The Presidential Library marking the birthday of Alexander Nevsky. He was distinguished by “powerful faith in his people”

May 30, 2020 marks the 799th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Nevsky, next year will mark his 800th birthday. The electronic collection “Alexander Nevsky (1221–1263)”, presented on the library’s portal, contains research by scholars and theologians, essays and visual materials on the diplomat and warrior who did not lose a single battle.

Alexander Nevsky was the son of Prince Yaroslav and Princess Feodosia, daughter of Prince Mstislav Udatny.

Alexander started reigning in Novgorod in 1236. He immediately needed the spiritual and physical training of the young prince, because the city experienced one natural disaster after another: hunger, fires, robberies, and devastation. According to the book “The Holy Right Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky and the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra: for the memory of the bicentennial of the monastery, 1713-1913”, “from his youth, by the will of Providence, Saint Alexander was not placed under a peaceful parental shelter, alien to everyday worries and worries, and in the anxiety of the then turbulent life of Veliky Novgorod. <...> But such trials, shaking the soul, bring up a serious outlook on life, as a feat".   

When Alexander reached adulthood and took the reins of government himself, hordes of Mongol-Tatars attacked the country, and meanwhile, a real threat was brewing from the North-West.

According to Ivan Belyaev the rare edition “Grand Prince Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky”, “Alexander got a lot almost the most difficult in front of all the lots of modern princes; other princes in the fight against the Tatars had only one means - unconditional submission; Of course, the thing is bitter and humiliating, but nevertheless a salvation in the eyes of the people who clearly recognized the Tatar power. But Alexander didn’t have such a struggle at all: his enemies were Germans and Lithuanians, and to submit to such enemies... meant the people and the whole country were destroyed forever”.

The materials from the electronic collections of the Presidential Library widely cover the two largest battles of the Grand Prince - the Battle of the Neva in 1240 and the Battle on the Ice in 1242.

One of the episodes of the Battle of Neva is given in the above-mentioned book “The Holy Right Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky: in memory of the Tsar-Peacemaker”: “Like the lightning he rushed with the retinue of brave Novgorodians and Ladogaites to the Swedes. The suddenness and speed of the blow instantly led them into confusion. "Like a whirlwind, the young prince swept ahead of all in the middle of the enemies... The Swedes, defeated at all points, took to flight".

This victory is believed to have brought Alexander the nickname Nevsky. His fame spread not only throughout the Russian land, but also far beyond its borders. The historical essay by Vladimir Pitcheta “The Great Russian Generals; Alexander Nevsky” refers to the significance of the battle: “The battle with the Swedes on the Neva River is a brilliant victory of the Russian people over an insidious and powerful enemy, several times larger than the Novgorodians. It is a bright page in the history of the struggle of the Russian people for their national-political independence”.

Next, Prince Nevsky had to take the battle with the German knights on the ice of Lake Peipsi. Anticipating this, Alexander showed the talent of a commander and a diplomat, making peace with the most powerful enemy - the Golden Horde. The diplomatic abilities of the prince allowed the Russians to avoid fighting on two fronts and win the main battle of that period.

The grandiose battle between the Russians and the crusaders is covered in the editions “The Battle of the Neva and the Battle on the Ice: a historical outline” by Sergey Krotkov, “The Battle on the Ice” by Vladimir Mavrodin, “The Battle on the Ice” by Samson Glazer, “The Honorable Word to Saint Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky, told in the Voronezh provincial gymnasium on September 10, 1836, by its senior teacher, Nikolai Savostyanov” and others. 

The Germans expected to easily deal with the Russians, but Alexander outwitted them. While the advance detachment of knights made their way through the formation of the Novgorod infantry, on the flanks the horse detachments of the prince waited for a signal. The infantry was ordered to move further onto the ice, dragging the enemies along, and when they were on the ice, Russian cavalry hit the flanks. The Germans were trapped. Trying to escape, many knights began to sink. Spring thin ice could not withstand the heavily armed Germans, because the weight of one knight reached 120 kilograms.

One of the most famous battles of the Russian Middle Ages, called the Battle on the Ice finished with the crushing victory of the Russians ended. After the defeat on Lake Peipsi, the Teutonic Order was forced to make peace and abandon all the conquered Novgorod and Pskov lands.

Reflecting the attacks of enemies in the West, Alexander drove out the ambassadors of Pope Innocent IV, who proposed that Russia adopt Catholicism in exchange for help in the fight against the Tatars. He chose temporary obedience to the Horde, realizing that “Mongolia carried slavery to the body, but not to the soul. Latinism threatened to distort the very soul”.

Understanding this makes Prince Nevsky’s victories on the northwestern borders of Russia even more significant, which Mikhail Khmyrov emphasizes in the book “Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky, Grand Duke of Vladimir and All Russia”.  

After his death, Alexander Nevsky was canonized and is considered the heavenly patron saint of the Russian army.

In 1724, in St. Petersburg in honor of the blessed prince Peter the Great, a monastery was founded - the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where the Russian autocrat ordered to transport the remains of St. Prince Alexander. On May 21 (June 1), 1725, Empress Catherine I established the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, one of the highest awards of the Russian Empire.