In the history of Russia, there are few people whose personality each epoch opens in a different way. One of such eternal figures of Russian history can be safely considered Alexander Nevsky.
The holy prince died on November 14, 1263 in Go-rod-ts and was soon well-ro-n in the Nativity of St. -re in Vla-di-mi-re. Prak-ti-che-ski immediately, a long time before his general-Russian-si-ka-no-no-za-tion in 1547, for-cha-elk he was chi-ta-nie in Vla-di-mi-ro-Suz-dal-Ru-si. Almost 20 years after his death, the first li-te-ra-tour-ny memorial appeared, telling-say-y-va-y-shchy about move-gah Alexander Nevsky. It would be “The Tale of Life and Brave-ro-sti b-go-ver-no-go and ve-li-ko-go-prince Olek-sandra”, the author of someone -swarm presented his-e-th hero-swarm as an ideal-al-no-go-li-ti-ka and right-of-glory-no-tho-holy.
In full correspondence with the living ka-no-nom, Alexander compares with the saints, bible-lei-ski-mi-per- so-na-zha-mi and le-gen-dar-ny-mi an-tich-ny-mi ge-ro-i-mi and im-pe-ra-to-ra-mi (after-her connection -for-but with the fact that before us it’s not a ka-but-no-thing life, but “in-the-news” - a very syn-cre-tic genre of ancient Russian- li-te-ra-tu-ry, free-bod-but-united-nya-yu-schee different-personal forms-we-west-in-va-nia). The author in-ve-sti is so ha-rak-te-ri-zu-et the idea of princely power, embodied in St. Alek-san-dre: “ The prince of blessings in the countries is quiet, comforting, liv, meek, shy, - according to the image of God, there is, not heeding wealth and not despising the shelter of the great ved-no-chyu, si-ro-te and wdo-vi-qi in the truth, judge, mi-lo-sti-lyu-bets, and not evil-that-lyu-bets, good to-mo- a child of his own and an outsider from the countries who come to the cor-mi-tel. For-mu-la idea-al-no-go right-vi-te-la in-zh-tiy-no-mu abstract-on, and in the future, it’s a hundred-yan-but refine -nya-whether in the-ve-si-mo-sti from when and where the next text about Alexander Nevsky was written.
Equally incon-crete-us and for-ri-owls-ki of the prince-same good-ro-de-te-lei: he is b-go-che-stiv, with a better-no-eat from-but -sit-sya to the spirit-ho-ven-stvo and for-klad-dy-va-et several temples, before death, pri-ni-ma-et schema-mu, the same in-sharing the sword of your life.
Before-on-mi again ti-pich-naya kar-ti-on the re-pri-i-i-tia of christianity in Ancient Russia: mo-na-she-count- ta-moose of the highest degree-pe-new in motion, and almost all believers would-la-whether before death accept other-che-both -You. Yes, not all of such right-of-glorious pri-numbers-le-us are saints, but in a way the meaning of re-li-gi- oz-no-go in motion Alexander Nev-sko-go-so-me-elk in za-vi-si-mo-sti from the epoch and the authorship of the text-hundred in honor of the prince. The "message" pro-glorifies its own hero as a shield for the "land of Suz-dal-sky", someone fights with "Other-tribe-men-ny-mi" ta-ta-ra-mi and the Swedish "ko-ro-lem of the Roman part".
At the same time, pro-ty-in-after-becoming-le-great-in-glorious-something-whether-kam in pa-myat-no-ke from-ra-same-but ku-yes res-che than op-po-zi-tion hri-sti-an and tongues-ni-kov. For the middle-ve-ko-vo-go av-to-ra, alive-she-go in Ancient Russia, on the Latin Za-pa-de or in Vizantia, hri-sti-a-na-mi, God-may-give, if only after his faith and his views. (Sometimes the op-po-zi-tion of “one’s own” and “alien” narrowed even more - new-go-rod-tsy in-be-di-whether vla-di-mir- tsev under the guidance of Andrey Bo-go-love-go, b-go-da-rya miracle from the icon "Knowledge". yes, in the camp of the rulers of the world, there would have been icons, but it doesn’t stop them from saying that God helped new-go-rod-tsam for their zealous prayers). According to the opinion of the author of the “In-ve-sti”, the convergence of the holy prince with the mon-go-la-mi is more justified-yes-but, as- ku tongue-no-ki is not-sya-ga-yut on os-but-you-ve-ry.
In the XIV - XV centuries, the image of the holy prince Alexander Alexander as the ideal-al-no-go-great-vi-te-la and in-movement-no-ka became-is-pol -to call new-go-rod-tsy and mosk-vi-chi to achieve their own goals. First, it would be more difficult than everything, because it would be necessary to explain the reason for Aleksander’s quarrel with the new-born -mi and his out of exile. Star-ra-ni-i-mi le-the-scribes you-move was found.
In the first-howl-of-the-wine of the XIV century-anniversary of chro-ni-sta, talking about the servants of Alexander Yaro-sla-vo-vi-cha before the state -di-nome Ve-li-kim New-go-ro-house, not from-ri-tsa-whether on-li-chia conflict and describe-sy-va-whether the hundred-th the right of the prince over the new-go-rod-tsa-mi: “Ovo-mu no-sa ure-za-sha, and other-mu eyes you-ni-ma-sha, who is Vasi-lya on led evil; everyone is more evil and evil, yes, in a gyb-nat. In this passage, we are talking about the co-vet-no-kah of the son of Aleksandra - Va-si-liya, someone asks-in-tsi-ro-va-li him on horse- conflict with father. At the same time, yes, in the early New-Go-Rod-sky let-that-pi-syah, it’s under-cher-ki-va-et-sya that the holy one for-shi-shal didn’t Russia or their lands, namely, Novy-go-rod, which pos-v-li-lo chro-ni-stam to take the first step to transform Alexander into his own stven-but-holy.
Even more strongly, the attraction of new-cities to Alexander appeared already in the 15th century: -ty-che-indications about his rights, and he himself stands before chi-ta-te-la-mi as a defender of the New -ro-yes and his row-kov, someone “work a lot for No-award and for P-skov and for the whole land of Rus-kuyu, their lives from- Giving" . It would-la already le-be-di-naya song of the free-to-go-ro-yes - Moscow str-mi-tel-but united-nya-la around itself Russian earth-whether, and it’s already a different Alexander Nevsky - sa-mo-der-zhets, in a kind of Roman and vi-zantine-skim im-pe-ra-to-ram.
Alexander becomes-but-vit-sya os-no-va-te-lem of the Moscow di-na-sti-it Ryu-ri-ko-vi-chey, he already thinks not as a specific ny prince, but as the ruler of all Russia. In this from-no-she-nii with-me-cha-tel-na re-dak-tu-ra re-chi mit-ro-po-li-ta over the coffin of the deceased saint go. In the vlad-di-mi-ro-Suz-dal-pa-myat-ni-kah, the hierarch laments "the sun of the land of Suz-dal-sky." In the texts of the 15th century, created back in Nov-go-ro-de, but ori-en-ti-ro-van-nyh is already in Moscow, vlady-ka is soon beat about " the sun of the earth is Russian.
Fak-ti-che-ski is already a general-Russian recognition, ho-cha to ka-but-no-for-tion of the holy remains still like mi-no -mum 50 years old. Moscow presents itself to be Alexander Nev-sko-go-li-bo as an ideal-al-no-go mo-na-ha (namely, in this period, it appears la-et-sya iko-on not a prince, but schema-no-ka Alexia), or-bo as in-and-on, get up from the coffin and help- ga-yu-shche-go Dmitry Don-sko-mu to overcome Ma-May.
In this period, the list of mortal miracles has sharply increased, and pre-em-no-one of the holy prince pro-proclaim Ivan Groz -ny. Now, in pa-myat-ni-kah, Alexander Nevsky ceases to be the uni-kal-ny pra-vi-te-lem of Rus-si, but on-chi-na-et on -then-before-va-tel-but “in-embodied” first in Ivan IV, and then in Peter I. Imperial consciousness again in- tre-bo-va-lo from-me-not-nie about-ra-for the main-no-go on-tsio-nal-no-go hero.
This is a pre-dit and to the shift of ak-cents. The main move of the holy prince is hundred-but-wit-sya for-the Russian land and faith from la-ti-nyan. Av-to-ry text-stov now no longer de-la-yut no-ka-kih times-li-chi between the sea-da-mi, German-tsa-mi and mon-go-la-mi . All of them now ha-rak-te-ri-zu-yut-sya as tongues-no-ki and against-no-ki God. Description of the Swedes and Germans of the morning-chi-va-yut of these-no-che-features, the main-new op-po-zi-tion is now building according to the re-li-gi-oz-no-mu sign-ku: “By-ga-nii (godless, eye-yan-nye) la-you-on with-and-do-sha from western countries, ”the same eye-yan-nym stands and Ba-ty.
In re-zul-ta-te, Alexander in-lu-cha-et his main in-li-ti-che-good-ro-de-tel - for the shield-nick of the faith. For example, at the same time, the holy prince of windows-cha-tel-but enters the world-wide pan-te-he-idea-al-pra-vi-te-lei. In the "Ste-pen-noy book-ge" you-stra-and-va-et-sya is such a sign-to-vay tse-bud-ka Av-gust - Ryu-rik - equal-noap-o-so -ny Vla-di-world - Alexander Nevsky, and at the end of the list "Christ-one-hundred-loving-our tsar Ivan."
According to the will of Ivan Groz-no-go, from behind the shield-no-ka of the New-go-rod-sky pri-vi-le-giy, Alexander turns into -shield-no-ka sa-mo-der-zha-via, stra-da-yu-shche-go from the ve-ro-lom-stvo of their subjects. In a letter to Prince Andrey Kurb-sky, Ivan IV co-creates an image of the holy prince, con-ver-shen-but not similar to that an example of the right-vi-te-la, someone describe-sy-va-li in Vla-di-mi-ro-Suz-dal-Russian Rus. From mole-go-go-sti-te-la, he becomes-but-wit-sya brave-eye and scary for enemies and from-men-no-kov in-and-n.
Evolution of the ob-ra-for from-ra-zi-las and in the icons of that time. Instead of a modestly-but-go-schema-no-ka in the Li-ts-vom Le-to-pis-nom svo-de we meet with the tsar on the throne, or-bo with a rat-no-one on a horse and in pre-sp-ha, in a western royal crown instead of a hat Mo-no-ma-ha. The last de-tal would be needed in order to show that the Russian tsar is as powerful a ruler as not-be-di-my Roman im-pe-ra-tor, and ev-ro-pey-skim mo-nar-ham, also leading his pro-is-hod-de-nie from Av-gu-hundred, there is nothing to pre-kat the Russian tsar-ry less than b-go-rod-ny pro-is-go-de-no-eat.
The end-of-a-tel-noe-development-of-a-ra-for Alexander Nev-sko-go as a might-gu-s-stvenno-no-go im-pe-ra-to-ra pro-is- ho-dit in the epoch-hu of Peter's reforms. For-lo-living the city on the Neva and pro-cutting ok-but in Ev-ro-pu, Peter I from-cha-yan-but needed such an is-to-ri- che-sky personality, someone-paradise would justify all his na-chi-na-nia with his own av-ri-te-that. The holy prince was appointed in-the-kro-vi-te-lem of Peter-ter-burg-ha and the pre-one-whose Peter. The battle with the shwe-da-mi now became-la dis-smat-ri-vat-sya not only as for-shchi-that faith, but as a return to self-be is-con-but Russian lands. De-lo, on-cha-toe Alek-san-drom Nevsky, brilliantly finished by Peter Ve-li-ki, defeating the Swedes.
The best you-ra-zi-te-lem of this idea was the well-known Fe-o-fan Pro-ko-po-vich. In a solemn pro-ve-di, pro-from-not-sen-noy on November 23, 1718, he called Peter "a living star -scrap "Alexandra. The same idea was also served by the solemn re-re-not-se-ing of the relics of the holy prince from Vla-di-mir to Peter -burg, in pa-meat about someone-rum and it was-lo usta-nov-le-but celebrating on September 12-th. Vla-di-world pe-re-da-val es-ta-fe-tu new hundred-face. At the same time, Moscow simply turned out of the sim-in-li-che-is-to-rii, which was especially flattering to them-pe-ra-to-ru- ev-ro-pei-tsu, not loving-biv-she-mu the former hundred-face-tsu. On Alexander Nev-sko-go now, they-la-ga-were obligated-za-no-sti in-cro-vi-te-la of the Northern Pal-mi-ra, spirit-hov- Alec-san-dro-Neva Lavra should become the center of some kind of swarm.
Na-chi-naya with Peter I, Alexander Nevsky in Russian consciousness, more and more turned from the right-to-glory-no-great-Vedas - no-ka in the Russian-go-roy, se-ku-lyar-no-ho-ho, from-giv-she-go your life for the sake of building them- pe-rii and for-lo-alive-she-go the first stones in her fund-da-ment. In the future, this image is for-a-shield-no-ka and co-zi-da-te-la go-su-dar-stva all the assets-it-is-pol-zo-val-sya in our country. Apo-ge-em se-ku-lyar-noy of the saint-sti of the prince was the film by Sergei Eisen-shtein "Alexander Nevsky", in some rum from re- al-no-go man-lo-ve-ka XIII century there is no remaining practice-ti-che-ski nothing, although in the scene-on-rii of the film-ma active-no use-pol-zo-va-lis ancient-Russian is-toch-no-ki. This screen-ny Nevsky in the use of ak-te-ra Ni-ko-lai Cher-ka-so-va for many years became the Soviet “icon” right-of-glory-but-holy.
Alexander Nevsky - Novgorod prince and commander. Prince of Novgorod (1236-1240, 1241-1252 and 1257-1259), Grand Duke of Kiev (1249-1263), Grand Duke of Vladimir (1252-1263). Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. Traditionally considered by Russian historians to be a Russian national hero, a truly Christian ruler, the guardian of the Orthodox faith and the freedom of the people.
Childhood and youth
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky was born in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, Alexander's father, was at the time of the birth of his son the Prince of Pereyaslavl, and later - the Grand Duke of Kyiv and Vladimir. Rostislava Mstislavna, the mother of the famous commander - Princess Toropetskaya. Alexander had an older brother Fedor, who died at the age of 13, as well as younger brothers Andrei, Mikhail, Daniel, Konstantin, Yaroslav, Athanasius and Vasily. In addition, the future prince had sisters Maria and Ulyana.
At the age of 4, the boy passed the rite of passage into the soldiers in the Transfiguration Cathedral and became a prince. In 1230, his father put Alexander together with his older brother to reign in Novgorod. But after 3 years, Fedor dies, and Alexander remains the sole successor of the principality. In 1236, Yaroslav leaves for Kyiv, then for Vladimir, and the 15-year-old prince remains to rule Novgorod on his own.
First campaigns
The biography of Alexander Nevsky is closely connected with the wars. Alexander and his father undertook the first military campaign to Derpt in order to recapture the city from the Livonians. The battle ended with the victory of the Novgorodians. Then the war for Smolensk began with the Lithuanians, the victory in which remained with Alexander.
On July 15, 1240, the Battle of the Neva took place, significant in that the troops of Alexander, without the support of the main army, set up a camp of the Swedes at the mouth of the Izhora River. But the Novgorod boyars were afraid of the increased influence of Alexander. Representatives of the nobility, with the help of various tricks and incitement, ensured that the commander left for Vladimir to his father. At this time, the German army made a trip to Rus', capturing the Pskov, Izborsk, Vozh lands, the knights took the city of Koporye. The enemy army came close to Novgorod. Then the Novgorodians themselves began to beg the prince to return.
In 1241, Alexander Nevsky arrived in Novgorod, then liberated Pskov, and on April 5, 1242, the famous battle took place - the Battle of the Ice - on Lake Peipus. The battle took place on a frozen lake. Prince Alexander used a tactical trick, luring the knights, dressed in heavy armor, onto a thin layer of ice. The Russian cavalry, attacking from the flanks, completed the defeat of the invaders. After this battle, the knightly order abandoned all recent conquests, and part of Latgale also went to the Novgorodians.
After 3 years, Alexander liberated Torzhok, Toropets and Bezhetsk, captured by the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Then, solely by the forces of his troops, without the support of the Novgorodians and Vladimirians, he caught up and destroyed the remnants of the Lithuanian army, and on the way back defeated another Lithuanian military formation near Usvyat.
Governing body
Yaroslav dies in 1247. Alexander Nevsky becomes the Prince of Kyiv and All Rus'. But since Kyiv lost its strategic importance after the Tatar invasion, Alexander did not go there, but remained to live in Novgorod.
In 1252 Andrei and Yaroslav, brothers of Alexander, opposed the Horde, but the Tatar invaders defeated the defenders of the Russian land. Yaroslav settled in Pskov, and Andrei was forced to flee to Sweden, so the principality of Vladimir passed to Alexander. Immediately after this, a new war with the Lithuanians and the Teutons followed.
The role of Alexander Nevsky in history is perceived ambiguously. The Novgorod prince constantly fought battles with Western troops, but at the same time he bowed before the Khan of the Golden Horde. The prince repeatedly traveled to the Mongol Empire to honor the ruler, and especially supported the allies of the khan. In 1257, he even personally appeared in Novgorod with Tatar ambassadors to express support for the Horde.
In addition, the son of Vasily, who resisted the invasion of the Tatars, Alexander exiled to the Suzdal land, and put 7-year-old Dmitry in his place. Such a policy of the prince in Russia itself is often called treacherous, since cooperation with the rulers of the Golden Horde suppressed the resistance of the Russian princes for many years to come. Many people do not perceive Alexander as a politician, but they consider him an excellent warrior, and his exploits are not forgotten.
In 1259, Alexander, with the help of threats of a Tatar invasion, obtained from the Novgorodians consent to a census of the population and the payment of tribute to the Horde, which the Russian people resisted for many years. This is another fact from the biography of Nevsky, which does not please the supporters of the prince.
Battle on the Ice
At the end of August 1240, the crusaders of the Livonian Order invaded the Pskov land. After a short siege, the German knights captured Izborsk. Then the defenders of the Catholic faith laid siege to Pskov and occupied it with the assistance of traitorous boyars. This was followed by an invasion of Novgorod land.
At the call of Alexander Nevsky, troops from Vladimir and Suzdal arrived to help the Novgorodians under the command of Prince Andrei, the brother of the Novgorod ruler. The united Novgorod-Vladimir army undertook a campaign against Pskov land and, cutting off the roads from Livonia to Pskov, took possession of this city, as well as Izborsk, by storm.
After this defeat, the Livonian knights, having gathered a large army, marched to the Pskov and Peipsi lakes. The basis of the army of the Livonian Order was the heavily armed knightly cavalry, as well as the infantry, which many times outnumbered the knights. In April 1242, a battle took place that went down in history as the Battle of the Ice.
For a long time, historians could not determine the exact location of the battle, because the hydrography of Lake Peipus often changed, but scientists later managed to indicate the coordinates of the battle on the map. Experts agreed that the Livonian rhymed chronicle describes the battle more accurately.
The Rhymed Chronicle states that Novgorod had a large number of shooters who were the first to take the blow of the knights. The knights lined up in a "pig" - a deep column, starting with a blunt wedge. Such a formation allowed the heavily armed knightly cavalry to strike at the enemy line and break the battle formations, but in this case such a strategy turned out to be erroneous.
While the forward detachments of the Livonians tried to break through the dense formation of the Novgorod infantry, the princely squads remained in place. Soon the combatants hit the enemy's flanks, crushing and mixing the ranks of the German troops. Novgorodians won a decisive victory.
Some historians claim that the knightly formations consisted of 12-14 thousand soldiers, and the Novgorod militia numbered 15-16 thousand people. Other experts believe these figures are unreasonably high.
The outcome of the battle decided the outcome of the war. The order made peace, abandoning the conquered Pskov and Novgorod territories. This battle played a huge role in history, influenced the development of the region, and preserved the freedom of Novgorodians.
Personal life
Alexander Nevsky married in 1239, immediately after the victory over the Lithuanians near Smolensk. Alexandra, daughter of Bryachislav of Polotsk, became the wife of the prince. The young people got married in the church of St. George in Toropets. A year later, their son Vasily was born.
Later, his wife gave Alexander three more sons: Dmitry, the future prince of Novgorod, Pereyaslavl and Vladimir, Andrei, who would be the Kostroma, Vladimir, Novgorod and Gorodets princes, and Daniel, the first prince of Moscow. The princely couple also had a daughter, Evdokia, who later married Konstantin Rostislavich Smolensky.
Death
In 1262, Alexander Nevsky went to the Horde to try to prevent the impending Tatar campaign. A new invasion was provoked by the murders of tribute collectors in Suzdal, Rostov, Pereyaslavl, Yaroslavl and Vladimir. In the Mongol Empire, the prince fell seriously ill, and returned to Rus' already dying.
Upon returning home, Alexander Nevsky takes a solemn oath of Orthodox monks under the name of Alexy. Thanks to this act, and also because of the regular refusals of the Roman papacy to accept Catholicism, Grand Duke Alexander became the favorite prince of the Russian clergy. Moreover, in 1543 he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as a miracle worker.
Alexander Nevsky died on November 14, 1263, and was buried in the Nativity Monastery in Vladimir. In 1724, the emperor ordered the reburial of the relics of the holy prince in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg. The monument to the prince was erected on Alexander Nevsky Square in front of the entrance to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. This monument is presented in the photo in historical publications and magazines.
It is known that part of the relics of Alexander Nevsky is in the Temple of Alexander Nevsky in Sofia (Bulgaria), as well as in the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir. In 2011, the image with a particle of relics was transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Church in the Ural village of Shurala. The icon of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky can often be found in Russian churches.
- Prince Alexander won the main military victories in his youth. By the time of the Battle of the Neva, the commander was 20 years old, and during the Battle of the Ice, the prince was 22 years old. Subsequently, Nevsky was considered a politician and diplomat, but more still a military leader. In all his life, Prince Alexander did not lose a single battle.
- Alexander Nevsky is the only secular Orthodox ruler in all of Europe and in Rus' who did not compromise with the Catholic Church in order to maintain power.
- After the death of the ruler, “The Tale of the Life and Courage of the Blessed and Grand Duke Alexander” appeared, a literary work of the hagiographic genre, created in the 80s of the XIII century. It is assumed that the compilation of the "Life of Alexander Nevsky" was carried out in the monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin in Vladimir, where the body of the prince was buried.
- Feature films are often made about Alexander Nevsky. In 1938, the most famous film was released, called "Alexander Nevsky". He became the director of the picture, and the cantata "Alexander Nevsky" was created by the Soviet composer for the choir and soloists with the orchestra.
- In 2008, the competition "Name of Russia" was held. The event was organized by representatives of the state television channel Rossiya together with the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Public Opinion Foundation.
- Netizens chose the "Name of Russia" from a ready-made list of "five hundred great figures of the country." As a result, the competition almost ended in scandal, because it took the leading position. The organizers said that "numerous spammers" voted for the communist leader. As a result, Alexander Nevsky was named the official winner. According to many, it was the figure of the Novgorod prince that should have suited both the Orthodox community, and Slavophile patriots, as well as simply lovers of Russian history.
Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the guise of the faithful under Metropolitan Macarius at the Moscow Council of 1547. Commemorated on December 6 and September 12 according to the new style (transfer of relics from Vladimir-on-Klyazma to St. Petersburg, to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (from 1797 - Lavra) on August 30, 1724).
Alexander Nevsky: only the facts
Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich was born in 1220 (according to another version - in 1221) and died in 1263. In different years of his life, Prince Alexander had the titles of Prince of Novgorod, Kyiv, and later Grand Duke of Vladimir.
Prince Alexander won his main military victories in his youth. During the Battle of the Neva (1240), he was at most 20 years old, during the Battle of the Ice - 22 years old.
Subsequently, he became more famous as a politician and diplomat, but occasionally acted as a military leader. In all his life, Prince Alexander did not lose a single battle.
- Alexander Nevsky canonized as a noble prince.
Lay people who have become famous for their sincere deep faith and good deeds, as well as Orthodox rulers who managed to remain faithful to Christ in their public service and in various political conflicts, are ranked among this saint. Like any Orthodox saint, the noble prince is not at all an ideal sinless person, however, he is first of all a ruler who was guided in his life primarily by the highest Christian virtues, including mercy and philanthropy, and not by a thirst for power and not self-interest.
Contrary to popular belief that the Church canonized almost all the rulers of the Middle Ages as faithful, only a few of them were glorified. Thus, among Russian saints of princely origin, the majority are glorified as saints for their martyrdom for the sake of their neighbors and for the sake of preserving the Christian faith.
-Through the efforts of Alexander Nevsky, the preaching of Christianity spread to the northern lands of the Pomors.
He also managed to contribute to the creation of an Orthodox diocese in the Golden Horde.
The modern idea of Alexander Nevsky was influenced by Soviet propaganda, which spoke exclusively about his military merits. As a diplomat who built relations with the Horde, and even more so as a monk and saint, he was completely inappropriate for the Soviet government. Therefore, Sergei Eisenstein's masterpiece "Alexander Nevsky" does not tell about the whole life of the prince, but only about the battle on Lake Peipsi. This gave rise to a common stereotype that Prince Alexander was canonized for his military merits, and holiness itself became something of a “reward” from the Church.
The veneration of Prince Alexander as a saint began immediately after his death, at the same time a rather detailed “Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky” was compiled.
The official canonization of the prince took place in 1547.
Life of the Holy Right-Believing Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky
Portal "Word".
Prince Alexander Nevsky is one of those great people in the history of our Fatherland, whose activities not only influenced the fate of the country and people, but changed them in many ways, predetermined the course of Russian history for many centuries to come. It fell to him to rule Russia at the most difficult, turning point that followed the devastating Mongol conquest, when it was about the very existence of Rus', whether it would be able to survive, maintain its statehood, its ethnic independence, or disappear from the map, like many other peoples of Eastern Europe that were invaded at the same time.
He was born in 1220 (1), in the city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and was the second son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, at that time the prince of Pereyaslavl. His mother Theodosius, apparently, was the daughter of the famous Toropets prince Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny, or Udaly (2).
Very early, Alexander was involved in the turbulent political events that unfolded around the reign in Veliky Novgorod - one of the largest cities in medieval Rus'. Most of his biography will be connected with Novgorod. The first time Alexander came to this city as a baby was in the winter of 1223, when his father was invited to reign in Novgorod. However, the reign was short-lived: at the end of that year, having quarreled with the Novgorodians, Yaroslav and his family returned to Pereyaslavl. So Yaroslav will either put up, then quarrel with Novgorod, and then the same will happen again in the fate of Alexander.
This was explained simply: the Novgorodians needed a strong prince from North-Eastern Rus', close to them, so that he could protect the city from external enemies. However, such a prince ruled Novgorod too abruptly, and the townspeople usually soon quarreled with him and invited some southern Russian prince who did not annoy them too much to reign; and everything would be fine, but, alas, he could not protect them in case of danger, and he cared more about his southern possessions - so the Novgorodians had to again turn to the Vladimir or Pereyaslav princes for help, and everything was repeated anew.
Again Prince Yaroslav was invited to Novgorod in 1226. Two years later, the prince again left the city, but this time he left his sons in it as princes - nine-year-old Fyodor (his eldest son) and eight-year-old Alexander. The boyars of Yaroslav, Fyodor Danilovich and the princely tiun Yakim, remained with the children. They, however, failed to cope with the Novgorod "freemen" and in February 1229 had to flee with the princes to Pereyaslavl.
For a short time, Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich Chernigov, a future martyr for the faith and a revered saint, established himself in Novgorod. But the southern Russian prince, who ruled remote Chernigov, could not protect the city from outside threats; besides, severe famine and pestilence began in Novgorod. In December 1230, the Novgorodians invited Yaroslav for the third time. He hastily arrived in Novgorod, concluded an agreement with the Novgorodians, but stayed in the city for only two weeks and returned to Pereyaslavl. His sons Fedor and Alexander again remained in reign in Novgorod.
Novgorod reign of Alexander
So, in January 1231, Alexander formally became the Prince of Novgorod. Until 1233 he ruled together with his older brother. But this year Fedor died (his sudden death happened just before the wedding, when everything was already ready for the wedding feast). The real power remained entirely in the hands of his father. Probably, Alexander took part in his father's campaigns (for example, in 1234 near Yuryev, against the Livonian Germans, and in the same year against the Lithuanians). In 1236, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich took the vacant throne of Kiev. From that time on, sixteen-year-old Alexander became the independent ruler of Novgorod.
The beginning of his reign fell on a terrible time in the history of Rus' - the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. The hordes of Batu, who attacked Rus' in the winter of 1237/38, did not reach Novgorod. But most of North-Eastern Rus', its largest cities - Vladimir, Suzdal, Ryazan and others - were destroyed. Many princes died, including Alexander's uncle, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich and all his sons. Alexander's father Yaroslav (1239) received the Grand Duke's throne. The catastrophe that occurred turned the whole course of Russian history upside down and left an indelible mark on the fate of the Russian people, including, of course, Alexander. Although in the first years of his reign he did not have to directly face the conquerors.
The main threat in those years came to Novgorod from the west. From the very beginning of the 13th century, the princes of Novgorod had to hold back the onslaught of the growing Lithuanian state. In 1239, Alexander built fortifications along the Shelon River, protecting the southwestern borders of his principality from Lithuanian raids. In the same year, an important event took place in his life - Alexander married the daughter of the Polotsk prince Bryachislav, his ally in the fight against Lithuania. (Later sources give the name of the princess - Alexandra (3).) The wedding was held in Toropets, an important city on the Russian-Lithuanian border, and a second wedding feast was held in Novgorod.
An even greater danger for Novgorod was the advance from the west of the German crusader knights from the Livonian Order of the Sword (merged in 1237 with the Teutonic Order), and from the north - Sweden, which in the first half of the 13th century intensified the offensive on the lands of the Finnish tribe em (tavasts), traditionally included in the sphere of influence of the Novgorod princes. One can think that the news of the terrible defeat of Batu Rus prompted the rulers of Sweden to transfer military operations to the territory of Novgorod proper.
The Swedish army invaded Novgorod in the summer of 1240. Their ships entered the Neva and stopped at the mouth of its tributary, the Izhora. Later Russian sources report that the Swedish army was led by the future Jarl Birger, the son-in-law of the Swedish king Eric Erikson and the long-term ruler of Sweden, but researchers are doubtful about this news. According to the chronicle, the Swedes intended to "capture Ladoga, simply say Novgorod, and the entire Novgorod region."
Battle with the Swedes on the Neva
This was the first truly serious test for the young Novgorod prince. And Alexander withstood it with honor, showing the qualities of not only a born commander, but also a statesman. It was then, upon receipt of the news of the invasion, that his famous words sounded: “ God is not in power, but in truth!»
Having gathered a small squad, Alexander did not wait for help from his father and went on a campaign. On the way, he connected with the Ladoga residents and on July 15 suddenly attacked the Swedish camp. The battle ended with a complete victory for the Russians. The Novgorod chronicle reports huge losses on the part of the enemy: “And many of them fell; they filled two ships with the bodies of the best husbands and let them go ahead of them on the sea, and for the rest they dug a hole and threw it there without number.
The Russians, according to the same chronicle, lost only 20 people. It is possible that the losses of the Swedes are exaggerated (it is significant that there is no mention of this battle in Swedish sources), and the Russians are underestimated. A synodicon of the Novgorod church of Saints Boris and Gleb in Plotniki, compiled in the 15th century, has been preserved with the mention of "princely governors, and Novgorod governors, and all our brethren beaten" who fell "on the Neva from the Germans under Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich"; their memory was honored in Novgorod in the 15th and 16th centuries, and later. Nevertheless, the significance of the Battle of the Neva is obvious: the Swedish onslaught in the direction of North-Western Rus' was stopped, and Rus' showed that, despite the Mongol conquest, it was able to defend its borders.
The life of Alexander highlights the feat of six "brave men" from Alexander's regiment: Gavrila Oleksich, Sbyslav Yakunovich, Yakov from Polotsk, Misha from Novgorod, Sava's combatant from the younger squad (who cut down the golden-domed royal tent) and Ratmir, who died in the battle. The Life also tells about a miracle performed during the battle: on the opposite side of Izhora, where there were no Novgorodians at all, subsequently they found many corpses of fallen enemies, who were struck by the angel of the Lord.
This victory brought loud glory to the twenty-year-old prince. It was in her honor that he received the honorary nickname - Nevsky.
Shortly after the victorious return, Alexander quarreled with the Novgorodians. In the winter of 1240/41, the prince, together with his mother, wife and "his court" (that is, the army and the prince's administration), left Novgorod for Vladimir, to his father, and from there - "to reign" in Pereyaslavl. The reasons for his conflict with the Novgorodians are unclear. It can be assumed that Alexander sought to dominate Novgorod, following the example of his father, and this caused resistance from the Novgorod boyars. However, having lost a strong prince, Novgorod could not stop the advance of another enemy - the crusaders.
In the year of the Neva victory, the knights, in alliance with the “chud” (Estonians), captured the city of Izborsk, and then Pskov, the most important outpost on the western borders of Rus'. The following year, the Germans invaded the Novgorod lands, took the city of Tesov on the Luga River and set up the Koporye fortress. Novgorodians turned to Yaroslav for help, asking him to send his son. Yaroslav first sent his son Andrei, Nevsky's younger brother, to them, but after a repeated request from the Novgorodians, he agreed to let Alexander go again. In 1241, Alexander Nevsky returned to Novgorod and was enthusiastically received by the inhabitants.
Battle on the Ice
Once again, he acted decisively and without any delay. In the same year, Alexander took the fortress of Koporye. He captured the Germans in part, and sent them home in part, but hanged the traitors of the Estonians and the leaders. The next year, with the Novgorodians and the Suzdal squad of his brother Andrei, Alexander moved to Pskov. The city was taken without much difficulty; the Germans who were in the city were killed or sent as booty to Novgorod. Developing success, Russian troops entered Estonia. However, in the first clash with the knights, Alexander's guard detachment was defeated.
One of the governors, Domash Tverdislavich, was killed, many were taken prisoner, and the survivors fled to the prince's regiment. The Russians had to retreat. On April 5, 1242, a battle took place on the ice of Lake Peipus ("on Uzmen, near the Raven Stone"), which went down in history as the Battle of the Ice. The Germans and Estonians, moving in a wedge (in Russian, “pig”), pierced the advanced Russian regiment, but were then surrounded and completely defeated. “And they chased after them, beating them, seven miles across the ice,” the chronicler testifies.
In assessing the losses of the German side, Russian and Western sources differ. According to the Novgorod chronicle, countless “chuds” and 400 (in another list 500) German knights died, and 50 knights were captured.
“And Prince Alexander returned with a glorious victory,” says the Life of the Saint, “and there were many prisoners in his army, and those who call themselves “God’s knights” were led barefoot near the horses.” There is also a story about this battle in the so-called Livonian rhymed chronicle of the end of the XIII century, but it reports only 20 dead and 6 captured German knights, which is, apparently, a strong understatement.
However, the differences with Russian sources can partly be explained by the fact that the Russians considered all the killed and wounded Germans, and the author of the Rhyming Chronicle - only "knight brothers", that is, full members of the Order.
The battle on the ice was of great importance for the fate of not only Novgorod, but the whole of Russia. Crusader aggression was stopped on the ice of Lake Peipus. Rus' received peace and stability on its northwestern borders.
In the same year, a peace treaty was concluded between Novgorod and the Order, according to which an exchange of prisoners took place, and all Russian territories occupied by the Germans were returned. The chronicle conveys the words of the German ambassadors addressed to Alexander: “What we occupied by force without Prince Vod, Luga, Pskov, Latygol - we retreat from everything. And if they captured your husbands, they are ready to exchange them: we will let yours go, and you will let ours go.
Battle with the Lithuanians
Success accompanied Alexander in battles with the Lithuanians. In 1245, he inflicted a severe defeat on them in a series of battles: near Toropets, near Zizhich and near Usvyat (near Vitebsk). Many Lithuanian princes were killed, and others were captured. “His servants, mocking, tied them to the tails of their horses,” says the author of the Life. “And from that time on they began to fear his name.” So the Lithuanian raids on Rus' were also stopped for a while.
There is another, later Alexander's campaign against the Swedes - in 1256. It was undertaken in response to a new attempt by the Swedes to invade Rus' and establish a fortress on the eastern, Russian, bank of the Narova River. By that time, the fame of Alexander's victories had already spread far beyond the borders of Rus'. Having learned not even about the performance of the Russian rati from Novgorod, but only about the preparations for the performance, the invaders "flee across the sea." This time, Alexander sent his squads to Northern Finland, recently annexed to the Swedish crown. Despite the hardships of the winter transition through the snowy desert terrain, the campaign ended successfully: “And Pomorie fought everything: they killed some, and took others in full, and returned back to their land with a lot of full.”
But Alexander not only fought with the West. Around 1251, an agreement was concluded between Novgorod and Norway on the settlement of border disputes and the delimitation of the collection of tribute from the vast territory inhabited by the Karelians and the Saami. At the same time, Alexander was negotiating the marriage of his son Vasily to the daughter of the Norwegian king Hakon Hakonarson. True, these negotiations were unsuccessful due to the invasion of Rus' by the Tatars - the so-called "Nevryuev rati."
In the last years of his life, between 1259 and 1262, Alexander, on his own behalf and on behalf of his son Dmitry (proclaimed Prince of Novgorod in 1259) "with all Novgorodians" concluded a trade agreement with the "Gotsky Coast" (Gotland), Lubeck and German cities; this agreement played an important role in the history of Russian-German relations and proved to be very durable (it was referred to even in 1420).
In wars with Western opponents - the Germans, Swedes and Lithuanians - Alexander Nevsky's military leadership talent was clearly manifested. But his relationship with the Horde developed in a completely different way.
Relations with the Horde
After the death in 1246 of Alexander's father, Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who was poisoned in faraway Karakorum, the throne passed to Alexander's uncle, Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich. However, a year later, Alexander's brother Andrei, a warlike, energetic and decisive prince, overthrew him. Subsequent events are not entirely clear. It is known that in 1247 Andrei, and after him Alexander, made a trip to the Horde, to Batu. He sent them even further, to Karakorum, the capital of the vast Mongol Empire (“to the Kanovichi,” as they said in Rus').
The brothers returned to Rus' only in December 1249. Andrei received from the Tatars a label to the grand-ducal throne in Vladimir, while Alexander received Kyiv and “the whole Russian land” (that is, Southern Rus'). Formally, the status of Alexander was higher, because Kyiv was still considered the main capital city of Rus'. But ruined by the Tatars and depopulated, he completely lost his significance, and therefore Alexander could hardly be satisfied with the decision made. Even without stopping in Kyiv, he immediately went to Novgorod.
Negotiations with the papacy
By the time of Alexander's trip to the Horde are his negotiations with the papal throne. Two bulls of Pope Innocent IV, addressed to Prince Alexander and dated 1248, have survived. In them, the primate of the Roman Church offered the Russian prince an alliance to fight against the Tatars - but on the condition that he accept the church union and transfer under the protection of the Roman throne.
Papal legates did not find Alexander in Novgorod. However, one can think that even before his departure (and before receiving the first papal message), the prince held some kind of negotiations with representatives of Rome. In anticipation of the upcoming trip "to the Kanovichi," Alexander gave an evasive answer to the pope's proposals, calculated to continue negotiations. In particular, he agreed to the construction of a Latin church in Pskov - a church, which was quite common for ancient Rus' (such a Catholic church - the "Varangian goddess" - existed, for example, in Novgorod since the 11th century). The pope regarded the prince's consent as a readiness to agree to a union. But this assessment was deeply erroneous.
The prince probably received both papal messages already upon his return from Mongolia. By this time, he had made a choice - and not in favor of the West. According to researchers, what he saw on the way from Vladimir to Karakorum and back made a strong impression on Alexander: he was convinced of the invincible power of the Mongol Empire and the impossibility of ruined and weakened Rus' to resist the power of the Tatar "kings".
This is how the Life of his prince conveys famous response to papal envoys:
“Once upon a time, ambassadors from the pope from great Rome came to him with these words: “Our dad says this: We heard that you are a worthy and glorious prince and your land is great. That is why they sent two of the most skillful cardinals to you ... so that you listen to their teaching about the law of God.
Prince Alexander, having thought with his wise men, wrote to him, saying: “From Adam to the flood, from the flood to the division of languages, from the confusion of languages \u200b\u200bto the beginning of Abraham, from Abraham to the passage of Israel through the Red Sea, from the exodus of the sons of Israel to death King David, from the beginning of the kingdom of Solomon to August the king, from the beginning of August to the Nativity of Christ, from the Nativity of Christ to the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord, from His Resurrection to the Ascension to heaven, from the Ascension to heaven and to the kingdom of Constantine, from the beginning of the kingdom of Constantine to the first council, from the first council to the seventh - all that we know well, but we do not accept teachings from you". They returned home."
In this answer of the prince, in his unwillingness to even enter into debate with the Latin ambassadors, it was by no means some kind of his religious narrow-mindedness, as it might seem at first glance. It was a choice both religious and political. Alexander was aware that the West would not be able to help Rus' in liberation from the Horde yoke; the struggle with the Horde, to which the papal throne called, could be disastrous for the country. Alexander was not ready to go to a union with Rome (namely, this was an indispensable condition for the proposed union).
Acceptance of the union - even with the formal consent of Rome to the preservation of all Orthodox rites in worship - in practice could mean only simple submission to the Latins, and at the same time both political and spiritual. The history of the dominance of the Latins in the Baltics or in Galicia (where they briefly established themselves in the 10s of the XIII century) clearly proved this.
So Prince Alexander chose a different path for himself - the path of refusing any cooperation with the West and at the same time the path of forced obedience to the Horde, accepting all its conditions. It was in this that he saw the only salvation both for his power over Russia - albeit limited by the recognition of the Horde's sovereignty - and for Rus' itself.
The period of the short great reign of Andrei Yaroslavich is very poorly covered in Russian chronicles. However, it is clear that a conflict was brewing between the brothers. Andrei - unlike Alexander - showed himself to be an opponent of the Tatars. In the winter of 1250/51, he married the daughter of the Galician prince Daniel Romanovich, a supporter of resolute resistance to the Horde. The threat of unification of the forces of North-Eastern and South-Western Rus' could not but alarm the Horde.
The denouement came in the summer of 1252. Again, we do not know exactly what happened then. According to the chronicles, Alexander again went to the Horde. During his stay there (and perhaps already after returning to Rus'), a punitive expedition was sent from the Horde against Andrei under the command of Nevruy. In the battle near Pereyaslavl, the squad of Andrei and his brother Yaroslav, who supported him, was defeated. Andrei fled to Sweden. The northeastern lands of Rus' were plundered and devastated, many people were killed or taken prisoner.
In the Horde
The sources at our disposal are silent about any connection between Alexander's trip to the Horde and the actions of the Tatars (4). However, one can guess that Alexander's trip to the Horde was associated with changes on the khan's throne in Karakorum, where in the summer of 1251 Mengu, an ally of Batu, was proclaimed great khan.
According to sources, “all the labels and seals that were indiscriminately issued to princes and nobles in the previous reign,” the new khan ordered to be taken away. So, those decisions, in accordance with which Alexander's brother Andrei received a label for the great reign of Vladimir, also lost their force.
Unlike his brother, Alexander was extremely interested in revising these decisions and getting into his own hands the great reign of Vladimir, to which he, as the eldest of the Yaroslavichs, had more rights than his younger brother.
One way or another, but in the last open military clash between the Russian princes and the Tatars in the history of the turning point of the 13th century, Prince Alexander found himself - perhaps through no fault of his own - in the camp of the Tatars. Since that time, one can definitely talk about the special "Tatar policy" of Alexander Nevsky - the policy of appeasement of the Tatars and unquestioning obedience to them.
His subsequent frequent trips to the Horde (1257, 1258, 1262) were aimed at preventing new invasions of Rus'. The prince strove to regularly pay a huge tribute to the conquerors and not allow speeches against them in Rus' itself. Historians assess the Horde policy of Alexander in different ways. Some see in it a simple servility to a ruthless and invincible enemy, the desire by any means to keep power over Russia in their hands; others, on the contrary, consider the most important merit of the prince.
“Two feats of Alexander Nevsky - the feat of war in the West and the feat of humility in the East,” wrote G.V. Vernadsky, the leading historian of the Russian Diaspora, “had one goal: the preservation of Orthodoxy as the moral and political strength of the Russian people. This goal was achieved: the growth of the Russian Orthodox kingdom took place on the soil prepared by Alexander.
A close assessment of the policy of Alexander Nevsky was also given by the Soviet researcher of medieval Russia V. T. Pashuto: “With his cautious prudent policy, he saved Rus' from final ruin by the armies of nomads. Armed with struggle, trade policy, selective diplomacy, he avoided new wars in the North and West, a possible, but disastrous for Rus', alliance with the papacy and the rapprochement of the curia and crusaders with the Horde. He bought time, allowing Rus' to get stronger and recover from the terrible devastation.
Be that as it may, it is indisputable that the policy of Alexander for a long time determined the relationship between Russia and the Horde, largely determined the choice of Rus' between East and West. Subsequently, this policy of appeasing the Horde (or, if you like, currying favor with the Horde) will be continued by the Moscow princes - the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Alexander Nevsky. But the historical paradox - or rather, the historical pattern - lies in the fact that it is they, the heirs of the Horde policy of Alexander Nevsky, who will be able to revive the power of Rus' and eventually throw off the hated Horde yoke.
The prince erected churches, built cities
... In the same 1252, Alexander returned from the Horde to Vladimir with a label for a great reign and was solemnly placed on the grand throne. After the terrible ruin of Nevryuev, he first of all had to take care of the restoration of the destroyed Vladimir and other Russian cities. The prince “erected churches, rebuilt cities, gathered dispersed people into their houses,” testifies the author of the princely Life. The prince showed special care in relation to the Church, decorating churches with books and utensils, favoring them with rich gifts and land.
Novgorod unrest
Novgorod gave Alexander a lot of anxiety. In 1255, the Novgorodians expelled the son of Alexander Vasily and put Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich, brother of Nevsky, to reign. Alexander approached the city with his squad. However, bloodshed was avoided: as a result of negotiations, a compromise was reached, and the Novgorodians obeyed.
New unrest in Novgorod occurred in 1257. It was caused by the appearance in Rus' of Tatar "numerals" - census takers of the population, who were sent from the Horde to more accurately tax the population with tribute. Russian people of that time treated the census with mystical horror, seeing in it the sign of the Antichrist - a harbinger of the last times and the Last Judgment. In the winter of 1257, the Tatar "numerals" "counted the entire land of Suzdal, and Ryazan, and Murom, and appointed foremen, and thousands, and temniks," the chronicler wrote. From the "number", that is, from the tribute, only the clergy - "church people" were exempted (the Mongols invariably exempted the servants of God in all the countries they conquered, regardless of religion, so that they could freely turn to various gods with words of prayer for their conquerors).
In Novgorod, which was not directly affected by either the Batu invasion or the Nevryuev army, the news of the census was met with particular bitterness. Unrest in the city continued for a whole year. Even the son of Alexander, Prince Vasily, turned out to be on the side of the townspeople. When his father appeared, who accompanied the Tatars, he fled to Pskov. This time, the Novgorodians avoided the census, limiting themselves to paying a rich tribute to the Tatars. But their refusal to fulfill the will of the Horde provoked the wrath of the Grand Duke.
Vasily was exiled to Suzdal, the instigators of the riots were severely punished: some, on the orders of Alexander, were executed, others had their noses cut off, and others were blinded. Only in the winter of 1259 did the Novgorodians finally agree to "give a number." Nevertheless, the appearance of Tatar officials caused a new rebellion in the city. Only with the personal participation of Alexander and under the protection of the princely squad, the census was carried out. “And the accursed ones began to ride through the streets, copying Christian houses,” reports the Novgorod chronicler. After the end of the census and the departure of the Tatars, Alexander left Novgorod, leaving his young son Dmitry as prince.
In 1262, Alexander made peace with the Lithuanian prince Mindovg. In the same year, he sent a large army under the nominal command of his son Dmitry against the Livonian Order. The squads of the younger brother of Alexander Nevsky Yaroslav (with whom he managed to reconcile), as well as his new ally, the Lithuanian prince Tovtivil, who settled in Polotsk, took part in this campaign. The campaign ended with a major victory - the city of Yuryev (Tartu) was taken.
At the end of the same 1262, Alexander went to the Horde for the fourth (and last) time. “There was great violence in those days from the infidels,” says the princely Life, “they persecuted Christians, forcing them to fight on their side. The great prince Alexander went to the king (Khan of the Horde Berke. - A.K.) to pray for his people from this misfortune. Probably, the prince also sought to rid Rus' of a new punitive expedition of the Tatars: in the same 1262, a popular uprising broke out in a number of Russian cities (Rostov, Suzdal, Yaroslavl) against the excesses of the Tatar tribute collectors.
The Last Days of Alexander
Alexander apparently succeeded in achieving his goals. However, Khan Berke detained him for almost a year. Only in the autumn of 1263, already sick, Alexander returned to Rus'. Having reached Nizhny Novgorod, the prince fell completely ill. In Gorodets on the Volga, already feeling the approach of death, Alexander took monastic vows (according to later sources, with the name of Alexei) and died on November 14. His body was transported to Vladimir and on November 23 he was buried in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God of the Vladimir Nativity Monastery with a huge gathering of people. The words with which Metropolitan Kirill announced to the people about the death of the Grand Duke are known: “My children, know that the sun of the land of Suzdal has already set!” In a different way - and perhaps more accurately - the Novgorod chronicler put it: Prince Alexander "worked for Novgorod and for the whole Russian land."
church veneration
Church veneration of the holy prince apparently began immediately after his death. The life tells about a miracle that happened at the very burial: when the prince’s body was placed in the tomb and Metropolitan Kirill, as usual, wanted to put a spiritual letter in his hand, people saw how the prince, “as if alive, stretched out his hand and accepted the letter from the hand metropolitan... So God glorified his saint.”
A few decades after the death of the prince, his Life was compiled, which subsequently was repeatedly subjected to various alterations, revisions and additions (in total there are up to twenty editions of the Life dating from the 13th-19th centuries). The official canonization of the prince by the Russian Church took place in 1547, at a church council convened by Metropolitan Macarius and Tsar Ivan the Terrible, when many new Russian miracle workers, previously revered only locally, were canonized as saints. The Church equally glorifies the military prowess of the prince, “in no way is conquered in battles, always conquering,” and his feat of meekness, patience “more than courage” and “invincible humility” (according to the outwardly paradoxical expression of the Akathist).
If we turn to the subsequent centuries of Russian history, then we will see, as it were, a second, posthumous biography of the prince, whose invisible presence is clearly felt in many events - and above all in the turning points, the most dramatic moments in the life of the country. The first acquisition of his relics took place in the year of the great Kulikovo victory, won by the great-grandson of Alexander Nevsky, the great Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy in 1380. In miraculous visions, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich appears as a direct participant in both the Battle of Kulikovo itself and the Battle of Molodi in 1572, when the troops of Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky defeated the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray just 45 kilometers from Moscow.
The image of Alexander Nevsky is seen over Vladimir in 1491, a year after the final overthrow of the Horde yoke. In 1552, during a campaign against Kazan, which led to the conquest of the Kazan Khanate, Tsar Ivan the Terrible performs a prayer service at the tomb of Alexander Nevsky, and during this prayer service a miracle occurs, regarded by everyone as a sign of the coming victory. The relics of the holy prince, which remained until 1723 in the Vladimir Nativity Monastery, exuded numerous miracles, information about which was carefully recorded by the monastery authorities.
A new page in the veneration of the holy and faithful Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky began in the 18th century, under the emperor Peter the Great. The winner of the Swedes and the founder of St. Petersburg, which became a “window to Europe” for Russia, Peter saw in Prince Alexander his immediate predecessor in the fight against Swedish dominance in the Baltic Sea and hastened to transfer the city he founded on the banks of the Neva under his heavenly patronage. Back in 1710, Peter ordered that the name of St. Alexander Nevsky be included in the holidays during divine services as a prayer representative for the “Neva Country”. In the same year, he personally chose a place to build a monastery in the name of the Holy Trinity and St. Alexander Nevsky - the future Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Peter wanted to transfer the relics of the holy prince here from Vladimir.
The wars with the Swedes and the Turks slowed down the fulfillment of this desire, and only in 1723 did they begin to fulfill it. On August 11, with all due solemnity, the holy relics were carried out of the Nativity Monastery; the procession went to Moscow, and then to St. Petersburg; everywhere she was accompanied by prayers and crowds of believers. According to Peter's plan, the holy relics were supposed to be brought to the new capital of Russia on August 30 - on the day of the conclusion of the Treaty of Nystadt with the Swedes (1721). However, the distance of the journey did not allow this plan to be carried out, and the relics arrived in Shlisselburg only on October 1. By order of the emperor, they were left in the Shlisselburg Church of the Annunciation, and their transfer to St. Petersburg was postponed until next year.
The meeting of the shrine in St. Petersburg on August 30, 1724 was distinguished by special solemnity. According to legend, on the last leg of the journey (from the mouth of the Izhora to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery), Peter personally ruled the galley with a precious cargo, and behind the oars were his closest associates, the first dignitaries of the state. At the same time, the annual celebration of the memory of the holy prince was established on the day of the transfer of relics on August 30.
Today the Church celebrates the memory of the holy and faithful Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky twice a year: on November 23 (December 6, New Style) and on August 30 (September 12).
Days of the celebration of St. Alexander Nevsky:
- May 23 (June 5, New Style) - Cathedral of the Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints
- August 30 (September 12 according to the New Style) - the day of the transfer of relics to St. Petersburg (1724) - the main
- November 14 (November 27, New Style) - death day in Gorodets (1263) - canceled
- November 23 (December 6, New Style) - the day of burial in Vladimir, in the schema of Alexy (1263)
Prayer to the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky
(to schema-monk Alexy)
A speedy helper to all those who zealously resort to you, and our warm intercessor before the Lord, holy noble Grand Duke Alexander! look graciously upon us, unworthy, who have created many iniquities unnecessarily for yourself, now flowing to your relics and crying out from the depths of your soul: you were a zealot and defender of the Orthodox faith in your life, and we are unshakably affirmed in it with your warm prayers to God. You carefully passed the great service entrusted to you, and with your help to stay every time, in what you are called to eat, instruct. You, having defeated the regiments of adversaries, drove you away from the limits of the Russian verse, and overthrow all the visible and invisible enemies who are taking up arms against us. You, having left the perishable crown of the kingdom of the earth, have chosen a silent life, and now, righteously crowned with an incorruptible crown, reigning in heaven, intercede for us, we humbly pray to you, a quiet and serene life, and to the eternal Kingdom of God, a steady procession, build us. Standing with all the saints on the throne of God, praying for all Orthodox Zristians, may the Lord God save them with His grace in peace, health, long life and all prosperity in the coming years, may we praise and bless God, in the Trinity of the Holy Glory, the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.
Troparion, Tone 4:
Recognize your brethren, Russian Joseph, not in Egypt, but reigning in heaven, faithful to Prince Alexandra, and accept their prayers, multiplying the life of people with the fruitfulness of your land, protecting the cities of your dominion with prayer, fighting with Orthodox people against resisting.
Ying troparion, Voice of the same:
Like a pious root, the most honorable branch was thou, blessed Alexandra, for Christ, as a kind of Divine treasure of the Russian land, the new miracle worker is glorious and God-pleasing. And today, having come down in your memory with faith and love, in psalms and singing, we rejoice in glorifying the Lord, who has given you the grace of healing. Pray him to save this city, and to our God-pleasing country, and to be saved by the sons of Russia.
Kontakion, Tone 8:
We honor you like a most bright star, which shone from the east and came to the west, enriching this whole country with miracles and kindness, and enlighten those who honor your memory with faith, blessed Alexandra. For this reason, today we are celebrating your dormition, your people, pray to save your Fatherland, and all those who flow to the race of your relics, and rightly crying out to you: Rejoice, affirmation of our city.
In kontakion, Tone 4:
Like your relatives, Boris and Gleb, appearing from Heaven to help you, ascetic to Weilger Svejsky and howling him: so are you now, blessed Alexandra, come to the aid of your relatives, and overcome us who fight.
The symbol of Russia, the name of Russia, the great commander Prince Alexander Nevsky was one of the most significant figures of Ancient Rus' in the 13th century.
He was famous both as a military figure and as a wise politician. His work was of unsurpassed importance for the construction of the Russian state. He will forever remain in people's memory. He was loved by his contemporaries, his descendants are proud of him. Immediately after his death, The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky appeared, describing the life and victories of this great man. The death of the prince was a great blow to everyone. He is considered a saint, and in 1547 he was officially canonized.
What are the merits of Alexander Nevsky? This noble prince, like all people, was not ideal. He had his advantages and disadvantages. But in the centuries there was information about him as a wise ruler, a valiant military leader, a merciful and virtuous person.
The 13th century is a time in the history of our people when there was no centralized power, feudal princes ruled over their estates and waged internecine wars. All this made the Russian land helpless in the face of the impending danger in the face of the Tatar-Mongol. In this difficult time for Rus' in 1231, Alexander became the Grand Duke of Novgorod. But his father, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, had real power, while Alexander took part in military campaigns with his father.
In 1236, when his father occupies the throne of Kiev, Alexander becomes the full ruler of Novgorod. He was then 16 years old. Already in 1237-1238, the hordes of Batu destroyed many Russian cities: Vladimir, Ryazan, Suzdal. It was not difficult for the Tatar-Mongols to establish their power over the scattered Russian principalities. At the same time, Novgorod survived, and the main threat to it was the Lithuanian and German knights who attacked from the west, and the Swedes from the north. Already at the age of twenty, Alexander led the army in the battle with the Swedes on the Neva, which took place on July 15, 1240.
Before the battle, the prince prayed for a long time in the church of Hagia Sophia, then received a blessing and said to the soldiers these words: “God is not in power, but in truth. Some - with weapons, others - on horseback, but we will call on the Name of the Lord our God! So for the truth, for Rus', for God, the young prince went to battle and won a victory, which became the first in a long series of victories of the great commander. Since that time, Prince Alexander began to be called Nevsky. As a commander, he was rightfully considered great, since he did not lose a single battle.
But not only for military merits, he was loved by the people. His courage and military genius were combined with nobility: not once did Alexander raise his sword against his Russian brothers and did not participate in princely showdowns. Perhaps this provided him with popular veneration and glory through the ages. He knew how to say such a fiery word to his people, which united, instilled faith and uplifted the spirit.
This prayer warrior proved himself to be a far-sighted and wise statesman. He defended the interests of not only the principality of Novgorod, but also of all the northeastern lands. Through his efforts, Rus' and its originality have been preserved to this day. After all, it was Alexander who built his domestic and foreign policy in such a way as to protect Russian lands from destruction. For this, he repeatedly acted as an ambassador to Batu Khan from all Russian princes. He concluded appropriate peace treaties with both the Tatar-Mongols and the Norwegians. His clear mind, precise miscalculations, desire to create were extremely important for the future unification of the Russian lands around the Moscow principality.
The prince's trips to the Finnish land and trips to Saray were useful not only for strengthening the external authority of Rus'. The bright word of the Gospel was conveyed to Pomorie itself, and the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church was established in the capital of the Golden Horde. Thus, the prince was also a preacher who contributed to the spread of the Word of God on earth. The Christianization of the pagans of the East is now considered the historical mission of Rus'.
Prince Alexander never returned from his last trip. His death was compared to the sunset for the entire Russian land. He died on November 14, 1263, and was buried on November 23 at the Vladimir Nativity Monastery. Taking into account the merits of the prince to the fatherland, Tsar Peter I in 1724 ordered his relics to be transferred to St. Petersburg, where they are stored in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.
After the death of Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, he was canonized as a saint. But the glory of him, his military exploits and good deeds remained among the people forever.
The fact that the Orthodox Church made the Tatar, the executioner of the Russian people, his own saint, is quite understandable, he did not violate her church canons, and on the contrary, in every possible way contributed to increasing the significance of the church in life, the Slavic peoples, who carried a flaming cross with fire and sword to the houses of the inhabitants Rus' of peoples.
Stalin, too, did not reinvent the wheel, and despite the war he ordered to shoot about the Nevsky cinema and even canonized his "feat" by establishing an order in his honor.
But this is not the end of the adventure, the name of Alexander Nevsky, it turns out, is identified in Russia with the concept of patriotism! So, according to a 2008 poll on the Rossiya TV channel, he was even called a symbol of the nation!
Tatar is a great Russian!
What is no less funny Nevsky in the same 2008 won the title "Name of Russia" from the Georgian Stalin!
Let's take a closer look at who Nevsky really was?
So the historian Alexei Volovich writes about the neo-odious figure of the prince:
"Practically all European historical thought boils down to the fact that" it was Alexander's collaborationism in relation to the Tatar-Mongols, the betrayal by him of the brothers Andrei and Yaroslav in 1252 that became the reason for the establishment of the yoke of the Golden Horde in Rus'.
It turns out that it was Alexander Nevsky who became one of those who are to blame for the 240 years of slavery of the peoples of Rus', since it was he who forced the people to recognize the Golden Horde, without a fight.
Volovich's opinion is shared by the English historian John Fennel in his work "The Crisis of Medieval Rus': 1200-1304".
Historians Danilevsky, Belinsky, Afanasiev ...
Until the release of the film Alexander Nevsky in the forties of the last century, he was not called otherwise than a traitor to Rus'!
The ideological machine Stalin idealized the image of the Tatar prince, attributing to him unprecedented strategic abilities, love for the motherland and made him a savior from a traitor to the fatherland!
Who really was the prince of Novgorod?
Alexander was, in fact, a descendant of the Genghisides, for the children were born the daughter of Batu Khan. And the Genghisids of the female line enjoyed great honor in the Golden Horde, although they could not be contenders for the royal throne. So bequeathed the great Yasa.
Officially, Alexander was also considered the son of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who reigned in the Suzdal land and called on the Russian princes in 1245 to recognize Batu as "their king."
After that, he actively cooperated with the invaders, performing police functions and collecting tribute for the Tatars from Russian lands.
Everyone knows that Yaroslav Vsevolodovich sent his own son Alexander as a hostage to Batu camp, but that he was named Batu’s son and the brother of Batu’s son Sartak, and bore the name Nevruy, which is probably why he later became Nevsky, why are they silent.
Nosovsky and Fomenko even call him the son of Batu.
The official biographers call the year of birth of Nevsky in order to fit the Neva battle to him in 1220, but in reality the son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich Alexander was born in 1230 and could not be related to the Neva battle solely because of his age.
The year 1230 is also confirmed by the fact that the named brother Sartak, with whom Alexander performed the Mongol rite of fraternization with incised hands, mixing blood with koumiss and then drinking this drink as a sign of eternal brotherhood, was carried out only in childhood.
And Sartak, as you know, was born in 1229-1231, which comes from the calculation of the historian Vladimir Belinsky, who considered that if it is known that Batu was born in 1208, then his son could well have been born in 20 years, and not in 10.
From 1238 to 1249, or even 1252, Alexander Nevruy lived in the Horde, which is a lot of evidence.
Heroic deeds
So it turns out that neither in the Battle of the Neva, which took place in 1240, nor in the Battle of Lake Peipus in 1242, alas, he could not participate, and the maximum that he was capable of was to attribute to himself the military prowess of his father.
Since we have touched on the topic of great battles, here in heroic myths there is a place for unprecedented dimensions of feat.
The Battle of the Neva, according to non-Russian sources, took place on the Neva River, and was nothing more than an ordinary skirmish with losses, in total, no more than 30 people, and not in mountains of corpses, as the church chronicle writes. And even more, this battle looked like an ordinary attack by robbers on a merchant caravan passing by.
By the way, not the worst version of the nickname Nevsky - the Nevsky robber, the robber of merchants!
About the fight on Lake Peipus with the notorious Teutons, in general, the story is fantastic!
I won’t tell the version known from the film, but I’ll tell you about the German chronicle:
Representatives of the German order, of which at that time there were no more than 150 people, pursued a detachment of Novgorodians who had raided and, without calculating their strength, got carried away and fell under the ice. About 20 Germans drowned on Lake Peipus.
Well, okay, Alexander Nevsky did not have time to reach the place of his feats, another question: why was he then canonized?
Because he defended the lands of the Horde? Collecting tribute and suppressing the anti-Tatar speeches of the Russians?
For protecting the territorial integrity of the vast Tatar-Mongolian empire from its Western neighbors?
Alexander's father
Well, okay Alexander, let's still pay tribute to his father
The one, while the son was growing up, that for his services to the Horde, in 1242, was promoted to the Prince of Kyiv! True, he did not have time to take advantage of the promotion, as he died on the way to the throne.
Alexander Nevsky - holy traitor
The feat of Nevsky
It's time for your son to prove himself! And he showed himself phenomenally.
He, having learned that his brother Andrei, who ruled in Rostov, Prince Daniel of Galicia and Yaroslav of Tverskoy, decided to oppose the Horde, surrendered them all with giblets, including his own brother.
For which he became the prince of Vladimir as a reward and received a huge army, with the help of which he flooded Rus' with blood and fire.
There was no number of people driven into slavery, burned villages, cities and villages.
They were even afraid to talk about Alexander's cruelty, mass executions and brutal torture, that's how he paid Rus' for kinship. He put people on a stake, tore out people's eyes, cut off their noses.
Truly a holy man!
For 11 years he watered the Russian land with blood, and the hero of the Horde led five bloodiest punitive expeditions, not even sparing his own son Vasily, who raised Novgorod to fight his father.
Nevsky also became famous for the population census, thanks to which he practically introduced legislative slavery, imposing a poll tax on everyone enumerated and forbidding them to leave their "place of registration" without the permission of the occupying authorities!
Church reaction
What has the church done? The Church made Nevsky a saint
Do you think she made a mistake? No, the church canonized its real hero, since, no matter how surprising it was, during the Mongol-Tatar yoke, it was a heyday for the church! Monasteries grew by leaps and bounds, about four hundred monasteries were built in which depravity, gluttony and drunkenness were going on.
The Church controlled the people, recognized the chosenness of the Tatars, preached obedience to the Tatar yoke, proclaimed the saints of Genghis Khan's great-grandson Daira Kaydagul under the name of "St.
The church canonized Nevsky, but he did not allow Catholicism to come to Rus'!
Yes exactly!
The Church rewarded him for not letting Ukraine Rus' make its European choice!
Remember that Prince Daniel of Galicia, who continued to fight the Tatars, began a policy of rapprochement with Europe, towards the Catholicism adopted by it!
As Solzhenitsyn wrote: "By preventing Catholicism from entering Rus', Nevsky doomed Russia to centuries of slavery."
Religion of Alexander Nevsky
Well, okay, the church, but who was Nevsky himself by religion?
You won't guess anything!
Of course, you will assume that he was, like all Tatars, an Orthodox Christian, and you will not be mistaken, but you will be surprised that he was also:
Catholic: since, in 1248, he accepted him, following the example of his father, Prince Yaroslav, as evidenced by the letter of thanks from Pope Innocent IV, in which, in addition to gratitude, he writes that he is sending the archbishop to the Nevsky built under the patronage of Pskov temple!
Muslim: since before his death in 1263 he converted to Islam, in the capital of the Mongols, as the new Khan of the Golden Horde, Berke was the first Muslim Khan, and Nevsky was a flexible politician.
Alexander Nevsky - holy traitor
Conclusion
Political flexibility is called in the common people, of course, it is called much more simply, prostitution. Alexander Nevsky was a bright, unique, Mongol-Tatar political prostitute.
Karl Marx highly appreciated the love for the homeland of a true patriot, describing him as: "a mixture of a Tatar shoulder master, a sycophant and a supreme serf."
Historian Yu. Afanasiev writes about him: "Today's mythological consciousness will perceive the news that the prince was in fact the" first collaborator ", quite unambiguously - as an anti-patriotic slander."
And the English historian John Fennel states: “What conclusions can be drawn from everything that we know about Alexander, his life and reign? Was he a great hero, a defender of Russian borders from Western aggression? Did he save Russia from the Teutonic knights and Swedish conquerors? Was his self-abasement, even humiliation before the Tatars in the Golden Horde, dictated by a selfless desire to save the Fatherland? Those facts that can be squeezed out of the available sources make one think seriously before answering any of these questions in the affirmative."
So think about what a country is worth, whose hero was not just a traitor and capitulator, but also a Vlasovite, collaborator, executioner, fanatic, political and, as it turned out, also a religious prostitute ...
