The name of Alexander Nevsky is known to every schoolchild today. Today we associate this image with valor, the military successes of the Slavs in the Middle Ages, the successful defense of Russian territories and Orthodoxy.
Short biography of Alexander Nevsky
Alexander was the second son of Prince Yaroslav of Kyiv and Vladimir, and also
grandson of the famous prince of Galicia and Novgorod Mstislav Udatny. Already at an early age, Alexander takes the princely tonsure - a symbolic dedication of a warrior, defender of the Orthodox faith. The young prince spends almost all his childhood in Novgorod. In the same city, his reign begins as the viceroy of his father, Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Alexander's achievement of the age when he could already fully lead a squad into battle coincided with turbulent times in the north-west of the 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 broke 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 in 1240 with the Swedes on the Neva River gave him his own 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 Novgorod Chronicle brings us the news of 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 to the south and made it possible for the princes to gather forces 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 Peipus
This episode of military history is better known as the Battle on the Ice. Formidable
opponents were steeled in heavy armor knights of the Teutonic Order. The talented commander built his army in such a way that during the battle he managed to surround the flanks of his opponents and force them to make room. 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 warriors, as a result of which many of them found their death in cold water. The battle of Alexander Nevsky on Lake Peipus made it possible to preserve the cultural image of Russia, without allowing to imposelocal populations, like Poles, Czechs or Croats, Western European cultural paradigms. The feat of the Grand Duke seems especially important 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, current historians draw from the most 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.
