Editing Alexander Nevsky (section)

== Legacy ==
Some historians see Alexander's choice of subordination to the [[Golden Horde]] as an important reaffirmation of East Slavs' Orthodox orientation (which begun under [[Vladimir the Great|Vladimir I of Kiev]] and his grandmother [[Olga of Kiev|Olga]]).<ref>{{cite book |title=Sveriges Österland. Från forntiden till Gustav Vasa |last=Tarkiainen |first=Kari |year=2008 |pages=96–97 |publisher=Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland |location=Helsingfors |language=sv |isbn=978-951-583-162-0 }}</ref> [[Orlando Figes]] mentioned that "Nevsky's collaboration was no doubt motivated by his distrust of the West, which he regarded as a greater threat to Orthodox Russia than the Golden Horde (...) But Nevsky's ''realpolitik'' caused a problem for the chroniclers, particularly after he was made a saint by the Russian Church in 1547, for in their terms he had colluded with the infidel."<ref name="Figes"/>

Some of Alexander's policies on the Western border were continued by his grandson-in-law, [[Daumantas of Pskov]], who was also beatified in the 16th century. In the late 13th century, a [[chronicle]] was compiled called the ''[[Life of Alexander Nevsky]]'' (Житие Александра Невского), in which he is depicted as an ideal prince-soldier and defender of Russia.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

On 21 May 1725, the empress [[Catherine I of Russia|Catherine I]] introduced the [[Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky]] as one of the highest [[List of military decorations|decoration]]s in the land. During [[Great Patriotic War|World War II]], on 29 July 1942, the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] authorities introduced an [[Order of Alexander Nevsky]] to revive the memory of Alexander's struggle with the Germans.<ref name="Haughton">{{cite book |last1=Haughton |first1=Tim |title=Aftermath: Legacies and Memories of War in Europe, 1918–1945–1989 |date=23 March 2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-18391-4 |page=175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uNLOCwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> There was also an earlier [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Bulgaria|Bulgarian Order]] dedicated to Saint Alexander which was founded on 25 December 1881, which ceased to exist when the [[People's Republic of Bulgaria|People's Republic]] was declared on 16 September 1946.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

In 1938, [[Sergei Eisenstein]] made one of his most acclaimed films, ''[[Alexander Nevsky (film)|Alexander Nevsky]]'', about Alexander's victory over the Teutonic Knights. The [[Alexander Nevsky (Prokofiev)|soundtrack]] for the film was written by [[Sergei Prokofiev]], who also reworked the score into a concert [[cantata]]. Today the film is renowned for its extraordinary battle on ice sequence, which has served as inspiration for countless other films. In the picture, Nevsky used a number of Russian [[proverb]]s, tying Nevsky firmly to Russian tradition.<ref>Kevin McKenna. 2009. "Proverbs and the Folk Tale in the Russian Cinema: The Case of Sergei Eisenstein’s Film Classic ''Aleksandr Nevsky''."  ''The Proverbial «Pied Piper» A Festschrift Volume of Essays in Honor of Wolfgang Mieder on the Occasion of His Sixty-Fifth Birthday'', ed. by Kevin McKenna, pp. 277–292. New York, Bern: Peter Lang.</ref> The famous proverbial phrase (paraphrasing Matthew 26:52), "Whoever will come to us with a sword, from a sword will perish," is a phrase that is often attributed to Alexander Nevsky, though it was not in fact said by him; it comes from Eisenstein's film, where it was said by actor [[Nikolay Cherkasov|Nikolai Cherkasov]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} A Soviet evaluation presented Alexander's victories as having "saved the Russian people from sharing the fate of the Baltic tribes and the Slavs of the Elbe who were enslaved by the Germans".{{sfn|Dukes|1998|page=26}}

During [[World War II]], the image of Alexander Nevsky became a national symbol of the struggle against German occupation, and many Soviet historians portrayed him as a Russian bastion against both German and papal aggression.{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=106}} The government sought historical continuity by referring to the Soviet struggle as the [[Great Patriotic War]].<ref name="Haughton"/> The film ''Alexander Nevsky'' was re-released in 1941 following the German invasion;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harty |first1=Kevin J. |title=The Reel Middle Ages: American, Western and Eastern European, Middle Eastern and Asian Films About Medieval Europe |date=13 August 2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0843-3 |page=16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ow5eCgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> [[Joseph Stalin]] used the film to mobilize feelings of Russian patriotism.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Donskis |first1=L. |title=Troubled Identity and the Modern World |date=25 May 2009 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-230-62173-2 |page=83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kgHIAAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:AlexanderNevskyCathedral-Sofia-6.jpg|thumb|right|[[Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia]]]]
Alexander Nevsky's fame was spread wherever Imperial Russia had a strong influence; thus numerous cathedrals and churches were dedicated to him, including the [[Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia|Patriarchal Cathedral]] in [[Sofia]], [[Bulgaria]]; the [[Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn|Cathedral church]] in [[Tallinn]], [[Estonia]]; the [[Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Łódź|Cathedral church]] in [[Łódź]], [[Poland]]; the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in [[Ungheni, Moldova|Ungheni]], [[Moldova]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

There is a long tradition of Russian naval vessels bearing Nevsky's name, such as the 19th-century propeller frigate ''Alexander Nevsky'' and [[Russian submarine Alexander Nevsky (K-550)|''K-550'' ''Alexander Nevsky'']], a nuclear powered [[ballistic missile submarine]] currently in service with the [[Russian Navy]].<ref>The US Liberty ship the ''S.S. [[Henry W. Corbett]]'', launched in 1943 in [[Portland, Oregon]], US was lent to the U.S.S.R. during WWII. After the war it was renamed by the Russian navy the ''Alexander Nevsky''.</ref>

On 24 September 2008, Alexander Nevsky was declared the main hero of Russia's history by popular vote, as reported by the ''[[Kommersant]]'' newspaper. In December 2008, he was voted the greatest Russian in the ''[[Name of Russia (Russia TV)|Name of Russia]]'' television poll.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7802485.stm|title=Stalin voted third-best Russian|publisher=BBC|date=28 December 2008|access-date=29 December 2008|archive-date=30 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730003750/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7802485.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the 2021 Moscow Victory Day Parade, a small historical segment of the parade featured Russian soldiers dressed in historical M1945 Red Army uniforms carrying out the Soviet combat banners which received the [[Order of Alexander Nevsky]] during the war. This segment coincided with the 800th anniversary since the birth of Alexander Nevsky in 1221.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Подробнее : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации|url=https://function.mil.ru/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12360555|access-date=22 May 2021|website=function.mil.ru|archive-date=22 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522232310/https://function.mil.ru/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12360555|url-status=live}}</ref>