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Battle of Neva(July 15, 1240) - battle on the Neva River between the Novgorod militia under the command of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich and the Swedish detachment. Alexander Yaroslavich received the honorary nickname “Nevsky” for victory and personal courage in battle.

Sources

Sources telling about the Battle of the Neva are very few. This is the Novgorod First Chronicle of the older edition, several versions of the hagiographic Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky, written no later than the 80s. XIII century, as well as the later Novgorod first chronicle of the younger edition, dependent on the two sources indicated above. There is no mention of a major defeat in Scandinavian sources, although in 1240 a small Scandinavian detachment actually took a campaign against Rus' (as part of the crusade to Finland).

Battle

Background

In the first half of the 13th century, the Swedes and Novgorodians carried out campaigns of conquest against the Finnish tribes Sumy and Em, which was the cause of their protracted conflicts. The Swedes tried to baptize these tribes, converting them to the Catholic faith.

In this confrontation, both sides sought to bring Ingria - the territory adjacent to the Neva River, as well as the Karelian Isthmus - under their control.

Before the battle

In the summer of 1240, Swedish ships arrived at the mouth of the Izhora River. Having landed on the shore, the Swedes and their allies pitched their tents in the place where Izhora flowed into the Neva. The Novgorod first chronicle of the older edition reports this as follows:

Svea came in great strength, and Murman, and Sum, and there was a great multitude in the ships; With your prince and with your scribes; and stasha in the Neva at the mouth of the Izhera, wanting to absorb Ladoga, just the river and Novgorod and the entire Novgorod region.

According to this message, the Swedes' army included Norwegians (Murmans) and representatives of Finnish tribes (Sum and Em); There were also Catholic bishops in the army. According to N.I. Kostomarov, the Swedish army could be led by the king’s son-in-law Birger Magnusson. However, Swedish sources do not contain any mention of either the battle itself or Birger’s participation in it. It is interesting that Birger’s wife was Alexander Nevsky’s at least fourth cousin.

The borders of the Novgorod land were guarded by “watchmen”: in the Neva area, on both banks of the Gulf of Finland, there was a “sea guard” of the Izhorians. At dawn of a July day in 1240, the elder of the Izhora land, Pelgusius, while on patrol, discovered the Swedish flotilla and hastily sent a report to Alexander about everything.

The “Life of Alexander Nevsky” talks about a vision of Pelgusius, in which he recognized the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb sailing on the sea on a ship, and heard Boris say: “Brother Gleb, tell us to row, and let us help our relative Prince Alexander.”

Having received such news, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich decided to suddenly attack the enemy. There was no time to wait for reinforcements, and Alexander began gathering his own squad. Novgorod militias also joined the army.

According to accepted custom, the soldiers gathered at the Hagia Sophia and received a blessing from Archbishop Spyridon. Alexander inspired the squad with a speech, the phrase of which has survived to this day and become popular:

Brothers! God is not in power, but in truth! Let us remember the words of the psalmist: these are in arms, and these are on horses; but in the name of the Lord our God we will call... We will not fear the multitude of warriors, for God is with us.

Alexander's detachment advanced along the Volkhov to Ladoga, then turned to the mouth of the Izhora. Along the way, local residents joined the detachment. The army mainly consisted of mounted warriors, but there were also foot forces, which, in order not to waste time, also rode horses.

The Swedish camp was not guarded, since the Swedes did not think about the possibility of an attack on them. Taking advantage of the fog, Alexander's troops secretly approached the enemy and took him by surprise: without the ability to create a battle formation, the Swedes could not offer full resistance.

Progress of the battle

On July 15, 1240, the battle began. The message of the First Novgorod Chronicle of the older edition is quite brief:

And their commander, named Spiridon, quickly killed her; and I did the same thing, as if the pissant killed the same thing; and many many of them fell; and after laying down the ship, two men built it, leaving the wasteland and heading to the sea; and what good was it, having dug a hole, I swept it into the hole; and there were many ulcers; and that night, without waiting for the light of Monday, he left in shame.

The insertion made in the Biography of Alexander Nevsky according to the Laurentian Chronicle mentions six warriors who performed feats during the battle: Russian mounted spearmen attacked the center of the Swedish camp, and the foot army struck the flank along the coast and captured three ships. As the battle progressed, Alexander’s army had the initiative, and the prince himself, according to chronicle information, “left the mark of his sharp spear on the face of the king himself...”

Gavrilo Oleksich, “seeing the prince being dragged by the arms, rode all the way to the ship along the gangplank along which they were running with the prince,” climbed aboard, was thrown down, but then entered the battle again. Sbyslav Yakunovich, armed with only one ax, rushed into the very center of the enemy army, followed by Alexander’s hunter; Yakov Polochanin waved his long sword. The youth Savva penetrated into the center of the Swedish camp, “burst into the large royal golden-domed tent and cut down the tent pole”; Having lost its support, the tent fell to the ground. Novgorodian Mesha and his squad sank three enemy ships. The sixth warrior mentioned, the servant of Alexander Yaroslavich Ratmir, fought on foot against several Swedes, was wounded and died.

The battle lasted until evening; By nightfall the opponents dispersed. The Swedes were defeated, and by morning they retreated to the surviving ships and crossed to the other side. It is known that the Russian soldiers did not interfere with the escape. The losses of the Novgorod army were insignificant. They amounted to twenty people, while the Swedes loaded the bodies of their dead soldiers on their remaining three ships, and left the rest on the shore. Reports of further developments are conflicting. On the other bank of the Neva the next day, local residents discovered many unburied bodies of the Swedes, although it is indicated that they sank two ships with the dead, after which the remnants of the army sailed to Sweden.

Result of the battle

Having won, the Russian troops did not allow the Swedes to cut off Novgorod from the sea and capture the coast of the Neva and the Gulf of Finland. In addition, the plan for joint actions of the Swedish and German knights was destroyed: now, after the victory, Novgorod could not be surrounded on both sides.

However, out of fear that after the victory, Alexander’s role in the conduct of affairs might increase, the Novgorod boyars began to plot all sorts of intrigues against the prince. Alexander Nevsky went to his father, but a year later the Novgorod residents again invited the prince to continue the war with the Livonian Order, which had approached Pskov.

Memory of the Neva Battle

Architecture

Alexander Nevsky Lavra

In 1710, Peter I, in memory of the Battle of the Neva, founded the Alexander Nevsky Monastery at the mouth of the Black River (now the Monastyrka River) in St. Petersburg. At that time it was mistakenly believed that the battle took place at this very place. The construction of the monastery was carried out according to the design of Domenico Trezzini. Subsequently, the monastery ensemble developed according to the plans of other architects.

On August 30, 1724, the remains of Alexander Yaroslavich were transported here from Vladimir. In 1797, under Emperor Paul I, the Alexander Nevsky Monastery was awarded the degree of Lavra. The architectural ensemble of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra includes: the Annunciation Church, the Feodorovskaya Church, the Trinity Cathedral and others. Now the Alexander Nevsky Lavra is a state reserve, on the territory of which is located the Museum of Urban Sculpture with an 18th-century necropolis (Lazarevskoye Cemetery) and a necropolis of art masters (Tikhvin Cemetery). Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin, Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, Ivan Andreevich Krylov, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky and many other figures who went down in Russian history are buried in the monastery.

In honor of the victory in the Battle of Neva in Ust-Izhora in 1711, a wooden church was built.

Before the beginning of the new century, the church burned several times and was rebuilt several times. In 1798, at the expense of local residents, a stone temple with a bell tower and a cast-iron grating was erected.

In 1934 the temple was closed and used as a warehouse. During the siege of Leningrad, the church bell tower was blown up because it served as a landmark for German artillery.

In 1990, work began on the restoration of the temple, and in 1995, on September 12, it was consecrated. At the temple there is a small cemetery near the church, where on December 6, 2002, a monument-chapel with a half-length (bronze) image of Alexander Nevsky was installed and consecrated.

The church is located in the Kolpinsky district of St. Petersburg at the address: Ust-Izhora, 9th January Ave., 217.

Screen adaptation

In 2008, the feature film “Alexander. Battle of the Neva".

• Currently, in the place where the Swedish ships stopped and the knights set up their camp, the village of Ust-Izhora is located.

Criticism

Currently, the reliability of evidence about the Battle of the Neva is questioned. The following are the arguments:

• There is no mention of the battle in the Ipatiev Chronicle, as well as in Swedish sources.
• In the Laurentian Chronicle, the mention of the battle is placed in the records for 1263 and is borrowed from the Life. For 1240 g there is no mention of the battle.
• Swedish sources claim that Birger did not leave Sweden during the year of the battle.
• Swedish sources do not mention the death of any bishop in the year of the battle.
• The description of the wound to the face may have been borrowed from the Life of Dovmont of Novgorod.
• There is no explanation for the contradictory behavior of the Swedes, who did not advance deep into enemy territory and did not build a fortified camp.
• There is no explanation for the strange behavior of Alexander, who did not notify of Yaroslav’s attack and did not gather the Novgorod militia.
• It is not clear why the Swedes remained on the battlefield after the battle and were able to bury the dead.
• There is no information about the captured Swedes.
• The information about the sinking of three Swedish ships looks implausible.
• It is not clear who killed the Swedes on the other side of the river.
• The deceased Swedish military leader bears the Russian name Spiridon.
• A hypothesis is put forward about a joint attack by Alexander and the Karelians on the camp of Swedish merchants.

The Battle of the Neva in 1240 not only gave Rus' a new saint - Prince Alexander Nevsky. Its historical significance lies in preventing the aggressive feudal lords of Northern Europe from seizing significant Russian territories.

Reasons and background

The reasons for the Battle of the Neva in 1240 lie in the policy of “pressure to the east” pursued in the 12th-13th centuries by the top of the Northern European countries (primarily Germany, Sweden and Denmark). Slavic peoples They were considered by them as “savages”, unnecessarily occupying significant land. The situation was aggravated by the religious factor - Rome called on the knights of Northern Europe not just to war, but to a crusade against the “schismatics” (in 1054, the formally united Christian church, as a result of a “schism,” was officially divided into Catholic and Orthodox). The transformation of robbery into a charitable deed is a common ideological device of the era of the Crusades.

The events of 1240 were not the first conflict - wars had been fought intermittently since the 9th century. However, in the century the situation changed in favor of the invaders from the West - Rus' was forced to repel the Mongol invasion, suffered defeats, and its military power was in doubt.

Failure of Swedish plans

The goals of the parties in the war of 1240 are obvious. The Swedes needed to cut off Russian possessions from Finnish lands and the Baltic coast. This made it possible to further advance inland, as well as control over maritime trade, a significant part of which was in the hands of Novgorod and Pskov merchants. In turn, Rus' could not allow the loss of the coast and the prolongation of the conflict in the West in the conditions serious problems with the Mongols in the southeast.

The Swedish army, having entered the Neva on ships, settled down at the confluence of the Izhora into it. From the available descriptions, it can be understood that the commanders (Jarl Ulf Fosi and the royal son-in-law Birger) intended to calmly land and then advance deeper into the Novgorod possessions.

But the course of the battle immediately turned not in favor of the Swedes - the battle went according to Prince Alexander’s plan. It took place on July 15th. The reasons for the Russian victory in the Battle of the Neva lie in several factors at once - good reconnaissance work, speed and surprise.

The scout was Pelgusy, an Izhora foreman, who promptly reported to Novgorod about the approach of an enemy army. Prince Alexander decided to attack as quickly as possible, while part of the enemy army had not yet unloaded from the ships. His army consisted of a princely equestrian squad and a foot city militia. The blow was delivered in two directions at once - to the center of the enemy camp and along the river bank, which made it possible to cut off the people on the ships from the command.

History has preserved the names of some of the participants in the battle - the warrior Gavrila Oleksich, who boarded the Swedish ship on horseback, and the militia Savva. This ax managed to cut down the supports of Birger's tent. He fell on the royal son-in-law's head, causing panic in the Swedish ranks.

East is a delicate matter

The results of the Battle of the Neva were of little comfort to the invaders - they suffered a crushing defeat. History awarded the young winner (Alexander was 20 years old) with the nickname Nevsky. He consolidated his success 2 years later, winning a brilliant victory on Lake Peipsi.

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Battle of the Neva. 1240

BATTLE OF NEVSKY - the battle of the Russian army under the command of Prince of Novgorod Alexander Yaroslavich with the Swedish detachment on July 15, 1240 on the river. Neva at the confluence of Izhora.

Late 30s - early 40s. XIII century - one of the most difficult periods in the history of the Russian land. The invasion of the Mongol Khan Batu turned Rus' from a flourishing country into a huge ashes.

Taking advantage of this, the troops of the crusaders and Swedish feudal lords invaded the northwestern borders of Rus'. Their onslaught to the east began a long time ago.

The expansion of Novgorod's influence in Karelia and Finland caused widespread discontent with the papal curia, which implanted Catholicism in the Baltic states with fire and sword. Since the end of the 12th century, the Catholic Church has been closely and with growing concern following the advance of Orthodoxy here and, in contrast, provided all possible assistance to the advance of the German and Swedish conquerors to the east.

The activity of Rome especially increased with the election of Gregory IX, obsessed with the idea of ​​world domination, to the papal throne. Already in 1229, with his direct participation, a trade blockade of Novgorod was organized. Thus, the pope tried to break the long-standing trade ties between Novgorod and northwestern Europe and deprive it of supplies of weapons and metals. And in November 1232, Gregory IX addressed a message to the Livonian Knights of the Sword, calling on them to undertake a crusade to Finland to protect its inhabitants from the infidel Russians. In his next message dated February 27, 1233, the Russians (Rutheni) are directly called “enemies” (inimici).

By the middle of the 13th century, with active participation Catholic Rome, between three feudal-Catholic forces - the Livonian (German) Order, the Danes and the Swedes, an agreement was reached on a joint action against Novgorod with the aim of conquering the northwestern Russian lands and planting Catholicism there. According to the papal curia, after “Batu’s ruin,” bloodless and plundered Rus' could not offer any resistance. This was the main reason for the action of the Swedes, Teutons and Danes in 1240. The German and Danish knights were supposed to strike Novgorod from land, from their Livonian possessions, and the Swedes were going to support them from the sea through the Gulf of Finland.

Scheme of the battle on the Neva. July 15, 1240

In early July 1240, a large Swedish detachment entered the mouth of the Neva on augers. The arrival of the enemy became known almost immediately in Novgorod, where only a small squad constantly carried out military service. But the enemy’s advance had to be stopped as soon as possible, and therefore the young Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavich hastened to set out immediately. He formed a detachment of 300 princely warriors, 500 Novgorod horsemen and the same number of foot militias. According to the accepted custom, the soldiers gathered at the Hagia Sophia Cathedral and received a blessing from the Novgorod Archbishop Spiridon. Alexander inspired the squad with a speech, one of the phrases of which has become popular these days: “Brothers! God is not in power, but in truth!... Let us not be afraid of the multitude of warriors, for God is with us.” Then they quickly headed towards Ladoga, where 150 Ladoga mounted warriors joined the detachment.

Battle of the Neva. The battle begins. Facial chronicle vault of the 16th century.

After a long sea journey, the Swedes stopped to rest and set up camp on the left bank of the Neva, just above the confluence of the Izhora River. Swedish ships moored here, and from them gangplanks were thrown onto land. Part of the army remained on the augers, the most noble warriors settled down in a hastily constructed camp. The Swedes set up posts that controlled the Neva waterway. War horses grazed in the coastal meadows. The enemy did not expect an attack from land.

The chronicle story about the Battle of the Neva clearly recreates Alexander's plan. A strike by a foot squad along the banks of the Neva would cut off the Swedes from the ships, and the cavalry, acting from the landward side through the center of the camp, would drive the enemy into the corner formed by the banks of Izhora and the Neva, close the encirclement and destroy the enemy.

The young commander brilliantly implemented his bold plan. Early in the morning of July 15, secretly approaching the camp, the Novgorod squad attacked the enemy. Taken by surprise, the Swedes were completely demoralized and unable to give a proper rebuff. The warrior Savva made his way to the center of their camp and cut down the pillar that supported the golden-domed tent of the Swedish leader. The fall of the tent further inspired the Russian warriors. Novgorodian Zbyslav Yakunovich, “having hit many times, fights with a single ax, without fear in his heart.” The hero of the battle, Gavrilo Oleksich, pursuing the retreating Swedes, rushed onto the auger on horseback along the gangplank and there fought with the enemies. Thrown into the river, he again climbed to the shore and entered into battle with “the commander himself in the middle of their regiment, and their commander was quickly killed.” At the same time as the cavalry squad, the foot militia of the Novgorodian Misha also fought courageously. Having attacked enemy ships, the pawns sank three of them.

Battle of the Neva. Saint Alexander Nevsky inflicts a wound in the face of the Swedish leader. 1240 Artist A.D. Kivshenko

Prince Alexander was also in the thick of the battle: he gave orders like a commander and fought like a simple warrior. The chronicle notes that the prince fought with the jarl himself and “put a seal on his face with your sharp spear.”

Judging by the number of losses - 20 people died on the Russian side - it is clear that the battle cannot be classified as a large-scale one, although the Swedes “have laid waste to two ships, they were already a wasteland and to the sea; and what good was it, having dug a hole, I swept it into the hole without being able to do it."

Battle of the Neva. End of the battle. The Swedes collected the dead and wounded and loaded them onto augers. Miniature of the Front Chronicle of the 16th century.

The significance of the victory on the Neva lay in something else - the success of such forays of the Scandinavians could open the way for broad aggressive actions of the Swedes. For this victory, the young Prince Alexander received the honorary nickname Nevsky.

The Neva victory prevented Novgorod from losing the shores of the Gulf of Finland and did not interrupt the trade exchange between Rus' and the West. At a moment of general depression and confusion, the Russian people saw in the victory of Alexander Nevsky a reflection of the former glory of Russian weapons and an omen of their future liberation.

View of the Nevsky Monastery (Alexandro-Nevsky Lavra). Colorized engraving by I.A. Ivanova. 1815.

In memory of this victory, Peter I founded the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (now the Lavra) in St. Petersburg in 1710.

The Church of Alexander Nevsky in Ust-Izhora is a functioning Orthodox church in Ust-Izhora near St. Petersburg. According to legend, it was built on the site of an ancient chapel in 1798-1799 at the expense of residents of Ust-Izhora and state-owned brick factories.

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An auger is a sailing and rowing vessel. It had 15-20 pairs of oars and could accommodate from 50 to 80 warriors. The auger could accommodate 8 war horses for knights.

Quote from: Novgorod first chronicle of the older and younger editions. M., 1950. P. 291.

Right there. P. 449.

Right there.

Right there. P. 293.

Right there. Thus, the total number of dead Swedes was measured in tens, or even hundreds.

The material was prepared in the Scientific Research
institute military history Military Academy
General Staff of the Armed Forces
Russian Federation

The legendary Russian commander Alexander Nevsky gained military glory in several battles, which will be discussed in this article. An entire literary story was written about his life and deeds, and he also received the honor of being canonized by the church after his death. The name of this man inspired many generations living several centuries later. It can be assumed that the commander’s talent was passed on to Prince Dmitry Donskoy, whose great-grandfather was Alexander Nevsky. The Battle of Kulikovo, where his great-grandson won a brilliant victory, became the first serious defeat of the Tatar-Mongol troops and the complete defeat of Mamai’s hordes.

Background

The exact date of birth of Alexander Yaroslavich, whom people later nicknamed Nevsky, is still unknown. According to one version, he was born in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky in May, and according to another - in November 1220. He was the second son of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who was the great-grandson of Monomakh. Almost all of Alexander’s childhood and youth were spent in Novgorod.

In 1225, Prince Yaroslav performed the rite of princely tonsure, or initiation into warriors, over his sons. After this, his father left Alexander and his older brother in Veliky Novgorod, and he himself went to Pereyaslavl-Zalessky on urgent matters. His children were placed in a great reign, which took place under the supervision of trusted boyars led by Fyodor Danilovich.

In 1233, an unexpected event occurred. The eldest son of Prince Yaroslav, Fedor, died. Soon, Alexander’s first military campaign against Dorpat, which at that time was in the hands of the Livonians, took place. The march, led by his father, ended with the victory of Russian weapons on the Omovzha River.

3 years after the death of his eldest son, Yaroslav left to rule in Kyiv, the capital of all Rus'. It was from this moment that Alexander became a full-fledged prince of Novgorod. At the beginning of his reign, he was exclusively concerned with strengthening his city. In 1239, his father married him to the daughter of Bryachislav, the Prince of Polotsk, and the very next year Alexander had his first child, who was named Vasily.

Reasons for the attack

It must be said that the Pskov and Novgorod lands were practically free from Tatar-Mongol rule. Therefore, they were famous for their wealth: fur-bearing animals were found in abundance in the forests, merchants were extremely enterprising, and artisans were known as great craftsmen. It is not surprising that these territories were constantly encroached upon by greedy neighbors: Lithuania, Swedish feudal lords and German crusading knights. The latter constantly went on military campaigns, either to the promised land or to Palestine.

Gregory IX, the then Pope, blessed the European knights for the war with the pagans, which, in their opinion, included the inhabitants of the Novgorod and Pskov lands. He absolved the soldiers in advance of all the sins they committed during their campaigns.

Enemy plans

Alexander Nevsky's first battle as a commander took place in 1240. He was only 20 years old then. It should be noted that the Swedes began to prepare for war 2 years before it began. They were the first to attempt to conquer Russian lands. To do this, in 1238, King Erich Burr of Sweden enlisted the support and blessing of the Pope to begin a Crusade against the Principality of Novgorod. And according to established tradition, those who took part in hostilities were guaranteed remission of all sins.

A year later, the Germans and the Swedes were engaged in intensive negotiations regarding the offensive plan. It was decided that the first would go to Novgorod through Pskov and Izborsk, and the second, who had already captured Finland, would come from the north, from the Neva River. The Swedish warriors were commanded by the king's son-in-law, Jarl (Prince) Birger, who later founded Stockholm, and Ulf Fasi. In addition, the crusaders were also going to convert the Novgorodians to the Catholic faith, and this was considered worse than the Mongol yoke. Alexander Nevsky also knew about these plans. The Battle of the Neva was thus a foregone conclusion.

Offensive

Summer 1240. Birger's ships appeared on the Neva and stopped at the mouth of the Izhora River. His army consisted not only of Swedes. It also included Norwegians and representatives of Finnish tribes. In addition, the conquerors took with them Catholic bishops, who carried a cross in one hand and a sword in the other. Birger intended to get to Ladoga, and from there go down to Novgorod.

The Swedes and their allies landed on the shore and set up camp in the area where Izhora flows into the Neva. After this, Birger sent a message to the Novgorod prince declaring war on him. It turned out that Alexander Yaroslavich learned about the arrival of the Swedes before this message was delivered to him. He decides to suddenly attack the enemy. There was no time to gather a large army, so the prince set out against the enemy with his army, supplementing it a little with Novgorod volunteers. But before setting off on a campaign, he, according to ancient custom, visited St. Sophia Cathedral, where he received a blessing from Bishop Spyridon.

Birger was completely confident in his military superiority and did not even suspect that he might be subject to a surprise attack, so the Swedes' camp was not guarded. On the morning of July 15, he was attacked by the Russian army. It was commanded by Alexander Nevsky himself. The Battle of the Neva, which began so suddenly, took Birger by surprise. He did not even have time to line up his army for battle and provide organized resistance.

Battle of Alexander Nevsky with the Swedes

Immediately, Russian troops, using the element of surprise, began to push the enemy back to the river. Meanwhile, foot militia were cutting down the bridges that connected the Swedish ships to the shore. They even managed to capture and destroy several enemy ships.

It must be said that the Russian troops fought selflessly. According to the chronicle, countless Swedes were killed by Prince Alexander himself. The Battle of Neva showed that Russian warriors were strong and very brave warriors. Numerous facts testify to this. For example, Novgorodian Sbyslav Yakunovich, with only one ax in his hands, boldly rushed into the midst of his enemies, while mowing them down left and right. Another of his compatriots, Gavrilo Oleksich, chased Birger himself to the ship, but he was thrown into the water. He rushed into battle again. This time he managed to kill the bishop, as well as one of the noble Swedes.

Results of the battle

During the battle, Novgorod volunteers sank Swedish ships. The surviving remnants of the troops, led by Birger, fled on the surviving ships. Russian losses were very insignificant - only 20 people. After this battle, the Swedes loaded three ships with the bodies of only some nobles, and abandoned the rest on the shore.

The victory won during the battle showed everyone that the Russian army had not lost its former valor and would be able to adequately defend its land from the attacks of an external enemy. Success in this battle also contributed to the increase in military authority that Alexander Nevsky gained for himself. The Neva Battle also had a huge political significance. The plans of the German and Swedish conquerors at this stage were thwarted.

Battle of Alexander Nevsky - Battle of the Ice

The Knights of the Livonian Order invaded Russian lands in the summer of that year. They approached the walls of Izborsk and took the city by storm. After that, they crossed the Velikaya River and set up camp right under the walls of the Pskov Kremlin. They besieged the city for a whole week, but it didn’t come to an assault: the residents themselves surrendered it. After this, the knights took hostages and left their garrison there. But the Germans' appetites were growing, and they were not going to stop there. The crusaders gradually approached Novgorod.

Prince Alexander gathered an army and in March 1242 went on a campaign again. Soon he was already near Pskov with his brother Andrei Yaroslavich and his Suzdal squad. They surrounded the city and captured the knightly garrison. The Novgorod prince decided to transfer military operations to enemy territory. In response to this, the Order assembled a large army, which included almost all of its knights and bishops, as well as Swedish soldiers.

The two warring parties met on April 5 of the same year near Lake Peipsi. The Germans chose a poor position for attack. In addition, they expected that the Russian troops would deploy in the usual order, but Alexander Nevsky was the first to decide to break such a stereotype. The Battle of the Lake ended with the complete victory of the Russians and the encirclement of the Germans. Those who managed to escape from the ring ran across the ice, and on the opposite bank they fell under it, since the warriors were wearing heavy knightly armor.

Consequences

The result of this battle is the conclusion of a peace treaty between the Order and the Novgorod principality. The Germans were forced to return all previously conquered territories. In addition, the battle of Alexander Nevsky with the crusader troops on Lake Peipsi was unique in its own way. For the first time in the history of military art, troops consisting largely of infantry alone were able to defeat the heavy knightly cavalry.

Canonization and veneration

In November 1283, returning from the Golden Horde, Prince Alexander suddenly fell ill and soon died within the walls of the Gorodets Monastery. But before that, he managed to accept the monastic schema under the name Alexia. His remains were supposed to be transported to Vladimir. The journey from the monastery to the city lasted 9 days, during which the body remained incorrupt.

The merits of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich were appreciated. Russian Orthodox Church canonized him in 1547. And under Catherine I, the Order of Alexander Nevsky was established - one of the highest awards in Russia.

The battle of Alexander Nevsky with the Swedish conquerors, and then with the knights of the Livonian Order, made it possible to preserve not only the cultural heritage of Rus', but also the Orthodox faith, preventing it from being planted on this land Catholic Church led by the Pope.

On July 15, 1240, an epoch-making battle took place on the Neva River. Russian troops under the command won a crushing victory over the Swedish army. After this event, Alexander received the famous nickname Nevsky. This name is known to every Russian to this day.

Background

The Battle of the Neva River in 1240 did not start spontaneously. It was preceded by a number of important political and historical events.

In the first half of the 13th century, the Swedes, united with the Novgorodians, carried out regular raids on Finnish tribes. They called them punitive campaigns, the purpose of which was to subjugate more and more people to their will. The Sumy and Em tribes suffered the most from the Swedes. This became the cause of protracted conflicts. The Swedes feared a blow from the Finns, so they sought to baptize them and make them their allies.

The conquerors did not stop there. They periodically carried out predatory raids on the lands along the Neva, as well as directly on Novgorod territory. Sweden was significantly weakened by internal conflicts, so it sought to attract as many warriors and nobles as possible to its side. They did not hesitate to persuade those who liked easy money to win over to their side. For a long time, Finno-Karelian troops raided Swedish lands, and in 1187 they completely united with the Novgorodians. They burned Sigtuna, the ancient capital of Sweden.

This confrontation lasted for a long time. Each side, both Swedish and Russian, sought to establish its power on the Izhora land, which was located along the Neva, as well as on the Karelian Isthmus.

A significant date preceding such a famous event as the Battle of the Neva River was the proclamation of the second crusade against Finland by Pope Gregory IX in December 1237. In June 1238, King Waldemar II of Denmark and Master of the United Order Hermann von Balck agreed to divide the Estonian state, as well as to begin military operations against Rus' in the Baltic states with the involvement of the Swedes. This is what provoked the Battle of the Neva River. The date, the events of which are still known today, became the starting point in the history of Rus' and its relations with neighboring states. The battle showed the ability of our state to repel the powerful army of the enemy. It should be taken into account that the Battle of the Neva River took place at a difficult time. The Russian lands were just beginning to recover after many years of the Mongol invasion and the strength of the troops was significantly weakened.

Battle of the Neva River: sources

Historians have to collect information about such ancient events literally bit by bit. Many researchers are interested in the date of such events as the Battle of the Neva River. The battle is briefly described in chronological documents. Of course, such sources are few in number. One of the most famous can be called the Novgorod First Chronicle. Information can also be gleaned from the story about the life of Alexander Nevsky. It is assumed that it was written by contemporaries of those events no later than the eighties of the 13th century.

If we consider Scandinavian sources, they do not contain detailed information about such significant battles as the Battle of the Neva River and Battle on the Ice. You can only read that a small Swedish detachment was defeated as part of the Finnish Crusade.

It is also not known for certain who led the Scandinavian army. Based on Russian sources, scholars say that it was the king's son-in-law Birger Magnusson.

But he became the jarl of Sweden only in 1248, and at the time of the battle he was Ulf Fasi, who most likely led the campaign. At the same time, Birger did not participate in it, although there is an opposite opinion. Thus, the results of archaeological excavations indicate that Birger was wounded in the facial part of the head during his lifetime. This coincides with information that Alexander Nevsky wounded the king himself in the eye.

Battle of the Neva River: date

Historical events until the 16th century were not recorded in certain official sources. Very often, historians cannot establish the exact day or even the approximate period when a particular battle took place. But this is not the case important event like the battle on the Neva River. In what year did it happen? Historians know the exact answer to this question. This battle dates back to July 15, 1240.

Events before the battle

No battle starts spontaneously. A number of events also occurred that led to such a difficult moment as the Battle of the Neva River. The year in which it occurred began for the Swedes with their unification with the Novgorodians. In the summer, their ships arrived at the mouth of the Neva. The Swedes and their allies landed on the coast and pitched their tents. This happened in the place where Izhora flows into the Neva.

The composition of the army was varied. It included Swedes, Novgorodians, Norwegians, representatives of Finnish tribes and, of course, Catholic bishops. The borders of the Novgorod lands were protected by maritime guards. It was provided by the Izhorians at the mouth of the Neva, on both sides of the Gulf of Finland. It was the elder of this guard, Pelgusius, at dawn of a July day who discovered that the Swedish flotilla was already close. The messengers hastened to inform Prince Alexander about this.

The Livonian campaign of the Swedes against Rus' began only in August, which suggests that they took a wait-and-see attitude, as well as the immediate and lightning-fast reaction of Prince Alexander. Having received news that the enemy was already close, he decided to act independently, without resorting to the help of his father. Alexander Yaroslavovich went into battle with a small squad. The Battle of the Neva River became a chance for the young prince to prove himself as a commander. Therefore, many troops did not have time to join him. The Ladoga militias, who joined him along the way, also took Alexander’s side.

According to the customs that existed at that time, the entire squad gathered at the Hagia Sophia Cathedral, where they were blessed by Archbishop Spyridon. At the same time, Alexander delivered a parting speech, quotes from which are still known today: “God is not in power, but in truth!”

The detachment moved overland along the Volkhov all the way to Ladoga. From there he turned to the mouth of the Izhora. For the most part, the army consisted of mounted warriors, but there was also infantry. To save travel time, this part of the detachment also rode horses.

Chronology of the battle

The battle began on July 15, 1940. It is known that in the Russian army, in addition to the princely squad, at least three more detachments of noble Novgorod commanders, as well as Ladoga residents, took part.

The Life mentions the names of six warriors who committed heroic deeds during the battle.

Gavrilo Olekseich boarded an enemy ship, from where he was dropped wounded, but despite this he boarded again and continued to fight. Sbyslav Yakunovich was armed only with an ax, but nevertheless rushed into the thick of the battle. Alexander's hunter Yakov Polochanin fought no less bravely. The youth Savva burst into the enemy camp and cut down the Swedes’ tent. Misha from Novgorod took part in the battle on foot and sank three enemy ships. Ratmir, the servant of Alexander Yaroslavovchia, fought bravely with several Swedes, after which he was wounded and died on the battlefield.

The battle continued from morning until evening. By nightfall the opponents dispersed. The Swedes, realizing that they had suffered a crushing defeat, retreated on their surviving ships and crossed to the opposite bank.

It is known that the Russian army did not pursue the enemy. The reason for this is unknown. Perhaps the knightly custom of not interfering with burying his fighters during a respite had an effect. Perhaps Alexander did not see the need to finish off the handful of remaining Swedes and did not want to risk his army.

The losses of the Russian detachment amounted to XX noble warriors, and their warriors should also be added here. There were many more dead among the Swedes. Historians talk about dozens, if not hundreds of soldiers killed.

Results

The Battle of the Neva River, the date of which will be remembered for centuries, made it possible to prevent the danger of an attack by Sweden and the Order on Rus' in the near future. Alexander's army decisively stopped their invasion of Ladoga and Novgorod.

However, the Novgorod boyars began to fear that Alexander’s power over them would increase. They began to plot various intrigues against the young prince, eventually forcing him to go to his father Yaroslav. However, very soon they asked him to return to continue the battle with which he approached Pskov.

Memory of the battle

In order not to forget about distant events on the Neva, Alexander's descendants sought to perpetuate the memories of them. Thus, monumental architectural monuments were created, which were restored several times. In addition, the image of Alexander Nevsky is also depicted on coins and commemorative stamps.

Alexander Nevsky Lavra

This monolithic building was erected by Peter I in 1710. The Alexander Nevsky Monastery was built at the mouth of the Black River in St. Petersburg. At that time it was mistakenly assumed that the battle took place in this very place. The inspiration and creator of the monastery was Subsequently, other architects continued the work.

In 1724, the remains of Alexander Yaroslavovich were transported here. Now the territory of the Lavra is a state national reserve. The ensemble includes several churches, a museum and a cemetery. Such famous people as Mikhail Lomonosov, Alexander Suvorov, Nikolai Karamzin, Mikhail Glinka, Modest Mussorgsky, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Fyodor Dostoevsky rest on it.

Church of Alexander Nevsky in Ust-Izhora

This building was erected in honor of the victory in the battle of 1240. Date of construction - 1711. The church burned violently several times and was rebuilt. IN late XVIII century, a stone church with a bell tower was built by parishioners.

The church was closed in 1934 and was used as a warehouse for a long time. During the Leningrad siege, the temple tower was blown up, as it served as a landmark for German artillery.

In 1990, work began on the restoration of the church, and a few years later it was consecrated. There is a small cemetery near the temple, as well as a monument-chapel with an image of Alexander Nevsky.

Printing coins and stamps

From time to time, the image of Alexander Yaroslavovich is also used in printing. So, in 1995, a commemorative coin with his image was issued. In the anniversary years following the battle, significant stamps are also issued, which are of great interest to philatelists.

Film adaptations

The film starred such actors as Svetlana Bakulina and Director Igor Kalenov.