There is a version that the Tatar-Mongol yoke did not exist at all. They say there is no historical evidence for this. The history of Alexander Nevsky is also very controversial. Many perceive him as the winner in the Livonian massacre and that's it. They don't even know about his relationship with the Horde. Descendants know about his strong-willed decisions, brilliantly won battles, bright mind and ability to perform thoughtful actions.
Nevertheless, many of his actions and decisions still do not have an unambiguous assessment. Historians of different years argue about the reasons for certain actions of the prince, each time finding new clues that allow them to be interpreted from a side convenient for scientists. Alliance with the Horde remains one such contentious issue.
Why did Alexander Nevsky become a friend of the Tatar khan? What prompted him to make this decision? And what is the real reason for his seemingly non-standard act for that time?
The most widespread are three versions.
The first of them belongs to the historian Lev Gumilyov. He believed that Alexander Nevsky thought out all the options well and entered into an alliance with the Horde, since he believed that the patronage of the Tatar-Mongols would be a good support for Russia. That is why the prince made a vow of mutual friendship and loyalty to the son of Khan Batu.
According to the second version, to which a number of historians are inclined, the prince simply did not have a choice, he preferred the lesser of two evils. On the one hand, there was a real threat of invasion from the west, on the other, the Tatars were advancing. The prince decided that it would be more advantageous to make concessions to the Horde.
The third version is very exotic, put forward by the historian Valentin Yanin. According to her, Alexander was driven by selfishness and a desire to strengthen his power. He forced Novgorod to submit to the Horde's influence and spread Tatar power in it. According to the historian, the prince was so despotic and cruel that he gouged out the eyes of those who disagreed to live under the yoke.
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Livonian, Teutonic and Tatar attacks
1237 was marked by widespread attacks by the army of Khan Batu. Ruined cities, people fleeing to forests, lands, one after another conquered by the Tatars. In those difficult conditions, many princes of the southern lands fled to Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, seeking protection from the western rulers. Even the noble inhabitants of northern Russia sought protection from the Roman Catholic Church. All of them sincerely believed that by order of the Pope, the Western army would rise to defend the Russian lands.
In Veliky Novgorod, Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich was well aware that the Horde would reach his territory. The option of becoming a Catholic and with the help of a large-scale crusade to drive out the pagan Tatars from the Russian principalities did not appeal to him either. But the young ruler turned out to be more far-sighted than his ancestors.
Alexander understood that the scope of the Horde's capture was terrifying. It should be noted that the Tatar government did not penetrate into all spheres of life. They levied tribute, severely punished for disobedience. But at the same time, they did not strive to change the arranged life, and most importantly, they did not force them to change their faith. For representatives of the clergy, they even had some kind of privileges - they were exempted from paying taxes. And the Tatars themselves were tolerant of people with different religions.
But such an attractive, at first glance, rapprochement with Catholics would eventually entail a change in religion, family structure and way of life. Setting themselves the task of freeing the lands from the Horde, the Livonian and Teutonic orders simultaneously sought to seize the Russian lands, establishing their own laws and rules of life on them.
The young ruler Alexander had to decide whom to choose as an allies. The task was not easy, so he was playing for time, not giving an answer to Western representatives.
Friendship with the Horde for the good of Russia
After the death of the great Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, the father of Prince Alexander, a new distribution of roles in the princely hierarchy was to take place. Khan Batu gathered all the rulers of the conquered principalities. The khan also invited Alexander Nevsky.
Arriving at the appointed meeting, after analyzing the situation, Alexander realized that it would not be possible to defeat the Horde even together with the Roman army. The behavior of the crusaders in the neighboring lands caused horror and alarm. Then the decision was made - in order to confront the armies from the west, it is necessary to make the Horde an ally. Therefore, Nevsky became the named son of the khan himself.
The Pope's proposal to convert to Catholicism was sharply rejected by the prince. This act was then assessed ambiguously. Few understood the true reasons, so there were many who considered this step treacherous. The sources preserved materials about how Nevsky drank kumis when visiting Batu. In this act, people saw submission, denial of their interests and full recognition of the Horde power.
But not everyone understood that by making such concessions, in return the prince easily received the indulgences of the laws necessary for Russia, promoted his demands, preserved the security, well-ordered life and the right to his faith so necessary for the Russian people.
Tatars as defenders against attacks from the west
There was one more meaning in alliance with the Horde. A far-sighted prince, having become part of the large team of Khan Batu, having received a huge strong army of allies, ready to come to the rescue in the fight against enemies. Considering the lands that joined them as their possessions, the Tatars fought for them not life, but to death. In addition, despite constant battles and casualties, the Horde army did not become smaller. According to historians, it was constantly replenished with men from the newly conquered countries.
An analysis of historical sources shows that the Horde has always come to the aid of its allies. When the Tatars entered the battle, the confident onslaught of the crusaders quickly stopped. This allowed the Russian lands to survive. It turns out that for those concessions that Nevsky made before Batu, Russia was able to get a reliable large army, which helped save Pskov and Novgorod from destruction, and years later Smolensk
Union for salvation
To this day, historians do not agree on a single assessment of the events of those days. Some foreign historians consider the behavior of Prince Alexander a betrayal of the European anti-Mongol case. But at the same time, it cannot be denied that the scale of destruction that many lands suffered from the invasion of the Tatars could not have survived, and even more so with dignity to reflect the blow at that time, Russia could not. Feudal fragmentation, the absence of a combat-ready population would have prevented the gathering of a worthy all-Russian army. And the Western allies demanded too much payment for their support.
As proof of this - the fate of the lands that did not agree to an alliance with the Horde - they were seized by Poland, Lithuania, and the situation there was very sad. In the format of the Western European ethnos, the conquered were considered second-class people.
Those Russian lands that accepted an alliance with the Horde were able to preserve their way of life, partial independence, the right to live according to their own order. Russia, in the Mongol ulus, became not a province, but a country-ally of the great khan, and, in fact, paid a tax to maintain the army, which it needed itself.
An analysis of all the events of that time, as well as their significance, which influenced the entire subsequent development of Russia, allows us to conclude that the conclusion of an alliance with the Horde was a forced step and was taken by Alexander Nevsky for the sake of saving Orthodox Russia.
Do you agree with this?