According to the most common version, Alexander Nevsky was born on May 13, 1221 in the family of Prince Pereslavl-Zalessky Yaroslav Vsevolodovich - the future Grand Duke of Kiev and Vladimir.

Alexander was the great-grandson of the founder of Moscow, Yuri Dolgoruky, and the great-great-grandson of one of the most prominent rulers of the Old Russian state, Vladimir Monomakh.

Alexander lived at a time when Russia - once a powerful state that previously controlled vast territories between the White and Black Seas - was in a state of feudal fragmentation.

The neighbors took advantage of the weakness of Russia: European states, knightly orders and the Baltic tribal unions tried to expand their territories at the expense of Russian lands.

The fate of Alexander from childhood was connected with Novgorod, in which his father ruled simultaneously with his reign in Pereslavl-Zalessky.

In 1228, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, going on a military campaign, left Alexander with his older brother Fyodor in Novgorod as rulers during his absence.

In 1236, Yaroslav became the Grand Duke and went first to Kiev and then to Vladimir.

By that time, Fyodor Yaroslavovich had died, and the young Prince Alexander had to learn to govern Novgorod on his own.

The young prince did an excellent job with the responsibility entrusted to him: he began to build a complex of fortifications near Novgorod, and also decided on a dynastic marriage with the daughter of the Polotsk prince Bryachislav.

As Mikhail Myagkov, scientific director of the Russian Military Historical Society, noted in an interview with RT, at the end of the 1230s, the foreign policy position of the Russian lands was critical.

“The Horde moved from the east to Russia, and the European onslaught intensified from the west.

In this situation, Russia had to make a difficult but necessary choice: to decide with whom to make peace on difficult conditions, and who to fight back, ”the expert emphasized.

Historians are still arguing whether the onslaught from the European states and orders of chivalry to Russia was a coordinated policy or a private initiative of Western monarchs and legates, who hoped against the background of the Horde invasion and fragmentation for an easy victory over the Russians, but in any case, the consequences of their actions could to be fatal for Russia.

  • © B. Chorikov "Victory of Alexander Nevsky over the Swedes"

“The policy of an attack to the east, pursued by the knightly orders, presupposed the forcible catholicization and even extermination of entire ethnic groups.

So, for example, the numerous people of the Prussians disappeared, "Yevgeny Spitsyn, adviser to the rector of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, told RT.

According to Mikhail Myagkov, although the Horde took tribute, at the initial stage it practically did not interfere in spiritual affairs and issues of internal management.

Therefore, Alexander focused on the fight against aggression from European states and orders of chivalry.

“The most famous battles - on the Neva and on Lake Peipsi - were extraordinary events.

It is clear that the scale of these invasions was incomparable with the Mongol invasion, but nevertheless they were a dangerous attempt to seize Novgorod territories, ”said Anton Gorsky, head of the Center for Source Study of Russian History at the IRI RAS, Doctor of Historical Sciences.

On July 15, 1240, the Novgorod army under the leadership of Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich, with a surprise attack in the area where the Izhora flows into the Neva, defeated a superior Swedish detachment that had begun a campaign against Russia.

And on April 5, 1242, Prince Alexander commanded the Russian troops that defeated the forces of the crusaders from the Livonian Order in the battle on Lake Peipsi, also known as the Battle of the Ice.

“Alexander's victories stopped attempts to expand into Novgorod lands,” emphasized Anton Gorsky.

According to experts, thanks to the victories of Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich, Novgorod retained access to the Baltic Sea.

Three years after the Battle of the Ice, Alexander also defeated the Lithuanian troops who had invaded Russia.

  • Reproduction of autolithography by Valentin Serov "Battle on the Ice"

  • RIA News

  • © Rudolf Kucherov

Grand Duke

In 1246, the Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich died.

Alexander visited the Horde and the capital of the Mongol Empire, Karakorum, and as a result of difficult negotiations was recognized first as the Grand Duke of Kiev, and then Vladimir.

While on the grand-princely throne, Alexander, who received the nickname Nevsky for the victory over the Swedes, continued to restrain them and established good relations with Norway.

At the same time, in order to avoid punitive campaigns by the Horde, he was forced to assist them in conducting a census of the population of Rus, the results of which were used to determine the amount of tribute.

At the same time, he managed to convince the authorities of the Horde to abandon the mobilization of Russians to participate in wars with other nations.

According to Anton Gorsky, Alexander Yaroslavovich had to act on the basis of the existing circumstances, to establish relations with the rulers of the Mongol Empire and the Horde.

“Alexander Nevsky did a lot to restore the Russian lands ravaged by the Horde and prevent new invasions.

It was a colossal work.

Today it is even difficult for us to imagine what a terrible situation Russia was then in, ”Mikhail Myagkov said, in turn.

As noted by Gorsky, an important aspect in the activities of Alexander Yaroslavovich was that he closely linked Novgorod and north-eastern Russia.

“From the time of Alexander, Novgorodians recognized as their prince the one who occupied the grand-ducal table in Vladimir.

This later played a role when Novgorod was joined to the unified Russian state, ”the historian emphasized.

  • Seal of Alexander Nevsky.

    After 1236

  • © Wikimedia Commons

Alexander Nevsky died on November 27, 1263.

Before his death, he took monastic vows.

At the Moscow Cathedral in 1547, he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

“Even several centuries after the death of Alexander Nevsky, Russian rulers turned to his memory in order to inspire the people in difficult, turning points in our history,” Mikhail Myagkov noted.

In 1724, Peter I personally transferred the relics of Alexander Nevsky, which had previously been buried in Vladimir, to the monastery he founded.

And during the Great Patriotic War, the name of the prince became one of the symbols of the struggle against Western expansion.

According to historians, the film "Alexander Nevsky" filmed shortly before the start of the war by Sergei Eisenstein turned out to be extremely relevant, and many phrases from it became winged, including his famous phrase "Whoever comes to us with a sword will die from the sword!"

  • A scene from the film "Alexander Nevsky" directed by Sergei Eisenstein

As the head of the Department of Political Science and Sociology of the PRUE.

G.V.

Plekhanov Andrey Koshkin, the role of Alexander Nevsky in the history of Russia and the Russian people was fateful.

“The middle of the XIII century for Russia was a difficult, turning point.

Alexander Nevsky managed to set a vector that later led to the creation of modern Russia and the Russian people, ”the expert said.

According to Mikhail Myagkov, the figure of Alexander Nevsky is still relevant in Russian culture.

  • Miniature from "The Tsar's Titular" (1672)

  • © Wikipedia Commons

“It permeates literally all of our being.

The military remember his outstanding victories, the diplomats remember his fateful foreign policy choice, the whole society remembers his steps to protect spirituality and Orthodoxy.

He was as versatile as the Russian people.

He is one of the symbols of Russia, ”summed up Myagkov.