1. Alexander Nevksy Mr. Howard

2. Born in 1221 to Kievan Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Not much is known of his early life – he was educated in the Kievan Caves Monastery. Like Peter The Great he was a large man with incredible strength that furthers the legends.

3. Batu Khan forced Russian princes to bow before him and kiss his boots – most did not. Remember Yuri? Nevsky’s father did. Nevsky was given to Batu Khan as a tribute and raised by Mongols. He remained with the Horde from 1238- 1252.

4. Nevsky became a fierce warrior – Batu Khan wrote he was the finest of all warriors he had met, Mongol or otherwise. Nevsky became very close with Batu – a blood brother of his eldest son (Sartak) and he married Batu’s daughter. He was given the Vladimir province by Batu Khan and later crowned prince of Novgorod.

5. The Battle of the Neva & Ice The Catholic and Orthodox church collides in the Baltic Encouraged by the Crusaders capture of Constantinople in 1204 – they set their eyes on Russia With the Mongols devastating Russia the Catholic Church declares war on Novgorod.

6. Battle of the Neva & ice The Crusade is comprised of three factions: Swedes from the North Danes from the Center Teutonic Knights from the South Instead of waiting Nevsky takes the fight to them and cuts off the Swedes from the North.

7. Battle of the Neva Fought on the Neva river in 1240 … Russia vs Sweden. Swedish goals were simple: take control of Novgorod & Ladoga along with the mouth of the Neva. Nevsky’s forces were outnumbered He had the only field army Russia could muster – stakes were high

8. Nevsky faced off against Birger Jarl’s forces on the banks of the Neva – he snuck through the forest and caught them off guard Nevsky (born a Yaroslovavich) crushed the Swedish invasion and sent them running back to Sweden. In his honor he had his name changed from Alexander Yaroslovavich to Nevsky (Neva).

9. The Battle on the Ice Once the Swedes were taken care of, Nevsky had to direct his attention to the South. The stakes were high: a loss of Nevsky would eliminate the only Russian field army and allow the Crusaders to have free reign over Russia. A Russian victory would discourage further attacks.

10. The Forces Nevsky had 1,600 light Calvary & 3,400 light infantry Crusading Knights had 1,200 heavily armored and mounted knights and 1,000 heavily armored infantry Nevsky’s use of the ‘Roman Turtle Shell’ to repel the first attack proved pivotal. He instructed his soldiers to slash back at the horses legs and chest – dismount the nights.

11. Once dismounted use speed to advantage. To compound matters some Knights fell through the ice – heavy armor, plus weapons, plus soldier and plus horse = cracked ice. After the first charge led to 35% casualties for the Knights to only 4% for the Russians, they fled back South. Nevsky offered lenient peace terms – leave all Russian lands never to return – if you return I’ll hunt you down and cut your head off.

12. Each side agreed to peace and released all prisoners. The loss for the Crusaders came with a heavy price – they faced revolts in all of their conquered lands after the loss to the Russians. Nevsky became a hero in the same vein as Washington – voted #1 Russian Hero of All-time

13. Beyond being just a good general and commander, Nevsky is much like Hannibal… he is revered for being a true leader. He was an excellent warrior. Very skilled with the sword.

14. Nevsky as politician – cautious & saw bigger picture “Life of Alexander Nevsky” – seen as the perfect soldier, leader & politician and gave Russian’s a sense of pride. “Whoever comes at us with a sword shall perish from a sword” – gave Russians a motto to live by and would resurface many times in Imperial Russia.