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==Career of Alexander Nevsky==

Alexander was the son of Yaroslav II, grand prince of Vladimir, the leading Russian ruler. In 1236 Alexander was elected ruler of the city-state of Novograd which dominated a huge area of Northern Russia. Soon later a large Swedish force invaded Novgorodian territory. When he was only nineteen. Alexander gathered together a small army and defeated the Swedes at the River Neva (1240), which earned him the epithet of Nevsky after the river where he routed the invaders. However, Alexander argued with the wealthy merchants of Novograd and he was expelled. <ref> Isoaho, Mari. The Image of Aleksandr Nevsky in Medieval Russia: Warrior and Saint. (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2006), p. 14</ref>. About this time the Pope had urged the Military Orders to Christianize the Baltic region and Northern Russia. This meant destroying the Orthodox Church and imposing the Catholic faith on Russians and others. The Livonian Knights, a German military religious order with their allies advanced deep into Novgorodian territory. A fearful Novograd invited Alexander to return which he did to lead the defense of the Russian territory. After some skirmishes Alexander faced the Livonian Knights and met the Germans and their allies on a river near Pskov, during winter (1242). He defeated the Germans nights in a battle on the frozen river and destroyed much of their army. This has gone down in Russian history as the Battle on the Ice<ref> Christiansen, Eric. The Northern Crusades (2nd ed.) (Penguin Books. Harmondsworth, 1997), pp. 102–103</ref>. Alexander also protected northern Russia from attacks from pagan Lithuanian tribes who attempted to seize territory. He later defeated several later German and Swedish incursions. Alexander’s father the Grand Prince served the Mongols and cooperated with them until he was assassinated. Alexander who was on good terms with the Khan was appointed as Grand Prince with the understanding that he would rule in the interests of the Golden Horde. He was to prove to be an effective collaborator and very loyal to the conquerors. When his own brother along with other Russian Princes conspired against the Mongols he denounced them to the Khan. He made sure that the local rulers in Russia did not rebel against the Mongols. For example, when the people of Novgorod installed a Prince who wanted to resist the ‘Tartars’ he attacked the city and installed his son as ruler <ref> Isahao, p. 114</ref>. He even forced them to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. Alexander urged the Princes and the Boyers to accept the ‘Tartar Yoke’ as he knew that resistance was futile. He feared that the Mongols would devastate the Russian lands and that the Russian peoples would disappear. Alexander was a patriot, but he was also a pragmatist and he knew that any Russian revolt would be crushed and that the ordinary people would suffer most. He forced much of Russia to comply with a Mongol census and the exactions of Muslim tax collectors Janet Martin, From Kiev to Muscovy: The Beginnings to 1450, in Russia: A History (Oxford Press, Oxford, 1997, edited by Gregory Freeze), p. 72.</ref>. Alexander tried to reduce the burdens that were placed on the ordinary Russians. He was by and largely successful, for example, he persuaded the Mongols not to draft Russian levies into the Mongol army for an invasion of the Middle East <ref> Isahao, p. 145</ref>. Alexander was able to maintain peace and to secure the acceptance of Mongol rule by the force of his personality and the alliance he created between the local princes, church, and nobles. Prince Alexander Nevsky died in Vladimir in 1263 and he was succeeded by his sons. In the aftermath of his death, the various Russian principalities began to feud with each other and occasionally rebelled against the Golden Horde, at this time the ordinary people suffered greatly.

==Alexander Nevsky and the west==

It seemed that after the Mongol invasions that Northern Russia would come under the sway of western states and become Catholic. However, Alexander’s defeats of the Swedes and the Germans ensured that the Russians in the North remained free of western interference and were able to retain their own distinctive identity. By far the greatest threats to the Russians were the Livonian Knights. They and their brethren in the south the Teutonic Knights had conquered large areas of the Baltic in the name of the Pope. If Alexander had not defeated the Livonian Knights at the Battle on the Ice they could have advanced deep into Northern Russia <ref> Andrejs Plakans, A Concise History of the Baltic States, (Cambridge University Press, 2011), p. 44 </ref>. Alexander also ensured that Northern Russia was not added to the expanding realm of the Pagan Duchy of Lithuania. This was to be of tremendous importance for the Russian people. If the Germans, Swedes and Lithuanians had not been defeated then, Northern Russia would have been absorbed into Europe. Instead northern Russian lands was to remain outside of the European kingdom’s orbit <ref> David Christian, A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia (London, Blackwell Publishing, 1998) p. 286–288 </ref>. These lands were to retain their distinctive Russian character and helped to preserve Russian culture during the era of the Tartar Yoke. Today, we acknowledge Russia to be distinct from Europe and much of this is because of the victories secured by Alexander Nevsky.