How tall was Alexander Nevsky? Who is Prince Alexander Nevsky: a short biography. Why is Alexander Nevsky called "Nevsky"
Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword.
This is what the Russian Land has stood for and will stand for.
There are many worthy personalities in Russian history of whom we can be proud, whom we should honor and remember. But there are also those in our history that we should treat with special trepidation. Alexander Nevsky, of course, belongs to such individuals.
Having secured North-Western Rus' from the intervention of the Teutonic Order and the Swedes, he accomplished a Great Deed. If not for these victories, there might not have been such a country as Russia today. Nevsky entered our history as a prince, a warrior who won many important victories; like a skillful politician, beautifully flirting with the horde, thinking primarily about Russian interests.
Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich was born in the city of Pereslavl Suzdal on May 30, 1220. His paternal grandfather is the famous Grand Duke of Vladimir Vsevolod the Big Nest. Yaroslav's father is Theodore. Nevsky was tall, his voice sounded like a trumpet among the people, his face was beautiful, like the biblical Joseph, his strength was part of Samson’s, and his courage was like the Roman Caesar Vespasian. This is what a contemporary and close person spoke about him.
From 1236 to 1240 he reigned in Novgorod, fulfilling the will of his father. A huge responsibility fell on his shoulders: the defense of the Novgorod borders from warlike neighbors who wanted to seize the northwestern regions of Rus'. Several years of fierce struggle for the inviolability of the Novgorod and Pskov borders brought immortal glory to the prince. In 1237, the forces of the Order of the Sword united with the Teutonic Order. In 1239, the prince married Alexandra Bryachislavovna, daughter of the Polotsk prince. After the wedding, the Novgorodians began to strengthen their borders.
A city was built on the Shelon River. And already in 1240 the Swedes struck the first blow, entering the Neva. There was a battle, and the Swedes fled. And the prince wounded Birger himself in the head with a spear. The victory brought Alexander fame and the honorary “Nevsky”. That same summer, the Germans moved to the Pskov lands, took possession of Pskov, and then began to plunder Novgorod villages. The enemy did not receive any resistance, because The prince quarreled with the Novgorodians and went to his father in Suzdal. Sensing great trouble, they sent Bishop Spiridon to Prince Yaroslav with a request to return Alexander.
The father released his son and gave help to the Vladimir army, led by his youngest son, Andrei Yaroslavovich. The brothers returned Pskov. The main clash with the German knights took place on April 5, 1242, where the Russians won. Alexander Nevsky was known as a talented commander and competent politician and diplomat. He skillfully fought off his western neighbors with one hand, and skillfully appeased the Horde with the other. He managed to delay more than one raid by the Tatars - the Mongols.
Alexander Nevsky is canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. The prince died in 1263, during a trip to the Horde. Whether he died a natural death or was poisoned is one of the mysteries of Russian history. On November 14, 1263, Alexander Nevsky accepted the schema (he became a monk) and ended his earthly journey. All Rus' mourned the prince. Metropolitan Kirill said in connection with his death: “The sun of the Russian land has set.” Alexander Nevsky will forever remain in the memory of the Russian people as a fearless warrior and skillful politician.
The task to find information about Alexander Nevsky is also in the textbooks for the lessons The world around us, and in the textbooks on literature for grades 3-4. This message will fit both ways. If you add more pictures, you will get a presentation.
Alexander Nevskiy
Alexander Yaroslavovich was born in Pereslavl-Zalessky in 1221 in the family of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and Princess Feodosia. From the age of four, the child was separated from his mother and given to be raised by princely soldiers. They began to teach the baby military science and literacy. He grew up into an agile, strong young man who loved to read and wrote beautifully.
Already in 1228, young Alexander began to reign in Novgorod with his older brother Fedor under the supervision of the boyars, and in 1236 Alexander reigned independently in Kyiv and Vladimir. The people admired their prince - smart, handsome, tall, with a strong voice that thundered like a trumpet.
In 1240, the Swedes declared war on Novgorod. Their army was led by Birger. Prince Alexander and his army, having prayed in the St. Sophia Cathedral, set out to meet the enemy. On the morning of July 15, 1240, the army of Prince Alexander quietly approached the enemy camp and suddenly attacked the enemies, hitting them with axes and swords. A battle ensued. This battle took place on the Neva River. The Swedes fled, the Novgorodians pursued them. Prince Alexander caught up with Birger and hit him in the face with a spear, leaving scars.
The Russian army returned to Novgorod with victory, and Prince Alexander received an honorary nickname for his name - Nevsky.
Time passed, and enemies from the west again moved towards Novgorod. In 1242, Alexander set out to meet the enemy. The famous battle, known in history as the Battle of the Ice, took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi, near a rock called the Crow Stone. The Russian regiments struck the enemy wedge from the sides and crushed it.
Under the weight of the knight's armor, the ice began to crack and fall through, the defeated knights sank under the water, to the bottom of Lake Peipsi. And again victory over the enemy. The victory in the Battle of the Ice glorified Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky as a great commander of Rus'.
At that time, Rus' was under the rule of the Golden Horde. Russian princes had to confirm their right to reign in the Horde. Batu Khan gave Alexander Kyiv, which had been ravaged by the Mongol-Tatars. The wise reign of Grand Duke Alexander continued, Rus' preserved its faith, its traditions, although it groaned under the Tatar yoke.
In 1263, Alexander again had to visit the Horde. He lived all winter and summer in the Horde. At the same time, Alexander became seriously ill. He returned to Rus' mortally ill. The prince wanted to return home at all costs, but only got as far as Gorodets. There he finally fell ill and felt the approach of death. Before his death, he took monastic vows.
Prince Alexander was buried with honors in the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral. The prince was elevated to the rank of saints. in 1724, the relics of the holy prince Alexander Nevsky, whom the Russian people loved and revered, were transferred from Vladimir to St. Petersburg. The relics were placed in a newly built monastery dedicated to Saint Prince Alexander. Here, in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, in the Trinity Cathedral, at the shrine with holy relics, today you can kneel and pray to the blessed Prince Alexander, our faithful, reliable defender and patron of the Russian land. And ask him for courage, clear mind, strength and humility, so that we too can preserve and beautify Russia.
Alexander Nevskiy -
Grand Duke Vladimir
Years of life 1220–1263
Reigned 1252–1263
Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky born May 13, 1220 in Pereyaslavl 
He spent his childhood in Pereslavl-Zalessky, where his father, Grand Duke Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich of Vladimir, reigned.
mother - Rostislava-Feodosia, daughter Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny, Prince Toropetsky.
Alexander's father - Yaroslav, in Baptism Theodore, "a meek, merciful and philanthropic prince", was the youngest son of Vsevolod III the Big Nest, the brother of the holy noble prince Yuri Vsevolodovich
According to the custom of that time, Alexander was sent to princely teaching early. His mother took care of his spiritual education. Alexander learned to read early and sat over books all day long. He especially loved reading “divine words” and was known to be very pious. The father, in turn, paid great attention to physical development, since the future prince had to not only set an example of piety, but also be able to protect his people.
The princely tonsure of the youth Alexander (the rite of initiation into warriors) was performed on May 10, 1226 in the Transfiguration Cathedral of Pereslavl by Saint Simon, Bishop of Suzdal, one of the compilers of the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon. From the gracious elder-hierarch Alexander received his first blessing for military service in the Name of God, for the defense of the Russian Church and the Russian land.
The young prince's heart beat joyfully when his father, Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, put him on a horse for the first time.
From that day on, he was not supposed to live with his mothers and nannies. He was given to the “uncle”: he was supposed to make a good warrior out of the prince. Military training began with mastering a sword - not yet a real one - made of linden, oak, ash, so that the prince could easily lift it. An axe, a bow and arrow, a spear - the future commander slowly mastered everything. By the age of fifteen, he had become a model of military valor for his comrades, more than once accompanied his father on campaigns and participated in battles along with other warriors. In 1235 he took part in the battle on the river. Emajõgi (in present-day Estonia), where Yaroslav's troops completely defeated the Germans. 
Prince Alexander set out on an independent path in life early. In 1236, his father went to reign in Kyiv, and “plant your son Oleksandr in Novgorod,” who ruled there for five years. 
In the first years of his reign, he had to strengthen Novgorod, since the Mongols-Tatars threatened from the east. Alexander built several fortresses on the Sheloni River.
Two years later, in 1238, Novgorod celebrated the wedding of its young prince, who married Alexandra, daughter of Bryachislav of Polotsk.
The wedding took place in Toropets.
Father, Yaroslav, blessed them at the wedding with the holy miraculous icon Feodorovskaya Mother of God(in Baptism my father’s name was Theodore). This icon was then constantly with Saint Alexander, as his prayer image, and then in 1276, in memory of him, it was taken from the Gorodets Monastery, where he died, by his brother, Vasily Yaroslavich of Kostroma, and transferred to Kostroma.
The prince celebrated two wedding feasts, then called “porridge” - one in Toropets, the other in Novgorod, as if in order to make the Novgorodians participants in his family celebration.
The Crusader knights and especially the Lithuanian princes set their sights on the Polotsk-Minsk principality, which had not been plundered by the Mongol-Tatars. So Alexander received, as a dowry for his bride, the duty to protect his new relatives from enemies and the land. Alexander began building fortifications along the Sheloni River, on the road leading to Novgorod from the west. They renovated the old towns, erected a new fortress, Gorodets, and surrounded it with a ditch, a rampart and a log fence. In the same year, 1239, Alexander posted guards at the confluence of the Neva River and the Gulf of Finland. In those swampy regions lived a pagan tribe of Izhorians, their elder Pelgusius was appointed chief of the guard.
It was the middle of 1240. The most difficult time in the history of Rus' began: the Mongol hordes were coming from the east, destroying everything in their path, and German knightly hordes were advancing from the west, blasphemously calling themselves, with the blessing of the Pope, “crusaders,” bearers of the Holy Cross. Taking advantage of Batu's invasion, the destruction of Russian cities, the confusion and grief of the people, the death of their best sons and leaders, hordes of crusaders invaded the borders of the Fatherland. The Swedes were the first. The Swedes planned to take possession of the Finnish and neighboring Novgorod lands in order, according to the wishes of the pope, to spread the Roman Catholic faith here. The “King of the Roman faith from the Midnight Country,” Sweden, gathered a great army in 1240 and sent it to the Neva on many ships under the command of his son-in-law, Earl (i.e., Prince) Birger. The proud Swede sent messengers to St. Alexander in Novgorod: “If you can, resist, I’m already here and capturing your land.”
In 1240, Swedish ships with a large army under the command of Birger entered the mouth of the Neva and anchored at the confluence of the Izhora River. The Swedes, apparently, expected to go up the Neva, sail across the lake and surprise Ladoga, then go along the Volkhov to Novgorod.
But the Russian prince did not hesitate either.
Alexander, who was not yet 20 years old at the time, prayed for a long time in the Church of Hagia Sophia,
received a blessing from the bishop - Archbishop Spiridon.
Leaving the temple, Alexander went out to the square, where the bell had already collected 
Novgorodians at the meeting.
“God is not in power, but in truth. Some with weapons, others on horses, but we will call on the Name of the Lord our God! Let's go and defeat the enemy!" The boyar council approved the prince's decision to immediately go to the Neva and, while the enemies were in self-confident carelessness, strike at them.
“Alexander had only his small squad and a detachment of Novgorod warriors. The lack of strength had to be compensated for by a sudden attack on the Swedish camp. 
With a small retinue, trusting in the Holy Trinity, the prince hurried towards the enemies - there was no time to wait for help from his father, who did not yet know about the enemy attack. The prince and his retinue moved towards the Neva. Russian troops quickly marched along the Volkhov towards Ladoga. We were replenished with a detachment of Ladoga residents. Then the Izhoran warriors joined. And they made it just in time. The arrogant knights did not even set up posts on the approaches to the camp.
Neither more nor less, but the prince's cavalry raced 150 kilometers. Foot soldiers moved on boats along Ladoga. The Swedes did not expect enemies and settled down calmly; their augers stood near the shore; tents were pitched on the coast. The Swedes, tired of the sea crossing, took a rest. Ordinary warriors rested on ships. The servants set up tents on the shore for the commanders and knights. Knight's horses taken from the ships were walking near the forest. Birger was sure that the Novgorodians would not be able to gather such a force as his. He knew that his native Vladimir principality would not help Alexander, it was itself in a disastrous state. After all, not even three years had passed since the destruction of the principality by the Mongol-Tatars. Birger, feasting in a tent embroidered with gold threads, had no idea that the enemy was hidden by the forest only within an arrow's flight distance. But this is only part of what death has in store for the Swedes. It was not for nothing that Alexander read about the campaigns of another Alexander, the Great, and as a boy he participated in the campaigns of his father’s squad, and listened to the reasonings of the governor before the battle. Secretly, he examined the site of the now imminent battle and, as is typical for outstanding commanders, he immediately saw
weakness of the Swedish position. The weakness was that part of the army was on the shore, and part on the ships: the ships were connected to the steep bank by gangplanks. If the gangplank is knocked down at the initial moment of the battle, the enemy will lose his advantage in numbers. The Novgorodians prepared for the attack.
At about eleven o'clock in the morning on July 15, 1240, the horn sounded, the Novgorodians suddenly appeared in front of the Swedish camp, rushed at the enemies and began to chop them down with axes and swords before they had time to take up weapons. The cavalry detachment jumped out of the forest and rushed along the river, knocking down the gangplank. The Swedes who were on the ships could not come to the aid of those who were on shore. The enemy found himself divided into two parts. 
The squad, led by Alexander himself, dealt the main blow to the Swedes. A fierce battle ensued.
“And there was a great slaughter with the Latins, and he killed countless numbers of them, and he put a seal on the face of the leader himself with his sharp spear”: 
Alexander was in the thick of the fighting. He commanded like a commander and fought like a warrior. Alexander's battle with Birger was like a knight's duel. The prince swung his spear and struck the tall jarl right in the visor. The Swedes barely managed to drag the wounded Birger onto the ship.
The battle ended with the onset of darkness, and the prince took his squad into the forest: he intended to complete the defeat of the invader in the morning. But it turned out that the Swedes reached their ships at night and raised the sails. The enemy fleet headed towards the Gulf of Finland. And those who remained on the shore were dead. They loaded two captured ships with them and set them off with raised sails in pursuit of the living. Not everyone had enough space on the mournful ships. The Novgorodians “tore up the pit, swept them into the nakedness.” The losses in Alexander's army were surprisingly small: about twenty soldiers died. 
The triumph of the Novgorodians was great. Novgorod greeted its defender with the ringing of bells. Usually the name of the city in which he reigned was added to the name of the prince. To the name of Alexander, the people added the name of the river on which a very important victory for all of Rus' was won and they began to call him Alexander Nevsky.
The Battle of the Neva in 1240 prevented the threat of an enemy invasion from the north and prevented Russia from losing the shores of the Gulf of Finland, stopping Swedish aggression on the Novgorod-Pskov lands.
The Novgorodians loved Alexander, but still he could not get along with them for long: he wanted more power and could not stand the veche unrest. Soon after the Neva victory, he left Novgorod for Pereslavl. Meanwhile, Novgorod really needed a prince like Alexander at this time. Great danger threatened the Novgorod region from the Germans.
The Germans captured several Russian cities and set up new ones in the place of Russian settlements. The first they took was the border town of Izborsk. It is only 30 kilometers from Pskov. The Pskovites hastily gathered a militia of five thousand, armed themselves with what they had, and went to rescue their neighbor. Having lost more than half a thousand warriors in the bloody battle without liberating Izborsk, the militia barely made its way back to Pskov. The knights intended to break into the city after the retreating ones. But the guards closed the gates in time. After standing near the city for a week, the knights began to plunder and burn the surrounding area. At the same time, ambassadors of the order acted. Among the traitors to the order there were traitors. They persuaded the townspeople to reconcile with the Germans and let them into the city. So the untaken city ended up in the hands of the enemy. Enemy detachments had already reached the outskirts of Novgorod, stood thirty miles from it, intercepted merchant convoys and caused great damage to Novgorod trade. Then the Novgorodians began to ask Alexander to help them out of trouble; The Bishop of Novgorod himself went to ask Alexander about this. The matter concerned not only Novgorod, but the entire Russian land. Alexander agreed and arrived in Novgorod, where he gathered a squad. 
He immediately began to clear the Novgorod region of enemies, dispersed their detachments, and took Koporye, where the Germans had established themselves. He treated prisoners very mercifully, but mercilessly hanged traitors.
Then he reached Pskov, freed it from the Germans, and sent two German governors of Pskov in chains to Novgorod. 
Grateful residents of Pskov, young and old, poured out into the streets to pay tribute to the great commander for his liberation.
After this, Alexander entered the Chud land, into the domain of the order.
From Pskov to the north lies Pskov Lake, and even further north is Lake Peipus. They are connected by a wide channel. The Crusaders are located to the west of the lakes. Alexander decided to retreat back and build his regiments along the eastern bank of the channel, between the lakes. In those days, they did not fight on rough terrain; they converged on a flat and open place. Here, on the snow-covered ice, the crusaders must accept Alexander's challenge.
The combat formation of German knights is called the “boar’s head”. The entire army is built in the form of a wedge: its tip is knights dressed in armor, their horses are also covered with iron and there are knights on the sides of the wedge, and inside this movable armor is infantry. The wedge - the "boar's head" - moves uncontrollably and menacingly towards the enemy, cuts his formation, passes through the ranks, then splits into pieces and destroys those resisting and fleeing. 
In this way, knights won many victories over the foot troops of different countries. Alexander's army was mostly on foot. The crusaders, having flat terrain under them and infantry as their enemy, would undoubtedly begin the battle in their favorite, proven manner.
It was not difficult for Alexander and his commanders to come to this conclusion; they knew the tactics of the crusaders well. But what can be opposed to such tactics? Bravery alone will not achieve victory.
In the traditional Russian battle formation, the strongest was the middle regiment. The regiment of the left hand and the regiment of the right hand, which are on both sides of the middle one, are weaker. The commanders of the Crusaders know this. And Alexander decided: the middle regiment would consist of militia - townspeople and villagers, armed with spears, axes, and boot knives; experienced warriors, seasoned, well-armed, will stand on the flanks, and horse squads will also be stationed there. 
What will happen thanks to this innovation? The "Boar's Head" will easily break through the middle regiment. The knights will consider that the main job has already been done, but at this time powerful fighters will fall on them from the flanks. The knights will have to fight in unusual conditions.
What can you come up with so that the tip gets stuck behind the middle shelf that it pierced? Behind the middle regiment, Alexander ordered to place a sleigh on which weapons, armor and food were carried. Behind the sleigh, behind this artificial barrier, a shore began, strewn with large boulders - a natural barrier. Between the sleigh, between the stones, you can’t really gallop on a horse weighed down with iron. But a militiaman, dressed in light armor, will act deftly among obstacles; he will immediately gain an advantage over a slow knight. In front of the middle regiment, archers were placed, who were the first to enter the battle.
Thus, Alexander Nevsky prepared victory for his army.
An army of crusading knights in helmets with horns, clawed paws and other intimidations, in white cloaks with black crosses, with long spears pressed to the hip, covered with shields, moved like a battering ram. Iron muzzles placed on horses turned ordinary animals into monsters. In the middle of the wedge, trying to keep up with the horsemen, knightly servants and infantry ran with axes and short swords.
Having brought the “boar’s head” closer to several hundred meters, the Russian archers began to shower it with arrows. Six aimed arrows per minute can
release a good shooter. Under the whistling hail of arrows, the German wedge narrowed somewhat and lost some of its destructive power. But still, his blow to the middle shelf was uncontrollably powerful. The regiment split into two halves - like a birch block under the blow of a cleaver... The Russians called the knightly system less respectfully than the Germans themselves - not a “boar’s head”, but a “pig”. The chronicler wrote: “Running into the regiment of Germans and chud and smashing a pig through the regiment...”
Now, based on the experience of previous battles, the knights had to split the Russian battle formation into pieces and cut those running with swords. But the picture turned out to be different. The militia rolled back behind the baggage sleigh and did not run further. The knights, having jumped out onto the shore from the ice, slowly circled among the stones and sleighs, receiving blows from all sides.
Alexander did not seek a meeting with the leader of the crusaders, as was customary in those days and as he himself did on the Neva, but followed the development of the situation. Now large masses of people were acting against each other. In this battle, more useful than personal example was the timely order of the commander. Alexander gave the sign to the regiments of his right and left hands to enter the battle. Novgorodians, Ladoga residents, Izhorians, Karelians on the one hand, Suzdal residents on the other, fell on the knightly “pig”...
“...The crack of spears breaking and the sound of a sword cutting...” - this is what the chronicler will say about that moment of the battle.
Mounted warriors attacked the enemy from the rear.
The "pig" was surrounded. The knights huddled together, mixed with their infantry bollards, were pulled off their horses with hooks by the Russian warriors, and pierced through the bellies of the horses with knives. A dismounted knight was no longer as formidable as one sitting on a horse.
The spring ice broke under the weight of those fighting, the knights drowned in holes and gaps. “Nemtsi tu fell, and chud dasha splash.” Forced foot soldiers - Estonians "Data Splash" - showed their shoulders and sought salvation in flight. Soon the knights, breaking their vow to be steadfast to the end, began to break out of the ring. Some of the crusaders succeeded. Alexander ordered the pursuit of the fugitives. To the opposite bank of the channel - for many miles - the ice was strewn with the bodies of enemies. 
Many Russian soldiers “shed their blood” on that great day.
But the enemy suffered even greater losses. Half a thousand knights alone were killed. Fifty knights were captured.
Alexander's regiments approached Pskov to the sound of trumpets and tambourines.
Jubilant people poured out of the city to greet the winners. They watched the crusaders being led along beside their horses; a knight walking next to a horse with his head uncovered lost, according to the rules of the order, his knightly dignity.
The Germans learned an amazing lesson. In the summer, ambassadors from the order came to Novgorod and asked Alexander for eternal peace. Peace was concluded. They say that it was then that Alexander uttered words that became prophetic on Russian soil: “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword!” After the peace of 1242, the Livonian knights did not bother Rus' for ten years.
Victory in this battle made Alexander the greatest military leader of his time.
An echo of the Battle of the Ice was the uprising against the crusaders of the Curonian tribe on the Naltian coast; The Lithuanian Grand Duke Mindovg came to their aid with an army of thousands. The Prussians rebelled - also a Pomeranian tribe; They were helped by the army of the Polish prince Svyatopolk. Knights - this time the Teutonic Order were defeated at Lake Reizen. Alexander Nevsky tried to strengthen the northwestern borders of Rus' and sent an embassy to Norway, and as a result of negotiations, the first peace agreement between Russia and Norway was reached in 1251.
Prince Alexander Yaroslavich clearly understood that keeping the northwestern borders of Rus' intact, as well as keeping the access to the Baltic Sea open, was possible only under the condition of peaceful relations with the Golden Horde; Rus' did not have the strength to fight against two powerful enemies at that time. The second half of the life of the famous commander will be glorious not with military victories, but with diplomatic ones, no less necessary than military ones.
In 1243, the khan, the ruler of the western part of the Mongolian state - the Golden Horde, presented the label of the Grand Duke of Vladimir to manage the conquered Russian lands to Alexander's father, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. The Great Khan of the Mongols Guyuk summoned the Grand Duke to his capital Karakorum, where in 1246 Yaroslav died unexpectedly. Then his sons, Alexander and Andrei, were summoned to Korakorum. While the Yaroslavichs were getting to Mongolia, Khan Guyuk himself died, and the new mistress of Karakorum, Khansha Ogul-Gamish, decided to appoint Andrei as Grand Duke, while Alexander received control of the devastated southern Rus' and Kyiv. 
Only in 1249 were the brothers able to return to their homeland. Nevsky did not go to his new possessions, but returned to Novgorod, where he became seriously ill.
Around this time, Pope Innocent IV sent an embassy to Alexander Nevsky with an offer to accept Catholicism, supposedly in exchange for his help in the joint fight against the Mongols. This proposal was rejected by Alexander in the most categorical form.
In 1252, in Karakorum, Ogul-Gamish was overthrown by the new great khan Mongke (Mengke). Taking advantage of this circumstance and deciding to remove Andrei Yaroslavich from the great reign, Batu presented the label of Grand Duke to Alexander Nevsky, who was urgently summoned to the capital of the Golden Horde - Sarai.
From that time on, he had to take on a difficult task. Alexander tried by all means to please the khan and his dignitaries in order to save the Russian land from new troubles.
It was not easy for him to fight off Western enemies before, but brilliant victories, military glory, feelings of popular joy and gratitude were then his reward for his hard military labors. 
Now he had to humiliate himself before the khan, curry favor with his dignitaries, give them gifts in order to save his native land from new troubles; I had to persuade my people not to resist the Tatars and to pay the required tribute. Even sometimes he himself had to, in case of resistance, force his people to comply with the demands of the Tatars.
Of course, Alexander’s heart sank painfully when he had to punish his people for disobedience to the Tatars. Many at that time thought that Alexander did not spare his people, acted together with the Tatars, and were angry with him. Few understood then that dire necessity forced Alexander to act in such a way that, had he acted differently, a new terrible Tatar pogrom would have fallen on the unfortunate Russian land.
In 1256, the new khan (Berke) ordered a second census in Rus'. (the first census was taken under Yaroslav Vsevolodovich.) Tatar enumerators appeared in the lands of Ryazan, Murom and Suzdal, appointing their foremen, centurions, thousanders; All residents, excluding clergy, were enumerated in order to impose a universal tribute. The new khan wished that the census be carried out in Novgorod as well. When news of this reached Novgorod, a rebellion arose here. Novgorod was not, like other Russian cities, conquered by Tatar weapons, and the Novgorodians did not think that they would have to voluntarily pay a shameful tribute. Alexander felt that there was trouble, but could not do anything in favor of Novgorod. He arrived here with Tatar ambassadors who demanded tithes. The Novgorodians flatly refused to pay tribute; However, the Khan's ambassadors were not only not offended, but were even given gifts and sent home with honor. The people were worried. Many were angry with Alexander because he sided with the Tatars. Novgorod Prince Vasily, the son of Alexander, was on the side of the dissatisfied Novgorodians. His situation was difficult; He, like most Novgorodians, did not understand what misfortune could befall those who disobeyed the khan: to take the side of his father, in the opinion of Prince Vasily, meant to betray Novgorod, and it was difficult for him to resist his father. He ended up fleeing to Pskov. This time Alexander became very embittered, expelled his son from Pskov, and severely executed some of the Novgorod boyars, the main instigators of the rebellion. 
The Novgorodians were very worried. In vain did the more prudent people persuade the people to submit to the grave necessity. However, the terrible news that the Khan’s regiments were marching on Novgorod, and the admonitions of some prudent boyars finally had an effect. The excitement subsided. The Tatar enlisted men rode along the Novgorod streets, registered the courtyards and left. Although after this Tatar officials did not come to Novgorod to collect tribute, the Novgorodians had to participate in the payment of tribute to the Tatars - give their share of the tribute to the great princes. Novgorod had just calmed down; turmoil arose in other cities. Tatar collectors collected tribute in the most inhumane way. They took tribute with interest, took away their belongings in case of arrears, and took people from poor families into captivity. Moreover, they treated the people rudely. It became unbearable to endure. In Suzdal, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Vladimir and other cities, the people became agitated, and the tribute collectors were killed. 
The khan became very angry. Hordes were already gathering in the Horde: the Tatars were preparing to terribly punish the rebels. Alexander hurried to the Horde.
Apparently, it was not easy for him to please the khan and his entourage; he had to live winter and summer in the Horde. But he managed to save his native country not only from a new pogrom, but also to obtain an important benefit for it: at the request of Alexander, Khan freed the Russians from the obligation to supply auxiliary troops to the Tatars. It would be hard for the Russians to fight for the Tatars, to shed their blood for their worst enemies!..
Alexander returned from the Horde sick. 
His good health was strained by constant worries and labors. With difficulty, barely able to cope, he continued on his way. He reached Gorodets. Here I finally fell ill.
When he felt the approach of death, he accepted the schema. On the night of November 14, 1263, he passed away.
Soon the sad news of Alexander's death reached the city of Vladimir. Metropolitan Kirill, who was serving mass at that time, turned to the people with tears in his eyes and said:
My dear children, the sun of the Russian land has set!
The people mourned their prince for a long time. The body of the deceased prince was transported to Vladimir. Despite the winter cold, Metropolitan Kirill and the clergy met the body at Bogolyubov, and from here, with candles and censers, all the clergy accompanied him to Vladimir. A huge crowd crowded around the coffin: everyone wanted to kiss. Many cried loudly. On November 23, the body of Alexander Nevsky was buried in the Vladimir Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin. At the end of the 13th century, the “Life of Alexander Nevsky” was compiled, in which he is shown as an ideal warrior prince, defender of the Russian land from enemies.
In the conditions of terrible trials that befell the Russian lands, Alexander Nevsky managed to find the strength to resist the Western conquerors, gaining fame as a great Russian commander, and also laid the foundations for relations with the Golden Horde.
Already in the 1280s, the veneration of Alexander Nevsky as a saint began in Vladimir, and he was later officially canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. Alexander Nevsky was the only Orthodox secular ruler not only in Rus', but throughout Europe.
In 1724, Peter I founded a monastery in St. Petersburg in honor of his great compatriot (now the Alexander Nevsky Lavra)
and ordered the remains of the prince to be transported there.
He also decided to celebrate the memory of Alexander Nevsky on the day of the conclusion of the victorious Peace of Nystadt with Sweden.
On May 21, 1725, Empress Catherine I established the Order of Alexander Nevsky - one of the highest awards in Russia that existed before 1917.
During the Great Patriotic War, on July 29, 1942, the Soviet Order of Alexander Nevsky was established, which was awarded to commanders from platoons to divisions inclusive, who showed personal courage and ensured the successful actions of their units.
By decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 7, 2010, the Order of Alexander Nevsky was established
Streets, alleys, squares, etc. are named after Alexander Nevsky. Orthodox churches are dedicated to him, he is the patron saint of St. Petersburg.
People are legends. Middle Ages
Alexander was born in November 1220 (according to another version, May 30, 1220) in the family of Prince Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich and the Ryazan princess Feodosia Igorevna.
P. D. Korin "Alexander Nevsky" (1942)
The family of Alexander and the beginning of his reign
Grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest. The first information about Alexander dates back to 1228, when Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who reigned in Novgorod, came into conflict with the townspeople and was forced to leave for Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, his ancestral inheritance.
Despite his departure, he left his two young sons Fyodor and Alexander in Novgorod in the care of trusted boyars. After the death of Fedor in 1233, Alexander became the eldest son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich.
Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich, father of Alexander
In 1236 he was put in charge of Novgorod, since his father Yaroslav went to reign in Kyiv, and in 1239 he married the Polotsk princess Alexandra Bryachislavna. In the first years of his reign, he had to strengthen Novgorod, since the Tatar Mongols threatened from the east. Another closer and more serious danger arose before the young prince from the Swedes, Livonians and Lithuania. The struggle with the Livonians and the Swedes was, at the same time, a struggle between the Orthodox East and the Catholic West. In 1237, the disparate forces of the Livonians - the Teutonic Order and the Swordsmen - united against the Russians. On the Sheloni River, Alexander built several fortresses to strengthen his western border.
Victory on the Neva
In 1240, the Swedes, prompted by papal messages, undertook a crusade against Rus'. Novgorod was left to its own devices. Rus', defeated by the Tatars, could not provide him with any support. Confident of his victory, the leader of the Swedes, Earl Birger, entered the Neva on ships and sent from here to tell Alexander: “If you can, resist, but know that I am already here and will capture your land.” Along the Neva, Birger wanted to sail to Lake Ladoga, occupy Ladoga and from here along the Volkhov to Novgorod. But Alexander, without hesitating a day, set out to meet the Swedes with the Novgorodians and Ladoga residents. Russian troops secretly approached the mouth of Izhora, where the enemies stopped to rest, and on July 15 they suddenly attacked them. Birger did not expect the enemy and positioned his squad calmly: the boats stood near the shore, tents were pitched next to them.
The Novgorodians, suddenly appearing in front of the Swedish camp, attacked the Swedes and began to chop them down with axes and swords before they could take up arms. Alexander personally participated in the battle, “put a seal on the face of the king himself with your sharp spear.” The Swedes fled to the ships and that same night they all sailed down the river.
"The fight between Alexander Nevsky and Jarl Birger" (painting by N.K. Roerich)
This victory brought universal glory to the young prince, which he won on the banks of the Neva, at the mouth of the Izhora River on July 15, 1240 over a Swedish detachment commanded by the future ruler of Sweden and founder of Stockholm, Jarl Birger (however, in the Swedish Chronicle of Eric of the 14th century about the life of Birger, this campaign not mentioned at all). It is believed that it was for this victory that the prince began to be called Nevsky, but for the first time this nickname appears in sources only from the 14th century. Since it is known that some of the prince’s descendants also bore the nickname Nevsky, it is possible that in this way possessions in this area were assigned to them. The impression of the victory was all the stronger because it occurred during a difficult time of adversity in the rest of Rus'. It is traditionally believed that the battle of 1240 prevented Russia from losing the shores of the Gulf of Finland and stopped Swedish aggression on the Novgorod-Pskov lands.
Upon returning from the banks of the Neva, due to another conflict, Alexander was forced to leave Novgorod and go to Pereyaslavl-Zalessky.
War of Novgorod with the Livonian Order
Novgorod was left without a prince. Meanwhile, the German knights took Izborsk and a threat from the west loomed over Novgorod. The Pskov troops came out to meet them and were defeated, they lost their governor Gavrila Gorislavich, and the Germans, following in the footsteps of those fleeing, approached Pskov, burned the surrounding towns and villages and stood near the city for a whole week. The Pskovites were forced to fulfill their demands and gave their children hostages. According to the chronicler, a certain Tverdilo Ivanovich began to rule in Pskov together with the Germans, and he brought enemies. The Germans did not stop there. The Livonian Order, having gathered the German crusaders of the Baltic states, the Danish knights from Revel, enlisting the support of the papal curia and some long-time rivals of the Novgorodians, the Pskovs, invaded the Novgorod lands. Together with the miracle, they attacked the Votskaya land and conquered it, imposed tribute on the inhabitants and, intending to stay in the Novgorod lands for a long time, built a fortress in Koporye and took the city of Tesov. They collected all the horses and cattle from the residents, as a result of which the villagers had nothing to plow with, plundered the lands along the Luga River and began to rob Novgorod merchants 30 versts from Novgorod.
An embassy was sent from Novgorod to Yaroslav Vsevolodovich asking for help. He sent an armed detachment to Novgorod led by his son Andrei Yaroslavich, who was soon replaced by Alexander. Arriving in Novgorod in 1241, Alexander immediately moved against the enemy to Koporye and took the fortress. He brought the captured German garrison to Novgorod, released some of it, and hanged the traitorous leaders and Chud. But it was impossible to liberate Pskov so quickly. Alexander took it only in 1242. About 70 Novgorod knights and many ordinary soldiers died during the assault. According to the German chronicler, six thousand Livonian knights were captured and tortured.
Inspired by their successes, the Novgorodians invaded the territory of the Livonian Order and began to destroy the settlements of the Estonians, tributaries of the crusaders. The knights who left Riga destroyed the advanced Russian regiment of Domash Tverdislavich, forcing Alexander to withdraw his troops to the border of the Livonian Order, which ran along Lake Peipsi. Both sides began to prepare for the decisive battle.
It happened on the ice of Lake Peipsi, near the Crow Stone on April 5, 1242. At sunrise, the famous battle began, known in our chronicles as the Battle of the Ice. The German knights lined up in a wedge, or rather, in a narrow and very deep column, the task of which was to launch a massive attack on the center of the Novgorod army.
Attack of the German knights
The Russian army was built according to the classical scheme, developed by Svyatoslav. The center is a foot regiment with archers pushed forward, and cavalry is on the flanks. The Novgorod Chronicle and the German chronicle unanimously claim that the wedge broke through the Russian center, but at that time the Russian cavalry struck the flanks, and the knights were surrounded. As the chronicler writes, there was a vicious slaughter, the ice on the lake was no longer visible, everything was covered in blood. The Russians drove the Germans across the ice to the shore for seven miles, destroying more than 500 knights, and countless miracles; more than 50 knights were captured. “The Germans,” says the chronicler, “boasted: we will take Prince Alexander with our hands, but now God has given them themselves into his hands.” The German knights were defeated. The Livonian Order was faced with the need to conclude a peace, according to which the crusaders renounced their claims to Russian lands, prisoners on both sides were exchanged.
In the summer of the same year, Alexander defeated seven Lithuanian detachments attacking the northwestern Russian lands, in 1245 he recaptured Toropets, captured by Lithuania, destroyed a Lithuanian detachment near Lake Zhitsa and, finally, defeated the Lithuanian militia near Usvyat. With a series of victories in 1242 and 1245, he, according to the chronicler, instilled such fear in the Lithuanians that they began to “fear his name.” Alexander's six-year victorious defense of northern Rus' led to the fact that the Germans, according to a peace treaty, abandoned all recent conquests and ceded part of Latgale to Novgorod.
Alexander and the Mongols
The successful military actions of Alexander Nevsky ensured the security of the western borders of Rus' for a long time, but in the east the Russian princes had to bow their heads before a much stronger enemy - the Mongol-Tatars. Given the small number and fragmentation of the Russian population in the eastern lands at that time, it was impossible to even think about liberation from their power.
In 1243, Batu Khan, the ruler of the western part of the Mongolian state - the Golden Horde, presented the label of the Grand Duke of Vladimir to manage the conquered Russian lands to Alexander's father, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. The Great Khan of the Mongols, Guyuk, summoned the Grand Duke to his capital, Karakorum, where on September 30, 1246, Yaroslav unexpectedly died (according to the generally accepted version, he was poisoned). After Yaroslav, seniority and the Vladimir throne were inherited by his brother, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, who established his nephews, the sons of Yaroslav, on the lands given to them by the late Grand Duke. Until this time, Alexander managed to avoid contact with the Mongols. But in 1247, the sons of Yaroslav, Alexander and Andrey, were summoned to Karakorum. While the Yaroslavichs were getting to Mongolia, Khan Guyuk himself died, and the new mistress of Karakorum, Khansha Ogul-Gamish, decided to appoint Andrei as Grand Duke, while Alexander received control of the devastated southern Rus' and Kyiv.
Monument to Alexander Nevsky in his homeland in Pereslavl-Zalessky
Only in 1249 were the brothers able to return to their homeland. Alexander did not go to his new possessions, but returned to Novgorod, where he became seriously ill. There is news that Pope Innocent IV in 1251 sent two cardinals to Alexander with a bull written in 1248. The Pope, promising help to the Livonians in the fight against the Tatars, convinced Alexander to follow the example of his father, who allegedly agreed to submit to the Roman throne, and accept Catholicism. According to the chronicler's story, Alexander, after consulting with wise people, outlined the entire sacred history and in conclusion said: “We have learned everything that is good, but we do not accept teachings from you.” In 1256, the Swedes tried to take the Finnish coast from Novgorod by starting to build a fortress on the Narva River, but at one rumor about the approach of Alexander with the Suzdal and Novgorod regiments, they fled back. To frighten them even more, Alexander, despite the extreme difficulties of the winter campaign, penetrated Finland and conquered the seaside.
In 1252, in Karakorum, Ogul-Gamish was overthrown by the new great khan Mongke (Menge). Taking advantage of this circumstance and deciding to remove Andrei Yaroslavich from the great reign, Batu presented the label of Grand Duke to Alexander Nevsky, who was urgently summoned to the capital of the Golden Horde, Sarai. But Alexander's younger brother, Andrei Yaroslavich, supported by his brother Yaroslav, the Tver prince, and Daniil Romanovich, the Galician prince, refused to submit to Batu's decision.
To punish the disobedient princes, Batu sends a Mongol detachment under the command of Nevryuy (the so-called “Nevryuyev’s army”), as a result of which Andrei and Yaroslav fled beyond the borders of North-Eastern Rus' to Sweden. Alexander began to rule in Vladimir. After some time, Andrei returned to Rus' and made peace with his brother, who reconciled him with the khan and gave him Suzdal as an inheritance.
Later, in 1253, Yaroslav Yaroslavovich was invited to reign in Pskov, and in 1255 - in Novgorod. Moreover, the Novgorodians kicked out their former prince Vasily, the son of Alexander Nevsky. But Alexander, having again imprisoned Vasily in Novgorod, cruelly punished the warriors who failed to protect the rights of his son - they were blinded.
Batu died in 1255. His son Sartak, who was on very friendly terms with Alexander, was killed. The new Golden Horde ruler, Khan Berke (from 1255), introduced in Rus' a common tribute system for the conquered lands. In 1257, “counters” were sent to Novgorod, like other Russian cities, to conduct a per capita census. News came to Novgorod that the Mongols, with the consent of Alexander, wanted to impose tribute on their free city. This caused indignation among the Novgorodians, who were supported by Prince Vasily. An uprising began in Novgorod, lasting about a year and a half, during which the Novgorodians did not submit to the Mongols. Alexander personally restored order by executing the most active participants in the unrest. Vasily Alexandrovich was captured and taken into custody. Novgorod was broken and obeyed the order to send tribute to the Golden Horde. Since then, Novgorod, although it no longer saw Mongol officials, participated in the payment of tribute delivered to the Horde from all over Rus'. From 1259, Prince Dmitry, also the son of Alexander, became the new governor of Novgorod.
Cathedral in the capital of Bulgaria - Sofia, named after Alexander Nevsky
In 1262, unrest broke out on the Vladimir land. The people were driven out of patience by the violence of the Mongol tribute farmers, who were then mainly Khivan merchants. The method of collecting tribute was very cumbersome. In case of underpayment, tax farmers charged large percentages, and if it was impossible to pay, people were taken into captivity. In Rostov, Vladimir, Suzdal, Pereyaslavl and Yaroslavl, popular uprisings arose, tax farmers were kicked out from everywhere. In addition, in Yaroslavl they killed the tax farmer Izosima, who converted to Islam to please the Mongol Baskaks and oppressed his fellow citizens worse than the conquerors.
Berke was angry and began to gather troops for a new campaign against Rus'. To appease Khan Berke, Alexander Nevsky personally went with gifts to the Horde. Alexander managed to dissuade the khan from going on a campaign. Berke forgave the beating of tax farmers, and also freed the Russians from the obligation to send their contingents to the Mongol army. The Khan kept the prince near him all winter and summer; Only in the fall did Alexander get the opportunity to return to Vladimir, but on the way he fell ill and died on November 14, 1263 in Gorodets Volzhsky, “having worked a lot for the Russian land, for Novgorod and for Pskov, for the entire great reign, giving his life for the Orthodox faith.” His body was buried in the Vladimir Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin.
Canonization of Alexander Nevsky
In the conditions of terrible trials that befell the Russian lands, Alexander Nevsky managed to find the strength to resist the Western conquerors, gaining fame as a great Russian commander, and also laid the foundations for relations with the Golden Horde. In the conditions of the devastation of Rus' by the Mongol-Tatars, he, through skillful policies, weakened the burdens of the yoke and saved Rus' from complete destruction. “The preservation of the Russian land,” says Solovyov, “from trouble in the east, famous exploits for faith and land in the west gave Alexander a glorious memory in Rus' and made him the most prominent historical figure in ancient history from Monomakh to Donskoy.”
Saint Alexander Nevsky (icon)
Already in the 1280s, the veneration of Alexander Nevsky as a saint began in Vladimir, and he was later officially canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. Alexander Nevsky was the only Orthodox secular ruler not only in Rus', but throughout Europe, who did not compromise with the Catholic Church in order to maintain power. With the participation of his son Dmitry Alexandrovich and Metropolitan Kirill, a hagiographical story was written, which became widespread and later became widely known (15 editions have survived).
In 1724, Peter I founded a monastery in St. Petersburg in honor of his great compatriot (now the Alexander Nevsky Lavra) and ordered the remains of the prince to be transported there. He also decided to celebrate the memory of Alexander Nevsky on August 30, the day of the conclusion of the victorious Peace of Nystad with Sweden. In 1725, Empress Catherine I established the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. It is made of gold, silver, diamonds, ruby glass and enamel. The total weight of the 394 diamonds is 97.78 carats. The Order of Alexander Nevsky is one of the highest awards in Russia that existed before 1917.
Order of Alexander Nevsky, established by Catherine II
During the Great Patriotic War in 1942, the Soviet Order of Alexander Nevsky was established, which was awarded to commanders from platoons to divisions inclusive, who showed personal courage and ensured the successful actions of their units. Until the end of the war, 40,217 officers of the Soviet Army were awarded this order.
Preventive war - suicide due to fear of death
Otto von Bismarck
The holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky won fame for himself during his lifetime. Legends were made about him, he was feared by his enemies and revered by his compatriots. After his death, the name of Alexander Nevsky entered Russian history as an outstanding commander who, with the sword and fortitude, preserved Orthodoxy and the identity of the Russian people on Russian soil. Thanks to the Grand Duke, the Slavic people began to unite in order, following the example of Alexander Nevsky, to fight the threat in the West and resist the mighty Horde.
In the article we will dwell in detail on the main deeds of the holy prince, thanks to which he was canonized (in 1547) and is still considered by Russians to be one of the greatest people of our Motherland in its entire history. There are 4 such events:
This happened when Prince Alexander was only 13 years old. By today's standards, he is just a child, but already at this age Alexander, together with his father, was already fighting against the German knights. In those days, incited by the Pope, Western European knights carried out crusade raids officially to convert the “infidels” to Catholicism, but in reality to plunder the local population and seize new territories.
Russian cities (Pskov, Novgorod, Izborsk) were the target of the German order for a long time, because trade and architecture were developed here. The knights are not averse to making money: selling someone into slavery, robbing someone. To protect Russian lands, Prince Yaroslav calls on the people to stand with him in defense of the Motherland. Watching the progress of the battle, young Alexander, along with adults, fights with enemies, while simultaneously analyzing the behavior of troops and defense tactics. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich bets on a protracted battle, and wins the battle. Tired knights are finished off with flank attacks, others run to the river, but the thin ice cannot withstand the heavy knights, cracks, and the knights in their armor go under the water. The Novgorodians win a victory, which went down in history under the name “Battle of Omovzha.” Alexander learned a lot in this battle and later used the tactics of the Battle of Omovzha many times.
Battle of the Neva (1240) for the prince
In July 1240, Swedish Vikings approached the confluence of the Izhora and Neva rivers in their boats and set up camp. They arrived to attack Novgorod and Ladoga. According to the chronicles, about 5 thousand Swedish invaders arrived, but Alexander managed to gather only 1.5 thousand warriors. There was no longer any time to delay. While the Swedes are in the dark and are just preparing for an attack, it was necessary to get ahead of them by unexpectedly attacking their place of deployment.
Alexander and his small retinue settled in the forest not far from the Swedes. Even the Swedes had no sentries, and the Vikings themselves were busy setting up the camp. Alexander, after carefully studying the location of the enemies, decided to divide the army into three parts: the first was to move along the coast, the second - the cavalry, led by Alexander himself, should advance in the center of the camp, and the third - the archers, remained in ambush to block the path of the retreating Swedes.
The morning attack of the Novgorodians was a complete surprise for the Swedes. Novgorod resident Mishka managed to approach the tent where the command was seated unnoticed and sawed off the leg. The tent fell along with the generals, which caused even greater panic among the Swedes. When the Varangians rushed to their augers, they saw that they were already occupied by the Novgorodians. The path was completely cut off when the archers entered the battle.
The Novgorod Chronicle speaks of huge losses in the Swedish camp and only 20 people were killed in the Russian regiment. From that time on, Alexander began to be called Nevsky in honor of the river where he won his first significant victory. His fame and influence in Novgorod increased, which was not very to the taste of the local boyars, and young Alexander soon left Novgorod and returned to his father in Vladimir. But he doesn’t stay there for long either, and moves to Pereslavl. However, already in the next 1241, Alexander received news from the Novgorodians that the enemies had again approached their native lands. The Novgorodians called on Alexander.
Battle of Lake Peipsi - Battle of the Ice - 1242
German knights managed to capture a number of Russian lands and settle there, erecting characteristic knightly fortifications. To liberate Russian cities, Prince Alexander Nevsky decided to unite the people and strike the invaders with a single force. He calls on all Slavs to stand under his banner to fight the Germans. And they heard him. Militia and warriors flocked from all cities, ready to sacrifice themselves to save their homeland. In total, up to 10 thousand people united under the banner of Alexander.
Kaporye is a city that has just begun to be settled by the Germans. It was located a little further from the rest of the captured Russian cities, and Alexander decided to start with it. On the way to Kaporye, the prince orders the capture of all those encountered, so as to be sure that no one will be able to inform the knights about the approach of the princely army. Having reached the walls of the city, Alexander knocks down the gates with multi-pound logs and enters Kaporye, which surrenders without a fight. When Alexander approached Pskov, the residents themselves, inspired by Alexander’s victories, opened the gates for him. The Germans are gathering their best forces for the battle.
The Battle of Lake Peipsi will go down in history as the Battle of the Ice. Alexander Nevsky, pondering the battle strategy, placed numerous militias in the center who were not very proficient in battle tactics. The main army was positioned in front of a steep bank, behind which stood carts fastened together with chains. On the flanks were the Novgorod regiments - the strongest of the entire ten-thousand-strong Russian army. And behind a rock that stuck out of the water, Alexander hid an ambush regiment. The holy prince arranged his people in such a way as to lure the knights into the “cauldron”, understanding that, having first defeated the weak militias, even if numerous, the already tired Germans would go out to the best Russian regiment and carts, and given the weight of the knight in armor, then they will have practically no chance to get over the cart.
On April 5, 1242, the German knights fully “justified” Alexander’s calculations. The Germans advanced in a “wedge” and, having defeated the militia, went straight to the advanced detachments of Nevsky. Finding themselves in a vice, on the one hand, there were carts, over which the horses could not jump, having such weight on them in the form of a knight in armor, and on the other, Alexander’s warriors and the Novgorodians from the flanks. The knights, who wielded a spear, always hit the enemy directly, did not expect an attack from the flanks. It was not possible to turn 90 degrees with the horse thanks to the vice from the carts where the German knights ended up. The ambush regiment completed the defeat of the German knights. The Germans rushed in all directions along the thin ice of Lake Peipsi. Thin ice cracked, carrying heavy German knights under the water, just as it once carried away their ancestors on Omovzha.
It was a brilliant strategy of the young Russian commander. The Germans learned a lesson that made them forget the road to Russia for a long time. 50 prisoners of war walked bareheaded through the streets of Russian cities. For medieval knights this was considered the worst humiliation. The name of Alexander Nevsky thundered throughout Europe as the best commander of the Northern lands.
Relations with the Golden Horde
In the Middle Ages, for the Russian lands, the Horde was a real punishment. A strong state with extensive trade and a mobile army. The Russian principalities could only envy the cohesion of the Mongol-Tatars. Scattered Russian cities and principalities only paid tribute to the Horde, but could not resist it. Alexander was no exception. Even after all the brilliant battles, going against the Horde, as the Prince of Chernigov did, means signing a death sentence for yourself and your people. After the death of his father Yaroslav, who, by the way, died while “visiting” the khan, Alexander also went to Batu receive a label for the khan's service. Enlisting the support of the Horde was for the Russian princes like a ritual that was tantamount to coronation to the throne.
Could Alexander have acted differently?! Probably could. Western European powers, led by the Pope, more than once offered their assistance in the fight against the Horde in exchange for the adoption of Catholicism, but Alexander refused. The prince preferred to pay tribute to the Horde rather than betray the faith of his ancestors. The Horde treated the Gentiles quite tolerably, the main thing was that the dues regularly entered the treasury. So Alexander chose the least evil, as he believed.
In 1248, Prince Alexander Nevsky received a label for Kyiv and the entire Russian land. A little later, Vladimir also moved to Nevsky. While Rus' regularly paid tribute to Batu, the Mongol-Tatars did not attack. Accustomed to living in peace, the Russian people forgot about the Horde threat. In 1262, the Tatar ambassadors who arrived for tribute in Pereslavl, Rostov, Suzdal and other cities were killed. To calm the conflict, the prince is forced to go to the khan. In the Horde, the prince fell ill on the way home; 41-year-old Alexander died.
300 years later, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Alexander Nevsky.