later historians (based on comparison of several versions of the text).

At the same time, it turns out that quite often the original geographical names that were present in the main list were for some reason replaced with others. Among the “italic names”, for some reason, Don and Nepryadva are especially common. But then a legitimate question arises: what were the original geographical names in the primary monument here? On what basis were they changed to the names Don and Nepryadva? Let's try to clarify.

According to chronicle sources, Mamai’s headquarters during the Battle of Kulikovo was located “on Red Hill.” A few days before the start of the battle, the Russian “Melik’s guards gradually retreated under pressure from the Tatars to Nepryadva, to the Red Hill, from the top of which the entire surrounding area was visible.”
During the battle, “Mamai with the three princes was on Red Hill, from where he led the troops.” “Tsar Mamai with three dark princes went up to a place high, on Sholomya, and that stasha, although they saw bloodshed.” Thus, next to the Kulikovo Field there was Red Hill. Is there such a Hill in Moscow?

Yes, I have. A very high steep hill, which was previously called Red Hill, descends directly to Kulishki (to the Yauzsky Gate).
At its top is Taganskaya Square, known to all Muscovites. Remember the steep descent to the high-rise building at the Yauz Gate. Wasn’t it on this Red Hill, i.e. on Taganskaya Square, that Mamai’s headquarters was located? Moreover, near this place there is still the Krasnokholmskaya embankment (Moscow River) and the famous Krasnokholmsky bridge.

Before the start of the Battle of Kulikovo, Mamai’s troops stopped at “Kuzmina Gati”. Any Muscovite will immediately exclaim - these are Moscow Kuzminki! Famous Kuzminki district. In the Kuzminki area, on the other bank of the Moskva River, we see the large Nagatino district, that is, on Gati (the word Gati means a swampy, damp place paved with something, through which you simply cannot walk).

It is worth noting that historians are unable to point out Kuzmin Gat in the vicinity of the modern Don.

Each of the versions they /Historians/ offer turns out to contradict the chronicle data. As a result, historians prefer to blame chroniclers for misunderstanding history. They write like this: “Intractable contradictions arise...apparently, either the identification of Kuzmina Gati made by the researchers was incorrect, or the author of the Legend had rather vague ideas about the routes of the troops of Mamai and Dmitry of Moscow to the Kulikovo Field.” This recognition is contained in a large scientific study edited by Academician B.A. Rybakov.

And now it’s useful to take And now it’s useful to take a map of Moscow, put it in front of you and follow the further story.

So, let's continue:
Mamai approached Kulishki (the center of modern Moscow) from the eastern side of Moscow, being on the left bank of the Moscow River. That is, on the bank where the Battle of Kulikovo will now take place.

And Dmitry walked towards him from the southern side of Moscow, being on the right bank of the Moscow River. Before the battle, Dmitry crossed the river.

The troops converged in the center of modern Moscow - on Kulishki (in the area of ​​​​Slavyanskaya Square and Sretenka). Take a look at the map again.

To complete the picture, we will inform you that while Mamai is standing on “Kuzminaya Gati”, Dmitry is standing “on Berezuya”, that is, on the bank, “on the breeze” of the river.

According to the chronicle, Dmitry marched to the Battle of Kulikovo from Kolomna, where he united with his allies. Today it is believed that Dmitry left the city of Kolomna near Moscow (about 100 kilometers from Moscow). Maybe. But one cannot help but pay attention to another very probable option: Dmitry Donskoy marched to the battle from the famous village of Kolomenskoye, located today inside Moscow (Kolomenskaya metro station).

Let us remember that it was in this Kolomenskoye that there was a huge wooden royal palace. This version is also confirmed by the following evidence from “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev.”

Dmitry, having learned about the impending attack, ordered his comrades to report to Moscow, where they arrived. Right there, a page later, the chronicle, literally in the same words, once again speaks of exactly the same (completely identical!) order of Dmitry to his comrades, ordering them to gather, but this time in Kolomna. Apparently, here we are simply talking about the same order from Dmitry to his associates to gather in Kolomenskoye - in Moscow. The chronicle repeated the same fragment twice.

The chronicle constantly practically superimposes Kolomna on Moscow. So, having said that Dmitry is gathering regiments in Kolomna (see above), he immediately continues that the troops are marching to battle from Moscow.

This again places Kolomna within the famous village of Kolomenskoye in Moscow. Moreover, Moscow was the center where detachments from Russian cities converged: “... many people from all countries descended on Moscow to the Grand Duke.”
The Belozersk, Yaroslavl, Rostov, and Ustyug regiments came here. The main force of the Russian army was made up of Muscovites. This can be seen from the story about the formation of regiments on Kolomna and on the Kulikovo Field.”

So, we see that Dmitry Donskoy came out from here from the Kolomenskoye district, located on the right bank of the Moscow River, not far from the center of Moscow.

As the chronicle says, Dmitry is moving in the direction “towards the Cauldron”. If this is in Moscow, then where? Look at the map. You will immediately see the Kotlovka River near Kolomenskoye (in Moscow), the Nizhnie Kotly railway station (located near Kolomenskoye, in Moscow).

Consequently, having set out from Kolomenskoye, Dmitry heads upstream the Moscow River towards the Kotlovka River. By the way, moving in this direction, Dmitry should soon find himself in the area of ​​the Novodevichy Convent (though on the other side of the Moscow River). Let's check the chronicle - will our version come true?

On the way to the battlefield, Dmitry arranged for his army to review “on the Devichye field.” “More than 150 thousand horsemen and foot soldiers stood in ranks, and Dmitry, riding out into the vast maiden field, saw with spiritual joy the militia so numerous.”
Moreover, “The Legend of the Massacre of Mamayev” says the following in plain text: “The next morning the Grand Duke ordered all the soldiers to go to the field to the nunnery,” “to the field to Divich.”

As part of our version, I am obliged to indicate the Maiden Field and the Maiden Convent in Moscow. You don't have to search for long. This is the famous field in the bend of the Moscow River, on which the Novodevichy Convent stands today. This huge field was called the Maiden Field. The names still remain here: “Devichy Pole Passage” (formerly simply “Devichy Pole”), Novodevichy Embankment, Novodevichy Lane.

Thus, as we see, Dmitry, having set out from Kolomenskoye, crossed the Moscow River and ended up on the Maiden Field, where he staged a military review. In the chronicle, this river crossing immediately before the battle is called “crossing the Don.”

A natural thought arises that here the future Moscow River was named Don. If this is so, then the former name of the Moscow River is Don, that is, just a river (about Don = River, see below).

Today the name Don is usually associated with only one river - the modern Don. But it turns out that the word “don” meant - and in many languages ​​still means - simply “river”. This is a known fact.

M. Vasmer's Etymological Dictionary reports that the words Don and Danube in many ancient languages ​​meant “river” in general. Moreover, not only in Slavic, but also in Turkish, in ancient Indian, in ancient Avestan, etc. Until now, in Russian dialects there is the word Danube, meaning stream (Olonets dialect), in Polish Danube means “deep river with high banks ”, and in Latvian dunavas means “river, spring”.

Moreover, the names of the largest rivers in Europe are also derived from the word Don: Dnieper and Dniester. In all these names, the first two letters dn mean “river,” that is, don (or dn without vowels). There is nothing to say about the Danube River. It's just a slightly different form of the word don.

So, Don = “river”. And therefore, many rivers should have been called Don.

Since I am trying to show you that the Kulikovo Field was on the territory of present-day Moscow, the question arises: where is the “Don River” in Moscow? It turns out that the Moscow River itself was previously called the Don. The same river that is called the Don today was called the Tanais in the Middle Ages. The Cossacks called it the Quiet Don, i.e. quiet river.

Traces of the name “Don” are still preserved in Moscow. Not far from the old Simonov Monastery (today it is located next to the Avtozavodskaya metro station), which, as we will soon see, is directly connected with the Battle of Kulikovo, there was a courtyard of the well-known Sarsk and Podonsk diocese, with the cathedra of this diocese, the bishop's house and the cathedral church . It is believed that here the Sara River flowed into the Moscow River (Don), which gave this place the name Sarsky.

It is striking that “Zadonshchina” clearly means the Moscow River when talking about the Don River. In fact, Princess Marya cried early in the morning on the visors of the Moscow walls, wailing: “Oh Don, Don, fast river... bring my master Mikula Vasilyevich to me on your waves.” So, the Don River flows through Moscow. What river flows through Moscow? Right. Moscow River. Thus, the version that in ancient times the Moscow River was called the Don receives direct chronicle confirmation.

Before the start of the Battle of Kulikovo there was thick fog. It is known that “Russian regiments... maintained communication with each other through “trumpet voices.” “It was a foggy morning, Christian banners began to flutter and military trumpets began to sound in abundance... The Russian horses were cheered up by the sound of trumpets.”

Apparently, the well-known Moscow Trubnaya Square preserves the memory of this sound of Russian military trumpets on the Kulikovo Field today.

According to the chronicle, the Battle of Kulikovo continued throughout the day, after which Mamai’s troops fled and were pressed to the Mecha River, “where many Tatars drowned.” And Mamai himself escaped with a few soldiers.

Thus, Mecha is a rather large river (you can drown in it), located next to the battlefield, since all the events took place on the same day. Where is the Mecha River? Of course, today you can find the small river Krasivaya Mecha in the Tula region, where the battle supposedly took place. But, we repeat, there are no traces of the battle there. And the very name “Sword” could have appeared here much later, when historians moved the Battle of Kulikovo here. After all, following the instructions of the all-knowing Historians, it was here (in the Tula region) in 1848-1850 that a monument to the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo was erected and a museum was founded. Perhaps that is the only reason why “Beautiful Sword” appeared here on the map.

But if the Battle of Kulikovo took place on the territory of Moscow, then where is the “Sword River”?
My answer is simple: it is either the Moscow River itself or its tributary Mocha (52 kilometers long). The words “Sword” and “Urine” are almost identical! However, the Mocha River marked on the modern map flows first into the Pakhra River, and then Pakhra into the Moscow River. Thus, today's Mocha is located outside of Moscow.

But most likely, the chronicle here refers to the Moscow River itself. A large river, on the banks of which the Kulishki field is located. The defeated troops of Mamai were pressed against the Moscow River, where many soldiers could well have drowned. And the very name “Sword” may be a slight distortion of the name of the Moscow River. The fact is that the name Moscow comes, as was believed in the 17th century, from the name Mosoh, or Meshekh, i.e. (without vowels) - MSKh or Mosh - Moch - Moscow. It is clear that from all these options the word “Sword” could well have been born. Let us remember that many Russian chronicles came to us from Poland.

The Battle of Kulikovo took place on the Nepryadva River. This famous river is mentioned many times in all chronicles talking about the Battle of Kulikovo. The Nepryadva River, according to the description of the chronicle, flowed directly across the battlefield and also, judging by the description of the battle, was a small river (they fought, among other things, right on it).

Can we point out the Nepryadva River in Moscow?

It’s amazing that this river really exists, and where it should be - in Moscow’s Kulishki. This is the modern Yauza, which flows along Kulishki and flows into the Moscow River at a place called the Yauza Gate, where the Stalinist high-rise building stands on Kotelnicheskaya. At first glance, there is nothing in common between the names Nepryadva and Yauza. In terms of sound - yes, indeed - the words are different. But in image these two names are identical. The word “spinning” means to twitch, to make a sudden movement. For example, they say about horses: “they spin their ears,” that is, they twitch. Let's look at Dahl's Dictionary: “Spinning, spinning, spinning - jumping, galloping, jumping, rushing...; Pryadun is a waterfall, a stream falling from a cliff.” What is Yauza? There is only one Russian root from which such a word could come - “uza”. That is, a connection, a limitation. Dahl's Dictionary: “Ties, ties - ligatures, chains, shackles.” The bridle restricts the horse's movement and prevents it from running in a stray direction. In other words, the Yauza is a river on which bonds are imposed - for example, fortified banks. It’s the same as Nepryadva not going beyond the borders. Thus, the two names mean the same thing, namely, a calm river bed.

It must be said that among the Moscow rivers there is also one very close in name to the word “Nepryadva”. This is the Naprudnaya River, also known as Samotyok, in the center of Moscow. It is difficult to get rid of the impression that Nepryadva is simply a variant of the name Naprudnaya, from the words “on the pond”, “on the ponds”. Moreover, the Naprudnaya River is located on the Moscow Kulishki, that is, right on the Kulikovo Field. In fact: “The main, so to speak, elevation goes... first along the Naprudnaya (Samoteka) river, and then Neglinnaya directly to the Kremlin;... it goes along Sretenka and Lubyanka (the ancient Kulichkovo field) and enters... into Kitay-Gorod.” All this is the area of ​​​​the large Kulikovo field in Moscow.

The emergence of the name Naprudnaya is completely natural, since there were (and still are) many ponds in Moscow. Today, Naprudny streets (1st and 2nd), Naprudny lane, Prudovaya street, Prudovoy proezd, etc. are well known.

Moreover, to the north of the Kremlin on the Yauza there was the village of Naprudskoye! The names Nepryadva and Naprudnaya are almost identical. The easy transformation of Naprudnaya into Nepryadva can also be understood from the name Prudovaya that is still preserved in Moscow. The Naprudnaya River could also be called Naprudova, or Nepryadva.

Let me remind you that the name Nepryadva is in italics in some places in modern editions of Zadonshchina (although there are, of course, “Nepryadva” without italics). This means that in these places in the text of “Zadonshchina” the name “Nepryadva” was reconstructed.

The outcome of the Battle of Kulikovo was decided by an ambush, led by Prince Vladimir Andreevich with governor Dmitry Bobrok. It was his blow that decided the fate of the battle. Quite a lot of space is devoted to this important, turning point event in “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev.” It is natural to expect that some memories of this ambush regiment would have been preserved at the battle site. And indeed, on one of the hills, very close to Kulishki, the famous church of “St. Vladimir in the Gardens” (Starosadsky Lane) still stands. This is where, apparently, the ambush regiment of Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky stood. This is the southern slope, it was heavily overgrown, and subsequently there were gardens (hence the name Starosadsky Lane and “church in the gardens”).

We will use the publication “Monuments of the Kulikovo Cycle”, which contains various versions of Tales of the Battle of Kulikovo. When describing the Battle of Kulikovo in “The Tale of the Battle of the Righteous Prince Dimitry Ivanovich with the Wicked Tsar Mamai of Hellenism,” it is reported that the night before the start of the battle, the warrior Thomas from the army of Dmitry Donskoy was placed on guard on the Chura River, on Mikhailov. He had a heavenly vision, which he reported to the prince. Here is this fragment: “That same night, a certain robber named Thomas from the Grand Duke spoke to Chyura on Mikhail for his courage, standing on strong guard from the filthy.” In another version of the “Tale” it is written like this: “Thomas the Robber was quickly placed on the river at Chura, and two young men appeared to him in the night in a cloud, slaying the filthy ones.” And further: “And on the morning of the day I told the story to the only great prince.” In other lists of the “Tales” the nicknames of Foma are given: Foma Katsibey, Foma Khabycheev, Foma Khetsibeev. So, just before the start of the Battle of Kulikovo, Dmitry Donskoy’s troops stood on the Chura River, on Mikhailov. The question is, is there a river with that name in Moscow? Yes, I have. Moreover, this river still exists today under the same name Chura. It flows next to the Danilovsky Monastery, not far from Leninsky Prospekt, through the Muslim cemetery, which was previously called Tatarsky. The name Chura is old; it is also present on old plans of Moscow. Nearby are the Lower Kotly, through which, as we have already said, the army of Dmitry Donskoy passed, approaching Mamai. Thus, the Moscow Chura River is located where, according to our version, the troops of Dmitry Donskoy passed before the Battle of Kulikovo. And now - the most interesting part. Why is it noted in the “Tale” that the army stood on the Chura River, “on Mikhailov”? Probably, the river flowed through the village of Mikhailov or some area with that name. Does the Moscow Chura River flow through an area with a similar name? Yes, it is leaking. Just look at the map of Moscow to see Mikhailovsky Proezd literally next to the Chura River and the Muslim Cemetery. Moreover, he is not the only one with this name. There is a whole cluster of Mikhailovsky passages here. Eight passages!

It is absolutely clear that this entire territory is closely connected with the name Mikhailov. Most likely, this name is old. Maybe there was an old Mikhailovskaya Sloboda and something else with that name. It must be said that the Moscow Chura River is not long, so it is almost entirely located near this “Mikhailovsky Place” in Moscow. With full right, the chroniclers could indicate the camp of troops in this place as a camp “on Chura, on Mikhailov”. This cluster of “Mikhailovsky names” on the territory of Moscow is the only one. According to the Moscow Streets directory, there is only Mikhailov Street and Mikhailovsky Proezd, passing near the Taganskaya, Proletarskaya and Ryazansky Prospekt metro stations. There are no other “Mikhailovsky Streets” on the territory of Moscow mentioned in the directory.

What will historians tell us about the Chura and Mikhailov rivers in the Tula region? It turns out that they have great difficulties here. They cannot indicate the Chura River, which flows through Mikhailovo, in the Tula region. This is probably why some historians suggested looking instead of the river for a village called Chur Mikhailov. However, today there is no such village in the Tula region either. They write evasively: “According to K.V. Kudryashov, Chur Mikhailov lay near the confluence of the Kochura River with the Don, more than 50 kilometers down the Don from the mouth of the Nepryadva.” However, regarding the chronicle phrase, based on which they suggested looking for a village instead of a river, they themselves admit the following: “The phrase is spoiled by typos and later incorrect interpretation of the text, which obscure its meaning.” Like this.

Today they explain to us that Russians fought with Tatars on the Kulikovo Field. The Russians won. The Tatars lost. For some reason, the primary sources have a different opinion.

First, let's see who fought on the side of the Tatars and Mamai. It turns out that “the Volga Tatars reluctantly served Mamai, and there were few of them in his army.” Mamai's troops consisted of Poles, Latvians, Estonians, Spaniards, Genoese (Friazis), Venetians, Turks, Armenians, Georgians and Cherkasy. Mamai received financial assistance from the Genoese!

By the way, let's note a little-known fact. It turns out that Mamai is a Christian name that is still present in the Christian calendar of the Greek Church in the form of Mamiya. Apparently, this is a slightly distorted version of Mama, Mamin, that is, “mother’s son.” If any of the readers paid attention to the title of Mamai in “The Tale of the Battle of the Righteous Prince Dimitri Ivanovich with the Wicked Tsar Mamai of Greece,” then much becomes clear. I will talk about this in more detail later.

Now let's see - who fought in the Russian troops? “Moscow... demonstrated loyalty to the alliance with the legitimate heir of the khans of the Golden Horde - Tokhtamysh, who stood at the head of the Volga and Siberian Tatars.”

It is absolutely clear that the internecine struggle in the Horde is being described. The Volga and Siberian Tatars, as part of the “Russian troops,” are fighting the Turks, Poles and Genoese as part of Mamai’s troops! The Russian army “consisted of princely cavalry and foot squads, as well as militia... The cavalry... was formed from Tatars who had defected from the Lithuanians and were trained to fight in the Tatar cavalry of the Russians.” Mamai's ally was the Lithuanian prince Jagiello, Dmitry's ally is considered to be Khan Tokhtamysh with an army of Siberian Tatars.

Today, of course, no one is surprised that Mamai’s troops are called the Horde in the chronicles. But it turns out that Russian troops are also called the Horde! Moreover, not just anywhere, but in the famous “Zadonshchina”. Here, for example, is what they say to Mamai after his defeat on the Kulikovo Field: “Why are you, filthy Mamai, encroaching on Russian land? Then the Zaleskaya Horde beat you.” Let me remind you that Zaleskaya land is Vladimir-Suzdal Rus'.

By the way, ancient Russian miniatures depicting the Battle of Kulikovo depict Russians and Tatars in the same way - identical clothes, identical weapons, identical hats, etc. It is impossible to distinguish “Russians” from “Tatars” from the drawing.

Let us clarify the internecine struggle in the Horde.

At the beginning of the 14th century, a powerful power existed on the territory of Eurasia. The territory from Transbaikalia to the Carpathians and from the Arctic Ocean to the Caucasus, Aral, Balkhash and the southern forts of Sayano-Altai was occupied by the Great Slavic Power of Russenia (Tartaria; Grand Tartaria - according to Western sources). Subsequently, the word Russenia passed into the Latin language as Ruthenia, and they began to translate it simply as Rus. The people who created this power were the Slavic-Aryans, whose professional Horde army held vast territories under control, including the Principality of Moscow. The headquarters of part of this Horde army was on the Volga (Bolga). It was headed by temnik-atamans, under whose command were Russian princes and Turkic khans. Representatives of subordinate peoples, principalities and khanates who arrived at the headquarters saw tents with a gilded top at the headquarters. This fact gave Christian chroniclers a reason to call the headquarters of the Western Horde army the Golden Horde, which in fact never existed, just as the Tatar-Mongol yoke never existed.

The territory beyond the Ripean Mountains (covered with burrs), that is, the Ural Mountains, was called Venea (Aenea). Its eastern part was called Gardarika (land of many cities). It included: Novgorod Rus (Slovenia), it was founded by Prince Sloven with the capital Slovensk (after the fire it was renamed Novgorod - Novgorod). Pomeranian Rus' and Prussia, which included Latvia and East Prussia. Red Rus' (Chervonnaya), which included Poland and Lithuania (later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). White Rus' - Belarus. Middle Rus' - Muscovy, the city of Vladimir, Suzdal, etc. Little Rus' - Kievan Rus (later Little Russia). Carpathian Rus' - Romania, Hungary. Silver Rus' - Serbia and others.

Central Asia, Xinjiang, Mongolia, China and other countries were then part of the Mughal Empire. In 1368, as a result of the “sinification” of the Kublai dynasty, China was liberated and the Mughal Empire collapsed. China even managed to capture Eastern Mogolia. His troops took and destroyed the capital of the Mughal Empire, the city of Karakorum. In the rest of the Mughal Empire, several independent states were formed. Mogolistan was formed on the territory of present-day Xinjiang and Western Mongolia. Several Turkic states arose in Central Asia (Asia).

The Great Slavic Power of Russenia-Tartaria at this time was forced to allocate a significant part of its military forces to counter the Arim (Chinese) in the east and assist Mogolistan in the fight against the Arim. The young talented thousand-man Timur was sent there with the army. The advance of the Arim was stopped by the joint actions of the troops of the “Tartars” and “Mughals”. During this war, the temnik Urus and the thousand-man Timur showed themselves well. The Arima were forced to make peace. The Mughal ruler begged the rulers of Russenia-Tartaria to leave Timur with him. His calculation was simple. He wanted to use Timur to conquer Central Asia.

Tom managed to conquer Central Asia, after which he appointed Timur to rule this area. However, the rampaging Mughals caused discontent among the local population - the Turks. Timur tried to resist the excesses of the Mughals and incurred the wrath of the ruler of Mogolistan, after which he was forced to hide and gather strength. By 1375 he had united Central Asia under his rule. And since the rulers of Russenia-Tartaria did not help him during the period of hardship, and even began to lay claim to Khorezm, Timur began to support the son of the Khan of the “Blue Horde” Tokhtamysh (khan Tui-Khaja-oglan himself was executed by the Supreme Ataman Urus for secession from Russenia -Tartaria). Thus, a confrontation began between Russia-Tartaria and Timur.

The “Blue Horde”, which included the Southern Urals, Mangyshlak and Khorezm, was the patrimony of Chingi’s grandson Batu Khan, which after his death broke up into three khanates. Thus, by the time of the Battle of Kulikovo, the Western Horde army had broken up into a large number of Turkic khanates, mired in internecine wars.

Supreme Ataman Urus initially had success and repeatedly expelled Tokhtamysh from Sauran, Otrar and Sygnak. However, in the winter of 1377, the Supreme Ataman Urus fell ill and died. His eldest son, Timur-Melek, who replaced him, defeated Tokhtamysh and recaptured Sauran. After which he calmed down and went on a spree, which Timur took advantage of. In addition, the rulers of Russia-Tartaria revealed dissatisfaction with Timur-Melek. They invited Timur to become the supreme ataman of Russia-Tartaria, retaining the post of ruler of Central Asia, and also asked him to remove Timur-Melek. Timur agreed and sent Tokhtamysh with an army to capture Timur-Melek, whom the army refused to support.

In 1379, Tokhtamysh suddenly attacked Timur-Melek’s headquarters and captured him. After which the latter was executed, and Tokhtamysh was appointed ataman of the Western Horde army, since it was discovered that the temnik who led him, Mamai, behaved as an independent ruler. Mamai decided to separate from Tartaria and form his own state in Crimea, relying on the Genoese merchants and Turks, who were gaining strength. This was facilitated by the wars of Russenia-Tartaria with Arimia and Timur. However, he miscalculated. By 1380, the crisis in relations between Russenia-Tartaria and Timur was overcome, and Mamai had to face Tokhtamysh, who was preparing for a campaign, and Muscovy, which did not want to submit to Mamai, which was already half Christianized, but remained loyal to the Great Slavic Power of Russenia-Tartaria.

In the second half of the 14th century, Mamai was in the closest alliance with the Genoese: in particular, his “trainings” recorded in the Armenian record in 1365 for the next campaign against Sarai took place with the support of the Genoese. Mamai paid for this support with the lands of his Crimean possessions. By the time of the Battle of Kulikovo, the Genoese cities were well fortified and contained very significant, well-armed and trained troops. Kafa (modern Feodosia), in terms of fortified area and population, was somewhat inferior to Constantinople at that time, but was the center of Black Sea trade and transit trade with the East.

Like any medieval city, Café had many churches, most of them Catholic (by the middle of the 15th century there were 17 of them), as well as Greek temples and two Greek monasteries, Muslim mosques and synagogues. Catholic monasteries were centers that led the missionary activities of the Roman Catholic Church in the East - in Central Asia, Persia, India and the Far East. Arriving in Kafa, young missionaries studied oriental languages, and then joined trade caravans traveling to distant lands.

In the 14th century, Kafa was inhabited mainly by Greeks and Armenians (ethnic Hellenes), “...Armenians and Greeks are brothers forever” (Armenians are the descendants of Armenios, and Armenios is a native of Greece and a companion of Jason - according to Armenian sources). There were also many Jews living in the city. The documents mention among the inhabitants - Vlachs, Romanians, Poles, Georgians, Mingrelians, Cherkasy (the Genoese united the eastern peoples under the name “Saracens”). It was a large multilingual maritime trading and craft city.
Goods delivered from the Volga region, Central Asia, and from distant India and Rus' were loaded into the harbor of Kafa. The export of grain, especially millet, then barley, and finally wheat, produced in the Crimea, on the plains of the Azov and Kuban regions, and salted fish received a very large share. Food was sent mainly to Constantinople, which at that time was supplied mainly from Crimea. Interruptions in supplies brought the capital of the eastern part of the Roman Empire almost to famine; The Roman chronicler Nicephorus Grigora talks about this.
Crimea again became one of the granaries of Venea (modern Europe). The salt mined in the Crimea, the trade of which the Genoese monopolized, went to the fishing villages of the North Caucasus coast. Timber was also exported from the southern coast of the Black Sea.
The Genoese carried out a widespread slave trade: Cherkasy, Abkhazians, Georgians, Tatars and Ros (modern Russians) were sold in the Cafe. Slaves were sent to the Egyptian sultans for their troops and exported to the West. The slave trade, which is directly mentioned in the Charter of Kafa of 1449, brought large profits to the Genoese.

So, Kafa really was a kind of capital of the Genoese trading empire in the Black Sea region. And the Soldaya fortress (modern Sudak) became the guardian of the feudal possessions of the Genoese, concentrated in the Crimea.
At that time, Crimea was the center of the Mamaev Horde, that is, Mamai was actually the Crimean “prince”. There is evidence of this - Memorable records of Armenian manuscripts of the 14th century: “... this manuscript was written in the city of Crimea... in 1365, on August 23, during numerous unrest, because from all over the country - from Kerch to Sarukerman - people and cattle were gathered here and Mamai was in Karasu with countless Tatars, and the city was in fear and horror.” A later entry: “this manuscript was completed in 1371 during the rule of Mamai in the Crimea region...” And also: “... this manuscript was written in 1377 in the city of Crimea during the rule of Mamai - the prince of princes...”

The title of Mamai in “The Tale of the Battle of the Righteous Prince Dimitri Ivanovich with the Wicked Tsar Mamai of Hellenism” is confirmed by the above quotes as appropriate.

But the constant war that Mamai waged for dominance in the Western Horde required more and more new resources - human and, most importantly, monetary. And Mamai, naturally, turned for help to the largest moneylenders of that time - the Genoese. At first, he paid them back for loans with fertile lands on the Crimean coast.
Thus, Mamai in 1365 transferred the city of Soldaya, and then its fertile surroundings, to the rule of the Genoese. And the new owners immediately began to turn this city into an impregnable fortress. Soldaya became a military-strategic outpost of the Genoese in Crimea and remained so until the Turkic conquest. From the Soldai fortress it was possible to control a vast area, which was famous for viticulture, winemaking and gardening. These lands with 18 villages (about 40 km long) were also captured by the Genoese.
Soldaya had its own special administration, subordinate to the Cafe, headed by the consul (who was both the commandant of the fortress and its treasurer). The vast stone fortress housed a small garrison (20 hired soldiers and 8 mounted guards). During the hostilities, the Soldai administration apparently counted on the support of the entire population of the city. And if necessary, the fortress could serve as a refuge not only for the townspeople themselves, but also for thousands of surrounding residents.

Relying on the monetary support of the Genoese, Mamai began to control the Kuban region in 1372. In the summer of 1373 he made a campaign against Ryazan. Beginning in 1374, Mamai's troops regularly raided Nizhny Novgorod. In 1377, Mamai subjugated the Mordovian lands. By 1379 he had subjugated the North Caucasus region, and in 1380 he captured Astrakhan.
Thus, Mamai gradually took control of the scattered territories of the Western Horde army. Campaigns against Rus' were part of his policy of conquest. In 1378, he first decided to strike at Muscovy.

Having penetrated the Black Sea region for the sake of super-profits from trade on the Silk Road, the Genoese gradually developed local markets. The collapse of the Western Horde and its fragmentation into a large number of Turkic khanates led to the fact that the flow of goods along the Silk Road by the end of the 14th century decreased and the importance of trade with its closest neighbors sharply increased. The Genoese pay attention to rich Rus'. They were the organizers and sponsors of Mamaia’s campaign. In a kind of accounting books of Kafa “Massariah”, information was found about their negotiations with Mamai. Genoa at that time had enormous resources, including for waging war. To prepare for this war, Genoese bankers allocated enormous amounts of money, with which by the summer of 1380 Mamai was able to hire a large army. With the same money in Europe for Mamai, the Genoese hired 4 thousand infantry-spearmen, who were supposed to strengthen Mamai's cavalry army. This detachment was delivered from Europe on Genoese ships through the Mediterranean, Black and Azov Seas to the mouth of the Don, from where it moved to join the army of Mamai. Together with this detachment, 10 representatives of the largest Genoese banks and trading companies arrived at Mamai, who allocated money for Mamai’s campaign and decided to control this campaign. In the “Sermon on the Life and Repose of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia” we read: “Mamai, incited by crafty advisers who adhered to the Christian faith, and themselves did the deeds of the wicked, said to his princes and nobles: “I will seize the Russian land and their churches I’ll ruin you.”

So, the Genoese advisers send Mamai to Rus'. The words about the destruction of churches are associated with the threat of the implantation of Christianity by the Universal (Catholic) Church. At that time, Urban VI was on the papal throne, who issued a bull ordering the Master of the Dominican Order to appoint a special inquisitor “for Rus' and Wallachia.” The bull emphasized the right and duty of the inquisitor, using all the means at its disposal, to eradicate “misconceptions” in Rus'. The same pope proposed forcibly converting the Slavs to Christianity in the lands subject to Lithuania and Poland, using coercive measures with all severity, including corporal punishment. It is clear that people did not experience any good feelings towards Christians in Orthodox lands. The Genoese actually collaborated with the pope's agents - missionaries and Franciscan monks. For the Genoese it was a profitable business, but in the eyes of the Russian princes they were all papal spies.

“Fryazi” (the ancient Russian name for the Genoese and other Italians) appeared in Muscovy already in the first half of the 14th century, as shown by the letter of Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow. The Grand Duke refers to the old order, the “duty” that existed under Ivan Kalita. The Grand Duke bestows Pechora on a certain Andrei Fryazin and his uncle Matvey. Individual merchants who bought licenses (farm-out) from the Grand Duke for a large fee, of course, did not pose a danger to the Moscow principality. But their appearance on our lands indicates the serious aspiration of the Crimean “frugs”.

Having become the ataman of the Western Horde army of Russenia-Tartaria and relying on the support of Timur, Tokhtamysh began to actively prepare for the campaign. At the same time, he sent labels to all western regions of Russia-Tartaria, including Muscovy, demanding not to support Mamai and to oppose him. The Turks of the Don and Ukrainian appanages, as well as the Cherkassy appanage in the North Caucasus, supported Mamai. Muscovy refused to support him, and she had to oppose Mamai, who hastened to deal with her before Tokhtamysh arrived. The label, delivered to Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow, was brought to the attention of his associates, including Alexy I, the head of the Christian Orthodox Church. The question arose, who to support? The majority spoke out in support of Tokhtamysh. The minority, led by church hierarchs, offered to pay off Mamai.

The dispute was decided by Dmitry Ivanovich (Donskoy). He firmly spoke out in favor of supporting Tokhtamysh, the legal protege of the rulers of Russenia-Tartaria. This decision of Dmitry determined all subsequent events. Official history is silent about this, since the chronicles that serve as historical sources for official science were written by monks, who did not reflect the negative position of the Christian Church, in the form of an offer to pay off Mamai. True, this fact was later attributed to Sergius of Radonezh, whom Christian chroniclers included among their saints, but more on that later. Just like the union of Dmitry and Tokhtamysh, after the latter took and destroyed Moscow in 1382, it was unprofitable for the great princes to reflect it in the chronicle. Having spoken out in support of Tokhtamysh, Dmitry suppressed disobedience among the Russian princes, who, since the time of Alexander Yaroslavich (Nevsky), knew well that in case of disobedience there would be no mercy from the Horde army. Thanks to this, he managed to gather an impressive army, but not 120 or 150 thousand people, as indicated in many official sources. Judging by the losses - 600 princes, boyars and governors, this gives about 18 thousand people. And if you consider that this was 1/3 of the entire army, then Dmitry gathered 55, maximum 60 thousand people.

33 hordes gathered at Mamai. The Horde of Mamai is not the darkness of Russenia-Tartaria with 10 thousand warriors (the darkness is 10 thousand), which could give a total of 300-330 thousand people, as is written about in many official sources. The Mamai Horde is a militia of one or another people (tribe). They varied in number - from several hundred to several thousand people. On average, the horde numbered 2.5 thousand people. Multiplying 2.5 thousand by 33 hordes, we get 82.5 thousand people. That is, Mamai gathered from 80 to 85 thousand soldiers. Mamai could not collect more, because the destinies of Russenia-Tartaria, located east of the Volga, did not obey him.

Not only Dmitry received the Tokhtamysh label. It was received by Oleg Ryazansky and Olgerd Litovsky. Each of them began to gather military strength, but decided for themselves that they would take the side of the winner, meaning Tokhtamysh and Mamai. Their strategy turned out to be the most far-sighted in those conditions. This makes it clear why they “didn’t make it” to the battlefield. Dmitry Moskovsky could not do this. He was already drawn into a confrontation with Mamai, whose troops he had already fought with. The victory over the army of the Mamaev Temnik Begich on the Vozha River in 1378 inspired a new battle.

Mamai didn’t have much choice either. Did he have to decide who to oppose first, Dmitry or Tokhtamysh? The war with Tokhtamysh, who was in alliance with Timur, the supreme ataman of the Horde army of Russenia-Tartaria and the ruler of Central Asia, threatened to develop into a long one and, moreover, with the rear open to the Moscow prince Dmitry. This threatened inevitable defeat. There was only one thing left to do - to oppose Dmitry and defeat him before Tokhtamysh arrived. Thus, the choice of strategy for both was the result of the prevailing circumstances.

Rushing into battle against each other, Dmitry and Mamai ultimately ensured the victory of Tokhtamysh, although he had significantly fewer soldiers than Mamai and Dmitry had, only about 30 thousand people. The battle weakened both Mamai and Dmitry. This gave him the opportunity to deal with each of them without resorting to the help of either Oleg Ryazansky or Olgerd of Lithuania. Tokhtamysh's strategy turned out to be not so much far-sighted as it was winning, because his ally Dmitry rushed into battle, providing him with a strategic advantage.

It was in organizing the battle that Mamai made a number of grave mistakes. He incorrectly determined the time of approach of Tokhtamysh’s troops, and therefore was in a hurry and refused to organize the battle according to the most ancient doctrine of war. If Mamai had correctly determined the time of Tokhtamysh’s approach, he would have enveloped Dmitry’s army from several sides and, with cavalry raids, would have stretched his lines within a few days, weakened him physically and morally, and then would have defeated his army, just as Subudai on Kalka defeated the united army of the Christianized Russian principalities.

It was in organizing the battle that Dmitry was doing better than Mamai. He, like I. Stalin, had “his own Zhukov” - Bobrok-Volynsky, a sorcerer prince whom Christian chroniclers demoted to governor, a representative of the ancient Slavic-Aryan military school, who during his long military life studied many ways to defeat the enemy . He also knew how to organize combat operations of the Horde army, and that recently the Western Horde army consisted mainly of Turks, who often began to violate the “Rules of War”, rushing headlong into battle. The victory in 1378 over the army of Temnik Begich strengthened his confidence that the Turks could be beaten when they behaved like this on the battlefield. He developed a number of methods of luring, drawing the Turks into battle, and imposing his combat tactics on the enemy.

The main forces were distributed according to the Hun-Slavic model (Unio - from Latin “union”, “community”. Huns - the name of the union of different tribes of Slavs and Aryans; under their most famous leader Atilla, the Huns reached the territory of modern Hungary (Hungaria)). They were divided into three parts: the right-hand regiment, the central regiment, and the left-hand regiment. At the head of each regiment was a prince-voivode with selected warriors in the center. Such a battle formation did not fetter the initiative of private commanders and allowed a blow from a selected squad to break through the enemy’s battle formation if he was moving in one wave (echelon).

The formation of the main forces was continuous. The division into shelves was nominal. There were no gaps between the shelves. The gaps were dangerous; the Turks could get wedged into them. The right flank of the main forces rested on ravines, which did not give the Turks the opportunity to bypass it, while the left flank rested on an oak grove, which also prevented a quick bypass. Bobrok-Volynsky also took into account the quality of the armed forces. The Olgerdovich squads had good defensive weapons: chain mail, armor, helmets, metal shields. The arrows of the Turks caused them minimal harm. Everything here was decided by hand-to-hand combat. Having good defensive weapons, the right flank was not inferior to the Turks. The center where the Moscow army and the Ustyug residents were stationed was armed in almost the same way. In the reserve regiment, numbering about 5 thousand people, the reckless guard of the Moscow prince was assembled, also well armed. The regiment of the left hand was assembled from squads of other Russian princes and noble people. This regiment was weaker armed and trained than other regiments. It was behind him and to his left in the oak grove that the Bobrok-Volynsky ambush regiment, numbering about 20 thousand people, was placed.

Thus, the main forces were a solid wall of 30 thousand people, built in 15 rows on a front of two kilometers. One person per one meter of front. It was impossible to destroy such a wall with a raid; it was necessary to fight hard to break it. For reference: the Spartan phalanx had 8 rows, and the all-crushing Macedonian phalanx had 16 rows. With the withdrawal of the advanced regiment, numbering about 5 thousand people, a large regiment was formed to the central regiment, the density of which increased to 25 rows. So the center became a tough nut to crack, which the Turks could not crack, no matter how hard they tried.

In addition, Bobrok-Volynsky managed to correctly resolve the issue of command. Dmitry was a quick-tempered person, prone to making premature decisions, so he could not be with the ambush regiment. He could have prematurely brought the ambush regiment into action under the influence of his authority. Bobrok persuaded Dmitry to stay with a large regiment. However, the sorcerer also knew that, having stood at the head of a large regiment, Dmitry was deprived of the opportunity to survive. If Dmitry had stood at the head of a large regiment, his death would have been inevitable, which is what happened to the boyar Mikhail Brenko, who took the place of the Grand Duke in the battle on the Kulikovo field. The death of Dmitry, no doubt, would have shaken the ranks of the large regiment. This is exactly what the sorcerer prince Bobrok understood.

It was he who advised the princes to replace Dmitry of Moscow with Brenk, who in stature and appearance resembled the Grand Duke, and Dmitry to join the ranks of ordinary soldiers in order to be able not only to survive, but also to psychologically support ordinary soldiers with the idea that Dmitry could fight next to each of them. A rumor about this was spread throughout the army after Dmitry and Brenk changed clothes in front of many soldiers. So Bobrok got rid of the incompetent interference of the Grand Duke in military leadership, concentrating it in his own hands. Thus, for the first time in the Moscow army, he applied the Horde rule of command, when the commander was in the rear, and not at the forefront of the attack.

Mamai divided his army into three approximately equal echelons. Since he had about 15 thousand infantry, all the infantry and 10 thousand Cherkasy were placed in the first echelon. The task of the first echelon was simple - to start a battle and discover weak points in the battle formation of the Moscow army. In addition, the infantry and dedicated cavalry were not of Turkic origin (about 5 thousand Genoese and Venetians, about 5 thousand Azerbaijanis, about 5 thousand Armenians and Georgians, and about 10 thousand Cherkasy). Mamai decided not to spare them and brought them into the battle first. The infantry was the first to be introduced into the battle also because when the battle began, it could not be sent after the cavalry, since it would not be able to get through to the enemy through the cavalry mass. The infantry follows the cavalry only during the period of pursuit.

The second and third echelons, approximately 25-30 thousand people each, were Turks. The second echelon was intended to crush the battle formation of the Moscow army, and the third to complete the defeat. Therefore, the battle began with the advance of the first echelon of Mamai’s troops to the battle formations of the Moscow army, the withdrawal of their advanced regiment to the main forces and the formation of a large regiment, as well as duels of selected warriors.

And now we move on, so to speak, directly to the description of that part of the Battle of Kulikovo, which has been distorted or kept silent for several hundred years.

Modern coverage of the battle on the Kulikovo Field is based primarily on the fact that the Moscow squad and personally the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich were blessed by the authoritative church leader of the Christian church Sergius of Radonezh, the founder of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, who admonished the Moscow prince with the blessing: “This way you will defeat your enemy.”

In fact, Sergius of Radonezh was never a Christian, otherwise why on earth, under a Christian priest, there were hundreds of warriors guardians of the Arkona from the temple of Svetovit from the island of Rugiy (Rügen), who were part of the Order of the Golden Belts. Magus Sergius, like Dmitry Donskoy, was canonized by the Christian Church only in the 19th century. Why would you ask, Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow went to some old hermit, when the entire Patriarchate was right under his nose, why didn’t they bless him? Yes, because they told him: “Any power is from God. If God wants Mamai to sit in the Kremlin, so be it.” Hearing this answer, Dmitry became sad. He comes home, and Dmitry Bobrok-Volynsky, the sorcerer prince, is waiting for him there. Seeing the state of Dmitry of Moscow, he asks him: “Are you the one who hung his head?” And he answers him: “They don’t bless the beating.” Then Bobrok says: “Let’s go to the sorcerer, the wise old man, he will bless.” They came to him, he told Dmitry: “You reigned like a prince, and now fight like a warrior.” Moskovsky then asks: “Who will lead?” The sorcerer points to Bobrok-Volynsky and says: “This way you will defeat your enemy.”

Christian chroniclers describe the beginning of the Battle of Kulikovo as follows: “Mamai’s cavalry began the battle, it attacked the Russian advanced regiment. In a fierce battle, the regiment died, and then, having replaced the princely armor with the clothes of an ordinary warrior, Prince Dmitry Ivanovich entered the battle, which raised the spirit of the army. As soon as Mamai’s troops were stuck in battle with a large regiment and a left-hand regiment, at the decisive moment Vladimir Andreevich’s ambush regiment entered the battle. Suddenly the Russian cavalry struck the rear of the advancing enemy. The Mongol-Tatar army was seized with panic and fled. The victors chased the fleeing victors for almost 30 miles. In this battle, the Moscow Prince Dmitry Ivanovich was seriously wounded, who earned the glorious name “Donskoy” with this battle.”

But what really happened?

We wrote earlier about the structure of the armed forces of Moscow Prince Dmitry Ivanovich. To this we can only add that not all soldiers were Christians, since at that time in Rus' many people still professed the Old Orthodox Faith (Ancestral).

At the first strike of Mamai’s cavalry, almost the entire squad of the Moscow prince Dmitry was destroyed, and the chroniclers of that time even describe such details as “standing dead men who had nowhere to fall; when people went crazy, and the strongest ones dreamed in reality.” This description completely excludes clashes between small units. In the most difficult conditions of the battle, when the Moscow princely squad was destroyed and the grand ducal banner fell, the Christian army of Rus' found itself faced with a cruel choice: either throw down their weapons and flee (with such a sign two interpretations are not allowed, since the face of the Savior was depicted on the banner), or seek the protection of the Higher Powers of a different order. And then suddenly on the battlefield there were calls to the old Slavic Gods: Svarog, Perun, Veles, Stribog, Indra and others. This is exactly what Karamzin considered fairy tales when he wrote his “History of the Russian State.” Further, the Christian chronicler writes: “And before the eyes of the surprised enemy, the Christ-loving army of knights turned into a horde of wild pagans, driven to brutality by an old hatred of their enslavers, and heavy losses.”

It was precisely this problem that Mamai’s army faced, expecting a wholesale flight of Russian troops, after the Grand Duke’s banner collapsed and the Moscow squad was completely destroyed.

The call to the Slavic Gods did its job. The point is that, unlike a Christian and Muslim warrior, according to their faith, they automatically go to heaven after death, a Slavic warrior under the same conditions should work hard beforehand, and being captured or taking flight is automatically contraindicated for him. The enemy, the Slavic warrior, must be met face to face, and the more of them he has on his account, the greater the chances for a dignified existence in the Higher Spheres (Volhalla - the Heavenly abode of warriors, the palace of which is guarded by God Volkh, the son of the Mother of the Raw Earth and the Supreme God Indra ). Mamai never expected to encounter these problems, and even more so with the structure of the battle that was imposed on him by the prince-sage Dmitry Bobrok-Volynsky, who was also a member of the Order of the Golden Belts, which was under the sorcerer Sergius of Radonezh.

It was the return to the original Orthodox faith of the Slavs that predetermined the outcome of the battle. Thus, on the Kulikovo field a new impetus was given to the spread and revival in many regions of the original Slavic faith, which Christians call paganism. It is these facts that Christian chroniclers and pundits from academic historical science have tried and are trying to silence and distort.

Comparing various historical data, we can say that if Rus' at that time was an exclusively Christian state, where only one faith existed - Christianity, then Rus' would still be under foreign yoke, and perhaps not exist at all.

In support of the above, we can quote the preamble to the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” No. 125-FZ, which entered into force on October 1, 1997: “The Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, ... recognizing the special role of Orthodoxy in the history of Russia, in the formation and development of its spirituality and culture; respecting Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and other religions that form an integral part of the historical heritage of the peoples of Russia; adopts this Federal Law.” As can be seen from the above fragment, Orthodoxy and Christianity, even in the preamble to the Federal Law of Russia, do not mean the same thing. Any free interpretation of the law is unacceptable. Let us no longer allow the Christian Church to appropriate our native heritage, or boast of foreign strength, glory, power and knowledge! Let us take away from them with arguments those facts that they so forcibly confined to themselves, robbing the history of the Slavs and Aryans!

Now the time has come to clarify the situation with Peresvet and Oslyabey, whom official sources consider Christian monks.

First of all, their names attract attention. These are not Christian names, but pre-Christian, Slavic names that directly speak of their owners as people completely unrelated to the Christian church.

Secondly, it should be noted that in the chronicles and even in the “Life of Sergius of Radonezh” nothing is said at all about the blessing of Peresvet and Oslyabi. Is the blessing of two brothers from the monastery for a fight really such a passing, worthless detail?! How Sergius dug a vegetable garden is important, but how he sent two guys from a monastery to fight for the Fatherland and faith is nonsense?

It should also be noted that, according to the laws of the Christian Church, neither a priest, nor, especially, a monk have the right under any circumstances to take up arms and take part in hostilities. For a monk is a “living dead man” who, in addition to all of the above, does not have the right to bear a non-Christian name after tonsure. True believers (orthodox) Christians in Rus' never had militant monasticism. A monk receiving a schema and participating in battle with a weapon in his hands is nonsense.

(Orthodox Christianity - that is, unchangeable, original. Orthodoxy - Greek. Orthodoxy - unswerving adherence to the foundations of any teaching, worldview; in religion - orthodoxy, unswerving adherence to the traditional teaching of the church “Modern Dictionary of Foreign Words, Moscow, 1993.”).

Of the contemporary monuments to the Battle of Kulikovo, Peresvet is mentioned by one “Zadonshchina”. The overexposure in it “...glows with gilded armor.” That's all the tales about the cassock and schema! With all due respect to the famous artist Vasnetsov, he was wrong in depicting Peresvet in the schema. The Soviet artist Konstantin Vasiliev was right when he depicted Peresvet in the armor of a Russian hero. In the earliest editions of “Zadonshchina,” Peresvet is not even called a monk: “The good Peresvet gallops on his prophetic sint, whistling across the partition.” Is a humble monk good? Further – even more: “...and the word is more eloquent: “I wish I had fallen on my own swords rather than fallen from the filthy.” The oil painting by Repin is called “Sailed.” A Christian monk preaches suicide with one's own sword as preferable to captivity. By the way, we will upset some, we will please others: the death of Peresvet in a duel before the start of the battle is just a late legend of Christian chroniclers. According to “Zadonshchina,” Peresvet says his not-so-Christian remark when “...others are already flogged on the shore of Don the Great” - that is, the battle is in full swing, and Peresvet is alive. We don’t know about you, reader, but this only makes us happy - it would be a great shame if a seasoned warrior died, paying for “his life” with only one enemy’s.

Whether he was a monk or not, a bad suspicion creeps in. If there was one, it was definitely not of the Trinity Monastery, because in the Synodik (Memorial List) of the Trinity Monastery the name of Peresvet is absent, as is Oslyabi in other respects. Both heroes were buried in the Staro-Simonovsky Monastery on the territory of Moscow - a thing also absolutely incredible if they were monks of another monastery. How could the Trinity Monastery allow such famous and outstanding brothers to rest in a “foreign” land? But more on that later.

By the way, both warriors at the time of the battle were by no means the plump-lipped, mustacheless heroes from the cartoon “Swans of the Nepryadvy”, but people more than adults. Oslyabi had an adult son who died on the Kulikovo field. The family of Peresvet was also not interrupted - in the 16th century his distant descendant, a Lithuanian native Ivan Peresvetov, appeared in Rus'.

But stop! Why is he a Lithuanian immigrant? Yes, because Peresvet and Oslyabya are called in all sources “Bryansk boyars” or “Lubuchans”, immigrants from the town of Lyubutsk on the Oka, located not far from Bryansk. And during the Battle of Kulikovo these were the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia.

Oslyabya, who survived the Kulikovo Sich, later served as a boyar for another Lithuanian immigrant, Metropolitan Cyprian, and according to Christian sources, in his old age he actually became a monk. So you have to think, and the “monk Rodion Oslyabya” appeared, well, if in “Zadonshchina” (the first lists of which do not even hint at the monasticism of the Bryansk boyars) he calls Peresvet a brother, then the monastic chroniclers made a logical conclusion, having entered in retrospect both heroes of the Kulikovo Field joined their ranks. And this happened, judging by the chronicles and lists of “Zadonshchina,” no earlier than the end of the 15th century, and maybe later. At the same time, “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev” arose, reshaping almost the entire history of the Battle of Kulikovo to the topic of the day.

Who were Peresvet and Oslyabya after all?

The answer to this question is very simple. Both heroes were among the “temple” warriors from the Order of the Golden Belts, who were located next to the sorcerer Sergius from Radonezh (Radonezh). From here it becomes clear why they took part in the battle under the command of Bobrok-Volynsky.

And now we move on to the most interesting question of our article. Where are the soldiers who died in the Battle of Kulikovo buried?

According to our research, about 80 thousand people (on both sides) were killed in the Battle of Kulikovo. Perhaps the death toll could have been even higher, this is still unknown. But we know that the losses were huge, because after the end of the battle, “The Great Prince stood behind the Don on the battlefield for eight days, until the Christians were separated from the wicked. The bodies of Christians were buried in the ground, the wicked bodies were thrown to animals and birds to be torn to pieces.”

A reader brought up on the traditional version of our history probably thinks that all this happened in the modern Tula region in the upper reaches of the Don, where the site of the Battle of Kulikovo is located today. It turns out, however, that the Russian soldiers who died in the Battle of Kulikovo were for some reason buried not in the Tula region, but in Moscow - in the Simonov Monastery! In any case, the famous heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, the Russian warriors Peresvet and Oslyabya, were buried here. “They buried Peresvet and Oslyabya at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary... The monastic heroes who fell on the battlefield were not taken to the Trinity Monastery, but were buried near the walls of this particular church.”

But excuse me, if we assume (as we are assured today) that the bodies of the heroes were transported from the Tula region to Moscow at a distance of about 300 (three hundred!) kilometers, then could they really not be brought the short rest of the way to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery? There's very little left! Another puzzling question. For eight days Dmitry stood on the battlefield and buried the dead. Only then did we set off. One must think that it took more than one day to walk from the Tula region to Moscow (three hundred kilometers). How many days did the corpses of Peresvet and Oslyabi end up without burial? Were they not buried for several weeks?

Since the battle took place on the day of the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, it is natural that during the burial on the battlefield they should have built a church dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. This is exactly what we see - this church still stands in the Simonov Monastery in Moscow, which was founded almost simultaneously with the Battle of Kulikovo.

Our version: The Simonov Monastery in Moscow was founded and built right on the Moscow field of the Battle of Kulikovo (or directly near it) as a tomb for Russian soldiers who fell here.

“The Simonov Monastery, founded in 1379, was one of the important outposts of the defense of Moscow. The main part of the monuments was dismantled in the early 30s in connection with the construction of the Palace of Culture of the Likhachev Plant (ZIL). The southern wall with three towers has been preserved.” Today this monastery is, unfortunately, located on the territory of the plant (although you can already get into it through a long passage)!

Thus, traditional history agrees that the Simonov Monastery was founded almost simultaneously with the Battle of Kulikovo. This monastery is located on the banks of the Moscow River, next to Krasnokholmskaya embankment, which we have already talked about. Thus, all the places and names associated with the Battle of Kulikovo that we discovered above are located in Moscow very close to each other, between two extreme points, which are: the Church of All Saints, built by Dmitry in honor of the Battle of Kulikovo, and the Simonov Monastery, where there were fallen soldiers are buried. A natural picture emerges: fallen soldiers were buried at the site of the battle, and were not transported hundreds of kilometers to Moscow.

It is impossible not to note the following curious circumstance. It was with great difficulty that we found in the literature an indication of the burial place of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo. This place must be (we thought) quite famous. After all, here lie the heroes of one of the greatest battles in Russian history! And what? Having reviewed several modern fundamental historical studies, monographs, reviews, etc. on the history of the Battle of Kulikovo, we have not found even a vague mention of the burial place anywhere. Modern historians remain strangely silent on this topic. And only thanks to a happy accident, we finally managed to find the necessary information only in the book of 1806 (!), to which M. Pospelov referred (see Moscow magazine for 1990) in connection with the scandal that broke out due to the refusal Dynamo plant (which is part of the ZIL plant) to vacate the church buildings of the Simonov Monastery on its territory. And only then, having already visited the monastery itself, we found a photocopy of a very rare book published in 1870 and also telling about the burial of Peresvet and Oslyabi. Let us note that both of these books, published in 1806 and 1870, are dedicated to the history of the Simonov Monastery. We did not find the necessary information in any of the solid general historical works available to us, or even special monographs on the history of Moscow. Karamzin has a brief guide.

What's the matter? Why is there silence about where the heroes who fell on the Kulikovo field are buried?

We believe the answer is clear. Because this burial turns out to be located not in the Tula region, but in Moscow itself! Therefore, they prefer to remain silent about him.

After all, any sane person will immediately ask a natural question: were the bodies of the dead really transported more than three hundred kilometers from the Tula region to Moscow? If the burial is in Moscow, then the battle took place in Moscow. This is a completely natural conclusion. I repeat once again that no traces of burials were found in the Tula region. Even if the death toll is exaggerated, after such a major battle as Kulikovo there should have been large graves left. And their traces should still be visible. They exist in Moscow. There are none in the Tula region. However, we need to understand the position of historians. The fact is that, according to their “theory,” in the year of the Battle of Kulikovo, Moscow had long existed as a large city. Kulishki in Moscow, in their opinion, had long been built up by the time of the Battle of Kulikovo. What kind of battle “on a huge field” can take place in a cramped city?!

Next, I will talk about a visit to the Old Simonov Monastery on June 15, 1994, undertaken by two caring people in connection with the study of the geographical circumstances of the Battle of Kulikovo. It is quite natural that having expressed their hypothesis that the battle took place on the territory of Moscow, they wanted to personally visit the Simonov Monastery - as the burial place of the heroes of the battle, in order to check their version on the spot. The visit brought such unexpected results that they thought it appropriate to tell us about it.

Let's start with the fact that today the Old Simonov Monastery is located on the territory of the Dynamo plant, and to get into it, you need to wind for a long time along narrow passages going deep into the plant. On a small patch, surrounded by factory buildings, stands the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. The church was reopened only a few years ago: before that it was a factory warehouse.

Researchers knew that at least two of the most famous heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo - Peresvet and Oslyabya - were buried here. They were extremely worried about the question: is there also a mass grave here for other participants in the battle? After all, if the battle really took place in Moscow, and, as the chronicles write, Dmitry stood on the field for eight days and buried the dead, then somewhere here there should have been mass graves of fallen soldiers.

And so it turned out! Before they had time to enter the area in front of the church, their attention was attracted by a huge wooden box, already lowered into a fresh grave and prepared for burial. Before their eyes, the worker began to fill the grave with earth. When asked who he was burying, the church elder and workers who were present willingly told the following. It turns out that the entire earth around the church, within a radius of about one hundred meters and to a depth of several meters, is literally filled with human skulls and bones. Moreover, the burial area may be even larger, but clarification of this is hampered by the factory buildings tightly surrounding the church. As they were informed, even during the construction of the plant, a whole layer of bones was discovered. These ancient bones were then dug up in huge quantities and simply thrown away. Recently they started digging a cellar ten meters from the church. From this small area alone, so many skulls and bones were dug up that it was enough to fill the same box with a volume of two to three cubic meters that our researchers saw upon entering the church territory. They just buried him. At their request, the worker kindly lifted the lid. The box was filled with human bones and skulls. They photographed him. The burial place of the box is approximately ten meters from the northern wall of the church.

The workers who dug up all these bones talked about several things that amazed them.

Firstly, the remains were located in the ground in complete disorder. One of the skeletons was even positioned vertically upside down! It is absolutely clear that this is not an ordinary cemetery, but a mass grave. Dead bodies were piled haphazardly in pits. That is why, having dug just one cellar, the workers collected more than a cubic meter of skulls and bones!

Secondly, those who dug were amazed that almost all the skulls had healthy, young, intact teeth. The workers repeated this several times. One gets the impression that all those buried were young, healthy people. These were warriors, not feeble old men.

Thirdly, in addition to skulls and bones, stone tombstones (slabs) of the same type and size, without any inscriptions, were found in the ground. All these boards show the same pattern. It consists of a plaque in the center, from which three stripes extend: a straight line downward and two arcs diverging upward. This design is extremely reminiscent of a military shield.

The absence of any inscriptions indicates that the graves were unmarked and, most importantly, common. There are significantly fewer boards than bones. Apparently, there were several holes, and the same type of tombstone was placed on each one. The identity of all the discovered stone tablets clearly indicates that all the burials were made at the same time. Note that there was no image of a cross on the boards! Therefore, it is difficult to assume that ordinary monks of the monastery were buried under these boards (in this case, of course, the cross would have been present). But for warriors at that time the cross might not have been drawn. As we have already discussed above, the soldiers in the Moscow army of that time were not all Christians.

Fourthly, the burial completely lacks any remains of coffins, metal objects, clothing, etc. Only bones have been preserved. This suggests that the burial is very old: wood, iron, copper, clothing have completely decayed and crumbled. This takes centuries. And stone tombstones are completely different from those used in churches in the last few hundred years. However, it is apparently unnecessary to prove the antiquity of this burial, since archaeologists, specially called here, dated the burial to the 14th century, i.e., the time of the Battle of Kulikovo. The archaeologists made a conclusion and immediately left, for some reason not interested in the burial. Apparently, the result of this visit is the above-mentioned opinion of archaeologists about the supposed “futility of archaeological work” here. This all seems extremely strange to me.

So, today, at the burial site of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, they dig pits, build cellars, the plant introduced its own collector, and the remains of the heroes are simply thrown away, or, at best, dumped in a common box and buried again, in a Christian way.

This is where our historians should work! How can it even be that in the center of Moscow there has been an obviously ancient burial place for a long time, and none of the archaeologists and historians even bother to ask the question - who is buried here?

OK then. Let’s say historians don’t know about the mass graves of the soldiers who fell on the Kulikovo Field in the Staro-Simonov Monastery.

But they know very well that here, in the very Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, lie the remains of Peresvet and Oslyaby! Probably, the researchers thought, the old tombstone from their grave is still carefully kept here. Nothing happened!

We entered the church. Inside it, to the left of the entrance, is a tombstone over the graves of the heroes of Peresvet and Oslyabi, made just a few years ago. The authentic, ancient stone “board” (slab), laid on their grave in the 14th century and which is mentioned, for example, by Karamzin, is not visible at all today. She is not under the new tombstone, as we were told in the church. Perhaps it is still embedded in the wall of the church, as Karamzin writes about it. But no one knows about this in the church today. Most likely, it was barbarically crushed with jackhammers among many other ancient slabs with inscriptions, which were taken out of the church at one of the cleanup days in the 1960s and destroyed there! This was reported by an eyewitness to these events who took part in these cleanup days to destroy relics. He personally carried the slabs out of the church. In any case, where the ancient tombstone is located today and what was written on it, it was not possible to find out.

Moreover, it was not possible to find the text of the inscription on the slab in historical works. What was written on it? And why, in the 60s of the 20th century, when the revolutionary frenzy of the fight against religion seemed to have subsided, someone mercilessly (and with understanding of the matter) gave a savage order to methodically crush with jackhammers priceless slabs with authentic ancient inscriptions, which were stored until our time in temple. Even in the 20s and 30s they were not touched. So maybe it’s not really about religion, but about Russian history? As for me, under the pressure of the facts known to us, I was forced to conclude that for many years in our country there has been a methodical and vile destruction of Russian ancient monuments, unnoticed by the public, which could shed light on the true content of ancient Russian history.

The “History of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on Stary Simonovo in Moscow” clearly states that immediately after the Battle of Kulikovo, Dmitry Donskoy transferred to this church the village of Rozhdestveno, located on the Kulikovo Field. Here's the quote:

“The Grand Duke, having won victory over Mamai, on the day of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, Nativity, at the Old Simonov Monastery gave the deposit to the village of Rozhestveno, located on the site of Mamaev’s massacre.”

Historians believe that the Battle of Kulikovo took place in the Tula region. Isn’t it strange then that Dmitry Donskoy gave the Moscow church a village 320 kilometers away from it?! And besides, not from his grand-ducal inheritance: in the Tula region at that time there were inheritances of other princes! No one in reliable Russian history has ever done this!

This absurdity instantly disappears if the Battle of Kulikovo took place in Moscow, that is, very close to the Simonov Monastery. And indeed, according to surviving evidence, the Staro-Simonov Monastery in the last 200-300 years did not have any possessions in the Tula region, but had a Simonov settlement or “village” in Moscow, not far from itself. Indeed, “near the Nativity of the Mother of God, on the Old Simonov monastery, there was a settlement in which the servants of the Simonov monastery lived, such as collar workers, carpenters, blacksmiths and other workers and craftsmen.”

Immediately after the Battle of Kulikovo, as historians tell us, “Mamai, who fled to his steppes, encountered a new enemy there: it was Tokhtamysh, khan of the Hare Horde, a descendant of Batu. He went to take away the throne of the Volga Horde from Mamai, as the stolen property of the Batu descendants. Tokhtamysh defeated Mamai on the banks of the Kalka and declared himself the ruler of the Volga Horde. Mamai fled to Cafu... and there he was killed by the Genoese.”

On our own behalf, we can add that Mamai, after his defeat in the Battle of Kulikovo, paid the Genoese for the money spent on his campaign, with part of the territories of the Great Turkic Horde, transferring to them, under an agreement dated November 28, 1380, the southern coast of Crimea from Balaklava to Sudak.

At the end of this article, I express my deep gratitude to those people whose materials I used, namely: Anatoly Fomenko and Gleb Nosovsky, Valery Demin, Alexander Prozorov, Father Diy Alexander and many others. And let them not be offended by me. I just want to open people’s eyes to the lies that have been imposed on us for more than 600 years.

The times have come when we, the distant descendants of the Great Sacred Clans, must know and remember the heroic heritage of our Ancestors. So let us keep in memory the date of the Battle of Kulikovo, which took place in Summer 6888 from S.M.Z.H, month Taylet, 28 days in Week.

Battle of Kulikovo briefly

The Russian man takes a long time to harness, but rides quickly

Russian folk proverb

The Battle of Kulikovo took place on September 8, 1380, but it was preceded by a number of important events. Beginning in 1374, relations between Russia and the Horde began to become noticeably more complicated. If earlier the issues of paying tribute and the supremacy of the Tatars over all the lands of Rus' did not cause discussion, now a situation began to develop when the princes began to feel their own strength, in which they saw an opportunity to repel the formidable enemy who had been ravaging their lands for many years. It was in 1374 that Dmitry Donskoy actually broke off relations with the Horde, not recognizing Mamai’s power over himself. Such freethinking could not be ignored. The Mongols did not leave.

Background to the Battle of Kulikovo, briefly

Along with the events described above, the death of the Lithuanian king Olgerd occurred. His place was taken by Jagiello, who first decided to establish relations with the powerful Horde. As a result, the Mongol-Tatars received a powerful ally, and Russia found itself sandwiched between enemies: from the east by the Tatars, from the west by the Lithuanians. This in no way shook the Russians' resolve to repel the enemy. Moreover, an army was assembled, headed by Dmitry Bobrok-Valyntsev. He made a campaign against the lands on the Volga and captured several cities. Which belonged to the Horde.

The next major events that created the preconditions for the Battle of Kulikovo took place in 1378. It was then that a rumor spread throughout Rus' that the Horde had sent a large army to punish the rebellious Russians. Previous lessons showed that the Mongol-Tatars burn out everything in their path, which means they cannot be allowed into fertile lands. Grand Duke Dmitry gathered a squad and set off to meet the enemy. Their meeting took place near the Vozha River. The Russian maneuver had a surprise factor. Never before had the prince's squad descended so deep into the south of the country to fight the enemy. But the fight was inevitable. The Tatars were unprepared for him. The Russian army won the victory quite easily. This instilled even more confidence that the Mongols were ordinary people and could be fought against.

Preparing for the battle - the Battle of Kulikovo in brief

The events at the Vozha River were the last straw. Mamai wanted revenge. Batu’s laurels haunted him and the new khan dreamed of repeating his feat and walking through all of Rus' with fire. Recent events have shown that the Russians are not as weak as before, which means the Mughals need an ally. They found him quickly enough. Mamai’s allies were:

• King of Lithuania - Jogaila.
• Prince of Ryazan - Oleg.

Historical documents indicate that the Prince of Ryazan took a contradictory position, trying to guess the winner. To do this, he entered into an alliance with the Horde, but at the same time regularly reported information about the movements of the Mongol army to other principalities. Mamai himself gathered a strong army, which included regiments from all lands that were controlled by the Horde, including the Crimean Tatars.

Training of Russian troops

Impending events required decisive action from the Grand Duke. It was at this moment that it was necessary to gather a strong army that could repel the enemy and show the whole world that Rus' had not been completely conquered. About 30 cities expressed their readiness to provide their squads to the united army. Many thousands of soldiers entered the detachment, the command of which was taken by Dmitry himself, as well as other princes:

• Dmitry Bobrok-Volynits
• Vladimir Serpukhovsky
• Andrey Olgerdovich
• Dmitry Olgerdovich

At the same time, the whole country rose up to fight. Literally everyone who could hold a sword in their hands enrolled in the squad. Hatred of the enemy became the factor that united the divided Russian lands. Let it be only for a while. The combined army advanced to the Don, where it was decided to repel Mamai.

Battle of Kulikovo - briefly about the course of the battle

On September 7, 1380, the Russian army approached the Don. The position was quite dangerous, since holding the ruck had both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it was easier to fight against the Mongol-Tatars, since they would have to cross the river. The disadvantage is that Jagiello and Oleg Ryazansky could arrive at the battlefield at any moment. In this case, the rear of the Russian army would be completely open. The only correct decision was made: the Russian army crossed the Don and burned all the bridges after itself. This managed to secure the rear.

Prince Dmitry resorted to cunning. The main forces of the Russian army lined up in a classical manner. In front stood a “large regiment”, which was supposed to hold back the main onslaught of the enemy; a regiment of the right and left hands was located at the edges. At the same time, it was decided to use the Ambush Regiment, which was hidden in the thicket of the forest. This regiment was led by the best princes Dmitry Bobrok and Vladimir Serpukhovsky.

The Battle of Kulikovo began in the early morning of September 8, 1380, as soon as the fog cleared over the Kulikovo field. According to chronicle sources, the battle began with the battle of heroes. The Russian monk Peresvet fought with the Horde member Chelubey. The blow of the warriors' spears was so strong that both of them died on the spot. After this the battle began.

Dmitry, despite his status, put on the armor of a simple warrior and stood at the head of the Big Regiment. With his courage, the prince inspired the soldiers to the feat that they had to accomplish. The initial onslaught of the Horde was terrible. They threw all the force of their blow onto the left-hand regiment, where the Russian troops began to noticeably lose ground. At the moment when Mamai’s army broke through the defenses in this place, and also when it began to maneuver in order to go to the rear of the main forces of the Russians, the Ambush Regiment entered the battle, which with terrible force and unexpectedly struck the attacking Horde in the rear. The panic began. The Tatars were sure that God himself was against them. Convinced that they had killed everyone behind them, they said that it was the dead Russians rising to fight. In this state, they lost the battle quite quickly and Mamai and his horde were forced to hastily retreat. Thus ended the Battle of Kulikovo.

Many people on both sides were killed in the battle. Dmitry himself could not be found for a very long time. Towards evening, when the pipes of the dead were being removed from the field, the body of the prince was discovered. He was alive!

Historical significance of the Battle of Kulikovo

The historical significance of the Battle of Kulikovo cannot be overestimated. For the first time, the myth of the invincibility of the Horde army was broken. If previously various armies managed to achieve success in minor battles, then no one has ever been able to defeat the main forces of the Horde.

The important point for the Russian people was that the Battle of Kulikovo, which we briefly described, allowed them to feel faith in themselves. For more than a hundred years, the Mongols forced them to consider themselves second-class citizens. Now this was over, and for the first time conversations began that Mamai’s power and his yoke could be thrown off. These events found expression in literally everything. And it is precisely with this that the cultural transformations that affected all aspects of the life of Rus' are largely connected.

The significance of the Battle of Kulikovo also lies in the fact that this victory was perceived by everyone as a sign that Moscow should become the center of the new country. After all, only after Dmitry Donskoy began to collect lands around Moscow, there was a major victory over the Mongols.

For the horde itself, the significance of the defeat on the Kulikovo field was also extremely important. Mamaia lost most of his army, and was soon completely defeated by Khan Takhtomysh. This allowed the Horde to once again unite forces and feel its own strength and significance in those spaces that had previously not even thought of resisting it.

Militia
Previously, it was believed that the people's militia was the first to fight on the Kulikovo Field. Now historians believe that it was professional warriors who went to fight Mamai. The basis of Dmitry Ivanovich’s army were the squads and city regiments of Moscow and a dozen allied principalities. And the militia - in small numbers - followed.

Number of parties
According to the same archaeologists and historians, the number of participants in the battle is greatly exaggerated, and no more than 20-30 thousand soldiers fought on both sides (however, this applies to almost any battle of the Middle Ages).

Genoese mercenaries.
Mamai recruited an army in the territory under his control. More precisely, Mamai’s army included detachments of Yasses and Alans, Polovtsians and Pechenegs, Brodniks and Cherkassy. And he simply did not have any Genoese (Italian mercenaries). And if there were, it was in tiny quantities.

Abandoned Moscow
When Dmitry led his army to the Don, a very small garrison remained in Moscow under the leadership of the boyar Fyodor Andreevich. But since “everyone went to the front,” his detachment clearly would not have been enough to hold back the siege of even a not very numerous enemy.

Khan Mamai
Mamai was essentially a simple “temnik”, later a beklarbek (that is, the governor of the Crimea and the Black Sea region), and after the rebellion of 1363, from the point of view of the “legitimate” power of the Golden Horde, he became a usurper and a criminal. Although he had “legal” cover in the form of khans from the Batuid clan, first Abdullah, and then Bulek. But Dmitry Donskoy was precisely the representative of the legitimate government on his land. From this point of view, it becomes clear that when Mamai demanded a huge tribute for those times from the Moscow prince, Dmitry did not like it...

Ryazan patriot
Dmitry's path to the Kulikovo Field ran past Ryazan, with whose prince he was at enmity. At that moment, Oleg Ryazansky could have rewritten history by attacking Dmitry’s troops, but he did not do this. It was a calculation, and not at all a nobility and a patriotic impulse. Most likely, Oleg decided not to quarrel with two dozen princes at once. However, this did not stop him from robbing the winners when they were returning from the Kulikovo field to Moscow. Apparently, he changed his mind about quarreling...

Monas Peresvet

The battle began with a duel between the best fighter Mamai Chelubey and the Russian monk Peresvet.
How and why was a monk trusted to open the battle?
The answer is in the Nikon Chronicle: “Sergius’s monk Peresvet, his name is Alexander, the former boyar of Bryansk, this daredevil and hero was very famous, and smart for military affairs and dress.” That is, in the person of Peresvet, a famous and experienced warrior arrived on the Kulikovo field. Such a person could safely be entrusted with the battle with Chelubey.

About the color of Dmitry Donskoy's banner
Especially for those who kick themselves in the chest and shout that Russian regiments fought under the black banner. We read carefully “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev.” It says that the banner, depicting the golden image of Jesus Christ, was black(that is, red).

Changing clothes
Before the start of the battle, Dmitry Donskoy exchanged clothes and armor with Mikhail Brenko (Brenok), his faithful gun boyar. This allowed the prince to calmly move around the battlefield and command its progress. Unfortunately, Brenko was killed. The prince did not change into the armor of a simple warrior.

Losses of Mamai's troops
After Mamai’s troops wavered and fled, the Russians pursued them for a good 50 miles. And according to the good tradition of the evil Middle Ages, the bulk of the losses in Mamai’s army should have occurred along these miles. This miniature depicts the process of chasing the defeated Mamai and his horsemen

Ungrateful Tokhtamysh
The Battle of Kulikovo brought together not only Russian lands. But also the Golden Horde, in which confusion and vacillation were in full swing. Dmitry essentially eliminated Tokhtamysh’s main competitor. Now the Horde was solely ruled by this Chingizid Khan, who looked down on the fight between Dmitry Donskoy and Mamai. Instead of saying “thank you,” two years later he ruined the entire Moscow principality and burned its capital.

The end of the "Tatar-Mongol yoke"
During the Battle of Kulikovo, it was not the Golden Horde that was defeated, but only one of the Mongol generals (albeit one of the most powerful). The Horde was defeated exactly one hundred years later, in October 1480. After three days of troops standing on the banks of the Ugra River in what is now the Kaluga region, Khan Akhmat retreated. At this point, Rus' had not paid tribute for seven years.

A.N. Kirpichnikov. "Battle of Kulikovo"

A. A. Gorsky On the question of the composition of the Russian army on the Kulikovo field

“In search of the Kulikovo Field” (interview with the leaders of the Upper Don archaeological expedition of the State Historical Museum Oleg Dvurechensky and Mikhail Gonyan), magazine “Neskuchny Sad” No. 4 (15)’2005

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