Research and practical conference to the 800^th anniversary of St. Prince Alexander Nevsky

Abstract

This is an overview of the scientific conference dedicated to the 800th anniversary of Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky (ca. 1221–1263). The conference gathered Russia’s most eminent historians specializing in Alexander Nevsky and his era, who assembled at MGIMO on April 19, 2021. The event was moderated by Yaroslav Skvortsov, Dean of the School of International Journalism (MGIMO University) and Head of the Church and International Relations Council. V. A. Kuchkin, Chief Research Fellow and Director of the Center for Early Russian History at the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IRH RAS), delivered a paper entitled Alexander Nevsky: the Neva Battle, the Reconquest of Pskov, and the Ice Battle. A. A. Gorskii, Chief Research Fellow and Director of the Center for Source Studies in Russian History at IRH RAS, spoke on the long-term consequences of Prince Alexander’s deeds and policies, while R. A. Sokolov, Director of the Institute of History and Social Sciences at the A. I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University, gave a paper on debated issues in contemporary historiography of Alexander Nevsky. E. L. Koniavskaia, Senior Researcher of IRH RAS and Editor-in-Chief of the Drevniaia Rus (Early Russia) journal, presented a historical-philological analysis of the earliest Vita of St Alexander Nevsky. The MGIMO department of National and World History was represented by prof. O. F. Kudriavtsev (Alexander Nevsky and the Catholic West), prof. V. I. Ukolova (Alexander Nevsky, his time and contemporaries), prof. T. V. Tchernikova (Relations between Alexander Nevsky and Velikii Novgorod in 1236–1263), and assoc. prof. S. P. Rybakov (Alexander Nevsky in Eurasian Literature). As a result of the conference, certain details of prince Alexander Nevsky’s life and deeds were clarified; the thesis that Alexander Nevsky made a civilizational choice to submit to the Mongol rule and to repel the armed and diplomatic encroachments of the West was refuted; unprofessional criticism of the attitude to Alexander Nevsky in the modern and contemporary history of Russia was proven to be unfounded; new arguments in favor of a truly all-Russian veneration of the holy prince Alexander in the 19th century Russia were presented; and the iconography of St Alexander Nevsky in South Russian lands in the 17–19 cc. was examined. And at the practical level, many papers and the comments following them made clear the relevance of the holy prince’s example and deeds for today.