Yuri (George) Vsevolodovich, Grand Duke of Vladimir. Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir Grand Duke of Vladimir

Yuri Vsevolodovich (1188-1238) - Grand Duke Vladimirsky, son of Vsevolod the Big Nest.

Yuri Vsevolodovich was one of the many sons of Prince Vsevolod Big Nest, took an active part in 1212-1216, participated in the Battle of Lipitsa, twice sat on the grand-ducal throne in Vladimir, the first time receiving it from his father, and the second - according to the will of his brother Constantine. Yuri remained Grand Duke of Vladimir until his death in 1238, when the throne was transferred to his brother Yaroslav.

Biography of Yuri Vsevolodovich (briefly)

Prince Yuri was born in 1188 in Suzdal, the third son of Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich and his first wife. From an early age, Yuri was involved in both the spiritual and military life of his family, which later affected his politics. In his early years he took part in several military campaigns together with his brothers. In particular, in 1207 he went to Ryazan, and in 1208 and 1209. - to Torzhok. Yuri Vsevolodovich married in 1211 and subsequently had several children, of whom only a daughter survived.

Prince Yuri began to be mentioned more often in chronicles starting in 1211, when he entered into an internecine war with his own brothers. The cause of the discord was the city of Vladimir, which Prince Vsevolod, contrary to tradition, transferred not to his eldest son Konstantin, but to Yuri. After the death of Vsevolod in 1212, Constantine decided to return the throne that rightfully belonged to him and made a proposal to give Yuri Suzdal in exchange for Vladimir. Yuri did not accept the offer, and civil strife ensued, in which the other brothers were also drawn.

Yuri and Constantine gathered troops several times and went on campaigns against each other in 1213 and 1214, but neither army could prevail over the other, and the brothers stood at the mouth of the river for a long time. Ishna. The confrontation was resolved only a few years later, in 1216, when Mstislav Rostislavich joined Constantine’s army and together they were able to invade Vladimir, defeat the army of Yuri and Yaroslav and subjugate power to themselves. In the same year, Constantine became the Grand Duke of Vladimir.

However, Yuri briefly loses his throne. Konstantin, having spent a year in Vladimir, writes a will, according to which after his death the city goes to Yuri. Another year later, in 1218, Konstantin dies, and Yuri again becomes the Prince of Vladimir and does not leave this place until his death.

Domestic and foreign policy of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich

The policy of Yuri Vsevolodovich is in many ways similar to the policy of his father. Like him, Yuri was not a supporter of open armed conflicts; he always tried to use diplomacy and cunning in resolving certain foreign policy problems. It was by avoiding serious military conflicts that he was able to achieve certain successes in domestic and foreign policy.

Despite his peacefulness, Yuri still carried out several campaigns during his reign. In particular, starting from 1220, he waged an active struggle against Volga Bulgaria, which by that time was able to occupy part of the Russian territories on the border. Yuri sends his army against the Bulgarians, which manages to reach the territory of Volga Bulgaria, destroy several large cities and villages, thereby forcing the Bulgarians to agree to a truce. However, even after Yuri receives a peace offer, he does not meet his former rivals halfway. Only a year later, in 1221, after two more peace offers and a significant ransom, Yuri signed a peace treaty. At the same time, in order to strengthen his power in the conquered territories, Yuri orders the founding of Novy Gorod (Nizhny Novgorod) and the rebuilding of several cathedrals and temples in it.

Later, in 1222 and 1223, Yuri, together with the Lithuanians, fought the Estonian tribe near the city of Revel. After two campaigns against the Estonians, a new stage of the struggle begins with the Lithuanians, who had recently supported Yuri and then attacked Rus'. At the same time, a conflict flared up within the country with Novgorod, in which the prince also took part.

In 1226, Yuri and his troops began a long struggle with Mordva for the territories around Nizhny Novgorod. The struggle continues for several years with varying success - major battles occur in 1226, 1228 and 1229.

At the end of his reign, Yuri faces a more serious threat -. In 1236, Batu Khan attacked Rus' and quickly conquered its territories. After Moscow was captured, Yuri, having learned about this, sets off from Vladimir to the river. City, where he begins to actively recruit an army and call on his brothers for help. Although Yuri enlisted the support of Yaroslav and Svyatoslav, the princes did not have time to gather a strong enough army. In February 1238, Khan Batu captured Vladimir, ravaged the city and burned Yuri’s entire family (only his daughter survived).

Yuri undertakes a retaliatory campaign against Batu in March 1238. In one of the battles, on March 4, he dies.

Results of the reign of Yuri Vsevolodovich

Historians assess the role of Prince Yuri in the history of Rus' ambiguously. On the one hand, he managed to do quite a lot for the development of the state: several beneficial peace agreements were concluded, new cities were built, and much attention was paid to the development of the church. Yuri was a fairly merciful ruler, constantly building new cathedrals, monasteries, churches, and helping those in need.

On the other hand, he failed to protect Rus' from the Mongol-Tatar invasion and the devastation that followed. It was the unsuccessful policy of Prince Yuri that would largely be the reason for the long reign of the Tatars on the territory of Rus'.

Nevertheless, for his attitude towards the church and mercy, Yuri was canonized in 1645.

Yuri (George) Vsevolodovich(November 26, 1188 - March 4, 1238) - Grand Duke of Vladimir (1212-1216, 1218-1238), Prince of Gorodets (1216-1217), Prince of Suzdal (1217-1218).

The third son of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Vsevolod Yuryevich Big Nest from his first marriage, with Maria Shvarnovna. Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the ranks of the noble princes. The relics of the prince are in the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir.

early years

Born in Suzdal on November 26, 1188. Bishop Luke baptized him. On July 28, 1192, they were committed tonsure Yuri and on the same day they put him on a horse; “And there was great joy in the city of Suzdal,” noted the chronicler.

In 1207, Yuri took part in a campaign against the Ryazan princes, in the winter of 1208/1209 with Constantine on Torzhok against the Novgorodians, who imprisoned his brother, Svyatoslav, and called Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny to reign, and at the very beginning of 1209 - against the Ryazanians , trying to take advantage of the absence of the main Suzdal forces and attacking the outskirts of Moscow.

In 1211, Yuri married Princess Agathia Vsevolodovna, daughter of Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermny, Prince of Chernigov; The wedding took place in Vladimir, in the Assumption Cathedral, by Bishop John.

Conflict with brother

In 1211, Vsevolod the Big Nest, with the support of a specially convened meeting with the participation of the boyars and Bishop John, gave the Grand Duke's Vladimir table to Yuri in violation of the rights of his eldest son, Constantine.

On April 14, 1212, Vsevolod died, and the contradictions between the brothers resulted in civil strife. The 3rd oldest brother Yaroslav took the side of Yuri, and the 4th and 5th brothers Vladimir and Svyatoslav took the side of Konstantin. Yuri was ready to give Vladimir in exchange for Rostov, but Konstantin did not agree to such an exchange and offered his brother Suzdal, he refused. At first, the struggle took place on the territory of the principality, but then, when the interests of Yuri and Yaroslav intersected with the interests of the Smolensk Rostislavichs, in particular Mstislav Udatny, in Novgorod, the Smolensk and Novgorodians invaded the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, united with Constantine and defeated Yuri, Yaroslav and the Murom residents and put under the great reign of Constantine. Yuri received his inheritance Gorodets Radilov on the Volga. Bishop Simon followed him there. The very next year, Konstantin gave Yuri Suzdal and, leaving Rostov land as an inheritance to his offspring, he recognized his brother as his successor at the grand ducal throne. Constantine died on February 2, 1218, and Yuri became Grand Duke for the second time.

Foreign policy

Yuri Vsevolodovich, like his father, achieved foreign policy successes, largely avoiding military clashes. In the period 1220-1234, Vladimir troops (including those in alliance with Novgorod, Ryazan, Murom and Lithuanian) conducted 14 campaigns. Of these, only three ended in battles (victories over external opponents; 1220, 1226, 1234).

Already in 1212, Yuri released from captivity the Ryazan princes captured by his father in 1208, including Ingvar and Yuri Igorevich, who came to power in Ryazan as a result of the struggle of 1217-1219 and became Yuri's allies.

In 1217, the Volga Bulgarians reached Ustyug, but retaliatory measures were taken only after the death of Constantine and Yuri’s rise to power, in 1220. Yuri sent a large army under the leadership of his brother Svyatoslav; the army reached the city of Oshel on the Volga and burned it. At the same time, the Rostov and Ustyug regiments along the Kama entered the land of the Bulgarians and destroyed many cities and villages. At the mouth of the Kama, both armies united and returned home. That same winter, the Bulgarians sent envoys to ask for peace, but Yuri refused them.

In 1221, he himself wanted to go against the Bulgarians and marched to Gorodets. On the way, he was met by a second Bulgarian embassy with the same request and was again refused. A third embassy arrived in Gorodets with rich gifts, and this time Yuri agreed to peace. In order to strengthen an important place for Russia at the confluence of the Oka and the Volga, Yuri at that time founded the city of “Nov Grad” (Nizhny Novgorod) here, on the Dyatlov Mountains. At the same time, he built a wooden church in the name of the Archangel Michael in the new city (later the Archangel Cathedral), and in 1225 he founded stone church Spasa.

The founding of Nizhny Novgorod entailed a struggle with the Mordovians, taking advantage of disagreements between its princes. In 1226, Yuri sent his brothers Svyatoslav and Ivan against her, and in September 1228, his nephew Vasilko Konstantinovich of Rostov; in January 1229 he himself went against the Mordovians. After this, the Mordovians attacked Nizhny Novgorod, and in 1232 they were pacified by Yuri’s son Vsevolod with the princes of Ryazan and Murom. Opponents of the spread of Vladimir's influence on the Mordovian lands were defeated, but a few years later, during Mongol invasion, part of the Mordovian tribes sided with the Mongols.

Yuri organized campaigns to help his former opponents in the Battle of Lipitsa: the Rostislavichs of Smolensk, defeated by the Mongols on Kalka - in 1223 to the southern Russian lands led by his nephew Vasilko Konstantinovich, who, however, did not have to fight: having reached Chernigov, he learned of the defeat Russians and returned to Vladimir; and in 1225 - against the Lithuanians, who ravaged the Smolensk and Novgorod lands, ending with the victory of Yaroslav at Usvyat.

In 1222-1223, Yuri twice sent troops, respectively, led by the brothers Svyatoslav to Wenden and Yaroslav to Revel to help the Estonia, who rebelled against the Order of the Sword. In the first campaign, the Lithuanians were allies of the Russians. According to the Chronicle of Henry of Latvia, a third campaign was launched in 1224, but Russian troops only reached Pskov. Russian chronicles date Yuri's conflict with Novgorod nobility. Vsevolod Yuryevich was taken by his supporters from Novgorod to Torzhok, where in 1224 his father came to him with an army. Yuri demanded the extradition of the Novgorod boyars, with whom he was dissatisfied, and threatened to come to Novgorod in case of disobedience water your horses with Volkhov, but then left without bloodshed, being satisfied with a large sum of money and giving the Novgorodians his brother-in-law, Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich from the Chernigov Olgovichs, as princes.

In 1226, Yuri sent troops to help Mikhail in his fight against Oleg Kursk in the Principality of Chernigov; The campaign ended successfully, but after being established in Chernigov, Mikhail entered into a fight with Yaroslav Vsevolodovich for the reign of Novgorod. In 1228, Yaroslav, again expelled from Novgorod, suspected the participation of his older brother in his exile and won over his Konstantinovich nephews, Vasilko, Prince of Rostov, and Vsevolod, Prince of Yaroslavl, to his side. When Yuri found out about this, he called all his relatives to the Suzdal Congress in September 1229. At this congress he managed to settle all the misunderstandings:

And everyone bowed to Yuri, who was his father and master.

In 1230, Yuri married his eldest son Vsevolod to the daughter of Vladimir Rurikovich of Kyiv and, with the diplomatic support of the latter and Metropolitan Kirill, transferred Novgorod to Mikhail and his son Rostislav. But having finally lost Novgorod in favor of Yaroslav (1231), Mikhail immediately joined the fight for Kyiv against Vladimir Rurikovich and Daniil Romanovich of Volyn, who came over to his side. In 1232, Yuri went to the Chernigov land against Mikhail in the direction of Serensk, and stood there for some time. Mikhail avoided direct combat. In 1229, the campaign against the order planned by Yaroslav did not take place due to disagreements with the Novgorodians and Pskovians, but after the announcement of Pope Gregory IX crusade(1232) Yaroslav defeated the knights in the battle of Omovzha. After 1231, for a hundred years, only the descendants of Vsevolod the Big Nest were Novgorod princes.

List of military campaigns of the Vladimir troops in the period 1218-1238

• 1219 - Ingvar Igorevich. Gleb Vladimirovich and the Polovtsy;
• 1220 - Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich. Volga Bulgaria, Oshel;
• 1221 - Yuri Vsevolodovich. Volga Bulgaria, Gorodets;
• 1222 - Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich. Order of the Sword, Wenden;
• 1223 - Vasilko Konstantinovich. Mongol Empire, Chernigov;
• 1223 - Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Order of the Sword, Revel;
• 1224 - Yuri Vsevolodovich. Novgorod land, Torzhok;
• 1226 - Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Battle of Usvyat;
• 1226 - Yuri Vsevolodovich. Chernigov Principality, Kursk;
• 1226 - Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich. Mordva;
• 1228 - Vasilko Konstantinovich. Mordva;
• 1229 - Yuri Vsevolodovich. Mordva;
• 1231 - Yuri Vsevolodovich, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Chernigov Principality, Serensk, Mosalsk;
• 1232 - Vsevolod Yuryevich. Mordva;
• 1234 - Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Order of the Swordsmen, Battle of Omovzha;
• 1237 - Vsevolod Yuryevich. Mongol Empire, Battle of Kolomna;
• 1238 - Yuri Vsevolodovich. Mongol Empire, Battle of the City River.

Mongol invasion

In 1236, at the beginning of the Mongol campaign in Europe, Volga Bulgaria was devastated. According to Vasily Tatishchev, the refugees were accepted by Yuri and settled in the Volga cities. At the end of 1237, Batu appeared within the Ryazan principality. The Ryazan princes turned to Yuri for help, but he did not give it to them, wanting to “start the fight himself.” Batu's ambassadors came to Ryazan and Vladimir demanding tribute, were refused in Ryazan, were given gifts in Vladimir, but at the same time Yuri sent troops led by his eldest son Vsevolod to help Roman Ingvarevich, who had retreated from Ryazan.

Having destroyed Ryazan on December 16, Batu moved towards Kolomna. Vsevolod was defeated and fled to Vladimir (the Vladimir governor Eremey Glebovich and younger son Genghis Khan Kulkan). After this victory, Batu burned Moscow, captured Vladimir, the second son of Yuri, and moved towards Vladimir.

Vereshchagin V. P. Bishop Kirill finds the headless body of Grand Duke Yuri on the battlefield on the Sit River

Having received news of these events, Yuri called a council of princes and boyars and, after much deliberation, set off across the Volga to gather an army. Surviving in Vladimir were his wife Agafia Vsevolodovna, sons Vsevolod and Mstislav, daughter Theodora, Vsevolod’s wife Marina, Mstislav’s wife Maria and Vladimir’s wife Khristina, grandchildren and governor Pyotr Osledyukovich. The siege of the city of Vladimir began on February 2 or 3, 1238, the city fell on February 7 (according to Rashid ad-Din, the siege and assault lasted 8 days). The Mongol-Tatars burst into the city and set it on fire. Yuri's entire family perished (Vladimir Martyrs); of all his offspring, only his daughter Dobrava survived, who had been married to Vasilko Romanovich, Prince of Volyn since 1226. On March 4 of the same year, in the Battle of the City River, the Grand Duke's troops were defeated at the camp by secondary forces of the Mongols led by Burundai, who followed a more northern route separately from the main forces. Yuri himself was among those killed.

The headless body of the prince was discovered by the princely clothes among the remaining unburied bodies of killed soldiers on the battlefield by Bishop Kirill of Rostov, returning from Beloozero. He took the body to Rostov and buried it in a stone coffin in the Church of Our Lady. Subsequently, Yuri's head was also found and attached to the body.

In 1239, the remains were solemnly transferred by Yaroslav Vsevolodovich to Vladimir and placed in the Assumption Cathedral. The “Book of the Powerful Royal Genealogy” describes that the head of Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich stuck to his body during burial, and right hand raised her head: “ His holy head is so closely attached to his honest body, as if there is not a trace of cutting off on his neck, but all the parts are intact and inseparable... Also, his right hand is stretched out to see, with it, as if alive, showing the feat of his accomplishment" On February 13 and 15, 1919, the autopsy of his relics took place. According to the Orthodox Encyclopedia, an eyewitness to the opening of the relics reported that the head of Grand Duke Yuri had previously been cut off, but had grown together with the body in such a way that cervical vertebrae were displaced and fused incorrectly.

Assessing the personality and performance of the board

Historians and novelists, according to an established tradition laid down by noble historiography, saw in Yuri Vsevolodovich the direct culprit of the terrible ruin of Rus'. This view was criticized in a famous study by Dr. historical sciences V.V. Kargalova " Ancient Rus' in the Soviet fiction " The author writes: “ The reader involuntarily gets the impression that if on the eve of the Mongol-Tatar invasion it was not Yuri Vsevolodovich who was sitting on the grand ducal “table”, but some other, more energetic and far-sighted prince... then the outcome of the war could have been different... The tragedy of the country was different: the bravest and most energetic princes and governors (and there were many of them in Rus'!) due to feudal fragmentation could not unite the forces of the people to repel the conquerors" However, this point of view, which can also be called traditional, raises serious objections in historiography. It is emphasized that the Mongols in the first half of the 13th century conquered many countries located on the most different stages development, and the idea that Rus' could have successfully resisted the invasion if it had been united is erroneous.

Warmly and convincingly, on the basis of numerous chronicles and other documents, the prominent Prince Yuri is rehabilitated in the opinion of his descendants Soviet prose writer and publicist Vladimir Chivilikhin in his novel-essay “ Memory", awarded the USSR State Prize. But the fate of the great Prince of Vladimir Yuri II Vsevolodovich and his time are still waiting to be revealed by historians and novelists.

Canonization

According to the chronicler, “Yuri was adorned with good morals: he tried to fulfill God’s commandments; I always had the fear of God in my heart, remembering the Lord’s commandment about love not only for neighbors, but also for enemies, and was merciful beyond measure; not sparing his property, he distributed it to the needy, built churches and decorated them with priceless icons and books; honored priests and monks." In 1221, he founded a new stone cathedral in Suzdal to replace the dilapidated one, and in 1233 he painted it and paved it with marble. In Nizhny Novgorod he founded the Annunciation Monastery.

In 1645, the incorruptible relics of the prince were found, and on January 5, 1645, Patriarch Joseph began the process of canonization of Yuri Vsevolodovich by the Orthodox Church. At the same time, the relics were placed in a silver shrine. Yuri Vsevolodovich was canonized as a saint. Holy Blessed Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich. His memory is February 4 (17), according to Mikhail Tolstoy, “in memory of his transfer from Rostov to Vladimir.”

In 1795, on the initiative of the Nizhny Novgorod vice-governor, Prince Vasily Dolgorukov, a descendant of Yuri Vsevolodovich, the date of birth of the city’s founder began to be celebrated in Nizhny Novgorod.

Folk legends

Founding of Kitezh.According to this legend, in 1164 Georgy Vsevolodovich rebuilt Small Kitezh (presumably modern Gorodets), founded the Feodorovsky Gorodets Monastery in it, and then went to a very remote region, where he built (in 1165) on the shore of Lake Svetloyar Great Kitezh, that is, actually the legendary city of Kitezh.

Foundation of Yuryevets Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich was sailing along the Volga with his army; opposite the mouth of the Unzha River, he saw a fire on the mountain and decided to stop in this place. And as soon as they climbed the mountain, he saw the icon of St. George the Victorious and decided to found a fortress here, later a city in honor of his saint of God - Yuryevets. This icon, as stated in the chronicle, was written on a board with spherical outlines and was subsequently transferred to Moscow to the Assumption Cathedral (according to another source, it was carved on stone).

Testament of Yuri Vsevolodovich.“Get along with the Russians and don’t disdain the Mordovians. It’s a sin to fraternize and worship with the Mordovians, but it’s better than everyone else! But the Cheremis only have black ears and a white conscience!”

Grant of Mordovian land.“The old people from the Mordovians, having learned about the arrival of the Russian prince, sent him beef and beer with the young people. The young people ate expensive beef, drank beer, and brought land and water to the Russian prince. Prince Murza was delighted with this gift, accepted it as a sign of submission to the Mordovian tribe and sailed further along the Volga River. Where he throws a handful of land donated to him by the slow-witted Mordovian youth, there will be a city; where he throws a pinch, there will be a village...”

The first inhabitants of Nizhny Novgorod The first Nizhny Novgorod settlers were artisans who fled from Novgorod from boyar taxes. Yuri Vsevolodovich took them under his protection and involved them in construction, thanks to which the first fortress was built in a year.

The end of Nizhny Novgorod.“There is a small stream in Nizhny Novgorod near the fortress; it flows through ravines and flows into the Volga near St. Nicholas Church. His name is Pochaynaya and they say that Yuri Vsevolodovich, the founder of Nizhny Novgorod, named this stream that way, being struck by the similarity of the Nizhny Novgorod location with the Kyiv location. In the place where Pochaina originates, there is a large stone on which something was previously written, but has now been erased. The fate of Nizhny Novgorod depends on this stone: recently it will move; Water will come out from under it and drown the whole of Nizhny.”

Family

Wife since 1211 Agafia Vsevolodovna (about 1195 - 1238), daughter of Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermny, Prince of Chernigov, Grand Duke of Kyiv.

sons

• Vsevolod (Dmitry) (1212/1213 - 1238), Prince of Novgorod (1221-1222, 1223-1224). Married since 1230 to Marina (1215-1238), daughter of Vladimir Rurikovich. Killed at Batu's headquarters during negotiations before the capture of Vladimir by the Mongols.
• Mstislav (after 1213 - 1238), married since 1236 to Maria (1220-1238) (origin unknown). He died during the capture of Vladimir by the Mongols.
• Vladimir (after 1218 - 1238), Prince of Moscow, married since 1236 to Christina (1219-1238) (origin unknown, presumably from the Monomashich family). Killed during the siege of Vladimir by the Mongols.

• Dobrava (1215-1265) In 1226, she was married to Prince Vasilko Romanovich of Volyn, thanks to this she was the only survivor of the devastation of Vladimir by the Tatar-Mongols (1238), a descendant of Yuri Vsevolodovich.
• Theodora (1229-1238)

Story Kievan Rus, and then the Russian state, is full of events. Over the centuries since its founding, this state has constantly expanded and strengthened, despite the invasions of enemies. Many prominent and noble people took part in its management. One of the rulers who influenced the history of the Russian state was Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich. What kind of person was this? What is his biography? What did he achieve during his reign? All these questions can be answered in this article.

The early years of the prince

Yuri was born in Suzdal on November 26, 1188 in the family of Yuryevich, nicknamed the Big Nest, and his first wife Maria Vsevolzha. He was the second son of Vsevolod. The Rostov priest Luke baptized him in the city of Suzdal. At the end of July 1192, Yuri was mounted on a horse after the so-called tonsure ceremony.

At the age of 19, the prince had already begun to participate in campaigns with his brothers against other princes. For example, in 1207 during the campaign against Ryazan, in 1208-1209. - to Torzhok, and in 1209 - against the Ryazan residents. In 1211, Yuri married the daughter of Vsevolod, Prince of Chernigov, Princess Agathia Vsevolodovna. They got married in the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Vladimir.

Family of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich

Agafya gave birth to her wife five children. The first-born was Vsevolod, born in 1212 or 1213, the future prince of Novgorod. The second son was Mstislav, born after 1213. Then Agafya gave birth to a daughter in 1215, who was given the name Dobrava. She subsequently married the Prince of Volyn. After 1218, their third and last son, Vladimir, was born. And in 1229 another daughter, Theodora, was born. But due to the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars, all the children, except Dobrava, died in 1238. Thus, Yuri Vsevolodovich, the great, was left without an heir.

Relationship with brother

Since 1211, Yuri's relationship with his older brother Constantine became tense. The cause of the conflict and civil strife between two siblings is the decision of their father Vsevolod to give the city of Vladimir to his second son. After the death of the prince, Konstantin tries to regain him. Then the enmity between the brothers begins. Having become the Grand Duke, Yuri Vsevolodovich and his army fought several times with Constantine and his squad.

But the forces were equal. Therefore, none of them could win. After 4 years, the feud ends in favor of Constantine. Mstislav took his side, and together they managed to capture the city of Vladimir. Constantine becomes its owner, but after 2 years (in 1218) he dies. And again the city returns to the possession of Yuri Vsevolodovich. In addition to Vladimir, the prince also receives Suzdal.

Politics of Yuri Vsevolodovich

By by and large The policy of the Vladimir-Suzdal prince Yuri Vsevolodovich was a continuation of the policy of his father. He, too, was not a fan of military battles, but tried to have peaceful relations with his neighbors. Prince Yuri preferred diplomatic negotiations and various tricks that helped avoid conflicts and strained relations. In this he achieved good results.

Nevertheless, Yuri Vsevolodovich still had to organize military campaigns or participate in battles. For example, in 1220 he sent his army led by Svyatoslav against the Bulgars who were in the Volga region. The reason for the campaign was the seizure of Russian lands. The princely army reached the Bulgarian lands and conquered several villages, and then won the battle with the enemy himself. Prince Yuri receives a proposal for a truce, but only on the third attempt do the Bulgars manage to conclude it. This happened in 1221. From this time on, Russian princes began to enjoy great influence in the territories adjacent to the Volga and Oka rivers. At the same time, the construction of the city began, which is now known as Nizhny Novgorod.

Later, Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich fights the Estonians near Revel. In this he is helped by the Lithuanians, who later outwitted him and began to conquer the lands of Rus', ruining them. Around the same time, the prince had to participate in a conflict with the residents of Novgorod, which he successfully resolved.

In 1226, Yuri Vsevolodovich fought with the Mordovian princes for the territory located next to the built Nizhny Novgorod. After several of his campaigns, the Mordovian princes attacked the city, thereby starting a long-term conflict, which passed with varying success for the two sides. But a more serious threat was approaching the Russian lands - the army of the Tatar-Mongols.

Invasion of nomads into Russian lands

Back in 1223, during the Mongol invasion of the northern Black Sea region, the princes of the southern Russian lands turned to Prince Yuri for help. Then he sent his nephew Vasilko Konstantinovich along with the army, but he only managed to reach Chernigov when he learned about the sad outcome of the battle on the Kalka River.

In 1236, the Tatar-Mongols decided to march on Europe. And they do this through the lands of Rus'. At the end of the next year, Khan Batu goes to Ryazan, captures it and moves towards Moscow. After some time, the Khan approaches Kolomna, and then Moscow, which he burns. After this, he sends his army to the city of Vladimir. So quite quickly the Mongol-Tatar hordes captured Russian lands.

Death of the Prince

Having learned such sad news about the enemy’s successes, Yuri Vsevolodovich, Prince of Vladimir, after a conference with the boyars, goes beyond the Volga to gather an army. His wife, two sons, a daughter and other people close to Yuri remain in Vladimir. At the beginning of February, the Mongol-Tatars began a siege of the city, which they captured on February 7. They break in and burn Vladimir. The family and relatives of the Vladimir prince die at the hands of opponents.

Less than a month later, namely on March 4, Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich entered into battle with the enemies. The battle takes place on the Sit River. Unfortunately, this battle ends in the defeat of the Russian army, during which Prince Vladimir himself dies. Yuri's headless body was found by Rostov Bishop Kirill, who was returning from Beloozero. He carried the remains of the prince to the city and buried them. After a while, Yuri's head was found.

In 1239, the remains of Yuri Vsevolodovich were transferred to Vladimir and buried in the Assumption Cathedral. Thus ended the Russian's life.

Board results

Historians have different views on the reign of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich. Some admit that he made a great contribution to the expansion of Russian lands. Others consider his rule to be bad, since he was unable to protect Rus' from the invasion of nomads, thereby allowing them to rule over Russian lands. But at that time, many principalities were unable to resist the formidable and strong enemy. We should not forget that during Yuri’s reign several big cities, cathedrals and churches. He also led successful policy until the invasion, which speaks of his talent and diplomatic abilities.

Some facts about Yuri Vsevolodovich

Several things are connected with the life of Prince Yuri interesting facts:

• It is noteworthy that of the prince’s entire family, his daughter Dobrava lived the longest, because she married the Volyn prince Vasilko in 1226 and lived 50 years.
• The fortified city was built in just one year. Its first settlers were artisans who fled Novgorod. Yuri Vsevolodovich patronized them, involving them in construction.

• The beginning of the reign of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich is considered to be 1212, although it was interrupted in 1216 and continued in 1218 until his death in 1238.
• Although the prince preferred diplomatic negotiations to military action, he nevertheless personally participated in 6 campaigns: in 1221 against the Volga Bulgaria, in 1224 against the Novgorod land, in 1226 against the Chernigov principality, in 1229 against Mordva, in 1231 again against Chernigov principalities and eventually in 1238 against the Mongol-Tatars.

• According to one chronicler, Yuri Vsevolodovich was a pious man, he always tried to follow God’s commandments, respected priests, built churches, did not pass by the poor, was generous and had good qualities.
• In 1645, Prince Yuri was canonized for his contribution to development in Rus' Christian faith, and also for mercy towards his enemies.

Representative of the Rurik dynasty. Yuri Vsevolodovich was the second eldest son of the Grand Duke. And his mother was Princess Maria.

Grand Duke of Vladimir (1212-1216, 1218-1238). Appanage prince of Rostov (1216-1218).

During the life of his father, Yuri the Second Vsevolodovich reigned in Gorodets (1216-1217) and in Suzdal (1217-1218).

Yuri Vsevolodovich - Prince of Vladimir

Yuri Vsevolodovich, who was younger than his brother Konstantin Vsevolodovich, after the death of his father Vsevolod in 1212, according to his will, received the reign of Vladimir, and this was a violation established order inheritance by seniority. Thus, Yuri inherited the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir, but was unable to retain it. A long and stubborn internecine struggle began between the brothers, Yuri and Konstantin.

Constantine won this civil strife, and in 1216 Yuri was forced to cede Vladimir to him after the Battle of Lipitsa (1216). Constantine, having occupied Vladimir, sent Yuri to rule in Rostov and Yaroslavl.

For the second time (already legally) Yuri Vsevolodovich accepted the title of Great Prince after the death of his brother Constantine in 1218, at first everything went well. Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich waged successful wars with the Kama Bulgars and Mordovians.

In 1220, the Volga Bulgars captured Ustyug. Yuri Vsevolodovich sent his younger brother Svyatoslav on a campaign against them, who defeated them. After receiving gifts from the Bulgars and concluding peace, in order to protect the northeastern borders of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality and secure the area between the Volga and Oka rivers for Russia, Yuri in 1221 founded a fortress called Nizhny Novgorod.

Board of Yuri Vsevolodovich

But it was during the reign of Yuri the Second Vsevolodovich that a terrible disaster happened in Rus', which the Grand Duke could not cope with. Here is how N.M. Karamzin wrote about this: “Until now, for two centuries or more, we have seen our ancient fatherland constantly tormented by internecine wars and often predatory foreigners; but these times - so unhappy, it seems - were a golden age in comparison with those that followed. The time has come for a general disaster, much more terrible, which, having exhausted the State, absorbed its civil well-being, humiliated humanity itself in our ancestors, and for several centuries left deep, indelible traces, watered with the blood and tears of many generations. Russia in 1224 heard about the Tatars...”

After Khan Temujin proclaimed himself Genghis Khan, i.e. Great Khan, he sent the Tatars to the southern Russian steppes to attack the Polovtsians. The princes of Kiev, Chernigov, Volyn and others, who ruled in the southern Russian principalities, felt an impending threat and, uniting with the Polovtsians, met the Tatar troops on the river. Kalke. On May 31, 1223, the combined troops of the Russian princes and Polovtsians were defeated. The Tatars devastated the eastern banks of the Dnieper and left, it seemed, forever.

After the battle on the Kalka River, Rus' first heard about the Tatars, but did not take them seriously. Before the battle on the Kalka River, the princes turned to Yuri Vsevolodovich with a request for help, but he did not send help and was even happy about the defeat of eternal enemies and rivals. He believed that the Tatars would not be able to harm the Vladimir lands under any circumstances. And he turned out to be wrong.

After the death of Khan Temujin, the Tatars proclaimed his son Ogedei as the Great Khan, who sought to continue his father’s successful conquests. In 1235, Ogedei sent Tatar troops led by Batu, his nephew, to conquer Europe. In 1237, the Tatars defeated the Kama Bulgars and soon appeared within the borders of the Vladimir-Suzdal lands. Ryazan was taken with lightning speed.

From Ryazan, Batu in December 1237 went deep into the Vladimir-Suzdal lands. Within a few months, the Tatars, along with villages and settlements, took 14 cities by storm: Moscow, Kolomna, Suzdal, Tver, Yuryev, Pereyaslavl, Dmitrov, Torzhok, Kolomna, Rostov, Volokolamsk.
The Vladimir army, led by Yuri’s eldest son, Vsevolod, was unable to stop the Mongols near Kolomna (the Vladimir governor Eremey Glebovich and Genghis Khan’s youngest son Kulkan died in the battle).

The siege of the city of Vladimir began on February 3, 1238 and lasted eight days. Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich was absent from Vladimir because he started new fee troops on the City River. The Tatar attack on Vladimir was unexpected. No one managed to organize worthy resistance. Busy with their own internecine strife, the Russian princes were unable to unite their forces. But most likely, the combined forces would not be enough against the Mongol invasion

North-Eastern Rus' lay in ruins: numerous cities were sacked by the Tatars and burned, people were killed or taken prisoner. Almost the entire family of Yuri Vsevolodovich died in the burnt Vladimir.

Death of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich

On March 4, 1238, the troops of Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich met the Tatars on the river. City. The Russian squads fought desperately and courageously. But this was not enough. The Russians were defeated by the secondary forces of the Mongols, led by Burundai, who followed a separate route from the main forces. Yuri the Second Vsevolodovich died in this battle. The decapitated body of the Grand Duke was discovered on the battlefield by the Rostov Bishop Kirill, who took the body to the city of Rostov and buried it in the Church of Our Lady in a stone coffin. The prince's head was soon found and placed against the body. After 2 years, the remains of Prince Yuri were solemnly transferred by Yaroslav Vsevolodovich to Vladimir to the Assumption Cathedral.

After the Battle of the City River, the Tatars continued their advance north and turned back just 100 km from the city of Novgorod. From that time on, a terrible thing began in Rus' Tatar yoke: Rus' became obliged to pay tribute to the Tatars, and the princes had to receive the title of Grand Duke only from the hands of the Tatar Khan.

In 1645, the incorruptible relics of the prince were found and on January 5, 1645, Patriarch Joseph began the initiation of the process of canonization of Yuri Vsevolodovich. Then the relics were placed in a silver shrine. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized Yuri Vsevolodovich as the Holy Blessed Prince George Vsevolodovich for his righteous life.

Monument to St. Prince George (Yuri) Vsevolodovich and Bishop Simeon of Suzdal was built in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin.
Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich was married to the Chernigov princess Agafya (1195-1238), daughter Prince of Kyiv Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Cherny.

• Vsevolod (Dmitry) (1213 -1237), Prince of Novgorod. Married to Marina, daughter of Vladimir Rurikovich. Executed by order of Khan Batu during the city of Vladimir by the Mongol-Tatars.
• Vladimir (1215-1238) Prince of Moscow, married to Christina, (origin unknown, presumably from the Monomashich family).
• Mstislav (1218-1238), married to Maria (her origins are unknown). He also died during the capture of the city of Vladimir by the Mongol-Tatars.

• Dobrava (Dubrava) (1215-1265)
• Theodora (1229-1238).

All of them, except Yuri’s daughter, Dubrava, died when the Tatars captured the city of Vladimir.

Yuri Vsevolodovich

In the life of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich, most of all historians remember, no matter how gloomy it sounds, his death.

The bishop who arrived at the battlefield found the headless body and brought it to Rostov. Later they found the prince’s severed head and placed it in a coffin next to his body.

How did the life of Yuri Vsevolodovich turn out and why did it end so terribly?

His father, Vsevolod Yuryevich the Big Nest, was considered the most powerful among the Russian princes. With an eye on his opinion, decisions were made not only in the northeastern lands and Novgorod, but also in Kyiv, Smolensk, Vladimir-Volynsky and Galich. Suspecting the Ryazan princes of secret negotiations with his ill-wishers in Chernigov, he did not stop before arresting them and putting them in chains, and installing his governors in Ryazan and Pronsk. From the marriage of Vsevolod with the Bohemian princess Mary, Yuri was born, presumably in 1188 or 1189. He was probably named in honor of his grandfather, Yuri Dolgoruky. According to his father's will, bypassing his older brother Constantine, he became the Grand Duke of Vladimir in 1212. He was then no more than 24 years old.

As usual, the brothers enthusiastically began to find out which of them was more worthy of occupying Vladimir. The bloody battle on the Ishnya River did not produce any results, and the dispute continued on the Lipitsa field in April 1216. The intervention of the talented commander Mstislav Udatny and the Novgorod militia led to the fact that the elder brother, Konstantin, took the Vladimir table. But he did not rule for long, he died two years later, and Yuri reigned in Vladimir again. Thus fate ended the dispute, which the brothers tried to resolve by force of arms.

Without wars and campaigns, political life in Rus' was then unthinkable, but Yuri Vsevolodovich tried, as one can understand his policy, to limit himself to minimal participation on his part. In 1219, he sent armed assistance against the Polovtsians to help the Ryazan prince. But that time the Polovtsians won the military campaign. In 1223, he sent a detachment of only 800 soldiers to distant Kalka, near the southern outskirts of Rus', against the Mongols, and even they did not have time for the battle.

The Vladimir prince paid more attention to those lands that were in close proximity to him.

As a result of the victory in 1220 over the Volga Bulgars, the territory of the principality was noticeably expanded, that is, the matter did not end with primitive robbery. Was it then that a new fortress was founded on the Volga? Nizhny Novgorod. The campaign of Yuri's brothers, Svyatoslav and Ivan, against Mordovians in 1226 was successful. The campaign to the Mordovian lands was repeated twice more, in 1228 and 1232, and also successfully. As in the first case, Yuri himself did not directly participate in these campaigns, acting only as an organizer and initiator.

Yuri tried not to stir up conflicts with his relatives, whom he usually attracted as assistants and executors of his plans. Apparently, the memories of his youth about the confrontation with his older brother Konstantin, which took place bloody battle near the Lipitsa River near the city of Yuryev-Polsky. When in 1229 his younger brother Yaroslav began to show dissatisfaction and even tried to organize a coalition with his nephews, Yuri Vsevolodovich invited them to his place and managed to achieve reconciliation. In 1230, he settled the conflict between Yaroslav and Mikhail of Chernigov.

This relatively peaceful policy of the Grand Duke gave hope for the gradual attenuation of civil strife in the Russian lands and the restoration of the unity of the country.

Despite the possibility of such prospects, they did not materialize.

As we know, the Russians first learned what the Mongols were like in 1223 on the banks of the Kalka River.

Rus' saw the Mongols again in 1237 (the fateful thirty-seventh year of the 13th century). The Russian principalities lay in their “corners” before a strong and cruel conqueror.

The conquerors counted on rich booty. Of course, in this country even the roofs of numerous churches were made of gold!

Did the Mongols convey their demand to the Ryazan prince? issuance of an annual tribute in the amount of one tenth of the total. The answer to the ambassadors of Prince Yuri Igorevich was conveyed to us by S.M. Solovyov: “If we are not all there, then everything will be yours.”

And so it happened.

After a five-day siege, on December 21, Ryazan was taken by storm, the city was destroyed, all (that’s right: “all,” wrote L.N. Gumilev) residents were killed. The prince himself died earlier, fighting off the Mongols on the outskirts of Ryazan.

The burned Ryazan was never restored. Current Ryazan? this is the former Pereyaslavl-Ryazan, 50 kilometers from the destroyed capital of the principality.

In February 1238, Batu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, as history textbooks write, took 14 Russian cities (Suzdal, Yuryev, Pereyaslavl, Kashin, Red Hill, Bezhetsk, Tver...), that is, on average he spent two days per city.

Apparently, this also refers to those cities that chose to give horses and food to the Mongols in order to avoid an assault. This is what he did, according to L.N. Gumilyov, Uglich.

The capture of the city meant its complete destruction, robbery of property, murder and enslavement of all residents. After the Mongols left, burning ruins remained, covered with the corpses of the townspeople. Having taken Torzhok on March 5, the Tatars turned south, not reaching Novgorod 100 versts.

The winner's campaign was stopped only twice.

The first time when the squad of the Ryazan boyar Evpatiy Kolovrat the Furious, which included less than two thousand people: and professional warriors? vigilantes, and simple, not very well-armed townspeople with peasants, ? rushed after Batu and stopped him. Batu was unable to defeat the Ryazanians in battle and was forced to pelt the brave men with stone throwers.

This, by the way, shows that Batu’s forces were either not so great, or were dispersed in different directions. Most likely the second, since to quickly capture besieged cities requires a multiple superiority in forces. S.M. also wrote about this. Soloviev: “From Vladimir the Tatars went further, dividing into several detachments: some went to Rostov and Yaroslavl, others? to the Volga and Gorodets..."

According to various estimates by historians (A.G. Kuzmin, L.N. Gumilev, D.M. Balashov), Batu’s army numbered from 20 to 150 thousand people. Famous historian and archaeologist A.N. Kirpichnikov is of the opinion that the number of mounted warriors in Batu’s army was 129 thousand.

V.V.’s calculation seems logical. Kargalova. He proceeded from the fact that from 12 to 14 khans took part in the campaign against Rus'. Each of them had at least tumen (10 thousand warriors) of the main forces. In total, the total number of Mongols who participated in the campaign cannot be less than 120 thousand. To this number should be added specialized and auxiliary units: communications services, supply, intelligence, personnel for moving and using battering machines, transport units, etc.

The dispersion in estimates of the number of conquerors is also explained by the fact that there were not very many Mongols themselves; the bulk were “Tatars”? peoples and tribes of Asia conquered by the Mongols.

The Polovtsian people, who caused so much misfortune to the Russians, were destroyed by the Mongols. In 1236, the vast expanses of the southern steppes, from the Volga to the Caucasus, were covered by a ring of thousands of horsemen, which continuously narrowed day and night. As the modern historian Professor E.V. wrote in one of his books. Anisimov, everyone who was inside, men, women, children, were mercilessly killed. Those Polovtsians who were able to survive this unprecedented hunt for people were conquered by the Mongol horde and disappeared into it, losing their name.

At the same time, the Volga Bulgars lost their former name, defeated by Batu. They became “Tatars”, retaining their habitat (the territory at the confluence of the Volga and Kama). Their former capital was not restored. The fact that the Kazan Tatars are not the heirs of the formidable Mongols follows from their anthropological appearance and language, which belongs to the Turkic group. IN modern Russia The Mongolian language group includes the Kalmyks (now living in the steppes near the lower Volga) and the Buryats (east and south of Baikal).

The second time Batu met unexpectedly stubborn resistance for 7 weeks, as history textbooks proudly write about, in Kozelsk, where he lost 4,000 of his soldiers on the day of the assault. The battering machines did not help either. Not the best Big city in Rus', but what was the spirit of its inhabitants!

The Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich was unable to organize resistance to the Mongols. The family he left behind died during the assault on Vladimir on February 7, 1238, and he himself was caught and defeated on March 4 by the temnik Burundai near the City River (a tributary of the Mologa; presumably near the present village of Bozhanki, Sonkovsky district, Tver region). Such information is contained in local local history literature. There the prince tried to wait out the peak of the invasion in the wilderness of impenetrable forests and gather military forces.

Mongol intelligence was able to reveal the whereabouts of the Grand Duke of Vladimir. A short battle took place, ending with another victory for the conquerors.

On the banks of the southern Kalka River, the Russians first saw the Mongols; near another, already northern river called Sit, the life of Yuri Vladimirovich was cut short.

G.V. Vernadsky believed that at that time the formation of the political and economic unity of North-Eastern Rus' was close to completion. Yuri's brother Yaroslav reigned in Novgorod. The brothers tried to pursue a common policy. In 1221, Yuri founded a fortress on the Volga with a characteristic name? Nizhny Novgorod. This emphasized the unity of the Russian lands from Veliky Novgorod (“upper”) to Nizhny. A peace treaty was concluded with the Volga Bulgars, putting an end to the centuries-old enmity of this Turkic people and Slavs.

However, Yuri did not have enough political foresight and talent as a commander to adequately meet the conquerors.

A foreign army fell on Rus' out of the blue. This means that there was no warning system and no patrol and reconnaissance service.

Did Yuri Vsevolodovich have a chance to defend the Russian land if all the Russian principalities acted together?

Few people pay attention to the fact that the Mongols acted under unfavorable circumstances that they had not encountered anywhere else. The cavalrymen fought in the winter (when there was no food for the horses), marching along frozen river beds through dense forests in unfamiliar terrain. For the Russians, these were familiar living conditions.

In 1240, Batu captured Kyiv by storm. This formally completed the history of Kievan Rus.

In his movement to the west in 1240–1241. The Mongols defeated the combined Polish-German army and the Hungarians and reached the Adriatic Sea. They were defeated only by the Czechs at Olomouc, as L.N. wrote about. Gumilev. However, Batu’s troops did not remain in Western and Southern Europe and left it.

It is believed that the name White Rus' appeared in relation to the Western Russian lands that were not captured by the Tatar-Mongols (in the meaning of “white, clean, lands not occupied by the enemy”). However, it was used first Russian historian V.N. Tatishchev in relation to Vladimir-Suzdal Rus' during the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky. Southern Rus', which had lost its significance as an administrative and political center, was called Little Russia by them.

Why was the vast and rich country conquered by the steppe inhabitants in less than 4 months? The reason for the defeat lies primarily in the fact that militarily the Mongols were superior to the Russians: both in weapons (there were not only long-range bows, but even battering machines that broke city walls, and catapults that threw Molotov cocktails), and in battle tactics ( false retreats, ambushes, skillful maneuvering), both in combat training and in numbers in each individual battle. The fact that every Russian prince, according to the chronicles referred to by Yu.A., played its detrimental role. Limonov, “you want to fight [to fight] yourself...” The princes did not want and no longer knew how to unite their military forces. 100 years have already passed since the time of Vladimir Monomakh and Mstislav the Great, who drove the Polovtsians deep into the steppes.

What ultimately led to the deep and massive raid of the Mongol troops, which swept through Russia like bloody fire, burning all the cities along the way, taking hundreds of thousands of Russian lives?

After the resistance was broken in the most brutal way, the northern cities and local residents were not interested in the Mongols. They paid attention to only two questions:

1) that tribute be paid in the amount of 10 percent of all property;

2) who will ensure the payment of this tribute.

In order for tribute to flow in full, there must be firm order in the subject territories. To determine the tribute, it is necessary to enumerate the entire population.

At first, tribute to the Mongols was collected by special officials (baskaks) and tax farmers. Then the Russian princes themselves. Therefore, for the Russians, the second question was tantamount to the question of a great reign? the Grand Duke is responsible for paying tribute from all principalities. The Mongols were absolutely indifferent to the name of the Grand Duke and what rights he had to the Grand Duke’s throne. Main? whether he will be able to ensure the receipt of tribute in full and on time.

Can the situation after the crushing defeat of Russian cities be called a yoke in the full sense of the word?

Probably not.

There was a military defeat, yes.

Moreover, it was something that discouraged even thoughts of resistance.

Payment of tribute? the matter was unpleasant and humiliating; in case of delay, cruel punishment followed inevitably; debts often had to be paid for by enslavement. But in general it all ended with tribute. The Mongols lived far from Russian cities, in the pleasant steppe. Their capital, Sarai, in the lower reaches of the Volga, was at first mainly a city of yurts, tents and tents. They did not interfere in the internal affairs of the Russians unless there were attacks on the Mongols or the Russian princes forced them to do so. So the current situation probably cannot be called a yoke.

S.M. himself wrote about this quite definitely. Soloviev: “...The influence of the Tatars was not the main and decisive one here. The Tatars remained to live far away... without interfering in the least with internal relations... leaving in complete freedom to operate those new relations that began in the north before them.”

If we talk about the Tatar raids that devastated Russian villages, then the greedy and envious Russian princes, who considered the nearby lands as their possible prey, were much more terrible for the peasants and city residents. For them, their own warriors were a tool for enrichment, but what about the population of the neighboring principality and its property? an object, in the language of the modern criminal code, of armed robbery. Thoughts about the value of the lives of one’s own and other people’s subjects (the same Russians and Christians!), about the need to develop crafts and arable land were difficult to fit into the heads of the robbers, who were proud of their family ties with the legendary Rurik.

The princes, quarreling among themselves, very often invited the Tatar tumens to help, promising booty from the plundered Russian lands as a reward. Some of the most devastating campaigns of the Mongols? these are campaigns to reinforce the contenders for the great reign. “The Tatars in this struggle are only tools for the princes,”? wrote S.M. Soloviev.

To compare the relations of Russians with foreign conquerors, we can cite the situation in Bulgaria, which was under Turkish oppression for almost 500 years, from 1396 to 1878. The Turks sold Bulgarians into slavery in slave markets, occupied land holdings, and in every possible way implanted Islam. It was a yoke in literally this word. One can recall the rule of the Arabs in Spain from 711 to 1492. After coming to Spain at the turn of the 11th–12th centuries. From North Africa, the Almoravids and Almohads, the Arabs carried out in the Pyrenees the oppression of the local population and the Islamization of the entire life of the country. This did not take such barbaric forms as the Turks in Bulgaria, but their own cities and villages did not belong to the Spaniards. The initial tolerance of the Arabs towards the local population is a thing of the past. All life in Spain was determined by the Koran.

Sometimes you can come across statements that the Russians and the Mongols actually had a military-political alliance. L.N. devoted a lot of effort to proving this thesis. Gumilev.

If there was an alliance between the Mongols and the Russians, it was an alliance of a broken victim and a cold-blooded, calculating predator living at her expense.

People sang about tribute collectors:

WITH? he took one rooster from each hut,

WITH? white of the yard he is kind to the horse,

He who doesn't have a horse will take a wife,

He who doesn’t have a wife will take full advantage of himself.

Spontaneous uprisings against the Mongols arose constantly in Russian cities. All of them invariably led to merciless punitive campaigns. In the second half of the 13th century alone, Horde troops made campaigns against Rus' 14 times. As quoted by Yu.A. Limonov is a chronicler testifying to his descendants about the Mongol raids: “...Bread does not come from fear.”

In historical and fiction literature, the conclusion is often found that Rus', with its heroic resistance, exhausted the forces of the Mongols and thereby protected Western Europe from the Mongol invasion.

The subtext is clear: we saved you, but where is the gratitude?

This conclusion seems like an exaggeration, and here's why.

Firstly, it was not difficult for the Mongols to break the resistance of the Russian principalities. On average, 2 days were spent in the city, in Ryazan? 5. In 4 months, the raid was completed, and in unfavorable conditions for the steppe inhabitants: they had to fight in the winter, fighting their way through forests with cavalry and battering machines.

The opinion that the Mongol troops were exhausted is apparently not true.

Secondly, the Mongols completed their tasks: they reached the “Last Sea,” which was the goal of their campaign. They did not like the Adriatic Sea (which they considered the “Last”).

Thirdly, the Russians themselves, after the terrible defeat, did not want to fight. “It was peaceful that summer,” ? the chronicler wrote with understandable satisfaction about the summer of 1238.

The heroism of resistance to superior enemy forces and the tragedy of the fate of the Russian people will not be diminished by the fact that we will not attribute unnecessary sacrifice to our ancestors in the name of saving the countries of Western Europe from the troops of Batu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan.

Around the same time, as in Rus', the Mongols destroyed the joy of life among other peoples.

Another grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, became emperor of China in 1279, founding the Yuan dynasty. His campaigns against Japan, Vietnam and Burma ended in failure. According to legend, the Japanese, having learned about the Mongols' intention to transport troops to their islands, began to pray? all at the same time. The gods condescended to pray and sent the “wind of the gods” (in Japanese? kamikaze), which scattered the ships of the conquerors.

Japan in the second half of the 13th century was characterized by the use of prayers as the main means of combating earthquakes, floods, and droughts. Prayer services were held for more than a month in the summer of 1271, when fires engulfed the entire country due to extreme heat. True, instead of rain, dust storms came, which led to fierce discussions about which religious direction was considered more correct. Researchers of the Buddhist movement A.N. write about them. Ignatovich and G.E. Svetlov. Not all participants in debates on topics of faith were able to survive them. It is quite natural that in response to the ultimatums of Kublai Khan in 1268–1269. and not only military preparations were made to repel the twice attempted landing of Mongol troops on the west coast of Japan in 1274. It was also necessary to secure heavenly protection.

Another grandson of the founder of the Mongol Empire, Hulagu, sent his troops to Central Asia, Iran, Mesopotamia, and Syria. In 1258, Baghdad, the capital of the Arab caliphate at the time of its greatest power (VIII-IX centuries), was captured and plundered. The Mongols defeated the Seljuk Turks, whose leader Toghrul Beg conquered Baghdad back in 1055, leaving only religious power to the Arab caliphs. The Mongolian state of the Hulaguids, which included the territory where modern Iran, Afghanistan, Transcaucasia, Iraq, and Turkmenistan are now located, did not last long, until the middle of the 14th century. It's interesting that the wife Mongol Khan was a Christian. Many Mongols, including military leaders, professed Christianity in the army itself. More often it was Nestorianism, the peculiarity of which is that the Nestorians considered Christ a man who only later assumed the divine nature. This gave L.N. a reason to Gumilyov called these wars “yellow crusades.”

The invasion of Genghis Khan led to the fact that vast territories, including China, Siberia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and the southern and central parts of the East European Plain, came under the rule of his grandchildren.

Later in Central Asia, on the ruins of these possessions, the empire of Timur arose, who came from the Turkified Mongol tribe of Barlas (lived 1336–1405). In 1469, Timur's empire also collapsed.

The Mongols did not establish their dynasty in Rus', as was the case, for example, in China, where Kublai Khan (like Batu, who was the grandson of Genghis Khan) became the founder of the new imperial Yuan dynasty, completing the conquest of the Celestial Empire by 1279. To this day, the currency of China bears this name, although the dynasty itself ceased to exist in 1368. The ruler of Central Asia, Timur, was also Mongolian by origin, although he was not a descendant of Genghis Khan. In contrast, even under the Mongols, princes of local origin continued to rule in Rus'; Russian dynasties were not stopped.