The name of Alexander Nevsky is known today to every student. Today we associate this image with valor, the military successes of the Slavs in the Middle Ages, and the successful defense of Russian territories and Orthodoxy.
Short biography of Alexander Nevsky
Alexander was the second son of Kiev and Vladimir Prince Yaroslav, as well as
grandson of the famous prince of Galicia and Novgorod Mstislav Udatny. At an early age, Alexander takes princely tonsure - a symbolic dedication of a warrior, defender of the Orthodox faith. The young prince spends almost all of his childhood in Novgorod. In the same city, his reign begins as the governor of his father, Grand Duke
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Alexander's achievement of the age when he could fully lead the squad into battle coincided with turbulent times in the north-west of Russian lands. This was the era
of the Crusades, directed not only against the Saracens of the east, but also against Orthodox Christians. Knightly Catholic armies in the second half of the 1230s did not break into the northwestern lands, robbing the local population and seizing territory.
Battle of Alexander Nevsky with the Swedes
Like many princes of medieval Russia, Alexander spent a significant part of his life in military campaigns. So, the confrontation of 1240 with the Swedes on the Neva River gave him the actual nickname, which we all know very well today. This massacre was the result of many years of conflict between Novgorod and the Swedish state for control over the territories of Izhora and the Karelian Isthmus, as well as power over the tribes inhabiting these lands. Each side sought to baptize the pagans in its own way. The news of the
Novgorod Chronicle brings us the glorious victory of the Russian squad
. However, the course of the battle is described very briefly. Be that as it may, this battle of Alexander Nevsky stopped the advance of the Swedes south and enabled the princes to gather strength for decisive battles with other opponents. Perhaps a more serious threat was the German crusaders of the Livonian and Teutonic orders.
Battle of Alexander Nevsky on Lake Peipsi
This episode of military history is better known as the Battle of the Ice. Terrible
the opponents were
knights of the Teutonic Order shackled in heavy armor
. A talented commander built his army in such a way that he managed to surround the flanks of opponents during the battle and make them squeeze. The outcome of this battle is well known. The ice of Lake Peipsi could not withstand the load of the army of retreating heavily armed soldiers, as a result of which many of them found their death in cold water. The battle of Alexander Nevsky on Lake Peipsi allowed preserving the cultural image of Russia, without allowing the Western European cultural paradigms to be imposed on the local population, like Poles, Czechs or Croats. Especially important is the feat of the Grand Duke in the light of the fact that it was during this period that Russia was greatly weakened by the Mongol invasion. A significant part of the commander’s biography is drawn by current historians from a valuable document of the thirteenth century, called The Life of St. Alexander Nevsky. This document was obviously written by one of the monks of the monastery in Vladimir, where the relics of the canonized prince were buried.