General Notes

Alexander Nevsky (1220?-63), Russian national hero and saint. The son of
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, grand prince of the medieval Russian state of
Vladimir, Alexander was elected prince of the state of Novgorod in 1236. In
1240 he won a victory over the Swedes on the Neva River near present Saint
Petersburg, thus acquiring his surname, Nevsky ("of the Neva"). The following
year, he led the army of Novgorod against the Teutonic Knights, driving them
from Russian soil and defeating them in a battle at Lake Peipus, Estonia, in
April 1242. Later generations viewed this victory as having saved Russia from
Western domination. When the Mongols invaded Russia from the east, Alexander
collaborated with them, acting as mediator between his people and the Mongol
Golden Horde. In 1246 the Mongols made him grand prince of Kyyiv, and in 1251
they installed him as prince of Vladimir, replacing his brother Andrei. As
ruler of Vladimir, Kyyiv, and Novgorod, he did much to unify the
principalities of northern Russia. Alexander is recognized as a saint by the
Russian Orthodox church; his feast day is September 12.