5 facts about Alexander Nevsky (PICS)

1. He came from the Rurik dynasty

His close relatives included Vladimir Monomakh and Yuri Dolgoruky, the founder of Moscow. Vsevolod the Big Nest (1154–1212), Grand Prince of Vladimir, was his paternal grandfather.

Alexander's marriage to Alexandra Bryachislavna, the daughter of the Polotsk Prince Bryachislav, was not just a personal event, but an important political move: at that time, the Russian lands were under pressure from the Crusaders and Swedes from the west, while the threat from the Mongols (later the Golden Horde) was growing from the east. An alliance with the Polotsk princely house strengthened Alexander's position in northwestern Old Russia, where the most important trade routes ran.

2. He became renowned as a great military leader

Alexander won two decisive victories: the ‘Battle of the Neva’ (1240) and the ‘Battle on the Ice’ (1242).

In Summer 1240, the Swedish army entered the mouth of the Neva River, seeking to capture Lake Ladoga and Novgorod. Prince Alexander Yaroslavich quickly advanced to meet the enemy with a small retinue and Novgorod militia, launching a surprise attack on the enemy. This maneuver stopped the Swedish advance deeper into Russian lands.

Later, in Spring 1242, the famous ‘Battle of Lake Peipus’ took place, marking the culmination of a two-year conflict with the Livonian Confederation. The crusader knights captured Izborsk and Pskov and founded the fortress of Koporye. The prince recaptured Koporye and Pskov, then invaded Livonian territory, but was forced to retreat to the ice of Lake Peipus. There, he took advantage of the terrain and tactical weaknesses of the enemy, securing victory. In the same year, 1242, a peace treaty was signed, under which the Livonians renounced their claims to Russian lands.

3. He possessed rare diplomatic qualities

Alexander Nevsky was not only a talented military strategist and tactician, but also a subtle diplomat. His relationship with the Golden Horde remains one of the most controversial issues in Russian history. Historians are particularly concerned with the suppression of anti-Horde uprisings in Novgorod. Despite all this, there were two pragmatic reasons for the good relations with the Horde. The first was the Horde's religious tolerance. Unlike the West, which demanded conversion to Catholicism, the Mongols did not interfere with the Orthodox faith. The second was personal: with the Khan's support, he was able to eliminate his brother Andrei, his main rival for the throne in Vladimir. A second important diplomatic victory was relations with Lithuania. In the mid-13th century, Lithuania posed no less a threat than the Crusaders. The Lithuanians were carrying out systematic attacks on the Novgorod, Pskov and Smolensk lands.

In 1245, Alexander launched a successful counteroffensive, in which he defeated the Lithuanian forces. Some believe he used the military might of the Golden Horde to crush and defeat Lithuania. However, in 1262, he concluded an alliance treaty with Mindaugas, the Grand Duke of Lithuania (possibly sealed by Mindaugas's baptism according to the Orthodox rite) to jointly fight against the Livonian Order.

4. Refused the Pope

In 1248, when Old Russia was already under the rule of the Golden Horde, Pope Innocent IV sent two cardinals with papal bulls to Alexander Nevsky. In his letters, the Pope offered the prince the opportunity to convert to Catholicism in exchange for assistance in the fight against the Mongols and the Teutonic Order. Alexander understood that he was essentially being asked to subjugate Old Russia to Rome. In ‘The Life of Alexander Nevsky’, it is stated that he firmly refused the papal envoys.

5. Became a Saint

In 1263, local veneration began because, according to legend, miracles began to occur around his relics immediately after his death. First, his body remained incorrupt for nine days. Second, during the funeral service, when his body was already lying in the coffin, Metropolitan Kirill and his steward, Sebastian, approached to place a "spiritual charter" (a handwritten absolution of sins) into the hand of the deceased prince. The prince himself, as if alive, extended his hand, took the charter and clasped his fingers again. In 1381, Metropolitan Cyprian established a local celebration in Vladimir and the prince was canonized as a saint throughout all of Russia at the Makaryev Cathedral in 1547. Later, in 1724, Peter I solemnly transferred the prince's relics to the newly founded Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, making him the heavenly patron saint of the new capital and empire, as well as establishing a celebration on September 12.

Alexander Nevsky was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church not as a military leader and diplomat, but as a defender of Orthodoxy.