April 18, 2016

Alexander Nevsky: Russia's Hero


Alexander Nevsky: Russia's Hero

In 2008 a public poll chose Alexander Nevsky as Russia’s most notable personality. If you’ve never heard of him – don’t worry! You’re not alone, and you’ve come to the right place. In honor of his 795th birthday,* allow us to offer a short introduction.

It was the spring of ’42. The Germans were advancing into Russia from the West, apparently unstoppable, threatening the very existence of the free Russian state. But under the courageous leadership of one man, the Russians earned a decisive victory and eliminated the German threat.

No, we’re not talking about Stalingrad. Turns out, the twentieth century wasn’t the only one where Russia faced a German invasion. The decisive victory in question actually occurred in the thirteenth century, on April 5, 1242, and the courageous leader was none other than Alexander Nevsky.

The Novgorod Chronicle says of Alexander that his "beauty was like that of Joseph, his strength was like part of Samson's, and his voice reached the people like a trumpet." Might come with being a prince, though.

Unlike Minin and Pozharsky, heroes from a few centuries later, Nevsky was no commoner. He was, in fact, a prince (knyaz), from a long line of rulers. At the age of 7 he was already nominally ruling Novgorod with his brother. By age 15 he was ruling all by himself, even independent of his father, Yaroslav.

And it was a tricky time to be a ruler. The “Germans” of the thirteenth century were Teutonic knights, ordered by the pope to embark on a crusade toward Finland and maybe crush Russia along the way. Meanwhile, the Mongolian Golden Horde was expanding into Russian territory, crushing armies and demanding tribute. Caught between two (three, if you count a vaguely-threatening Lithuania) fires, throughout his life Nevsky made the choice to buy off the Mongols but fight all the Catholics head-on.

Despite the Teutonic invasion, the people of Novgorod – who considered themselves a republic and retained the right to “fire” princes – kicked Nevsky out of the city in late 1240, just as the Germans took the nearby city of Pskov and the Izborsk fortress. Whatever the Novgorod people were thinking, they soon realized their mistake, as the Germans kept advancing. With the enemy just 30 versts away, the people wrote to Yaroslav and asked to have Alexander back. No other son would do, they said.

This time around, Nevsky delivered. He had already led a successful raid on the knights’ Swedish allies on the Neva river (hence Alexander's surname) in July 1240. Upon his return to Novgorod, he immediately cleared the area of German forces, then pursued them toward their Baltic lands. On April 5, 1242, Nevsky retreated onto the thick ice of Chudskoye Lake (Lake Peipus), on the modern-day border with Estonia, and the knights made the mistake of following him. After suffering defeat on the ice, the knights and their allies left Russia alone for at least a century.

Nikolay Cherkasov as Nevsky in Sergei Eisenstein's epic film Alexander Nevsky. Possible origin of the myth that the knights were so heavy they fell through the ice.
Watch a subtitled clip of the Battle or the entire film (Russian only).

Long story short, Russia’s most notable historical figure eliminated a major foreign threat to his country at the age of 21. What did you accomplish by that age?

 

* In fact, based on information on his older brother and the saint he was named after, Nevsky was most likely born May 13, 1221. This date is about one year off from the traditional guess, which placed his birthday on May 30, 1220. (Russian source [x])

 

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

You Might Also Like

Alexander Nevsky
  • November 15, 2000

Alexander Nevsky

Controversial actions of the Russian leader during the Mongol domination of the 13th century.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955