Evpatiy Kolovrat is an epic Russian hero, a Ryazan boyar or voivode, a hero of folk tales from the time of Batu's invasion of Russia. The old Russian "The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu" tells about his feat. This story has been preserved in lists, the oldest of which date back to the end of the 16th century. At the same time, the three oldest lists reflected three varieties of this text according to the classification of academician Dmitry Likhachev.
Despite the remoteness of events concerning this person, Evpatiy Kolovrat is a well-known figure who was widely represented in Russian literature, mainly in poetry, poems and ballads.
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Fragment of the diorama "Defense of Old Ryazan in 1237".
The story of Evpatiy Kolovrat is associated with one of the most tragic episodes in the history of Russia - the Mongol invasion, also known as the Invasion of Batu. This was the invasion of the troops of the Mongol Empire on the territory of the Russian principalities in 1237-1240 as part of the Western campaign of the Mongols in 1236-1242. A serious external threat came to Russia at an unsuitable moment for her, the Russian state was in a state of feudal fragmentation and could not withstand the forces of the invaders with united forces. On the other hand, the united tribes and states could not resist the Mongol army of that period, as evidenced by the conquest of the large states of China, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
The direct invasion of the Mongols into Russia began at the end of 1237. The Ryazan principality was the first to fall under the skating rink of Batu Invasion. Having defeated the united army of the Ryazan prince Yuri Igorevich and the Murom princes Yuri Davydovich and Oleg Yuryevich on the Voronezh River, the Mongols moved deep into the Russian lands. The Ryazan prince himself survived this battle and returned to Ryazan, which the Mongol army began to siege on December 16, 1237. The Ryazanians were able to repulse the first attacks, but the defenders' forces melted away, and more and more detachments approached the Mongols, returning from Pronsk, Izheslavl and other cities taken on December 16-17. It should be noted that Ryazan was protected by ten-meter ramparts, on which there were high oak walls with loopholes. The fortifications were watered in winter with water that froze,making them even more inaccessible to the storming troops.
The defenders of Ryazan heroically defended the city for five days, throwing stones, arrows, boiling tar on the heads of the Mongols, and fought in hand-to-hand combat. However, on the sixth day, their forces practically dried up, many soldiers by that time were killed and wounded, and those who remained in the ranks almost invariably fought on the walls, while the Mongols could give their troops rest, carried out rotation and received reinforcements. In addition, at the final stage of the assault, the Mongols widely used battering machines. The last assault on the city began on the night of December 20-21, after a stubborn battle the Mongols rushed into the city, he fell on the sixth day. At the same time, the invaders staged a massacre in the city, destroying the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of Ryazan, including children and infants, and Ryazan Prince Yuri Igorevich also died. The fortifications were also completely destroyed,and the city itself was never rebuilt in this place. At the same time, the Mongols ruined not only Ryazan, but the entire principality, destroying a large number of cities and fortifications. Some of them are still not identified by historians today. For example, the exact location of Belgorod Ryazan is unknown, which was wiped off the face of the earth by the Tumens of Batu and was never restored.
By the time the Mongols invaded Russia, Evpatiy Kolovrat was about 35 years old. Apparently, he occupied a rather honorable place under the Ryazan prince, was a boyar, or rather a voivode. He was also a fairly experienced warrior, a talented commander and had great physical strength. Even before the fall of Ryazan, Prince Yuri Igorevich sent his people with a request for help to the princes of Vladimir and Chernigov. It was in Chernigov that Yevpatiy Kolovrat was at that time, here he was caught by the news of the death of Ryazan and the death of the prince.
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Returning to his native land, he found the city and the principality ravaged and plundered. He met only scorched earth and ashes heaped with the corpses of the dead. Kolovrat was shocked by the cruelty of the conquerors. Perhaps he returned to his native lands with a small detachment of Ryazan soldiers who were at the embassy to the Chernigov prince. On the spot, he replenished his forces with the surviving people who were outside the walls of the city and were hiding in the forests. In total, he managed to assemble a detachment with a total strength of up to 1700 people. With these small forces, Evpatiy Kolovrat set off in pursuit of the Mongols.
The detachment managed to overtake the conquerors already on the territory of the Suzdal lands. The Mongols did not expect an attack from the rear, confident that the Ryazan squads had already been completely destroyed. The attacks of Evpatiy Kolovrat on the rearguards of the Mongol army were sudden for the latter. Most likely, Kolovrat also used the tactics of partisan actions, attacks from ambushes, from the forest. In any case, with small forces, he inflicted serious losses on the enemy. The Mongols, who did not expect an attack from the ruined Ryazan principality, were horrified, believing that it was the dead who had risen to avenge themselves. At the same time, it is not known for certain how many battles the detachment of Evpatiy Kolovrat fought, there is no consensus on this matter. It is believed that there could be several of them and they were quite successful,since they were able to sow real panic in the rear of the Mongol army.
What was happening in the rear excited Batu, and he deployed significant forces against the attackers. Ultimately, the overwhelming advantage in the number of troops decided the outcome of the confrontation. The Mongols were able to impose a field battle on the detachment of Evpatiy Kolovrat, in fact, completely surrounded. At the same time, Batu sent his wife's brother Khostovrul against Kolovrat. He boasted to the khan that he would bring Kolovrat to him alive, but he himself died in battle. As noted in the chronicle "The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu", Kolovrat cut him in half with his sword, right to the saddle.
According to legend, Batu, who did not want to lose his people anymore, sent an ambassador to the Russian soldiers with the question: "What do you want?" "Just die!" - came the answer. Ultimately, seeing the tenacity with which a handful of Russian warriors are fighting, the Mongols used vices against them (stone throwing machines designed to destroy fortifications). It was under the hail of stones that the last Russian warriors from the Kolovrat squad and the hero himself died. It is believed that, admiring the courage of Evpatiy Kolovrat, and also as a sign of respect for his courage, Batu released the Ryazan warriors captured by wounded from his detachment with the body of a killed knight so that they would bury him according to their customs.
The personality of Evpatiy Kolovrat, like many characters and events of the 13th century, is, for obvious reasons, shrouded in many questions and secrets. For example, the questions are often discussed whether Evpatiy was a Christian or a pagan? Those who consider him a pagan indicate his name and surname. In their opinion, Kolovrat is a Slavic pagan symbol of the sun, and the name Evpatny is not in the Holy Calendar. Both statements are wrong. There is not a single ethnographic source that would confirm the ancient Slavic pagan origin of the word Kolovrat and its relation to the sun. On the contrary, it is reliably known that a self-firing rocket was called a gear device for cocking easel crossbows installed on a special machine - a frame with wheels (in Russia, crossbows were called crossbows). And the surname Evpatia may be directly related to this device or crossbow business.
If we talk about the name Eupatius itself, then this is a modified form of the Greek estate Hypatius. In Ancient Russia, it was quite widespread, since it was associated with the revered holy martyr Hypatius of Gangrsky. In honor of him, one of the oldest Russian monasteries was even built in Kostroma. At the same time, small changes in the pronunciation and spelling of the name Hypatius are associated with the peculiarities of the language tradition and do not represent something special. The same Greek name Georgy in the Slavic tradition was modified at once into two different derivative names - Yegor and Yuri.
Monument to Evpatiy Kolovrat in Ryazan.
There is also a version that Evpatiy is a collective image that can symbolize not even different people, but all of Russia, which is dying, but does not surrender to the invaders. The same "The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu" is characterized by the features of epic epic songs of the 13th-14th centuries. This work can be considered more fictional than historical. This can be indicated by the symbolism and hyperbole that are present in the narrative; there were also numerous inaccuracies associated with historical characters in the text of the story. However, even if Evpatiy Kolovrat is just a beautiful legend and he himself is a collective image of the best Russian heroes or even all of Russia, it is still important for our history. Be that as it may, during the Mongol invasion of Russia it was quite possible to meet Russian people of unprecedented strength of mind,capable of performing a variety of feats. Thanks to such people, Russian soldiers were able to gain glory in the world, and the Russians themselves are perceived as a people deserving respect.
Currently, there are three monuments in our country dedicated to Evpatiy Kolovrat. All three are located in the Ryazan region. The first was located in the city of Shilovo, according to some sources, this very settlement was the birthplace of Kolovrat. The second monument, which is also the most famous, was installed in Ryazan itself in 2007. It is located in the city center on Pochtovaya Square and is located relatively close to the Kremlin. The third monument was erected at the exit from the village of Frolovo towards the village of Ryassy (in the Shilovsky district of the region).