Encyclopedia
Saint
Alexander Nevsky listen was the Grand Prince of
Novgorod and
Vladimir during some of the most trying times in the country's history. Commonly regarded as the key figure of medieval
Russia, Alexander was the grandson of
Vsevolod the Big Nest and rose to legendary status on account of his military victories over the Western aggressors against the background of shrewd conciliatory policies towards the powerful
Golden Horde.
Great victories
Born in
Pereslavl-Zalessky, Alexander was the fourth son of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and seemed to have no chance of claiming the throne of
Vladimir. In 1236, however, he was summoned by the Novgorodians to become kniaz' of
Novgorod and, as their military leader, to defend their northwest lands from
Swedish and
German invaders. After the Swedish army had landed at the confluence of rivers Izhora and
Neva, Alexander and his small army suddenly attacked the
Swedes on July 15, 1240 and defeated them.
The Neva battle of 1240 saved Russia from a full-scale enemy
invasion from the North. As a result of this battle, 19-year-old Alexander was given the name of “Nevsky” . This victory, coming just a year after the disastrous Mongol invasion of Russia, strengthened Nevsky’s political influence, but at the same time it worsened his relations with the
boyars. He would soon have to leave Novgorod because of this conflict.
After Russia had been invaded by the crusading
Teutonic Knights, the
Novgorod authorities sent for Alexander. In spring of 1241 he returned from his exile, gathered an army, and drove out the invaders. Alexander and his men stood up against the Teutonic cavalry led by the Magister of the Order, Hermann, brother of Albert of Buxhoeveden. Nevsky faced the enemy on the ice of the
Chudskoye Lake and crushed the Teutonic Knights during the
Battle on Lake Peipus on April 5, 1242. German attempts to invade Russia were effectively stopped for many centuries to come.
Alexander’s victory was a significant event in the history of the
Middle Ages. Russian foot soldiers had surrounded and defeated an army of
knights, mounted on horseback and clad in thick
armor, long before they learned how foot soldiers could prevail over mounted knights in
Western Europe. Nevsky's great victory against the
Teutonic Order apparently involved only a few knights killed rather than hundreds claimed by the Russian
chroniclers; decisive medieval and early modern battles were won and lost with forces small to modern eyes. The cultural value of the victory greatly outshone its strategic value, at the time and since.
Politician
After the Teutonic invasion, Nevsky continued to strengthen Russia’s Northwest. He sent his envoys to
Norway and, as a result, they signed a first peace treaty between Russia and Norway in 1251. Alexander led his army to
Finland and successfully routed the Swedes, who had made another attempt to block the
Baltic Sea from the Russians in 1256.
Nevsky proved to be a cautious and far-sighted politician. He dismissed the
Papal curia’s attempts to cause war between Russia and the
Golden Horde, because he understood the uselessness of such war with
Tatars at that time since they were still a powerful force. Historians seem to be unsure about Alexander’s behavior when it came to his relations with
Mongols. He may have understood that
Catholicism presented a more tangible threat to Russian national identity than paying a tribute to the
Khan, who had little interest in Russian religion and culture. It could also be argued that he intentionally kept Russia as a vassal to the Mongols in order to preserve his own status and count on the befriended Horde in case someone challenged his authority . Nevsky tried to strengthen his authority at the expense of the boyars and at the same time suppress any anti-
feudal uprisings in the country .
According to the most plausible version, Alexander’s intentions were to prevent Russia from ruinous invasions of the Mongol army. He is known to have gone to the Horde himself and achieved success in exempting Russians from fighting beside the Tatar army in its wars with other peoples.
Alexander's legacy
Thanks to his friendship with the Grand Khan, Alexander was installed as the Grand Prince of
Vladimir in 1252. A decade later, Alexander died in a town of Gorodets-on-the-
Volga on his way back from Sarai, the capital of the
Golden Horde. He was buried in Vladimir and canonized by the
Russian Orthodox Church in 1547.
In the late 13th century, a
chronicle was compiled called
Alexander Nevsky’s Life , in which he is depicted as an ideal prince-soldier and defender of Russia. By order of
Peter the Great, Nevsky’s remains were transported to the
Alexander Nevsky Monastery in
St. Petersburg where they remain to this day. On May 21, 1725, the empress
Catherine I introduced the
Order of Alexander Nevsky as one of the highest military decorations. During the
Great Patriotic War the
Soviet Order of Alexander Nevsky was introduced to revive the memory of Alexander's struggle with the Germans.
Sergei Eisenstein made one of his most acclaimed films,
Alexander Nevsky, on Alexander's victory over the Teutonic Knights. Music for the film was written by
Sergei Prokofiev, who also reworked the score into a concert cantata. Alexander's phrase from the movie, "Whoever will come to us with a sword, from a sword will perish," has become a slogan of Russian patriots. A nuclear ballistic missile
Borei class submarine currently being built for the
Russian Navy bears his name.
See also
- Alexander Nevsky Cathedral — an incomplete listing of Eastern Orthodox cathedrals which bear his name
- Famous military commanders
