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[[File: Nevsk.jpg |200px|thumb|left|A military decoration named after Alexander Nevsky]]

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.