Editing Alexander Nevsky

{{Short description|Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1252 to 1263}}
{{family name hatnote|Yaroslavich||lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Alexander Nevsky
| image        = AlexanderNevskyTitul.jpg
| caption      = Portrait in the ''[[Tsarsky titulyarnik]]'', 1672
| succession   = [[Prince of Novgorod]]
| reign1       = 1236–1240
| predecessor1 = [[Yaroslav II of Vladimir|Yaroslav V]]
| successor1   = [[Andrey II of Vladimir|Andrey I]]
| reign2       = 1241–1256
| predecessor2 = Andrey I
| successor2   = Vasily I
| reign3       = 1258–1259
| predecessor3 = Vasily I
| successor3   = [[Dmitry of Pereslavl|Dmitry I]]
| house        = [[Rurikids|Rurik]]
| spouse       = Alexandra of Polotsk
| issue        = [[Dmitry of Pereslavl|Dmitry Alexandrovich]]<br/>[[Andrey of Gorodets|Andrey Alexandrovich]]<br/>[[Daniel of Moscow|Daniil Alexandrovich]]
| issue-link   = #Family
| issue-pipe   = more...
| father       = [[Yaroslav II of Vladimir]]
| birth_date   = 13 May 1221
| death_date   = {{death date and age|df= yes|1263|11|14|1221|5|13}}
| birth_place  = [[Pereslavl-Zalessky]], [[Vladimir-Suzdal]]
| death_place  = [[Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast|Gorodets]], Vladimir-Suzdal
| burial_place = [[Alexander Nevsky Lavra]], [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia
| succession5  = [[Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal|Grand Prince of Vladimir]]
| reign5       = 1252–1263
| predecessor5 = [[Andrey II of Vladimir|Andrey II]]
| successor5   = [[Yaroslav of Tver|Yaroslav III]]
| succession4  = [[Grand Prince of Kiev]]
| reign4       = 1249–1263
| predecessor4 = [[Yaroslav II of Vladimir|Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich]]
| successor4   = [[Yaroslav of Tver|Yaroslav III Yaroslavich]]
| religion     = [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]]
}}

'''Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky'''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Благоверный князь Алекса́ндр (в схиме Алекси́й) Невский|url=https://azbyka.ru/days/sv-aleksandr-v-shime-aleksij-nevskij|access-date=26 August 2021|website=azbyka.ru|language=ru|archive-date=26 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826125209/https://azbyka.ru/days/sv-aleksandr-v-shime-aleksij-nevskij|url-status=live}}</ref> ({{langx|ru|Александр Ярославич Невский}}; {{IPA|ru|ɐlʲɪˈksandr jɪrɐˈsɫavʲɪtɕ ˈnʲɛfskʲɪj|IPA|Ru-Alexander Nevsky.ogg}}; [[monastic name]]: ''Aleksiy'';<ref>{{cite book |title=Православные храмы Москвы |date=1988 |publisher=Изд. Московской Патриархии |page=21 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V5EPAQAAIAAJ |language=en}}</ref> 13 May 1221<ref name="rozhdenia">{{cite journal |url= http://www.maxknow.ru/images/upload/articles45/1160.htm |script-title= ru:О дате рождения Александра Невского |trans-title= About the Birthdate of Alexander Nevsky |journal= Вопросы истории [Questions of History] |author= V.A. Kuchkin |date= 1986 |issue= 2 |pages= 174–176 |language= ru |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222201904/http://www.maxknow.ru/images/upload/articles45/1160.htm |archive-date=22 February 2015}}</ref> – 14 November 1263) was [[Prince of Novgorod]] (1236–1240; 1241–1256; 1258–1259), [[Grand Prince of Kiev]] (1249–1263), and [[Grand Prince of Vladimir]] (1252–1263).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morby |first1=John E. |title=Dynasties of the world: a chronological and genealogical handbook |date=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780198604730 |page=168}}</ref>

Commonly regarded as a key figure in medieval Russian history,{{sfn|Välimäki|2022|loc=xv, "...he became one of the great heroes of Russian history, a defender of Russia against alien forces. This was, however, a later development"}} Alexander was a grandson of [[Vsevolod the Big Nest]] and rose to legendary status on account of his military victories in [[northwestern Russia]] over Swedish invaders in the 1240 [[Battle of the Neva]],{{efn|For this battle, he was nicknamed {{langx|ru|Невский|Nevsky|of the Neva|label=none}}, in the 15th century.{{sfn|Selart|2015|p=144}}}} as well as German crusaders in the 1242 [[Battle on the Ice]].{{sfn|Nazarova|2006|p=42|loc="... renowned for resisting the attacks of German and Swedish crusaders against northwestern Russia"}} He preserved [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]], agreeing to pay tribute to the powerful [[Golden Horde]]. Metropolitan [[Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow|Macarius of Moscow]] canonized Alexander Nevsky as a saint of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] in 1547.{{sfn|Raffensperger|Ostrowski|2023|p=125}}

==Early life==
Born in [[Pereslavl-Zalessky]] around the year 1220, Alexander was the second son of Prince [[Yaroslav II of Vladimir|Yaroslav Vsevolodovich]].{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=99}} His mother was {{ill|Feodosia Mstislavna|ru|Феодосия Мстиславна}}, daughter of [[Mstislav Mstislavich]] The Bold. From the ''Tales of the Life and Courage of the Pious and Great Prince Alexander'' found in the ''[[Pskov Chronicles|Second Pskovian Chronicle]]'' ({{circa|1260–1280}}) comes one of the first known references to Alexander Yaroslavich:<ref name="Begunov1955p11-15">Begunov, K., translator, ''Second Pskovian Chronicle'', ("Isbornik", Moscow, 1955) pp. 11–15.</ref>

{{blockquote|
By the will of God, prince Alexander was born from the
charitable, people-loving, and meek the Great Prince Yaroslav, and
his mother was Theodosia. As it was told by the prophet [[Isaiah]]:
'Thus sayeth the Lord: I appoint the princes because they are
sacred and I direct them.'

...He was taller than others and his voice reached the people
as a trumpet, and his face was like the face of [[Joseph (son of Jacob)|Joseph]], whom
the Egyptian [[Pharaoh]] placed as next to the king after him of
Egypt. His power was a part of the power of [[Samson]] and
God gave him the wisdom of [[Solomon]]... this Prince Alexander: he
used to defeat but was never defeated...
}}

He spent most of his youth in Pereslavl-Zalessky.{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=99}} Little is known about the activities of Yaroslav's children before the year 1238.{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=99}} Alexander's eldest brother Fyodor died in 1233 at the age of 14.{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=99}}

==Reign==
===Prince of Novgorod===
In 1236, Alexander was appointed by the [[Novgorod Republic|Novgorodians]] to become their [[Prince of Novgorod|prince]] (''[[knyaz]]''), where he had already served as his father's governor in Novgorod.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Murray |first1=Alan V. |title=The Crusades [4 volumes]: An Encyclopedia [4 volumes] |date= 2006 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing US |isbn=978-1-57607-863-1 |page=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rETPEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Nazarova|2006|p=42}} The Novgorod chronicle describes how Yaroslav left his son Alexander in Novgorod and took with him "senior Novgorodians" and a hundred men from Torzhok and "sat in Kiev upon the throne".{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=75}}

In 1237, the Swedes received papal authorization to [[Second Swedish Crusade|launch a crusade]], and in 1240, new campaigns began in the easternmost part of the Baltic region.{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|pp=216–217|loc=In 1240 new campaigns were launched... first was organized by the Swedes... obtained papal authorization in 1237}} The Finnish mission's eastward expansion led to a clash between Sweden and the city-state of [[Novgorod Republic|Novgorod]], since the [[Karelians]] had been allies and tributaries of Novgorod since the mid-12th century.{{sfn|Nicolle|1997|page=51}} The Swedish army was led by [[Birger Jarl]] and consisted of Norwegians and Finnish tribes.{{sfn|Nicolle|1997|page=51}} After a successful campaign into [[Tavastia (historical province)|Tavastia]], the Swedes advanced further east.{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|pp=216-217}}{{sfn|Nicolle|1997|page=53}} According to Russian sources, the Swedish army landed at the confluence of the rivers [[Izhora]] and [[Neva]], when Alexander and his small army suddenly attacked the Swedes on 15 July 1240 and defeated them in the [[Battle of the Neva]].{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=104}}<ref name="Philip">{{cite book |last1=Line |first1=Philip |title=Kingship and State Formation in Sweden 1130-1290 |date=31 March 2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-474-1983-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wOCvCQAAQBAJ |language=en |quote=This 'Second' Crusade to Finland was, according to Russian sources, immediately followed by the unsuccessful Swedish expedition to the Neva, which was thwarted by the Novgorodians}}</ref>

The event was later depicted as being of national importance, and in the 15th century, Alexander received the [[sobriquet]] ''Nevsky'' ("of the Neva").{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|pp=216–217|loc=The Russian victory was later depicted as an event of great national importance and Prince Alexander was given the sobriquet "Nevskii"}}{{sfn|Selart|2015|p=144}}{{sfn|Nazarova|2006|p=42}} The Soviet-era historian [[Igor Pavlovich Shaskol'skii|Igor Shaskolsky]] suggested that the attack was coordinated, referring to the ''[[Life of Alexander Nevsky]]'', the only Russian source besides the ''[[First Novgorod Chronicle]]'' that mentions the battle, in which it is stated that the Swedes intended to conquer [[Novgorod]].{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=104}} According to [[John Lister Illingworth Fennell|John Fennell]]: "there is no evidence of any coordination of action between the Swedes, the Germans and the Danes, nor is there anything to show that this was more than a continuation of the Russo-Swedish conflict for mastery over Finland and Karelia".{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=104}} The battle is not mentioned in Swedish sources, and so was likely part of periodic clashes between Sweden and Novgorod.{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=104}}

In September 1240, troops of the [[Bishopric of Dorpat]], the [[Livonian Order]] and the exiled pretender-prince {{ill|Yaroslav Vladimirovich of Pskov|ru|Ярослав Владимирович (князь псковский)|be|Яраслаў Уладзіміравіч (князь пскоўскі)|lt=Yaroslav of Pskov}} conducted [[1240 Izborsk and Pskov campaign|a campaign]] in [[Izborsk]] and [[Pskov]], successfully overthrowing the pro-[[Suzdal]] faction which had supported Alexander.{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|p=218}}{{sfn|Selart|2015|p=159}} Shortly thereafter, either in late 1240 or early 1241, the Novgorodians rose up against Alexander and banished him to [[Pereslavl-Zalessky]].{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|p=218}}{{sfn|Selart|2015|p=159}} 
[[File:Facial Chronicle - b.06, p.068 - Execution of vod and chud.jpg|thumb|Execution of [[Vots]] and [[Chud]]s by Alexander Nevsky in Koporye, during the [[1240–1241 Votia campaign]] (16th-century miniature)]]
That same winter, [[1240–1241 Votia campaign|a campaign]] into [[Votia]] was conducted by the [[Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek]], the [[Livonian Order]], as well as Estonians (''[[Chud']]'') with support from local Votian leaders.{{sfn|Selart|2015|pp=154–155}} It is unclear whether Votia was a tributary of Novgorod at this time, or not.{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|p=218}}{{sfn|Selart|2015|p=156}} According to [[Anti Selart]], the allies likely only intended to acquire pagan lands and convert them to Catholicism, rather than attacking Novgorod, which was already Christianized.{{sfn|Selart|2015|pp=156–157}} On the other hand, the campaign was "a purely political undertaking which had nothing to do with conversion of pagans".{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|p=220}} Although the [[Northern Crusades]] were aimed at pagan [[Balts]] and [[Finns]], rather than Orthodox Russians, several unsuccessful attempts were made to persuade Novgorod to convert to Catholicism, which were resisted by Alexander.{{sfn|Nicolle|1997|pages=11–15}}{{sfn|Nazarova|2006|p=43}}

The Novgorodian authorities recalled Alexander, and in the spring of 1241, he returned from exile and assembled an army. Alexander managed to retake Pskov and [[Koporye]] from the crusaders and drive out the invaders.{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|p=218|loc=After pleas from Novgorod Alexander returned in 1241 and marched against Kopor'e. Having conquered the fortress and captured the remaining Latin Christians, he executed those local Votians who had cooperated with the invaders.}} He then continued into Estonian-German territory.{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|p=218}} The crusaders defeated a detachment of the Novgorodian army.{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|p=218}}{{efn|According to the ''[[Novgorod First Chronicle]]'' (NPL), this battle took place at an unidentified bridge, where the Novgorodians were killed (including commander Domash Tverdislavich), captured or chased away by the ''[[Nemtsy]]'' ("Germans") and ''[[Chud]]{{'}}'' ("Estonians").{{sfn|Michell|Forbes|1914|pp=86–87}}}} As a result, Alexander set up a position at [[Lake Peipus]].{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|p=218}} Alexander and his men then faced the Livonian heavy cavalry led by [[Hermann of Dorpat]], brother of [[Albert of Buxhoeveden]], where they met on 5 April 1242.{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|p=218}} Alexander's army then defeated the enemy in the [[Battle on the Ice]], halting the eastward expansion of the [[Teutonic Order]].<ref>Riley-Smith Jonathan Simon Christopher. ''The Crusades: a History'', US, 1987, {{ISBN|0300101287}}, p. 198.</ref> Later in the same year, the Germans agreed to relinquish control of any Russian territory still occupied, as well as to exchange prisoners of war.{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=104}} Later Russian sources would elevate the importance of the battle and portray it as one of the great Russian victories of the Middle Ages.{{sfn|Fonnesberg-Schmidt|2007|p=218|loc=...later to become hailed as one of the great Russian victories of the Middle Ages... scale of the battle was, however, most likely exaggerated in the later Russian sources, as was indeed its significance}}

The ''[[Livonian Rhymed Chronicle]]'' narrates the events of the battle:

{{Blockquote|text=
There is a city in Russia called Novgorod, and when its king [Alexandre] heard what had happened he marched towards Pskov with many troops. He arrived there with a mighty force of many Russians to free the Pskovians and these latter heartily rejoiced. When he saw the Germans he did not hesitate long. They drove away the two Brothers, removed them from their governorship and routed their troops. The Germans fled and allowed the land to revert to the Russians. Thus it went for the Teutonic Knights, but if Pskov had been protected it would have benefited Christianity until the end of the world. It is a mistake to take a fair land and fail to occupy it properly. It is deplorable, for the result is sure to be disastrous. The king of Novgorod then returned home.{{sfn|Nicolle|1997|pages=60–61}}
}}

After the Livonian invasion, Nevsky continued to strengthen the Republic of Novgorod. He sent his envoys to Norway and, as a result, they signed a first peace treaty between Novgorod and Norway in 1251. Alexander led his army to Finland and successfully routed the Swedes, who had made another attempt to block the [[Baltic Sea]] from the Novgorodians in 1256.{{sfn|Michell|Forbes|1914|p=95}}{{npsn|date=November 2024}} In 1261, Alexander also concluded a treaty with Lithuanian king [[Mindaugas]] against the Livonian Order, but the planned attack failed as Alexander was summoned to Sarai by the khan.{{sfn|Nazarova|2006|p=43}}

===Grand Prince of Vladimir===
[[File:Seal of Alexander Nevsky 1236.png|thumb|Seal of Aleksandr Yaroslavich (front and back) with images of the prince himself as a horseman and saint [[Theodore Stratelates]]. After 1236.]]
Upon the conquest of the [[Grand Principality of Vladimir]] by the Mongols in 1238,<ref name="Feldbrugge">{{cite book |last1=Feldbrugge |first1=Ferdinand J. M. |title=A History of Russian Law: From Ancient Times to the Council Code (Ulozhenie) of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich of 1649 |date= 2017 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-35214-8 |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TDI9DwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> its reigning prince, [[Yuri II of Vladimir|Yuri II Vsevolodovich]], was killed in the [[Battle of the Sit River]]; his younger brother, [[Yaroslav II of Vladimir|Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich]] (Alexander's father), requested and received from the Mongol khan his permission to become the new prince. As prince, he assigned Novgorod to his son Alexander. However, while traveling in 1245 to the Mongol capital [[Karakorum]] in Central Asia, Yaroslav died. When, in 1248, Alexander and his older brother [[Andrey II of Vladimir|Andrey II Yaroslavich]] also traveled to Karakorum to attend upon the Great Khan, Andrey received the title of [[grand prince of Vladimir]] and Alexander the nominal lordship of Kiev.<ref name="Feldbrugge"/> The two returned in the autumn of 1249.{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=107}}

The [[Rurikids|Rurikid]] princes of Rus' were obliged to appear before the khans in person, pay homage to them and receive their ''[[jarlig]]'' (patent) to be affirmed in their principalities.{{efn|"The khans were recognized as suzerains of the Riurikid princes. Within the Rus' lands, however, they exercised their authority primarily through the dynasty. But the khans appointed and confirmed individual princes within the dynasty for each ruling position. Riurikid princes were, accordingly required to appear personally before the khans to pay obeisance and receive their patents to rule."{{sfn|Martin|2007|p=173}}}} When [[Möngke Khan|Möngke]] became the new great khan in 1251, only two years after [[Güyük Khan|Guyuk]]'s death, he demanded another appearance at [[Sarai (city)|Sarai]] on the [[Volga]], but Andrey refused to go.{{sfn|Martin|2007|p=178}} Thanks to his friendship with [[Sartaq Khan]], the subsequent invasion by the Mongols, their first venture into northeastern Rus' since the initial conquest, saw Andrey exiled to Sweden and Alexander assuming the title of [[grand prince of Vladimir]] in 1252,{{sfn|Martin|2007|pp=158–161, 178}} the most senior of the princes at the time following the fall of Kiev.<ref name="Figes">{{Cite book |last=Figes |first=Orlando |title=The Story of Russia |publisher=Metropolitan Books |year=2022 |pages=38–39|quote=In 1252, Nevsky travelled to Sarai, where Batu Khan appointed him the grand prince of Vladimir, the most senior of the princes following the fall of Kiev. He acted as the Mongols' loyal servant, suppressing a rebellion in Novgorod and other towns against their census officials. 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, generally tolerant of religions. He recognised the Mongols as powerful protectors of the lucrative north Russian trade with the Baltic Germans and Sweden. 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> Alexander faithfully supported Mongol rule within his own domains. In 1259, he led an army to the city of Novgorod and forced it to pay tribute it had previously refused to the Golden Horde.{{sfn|Martin|2007|pp=168–170}}

==Family==

In 1242, Alexander married Aleksandra, a daughter of Bryacheslav Vasilkovich, the prince of [[Principality of Polotsk|Polotsk]].{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=102}} They had five children:

*Vasily, prince of Novgorod (c. 1239 – 1271), betrothed to [[Princess Kristina of Norway]] in 1251 before the marriage contract was broken;
*Eudoxia Alexandrovna, married Konstantin Rostislavich of [[Smolensk]];
*[[Dmitry of Pereslavl|Dmitry]] (c. 1250 – 1294), prince of Pereslavl and grand prince of Vladimir;{{sfn|Fennell|2022|loc=AppendixB}}
*[[Andrey of Gorodets]] (c. 1255 –  1304), prince of Gorodets and grand prince of Vladimir;{{sfn|Fennell|2022|loc=AppendixB}}
*[[Daniel of Moscow]] (1261–1303), prince of Moscow.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://msdm.ru/eng/index.htm |title="History", St. Daniel Monastery, Moscow |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-date=24 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524152613/http://msdm.ru/eng/index.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Fennell|2022|loc=AppendixB}}

==Death and burial==
On 14 November 1263, while returning from [[Sarai (city)|Sarai]] on one of his frequent visits to the Horde, Alexander died in the town of [[Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast|Gorodets]]-on-the-[[Volga]]. On 23 November 1263, he was buried in the church of the Monastery of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God in [[Vladimir, Russia|Vladimir]].<ref name="oca"/>{{sfn|Fennell|2014|p=88}}

From the ''Second Pskovian Chronicle'':<ref name=Begunov1955p11-15/>

{{blockquote|
Returning from the Golden Horde, the Great Prince Alexander,
reached the city of Nizhny Novgorod, and remained there
for several days in good health, but when he reached the
city of Gorodets he fell ill...

Great Prince Alexander, who was always firm in his faith in
God, gave up this worldly kingdom ... And then he gave up
his soul to God and died in peace on 12 November [1263], on
the day when the Holy Apostle Philip is remembered...

At this burial Metropolitan Archbishop Cyril said, 'My
children, you should know that the sun of the Suzdalian land
has set. There will never be another prince like him in the
Suzdalian land.'

And the priests and deacons and monks, the poor and
the wealthy, and all the people said: 'It is our end.'
}}

==Veneration and sainthood==
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = Saint
|name=Alexander Nevsky
|major_shrine = [[Vladimir, Russia|Vladimir]]; [[Pereslavl-Zalessky]], [[Saint Petersburg]]
|patronage = Russian Ground Forces and Russian Naval Infantry|feast_day=23 November (Repose)<br/>2 May ([[Synaxis]] of the Saints of Rosand Yaroslavl)<br/>30 August (Translation of [[relic]]s)
|venerated_in =[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
|image=Alexander Newski.jpg
|imagesize=
|caption=
|titles= [[Grand Prince of Vladimir]]
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=1547
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by= [[Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow|Metropolite Macarius]]
}}

The veneration of Alexander began almost immediately after his burial, when he reportedly extended his hand for the prayer of absolution.<ref name="oca">{{cite web|url=https://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/08/30/102424-translation-of-the-relics-of-st-alexander-nevsky|title=Translation of the relics of St Alexander Nevsky|access-date=23 April 2019|publisher=The [[Orthodox Church in America]]|archive-date=23 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423110324/https://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/08/30/102424-translation-of-the-relics-of-st-alexander-nevsky|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Orthodox tradition, Alexander foresaw his death and before this took strict [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christian]] monastic vows, called [[Great Schema]], and took the name Alexey.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Святой благоверный великий князь Александр Невский — 800-летие Александра Невского |url=https://anevsky800.ru/%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80-%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9/ |access-date=2025-01-23 |language=ru-RU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Святой благоверный князь Александр Невский / Патриархия.ru |url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/908524.html |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=Патриархия.ru |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Святой благоверный великий князь Александр Невский — в схиме Алексий + Православный Церковный календарь |url=https://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life6392.htm |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=days.pravoslavie.ru}}</ref>

In 1380, Alexander's remains were uncovered in response to a [[vision (religion)|vision]] before the [[Battle of Kulikovo]] and found to be [[incorrupt]]. The relics were then placed in a shrine in the church. Alexander was canonized as a saint of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] by [[Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow|Metropolitan Macarius]] in 1547.<ref name="oca"/>

In 1695, a new wooden reliquary was made in Moscow, and the relics were placed in it in 1697.<ref name="oca"/> By order of [[Peter the Great]], the relics were then removed from Vladimir on 11 August 1723 and transported to [[Shlisselburg]], arriving there on 20 September.<ref name="oca"/> There they were kept until 1724, when they were brought to [[Saint Petersburg]] and installed in the [[Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra]] on 30 August.<ref name="oca"/>

[[File:Opening of relics 03.jpg|thumb|left|1922 opening of Nevsky's relics]]
In 1753, a [[:ru:Рака Александра Невского|silver shrine with sarcophagus]] for the relics, made from 90 pounds of silver, was donated by Empress [[Elizabeth of Russia]]. With the completion of the [[Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra]] in 1790, the shrine and relics were translated there at its consecration on 30 August, one of the saint's feast days.<ref name="oca"/>

In May 1922, during the [[1922 confiscation of Russian Orthodox Church property|general confiscation of Russian Orthodox Church property]], the sarcophagus was opened and the relics removed;<ref name="RM">{{cite web|url=https://rusmania.com/north-western/st-petersburg-federal-city/st-petersburg/bezymyanny-island-and-the-south/around-nevsky-prospekt/aleksandro-nevskaya-lavra|title=Aleksandro-Nevskaya Lavra|access-date=23 April 2019|publisher=rusmania.com|archive-date=23 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423110322/https://rusmania.com/north-western/st-petersburg-federal-city/st-petersburg/bezymyanny-island-and-the-south/around-nevsky-prospekt/aleksandro-nevskaya-lavra|url-status=live}}</ref>{{bsn|date=December 2024}} and the elaborate silver shrine was transferred to the [[Hermitage Museum]].<ref name="RM"/> The relics were put into storage at the [[Museum of the History of Religion]] and Atheism, before being returned to Holy Trinity Cathedral in 1989.<ref name="RM"/> On 10 May 2023, the Hermitage Museum and Alexander Nevsky Lavra signed a contract for the transfer of the shrine to Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra for a period of 49 years.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Guzeva |first1=Alexandra |title=Alexander Nevsky's shrine: Why Petersburg relic is leaving the Hermitage |url=https://www.rbth.com/arts/336168-alexander-nevsky-shrine-orthodox-church |website=Russia Beyond |access-date=13 October 2023 |date=18 May 2023}}</ref> On 12 September 2023, [[Patriarch Kirill of Moscow]] placed the relics back into the silver sarcophagus.<ref>{{cite web |title=Patriarch Kirill Places Relics of St. Alexander Nevsky in Newly Returned Sarcophagus  |url=https://orthochristian.com/156012.html |website=Orthodox Christianity |access-date=13 October 2023 |date=13 September 2023}}</ref>

Alexander's principal [[feast day]] is 23 November. A secondary feast day was instituted on 30 August in commemoration of his relics being placed in the Annunciation Church. He is jointly commemorated with other saints of [[Rostov, Yaroslavl Oblast|Rostov]] and [[Yaroslavl]] on 23 May.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

In February 2024, it was announced that the memorial of Saint Alexander Nevsky had been deleted from the [[Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar|synaxarion]] of the [[Orthodox Church of Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Alexander Nevsky ejected from the liturgical calendar of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church|date=13 February 2024 |url=https://anglican.ink/2024/02/12/alexander-nevsky-ejected-from-the-liturgical-calendar-of-the-ukrainian-orthodox-church/|access-date=14 February 2024}}</ref>

== 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>

==See also==
* [[Life of Alexander Nevsky (illuminated manuscript)|''Life of Alexander Nevsky'' (illuminated manuscript)]]
* [[Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (disambiguation)|Alexander Nevsky Cathedral]] – an incomplete listing of Eastern Orthodox cathedrals which bear his name
* [[Family tree of Russian monarchs]]
*[[Chapel of Saint Alexander Nevsky (Fergana)]]

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Alexander nevskiy archangelskiy sobor.jpg|Saint Alexander Nevsky, 1666 [[fresco]] in the [[Cathedral of the Archangel]], Moscow
Alexander Nevskiy receiving papal legates by Siemiradzki (litography).jpg|''Prince Alexander Nevsky receiving Papal legates'', painting by [[Henryk Siemiradzki]] (1870s)
Александр Невский (2010.06.26) - panoramio.jpg|A statue of Alexander Nevsky in [[Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast|Gorodets]]
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
=== Primary sources ===
* ''[[Livonian Rhymed Chronicle]]'' (LRC, {{circa}} 1290s).
** {{cite book |last=Meyer |first=Leo |authorlink=Leo Meyer (philologist) |title=Livländische Reimchronik, mit Anmerkungen, Namenverzeichniss und Glossar herausgegeben von Leo Meyer |trans-title=Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, with Annotations, Index of Names and Glossary, edited by Leo Meyer |year=1876 |location=[[Paderborn]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfNhA0nWg8EC |language=la|access-date=3 November 2024}} (Reprint: [[Hildesheim]] 1963). Verses 2235–2262. 
** {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/livonian-rhymed-chronicle.-1977 |title=The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle: Translated with an Historical Introduction, Maps and Appendices |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Jerry C. |editor-last2=Urban |editor-first2=William L. |date=1977 |pages=181 |location=Bloomington |publisher=Indiana University Press |series=Uralic and Altaic series |isbn=978-0-87750-213-5}}
* Synod Scroll (Older Redaction) of the ''[[Novgorod First Chronicle]]'' (NPL, {{circa}} 1315).
** {{Cite book |last1=Michell |first1=Robert |last2=Forbes |first2=Nevill |date=1914 |title=The Chronicle of Novgorod 1016–1471. Translated from the Russian by Robert Michell and Nevill Forbes, Ph.D. Reader in Russian in the University of Oxford, with an introduction by C. Raymond Beazley and A. A. Shakhmatov |url=http://faculty.washington.edu/dwaugh/rus/texts/MF1914.pdf |location=London |publisher=[[Gray's Inn]] |pages=237 |access-date=5 April 2024}}

===Literature===
* {{cite book |last1=Dukes |first1=Paul |authorlink1=Paul Dukes (historian) |title=A History of Russia: Medieval, Modern, Contemporary, C. 882-1996 |date=1998 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-2096-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-K56QgAACAAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fennell |first1=John |title=The Crisis of Medieval Russia 1200-1304 |date=13 October 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-87313-6 |page=106 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aWWuBAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fennell |first1=John |title=The Emergence of Moscow, 1304-1359 |date=23 September 2022 |publisher=Univ of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-34758-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iI2EEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fonnesberg-Schmidt |first1=Iben |title=The popes and the Baltic crusades, 1147–1254 |date=2007 |publisher=Brill|isbn=9789004155022}}
* {{cite book |title=Medieval Russia: 980–1584. Second Edition. E-book |last=Martin |first=Janet |authorlink=Janet L. B. Martin |url=https://www.ebooks.com/en-us/book/802816/medieval-russia-980-1584/janet-martin/ |year=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-511-36800-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Nazarova |first1=Evgeniya L. |author1-link=Alan V. Murray |editor1-last=Murray |editor1-first=Alan V. |title=The Crusades: An Encyclopedia [4 volumes] |date=30 August 2006 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-57607-862-4 |pages=42–43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nuopAQAAMAAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Nicolle |first1=David |title=Lake Peipus 1242: Battle of the ice |date=15 March 1997 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-85532-553-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YnOLAQAACAAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Raffensperger |first1=Christian |last2=Ostrowski |first2=Donald |authorlink2=Donald Ostrowski |title=The Ruling Families of Rus: Clan, Family and Kingdom |publisher=Reaktion Books |location=London |date=2023 |pages=309 |isbn=978-1-78914-745-2}} (e-book)
* {{cite book |last=Selart |first=Anti |title=Livonia, Rus' and the Baltic Crusades in the Thirteenth Century |chapter=Chapter 3: Livonia and Rus' in the 1230s and 1240s |publisher=BRILL |publication-place=Leiden/Boston |date=2015 |pages=127–170 |isbn=978-90-04-28475-3 |doi=10.1163/9789004284753_005}}
* {{cite book |last1=Välimäki |first1=Reima |title=Medievalism in Finland and Russia: Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Aspects |date=December 2022 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-350-23288-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JwKfEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}

==Further reading==
{{See also|Bibliography of the history of the Early Slavs and Rus'|Bibliography of Russian history (1223–1613)|Bibliography of Russian history (1613–1917)}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Alexander Nevsky, Saint |volume= 1 |last= Bain |first= Robert Nisbet |author-link= Robert Nisbet Bain| page = 556 |short=1 }}
* Isoaho, Mari. ''The Image of Aleksandr Nevskiy in Medieval Russia: Warrior and Saint (The Northern World; 21)''. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2006 (hardcover, {{ISBN|90-04-15101-X}}).
* "Tale of the Life and Courage of the Pious and Great Prince Alexander [Nevsky]" in ''Medieval Russia's Epics, Chronicles, and Tales'', ed. [[Serge Aleksandr Zenkovsky|Serge Zenkovsky]], 224–235 (New York: Meridian, 1974)

==External links==
{{Commons category|Alexander Nevsky}}
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=103377 Repose of Saint Alexander Nevsky] Orthodox [[icon]] and [[synaxarion]] (23 November)
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=101468 Synaxis of the Saints of Rostov and Yaroslavl] (23 May)
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=102424 Translation of the relics of Saint Alexander Nevsky] (30 August)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171227090023/http://www.nevsky-prospekt.com/stalex.html Saint Alexander on Nevsky Prospekt.]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081206072429/http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=-13283 ''Kommersant:'' Russia’s Hero is Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky] (24 September 2008)
*[http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=5184 Interfax news agency: Orthodox believers found heaven guardians for Russian secret service] (22 September 2008)

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{{S-bef| before=[[Andrei II of Russia|Andrew II]]}}
{{S-ttl| title=[[List of Russian rulers|Grand Prince of Vladimir]] | years=1252–1263}}
{{S-aft| after=[[Yaroslav of Tver|Yaroslav III]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{Subject bar |portal1=Saints |portal2= Biography |portal3= Christianity |portal4= Russia}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander Nevsky}}
[[Category:Alexander Nevsky| ]]
[[Category:People from Pereslavl-Zalessky]]
[[Category:13th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:Grand princes of Vladimir]]
[[Category:People of the Northern Crusades]]
[[Category:Yurievichi family]]
[[Category:13th-century princes from Kievan Rus']]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodox saints from Kievan Rus']]
[[Category:Princes of Novgorod]]
[[Category:1220 births]]
[[Category:1263 deaths]]