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



Grand Duke Vladimir 1212 - 1216
Predecessor:
Successor:	Konstantin Vsevolodovich

Predecessor:	Konstantin Vsevolodovich
Successor:	Yaroslav Vsevolodovich
Religion:	Orthodoxy
Birth:

Buried:	Assumption Cathedral (Vladimir)
Dynasty:	Rurikovichi
	Vsevolod Yurievich Big Nest
	Maria Shvarnovna
	Agafia Vsevolodovna
	sons: Vsevolod, Vladimir, Mstislav; daughters: Dobrava, Theodora

early years

Conflict with brother

Foreign policy

Mongol invasion

Canonization

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

Biography

early years

The third son of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Vsevolod Yurievich Big Nest from his first marriage to the Czech Queen Maria Shvarnovna. Born in Suzdal on November 26, 1187, according to the Ipatiev Chronicle, and according to the Lavrentiev Chronicle - in 1189. Bishop Luke baptized him. On July 28, 1192, Yuri was tonsured and on the same day they put him on a horse; “And there was great joy in the city of Suzdal,” the chronicler notes on this occasion.

In 1207, Yuri took part in the campaign against the Ryazan princes, and in 1208 or 1209, standing at the head of the army, defeated the Ryazans at the Drozdna River (probably Trostnya). In 1210, he participated in a campaign against the Novgorodians, who imprisoned his brother, Svyatoslav, and called for the reign of Mstislav Mstislavich Udatny; peace, however, was concluded without bloodshed. In 1211, Yuri married Princess Agafia Vsevolodovna, daughter of Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermny, Prince of Chernigov; the wedding was performed in Vladimir, in the Assumption Cathedral, by Bishop John.

Conflict with brother

A year later, Vsevolod Yurievich, feeling the approach of death, decided to give his eldest son Konstantin Vladimir, and the next Yuri (the second son of Vsevolod, Boris, died back in 1188) - Rostov, but Konstantin demanded that both of these cities be given to him. His father got angry with him and, on the advice of the boyars and Bishop John, he gave the Grand Ducal Table of Vladimir to Yuri, but this was a violation of the established order of succession.

On April 14, 1212, Vsevolod died, and Yuri became the Grand Duke. The very next year, a strife began between Yuri and Konstantin. On the side of the first was brother Yaroslav, and on the side of the second - the brothers Svyatoslav and Vladimir. Yuri was ready to give up Vladimir in exchange for Rostov, but Konstantin did not agree to such an exchange and offered his brother Suzdal. Yuri and Yaroslav went to Rostov, and Konstantin withdrew his regiments. For four weeks the brothers stood against each other and made peace, which, however, did not last long. Soon, Vladimir Vsevolodovich captured Moscow, and Konstantin took Soligalich from Yuri and burned Kostroma. Yuri and Yaroslav, from whom Nerekhta was also taken away, again approached Rostov and began to burn the villages, and then, without entering the battle, reconciled with Konstantin, after which Vladimir returned Moscow to Yuri. In 1215, Yuri established a special diocese for the Vladimir-Suzdal region in order to destroy its dependence on Rostov in church terms. Hegumen Simon was appointed to the bishopric.

In 1216, the struggle between the brothers flared up with renewed vigor. Yuri began to help Yaroslav against the Novgorodians, and Konstantin entered into an alliance with the latter. Mstislav Udatny with the Novgorodians, his brother Vladimir with the Pskovites and their cousin Vladimir Rurikovich with the Smolensk people approached the capital city of Yaroslav, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and Yaroslav went to Yuri. The Grand Duke gathered a large army, "the whole force of the Suzdal land", and stood on the Kze River, near Yuryev-Polsky. The opponents then left Pereyaslavl also to Yuryev and settled partly near Yuryev, partly near the Lipitsa River. Before entering the battle, Mstislav made an attempt to reconcile separately with Yuri, but he replied: “My brother Yaroslav and I are one person!” Negotiations with Yaroslav also did not lead to anything. Then Mstislav and his allies were sent to say: “We did not come to shed blood, God forbid we see blood, it’s better to manage first; we are all of the same tribe, so we will give seniority to Prince Konstantin, plant him in Vladimir, and you will have all the Suzdal land! Yuri replied to this: “Come, so go wherever you want, and tell your brother, Prince Konstantin, overcome us - and then you will have the whole earth.” Novgorodians and Rostovites settled down, united, on the banks of the Lipitsa; when Yuri retreated from his former place and fortified himself on Mount Avdova, then they also occupied the opposite mountain, Yuriev. On April 20, at first there were separate skirmishes between the Novgorod hunters and the people of Yaroslav, while Yuri, having sat in the fortification, did not want to go into the open field. On April 21, the allies wanted to go from Yuryev to Vladimir, but Konstantin persuaded them to stay. The Suzdalians, seeing the movement in their camp, thought that they were retreating, and descended from the mountain to strike at the rear, but the Novgorodians immediately turned on them. A battle took place, ending in the complete defeat of the Suzdalians.

Yuri, having killed three horses, rode to Vladimir on the fourth, and by nightfall the remnants of the rati came. The winners, approaching Vladimir on April 24, stood under him for two days; despite the strong desire of the Novgorodians and Smolny to take Vladimir by storm, Mstislav did not allow them to do so and saved the city from defeat. Yuri, leaving the city, appeared to the winners. Under a peace treaty, he was forced to cede Vladimir and Suzdal to Konstantin, and he himself received Gorodets Radilov on the Volga as an inheritance. Bishop Simon followed him there. The very next year, Konstantin gave Yuri Suzdal and, leaving the Rostov land as an inheritance to his offspring, recognized his brother as his successor on the grand prince's table. Konstantin died on February 2, 1218, and Yuri became Grand Duke for the second time.

Foreign policy

Yuri Vsevolodovich, like his father, achieved foreign policy success mainly by avoiding military clashes. In the period 1220-1234, the Vladimir troops (including those in alliance with the Novgorod, Ryazan, Murom and Lithuanian) conducted 14 campaigns. Of these, only four ended in battles (victories over external opponents; 1220, 1225, 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 raided the Russian land and reached Ustyug. To take revenge on them, Yuri sent a large army led by his brother, Svyatoslav, to fight the Bulgarian land; it reached the city of Oshel on the Volga and burned it down. At the same time, the Rostov and Ustyug regiments along the Kama came to the land of the Bulgarians and destroyed many cities and villages. At the mouth of the Kama, both armies united and returned home. In the same winter, the Bulgarians sent envoys to ask for peace, but Yuri refused them. In 1221 (1222), he himself wanted to go against the Bulgarians and went to Gorodets. On the way, he was met by a second Bulgarian embassy with the same request and was again refused. A third embassy came to 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 into the Volga, Yuri at that time founded here, on the Dyatlovy Mountains, the city of Nov Grad (Nizhny Novgorod). Then he built a wooden church in the new city in the name of the Archangel Michael (later the Archangel Cathedral), and in 1225 he laid the stone church of the Savior.

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

Yuri organized campaigns to help his former opponents in the Battle of Lipitsa: the Smolensk Rostislavichs, defeated by the Mongols on the 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 about 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 near Usvyat.

In Novgorod, meanwhile, the struggle of the parties continued, in which Yuri also had to take part. In 1221, the Novgorodians sent ambassadors to him with a request to give them their son as a prince. Yuri sent his young son Vsevolod to the reign of Novgorod and helped the Novgorodians in the fight against the Livonian Order, sending an army led by his brother Svyatoslav. Vsevolod, however, soon returned to Vladimir, and instead of him, Yuri sent, at the request of the Novgorodians, brother Yaroslav. In 1223, Yaroslav left Novgorod for his Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and the Novgorodians again asked for Vsevolod Yurievich. This time there were some misunderstandings between Yuri and the Novgorodians; Vsevolod was taken 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, in case of disobedience, to come to Novgorod "to water his horses in Volkhov", but then he left without bloodshed, being satisfied with a large sum of money and giving the princes of Novgorod his brother-in-law, Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich, Prince Chernigov.

But the continuous change of princes in Novgorod continued: either Yuri's brother, Yaroslav, reigned there, or his brother-in-law, Mikhail Chernigov. In 1228, Yaroslav, again expelled from Novgorod, suspected the participation of his older brother in his exile and won over his nephews Konstantinovich, Vasilko, Prince of Rostov, and Vsevolod, Prince of Yaroslavl. When Yuri found out about this, he called all his relatives to a congress in Vladimir in September 1229. At this congress, he managed to settle all the misunderstandings, and the princes bowed to Yuri, calling him father and master. In 1230, the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vladimir Rurikovich and Mikhail of Chernigov turned to Yuri with a request to settle disputes between Mikhail and Yaroslav over Novgorod. With the participation of Metropolitan Kirill, Yuri reconciled the opponents; Yaroslav obeyed the will of his elder brother and abandoned Novgorod, which was given to Mikhail's son, Rostislav. In 1231, Yuri went to Chernigov land against Michael, who, in alliance with Vladimir Rurikovich, the Grand Duke of Kyiv, began hostilities against Yuri's son-in-law, Vasilko Romanovich, and the latter's brother, Daniel of Galicia. After this campaign, Mikhail lost Novgorod, which again passed to Yaroslav, after which for a hundred years only the descendants of Vsevolod the Big Nest were the Novgorod princes.

In 1222-1223, Yuri twice sent troops, respectively, led by the brothers Svyatoslav under Wenden and Yaroslav - under Revel to help the Estonians who rebelled against the Order of the Sword. In the first campaign, the Lithuanians acted as allies of the Russians. According to the "Chronicle" of Henry of Latvia, in 1224 the third campaign was launched, but the Russian troops only reached Pskov. The Russian chronicles date Yuri's conflict with the Novgorod nobility around the same time. In 1229, the campaign against the order planned by Yaroslav did not take place due to disagreements with the Novgorodians and Pskovians, but in 1234 Yaroslav defeated the knights in the battle on Omovzha.

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

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, Chernihiv
1223 - Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Order of the Sword, Revel
1224 - Yuri Vsevolodovich. Novgorod land, Torzhok
1225 - Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Battle of Usvyat
1226 - Yuri Vsevolodovich. Chernihiv Principality, Kursk
1226 - Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich. Mordva
1228 - Vasilko Konstantinovich. Mordva
1228 - Yuri Vsevolodovich. Mordva
1232 - Yuri Vsevolodovich. Chernihiv Principality, Serensk
1232 - Vsevolod Yurievich. Mordva
1234 - Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Order of the Sword, Battle of the Emajõgi River
1237 - Vsevolod Yurievich. 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, the Volga Bulgaria was devastated. The refugees were received 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 "create the battle himself." The ambassadors of Batu came to Ryazan and Vladimir demanding tribute, but everywhere they were refused.

Having destroyed Ryazan on December 16, Batu moved towards Moscow. Yuri sent his son, Vsevolod, to defend the borders of the principality. Having met the enemy hordes near Kolomna, Vsevolod entered into battle with them, was defeated and fled to Vladimir (the Vladimir governor Yeremey Glebovich and the youngest son of Genghis Khan Kulkan died). Batu, after this victory, burned Moscow, Vladimir, the second son of Yuri, captured and moved to Vladimir.

Having received news of these events, Yuri called the princes and boyars to a council and, after much deliberation, went to the Volga to gather an army. His wife Agafia Vsevolodovna, sons Vsevolod and Mstislav, daughter Theodore, wife Vsevolod Marina, wife Mstislav Maria and wife Vladimir Khristina, grandchildren and voivode Pyotr Osledyukovich remained in Vladimir. 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 broke into the city and set it on fire. The whole family of Yuri died, of all his offspring only his daughter Dobrava survived, who was married to Vasilko Romanovich, Prince of Volyn since 1226. On March 4 of the same year, in the battle on the City River, the troops of the Grand Duke were defeated in the camp by the 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 found by princely clothes among the bodies of dead soldiers remaining unburied 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. Two years later, the remains were solemnly transferred by Yaroslav Vsevolodovich to the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.

Canonization

According to the chronicler, Yuri was adorned with good morals: he tried to fulfill God's commandments; always had the fear of God in his heart, remembering the commandment of the Lord about love not only for neighbors, but also for enemies, he was merciful beyond measure; not sparing his estate, he distributed it to the needy, built churches and decorated them with priceless icons and books; honored priests and monks. In 1221 he laid 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 Bogoroditsky Monastery.

In 1645, the imperishable relics of the prince were found and on January 5, 1645, Patriarch Joseph initiated the process of canonization of Yuri Vsevolodovich by the Orthodox Church. Then 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, according to M. V. Tolstoy, "in memory of his transfer from Rostov to Vladimir."

legends

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

prince head. On the eve of the battle on the City River, the prince learned about the death of his entire family in Vladimir. The prince fought with his retinue bravely. At the end of the battle, he died a martyr's death; his head was truncated and presented as a gift to Khan Batu. According to legend, Batu, as a winner, traveled around the battlefield with her. When the body and head of the prince found on the battlefield were combined, “the head of the saint clung to the holy body, so that there was no trace of cutting off on his neck; the right hand was raised, as if from a living person, indicating a feat.

Testament of Yuri Vsevolodovich. “Get along with the Russians and do not disdain the Mordovians. It's a sin to fraternize with Mordovians, but it's the best of all! And the Cheremis only have black onuchki, and a white conscience!

Gifting 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. The prince-murza was delighted with this gift, accepted it as a sign of obedience to the Mordovian tribe and sailed further along the Volga River. Where he throws a handful of land given to him by the slow-witted Mordovian youth of the land - there will be a city, where he throws a pinch - there will be a village ... "

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

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, called this stream that way, being struck by the similarity of the location of Nizhny Novgorod with the location of Kyiv. In the place where Pochaina originates, there is a large stone on which something was written before, but has now been erased. The fate of Nizhny Novgorod depends on this stone: in recent times it will move from its place; water will come out from under it and drown the entire Lower.

A family

Wife - Agafia Vsevolodovna (circa 1195-1238), Princess of Chernigov.

Vsevolod (Dmitry) (1213-1238), Prince of Novgorod (1221-1222, 1223-1224). Married since 1230 to Marina (1215-1238), daughter of Vladimir Rurikovich. Executed on the orders of Batu during the capture of Vladimir by the Mongols.
Vladimir (1215-1238), Prince of Moscow, married since 1236 to Khristina (1219-1238) (origin unknown, presumably from the Monomashich family). Executed on the orders of Batu during the capture of Vladimir by the Mongols.
Mstislav (1218-1238), married since 1236 to Maria (1220-1238) (origin unknown). He died during the capture of Vladimir by the Mongol-Tatars.

Dobrava (1215-1265)
Theodora (1229-1238)

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

Yuri Vsevolodovich was one of the many sons of Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest, took an active part in 1212-1216, participated in the Battle of Lipitsa, twice sat on the grand throne in Vladimir, the first time he received it from his father, and the second - according to the will of his brother Konstantin. Yuri remained the 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, was the third son of Prince Vsevolod Yurievich and his first wife. From an early age, Yuri was involved in both the spiritual and military life of his family, which later reflected on 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 his daughter survived.

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

Yuri and Konstantin several times gathered troops and went on campaigns against each other in 1213 and 1214, however, neither army could prevail over the other, and the brothers stood for a long time at the mouth of the river. Ishna. The confrontation was resolved only a few years later, in 1216, when Mstislav Rostislavich joined the army of Constantine and together they were able to invade Vladimir, defeat the army of Yuri and Yaroslav and subjugate power to themselves. In the same year, Konstantin 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. A 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 various 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 nevertheless conducted several campaigns during his reign. In particular, since 1220 he has been actively fighting against the 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 the Volga Bulgaria, destroy several large cities and villages, thereby forcing the Bulgarians to agree to a truce. However, even after Yuri receives an offer of peace, he does not go towards his former rivals. Only a year later, in 1221, after two more peace offers and a significant ransom, Yuri signs a peace treaty. At the same time, in order to strengthen his power in the conquered territories, Yuri orders the founding of Nov Gorod (Nizhny Novgorod) and rebuilding several cathedrals and temples in it.

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

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

At the end of his reign, Yuri faces a more serious threat -. In 1236, Batu Khan attacked Rus' and rapidly 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, Batu Khan captured Vladimir, ravaged the city and burned the entire family of Yuri (only his daughter survived).

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

The results of the reign of Yuri Vsevolodovich

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

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

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

Konstantin, Yuri, Yaroslav Vsevolodovichi - Grand Dukes of Vladimir-Suzdal. Successively reigned from 1212 to 1246. The most important event of this period was the invasion of Rus' by the Mongol-Tatar hordes. Only seventeen years passed from the moment the first appearance of the steppe hordes to the complete defeat of South and North-Eastern Rus'.

VSEVOLODOVICHI, Konstantin, Yuri, Yaroslav. The Grand Dukes, children of Vsevolod the Big Nest, reigned respectively from 1212 to 1219, from 1219 to 1238 and from 1238 to 1246. Not listening to the exhortations of their dying mother, the pious Princess Maria, the children began internecine strife. Bequeathing the great reign, Vsevolod the Big Nest called the eldest son Konstantin a disobedient and handed over the reign to his beloved third son Yuri. Konstantin, considered this state of affairs the result of a conspiracy of the boyars, did not obey the will of his deceased father and entered into a fight with Yuri.

In 1216, on the Lipica River, a bloody battle took place between Konstantin and Yuri, in which Konstantin won. Yuri fled to Gorodets, and Konstantin proclaimed himself the Grand Duke of Vladimir. The brothers subsequently reconciled. Konstantin Vsevolodovich, bypassing his own sons, declared Yuri the heir to the throne of Vladimir. Yuri, for his part, vowed to forget the strife and be the father of the young children of his older brother.

Grand Duke Konstantin Vsevolodovich reigned in Vladimir, engaged in the establishment of civil peace. He built churches, distributed alms and ruled a just court. Chronicles emphasize the good-heartedness of the Grand Duke: “He was so kind and meek that he tried not to sadden a single person, loving to comfort everyone in word and deed, and his memory will always live in the blessings of the people.”

In 1219, after the death of Konstantin Vsevolodovich, Yuri Vsevolodovich became the Grand Duke of Vladimir. Learning that the Volga Bulgars captured the city of Ustyug, Yuri Vsevolodovich sent his younger brother Svyatoslav against them. Svyatoslav went down the Volga and entered the lands of the Bulgars. His rapid victories frightened the Bulgars so much that they fled from their cities, leaving wives, children, and property to the winners. When Svyatoslav returned to Vladimir, Yuri Vsevolodovich met him as a hero and rewarded him with rich gifts. At the beginning of the winter of the same year, Bulgar ambassadors came to Vladimir with proposals for peace. Yuri Vsevolodovich rejected all the conditions and began to prepare for a new campaign. Having tested the power of the grand-ducal weapons, the Bulgarians did their best to soften Yuri Vsevolodovich and, finally, with rich offerings, persuaded him to peace.

The reign of Yuri Vsevolodovich was calm until 1224. This year, Rus' first encountered Mongol-Tatar hordes who came from the depths of Asia, conquering with fire and sword everything that came across them on the way. In the first battle of the Russian squads with the Tatar-Mongols on the Kalka River, Yuri Vsevolodovich did not take part. The princes could not agree on the joint defense of the Russian land. Divided into small principalities and tormented by internal strife, Rus' could not resist the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

At the end of 1237, countless hordes of the Tatar-Mongols, led by Batu Khan, invaded the lands of northeastern Rus'. The Ryazan principality became the first victim of Batu's invasion. Ryazan was surrounded, and ambassadors were sent to the city. “If you wish for peace,” the ambassadors said, “then a tenth of your wealth will be ours.” - “When none of us is left alive then you will take everything” - the Ryazan prince answered. This answer predetermined the fate of not only Ryazan but also many other Russian cities. Ryazan was burned to the ground by the Mongols, and all its inhabitants were exterminated, young and old.

Yuri Vsevolodovich, realizing a mortal threat, went to Yaroslavl to gather an army. On February 3, 1338, having ravaged Suzdal, Kolomna and Moscow along the way, Batu approached Vladimir and took the city by storm. Grand Duchess Agafya with children and townspeople took refuge in the Assumption Cathedral, where they were all burned alive. The devastation of Russian lands continued further in two directions: to Galich and to Rostov. The Tatar-Mongols burned cities and villages, killed civilians, even small children did not escape their fury.

Yuri Vsevolodovich managed to gather all the combat-ready squads on the Sit River. But the courage of the Russian squads could not resist the hordes of Batu. In a bloody battle (March 4, 1338) the whole Russian army perished together with Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich and his two sons. After the battle, Bishop Kirill of Rostov found among the dead the body of Yuri Vsevolodvich in princely attire (the head of the Grand Duke was cut off in battle and they could not find it). There was a rumor among the people that Prince Yuri managed to hide in the city of Kitezh on the shores of Lake Svetloyar, but Batu overtook him there and put him to death. At the same time, Kitezh sank into the waters of the lake. According to legend, Kitezh should appear in the world on the eve of the Last Judgment.

Yuri Vsevolodovich is the Grand Duke, during the days of whose reign a terrible disaster struck Rus', leaving a deep mark on the history of Russia. After eight hundred years that have passed since then, we feel the Mongolian trace both at the level of the genotype of the people and at the socio-behavioral level of the people. The transformation of Russia into a multinational empire that followed centuries later, the annexation of territories controlled at one time by the Mongol horde are also consequences of the events that took place under Yuri Vsevolodovich. The death of the prince, princess and their children at intervals of a month indicates that the changes in the nature of the Russian state caused by the Mongols were very painful. Together with the princes, thousands of inhabitants of Russian cities perished, completely exterminated from young to old.

In 1238 after the death of his brother, he took the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. It was a courageous act, since it fell to him to manage not the flowering land, but, in the words of Karamzin, “Yaroslav came to dominate the ruins and corpses. In such circumstances, the sensitive Sovereign could hate power; but this prince wanted to be famous for the activity of the mind and the firmness of the soul, and not for kindness. He looked at the widespread devastation, not in order to shed tears, but in order to smooth out the traces of it by the best and quickest means. It was necessary to gather scattered people, build cities and villages from the ashes - in a word, completely renew the State.

First of all, Yaroslav ordered to collect and bury the dead. Then he took measures to restore the destroyed cities and organize the administration of the Vladimir lands. Being the senior Russian prince, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich distributed the cities and principalities of North-Eastern Rus' among his brothers so that only one princely family would constantly rule in each city.

Meanwhile, in 1239, Batu Khan returned to Rus'. This time it hit the southern principalities that were not affected in 1237-1238. In the spring of 1239, his troops took Pereyaslavl and Chernigov, and on December 6, 1240, Kyiv fell. “Ancient Kyiv has disappeared, and forever: for this once famous capital, the mother of Russian cities, in the XIV and XV centuries was still ruins: in our time there is only a shadow of its former greatness.”

Having actually destroyed Kyiv, the Tatars continued to move forward and in 1241 captured Lublin, Sandomierz, Krakow, defeating the troops of the Poles, Czechs, Germans and Hungarians. They reached the very Adriatic Sea and from there turned back.

By this time, Grand Duke Yaroslav II managed to understand that the Tatars more or less leave alone only those peoples who show them obedience. Not seeing the opportunity to fight with them and wanting to somehow protect their lands from a new invasion, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich made a wise decision to show his humility to the Khan. He, the first of the Russian princes, was not afraid and was not ashamed to go to bow to Batu Khan in the Golden Horde.

In the Horde, he was required to perform several pagan rites, in particular, to walk between two fires and bow to the shadow of Genghis Khan (in case of refusal, death awaited him, and his land was devastated). For a Christian prince, such a demand meant not only a terrible humiliation, but also a violation of the precepts of the Christian church. Faced with such a demand, other Russian princes preferred to choose not the easiest death. But Yaroslav Vsevolodovich went to great lengths to preserve the remnants of the people in the Vladimir-Suzdal land. If the prince had taken a different, proud decision, the Vladimir-Suzdal land could no longer exist at all, just as many other states disappeared from the pages of history, for example, Volga Bulgaria. Batu was pleased with the obedience of the Russian prince and for the first time gave him a label (letter) for the Great reign, that is, permission to be the Grand Duke.

Since then, any Russian prince who wanted to become a Grand Duke had to go to the Golden Horde to ask for mercy from the Khan, never knowing what awaited him: life or death. This is how Yaroslav Vsevolodovich himself ended his life. After the death of Khan Ogedei, he was going to receive a label for the Great reign from his son, Khan Guyuk. In 1246 Yaroslav went to him in Karakorum, in Mongolia. Khan accepted the prince favorably and let him go with mercy, but seven days later, on the way home, Yaroslav died. It is believed that the cause of his death was most likely poison, which was given to the prince by the mother of Khan Guyuk. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich is buried in Vladimir.

Yaroslav Vsevolodovich was married twice, the prince had nine sons and three daughters. The son of Yaroslav, Alexander Nevsky, entered Russian history as one of the prominent rulers, he was also canonized by the Orthodox Church.

Yuri Vsevolodovich

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

The bishop who arrived on the battlefield found the headless body and brought it to Rostov. Later they found the severed head of the prince and put it in a coffin to the body.

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

His father, Vsevolod Yurievich Big Nest, was considered the most powerful among the Russian princes. With an eye to 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 hesitate to arrest them and put them in chains, and put his deputies in Ryazan and Pronsk to rule. From the marriage of Vsevolod with the Bohemian Princess Mary, Yuri was born, presumably in 1188 or 1189. It was named, perhaps, in honor of his grandfather, Yuri Dolgoruky. According to his father's will, bypassing his elder brother Konstantin, in 1212 he became the Grand Duke of Vladimir. He was then no more than 24 years old.

As usual, the brothers enthusiastically began to find out which of them is more worthy to take Vladimir. The bloody slaughter on the Ishnya River did not give any result, and the dispute continued on the Lipitsky 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, occupied the Vladimir table. But he did not rule for long, two years later he died, and Yuri again reigned in Vladimir. So 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 Polovtsy to help the Ryazan prince. But at that time the Polovtsians won the military campaign. In 1223, he sent a detachment of only 800 soldiers against the Mongols to the distant Kalka near the southern outskirts of Rus', and even they did not have time to fight.

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 a primitive robbery. At the same time, a new fortress on the Volga was laid? Nizhny Novgorod. The campaign of the brothers Yuri, Svyatoslav and Ivan, against the Mordovians in 1226 was successful. The campaign in 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 inflate 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, who fought in a bloody battle near the Lipitsa River near the city of Yuryev-Polsky, were forever enough for him. When in 1229 his younger brother Yaroslav began to show discontent 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.

Such a 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 country's unity.

Despite the possibility of such prospects, they did not take place.

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

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

The conquerors counted on rich booty. Still, 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 everything. The answer to the ambassadors of Prince Yuri Igorevich was given to us by S.M. Solovyov: "If we are not all, 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: “everyone,” wrote L.N. Gumilev) the inhabitants were killed. The prince himself died earlier, repulsing the Mongols on the outskirts of Ryazan.

Burnt Ryazan was never restored. The current Ryazan? this is the former Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky, 50 kilometers from the ruined capital of the principality.

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

Apparently, they also mean those cities that preferred to give horses and food to the Mongols in order to avoid an assault. So did, according to L.N. Gumilyov, Uglich.

The capture of the city meant its complete destruction, theft of property, the murder and enslavement of all the inhabitants. After the departure of the Mongols, 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 campaign of the winner was suspended only twice.

For the first time, when the squad of the Ryazan boyar Yevpaty Kolovrat Furious, which included less than two thousand people: and professional soldiers? vigilantes, and simple, not very well-armed townspeople with peasants, ? rushed after Batu and stopped him. Batu could not defeat the Ryazans in battle and was forced to throw the brave men from stone throwers.

This, by the way, shows that Batu's forces were either not so great, or dispersed in directions. Rather, the second, since the rapid capture of the besieged cities requires a multiple superiority in strength. S.M. also wrote about this. Solovyov: “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 of historians (A.G. Kuzmin, L.N. Gumilyov, D.M. Balashov), Batu's army had from 20 to 150 thousand people. The famous historian and archaeologist A.N. Kirpichnikov is of the opinion that the number of cavalry soldiers of Batu's army was 129 thousand.

The calculation by V.V. Kargalov. He proceeded from the fact that from 12 to 14 khans participated in the campaign against Rus'. With each of them there was no less than a tumen (10 thousand soldiers) of the main forces. In total, the total number of Mongols participating in the campaign cannot be less than 120 thousand. To this number should be added specialized and auxiliary units: communications, supply, intelligence services, personnel for moving and using wall-breaking machines, transport units, etc.

The spread of estimates of the number of conquerors is also explained by the fact that there were not very many Mongols themselves, the bulk were "Tatars"? the peoples and tribes of Asia conquered by the Mongols.

The people of the Polovtsians, who brought so many misfortunes to the Russians, were destroyed by the Mongols. In 1236, 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. Anisimov, everyone who was inside, men, women, children, were mercilessly killed. Those of the Polovtsians who were able to survive in this unprecedented human hunt were subjugated by the Mongol horde and dissolved in it, having lost their name.

At the same time, the Volga Bulgars, defeated by Batu, lost their former name. They became "Tatars", retaining their habitat (territories 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 Kalmyks (now living in the steppes near the lower reaches of the Volga) and Buryats (east and south of Lake Baikal).

The second time Batu met unexpectedly stubborn resistance for 7 weeks, which history books proudly write about, in Kozelsk, where he lost 4,000 of his soldiers on the day of the assault. Wall-beating machines did not help either. Not the largest 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 died during the assault on Vladimir on February 7, 1238, and he himself was caught and defeated on March 4 by Burundai near the City River (a tributary of the Mologa; presumably near the current village of Bozhanki, Sonkovsky district, Tver region). Such information is contained in the local history literature. There, the prince tried in the wilderness of impenetrable forests to wait out the peak of the invasion and gather military forces.

The intelligence of the Mongols was able to reveal the whereabouts of the great prince of Vladimir. A short battle took place, ending in 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 the 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 unified policy. Yuri in 1221 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, which put an end to the centuries-old enmity between this Turkic people and the Slavs.

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

The foreign army fell on Rus' like snow on its head. 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 at the same time?

Few people pay attention to the fact that the Mongols acted under unfavorable circumstances for themselves, which they did not meet anywhere else. The cavalrymen fought in the winter (when there was no fodder for the horses), marching along frozen river beds through dense forests in unfamiliar terrain. For Russians, these were the usual conditions of life.

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

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

It is assumed that the name Belaya Rus appeared in relation to the western Russian lands that were not captured by the Tatar-Mongols (meaning "white, clean, not occupied by the enemy lands"). However, it was used by the first Russian historian V.N. Tatishchev in relation to Vladimir-Suzdal Rus during the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky. Southern Rus', which 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 steppes in less than 4 months? The reason for the defeat lies primarily in the fact that the Mongols were militarily superior to the Russians: both in armament (there were not only long-range bows, but even battering machines that smashed the walls of cities, and catapults that threw incendiary vessels), 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. Limonov, “want to create a fight [to fight]...” The princes did not want and no longer knew how to unite their military forces. Since the time of Vladimir Monomakh and Mstislav the Great, who drove the Polovtsy deep into the steppes, 100 years have passed.

What did the deep and massive raid of the Mongol troops eventually lead to, which swept over Russia like a bloody fire, burned down all the cities in its path, and claimed hundreds of thousands of Russian lives?

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

1) to pay tribute in the amount of 10 percent of all property;

2) who will ensure the payment of this tribute.

In order for the tribute to go in full, there must be a 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, on the other hand, were absolutely indifferent to the name of the Grand Duke and what rights he had to the Grand Duke's throne. The main thing? whether he will be able to ensure the receipt of tribute in full and on time.

Is it possible to call the situation after the crushing defeat of Russian cities a yoke in the full sense of the word?

Probably not.

Military defeat, yes, it was.

And such that beat off even thoughts of resistance.

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

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

If we talk about the raids of the Tatars 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 residents of the cities. For them, their own soldiers were a tool of enrichment, and the population of the neighboring principality and its property? object, in the language of the modern criminal code, armed robbery. Thoughts about the value of the lives of their own and other people's subjects (the same Russians and Christians!), about the need to develop crafts and arable farming, could hardly fit in the heads of the robbers, who were proud of their family ties with the legendary Rurik.

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

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

Sometimes one can come across allegations that the Russians and the Mongols actually formed a military-political alliance. L.N. devoted much effort to proving this thesis. Gumilev.

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

The people sang about the tribute collectors:

FROM? he took huts by rooster,

FROM? he is white of the yard for the good of the horse,

Whoever does not have a horse will take a wife,

Whoever does not have a wife, he will take himself in full.

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, the Horde detachments made 14 campaigns against Rus'. As the cited Yu.A. Limonov, a chronicler testifying to his descendants about the Mongol raids: "... Bread does not go to the mouth out of 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 to be 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 dwellers: they had to fight in the winter, pushing their way through the forests with cavalry and battering rams.

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

Secondly, the tasks set by the Mongols were completed: they went to the "Last Sea", which was the goal of their campaign. The Adriatic Sea (which they considered "Last") they did not like.

Thirdly, after the terrible defeat, the Russians themselves did not seek to fight. "Togozh summer was peaceful,"? 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 ascribe to our ancestors unnecessary sacrifice in the name of saving the countries of Western Europe from the troops of Batu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan.

At about 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 intention of the Mongols to send troops to their islands, began to pray? all at the same time. The gods condescended to prayers and sent the “wind of the gods” (in Japanese? kamikaze), which swept away the ships of the conquerors.

Japan in the second half of the 13th century is characterized by the use of prayers as the main means of combating earthquakes, floods, and droughts. For more than a month, prayers were held in the summer of 1271, when fires engulfed the entire country due to intense heat. True, instead of rains, dust storms came, which caused fierce discussions about which religious direction to consider more correct. Researchers of the Buddhist movement A.N. Ignatovich and G.E. Svetlov. Not all participants in the debate on the topics of faith were able to survive them. It is quite natural that in response to the ultimatums of Khan Kublai in 1268-1269. and to repulse the twice attempted landing of the Mongol troops in 1274 on the west coast of Japan, more than military preparations were carried out. 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 highest power (8th-9th centuries), was taken and plundered. The Mongols defeated the Seljuk Turks, whose leader Togrul-bek conquered Baghdad back in 1055, leaving the Arab caliphs only religious power. The Mongol state of the Hulaguids, which included the territory on which modern Iran, Afghanistan, Transcaucasia, Iraq, and Turkmenistan are now located, did not last long, until the middle of the 14th century. It is curious that the wife of the 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. Gumilyov called these wars "yellow crusades".

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

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

The Mongols did not establish their own dynasty in Rus', as was the case, for example, in China, where Khan Kublai (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. Until today, the monetary unit of China bears this name, although the dynasty itself ceased to exist in 1368. The ruler of Central Asia, Timur, is also a Mongol by origin, although he was not a descendant of Genghis Khan. In contrast, even under the Mongols in Rus', princes of local origin continued to rule, Russian dynasties did not stop.

author

From the book From Kyiv to Moscow: the history of princely Rus' author Shambarov Valery Evgenievich

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From the book Scaliger's Matrix author Lopatin Vyacheslav Alekseevich

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From the book History of the Russian State author Karamzin Nikolai Mikhailovich

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From the book Gallery of Russian Tsars author Latypova I. N.

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GRAND DUKE VLADIMIR YURI VSEVOLODOVICH (1187–1238) Son of Vsevolod the Big Nest from his first marriage. Born November 26, 1187. He was prince of Gorodetsky in 1216-1217 and of Suzdal in 1217-1218. Grand Duke of Vladimir in 1212-1216 and 1218-1238. He was defeated in 1213 in

author Shambarov Valery Evgenievich

39. St. Yuri II, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and the struggle for the Baltic States And again the magnificent Russian knights turned to attack! Violent horses rushed, scarlet cloaks fluttered, the steel of armor and weapons shone in the sun. Grabbed to death, dispersed horses

From the book History of Princely Rus'. From Kyiv to Moscow author Shambarov Valery Evgenievich

40. St. Yuri II, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and the disgrace on Kalka Endless steppes to the east of Baikal in the 12th century. inhabited by many nomadic tribes: Mongols, Tatars, Naimans, Merkits, Oirats, Keraits, etc. They differed both in origin and customs, professed different beliefs.

From the book History of Princely Rus'. From Kyiv to Moscow author Shambarov Valery Evgenievich

41. St. Yuri II, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and Novgorod treason The Lord severely punished the Russian land, but also pardoned. Gave her a whole decade and a half to change her mind and prepare for the trials. But did the terrible lesson go for the future? No, not at all. From the bloody field on the Kalka

From the book History of Princely Rus'. From Kyiv to Moscow author Shambarov Valery Evgenievich

42. St. Yuri II, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and the road to perdition The Tatar-Mongol hordes left not far from Rus'. They were simply bound by wars on several fronts. After Central Asia, Genghis Khan moved his army to the Tangut kingdom in what is now Western China. At

From the book History of Princely Rus'. From Kyiv to Moscow author Shambarov Valery Evgenievich

From the book Rus' and its autocrats author Anishkin Valery Georgievich

YURI VSEVOLODOVICH (b. 1188 - d. 1238) Grand Duke of Vladimir (1212-1216, 1218-1238). The second son of Vsevolod the Big Nest. According to his father's will, in 1212 he received the Grand Duke's table. The Grand Duchy of Suzdal was then divided into two regions: Yuri Vsevolodovich ruled in Vladimir and

The holy noble Grand Duke George (Yuri) Vsevolodovich was born in 1189 in the city of Vladimir Klyazmensky. His parents were the Grand Duke of Vladimir Dimitry-Vsevolod III *, called the Great by history, and his wife Grand Duchess Maria Shvarnovna.

* Until the XIV century, it was customary in Rus' to give the children of princes two names: one on the 1st birthday - Slavic, containing the words peace, power, glory and the like, or consonant with Christian names. This name was called the prince's name. Another name - Christian - was given at baptism. The first name was more famous than the second.

The great Vsevolod was one of the most worthy Russian princes, adorned with good qualities of soul and civil prowess. According to the legends of Russian chronicles, he spared the good, executed the evil, did not respect the faces of the strong and did not offend anyone, not in vain carrying the sword given to him by God. But at the same time, as the same chronicles tell, he was not exalted by this earthly glory, he did not magnify himself; but he placed his hope in everything on God, for he always had the fear of God in his heart. Monuments of the piety of the Great Vsevolod are still preserved in Vladimir. These are white-stone churches - two aisles at the Assumption Cathedral, Dmitrievsky Cathedral and the Assumption Cathedral in the women's monastery. In addition to these temples, Vsevolod also built the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, which is located in the current Bishop's House, in the 18th century, due to numerous outbuildings, it lost its ancient appearance, but was restored to its original form during the reign of Emperor Alexander II.

George's mother, Princess Maria Shvarnovna, was no less pious than her husband. She, being a very kind woman, piously spent her whole life from childhood in the fear of God, loving the truth, comforting the sad, sick and needy, giving them what they needed. According to the inscrutable fate of the Providence of God, 7-8 years before her death, she suffered a serious illness. With truly Christian patience, without the slightest murmur, she carried this cross, imitating the patience of Job and the free sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. “If it’s good by the hand of the Lord,” the Grand Duchess liked to repeat during her illness, “can’t we endure the evil.” 17 days before her death, she moved from the palace to a convent arranged by her faithful husband, where, having renounced the world, she ended her long-suffering days in the rank of nun. Is it any wonder after this that such pious parents brought up such a pious son as George was?

Being still only two years old, George, according to the chroniclers, already showed zeal for piety and the faith of his father. When he was three years old, he was introduced to the princely dignity in the city of Suzdal by Bishop John, according to the then custom, with a special church prayer and a rite called tonsure. On the same day he was mounted on a horse, and there was a great celebration in honor of this in the city of Suzdal. Growing in body, the prince also grew in spirit. Every day he went to church for divine services, listened with reverence to reading and singing there, loved to talk about sacred things at home, and also exercised himself in fasting, vigil and prayer. It was pleasing to the parents to see such piety in their young son, and they listened to him more than other sons. When George was 17 years old, he lost his dearly beloved mother. An ancient biographer depicts a touchingly sad picture of George's farewell to his dying mother: George fell on his mother's chest and, shedding tears, exclaimed: “Alas for me, the light - my mother, my lady! To whom shall I look, to whom shall I resort, and where shall I be satisfied with such good teaching and punishment of reason? Alas for me, shining dawn of my face, the reins of my youth, where are you departing, my mother? Touched by her son's tender love for herself, the princess comforted and blessed him. “O compassionate, amiable child,” she said to him in a weakening voice, as if in the spirit of a prophet, “be praised and blessed in all generations.” With due honor, the Grand Duke Vsevolod buried his wife. Many tears were shed by everyone over her coffin, but most of all, - it is said, - George wept and did not want to be consoled, because more than all other sons he was loved by her.

Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich makes the rounds
on the boats the newly conquered lands at the mouth of the Oka River.
Hood. G. Maltsev

At the age of 19, Georgy Vsevolodovich entered into marriage with the daughter of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vsevolod Chermny Agafia. The sacrament of marriage was performed in the cathedral church of Vladimir by Bishop John. God gave the pious George a wife worthy of him. Here is what one ancient biographer says about this couple: “Both - both the spouse and the spouse, being a pious root, were well taught piety and so both are holy, righteous, merciful, meek, offended, withdrawn from the hands of those who offend, and the beggar is a dear velmy, abstinence, but she is diligent and loving fasting, chastity and purity, and, moreover, she pleases Christ in everything with her good deeds, desiring, according to the Lord's word, to inherit the meek land and find the peace of the righteous. So peacefully flowed the life of the right-believing prince in Vladimir until the very death of his parent. Four successful campaigns against the enemies of the Vladimir principality are known only from this time. But from the age of 25, his independent activity for the Church and the fatherland begins.

Feeling the approach of death, Grand Duke Vsevolod wished to arrange for his children. By right of seniority, the throne of Vladimir should have belonged to the eldest of the sons, Konstantin, who then reigned in Rostov, and Vsevolod wanted, while he was alive, to put him on it, but so that Rostov belonged to George. To declare his will, Vsevolod demanded to himself all his children. Everyone came at the call, except for Konstantin, who, along with Vladimir, wanted to keep Rostov behind him, which was contrary to his father's will. Three times the father sent for his son, but each time he was refused to come, unless it was done by the father at the request of the son. Grieved by the disobedience of Constantine, Prince Vsevolod gathered the boyars and the people of Vladimir and before them poured out his grief on his son. It was decided by the people to deprive Constantine of seniority and transfer the throne to George. So, Georgy Vsevolodovich, being 24 years old, was declared the Grand Duke of Vladimir and blessed for this feat by a dying parent. “Be brothers instead of a father,” he told him, “have them just as I had. And you children,” he continued, turning to the other children, “do not take up arms against each other, and if any of the other princes rise up against you, you will all unite against them. May the Lord and the Holy Mother of God and the prayer of your grandfather George and great-grandfather Vladimir be your helper, then I will bless you, ”and with these words he quietly departed to the Lord, on April 12, 1213.

At first, after the death of their father, the brothers lived peacefully. George, although he was the Grand Duke, showed all respect and love to his elder brother. After burying his father, he went to Rostov to Konstantin, in order, on the one hand, to personally testify to his brotherly love, and on the other, to agree on the reign. Constantine, apparently, reconciled with his position, at least did not express hostile feelings towards George.

Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich meets his
brother Svyatoslav

Another time, the Grand Duke was with Konstantin, at the invitation even of himself, at the consecration of the cathedral church in Rostov. In his humility, George agreed, so long as there was no enmity between the brothers and bloodshed, even to cede the throne to Constantine, but so that the dying will of the parent was sacredly fulfilled. “Brother Konstantin,” said Georgy, “if you want Vladimir, go sit in it, and give me Rostov.” But Konstantin persisted on his own. “You sit down in Suzdal,” he answered George. So five years passed. But then Prince Mstislav arrived from southern Russia to northeastern Russia, the defender of Novgorod liberty, who spent his whole life in military pursuits. He traveled with his retinue, made up of warriors hardened in battles, throughout Rus', and appeared where he was invited. For his fighting life, the people nicknamed him Deleted. It was he who offered Konstantin his services against George, promising to do everything in order to put him in Vladimir, without taking away Rostov. Konstantin gladly accepted the offer. A bloody battle took place near the city of Yuriev. For Konstantin were Rostov and Novgorod with Mstislav and his squad; for George Vladimir, Suzdal and Pereslavl. On the side of the first was the number of troops, and desperate courage, tested in many battles. George was defeated. But as a result, he did not become bitter and did not achieve, as other princes did, by all means victory for himself. Submitting to the inscrutable fates of the Providence of God, which owns the fates of kingdoms and peoples, he went out to the winners with gifts and said to them: “Brothers, I strike you with my forehead, give you my stomach and feed me with bread!” By the council of Konstantin and Mstislav, the poor Volzhsky Gorodets, or Radilov, was assigned to him. Before leaving Vladimir, George entered the cathedral church of the Mother of God, where he poured out all his sadness in prayerful cries before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, watered the coffin of his parent, who loved him so dearly, with tears, and, calmed by faith and hope for the mercy of God, leaving the temple, sat down with his family in the boat and went to his appointed inheritance. Among the few friends who wished to accompany him was the Bishop of Vladimir, the virtuous Simon, who did not want to leave the prince in his misfortune and thereby proved the correctness of his actions.

Mstislav, having done his job, withdrew, and Konstantin sat down in Vladimir. But his conscience was not calm, all the more so his health was greatly upset, he already felt the fragility of his life. And now, after two or three months, Konstantin asks for George to be in Vladimir. The latter, forgetting everything, goes to him. The brothers saw each other, and everything old was forgotten between them. “Both are happy when they meet,” the chronicle says, “and a poster for many hours.” They entered the cathedral church of Our Lady, where, at the grave of their parent, they sealed their reconciliation by prayer and kissing the cross. Constantine begged George to move to Suzdal and declared him heir to his throne. A year later, Constantine died and George for the second time sat on the throne of Vladimir.

On the throne of the Grand Duke, George took up the dispensation of his region. He endowed his brothers and nephews with cities, and they began to honor George instead of their father and act in everything according to his will. As a result, the internal life of our country flowed peacefully and calmly. The people blessed God and Grand Duke George for this. The friendly actions of all the princes of the Vladimir principality pacified the external enemies - the Bulgarians and Mordovians, who lived along the banks of the Oka and Volga rivers and often disturbed the Vladimir region with predatory raids. In three campaigns, these enemies were completely pacified. And the Grand Duke, in order to forever secure the eastern borders of his principality from these enemies, himself went to the banks of the Volga and there, having carefully examined the area, founded the city, the famous Nizhny Novgorod, in 1221, populated it with inhabitants and created in it the temples of the All-Merciful Savior and the Archangel Michael *. The inhabitants of this city formerly reverently revered their founder**.

* On the porch of the Archangel Cathedral before the revolution there was an inscription beginning like this: “In ancient times, the Nizovsky land was owned by idolaters - Mordovians. The pious Grand Duke, now in spirit in Bose, and resting with his imperishable body in the city of Vladimir, Georgy Vsevolodovich, in order to ease his possessions from the raids of neighboring peoples, founded a city at the mouth of the Oka River and named it Nizhny Novgorod and built the first church in it in the name of Archangel Michael wooden, and then in 1227 stone, cathedral.

** Before the revolution, on the day of commemoration of the Holy Right-believing Grand Duke George (February 4, according to the old style), a festive divine service was celebrated in all the churches of Nizhny Novgorod. In April 1875, at the request of the citizens, an icon of St. George with part of his relics was sent from Vladimir to Nizhny Novgorod, which was installed in the Archangel Cathedral.

The success of weapons and the internal peace of the country raised the glory of the Grand Duke. As a result, the princes of southern Rus' began to turn to George for advice and help in difficult circumstances.

Blessed George was always glad to serve his neighbors and never refused to help a just cause. Twice, during his reign, the Russian primates, the Kyiv metropolitans, visited him in Vladimir and blessed him for the improvement of the church, for the splendor of God's churches and the pious life of his subjects. Metropolitan Kirill, during his stay in Vladimir in 1225, in place of the deceased virtuous Simon, ordained Bishop of Vladimir, Suzdal and Pereslavl Mitrofan, Abbot of the Vladimir Nativity Monastery. The event is hitherto unprecedented in Vladimir! But the piety of Grand Duke George was especially expressed by the fact that, at his command, the holy relics of the martyr Abraham, who had accepted a martyr's death from his fellow citizens for the zealous spread of the Christian faith among them, were transferred from the Bulgarian land to the city of Vladimir. The Lord God glorified his faithful servant for his pious zeal for the glory of God, and the grave of the martyr from the very first day was marked by heavenly signs and miracles. Georgy Vsevolodovich wished to have holy relics in Vladimir. The Bulgarians did not refuse him that. And on March 9, 1230, on the day of remembrance of the 40 martyrs, Bishop Mitrofan and all the clergy of Vladimir, the Grand Duke and the inhabitants of the city met the holy relics outside the city with great honor, and with the singing of church songs they brought them into the city, and laid them in the convent of the Most Holy Theotokos .

Rumors about the piety of the Vladimir Grand Duke reached Rome and Pope Gregory IX tried to seduce him into Latinism. But Georgy Vsevolodovich, as he was born in the Orthodox faith, remained in it until his death, despite the most difficult circumstances that God judged him to experience in the last days of his life.

Saint George did not see many bright days during his whole life. But her last days represent a whole series of sufferings, both bodily and spiritual. Through many sorrows the Lord God led his faithful servant to eternal bliss. The first years of his second reign on the throne of Vladimir promised, apparently, complete prosperity for the country. There were no princely strife in it, which so cruelly tore apart southern Russia, nor attacks from external enemies, pacified by the weapons of Prince George. But this apparent prosperity was only the calm before the storm. Terrible signs, from time to time repeated in nature, served as a harbinger of future disasters. So, in the summer of 1223 there was a terrible drought in the entire Vladimir region. Forests and swamps burned; the air was filled with such haze and smoke that birds fell to the ground and animals from the forests fled to cities and villages, and there was fear and horror on all. Terrible comets in the same 1223 and 1225 frightened the superstitious people. But the year 1230 was especially hard and formidable for most of Rus'.

On May 3, an unprecedented natural phenomenon happened in Vladimir. During the liturgy, at the time when the Gospel was being read in the cathedral church, there was such a strong earthquake that many churches cracked, the icons in them moved from their places, the chandeliers and candlesticks swayed from side to side; the people, in horror, thinking “like a head had come around them every once in a while,” fell to the ground. On the 10th and 14th of the same month, terrible solar eclipses were visible in the sky. Not for good, - the frightened people said, - but for evil, our sins, God shows us a sign. Indeed, a formidable cloud was already approaching the horizon of Russia. The terrible news swept through all of Russia that the hordes of Tatars, who in 1223 approached South Russia and hid who knows where after the Battle of Kalka, were again approaching the Russian borders. From the end of 1236, rumors about the Tatars began to reach the city of Vladimir, one more terrible than the other: here they captured the Bulgarian land (on the territory of modern Tatarstan), its inhabitants were either killed or taken prisoner; now they are already in the Mordovian land (the current Penza and Nizhny Novgorod regions) and are pushing their forces closer and closer to the possessions of Rus'. Finally, an embassy from Ryazan came to Vladimir to the Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich with a request for help against the Tatars advancing on the Ryazan principality.

The Grand Duke and the people of Vladimir had a great deal of thought about this embassy: to give help or to refuse it. We decided to refuse, in order to save strength for our fight against the enemy, just in case. “Bewilderment,” the chronicler notes on this occasion, “and the threat, and fear, and trembling, God has brought upon us for our sins, and the wisdom of those able to build military deeds has been swallowed up, and strong hearts have turned into female weakness, and for this not a single from Russian princes to each other, go to the aid.

Meanwhile, on December 21, 1237, the Tatars, after an evil battle, with terrible fury, captured Ryazan and rushed further to Kolomna, and from here it was not far to Moscow. Vladimir, the second son of Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich, then reigned in Moscow. Having heard about this movement, the Grand Duke of Vladimir sends an army to Kolomna, under the command of his eldest son Vsevolod and experienced in the battles governor Yeremey Glebovich. Near Kolomna, for the first time, the Vladimir army met with the “bestial enemy”, which they knew about only by rumors until now. Fearlessly she entered the battle, but she could not defeat the numerous enemy. Most of the soldiers, together with the governor Yeremey Glebovich, fell under the blows of the Tatar swords. Vsevolod with a small retinue barely escaped to Vladimir, where he told his parent about the sad outcome of his battle. Having taken Kolomna, the Tatars, without stopping, went further, to Vladimir. Moscow, then still a small town, was burned by them, almost all of its inhabitants were killed; Vladimir Georgievich was taken prisoner and had to follow the horde, enduring all sorts of hardships and suffering along the way.

Georgy Vsevolodovich saw the hopelessness of his situation and understood that he could not defeat the enemy on his own: the combined forces of all Rus' were needed to repulse enemies as numerous as “locusts” and ferocious as “demons”. But it was impossible to concentrate these forces in Vladimir. Batu hastily moved with his horde to the capital of northeastern Rus' and the allied troops could not keep up in time. And so the Grand Duke decided to accomplish an extraordinary feat for his homeland: he leaves his capital city and in it those closest to his heart - his wife, children, grandchildren - under the protection of a small squad, and he himself drives off to the banks of the City River, in the modern Yaroslavl region, in order to , united with other princes, together to repulse the enemy force. One of the Russian chroniclers touchingly describes the departure of the Grand Duke from Vladimir. Bishop Mitrofan and the boyars of Vladimir gathered in the grand-ducal palace. The Grand Duke was already in military attire, completely ready for the journey; they prayed to God, the departing received a blessing from the saint; farewells began to his wife, children, grandchildren and everyone present, tears flowed uncontrollably from the eyes of everyone and interrupted the words. Meanwhile, in front of the palace, a squad and people were waiting for the prince. Accompanied by the bishop and relatives, with difficulty hiding his tears, the prince left the palace and went to the cathedral church of the Mother of God; with a cry of tears he fell here before St. the icon of the Most Pure, entrusting his intercession to his family and subjects, bowed to the coffin of his sovereign parent, was blessed again by the bishop, hugged for the last time those close to his heart, said the last “forgive” to the people and left the temple. The weeping and sobs of the people accompanied the prince everywhere and did not stop until he left the city. “And there was a great cry in the city and not be able to hear, speaking to each other in tears and sobbing.” Everyone seemed to have a presentiment that this farewell to the Grand Duke was the last, that they would no longer see him in this life.

The death of Grand Duke George Vsevolodovich.
Rice. V. Vereshchagin

“The month of February on the 3rd day on Tuesday, a week before the meat is empty,” the chronicler begins the mournful tale of the invasion of the Tatars on Vladimir, “a lot of Christian bloodsheds came, without number, like a pruzi.” The people of Vladimir firmly locked all the city gates and, with obedience to the will of God, awaited their fate. The eldest children of the Grand Duke Vsevolod and Mstislav Georgievich, together with the experienced voivode Pyotr Oslyadyukovich from the Golden Gate, watched the movement of the enemy and encouraged the frightened Vladimirians. The Tatars at first evaded the battle and demanded surrender. They singled out a cavalry detachment from a whole horde, which they sent to the Golden Gate. “Where is Grand Duke Yuri, is he in the city,” was their first question to the people of Vladimir. But these, instead of answering, fired arrows at the enemies. “Do not shoot,” the Tatars shout, and they take Vladimir Georgievich out of the middle of the horde. “Do you recognize your prince,” they ask the people of Vladimir. Indeed, it was not easy to recognize Vladimir: so his face changed from heavy bondage and hardness of the heart. The prince-brothers and the people could not help crying, seeing him emaciated, pale, barely able to stand on his feet; but they tried to overcome mournful feelings, so as not to show their cowardice to the proud enemy. The prince himself, despite the gravity of his position, urged his brothers not to surrender the cities to the enemies. “Do not surrender the cities, my brothers,” he exclaimed to them. “It is better for me to die before the Golden Gates for the Holy Mother of God and the Orthodox Christian faith, than to be their will over us.” The fierce barbarians, having heard this bold speech of Vladimir, immediately tore him to pieces, as soon as the unfortunate sufferer had time to say: “Lord Jesus Christ! Receive my spirit, that I may also rest in Your glory.”

The Tatars, seeing that the people of Vladimir would not surrender the city to them without a fight, placed their main camp against the Golden Gate, while other parts of the horde surrounded the city in myriad numbers from all sides. At the sight of such preparations by the enemy, the Vladimirians had no hope of salvation: each of them was waiting for himself or death, or a shameful full. But from that they did not fall into inactive despair: they were eager for battle with the enemy and an honest death on the battlefield preferred life in shameful slavery. “Brothers,” the princes exclaimed to their retinue, “it’s better for us to die before the Golden Gates for the Holy Mother of God and for the Orthodox faith than to be in the will of enemies.” These words were to the heart of all combatants: everyone was eager to fight with the enemy of faith and homeland. Only the old voivode Pyotr Oslyadyukovich opposed this. He saw that the haste of military action would bring more harm to the people of Vladimir than good, that the inevitable death of the squad would only open access to the city for the Tatars; he could hope that by delaying the offensive actions of the enemy, he would give the Grand Duke time to gather an army and come to the rescue of the besieged. “The Lord has brought all this upon us for our sins,” the governor said, “how can we go out against the Tatars and resist such a multitude? It is better for us to sit in the city and, as much as possible, defend ourselves against them. The governors obeyed and, having lost all hope for their strength, turned to the consolations of religion. “And the cup,” the chronicler narrates, “sings of prayers and sobs of tears shed a lot to the Lord God and His Most Pure Mother of God.”

Meanwhile, the Tatars, having surrounded Vladimir with their camp, singled out several detachments from the entire horde and headed for Suzdal. "And a great evil was done to the Suzdal land, which evil did not happen from the baptism of Rus'." The city was burned and plundered. Many inhabitants were mercilessly slain: “Abbess, priests and deacons, blacks and blacks, blind and lame, and deaf, then all Tatars from the sekosh, and other residents, and wives, and children were taken prisoner and in severe frost had to follow the horde barefoot and uncovered, dying from scum."

Icon of the Savior with crouching St. blgv. prince
Alexander Nevsky (in schema Alexy) and
St. blgv. Prince George Vsevolodovich

After the troops returned from Suzdal, Batu began offensive operations against Vladimir. On February 6, from morning to evening, the Tatars set forests and vices around the city (a kind of battering rams) and surrounded the whole city with a tyn for the night. Helpless citizens had no means of defense. The air resounded with the great weeping of the people of Vladimir. Everyone, young and old, doomed themselves to martyrdom and hastened to prepare for it like a Christian. Everyone confessed and communed the Holy Mysteries; many even took monastic vows. Vladyka Mitrofan, the princes, voivode Pyotr Oslyadyukovich, all the boyars and people saw that “their city had already been taken,” the chronicler narrates, “weeping with great weeping and entering the Church of the Most Pure Mother of God in the cathedral and tonsured into the holy angelic image from Vladyka Mitrofan, the Grand Duchess and her sons, and her daughters, and her daughters-in-law, and the fir trees, and there was a cry and a cry, and a great cry in the city.

The sacred rite was performed in solemn silence. Famous Russians said goodbye to the world, to life, but, standing on the verge of death, they still prayed to Heaven for the salvation of Russia, that her dear name and glory would not perish forever. On February 7, the week of meat-fare, when the Holy Church excites her children to repentance with the image of the Last Judgment, a terrible devastation and devastation of the city of Vladimir took place. All night hardly anyone from Vladimir closed his eyes for sleep. The morning service began in the cathedral church. The touching hymns of that day were involuntarily supposed to elevate the spirit of those who pray and strengthen them with faith and hope for heavenly rewards promised to the unshakable confessors of the name of Christ. It began to get light in the sky; but this morning was already the last for a large number of Vladimirians. An assault on the city began from all sides; battering rams broke through city walls; stones poured from the Tatar camp, “like rain”, on the city; the walls were already broken on four sides, and with wild fury, "like demons", the Tatar horde burst into the city from the Golden Gate, and from Lybid - at the Orina Gates, and at the Medny, also from Klyazma - at the Volozh Gates. A terrible beating of citizens and devastation of the city began. In a few hours, the part of the city between the Golden Gates and the Kremlin, called the New City, was heaps of ashes and piles of ruins, among which lay many lifeless bodies of Vladimirians. Princes Vsevolod and Mstislav and the remaining citizens sought salvation in the middle city, called Pecherny, the current Kremlin. Bishop Mitrofan, the Grand Duchess with her family, the clergy of Vladimir, the boyars and many citizens sought refuge from fierce enemies in the Church of the Mother of God. Here, at the Divine Liturgy, for the last time the saint offered a bloodless sacrifice for himself and his unfortunate flock. The words of the prayer were interrupted by sobs. Everyone was preparing for death, putting aside all worldly concerns. Guided to eternal life by the Holy Mysteries from the hands of their archpastor, the people of Vladimir calmly, with Christian hope, awaited their death. The bishop, the grand duke's family, archimandrites and abbots, boyars and eminent citizens took refuge on the rising beds (today's choirs), where a secret staircase led. Many citizens remained at the bottom of the temple. The front doors were locked from the inside. The bishop blessed his flock for the feat of martyrdom. “Lord God of hosts, Giver of Light, sit on a cherub,” he prayed, “stretch out your invisible hand and receive the souls of your servant in peace.”

Cover on the relics of St. blgv. prince
George Vsevolodovich

At the very time when such a wondrous and touching spectacle was taking place inside, in those very solemn moments of Christian feelings, full of selflessness and faith, the pagan Tatars, with vicious hatred for everything Christian and Russian, were agitated outside the temple. A handful of defenders of the city could not withstand the onslaught of a whole horde. Princes Vsevolod and Mstislav with their friendly fell from the swords of the Tatars. Through the corpses of their wild horde furiously burst into the Pecherny city and rushed to plunder temples and houses, destroying everything that could not be taken with fire and sword. The princely palace was looted and set on fire; court church in honor of St. Great Martyr Demetrius - the zeal of the Grand Duke Vsevolod III - was deprived of all her treasures. The cathedral church of the Mother of God was surrounded by the Tatars from all sides. The strong locks of its doors could not resist the onslaught of enemies. With demonic fury, the pagans burst into God's temple, cutting down everyone who was in it, and the wonderful copper floor was stained with his Christian blood. Everything that was valuable in the temple: gold, silver, precious stones, vessels, clothes of the first Grand Dukes, which were kept in churches in memory of them, even liturgical books, became the property of predators. The miraculous icon of the Mother of God was deprived of all expensive decorations. But neither the rich booty, nor the many victims of the inhuman beating satisfied the greed of the enraged Tatars. They were looking for a grand-ducal family. Having learned that it was hiding on the rising floors and, not finding the opportunity to penetrate there, they either by caresses or by threats persuaded the Grand Duchess to surrender to them. But she and those who were with her decided to endure everything that would be sent from God, if only not to fall into the hands of enemies alive. Enraged even more from the failure, the barbarians piled around the temple and dragged trees and brushwood inside it and set fire. Thus, from the heat and smoke, with a prayer on their lips, they surrendered their souls to the Lord and became accomplices to the martyr's face: Bishop Mitrofan, the Grand Duchess with her daughter, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. The Church of the Mother of God, burned and dilapidated, remained a sad monument to these sufferers.

Grand Duke George Vsevolodovich received the sad news of the death of the capital city and his family in it in the last days of February. It is understandable how sad he was at this news. He lost everything at once: his family, his subjects, and his estate. He expected no better fate for himself. It was clear that he could not defeat the most numerous enemies. Going to the banks of the City River, he hoped to gather an army so numerous that he would be able to resist the enemy. But his hopes were not destined to come true. His brother Svyatoslav came to him with his Yuryevites and nephews - Konstantinovichi with Rostov and Yaroslavl; but in vain he waited for his brother Yaroslav with the Pereslavl people. “Lord, Almighty,” he exclaimed, after hearing the sad news about what had happened in Vladimir, “is this pleasing to Your philanthropy! Like Job, now I have lost everything; but I know that it was a sin for our sake that all this happened; may the will of the Lord be done, may the name of the Lord be blessed from now and forever. Oh me, Lord! And why did I stay alive alone, except for these new martyrs? Grant me, Lord, to suffer for Your Holy Name, the Christian faith and the Orthodox people, and count me among Your Holy martyrs.

Cancer with the relics of St. blgv. prince
George Vsevolodovich.
Photo by V. Alekseev. 2009

Meanwhile, the barbarians were not long in coming. The Grand Duke sent his advance detachment, consisting of 3,000 warriors of tested courage, to reconnoiter the enemy; but the detachment, having retreated a little, returned with the news that the Tatars were already bypassing them. Georgy Vsevolodovich with his allies mounted horses, they lined up their regiments in battle order and fearlessly met the enemy. On March 4, “a great battle and an evil slash” began, in which human blood flowed like water. But no matter how courageously the Russians fought the enemy, they could not defeat him. Strength took precedence over courage, and the military field was littered with the corpses of Russian knights. The Grand Duke shared the fate of his comrades-in-arms: decapitated, he fell on the battlefield, “like a good warrior, like an invincible martyr for the faith and Orthodox Rus', like Christ the warrior.” His martyrdom followed in the 49th year of his birth. His reign lasted 24 years (from 1213 to 1217 and from 1218 to 1238).

The virtues with which the blessed Grand Duke George adorned himself during his earthly life, the ancient biographer depicts in the following words: and all sorts of ornaments; what about the priestly and monastic rank and giving them what they need, taking a blessing from them. Be bo Prince George truly, according to Job, an eye to the blind, a foot to the lame, and a hand to the poor; and loving everyone, dressing naked, calming the difficult, comforting the sad; offend anyone by nothing, but wiser everyone with your conversations; often honoring holy books with diligence, and doing everything according to what is written and not repaying evil for evil; verily, God has bestowed upon him the meekness of David, the wisdom of Solomon; and full of apostolic orthodoxy.”

Cancer with the relics of St. blgv. Prince George Vsevolodovich
in the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.
Photo by V. Alekseev. 2009

Not long after the unfortunate Battle of the City River, Bishop Kirill of Rostov, who had been elevated to the rank of bishop from the archimandrites of the Vladimir Nativity Monastery, was returning from Bela Lake to his flock. His path lay not far from the place of the ill-fated battle. The archpastor went there to offer prayers to God for the repose of souls for the faith and the fatherland of the fallen soldiers. Among the many dead bodies, the bishop recognized the body of George by the grand-princely attire; but the body lay without a head. With reverence he took the body of the famous prince, brought it to Rostov, and here, with great lamentation, singing the usual songs, he buried him in the cathedral church. After some time, the head of the Grand Duke was also found and attached to his body.

In 1239, a year after the unfortunate Battle of the City River, when the Tatar thunderstorm subsided for a while, the new Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich ordered that the coffin with the body of his deceased brother George be moved from Rostov to Vladimir. The honest remains of the sovereign sufferer for the faith and the fatherland, as they approached Vladimir, were met by Bishop Kirill with all the clergy and monasticism, the Grand Duke and his brother Svyatoslav and their children, all the boyars and all the inhabitants of Vladimir, young and old. At the sight of the coffin there was a general weeping and sobbing "and you could not hear the singing in weeping and crying great." With funeral singing, they placed the coffin with the relics of the martyr in the temple of the Mother of God, where his parents and other sovereign ancestors had already rested.

At the same time, the Lord, marvelous in His saints, deigned to console the mournful hearts of the Russian Orthodox people, revealing His saint in the blessed Grand Duke George. All those who witnessed the transfer of his relics then saw "a glorious miracle and worthy of astonishment." The holy head of George, once cut off by the sword of a barbarian, grew in the coffin to his honest body, so that no trace of its cutting off was visible on the neck; but all the joints were intact and inseparable. Since then, from the holy body of the blessed Grand Duke George, according to the words of his ancient biographer, "many and various healings began to be made for all those who are sick and who come in faith." But his relics after that remained under a bushel for a long time. 407 years after his death, the Lord deigned to fully glorify his saint on earth. In 1645, on January 5th, under the reign of Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, under Patriarch Joseph of All Russia, the holy relics of Grand Duke George, found incorruptible, were transferred from a stone coffin to a rich, silver and gilded shrine, arranged by the Patriarch’s vow with his own treasury, in which they, "remaining to this day, exude healing to the souls and bodies with faith worshiping them."

Cancer with the holy relics of the Right-Believing Grand Duke George is placed in the Dormition Cathedral Church.

The feast in honor of the holy noble Grand Duke George is celebrated by the Church on February 17th.