National history. - 1996. - no. 5. V.A. KUCHKIN ALEXANDER NEVSKY - STATE MANAGER AND COMMANDER OF MEDIEVAL RUSSIA A huge thickness of years separates us from the era Alexander Nevsky. The famous prince is better known to people of the 20th century from historical novels, fictionalized biographies, paintings by Henrik Semiradsky, Nicholas Roerich, Pavel Korin, and a film by Sergei Eisenstein. However, complete scientific biography Alexander Nevsky has not yet been written. And it's hard to write. The fact is that there are very few lifetime evidence of Alexander's activities, and his posthumous characteristics suffer from annoying laconicism, incompleteness, or even just various kinds of inaccuracies and errors. It would seem a simple question - who was the mother of Alexander Nevsky? In the Life of the Prince, compiled by his contemporary, a monk of the Vladimir Nativity Monastery around 1264 (but not in 1282-1283, as most modern publications and studies claim)2, the birth of Alexander seems to be clearly stated: îÒöààààààááÀ è å ìóåþþþáÀ, ïÀ ÷ å æ í í êððîÒêòòççççççççàààààààààààààààññññññññññ òòòòññ 3 »». 3 »3 3. î His mother is even named by name - a rare case in reports of the births of ancient Russian princes. However, nothing is reported about the origin of Theodosius. In Russian historical science, it has long been recognized that Theodosius is the daughter of the Toropets prince Mstislav, Mstislavich Udatny, i.e. Lucky, who later was a prince of Novgorod for a long time, then reigned in Galich and became famous as a brave and talented commander. However, in 1908, a prominent specialist in the field of princely genealogy, N.A. Baumgarten made an article where he argued that Theodosia was the daughter of the Ryazan prince Igor Glebovich, who died back in 1195. According to N.A. Baumgarten, Theodosia became the third wife of the father of Alexander Nevsky, Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Pereyaslavl (Pereyaslavl Zalessky), and the mother of all his children4. This view was shared by historians for several decades, who trusted the authority of the author more than the system of his evidence. And the system was flawed. In fact, no sources indicate the birth of daughters in the family of Igor Glebovich Ryazan. There were sons, as many as five, but there were no daughters. According to N.A. Baumgarten, Theodosia married Yaroslav in 1218, 1 Even in the recently compiled Chronicle of the Life and Work of Alexander Nevsky, where, it would seem, the latest research on the biography of the famous prince should have been taken into account, facts are given that cannot be supported in sources. So, the birth of Alexander Nevsky is attributed to May 30, 1220; the rite of princely tonsure - by 1223, the Spassky Cathedral in Pereyaslavl is indicated as the place of tonsure, although early sources do not contain such facts, but they report that Alexander's father Yaroslav spent almost the entire year 1223 in Novgorod, and without him tonsures were unlikely possible; in 1238 Alexander was not Prince of Dmitrovsky and Tver; in October 1246, he could not bury his father in Vladimir, since he died on September 30 of that year in Karakorum, from where his body could not be taken to Vladimir in a month; there is no evidence that Alexander received Pereyaslavl, Zubtsov and Nerekhta in 1247; the second marriage of Alexander Nevsky, referred to in the "Chronicle of Life and Activities" by the autumn of 1252, is clearly unreliable, and it is not explained how Alexander married Daria, the daughter of the Ryazan prince Izyaslav Vladimirovich, who is unknown to the sources and who, if she existed in reality , should have been at least 35 years old (4 years older than her husband), etc. See: Begunov Yu.K. Chronicle of the life and work of Alexander Nevsky // Prince Alexander Nevsky and his era. SPb., 1995. S. 206-209. 2 For the time of writing two types of the older version of the Life of Alexander Nevsky, see: Kuchkin V.A. The Mongol-Tatar yoke in the coverage of ancient Russian scribes (XIII - the first quarter of the XIV century) // Russian culture in conditions foreign invasions and wars. X - the beginning of the XX century. M., 1990. Issue. 1. S. 36-39. /S.30/ 3 Begunov Yu.K. Monument of Russian literature of the XIII century "The Word about the destruction of the Russian land". M.; L., 1965. S. 160. 4 Baumgarten N.A. To the Genealogy of the Grand Dukes of Vladimir. Mother of Alexander Nevsky // Chronicle of the Historical and Genealogical Society in Moscow. M., 1908. Issue. 4 (16). pp. 21-23. The first wife of Yaroslav, according to N.A. Baumgarten, was a Polovtsian princess, and the second was Rostislava Mstislavovna. 5 It was accepted, in particular, by such a prominent researcher of the biography of Alexander Nevsky as V.T. Pashuto // See: Pashuto V.T. Alexander Nevsky // ZhZL. M., 1974. S. 10. 2 when she was at least 23 years old. For the Middle Ages, this is the age of an overripe girl, since girls were usually given in marriage when they were 12-17 years old. It is also known that the wife of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, the mother of his sons, willingly stayed with her husband in Novgorod, lived there alone for a long time, had her hair cut in the Yuriev Monastery, died there and was buried there6. She showed no interest in Ryazan. At the same time, her daughter-in-law (Yatrov), the wife of Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, a princess from Murom, having decided to become a nun, went to the monastery in her homeland in Murom "êú áratüè"7. The complete indifference of the mother of Alexander Nevsky to Ryazan, along with her other characteristics, suggests that she was not a Ryazan princess, but was the daughter of Prince Mstislav Mstislavich. Her baptismal name was Theodosia, but in everyday life she was called the pagan name Rostislav. /S.18/ It was Rostislav-Feodosia who became the mother of all the sons of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich8. The Pereyaslav prince had nine of them. Chronicles have kept news of the births of only the first and last sons Prince Yaroslav. When the other seven were born is not known. The Ninth Son of Yaroslav, Vasily, was born in 1241.9 And the news of the birth of the firstborn in the family of Yaroslav and Rostislava concludes in the Lavrentiev chronicle article 6727 in the Lavrentievsky chronicles: "Troop ëhÒààñññññññÿÿÿÿàà úúúúúúúúúúúîîêîîàÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿúúúúúøøîøøÿÿÿÿÿÿ 6727 year of the chronicle, calculated from the so-called creation of the world, which, according to the Bible, took place 5508 years before the birth of Christ, March11. The annalistic article, marked this year, describes the events that took place in March - December 1219 and January - February 1220. Fyodor Yaroslavich could have received his name either in honor of Fyodor Stratilat, or in honor of Fyodor Tyrone. The memory of these two most revered Fedorovs in Russia was celebrated on February 8 (Fedor Stratilat) and February 17 (Fedor Tiron), in other words, Fedor Yaroslavich was supposed to be born in February. This is consistent with the location of his birth in article 6727 of the Laurentian Chronicle. She is the last one there and should describe the events of January-February 1220. Thus, we can firmly say that the elder brother of Alexander Nevsky was born in February 1220. And although in 1995 the public of our country celebrated the 775th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Nevsky, he could not be born in 1220. When was Alexander born? The oldest surviving murals of the sons of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich indicate Alexander either in the first place as the eldest son, or in the second. It all depends on the nature of the paintings themselves. If they record in general all the sons born to Yaroslav, then they indicate Alexander in second place12. On the first, of course, Fedor. If the paintings speak of the sons of Yaroslav, who survived the conquest of the Russian lands by Batu, then they place Alexander in the first place13, which is also true: Fedor died before Mongol invasion. Based on the testimony of the oldest lists of the sons of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, it should be recognized that Alexander was his second son. Since the eldest son of Yaroslav Fyodor, as an independent person, was mentioned for the first time in the annals together with Alexander, and acts with him later, one should think that there was not a big age difference between the brothers. But she existed between Alexander and his more younger brother - Andrey, because in the 20-30s. 13th century there was no contact between them. Taking this into account, it can be argued that Alexander was born the next summer after Fedor. The surviving seals of Alexander Nevsky on the front side have an image of con 6 The Novgorod First Chronicle of the senior and junior editions // Edited and with a preface by A.N. Nasonov. M.; L., 1950 (hereinafter - NPL). pp. 61, 66, 78, 79. under 6731, 6736, 6748 and 6752. 7 PSRL. T. I. L., 1926-1928. Stb. 450. under 6736. 8 For more details about the mother of Alexander Nevsky, see: Kuchkin V.A. To the biography of Alexander Nevsky // The most ancient states on the territory of the USSR. 1985. M., 1986. S. 71-80. 9 PSRL. T. I. Stb. 470. 10 Ibid. Stb. 444. 11 Berezhkov N.G. Chronology of Russian annals. M., 1963. S. 106. 12 PSRL. T. XXIV. Pg., 1921. S. 227. The list was compiled at the end of the 15th century. 13 PSRL. T. I. Stb. 469. 3 foot or foot warrior, accompanied by the inscription "Aleksander", and on the reverse side - also a warrior and the inscription "Fedor". On the front side of the seals, the heavenly patron of Prince Alexander was depicted, on the reverse side - his father, who was baptized Fyodor in honor of Fyodor Stratilat14. In honor of which Alexander the warrior were the parents of the future winner of the Battle of Neva named? At one time, N.P. Likhachev suggested that in honor of Alexander of Egypt. V.L. Yanin did not support this conjecture, leaving the question open. Indeed, the proposed N.P. Likhachev's solution to the question raises an objection. In ancient (until the 13th century) Byzantine and Slavic minologies, 21 Saint Alexanders are mentioned, but only four of them were warriors. Alexander of Egypt was commemorated on July 9, along with two other saints - Patermuth and Coprius, whose memory was celebrated on that day in the first place. On September 28, the memory of another warrior Alexander was celebrated, but along with 30 other saints. Parents could hardly name their son Alexander after the name of the saint, who was celebrated together with other saints and was not even the main one among them. Moreover, in the princely nomenclature of pre-Mongolian Russia, the name Alexander was very rare, only three Rurikovich wore it. /S.19/ Obviously, Alexander Yaroslavich got his name from that Alexander-warrior, whose memory was specially noted. Two more saints may be named here. On June 10, the memory of the warrior Alexander and the virgin Antonina was celebrated, and on May 13 - the memory of the warrior Alexander of Rome. The celebration of the latter was much more widespread. A contemporary of Nevsky noted that in 1243 there was a sign that took place in May "in memory of the Holy Martyr Alexander"15. I meant Alexander of Rome. Obviously, of the two possible heavenly patrons of Alexander Nevsky, Alexander of Rome should be preferred. And in this case, the time of birth of Alexander Nevsky should be May 13, 122116, and the anniversary date of the birth of an outstanding figure of the XIII century should be celebrated in 1996. The first indirect chronicle news about Alexander refers to 1223. Under this year, the Novgorod chronicle reports : "Come Prince Ruslav with Princess and with others Pereslavl"17. Among these children of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, most likely, was Alexander. The first direct mention of Alexander belongs to 1228. Continuing to edit in Novgorod Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich at the end of the summer of 1228 left from the city to his Pereyaslavl, leaving in Novgorod "2 s), leaving in Novgorod" 2 ñû " . 8-year-old Fedor and 7-year-old Alexander were left as their father's deputies, but in fact they had to act on the prompts of the Yaroslavl boyars - Fedor Danilovich and Tiun Yakim. The reign of little prince Alexander, together with his brother, did not last long. Already on February 20, 1229, the Yaroslavichi fled from Novgorod, fearing the unrest that had begun in the city19. However, in January 1231, Yaroslav again left his two eldest sons in Novgorod as governors. They formally replaced their father during his absences from Novgorod to Pereyaslavl20. In the summer of 1233, during preparations for the wedding, 13-year-old Fyodor Yaroslavich died unexpectedly21. Now Alexander has become the eldest among his brothers. 14 Yanin V.L. Assembly seals Ancient Russia X-XV centuries T. II. Moscow, 1970, pp. 7-8. NPL. P. 79. 16 For more details about the time of birth of Alexander Nevsky, see: Kuchkin V.A. On the date of birth of Alexander Nevsky // Questions of history. 1986. No. 2. V.K. Ziborov, who, in support of his opinion, pointed out some literary parallels between the Life of Alexander Nevsky and the service to Alexander of Rome. Unfortunately, V.K. Znborov did not know our 1986 note about the time of Alexander Nevsky's birth. See: Ziborov V.K. On a new copy of the seal of Alexander Nevsky // Prince Alexander Nevsky and his era. pp. 149-150. 17 NPL. P. 61. 18 Ibid. P. 67. 19 Ibid. For the date, see: Berezhkov N.G. Decree. op. S. 269. 20 NPL. S. 70. 21 Ibid. 72. 15 4 In 1236, Alexander's father Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, taking advantage of the fact that a fierce struggle broke out between the southern Russian princes for Kyiv, in which the Kievans themselves suffered the most, left Novgorod and, with the help of the Novgorodians, settled in Kiev22. But Yaroslav did not want to lose control over Novgorod either. Instead of himself, he left his eldest son Alexander on the Novgorod table. Tom was already 15 years old, according to the ideas of those times, he had already become an adult, he had experience of ruling in Novgorod, but now he could reign completely independently, not always listening to the advice of his father's boyars. In the very first years of his rule in Novgorod, Alexander had to face a number of serious problems. These problems concerned Novgorod's relations with its western neighbors. On the northwestern borders, Novgorod and the prince who ruled in it had to deal with the Kingdom of Sweden, in the west - with the German Order of the Sword and various German bishoprics in the Baltic, which had significant military power. The southwestern borders of Novgorod were constantly violated by the forces of the growing Lithuanian state . Conflicts between Novgorod and Sweden began as early as the middle of the 12th century, when the Swedish kings launched an offensive against the tribes inhabiting Finland. In those days, this country was by no means all inhabited. Its southwestern part was inhabited by the Suomi tribe, which the ancient Russian people called the sum, and the Swedes and other Western European peoples called the Finns. The inner regions of southern Finland, the region of the central Finnish lakes, were inhabited by another large Finnish tribe - Heme, or Em - in Old Russian, Tavasts - in Swedish. Novgorodians had long-standing contacts with the Em tribe. Gradually extending its power to the Baltic tribes: Vod, Chud-Ests, all (Vepsians), Izhora, Livs, Korela, the Novgorod Republic also came into contact with the Emyu. /С.20/ Attracting the emerging local nobility to their side, the Novgorod boyars began to subjugate the em, forcing this tribe to pay tribute. True, Novgorodian rule was limited to this. There were no fortified strongholds, no religious centers from where it was possible to spread Christianity among the pagan Yemi, near Novgorod in the land of this tribe. This circumstance was used by the Swedish feudal lords, when, having established their dominance over the Sum tribe, they in the 40s. 12th century moved their actions to the inner regions of southern Finland, inhabited by the Emyu. Unlike Novgorod, Swedish expansion into Finnish lands had a slightly different character. The Swedish feudal lords were not limited to receiving tribute, they sought to gain a foothold in new lands, erecting fortresses there, subordinating the local population to the alien administration, introducing Swedish legislation, ideologically preparing and securing all this by forcibly converting tavasts to Catholicism. Initially, the em was very favorably perceived by the propaganda of the Swedish missionaries, hoping with Swedish help to get rid of the payment of tribute to Novgorod, which, in turn, caused the campaigns of the father of Alexander Nevsky Yaroslav Vsevolodovich on em in 1226-1228, but when the Swedes began to introduce em in the land their orders and destroy the local pagan temples, this Finnish tribe responded with an uprising23. The scale, nature and partly the time of this uprising can be judged from the bull of the famous Pope Gregory IX of December 9, 1237, addressed to the head of the Swedish Catholic Church, Archbishop Jarler of Uppsala: once, through the labor and cares of you and your predecessors, he was converted to the Catholic faith, now, through the efforts of the enemies of the cross, his close neighbors, he is again turned to the arousal of the former faith and, together with some barbarians and with the help of the devil, is destroying the young planting of the church of God in Tavastia. The minors, to whom the light of Christ shone at baptism, they, forcibly depriving this light, mortify; some adults, having previously taken out their insides, are sacrificed to demons, while others are forced to spin around trees until they lose consciousness; some priests are blinded, and 22 Ibid. P. 74. Shaskolsky I.P. Russia's struggle against crusader aggression on the shores of the Baltic in the 12th-13th centuries. L., 1978. S. 20-29, 33-37, 125-139. 23 5 others of their number are severely killed by the hands and other members, the rest, wrapped in straw, are burnt; thus, with the fury of these pagans, the dominion of Sweden is overthrown, which is why the complete fall of Christianity can easily occur if the help of God and his apostolic throne is not resorted to. But in order that God-fearing men would rise with all the more eagerness against the advancing apostates and barbarians, who thirst for the Church of God with such great losses to decline, who destroy the Catholic faith with such disgusting cruelty, we entrust the brotherhood with your apostolic epistle: wherever in the aforementioned state or there were no Catholic men on the neighboring islands, so that they would raise the banner of the cross against these apostates and barbarians and drive them out by force and courage on the prompting of the beneficent doctrine. Of course, in the papal message, designed to be read in churches with numerous believers, the colors were thickened, but from the appeal of the pope it indisputably follows that a major uprising against Swedish domination took place in the land of Emi, that in order to suppress it, the Roman church organizes a crusade of “God-fearing men” that the Tavasts opposed the Swedes not alone, but "through the efforts of their close neighbors ... together with some barbarians." The immediate neighbors of them were the sumi and korely tribes. If the Sumi lands had been under the rule of the Swedish crown and the influence of the Catholic Church for a long time, this tribe could not help the Yemi-tavasts, then there remains the Korela. But the Korela was part of the Novgorod state, and the intervention of the Korela meant the intervention of Novgorod, which was striving to regain its positions in the Emi lands. When did this intervention take place? /S.21/ The bull of Gregory IX was compiled on the basis of letters from the Archbishop of Uppsala, in turn based on reports from the latter's subordinate, Bishop of Finland Thomas. The Pope received messages from the head of the Swedish Church, most likely from his legate William of Modena, who arrived in the Baltics in the summer of 123725. Consequently, the uprising in Tavastia took place before the summer of 1237, but not long before that, since otherwise the appeal to the pope would lose its meaning. And “the efforts of the enemies of the cross ... close neighbors” of the Emi, directed against the penetration of the Swedes into the lands of the Emi, took place somewhat earlier than the uprising, i.e. around 12361237. In other words, opposition from Novgorod to the Swedish expansion to the east fell on the beginning of Alexander Yaroslavich's reign in Novgorod. How to value efforts Novgorod Republic aimed at maintaining their influence in the emi lands, it is clear that it was impossible to do without the support and approval of these efforts from the princely authorities. The young prince made decisions, probably in consultation with his entourage, and responsible decisions. Relations with the Baltic Germans developed differently at that time. The Germans appeared on the lands of the Eastern Baltic in the 80s. In the 12th century, at first simply preaching Christianity, and then, making sure that the local population was difficult to Christianize, they began to back up their sermons with armed force. At the beginning of the XIII century. An associate of the Bishop of Riga Albert Theoderich founded the Order of the Sword-bearers in the Baltic States, which was recognized by Pope Innocent III by a bull of October 20, 121026. After that, through the efforts of the swordsmen - "monks in spirit, fighters in arms" - German possessions in the Baltic began to expand rapidly. The Order and the Bishop of Riga managed to seize lands along the lower and middle reaches of the river. Dvins that belonged to the Russian Principality of Polotsk or were controlled by it27. In 1210, the knights transferred military operations to the lands of the Estonians, where there were also the possessions of Novgorod the Great. In 1224, the sword-bearers, together with the troops of the Bishop of Riga, captured the main stronghold of Novgorod in the Chud (Estonian) land - 24 Ibid. P. 141. For a slightly different translation of the initial and final parts of the papal bull, see: Prince Alexander Nevsky and his era. P. 54. Note. 37. 25 Shaskolsky I.P. Decree. op. S. 142 and note. 65 on p. 140. 26 Henry of Latvia. Chronicle of Livonia. M.; L., 1938. S. 70 and note. 27 on p. 255-256. 27 Ibid. S. 104, 114-115 and note. 74 on p. 274-275. 6 Yuriev (modern Tartu)28. The subsequent fierce struggle led in 1234 to a peace agreement between the Germans and Novgorod, which was beneficial for the Russian side29. The treaty of 1234 crowned the efforts of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who was then reigning in Novgorod, to prevent a German attack on the Novgorod and Pskov lands. When Alexander entered the Novgorod table, the treaty of 1234 continued to operate. Neither the crusaders nor the Novgorodians took any hostile actions against each other. Written in Vladimir on the Klyazma immediately after the death of Alexander Nevsky, his Life reports Alexander's earliest contact with the Order of the Sword. The contemporary prince reported that there was no time to Alexander "íHêòòúú òòÿÿÿ ß íæßßß òÒ ßò ßß õòßß õÒÿí òhééééòò õòh ... ... òìûéé òò ÅÃî ... ... ... ... 30 30 30. Since the arrival of Aidreyash was explained in the Life solely by the desire of the knight to look at the Russian prince, many scholars believed that the whole episode was a simple speculation of the author of the Life, who sought to glorify Nevsky in various ways. However, the contemporary of Alexander Yaroslavich, the knight Andreyash, actually existed. We should be talking about Andreas von Velven, who in 1241 held the high post of Livonian vice-master. According to the German researcher F. Beninghoven, Andreas von Velven was a knight of the Order of the Sword31. In the Life, the arrival of the knight "from the western country" is mentioned before the story of the Battle of the Neva. Consequently, Andreas' meeting with Alexander took place between 1236, when Alexander became Prince of Novgorod, and 1240, when the Battle of the Neva took place. In the period 1236-1240. The Order of the Sword-bearers could conduct important negotiations with the Prince of Novgorod only in 1236. Then the Order was preparing a big campaign against the Lithuanians and was looking for allies. Judging by the Life of Alexander Nevsky, the arrival of Andreas did not give any results. /С.22/ According to the author of the Life, the sword-bearer only marveled at the age of the prince, which is very significant, since in 1236 Alexander was very young and left home. German sources confirm that during the German campaign against Lithuanian lands Novgorodians did not take part, but Pskovians took part. The Novgorod Chronicle also testifies to the latter. Obviously, Alexander did not support the Order with the forces of Novgorod and his squad for the reason that at that time there was already a struggle for the subjugation of the Emi-tavasts. On the other hand, he did not prevent the Pskovites from helping the Order. Thus, normal relations with the Order, stipulated by the treaty of 1234, were preserved, and therefore the participation of the order’s “God-fearing men” in that crusade against the tavasts, to which, at the request of the Swedish bishops, the Pope called, was difficult. The policy of the still young Prince Alexander, perhaps not without prompting from the boyars, turned out to be quite realistic and far-sighted. The campaign against Lithuania, organized by the Order of the Swordsmen in 1236, ended in the most severe defeat of the German crusaders and their allies from the Lithuanian prince Vykint. In the battle of Soule, the Master of the Order and 48 knights fell, not counting the losses of the infantry33. The Order of the Sword-bearers actually ceased to exist. Its remnants in 1237 were urgently united with the Teutonic Order and subordinated to it. The Teutonic Order, founded by the German crusaders in Jerusalem in 1191, in the late 1920s. 13th century at the request of the Polish prince Konrad of Mazovia, he moved to the Helminsky land and began to conquer the lands of the Lithuanian Prussian tribe. After the Order of the Swordsmen merged with it, the Teutonic Order became the most powerful force of the German crusaders in the Baltics. It was with this Order that Alexander Nevsky subsequently had to face. Prince Alexander experienced serious upheavals at the beginning of 1238. A few months before 28 Ibid. pp. 222-228; NPL. P. 61. NPL. P. 73. 30 Begunov Yu.K. A Monument of Russian Literature of the 13th Century... S. 161. 31 Benninghoven F. Der Orden oer Schwertbriider. Koln; Graz. 1965. S. 444-445. 32 NPL. P. 74. 33 Pashuto V.T. Formation of the Lithuanian state. M., 1959. S. 371. 29 7 of this, Mongolian hordes attacked the eastern Russian lands. Having taken the Ryazan and Pronsk principalities, they transferred hostilities to the possessions of the descendant princes of Vsevolod the Big Nest. In January-February 1238, they subjugated the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, the Principality of Pereyaslav of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, the Principality of Yuryev, Rostov, Yaroslavl and Uglitsia34. Uncle Alexandra, Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich, together with his brother Svyatoslav and three nephews, concentrated his forces in a camp on the banks of the small river City, a tributary of the river. Mologa. He was waiting for the approach of the regiments of his brother Yaroslav, but they did not appear. But the Mongols suddenly came. In a fierce battle, they prevailed. Grand Duke Yuri was killed, Prince Vasil'ka of Rostov was taken prisoner, and the rest of the Russian princes fled35. Batu transferred hostilities to the territory of the Novgorod Republic. After a long siege, at the beginning of March 1238 he took Torzhok and went to Novgorod by the Seliger route. But at Ignach Krest the Mongols stopped and turned back. Alexander did not help either the Grand Duke Yuri when he was in the City, or the residents of Torzhok. Whether this was an independent decision of the young prince, whether the position of the Novgorodians, who did not want to weaken their forces in the fight against a formidable enemy on foreign territory, affected here, or these were the intentions of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who continued to rule in Kyiv, is difficult to say. The latter seems more likely, since Yuri was waiting at the river. City "brother of his glory from the pole"37, i.e. he had an agreement with Yaroslav, which he did not fulfill. In the summer of 1239, Batu took the southern Principality of Pereyaslav, and then one of the largest ancient Russian principalities, Chernigov38. His troops did not leave Russia, paralyzing the actions of the Russian princes who had not yet been defeated. The Lithuanians took advantage of this. In 1239 they captured Smolensk. Realizing that hostilities could easily spread to the Novgorod lands, Alexander fortified the Lithuanian border by setting up defensive towns along the river. Sheloni39. However, these fears were not justified. In the autumn of 1239, Alexander's father Yaroslav, who, after the death of Yuri, became on the river. City by the Grand Duke of Vladimir, drove the Lithuanians out of Smolensk40 and thus prevented their possible attack on Novgorod. /S.23/ Trouble came to the people of Novgorod from the other side. In the summer of 1240, the fleet of the Swedish king Eric Lespe invaded Novgorod. The timing of the invasion was well chosen. Batu still did not leave the Russian borders, his troops in the winter of 1239/40 captured another Russian principality- Murom and for the second time devastated the Grand Duchy of Vladimir41. Novgorodians and their prince Alexander had no one to expect serious military assistance from. Indeed, if we analyze the composition of the princes who occupied the Novgorod throne since 1136, when Novgorod achieved independence from Kiev princes and became a republic, and until 1236, when Alexander occupied the Novgorod throne, this composition would be essentially unchanged. Only princes from Chernigov, Suzdal, Kyiv and Smolensk sat on the Novgorod table. Obviously, only these principalities could support Novgorod militarily, and only they were able to provide material assistance to the Novgorodians during crop failures and famines that often occurred at that time in Novgorod land. But in 1240 the Chernihiv principality lay in ruins. Suzdal land and Smolensk principality were greatly devastated, Kyiv remained untouched by Batu, but he was preparing for defense from the inevitable Mongol siege. With its opponents, Novgorod remained alone against many. 34 Kuchkin V.A. Russia under the yoke: how was it? M., 1991. S. 14. PSRL. T. I. Stb. 465-466. 36 NPL. S. 76. 37 PSRL. T. I. Stb. 461. 38 Ibid. Stb. 469.39 NPL. S. 77. 40 PSRL. T. I. Stb. 469. 41 Ibid. Stb. 470. /S.31/ 42 Donskoĭ D. Genealogie des Rurikides. Rennes. 1991. P. 233-235. 35 8 News of the appearance at the mouth of the river. The Neva of the Swedish fleet was received in Novgorod in a timely manner. Having learned about this, in Novgorod they decided that the goal of the campaign of the Swedes and the Norwegians who sailed with them, sumi and emi, was Ladoga. This has already happened in Novgorod history. In 1164, 55 Swedish augers entered the Neva, climbed along it to Lake Ladoga and reached Ladoga. True, the siege of the city for the sailing Swedish troops then ended in great failure. This was described in detail by the Novgorod chroniclers43. In 1240, the Novgorodians thought that the Swedes wanted to repeat, but without the old mistakes, the operation of 1164. Prince Alexander, hastily gathering his squad and part of the Novgorod army, immediately marched to Ladoga. The Russian regiments were most likely cavalry and could reach Ladoga in about 3-4 days. However, the Swedes did not appear at Ladoga. The calculations of the Novgorodians and Prince Alexander turned out to be false, the enemy pursued completely different goals than in 1164. The Swedish ships stopped near the mouth of the Neva, at the mouth of another river - the Izhora, the left tributary of the Neva. The stay of the Swedes in this place, and the stay of many days, is not explained in any way in the sources and in the works of subsequent historians. Only in the earliest fragment of the Life of Alexander Nevsky, preserved by the Laurentian Chronicle of the 14th century, it is reported that in his report to Alexander moving against the Swedes, the elder of the Izhora land (the Izhora tribe inhabited the banks of the Neva in those days and was subordinate to Novgorod) Pelgui Philip pointed to the Swedish »44. "Obrytya" - these are battle ditches. Obviously, the plans of the Swedes included the construction in the Izhora land in a strategically important place of the same stronghold that they built in the lands of the Sumi and Emi-tavasts. The mouth of the Neva and in later times was of strategic interest to the Swedes. In 1300 they tried to build a fortress here at the confluence of the river Neva. Ohty, built it, calling it Landskrona, but this mighty Crown of the Earth, as the Russian chronicler accurately translated the Swedish name, was completely destroyed by Russian troops the following year45. Let us return, however, to the events of 1240. Not finding the Swedes at Ladoga, Alexander moved west, to the mouth of the Neva, reinforcing his army with a detachment of Ladoga residents. Having received from Pelguy clarifying data on the location of the Swedish camp, having managed not to find himself, Alexander dealt an unexpected blow to the camp. It was Sunday, July 15, relatively early - half past eight in the morning according to the modern clock46, when the Russian regiments fell upon the unsuspecting Swedes. Their sudden appearance caused panic among the Swedes. Some of them rushed to the ships that were standing on the left bank of the Neva, the other tried to cross to the left bank of the river. Izhora. /С.24/ The leader of the Swedish troops tried to resist by building the remaining ones in battle formations, but it was all in vain. Constantly attacking, the Russians forced them to flee. The Vladimir biographer of Alexander Nevsky preserved vivid stories about the participants in the battle and individual combat episodes. Suffering heavy losses, the Swedes nevertheless managed to get to their ships, load the bodies of the fallen most noble warriors on them and hastily set sail for the sea47. The first major military clash of mo 43 NPLs. P. 31. PSRL. T.I. Stb. 479.45 NPL. P. 91. 46 The battle began at "6 o'clock" (PSRL. T. I. Stb. 479). For July 15, this corresponded to 8 hours 35 minutes according to the modern clock (Cherepnin L.V. Russian chronology. M., 1944. P. 50). Explanation by A.N. Bricklayer that the battle began “at the 6th hour of the day, i.e. at 11 o'clock "(Kirpichnikov A.N. The Neva battle of 1240 and its tactical features // Prince Alexander Nevsky and his era. P. 27), does not take into account the time of the year to which the indication of 6 o'clock in the afternoon is referred. 47 NPL. S. 77; PSRL. T. I. Stb. 478-480. In research on the Battle of the Neva, a lot comes from the later tradition, all sorts of considerations and calculations of historians to the detriment of the evidence of early and reliable sources. In particular, the composition of the army of the Swedish king, determined by the annals, is questioned: svei, murman, sum, em. However, such a doubt can hardly be justified. Murmans (Norwegians) - most likely representatives of the varbelgers who fled from the persecution of the Norwegian king Hakon. Sum and em did not constitute special military detachments, they may have been the labor force that was supposed to build a fortress. The participation of the Ladoga residents in the army of Alexander Yaroslavich can only be explained by the fact that the prince first went to Ladoga. The idea that the Ladoga residents joined Alexander somewhere on the way to the Swedish camp seems unrealistic, since in this case the Ladoga and Novgorodians had to constantly communicate with each other, agreeing on the place and time of the meeting, 44 9 of the Novgorod prince ended in his complete triumph. The Novgorod chronicler noted that “20 muæü ... ile mene” (less)48 fell from the Russian side along with the Ladoga residents. John Fennel, Professor of Oxford University, one of the leading modern specialists in the history of medieval Russia, in his recently translated into Russian book “The Crisis of Medieval Russia. 1200-1304", based on the number of those who fell on the Russian side, wrote that the Battle of the Neva was an ordinary battle and Alexander's victory in it was "petty"49. However, the chronicle speaks only of losses among noble and free men, and the figure of 20 people she named turns out to be not so small. For example, during the capture of Torzhok by Batu in 1238, only 4 noble newcomers were killed50. In 1262, during the storming of the German city of Yuryev, Russian regiments lost two noble warriors,51 and so on. Of course, the Battle of the Neva was inferior in scale to the battles of Borodino or Waterloo, but for the 13th century it was a major battle, in which several thousand people took part52. The victory on the Neva did not allow the Swedish feudal lords to gain a foothold on the banks of the Neva, to close Novgorod and other Russian lands access to the sea, to isolate the lands of the Izhora and Korela from the Novgorod Republic. However, this military success was soon overshadowed by other events. A month and a half after the battle on the Neva, the combined forces of the Teutonic Order, the Danish king, the Derpt (Yurievsky) bishop and the Russian prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, who served the Germans, captured the Pskov border fortress of Izborsk with an unexpected blow. The Pskov army, which came to the defense of Izborsk, was defeated, its governor Gavrila Gorislavich fell in battle. The crusaders laid siege to Pskov. Not receiving help from anywhere, the Pskovites were forced to capitulate on September 16, 1240. Two German Vogts were planted in Pskov. They were supported by an influential part of the Pskov population, headed by the boyar Tverdila Ivankovich. But there were also many who were dissatisfied with the established German domination. Some of them, together with their families, fled to Novgorod53. Strange things happened there. Alexander Nevsky left Novgorod, having quarreled with Novgorodians54. The causes of the conflict are not disclosed either by the annals or by historians. Meanwhile, they can be specified. Having expelled the Swedes from the banks of the Neva, Prince Alexander nevertheless did not prevent the capture of Pskov by German and Danish feudal lords. Naturally, this caused a sharp discontent of part of the Novgorodians and especially the Pskovites who fled to Novgorod. However, after the Neva victory, Alexander was unable to resist the aggression of new enemies. The victory over the Swedes was achieved mainly by the forces of the squad of Prince Alexander himself. No wonder the Novgorod chronicler, writing about 20 Russian men who died in the battle, noted the death of only 4 Novgorodians. The compiler of the Life of Alexander, naming the six brave men of the Nevsky battle, pointed out only two Novgorodians. The rest represented Alexander's squad, and spend days on this, for which it was possible to gather not the Ladoga residents, but the Novgorodians themselves. Meanwhile, as evidenced by the Life of Alexander, the latter opposed the Swedes «â ìàëh äðóæèíh, íå ñîæäàâúñÿ ñî ìíîãîþ ñèëîþ ñâîåþ», «ìíîçè íîâãîðîäöè íå ñîâîêóïèëèñÿ áhøà, ïîíåæå óñêîðè êíÿçü ïîéòè» (PSRL. T. I. col. 478, 479) . If many Novgorodians could not join Alexander's army, then how did the distant Ladoga residents manage to do this? This could only happen if the first goal of Alexander's campaign was not Izhora, but Ladoga. The prince approached the Swedish camp on horseback - “soon prihõa” (PSRL. T. I. Stb. 479), and not on ships, as military historians sometimes claim, replacing direct evidence of sources with their thoughts. It is impossible to imagine the Battle of the Neva as a correct field battle, which A. N. Kirpichnikov is trying to do. The expression "to the king himself put a seal on his face with his sharp kopyem" cannot mean "the front side of the formation of the Swedish troops" (Kirpichnikov A.N., vol. .48 NPL. P. 77. 49 Fennel D. The Crisis of Medieval Russia. 1200-1304. M., 1990. S. 142-144. 50 NPLs. P. 76. 51 Ibid. P. 83. 52 40 people were placed in the Swedish auger. The Swedish fleet in 1240 was hardly smaller than the fleet of 1164. The Russian regiments at least numbered several hundred people. 53 NPL. pp. 77-78; Pskov chronicles. Issue. I. M.; L., 1941. S. 13; Battle on the Ice 1242 M.; L., 1966. S. 203-209. 54 NPL. S. 78. 10 one of them was killed. It is quite obvious that the main burden of the Nevsky battle fell on the shoulders of the prince's squad and it was she who suffered the greatest losses. And with a greatly weakened squad, not receiving help from other Russian principalities, the prince-defender of the Novgorod Republic was simply unable to fulfill his duties. Mutual accusations became so sharp that Alexander was forced to leave Novgorod and go to his father in Pereyaslavl. The Germans immediately took advantage of this. In the winter of 1240/41, they captured the Chud and Vodka possessions of Novgorod, built a fortress in Koporye, and, fighting Novgorod territory proper, approached at a distance of 30 versts from Novgorod itself55. There was an immediate threat to the city. /S.25/ At the same time, it turned out that the Novgorodians were not able to cope with the ever-increasing German aggression on their own. The necessity of inviting a new prince to the Novgorod table became obvious. Novgorodians had little choice. They were forced to ask for help from the same Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. He sent km; instead of Alexander, another son - Andrei. But even under him, the German attacks on the Novgorod lands continued. Moreover, attacks by Estonians and Lithuanians were added to them. Skinny Novgorodians decided to ask Yaroslav instead of Andrei again Alexander. The request was granted. Alexander entered Novgorod in March 1241. He acted prudently and clearly. Having gathered all the Novgorod forces, Ladoga, Kored, Izhora, he moved to Koporye. The fortress built by the Germans was taken and destroyed, traitors from among the Vodi and Estonians were hanged, hostages were taken, but some who supported the Germans were pardoned57. Thus ended the year 1241. At the beginning of 1242, Alexander received military assistance from his father. Brother Andrei came to him with the Vladimir regiments. Now it was possible to fight the actual German possessions. Alexander and Andrey invaded the Chudskaya land. Having cut off all the routes that connected the Order and the German bishoprics in the Baltic states with Pskov, Alexander captured Pskov with an unexpected blow from the west58. Now his rear was secured. Returning again to the land of the Estonians, he began to devastate it. However, the Germans had already begun to gather forces. Their troops near the town of Mooste, near the river. Luts managed to defeat Alexander's advance detachment under the command of Domash Tverdislavich, the brother of the Novgorod posadnik, and the Dmitrov governor of the Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich Kerbet59. Domash fell in battle. This defeat forced Alexander Nevsky to retreat to Lake Peipus. The Crusaders and their auxiliaries began to pursue the Russian regiments. Alexander deployed his army "on the stone at the Raven Stone"60. The Germans built their battle formations as a “pig”, at the head of which the heavily armed knightly cavalry moved, and rushed to the Russian regiments, Alexander strengthened the flanks of the regiments, and placed archers in front of the troops, who shot the crusading cavalry at a distance61. However, the Germans managed to break through the line of Russian warriors. The battle took on an extremely stubborn character. In the end, the auxiliary troops of the Crusaders, recruited from the Estonians, could not stand the battle and fled. The Germans ran after them. The victory on April 5, 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipsi of the Russian regiments was complete. In the same year, the Germans sent an embassy to Novgorod, which made peace with Prince Alexander. The order renounced all its conquests of 1240-1241. in Novgorod land, released Pskov for 55 Ibid. There. 57 Ibid.; Begunov Yu.K. Monument of Russian literature of the XIII century ... S. 169. 58 NPL. S. 78; Begunov Yu.K. Monument of Russian literature of the XIII century ... S. 169; PSRL. T. I. Stb. 470.59 NPL. pp. 78, 79. 60 Ibid. P. 78. 61 German sources speak of this. They also report that the Russian army surrounded the crusader army. Since the front of the Russian regiments was broken, as both German and Russian sources unanimously testify, the encirclement of the German forces could only occur if Alexander Nevsky had strengthened his flanks in advance. See: NPL. S. 78; Battle on the Ice of 1242. S. 213. 56 11 lies and exchanged prisoners62. The terms of this treaty were valid even in the 15th century.63 The Order remembered Alexander Nevsky's victory in the Battle of the Ice for a long time. The military talent of Alexander, so clearly manifested in the hostilities of 1240-1242, strengthened the authority of the prince and in political affairs . In Novgorod, where Alexander Yaroslavich continued to reign, for many years the question of replacing him with another prince was not raised. Alexander himself accurately performed his functions as a military defender of the Novgorod Republic. When in 1245 the Lithuanians unexpectedly attacked the lands of Torzhok and Bezhetsky Verkh that belonged to Novgorod, Alexander, at the head of his retinue and Novgorodians, successfully repelled this raid, and then only with his retinue defeated the Lithuanians near Zhizhich and Usvyat64. For the time being, the rule in Novgorod allowed Alexander Nevsky to avoid any contact with the Mongols, who in the summer of 1242 established their power over most of the Russian principalities. However, a close connection with Vladimir Rus, where his father, uncle Svyatoslav, and also the descendants of the elder Vsevolodovich, Konstantin, ruled, made relations with the Horde inevitable. In 1245, Alexander's father, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, went there. /S.26/ The capital of the Mongol Empire was then Karakorum on the river. Orkhon in Mongolia. Yaroslav made a long journey, lived for some time at the court of the great Khan Guyuk, until one day Guyuk's mother Turakin invited him to her place. She gave him food and drink from her own hands, but after this reception, Yaroslav died. His strangely blue body indicated that he had been poisoned. This happened on September 30, 1246.65 Yaroslav's relatives had to decide which of them would become the Grand Duke of Vladimir. At the Khan's court in Karakorum, it was believed that the most authoritative (and dangerous for Karakorum) in Russia was Yaroslav's eldest son, Alexander. Turakina sent her messengers to him, offering Alexander to come to the khan's court and get his father's land, at the same time hatching secret plans to kill Nevsky, but Alexander, sensing danger, did not go to Guyuk66. The question of Yaroslav's heir was decided at the congress of Russian princes in Vladimir in 1247. Yaroslav's brother Svyatoslav became the Grand Duke of Vladimir, who distributed various principalities to Yaroslav's children. Alexander received the principality of Tver, which bordered on Novgorod, and remained a prince of Novgorod67. However, Alexander's brothers were unhappy with the division made by their uncle. One of the Yaroslavichs - Mikhail Khorobrit - soon drove Svyatoslav from the Vladimir table and took it himself. But he did not stay as the Grand Duke for long: in 1248 he was killed in a clash with the Lithuanians on the river. Reply68. Another Yaroslavich, Andrei, who was older than Mikhail, was also dissatisfied with the division, but he did not resort to force, but went to 1247. to Batu, in order to take the Vladimir table with his support. Such a turn of affairs forced Alexander, who had more rights to his father's legacy than his brothers, to follow Andrei to the Horde. Batu did not independently resolve the issue of the possessions of Andrei and Alexander, but sent them to Karakorum69. By that time, certain political changes had apparently taken place there. Baty did not get along with Khan Guyuk and his mother Turakina, he did not go to Karakorum himself and watched 62 NPLs with fear. pp. 78-79. There. pp. 412-413. 64 Ibid. S. 79. /S.32/ 65 Witness the death of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich in Karakorum was a monk-Fraitsiskay Karpini, who described the death of the Russian prince. (John de Plano Carpini. History of the Mongols; Wilhelm de Rubruk. Journey to Eastern Countries. St. Petersburg, 1911. P. 57). Date of death of Yaroslav - PSRL. T. I. Stb. 471. 66 John de Plano Carpini. Decree. op. S. 57. 67 PSRL. T. I. Stb. 471; Kuchkin V.A. Formation of the state territory of North-Eastern Russia in the X-XIV centuries. M., 1984. S. 111, 113-115. 68 PSRL. T. IV. Part 1. Issue. 1. Pg., 1915. S. 229. 69 PSRL. T. I. Stb. 471. 63 12 behind the decisions of the Great Khai court regarding the Russian ulus70. Having apparently detained Andrei and Alexander, who left Russia at different times, Batu let them go to Karakorum together, perhaps when Khan Guyuk died and Turakina lost power71. Thus, Alexander avoided the danger that threatened him in 1246. Nevertheless, major troubles lay in wait for him in Karakorum. There, the brothers judged in a very peculiar way. Alexander, as an elder brother, received Kyiv and “the Russian land”, and Andrei received the Grand Duchy of Vladimir72. Outwardly, everything was fine. Formally, Alexander received more than his brother, Kyiv was considered a more significant city than Vladimir. But this was the case in pre-Mongolian times. In the 40s. 13th century Kyiv was a settlement of 200 yards73, and the "Russian Land", which was part of the Kiev territory, was also devastated. In addition, before his death, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich reigned not in Kyiv, but in Vladimir, and the eldest son was supposed to receive his father's inheritance. However, in Karakorum they decided differently, apparently fearing the strengthening of the most authoritative prince in North-Eastern Russia. With such a distribution of tables, the position of Andrei Yaroslavich is unclear: whether he himself sought the reign of Vladimir, and then he acted clearly against Alexander, or dutifully followed the decisions of the Mongols. The latter seems more likely. The brothers returned to Russia at the end of 1249. Alexander spent several months in Vladimir. The chronicle reports that when the Uglich prince Vladimir Konstantinovich died in Vladimir in the winter of 1249/50, he was mourned and escorted from the Golden Gate by “Prince Oleksandr and his brothers”. In the same winter, another prince died in Vladimir - Vladimir Vsevolodovich Yaroslavsky. The funeral procession, heading from Vladimir to Yaroslavl, was accompanied by Alexander, Prince Boris of Rostov, his brother, Prince Gleb of Belozersky, and their mother. Vladimir Vsevolodovich died “in memory of St. Theodore”74, i.e. in February 1250. The stay in Vladimir, the capital city of Andrei Yaroslavich, from the end of 1249 to February 1250 / S.27 / Alexander Nevsky, his brothers - the princes of Uglich, Yaroslavl, Rostov, Belozersky suggests that upon returning two senior Yaroslavichs from Karakorum in Vladimir, a congress of Russian princes was assembled, at which questions of relations with foreign authorities and the distribution of tables between the princes in the present and future were to be discussed. Judging by the fact that there were no quarrels between the princes, Andrei did not interfere with his elder brother’s sufficiently long stay in his capital, the princes managed to agree on the division of power and their rights. Only after that, in 1250, did Alexander return to reign in Novgorod75. His reign there continued without any excesses and upheavals. Only when it became known in Russia about the ascension in 1251 to the Karakoram table of the new great Khan Mengu (Munke), a protege of Batu,76 Alexander Nevsky again went to the Horde (1252). The purpose of his trip, apparently, was to obtain the Vladimir Grand Duchy. It is possible that this action was discussed in advance by Alexander with his brothers and other princes during his stay in Vladimir in 1249/50. After his departure, Andrei and Yaroslav Yaroslavichi raised an uprising against the Mongols, hoping that the change of khan in Karakorum would allow them to get rid of interference Hordes in Russian affairs. According to the chronicle, Grand Duke Andrei of Vladimir and those who supported him did not want to “serve as a tsarsarem”77, i.e. Mengu and Batu. However, their calculations did not materialize. A supporter of Mengu, Batu, sent troops to Russia, led by Nevryuy, who crushed the uprising. Andrei fled to Sweden, Yaroslav remained in Russia. These events, described in different years 70 Nasonov A.N. Mongols and Russia. M.; L., 1940. S. 31-32. Guyuk died between April 26, 1248 and April 15, 1249 - Tizengauzen V.G. Collection of materials relating to the history of the Golden Horde. Issue. P. M.; L., 1941. P. 66. Note. 4. 72 PSRL. T. I. Stb. 472. 73 John de Plano Carpini. Decree. op. S. 25. 74 PSRL. T.I. Stb. 472.75 NPL. P. 80. 76 Nasonov A.N. Decree. op. S. 30, note. 3. S. 33. 77 PSRL. T. I. Stb. 473. 71 13 letters with some nuances, gave historians reason to believe that Alexander Nevsky, having waited until his brother Andrei raised a bold uprising against foreign oppression, treacherously took advantage of the circumstances and achieved in the Horde the right to the Vladimir Grand Duke's table, while sending the Horde to Russia punitive expedition under the command of Nevruy78. However, such conclusions are based on late annalistic compilations, in the presentation of which the sequence of events and the causal relationship between them are violated. The oldest description of what happened in 1252, preserved by the Laurentian Chronicle, says that Alexander went to Batu to obtain the rights to the Vladimir Grand Duke's table not after, but before Andrei's speech. In this case, Alexander could act according to the old agreement with the princes about the grand prince's table, especially since Andrei received his father's inheritance from the hands of the khan's power, and not according to the old Russian norms of princely succession, bypassing his elder brother. Andrey, after Alexander's departure to the Horde, apparently, opposed the khans, hoping to retain the great reign of Vladimir, but he miscalculated. Even before the return of Nevsky, he fled from Russia. Alexander, sitting on the Vladimir table, forced another troublemaker, brother Yaroslav, to exchange his Pereyaslav principality for his Tver principality. With this action, Alexander further strengthened his position as the Grand Duke. Although Andrei Yaroslavich found refuge in Sweden, which, having finally conquered the Em-tavasts in 1249, thereby got into very tense relations with Novgorod and Alexander Nevsky, who reigned there, the latter managed not to turn his brother into a sworn enemy, but to make him his ally. Alexander called Andrey back to Russia, allocating him the Suzdal principality from his Grand Duchy of Vladimir. In 1257, Andrei, as a sovereign prince, traveled with Alexander to the Horde to honor Khan Ulagchi81. In addition to the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, Novgorod still remained under the rule of Alexander Nevsky. True, now Nevsky no longer reigned there himself, but kept his eldest son, Vasily, as governor. Novgorodians, free to choose princes, were dissatisfied with this circumstance. In 1255, they expelled the young prince from the city, inviting Yaroslav Yaroslavich, who had left his Tver principality, to join them from Pskov. Alexander immediately gathered the regiments and marched with them against Novgorod. The Novgorodians also decided to fight, but the matter was resolved amicably. /S.28/ Prince Yaroslav was forced to leave the city, Vasily was returned to the Novgorod throne, there was a change of posadnik, people who supported Alexander Nevsky82 came to govern Novgorod. This connection with the powerful prince helped Novgorod to stop the attempt Swedish feudal lords and, apparently, the vogt of Vironia (the region of Northern Estonia, subordinate to the Danish king) Dietrich von Kivel (Didman of the Russian chronicle) to build a stronghold on the eastern bank of the river that belonged to Novgorod. Narova83. Based here, the Swedes and the Danish feudal lord expected to launch an offensive against Votland and Ingria, i.e. the lands of the Vodi and Izhora, which were part of the Novgorod Republic. Having learned about the actions of the Swedes and Didman, the Novgorodians sent ambassadors with a request for military assistance to Vladimir to Alexander Nevsky and began to assemble their own militia. When this became known to the Swedes and von Kivel, they hastily plunged to 78 See, for example: Ekzemplyarsky A.V. Great and appanage princes of Northern Russia in the Tatar period from 1238 to 1505. T. 1. St. Petersburg, 1889. S. 26-27, 35. Similar thoughts were previously expressed, based on the author's conclusions V.N. Tatishchev, but not on the testimony of the most ancient chronicles, S.M. Solovyov (Soloviev S.M. Works. Book. P.M., 1988. S. 152 and 324. Note. 299). As for V.N. Tatishchev, he described the events of 1252 according to the Nikon Chronicle of the 16th century, supplementing it with his own conclusions. Compare: Tatishchev V.N. Russian history. T. V. M.; L., 1965. S. 40-41 and PSRL. T. X. SPb., 1885. S. 138-139. Lavrentievskaya and other ancient chronicles similar to it were not known at the time of V.N. Tatishchev. 79 Kuchkin V.A. Formation... S. 115-116. 80 Ibid. S. 112. 81 PSRL. T. I. Stb. 474.82 NPL. pp. 80-81. 83 Ibid. P. 81. For more details, see: Shaskolsky I.P. Decree. op. pp. 206-213. 14 ships and fled across the sea84. Alexander brought his regiments to Novgorod, no? there were no more opponents. Then the prince undertook a campaign against Koporye, and from there he went to the land conquered by the Swedes 7 years before. Nevsky's campaign against this tribe in 1256, the last military campaign of the commander, took place in harsh winter conditions, but ended successfully85. The positions of Sweden in the land were weakened by them, and the attention of the Swedish feudal lords was switched from Novgorod to Finland. Upon returning to Vladimir, Alexander Nevsky was forced to go along with other Russian princes to the Volga Horde to honor Khan Ulagchi. At the end of the same 1257, the Grand Duke of Vladimir had to deal with the Mongols once again. Officials from Karakorum arrived in Russia, carrying out, on the orders of the Great Khan, the calculation and taxation of the entire population subject to him86. If for the inhabitants of North-Eastern Russia the collection of various taxes and extortions by the Mongols became a matter of habit, then for Novgorod such payments were new and unpleasant. When a rumor reached the people of Novgorod that the Mongols would take tamga and tithe from them, the city became terribly excited. On the side of the Novgorodians was the son of Alexander Nevsky, Vasily, who ruled with them. Alexander was forced to help foreigners. His arrival with the clerics in Novgorod in the winter of 1257/58 ended with the expulsion of Vasily from Novgorod and cruel torture people who inspired him to oppose the Mongols and his father87. Probably, Alexander took over the administration of Novgorod, exercising his power through his own governors. Nevertheless, the prince failed to completely pacify the Novgorodians. When in the winter of 1259/60 the Mongol clerks arrived in Novgorod for the second time, strong unrest began here again, which did not develop into an armed struggle only because of the intervention of Alexander88. He managed, apparently, to find some kind of compromise that satisfied the people of Novgorod. In the early 60s. 13th century The Volga Horde separated from the Mongol Empire, becoming a sovereign state89. The discord between the Karakorum and Sarai governments was immediately taken advantage of in Russia. In many Russian cities, uprisings took place against the imperial officials who were sitting here. Alexander Nevsky supported these speeches by sending letters with an appeal to “totar to beat”90. In Sarai, these actions were looked at through their fingers, since it was a matter of liquidating a power structure that had turned into an alien structure. However, having become independent, the Sarai khans began to experience a lack of armed forces. Even during the existence of the united Mongol Empire, such a shortcoming was covered by the mobilization of the population subject to the Mongols into the Mongol troops. Saransky Khan Berke followed the beaten path. In 1262, he demanded that a military recruitment be made among the inhabitants of Russia, since there was a threat to his possessions from the Iranian ruler Hulagu91. Alexander Nevsky was forced to go to the Horde in order to somehow soften the requirements of the khan. Berke detained the Russian prince in the Horde for several months92. /S.29/ Alexander fell ill there. Already being sick, he went to Russia. Having hardly reached Gorodets on the Volga, the prince realized that he could not reach Vladimir. On the afternoon of November 14, 1263, he took the monastic vows, and by the evening of the same day he died93. After 9 days, the body of the prince was brought to. capital Vladimir and, with a large gathering of people, was buried in 84 NPLs founded by Alexander's grandfather. P. 81. Ibid. 86 PSRL. T. I. Stb. 475. For more details, see: Nasonov A.N. Decree. op. pp. 11-14. 87 NPL. P. 82. 88 Ibid. pp. 82-83. 89 Nasonov A.N. Decree. op. S. 51. 90 PSRL. T. XXXVII. L., 1982. S. 30. For an analysis of this news, see: Nasonov A.N. Decree. op. P. 52. 91 Begunov Yu.K. Monument of Russian literature of the XIII century. S. 177; Nasonov A.N. Decree. op. pp. 53-55. 92 NPL. P. 83. 93 Ibid. 85 15 Vsevolod Big Nest Nativity Monastery94. The life of Alexander Nevsky ended early. He was not even forty-three years old. But this life from adolescence was filled with major events, complex diplomatic negotiations, bold campaigns, decisive battles. As a commander, Alexander Nevsky is hardly equal among other princes of medieval Russia. But he was a man of his era, in whose character cruelty to traitors and disobedients was bizarrely combined with the denial of an exclusive princely struggle and the desire to alleviate the situation of the people conquered by foreign conquerors. It should be especially emphasized that Alexander, unlike his grandfather, father, siblings, even his own children, never participated in bloody internecine battles. Internal conflicts were; to solve them, Alexander gathered troops, but it did not come to open actions, the threat of the use of force, and not force itself, decided. It is quite obvious that this was the conscious policy of Alexander Nevsky, who was well aware that in the conditions of the post-Batiev pogrom of Russian lands and foreign domination, internal wars, even in the event of a complete victory of one of the parties, can only lead to a general weakening of Russia and the destruction of its working and military-capable population . The biographer of Alexander Nevsky, who wrote his Life, who was not only an "eye-witness" of the growing up of the prince, but also an eyewitness to at least the consequences of the Mongol conquest, specifically drew attention to the fact that Nevsky, having become a great prince of Vladimir, “churches are raised, cities are full, people are spread siber in their own houses”95. Ensuring borders, maintaining the integrity of the territory, caring for its population - these are the main features of the activities of Prince Alexander in that critical period Russian history. About Alexander Nevsky briefly, one can say in the words of a chronicler of the 13th century: “work for Novgorod and for all Russian land”96. 94 Ibid. S. 84; Begunov Yu.K. Monument of Russian literature of the XIII century ... S. 178-179. Begunov Yu.K. Monument of Russian literature of the XIII century ... S. 175. 96 NPL. S. 84. /S.33/ 95

In the village of Moty there was a chapel in honor of the Grand Duke.

ALEXANDER YAROSLAVICH NEVSKY (c. 1220, Pereyaslavl - 1263, Gorodets) - prince, commander. Son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest.In 1228, 1230, 1232 and 1233 he was viceroy in Novgorod together with his elder brother Fedor. In 1236, his father went to reign in Kyiv, and "plant your son Odeksander in Novgorod", who ruled for five years, married the Polotsk princess. In 1240 he defeated the Swedish knights, who camped at the confluence of the river. Izhora to the Neva, showed courage and talent as a commander, for which he was nicknamed Nevsky. Having quarreled with the Novgorodians, he went to reign in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. He returned back at the request of the townspeople. In 1242 he defeated the German knights on the ice of Lake Peipus and made peace with the Livonian Order and its allies. Several times Alexander was forced to travel to the Horde to receive labels for reigning, first in Kyiv, and then throughout the North-East. Russia. With a skillful policy, Alexander achieved the liberation of the Russian. from participation in the aggressive Tatar campaigns and prevented the invasion of the khans in Russia. He strengthened the grand ducal power in the country. Died led. prince of Vladimir-Suzdal, returning from the Horde. Listed as a saint by the Orthodox Church.

Used materials of the book: Shikman A.P. Figures of national history. Biographical guide. Moscow, 1997

Years of life- (13.05.1221? - 14.11.1263+)

Parents: Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (1191-1246+), Theodosia;

Children:Alexandra, daughter of Bryachislav of Polotsk =>

Basil(about 1240-1271+), book. Novgorod (1255-1257);
In 1257, Vasily opposed the imposition of tribute (tamgas and tithes) on the Novgorodians. As soon as his father Alexander arrived in Novgorod with the Tatar Baskaks, Vasily left for Pskov. Alexander expelled him from there, subjected him to disgrace and sent him to the Suzdal land.

Evdokia, wife of Konstantin Rostislavich Smolensky;

Dmitry (1246-1294+);

Andrey (1255-1304+);

Daniel (1265-1303+);

Highlights of life

Prince of Novgorod (1236-1252);
Vel. prince of Kyiv (1248-1263);
Vel. Prince Vladimirsky (1252-1263);

The personality of Alexander Nevsky is great and multifaceted. In the village of Moty in the 19th century there was a chapel named after the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky.

One way or another, the village of Moty is also associated with the name of this great Russian.

Happy reading!

Alexander Nevsky in culture and art

Streets, lanes, squares, etc. are named after Alexander Nevsky. Orthodox churches are dedicated to him, he is the heavenly patron of St. Petersburg and Petrozavodsk. Not a single lifetime image of Alexander Nevsky has survived to this day. Therefore, to depict the prince on the order, in 1942, its author, architect I. S. Telyatnikov, used a portrait of the actorNikolai Cherkasov , who played the role of the prince in the film "Alexander Nevskiy ».

In ancient Russian literature

Main article: The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky

A literary work written in the 13th century and known in many editions.

Fiction

· Segen A. Yu. Alexander Nevskiy. Sun of the Russian Earth. —M.: ITRK, 2003. - 448 p. — (Library of historical novel). —5000 copies — ISBN 5-88010-158-4

· Yugov A.K. Soldiers. —L .: Lenizdat, 1983. - 478 p.

· Subbotin A. A. For the Russian land. —M.: Military publishing house of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, 1957. - 696 p.

· Mosiah S. Alexander Nevskiy. —L .: Children's literature, 1982. - 272 p.

· Yukhnov S. M. Scout Alexander Nevsky. —M.: Eksmo, 2008. - 544 p. - (In the service of the sovereign. Russian frontier). —4000 copies — ISBN 978-5-699-26178-9

· Jan V. G. The youth of the commander // To the "last sea". Youth of the commander. —Moscow: Pravda, 1981.

· Boris Vasiliev . Alexander Nevskiy.

art

· P portrait of Alexander Nevsky (central part of the triptych, 1942) byPavel Korin.

· Monument to Alexander Nevsky (equestrian sculpture)St. Petersburg , opened on May 9, 2002 on Alexander Nevsky Square in front of the entrance toAlexander Nevsky Lavra. Sculptors: V. G. Kozenyuk , A. A. Palmin, A. S. Charkin; architects: G. S. Peichev, V. V. Popov.

· Monument to Alexander Nevsky in Petrozavodsk , opened on June 3, 2010 on Alexander Nevsky Avenue near the entrance toCathedral of Alexander Nevsky . Sculptor V. G. Kozenyuk

· Monument in Volgograd on Square of the Fallen Fighters .

Cinemaand I

· Alexander Nevskiy, Nevsky - Nikolay Cherkasov, producer - Sergei Eisenstein, 1938 .

· Mr Veliky Novgorod, Nevsky - Alexander Frankiewicz-Laye, producer - Alexey Saltykov, 1984 .

· Life of Alexander Nevsky, Nevsky - Anatoly Gorgul, producer - Georgy Kuznetsov, 1991 .

· Alexander. Neva battle, Nevsky - Anton Pampushny , director - Igor Kalenov, - Russia, 2008 .

· AWARDS

Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky

Order of Alexander Nevsky (USSR)

Order of Alexander Nevsky (Russia)

· Historical Literature.

1. Or other Russian Alexander.

2. Kuchkin V. A. On the date of birth of Alexander Nevsky // Questions of history. 1986. No. 2. S. 174-176.

3. For a while there was an assumption genealogist N. A. Baumgarten, expressed in 1908 that Alexander’s mother was Theodosius, the daughter of the Ryazan prince Igor Glebovich, who died in 1195, but at present this hypothesis is not confirmed. Cm.:V. A. Kuchkin. Alexander Nevsky - Statesman and commander of medieval Russia // Domestic History / RAS. In-t grew up. stories. - M .: Nauka, 1996. - No. 5. - 224 p. (unavailable link)

4. BDT.

5. Jump to: 1

V. A. Kuchkiy

A huge thickness of years separates us from the era of Alexander Nevsky. The famous prince is better known to people of the 20th century from historical novels, fictionalized biographies, paintings by Henrik Semiradsky, Nicholas Roerich, Pavel Korin, and a film by Sergei Eisenstein. However, a complete scientific biography of Alexander Nevsky has not yet been written. And it is difficult to write it.1 The fact is that very little evidence of Alexander's activity has survived, and his posthumous characteristics suffer from annoying laconicism, incompleteness, or even just various kinds of inaccuracies and errors. It would seem a simple question - who was the mother of Alexander Nevsky. In the Life of the Prince, compiled by his contemporary, a monk of the Vladimir Nativity Monastery around 1264, but not in 1282-83, as is stated in most modern publications and studies,2 the birth of Alexander seems to be said clearly: the father of a merciful and lover of man, and even more meek, the great prince Yaroslav, and from mother Theodosius. However, nothing is reported about the origin of Theodosius. In Russian historical science, for a long time it was recognized that Theodosius was the daughter of the Toropets prince Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny, that is, Lucky, who later was a Novgorod prince for a long time, then reigned in Galich and became famous as a brave and talented commander. However, in 1908, a prominent specialist in the field of princely genealogy, N. A. Baumgarten, published an article in which he argued that Theodosia was the daughter of the Ryazan prince Igor Glebovich, who died back in 1195. According to N. A. Baumgarten, Theodosia became the third wife father of Alexander Nevsky Pereyaslavsky (Pereyaslavl Zalessky) Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and the mother of all his children / This point of view was shared by historians for several decades, who trusted the authority of the author more than the system of his evidence.6 And the system turned out to be flawed - In fact, no sources do not indicate the birth of daughters in the family of Igor Glebovich Ryazan. There were sons, as many as five, but there were no daughters. According to N. A. Baumgarten, Theodosia married Yaroslav in 1218, that is, when she was at least 23 years old. For the Middle Ages, this is the age of an overripe girl, since girls were usually given in marriage when they were 12-17 years old. It is also known that the wife of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, the mother of his sons, willingly stayed with her husband in Novgorod, lived for a long time! there alone, she took the haircut in the Yuriev Monastery, died there and was buried there. She showed no interest in Ryazan. At the same time, her daughter-in-law (Yatrov), the wife of Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, a Murom princess, having decided to become a nun, went to the monastery in her homeland in Murom “to the brothers.” that she "was not a Ryazan princess, but was the daughter of Prince Mstislav Mstislavich. Her baptismal name was Theodosia, in everyday life she was called the pagan name Rostislav. It was Rostislav-Feodosia who became the mother of all the sons of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich). 8

The Pereyaslav prince had nine of them. The chronicles preserved the news of the births of only the first and last sons of Prince Yaroslav. When the other seven were born is unknown. The ninth son of Yaroslav, Vasily, was born in 1241. 9 And the news of the birth of the first-born in the family of Yaroslav and Rostislav concludes in the Laurentian Chronicle an article of 6727: “The son of Yaroslav was born the same summer and called his name Theodore.” 10 6727 year of the chronicle, calculated from t n. the creation of the world, which, according to the Bible, took place 5508 years before the birth of Christ, March. "The chronicle article, marked this year, describes the events that occurred in March - December 1219 and January - February 1220. His name is little Fedor Yaroslavich could receive either in honor of Fyodor Stratilat, or in honor of Fyodor the Tyrone.The memory of these two most revered Fedorovs in Russia was celebrated on February 8 (Fyodor Stratilat) and February 17 (Fyodor Tyrone), in other words, Fedor Yaroslaich should have been born in February. with the place of his birth in the article of the Laurentian Chronicle of 6727. It is the last one there and should describe the events of January-February 1220. Thus, we can firmly say that the elder brother of Alexander Nevsky was born in February 1220. And although in In 1995, the public of our country celebrated the 775th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Nevsky, he could not be born in 1220. When was Alexander born?

The oldest surviving murals of the sons of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich indicate Alexander either in the first place as the eldest son, or in the second place. It all depends on the nature of the murals themselves. If they record in general all the sons born to Yaroslav, then they indicate Alexander in second place.12 In the first place, of course, Fedor. If the paintings speak of the sons of Yaroslav, who survived after the conquest of the Russian lands by Batu, then! they place Alexander first,13 which is also true: Fedor died before the Mongol invasion. Based on the testimony of the oldest lists of the sons of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, it should be recognized that Alexander was his second son. Since the eldest son of Yaroslav Fyodor, as an independent actor, is mentioned for the first time in the annals together with Alexander, one can think that there was not a big age difference between the brothers, for example, 3-4 years. Alexander was born, most likely, the next summer after Fedor.

The surviving seals of Alexander Nevsky on the front side have an image of a mounted or foot soldier, accompanied by the inscription "Alexander", and on the reverse side - also a warrior and the inscription "Fedor". On the front side of the seals, the heavenly patron of Prince Alexander was depicted, on the reverse - his father, who was baptized Fyodor in honor of Fyodor Stratilat.14 In honor of which Alexander the warrior did the parents of the future winner of the Battle of Neva name? At one time, NP Likhachev expressed the idea that in honor of Alexander of Egypt. VL Yanin will not support this conjecture, leaving the question open. Indeed, the solution proposed by N.P. Likhachev raises an objection. In ancient (before the 13th century) Byzantine and Slavic minologies, 21 Saint Alexanders are mentioned, but only four of them were warriors. Alexander of Egypt was commemorated on July 9, along with two other saints: Patermuth and Kopriy, whose memory was celebrated on that day in the first place - on September 28, the memory of another soldier Alexander was celebrated, but together with 30 other saints. Nevsky's parents could hardly name their son Alexander by the name of the sheep, who was celebrated together with other saints and was not even the main one among them. Moreover, in the princely name-book of pre-Mongolian Russia, the name Alexander was very! rare, his stretcher is only three Rurikovich. Obviously, Alexander Yaroslavich got his name from that Alexander the warrior, whose memory was specially noted. Two more saints may be named here. On June 10, the memory of a warrior was celebrated! Alexander and the virgin Antonina, and on May 13 - the memory of the warrior Alexander of Rome. The celebration of the latter was much more widespread. A contemporary of Nevsky noted that in 1243 there was a sign that occurred in May "in memory of the holy martyr Alexander"

I meant Alexander of Rome. Obviously, of the two possible heavenly patrons of Alexander Nevsky, Alexander of Rome should be preferred. And in this case, the time of birth of Alexander Nevsky should be May 13, 1221,16 and the anniversary date of appearance on. the light of an outstanding figure of the 13th century should be celebrated in 1996.

The first indirect chronicle information about Alexander dates back to 1223. Under this year, the Novgorod chronicle reports: “Prince Yaroslav went with the princess and children to Pereyasall.”17 Among these children of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, Alexander was most likely.

The first direct mention of Alexander dates back to 1228. Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who continued to rule in Novgorod, at the end of the summer of 1228 left the city for his Pereyaslavl, leaving Novgorod “2 own son, Theodora and Alksandra, with Fedor Danilovitsem, with tiunom Yaki-mom "-18 8-year-old Fedor and 7-year-old Alexander were left as deputies of their father, but in fact they had to act on the prompts of the Yaroslavl boyars - Fedor Danilovich and tiun Yakim. The reign of little prince Alexander, together with his brother, did not last long. Already on February 20, 1229, the Yaroslavichi fled from Novgorod, fearing the unrest that had begun in the city.19

However, in January 1231, Yaroslav again left his two eldest sons in Novgorod as governors. They replaced their father during his absences from Novgorod in 11 Oreyaslavl.20

In the summer of 1233, during the preparations for the wedding, 13-year-old Fyodor Yaroslavich unexpectedly died.21 Now Alexander has become! eldest among his brothers

In 1236 Alexander's father! Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, taking advantage of the fact that a fierce struggle flared up for Kyiv between the South Russian princes, in which the people of Kiev themselves suffered the most, left Novgorod and, with the help of the Novgorodians, settled in Kiev.22 But Yaroslav did not want to lose control over Novgorod either. Instead of himself, he left his eldest son Alexander on the Novgorod table. Tom was already 15 years old, according to the ideas of those times, he was already sleeping as an adult, he had experience of ruling in Novgorod, but now he could reign quite independently, not always listening to the advice of his father's boyars. In the very first years of his rule in Novgorod, Alexander had to face a number of serious problems.

These problems concerned Novgorod's relations with its western neighbors. On the northwestern borders, Novgorod and the prince who ruled in it had to become althea with the Kingdom of Sweden, in the west - with the German Order of the Sword-bearers and various German bishoprics in the Baltic states, which had significant military power. The southwestern borders of Novgorod were constantly violated by the forces of the growing Lithuanian state.

Conflicts between Novgorod and Sweden began as early as the middle of the 12th century, when the Swedish kings launched an offensive against the tribes inhabiting Finland. In those days, this country! far from all was inhabited. Its southwestern part was inhabited by the Suomi tribe, which the ancient Russian people called the sum, and the Swedes and other Western European peoples called the Finns. The inner regions of southern Finland, the region of neutral Finnish lakes, were inhabited by another large Finnish tribe - Heme, or Em in Old Russian, Tavasts in Swedish. Novgorodians had long-standing contacts with the Em tribe. Gradually extending its power to the Baltic tribes of the Od, Chud-Ests, the whole (Vepsians), Izhora, Livs, Korela, the Novgorod Republic also came into contact with them. Attracting the emerging local nobility to their side, the Novgorod boyars began to subjugate them, forcing this tribe to pay tribute. True, Novgorodian rule was limited to this. There were no fortified strongholds, no religious centers from where it was possible to spread Christianity among the pagan Yemi, near Novgorod in the land of this tribe. This circumstance was used by the Swedish feudal lords when, having established their dominance over the Sum tribe, they in the 40s of the XII century. moved their actions to the inner regions of southern Finland, inhabited by Emyu. In contrast to Novgorod, Swedish expansion into Finnish lands had a slightly different character. The Swedish feudal lords were not limited to receiving tribute, they sought to gain a foothold in new lands, erecting fortresses there, subordinating the local population to the alien administration, introducing Swedish legislation, ideologically preparing and securing all this by forcibly converting tavasts to Catholicism. Initially, the city took the propaganda of the Swedish missionaries very favorably, hoping with Swedish help to get rid of the payment of tribute to Novgorod, which, in turn, caused the campaigns of the father of Alexander Nevsky Yaroslav Vsevolodovich against the city in 1226-1228, but when the Swedes began to introduce their own orders and destroy the local pagan temples, this Finnish tribe responded with an uprising."

The scale, nature and partly the time of this uprising can be judged from the bull of the famous Pope Gregory IX of December 9, 1237, addressed to the head of the Swedish Catholic Church, Uppsala Archbishop Jarler: “According to your letters that have come down to us, the people called Tavasts who was once converted to the Catholic faith through the labor and cares of you and your predecessors, now through the efforts of the enemies of the cross, his close neighbors, is again converted to the error of the former faith and, together with some barbarians and with the help of the devil, is destroying the young planting of the church of God in Ta -vastia. The minors, to whom the light of Christ shone at baptism, they, forcibly depriving this light, mortify; some adults, having previously taken out their insides, are sacrificed to demons, while others are forced to circle around trees until they lose consciousness; some priests are blinded, while others of their number are severely interrupted by the hands and other limbs, the rest, wrapped in straw, are burned; thus, with the fury of these pagans, the Swedish dominion is overthrown, which is why the complete fall of Christianity can easily occur if the help of God and his apostolic throne is not resorted to.

But in order that God-fearing men would rise with all the more eagerness against the advancing apostates and barbarians, who thirst for the Church of God with such great losses to decline, who destroy the Catholic faith with such disgusting cruelty, we entrust the brotherhood with your apostolic epistle: wherever in the aforementioned state or there were no Catholic men in the neighboring islands, so that they would raise the banner of the cross against these apostates and barbarians and drive them out with strength and courage, on the prompting of the beneficent doctrine.”24

Of course, in the papal message, designed to be read in churches with numerous believers, the colors were thickened, but from the appeal of the pope it indisputably follows that a major uprising against Swedish domination took place in the land of Emi, that in order to suppress it, the Roman church organizes a crusade of “God-fearing men” that the Tavasts opposed the Swedes not alone, but "through the efforts of their close neighbors, ... together with some barbarians." The Sumi and Korel tribes were their immediate neighbors. If the Sumi lands had been under the rule of the Swedish crown and the influence of the Catholic Church for a long time, this tribe could not help the Yemi-tavasts, then there remains the Korela. But the Korela was part of the Novgorod state, and the intervention of the Korela meant the intervention of Novgorod, which was striving to regain its positions in the Emi lands. When did this intervention take place?

The Bull of Gregory IX was compiled on the basis of letters from the Archbishop of Uisala, which in turn were based on reports from the latter's subordinate, Bishop of Finland Thomas. The Pope received messages from the head of the Swedish Church, most likely from his legate William of Modena, who arrived in the Baltics in the summer of 1237. dad lost its meaning. And the “efforts of the enemies of the cross-., close neighbors” of the emi, directed against the penetration of the Swedes into the lands of the emi, took place somewhat earlier than the uprising, that is, approximately in 1236-1237. In other words, opposition from Novgorod to the Swedish expansion to the east fell on the beginning of Alexander Yaroslavich's reign in Novgorod. No matter how one evaluates the efforts of the Novgorod Republic aimed at maintaining its influence in the lands of Emi, it is clear that it was impossible to manage without the support and approval of these efforts from the princely authorities. The young prince made decisions, and responsible decisions.

Relations with the Baltic Germans developed differently at that time. The Germans appeared on the lands of the Eastern Baltic in the 80s. In the 12th century, at first simply preaching Christianity, and then, having made sure that the local population was difficult to Christianize, they began to back up their sermons with armed force. At the beginning of the XIII century. An associate of the Bishop of Riga, Albert Theoderich, founded the Order of the Sword-bearers in the Baltic States, which was recognized by Pope Innocent III by a bull of October 20, 1210.26 After that, through the efforts of the sword-bearers - "monks in spirit, fighters in arms" - German possessions in the Baltic began to expand rapidly. The Order and the Bishop of Riga managed to seize lands along the lower and middle reaches of the river. The Dvins, which belonged to the Russian Principality of Polotsk or were controlled by it.27 In 1210, the knights transferred military operations to the lands of the Estonians, where there were also the possessions of Novgorod the Great. In 1224, the sword-bearers, together with the troops of the bishop of Riga, captured the main stronghold of Novgorod in the Chud (Estonian) land - Yuryev (modern Tartu).28 The subsequent fierce struggle led in 1234 to a peace agreement between the Germans and Novgorod, beneficial for the Russian side.29 The treaty of 1234 crowned the efforts of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who then reigned in Novgorod, to prevent the German offensive on the Novgorod and Pskov lands -

When Alexander entered the Novgorod table, the treaty of 1234 continued to operate. Neither the crusaders nor the Novgorodians took any hostile actions against each other. Written in Vladimir on the Klyazma immediately after the death of Alexander Nevsky, his Life reports Alexander's earliest contact with the Order of the Sword. A contemporary of the prince reported that at one time to Alexander “someone strong from the Western country, who are called the servants of God, from tex came, aotfl to see his wondrous growth ... in the name of Andreyash.” 30 Since the arrival of Andreyash was explained in the Life solely by the desire of the knight to look at the Russian prince, many scientists believed that the whole episode was a simple conjecture of the author of the Life, who sought to glorify Nevsky in various ways. However, the contemporary of Alexander Yaroslavich, the knight Andreyash, actually existed. We should be talking about Andreas von Velven, who in 1241 held the high post of Livonian vice-master. According to the German researcher F. Be-ninghoven, Andreas von Velven was a knight of the Order of the Sword.31 In the Life, the arrival of a knight “from the Western country” is mentioned before the story of the Battle of the Neva. Consequently, Andreas' meeting with Alexander took place between 1236, when Alexander became Prince of Novgorod, and 1240, when the Battle of the Neva took place. In the period 1236-1240. the only time when the Order of the Sword-bearers had to conduct important negotiations with the Prince of Novgorod was 1236. The Order was preparing a big campaign against the Lithuanians and was looking for allies. Judging by the Life of Alexander Nevsky, Andreas' arrival did not give any results. According to the author of the Life, the sword-bearer only marveled at the age of the prince, which is very significant, since in 1236 Alexander was very young, "and left home. German sources confirm that the Novgorodians did not take part in the German campaign against the Lithuanian lands, but they took part The Novgorod chronicle testifies to the latter.32 Obviously, Alexander did not support the Order with the forces of Novgorod and ciiЈfcfi squads for the reason that at that time there was already a struggle for the subjugation of the Yemi-tavasts. On the other hand, he did not prevent the Order from being helped Thus, normal relations with the Order, stipulated by the treaty of 1234, were preserved, and therefore the participation of the order’s “God-fearing men” in that crusade against the tavasts, to which, at the request of the Swedish bishops, the pope called, was difficult. Prince Alexander turned out to be quite realistic and far-sighted.

The campaign against Lithuania, organized by the Order of the Swordsmen in 1236, ended in the most severe defeat of the German crusaders and their allies from the Lithuanian prince Vykint. In the Battle of Soule, the Master of the Order and 48 knights fell, not counting the infantry. The Order of the Sword-bearers actually ceased to exist. Its remnants in 1237 were urgently united with the Teutonic Order and subordinated to it. The Teutonic Order, founded by the German crusaders in Jerusalem in 1191, in the late 20s. 13th century at the request of the Polish prince Konrad of Mazovia, he moved to the Helminsky land and began to conquer the lands of the Lithuanian Prussian tribe. After the Order of the Swordsmen merged with it, the Teutonic Order became the most powerful force of the German crusaders in the Baltics. It was with this order that Alexander Nevsky subsequently had to face.

Prince Alexander had to endure serious upheavals at the beginning of 1238. A few months earlier, the Mongol hordes fell upon the eastern Russian lands. Having taken the Ryazan and Pronsk principalities, they transferred hostilities to the possessions of the princes - the descendants of Vsevolod the Big Nest. In January-February 1238, they subjugated the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, the Principality of Pereyaslav Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, the principalities of Yuryev, Rostov, Yaroslavl and Uglitz. small river City, a tributary of the river. Mologa. He was waiting for the approach of the regiments of his brother Yaroslav, but they did not appear. But the Mongols suddenly came. In a fierce battle, they prevailed. Grand Duke Yuri was killed, Prince Vasilko of Rostov was taken prisoner, and the rest of the Russian princes fled.35 Batu transferred military operations to the territory of the Novgorod Republic. After a long siege, at the beginning of March 1238 he took Torzhok and went to Novgorod by the Seliger route. But at Ignach Krest the Mongols stopped and turned back.36 Alexander did not help either the Grand Duke Yuri, when he was in the City, or the inhabitants of Torzhok. Whether this was an independent decision of the young prince, whether the position of the Novgorodians turned out to be here, who did not want to weaken their forces in the fight against a formidable enemy on foreign territory, or these were the intentions of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who continued to rule in Kyiv, it is difficult to say. The latter seems more likely, since Yuri was waiting at the river. City "of his brother Yaroslav from the shelf",37 i.e. he had an agreement with Yaroslav, which he did not fulfill.

In the summer of 1239, Batu took the southern principality of Pereyaslav, and then one of the largest ancient Russian principalities, Chernigov.38 His troops did not leave Russia, paralyzing the actions of the Russian princes who had not yet been defeated. The Lithuanians took advantage of this. In 1239 they captured Smolensk. Realizing that hostilities could easily spread to the Novgorod lands, Alexander fortified the Lithuanian border by setting up defensive towns along the river. She-loni.39 However, these fears were not justified. autumn

1239 Alexander's father Yaroslav, who became after 1beli on the river. The city of Yuri, the Grand Duke of Vladimir, drove the Lithuanians out of Smolensk40 and thus prevented their possible attack on Novgorod.

Trouble came to the people of Novgorod from the other side. In the summer of 1240, the fleet of the Swedish king Eric Lespe invaded Novgorod. The timing of the invasion was well chosen. Batu still did not leave the Russian borders, his search in the winter of 1239/1240 captured another Russian principality - Murom and devastated the great principality of Vladimir for the second time.41 Novgorodians and their prince Alexander had no one to expect serious military help from. In fact, if we analyze the composition of the princes who occupied the Novgorod table from 1136, when Novgorod achieved independence from the Kiev princes and became a republic, and until 1236, when Alexander occupied the Novgorod table, then this composition will turn out to be essentially unchanged. Only princes from Chernigov, Suzdal, Kyiv, and Smolensk sat on the Novgorod table.42 Obviously, only these principalities could support Novgorod militarily, and only they were able to provide material assistance to the Novgorodians during crop failures and famines that often occurred at that time in Novgorod land. But in 1240, the Chernigov principality lay in ruins, the Suzdal land and the Smolensk principality were severely devastated, Kyiv remained untouched by Batu, but he was preparing for defense from the obvious Mongol siege. With its opponents, Novgorod remained alone against many.

The news of the appearance at the mouth of the river. The Neva of the Swedish fleet was received in Novgorod in a timely manner. Having learned about this, in Novgorod they decided that the goal of the campaign of the Swedes and the Norwegians who sailed with them, sumi and emi, is Ladoga, This has already happened in Novgorod history. In 1164, 55 Swedish augers entered the Neva, climbed along it to Lake Ladoga and reached Ladoga. True, the siege of the city for the sailing Swedish army then ended in great failure. This was described in detail by the Novgorod chroniclers. Novgorod troops, immediately marched to Ladoga. The Russian regiments were most likely cavalry and could reach Ladoga in about 3-4 days. However, the Swedes did not appear at Ladoga. The calculations of the Novgorodians and Prince Alexander turned out to be false, the enemy pursued completely different goals than in 1164. The Swedish ships stopped near the mouth of the Neva at the mouth of another river - the Izhora, the left tributary of the Neva. The stay of the Swedes in this place, and the stay for many days, is not explained in any way in sources and in the writings of subsequent historians. Only in the earliest fragment of the Life of Alexander Nevsky, preserved by the Laurentian Chronicle of the 14th century, is it reported that in his report to Alexander moving against the Swedes, the elder of the Izhora land (the Izhora tribe inhabited the banks of the Neva in those days and was subordinate to Novgorod) Pelgui-Philipp pointed to the Swedish “camps and cliffs.”44 “Clubs” are battle ditches. Obviously, the plans of the Swedes included the construction in the Izhora land in a strategically important place of the same stronghold that they built in the lands of the Sumi and Emi-tavasts. The mouth of the Neva and in later times was of strategic interest to the Swedes. In 1300 they tried to build a fortress here at the confluence of the Okhtn settlement with the Neva. they built it, calling it Landskrona, but this mighty Crown of the Earth, as the Russian chronicler accurately translated the Swedish name, was completely destroyed by Russian troops the next year. to the mouth of the Neva, reinforcing his army with a detachment of Ladoga. Having received from Pelguy clarifying data on the location of the Swedish camp, having managed not to find himself, Alexander dealt an unexpected blow to the camp. It was Sunday, July 15, relatively early - half past eight in the morning according to the modern hour, 4 "when the Russian regiments fell upon the unsuspecting Swedes. Their sudden appearance caused panic among the Swedes. Some of them rushed to the ships that were standing on the left bank of the Neva, the other tried to cross to the left bank of the river. Izhora. The leader of the Swedish troops tried to resist by building the remaining ones in battle formations, but all was in vain. Constantly attacking, the Russians forced them to flee. The Vladimir biographer of Alexander Nevsky preserved vivid stories about the participants in the battle and individual combat episodes. Suffering heavy losses, the Swedes nevertheless managed to get to their ships, load the bodies of the fallen most noble warriors on them and hastily sail into the sea. The first major military clash of the young prince of Novgorod ended in his complete triumph. The Novgorod chronicler noted that from the Russian side, along with the Ladoga residents, “20 husbands ... or me (less)” fell. Russia. 1200-1304", based on the number of those who died on the Russian side, wrote that the Battle of the Neva was an ordinary battle and Alexander's victory in it was "small". the man is not so small. For example, during the capture of Torzhok by Batu in 1238, only 4 noble Novotorzhets were killed.50 In 1262, during the assault on the German city of Yuryev, Russian regiments lost 2 noble warriors51, etc. Of course, the Battle of the Neva was inferior in scale to the battles of Borodino or Waterloo, but for the XIII century it was a major battle, in which several thousand people participated.52 The victory on the Neva did not allow the Swedish feudal lord! corel. However, this military success was soon overshadowed by other events.

A month and a half after the battle on the Neva, the combined forces of the Teutonic Order, the Danish king, the Derpt (Yurievsky) bishop and the Russian prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, who served the Germans, captured the Pskov border fortress of Izborsk with an unexpected blow. The Pskov army, which came to the defense of Izborsk, was defeated, its governor Gavrila Gorislavich fell in battle. The crusaders laid siege to Pskov. Not receiving help from anywhere, the Pskovites were forced to capitulate on September 16, 1240. Two German Vogts were planted in Pskov. They were supported by an influential part of the Pskov population, headed by the boyar Tverdila Ivankovich. But there were also many who were dissatisfied with the established German domination. Some of them, together with their families, fled to Novgorod.

Strange things happened there. Alexander Nevsky left Novgorod, having quarreled with the Novgorodians.54 The causes of the conflict have not been disclosed either by the chronicle or by historians. Meanwhile, they can be specified. Having expelled the Swedes from the banks of the Neva, Prince Alexander nevertheless did not prevent the capture of Pskov by German and Danish feudal lords. Naturally, this caused a sharp discontent of part of the Novgorodians and especially the Pskovites who fled to Novgorod. However, after the Neva victory, Alexander was unable to resist the aggression of new enemies. The victory over the Swedes was achieved mainly by the forces of the squad of Prince Alexander himself. No wonder the Novgorod chronicler, writing about 20 Russian men who died in the battle, noted the death of only 4 Novgorodians. The compiler of the Life of Alexander, naming the six brave men of the Nevsky battle, pointed out only two Novgorodians. The rest represented Alexander's squad, one of them was killed. It is quite obvious that the main burden of the Nevsky battle fell on the shoulders of the prince's squad and it was she who suffered the greatest losses. And with a greatly weakened squad, not receiving help from other Russian principalities, the prince-defender of the Novgorod Republic was simply unable to fulfill his duties. Mutual accusations became so sharp that Alexander was forced to leave Novgorod and go to his father in Peredelavl. The Germans immediately took advantage of this. In the winter of 1240/1241, they seized the Chud and Vodka possessions of Novgorod, built a fortress in Koporye, and, fighting Novgorod territory proper, approached at a distance of 30 versts from Novgorod itself.55 A direct threat arose to the city. At the same time, it turned out that the Novgorodians were not able to cope with the ever-increasing German aggression on their own. The necessity of inviting a new prince to the Novgorod table became obvious.

Novgorodians had little choice. They were forced to ask for help from the same Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. He sent them instead of Alexander another son - Andrei - But even with him, the German attacks on the Novgorod lands continued. Moreover, attacks by Estonians and Lithuanians were added to them. Then the Novgorodians decided to ask Yaroslav instead of Andrei again Alexander. The request was granted.

Alexander entered Novgorod in March 1241. He acted prudently and clearly. Having gathered all the Novgorod forces, Ladoga, Korel, Izhora, he moved to Koporye. The fortress erected by the Germans was taken and destroyed, traitors from among the Vodi and Estonians were hanged, hostages were taken, but some who supported the Germans were pardoned.67 Thus ended the year 1241.

At the beginning of 1242, Alexander received military assistance from his father. Brother Andrei came to him with the Vladimir regiments. Now it was possible to fight the actual German possessions. Alexander and Andrey invaded the Chudskaya land. Having cut off all the routes that connected the Order and the German bishoprics in the Baltic with Pskov, Alexander captured Pskov with an unexpected blow from the west.88 Now his rear was secured. Returning again to the land of the Estonians, he began to devastate it. However, the Germans had already begun to gather forces. Their troops near the town of Mooste near the river. Luts succeeded in defeating Alexander's advance detachment under the command of Domash Tverdislavich, brother of the Novgorod posadnik, and Dmitrov's governor, Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich Kerbet.59 Domash fell in battle. This defeat forced Alexander Nevsky to retreat to Lake Peipus.

The crusaders and their auxiliary troops began to pursue the RUSSIAN regiments. Alexander deployed his army “on Uzmeni near Vorontei Kameni.”60 The Germans formed their battle formations as a “pig”, led by heavily armed knightly cavalry, and rushed to the Russian regiments. Alexander fortified the flanks of the regiments, and in front of the troops he placed archers who shot at a distance the crusading cavalry.61 However, the Germans managed to break through the line of Russian warriors. The battle took on an extremely stubborn character. In the end, the auxiliary troops of the Crusaders, recruited from the Estonians, could not stand the battle and fled. The nemi also ran after them. The victory on April 5, 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipus of the Russian regiments was complete. In the same year, the Germans sent an embassy to Novgorod, which made peace with Prince Alexander. The order renounced all its conquests of 1240-1241. in the Novgorod land, released the Pskov hostages and exchanged prisoners

The terms of this treaty were effective even in the 15th century. The Order remembered the victory of Alexander Nevsky in the Battle of the Ice for a long time.

The military talent of Alexander, so clearly manifested in the hostilities of 1240-1242, strengthened the authority of the prince in political affairs. In Novgorod, where Alexander Yaroslavich continued to reign, for many years the question of replacing him with another prince was not raised. Alexander himself accurately performed his functions as a military defender of the Novgorod Republic. When in 1245 the Lithuanians unexpectedly attacked the lands of Torzhok and Bezhetsky Verkh that belonged to Novgorod, Alexander, at the head of his squad and the Novgorodians, successfully repelled this raid, and then only with his squad defeated the Lithuanians near Zhizhich and Usvyat.

For the time being, the rule in Novgorod allowed Alexander Nevsky to avoid any contact with the Mongols, who in the summer of 1242 established their power over most of the Russian principalities. However, the close connection with Vladimir Rus, where his father, uncle Svyatoslav, as well as the descendants of the elder Vsevolodovich Konstantin, ruled, made relations with the Horde inevitable. In 1245, Alexander's father, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, went there. The capital of the Mongol Empire was then Karakorum on the river. Orion in Mongolia. Yaroslav made a long journey, lived for some time at the court of the great Khan Guyuk, until one day Guyuk Turakin's mother invited him to her place. She gave him food and drink from her own hands, but after this reception, Yaroslav died. His strangely blue body indicated that he had been poisoned. This happened on September 30, 1246." Yaroslav's relatives had to decide which of them would become the Grand Duke of Vladimir. At the Khan's court in Karakorum, it was believed that the most authoritative (and dangerous for Karakorum) in Russia was Yaroslav's eldest son Alexander. Turakina sent to him his messengers, offering Alexander to come to the khan's court and get his father's land, at the same time hatching secret plans to kill Nevsky, but Alexander, sensing danger, did not go to Guyuk. Yaroslav's brother Svyatoslav became the Grand Duke of Vladimir, who distributed various "principalities" to Yaroslav's children. Alexander received the principality of Tver, which bordered on Novgorod, and remained prince of Novgorod.67 However, Alexander's brothers were dissatisfied with the division made by their uncle. One of the Yaroslavichs, Mikhail Khorobrit, soon drove Svyatoslav off the Vladimir table and took it himself. But he did not stay as the Grand Duke for long: in 1248 he was killed in a clash with the Lithuanians on the river. 68 Another Yaroslavich, Andrei, who was older than Mikhail, was also dissatisfied with the division, but he did not resort to force, but went to Batu in 1247 in order to take the Vladimir table with his support. Such a turn of affairs forced Alexander, who had more rights to his father's legacy than his brothers, to follow Andrei to the Horde. Batu did not independently resolve the issue of the possessions of Andrei and Alexander, but sent them to Karakorum.69 By that time, certain political changes had apparently taken place there. Baty did not get along with Khan Guyuk and his mother Turaniva, he did not go to Karakorum himself and followed with apprehension the decisions of the Great Khanyuk court regarding the Russian ulus. 70 Having apparently detained Andrei and Alexander, who left Russia at different times, Batu let them go to Karakorum, perhaps when Khan Gu-yuk died and Turakina lost power. 71 Thus, Alexander avoided the danger that threatened him in 1246. And still, in Karakoram, he was in for big trouble. There was a very peculiar discussion brothers - Alexander as the elder brother received Kyiv and "the whole Russian land", and Andrei - the Grand Duchy of Vladimir.72 Outwardly, everything was decent. Formally, Alexander received more than his brother, Kyiv was considered a more significant city than Vladimir. But this was the case in pre-Mongolian times. In the 40s. 13th century Kyiv was a settlement of 200 households,73 the “Russian Land”, which was part of the Kiev territory, was also devastated. In addition, before his death, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich reigned not in Kyiv, but in Vladimir, and the eldest son was supposed to receive his father's inheritance. However, in Karakorum they decided differently, apparently fearing the strengthening of the most authoritative prince in North-Eastern Russia. With such a distribution of tables, the position of Andrei Yaroslavich is unclear: whether he himself sought the reign of Vladimir, and then he acted clearly against Alexander, or dutifully followed the decisions of the Mongols. The latter seems more likely

The brothers returned to Russia at the end of 1249. Alexander spent several months in Vladimir. The chronicle reports that when the Uglich prince Vladimir Konstantinovich died in Vladimir in the winter of 1249/1250, he was mourned and escorted from the Golden Gate by “Prince Oleksandr and his brother”. In the same winter, another prince died in Vladimir - Vladimir Vsevolodovich Yaroslavsky. The funeral procession, heading from Vladimir to Yaroslavl, was accompanied by Alexander, Prince Boris of Rostov, his brother, Prince Gleb of Belozersky, and their mother. Vladimir Vsevolodovich died "in memory of St. Theodore",74 i.e. in February 1250. "Stay in Vladimir, the capital city of Andrei Yaroslavich, from the end of 1249 to February 1250 of Alexander Nevsky, his brothers, princes of Uglich, Yaroslavl , Rostov, Belozersky, suggests that when the two elder Yaroslavichs returned from Karakorum1, a congress of Russian princes was convened in Vladimir, at which questions of relations with foreign authorities and the distribution of tables between the princes in the present and future were to be discussed. that no quarrels between the princes ensued, Andrei did not interfere with a sufficiently long stay in his capital of his elder brother, the princes managed to agree on the division of power and their rights.Only after that, in 1250, Alexander returned to reign in Novgorod.75 His reign there continued without any excesses and shocks.Only when it became known in Russia about the ascent in 1251 to the Karakoram table about the great Khan Mengu (Munk), protege of Batu,76 Alexander Nevsky again went to the Horde (1252). The purpose of his trip, apparently, was to obtain the Vladimir Grand Duchy. It is possible that this action was discussed in advance by Alexander with his brothers and other princes during his stay in Vladimir in 1249/1250. After his departure, Andrei and Yaroslav Yaroslavichi raised an uprising against the Mongols, hoping that the change of khan in Karakorum would allow them to get rid of interference Hordes in Russian affairs. According to the chronicle, Grand Duke Andrei of Vladimir and those who supported him did not want to “serve as tsar”,77 i.e. Mengu and Batu. However, their calculations did not materialize. A supporter of Mengu, Batu, sent troops to Russia, led by Nevryuy, who crushed the uprising. Andrei fled to Sweden, Yaroslav remained in Russia.

These events, described in various chronicles with some nuances, gave rise to historians to believe that Alexander Nevsky, having waited until his brother Andrei raised a bold uprising against foreign oppression, treacherously took advantage of the circumstances and achieved in the Horde the right to the Grand Ducal table of Vladimir, sending at the same time to Rus’ Horde punitive expedition under the command of Nevryuy.78 However, the most ancient description of the events of 1252, preserved by the Lavrentiev Chronicle, says that Alexander went to Batu to obtain the rights to the Vladimir grand prince’s table before Andrei’s speech. In this case, Nevsky could act according to the old agreement with the princes about the grand prince's table, especially since his brother Andrei received his father's inheritance from the hands of the khan's power, and not according to the old Russian norms of princely inheritance, bypassing his elder brother. Andrey, after Alexander's departure to the Horde, apparently, opposed the khans, hoping to retain the great reign of Vladimir, but he miscalculated. Even before the return of Nevsky, he fled from Russia. Alexander, sitting on the Vladimir table, forced another troublemaker, brother Yaroslav, to exchange his Pereyaslav principality for his Tver principality. 79 By this action, Alexander further strengthened his position as the Grand Duke.

Although Andrei Yaroslavich found refuge in Sweden, which, having finally conquered the Em-tavasts in 1249, thereby got into very tense relations with Novgorod and Alexander Nevsky, who reigned there, the latter managed not to turn his brother into a sworn enemy, but to make him his ally. Alexander called Andrey to Russia, allocating to him the Suzdal principality from his Grand Duchy of Vladimir.80 In 1257, Andrei, as a sovereign prince, went with Alexander to the Horde to honor Khan Ulag-chi.

In addition to the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, Novgorod still remained under the rule of Alexander Nevsky. True, now Nevsky no longer reigned there himself, but kept his eldest son Vasily as governor. Novgorodians, free to choose princes, were dissatisfied with this circumstance. In 1255, they expelled the young prince from the city, inviting Yaroslav Yaroslavich, who had left his Tver principality, to join them from Pskov. Alexander immediately gathered the regiments and marched with them against Novgorod.

The Novgorodians also decided to fight, but things were resolved amicably. Prince Yaroslav was forced to leave the city, Vasily was returned to the Novgorod table, there was a change of posadnik, people who supported Alexander Nevsky came to rule Novgorod

This connection with the powerful prince helped Novgorod to stop the attempt of the Swedish feudal lords and, apparently, the vogt of Vironia (the region of Northern Estonia, subordinate to the Danish king) Dietrich von Kivel (Didman of the Russian chronicle) to build a stronghold on the eastern bank of the river that belonged to Novgorod. Narova.83 Based here, the Swedes and the Danish feudal lord expected to launch an offensive against Votland and Ingria, that is, the lands of the Vodi and Izhora, which were part of the Novgorod Republic. Having learned about the actions of the Swedes and Didman, the Novgorodians sent ambassadors with a request for military assistance to Vladimir to Alexander Nevsky and began to assemble their own militia. When this became known to the Swedes and von Kivel, they hastily boarded ships and fled across the sea. Alexander brought his regiments to Novgorod, but there were no more opponents. Then the prince undertook a campaign against Koporye, and from there he went to the land conquered by the Swedes 7 years before. Nevsky's campaign against this tribe in 1256, the last military campaign of the commander, took place in harsh winter conditions, but ended successfully.

Upon returning to Vladimir, Alexander Nevsky was forced to go along with other Russian princes to the Volga Horde to honor Khan Ulagchi. At the end of the same 1257, the Grand Duke of Vladimir had to deal with the Mongols once again. Officials from Karakorum arrived in Russia, who, on the orders of the Great Khan, carried out the calculation and taxation of the entire population subject to him. 86 If for the inhabitants of North-Eastern Russia the collection of various taxes and dues by the Mongols became a matter of habit, then for Novgorod such payments were new and unpleasant. When a rumor reached the people of Novgorod that the Mongols would take tamga and tithes from them, the city became terribly excited. On the side of the Novgorodians was the son of Alexander Nevsky, Vasily, who ruled with them. Alexander was forced to help foreigners. His arrival with the clergy in Novgorod in the winter of 1257/1258 ended with the expulsion of his son Vasily from Novgorod and the cruel torture of people who inspired him to oppose the Mongols and his father. Probably, Alexander took over the administration of Novgorod, exercising his power through his own governors. Nevertheless, the prince failed to completely pacify the Novgorodians. When in the winter of 1259/1260 * g. Mongol numerals arrived in Novgorod for the second time, strong unrest began here again, which did not develop into an armed struggle only because of the intervention of Alexander. He managed, apparently, to find some kind of compromise that satisfied the people of Novgorod.

In the early 60s. 13th century The Volga Horde separated from the Mongol Empire, becoming a sovereign state.89 The discord between the Karakorum and Saransk governments was immediately taken advantage of in Russia. In many Russian cities, uprisings took place against the imperial officials who were sitting here. Alexander Nevsky supported these speeches, sending out letters with an appeal to “beat the Totar”. In Sarai, these actions were looked at through their fingers, since it was a matter of liquidating a power structure that had turned into an alien structure. However, having become independent, the Sarai khans began to experience a lack of armed forces. Daoke during the existence of a single Mongol Empire, such a shortcoming was covered by the mobilization of the population subject to the Mongols into the Mongol troops. Sarai Khan Berke followed the beaten path. In 1262, he demanded a military recruitment among the inhabitants of Russia, since there was a threat to his possessions from the Iranian ruler Hulagu-91 Alexander Nevsky was forced to go to the Horde in order to somehow soften the requirements of the khan. Berke detained the Russian prince in the Horde for several months.92 Alexander fell ill there. Already being sick, he went to Russia. Having hardly reached Gorodets on the Volga, the prince realized that he could not reach Vladimir. On the afternoon of November 14, 1263, he took the monastic vows, and by the evening of the same day he died.93 After 9 days, the body of the prince was delivered to the capital city of Vladimir and, with a large gathering of people, was buried in the Nativity Monastery founded by Alexander's grandfather Vsevolod Vsevolod the Big Nest.94

The life of Alexander Nevsky ended early. He was not even forty-three years old. But this life from adolescence was filled with major events, complex diplomatic negotiations, bold campaigns, decisive battles. As a commander, Alexander Nevsky is hardly equal among other princes of medieval Russia. But he was a man of his era, whose character bizarrely combined cruelty to traitors and disobedients with the denial of an exclusive princely struggle and the desire to alleviate the situation of the people conquered by foreign conquerors. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that Alexander, unlike his grandfather, father, siblings, even his own children, never participated in bloody internecine battles. , decided the threat of the use of force, and not force itself. It is quite obvious that this was the conscious policy of Alexander Nevsky, who was well aware that in the conditions of the post-Batiev pogrom of Russian lands and foreign domination, internal wars, even in the event of a complete victory of one of the parties, can only lead to a general weakening of Russia and the destruction of its working and military-capable population . The biographer of Alexander Nevsky, who wrote his Life, who was not only a “self-evident” of the growing up of the prince, but also an eyewitness to at least the consequences of the Mongol conquest, specifically drew attention to the fact that Nevsky, having become the Grand Duke of Vladimir, “I will raise churches, fill cities, people will dissolve -wives go home.”95 Securing the borders, maintaining the integrity of the territory, caring for its population - these are the main features! activities of Prince Alexander in this critical period of Russian history. If we say briefly about Alexander Nevsky, then we must say in the words of a chronicler of the 13th century: “work hard for Novgorod and for the whole Russian land.”96

1 Even in the recently compiled Chronicle of the Life and Work of Alexander Nevsky, where, it would seem, the latest research on the biography of the famous prince should have been taken into account, facts are given! that are not supported by the sources. So, the birth of Alexander Nevsky is attributed to May 30, 1220; the rite of princely tonsure - by 1223, the Spassky Cathedral in Pereyaslavl is indicated as the place of tonsure, although early sources do not contain such facts, but they report that Alexander's father Yaroslav spent almost the entire year 1223 in Novgorod, and without him tonsure is unlikely were possible; in 1238 Alexander was not Prince of Dmitrovsky and Tver; in October 1246, he could not bury his father in Vladimir, because he died on September 30 of that year in Karakorum, from where his body could not be delivered to Vladimir in a month; there is no evidence that Alexander received Pereyaslavl, Zubtsov and Nerekhta in 1247; the second marriage of Alexander Nevsky, referred to in the "Chronicle of Life and Activities" by the autumn of 1252, is clearly unreliable, and it is not explained how Alexander married Daria, the daughter of the Ryazan prince Izyaslav Vladimirovich, who is unknown to the sources and who, if she existed in reality , should have been at least 35 years old (4 years older than her husband), etc. See: Begunov Yu. K - Chronicle of the life and work of Alexander Nevsky. // Prince Alexander Nevsky and his era. SPb., 1995, p. 206-209.

2 About the time of writing two types of the older edition of the Life of Alexander Nevsky, see: Kuchki n V. A. The Mongol-Tatar yoke in the illumination of ancient Russian scribes (XIII - first quarter of the XIV century). // Russian culture in the conditions of foreign invasions and wars. X - the beginning of the XX century. M., 1990, issue. !:, from. 36-39.

3 Beg at the new Yu.K. Monument of Russian literature of the XIII century. "A word about the destruction of the Russian land". M.-L., 1965, p. 160.

4Baumgarten N.A. To the Genealogy of the Grand Dukes of Vladimir, Mother of Alexander Nevsky. // Chronicle of the Historical and Genealogical Society in Moscow. M., 1908, no. 4 (16), p. 21-23.

5 It was accepted, in particular, by such a prominent biography researcher

Alexander Nevsky, as D. T. Pashuto - see: Pasha then V, T. Alexander Nevsky. ZhZL. M., 1974, p. 10.

6 Novgorod first chronicle of the senior and junior editions. Edited and with a preface by A. N. Nasonov. M.-L., 1950 (hereinafter - NPL), p. 61, 66, 78, 79, under 6731, 6736, 6748 and 6752

7 Complete collection of Russian chronicles (hereinafter - PSRL), vol. I, L., 1926-1928, stb. 450, under 6736

8 For more information about the mother of Alexander Nevsky, see: KuchkinV. A. K

biography of Alexander Nevsky. // The most ancient states on the territory of the USSR. 1985. M ., 1986, from. 71-80.

9 PSRL, T. Istb. 470,. "" There, stb. 444.

10 Berezhkov N. G. Chronology of Russian chronicle writing. M., 1963, p. 106.

12 PSRL, vol. XXIV, Ptg., 1921 p. 227. The list was compiled at the end of the 15th century,

13 PSRL, vol. I, stb. 469.

14 Ya nin V. L. Assembly seals of Ancient Russia of the X-XV centuries, vol. II, M., 1970, p. 7-8.

15 NPL, p. 79.

16 For more details about the time of Alexander Nevsky's birth, see: Kuchki and V.A. On the date of Alexander Nevsky's birth. // Questions of History, 1986, No. 2. V.K. Ziborov is also leaning towards the date of May 13 as the birthday of Alexander Nevsky, who, in support of his opinion, pointed out some literary parallels between the Life of Alexander Nevsky and the service to Alexander of Rome. Unfortunately, V.K. Ziborov did not know our note of 1986 about the time of the birth of Alexander Nevsky, See; Ziborov V. K. On a new copy of the seal of Alexander Nevsky. // Prince Alexander Nevsky and his era, p. 149-150.

17 NPL, p. 61.

Prince Alexander Nevsky. Proceedings of scientific and practical conferences in 1989 and 1994. Rep. Ed.: Yu. K. Begunov and A. N. Kirpichnikov. SPb., 1995. 111s. (Administration of the Kolpinsky district of St. Petersburg, Kolpitsa). Contents: Part one. Introductory speech by the head of the administration of the Kolpinsky district V.D. Kolosov (S. 4). Kirpichnikov A.N. Prince Alexander Nevsky. History and Modernity (S. 5–8). Begunov Yu.K. Alexander Nevsky and Russian statehood (S. 8-12). Dubov I.V. The role of the historical and cultural environment in the formation of the personality of Alexander Nevsky (pp. 12–19). Krivosheev Yu.V. Russian princes and khans of the Horde (S. 19–21). Mayorov A.V. Alexander Nevsky and Daniil Galitsky (On the issue of the relationship of Russian princes with the Tatars) (pp. 21–24). Sazanov SV. On the monastic name of Alexander Nevsky (pp. 25–27). Shishkin A.A., Gulyaev Yu.N. Alexander Nevsky and the Golenishchev-Kutuzovs (pp. 27–30). Sorokin P.E. From the history of the wooden churches of Ust-Izhora (pp. 31–33). Toropov G.V. Izhora legend (S. 33–35). Sushko A.M. Alexander Nevsky in the work of Evgeny Orlov (pp. 35–38).

Part two. Alexander Nevsky: personality and deeds. materials scientific and practical conference. Leningrad. December 6, 1989 Martyugov G.M. Memorial of the Neva battle in Ust-Izhora (p. 40). Appeal to compatriots in connection with the 750th anniversary of the Battle of the Neva (pp. 41–42). Begunov Yu.K. Alexander Nevsky and Modernity (pp. 42–48). Kirpichnikov A.N. 750th anniversary of the Neva battle and its historical meaning(S. 48–55). Lebedev G.S. Crusades Swedes to Finland, Ingria and Karelia - the head of the prehistory of St. Petersburg (p. 55–61). Shaskolye cius I. P. Battle on the Neva (on the occasion of the 750th anniversary) (S. 61–69). Ziborov V.K. Monuments of ancient Russian writing - the main source of our knowledge about the era of Alexander Nevsky (p. 69–73). Gumilyov L.N. Alexander Nevsky and Eastern Christianity (pp. 73–78). Degtyarev A.Ya. Can't you change the location of the battle? (S. 78–82). Rozov A.A. Memorial complex "Neva battle" (pp. 83–85). Begunov Yu.K., Sapunov B.V. The history of the relics and cancer of the holy noble Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky (S. 85–90). Applications. Comp. Yu.K. Runners. The Tale of the Battle on the Neva from the Life of Alexander Nevsky, First Edition. 1280s. Reconstruction text. Annalistic story about the battle on the Neva. From the Synodal list of the XIV century of the Novgorod 1st chronicle of the senior version. memory tree. A. Maikov. In Gorodets in 1263. Chronology of the life and work of Alexander Nevsky. Brief bibliography (pp. 91-109).

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“Alexander deployed his army “on Uzmeni at the Raven’s stone”. The Germans built their battle formations as a "pig", at the head of which a heavily armed knightly cavalry moved, and rushed to the Russian regiments. Alexander strengthened the flanks of the regiments, and placed archers in front of the troops, who shot the crusading cavalry at a distance. However, the Germans managed to break through the line of Russian warriors.

The battle took on an extremely stubborn character. In the end, the auxiliary troops of the Crusaders, recruited from the Estonians, could not stand the battle and fled. The Germans ran after them. The victory on April 5, 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipsi of the Russian regiments was complete. In the same year, the Germans sent an embassy to Novgorod, which made peace with Prince Alexander. The order abandoned all its conquests of 1240-1241. in Novgorod land, released the Pskov hostages and exchanged prisoners. The terms of this treaty were valid even in the 15th century. The Order will remember the victory of Alexander Nevsky in the Battle of the Ice for a long time.

“The life of Alexander Nevsky ended early. He was not even forty-three years old. But this life from adolescence was filled with major events, complex diplomatic negotiations, bold campaigns, decisive battles. As a commander, Alexander Nevsky is hardly equal among other princes of medieval Russia. But he was a man of his era, in whose character cruelty to traitors and disobedients was bizarrely combined with the denial of an exclusive princely struggle and the desire to alleviate the situation of the people conquered by foreign conquerors. It should be especially emphasized that Alexander, unlike his grandfather, father, siblings, even his own children, never participated in bloody internecine battles. There were internal conflicts; to solve them, Alexander gathered troops, but it did not come to open actions, the threat of the use of force, and not force itself, decided. It is quite obvious that this was the conscious policy of Alexander Nevsky, who understood perfectly well that in the conditions after Batu's pogrom of Russian lands and foreign domination, internal wars, even in the event of a complete victory of one of the parties, can only lead to a general weakening of Russia and the destruction of its labor and military capacity. population. The biographer of Alexander Nevsky, who wrote his Life, who was not only a “self-evident” of the growing up of the prince, but also an eyewitness to at least the consequences of the Mongol conquest, specifically drew attention to the fact that Nevsky, having become the Grand Duke of Vladimir, “I will raise churches, fill cities, people go to your own houses." Ensuring the borders, maintaining the integrity of the territory, caring for its population - these are the main features of the activities of Prince Alexander in that critical period of Russian history. About Alexander Nevsky briefly, one can say in the words of a chronicler of the 13th century: “work hard for Novgorod and for the whole Russian land.”

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