The Battle of Kulikovo (Battle of Mamay), a battle between the united Russian army led by the Moscow Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and the army of the Temnik of the Golden Horde Mamai, which took place on September 8, 1380 on the Kulikovo field (a historical area between the rivers Don, Nepryadva and Beautiful Mecha in the south east of the Tula region.
Strengthening of the Moscow principality in the 60s of the XIV century. and the unification around him of the rest of the lands of North-Eastern Rus' went almost simultaneously with the strengthening of the power of the Temnik Mamai in the Golden Horde. Married to the daughter of the Golden Horde Khan Berdibek, he received the title of emir and became the arbiter of the fate of that part of the Horde, which was located west of the Volga to the Dnieper and in the steppe expanses of the Crimea and Ciscaucasia.
The militia of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich in 1380 Lubok XVII century.
In 1374, Prince Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow, who also had a label for the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, refused to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. Then the khan in 1375 handed over the label to the great reign of Tver. But virtually the entire North-Eastern Rus' came out against Mikhail of Tverskoy. The Moscow prince organized a military campaign against the Tver principality, which was joined by the Yaroslavl, Rostov, Suzdal and regiments of other principalities. Dmitry was supported by Novgorod the Great. Tver capitulated. According to the concluded agreement, the Vladimir table was recognized as the "fatherland" of the Moscow princes, and Mikhail of Tverskoy became Dmitry's vassal.
However, the ambitious Mamai continued to consider the defeat of the Moscow Principality, which had emerged from subordination, as the main factor in strengthening his own positions in the Horde. In 1376, Khan of the Blue Horde, Arab-shah Muzzaffar (Arapsha of Russian chronicles), who transferred to the service of Mamai, ruined the Novosilsky principality, but returned back, avoiding a battle with the Moscow army that had gone beyond the Oka line. In 1377, he was on the river. Drunk did not defeat the Moscow-Suzdal army. The governors sent against the Horde showed carelessness, for which they paid: “And their princes, and boyars, and nobles, and governors, consoling and having fun, drinking and fishing, acting like a house,” and then ruined the Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan principalities.
In 1378, Mamai, trying to force him to pay tribute again, sent an army to Rus' led by Murza Begich. The Russian regiments that came forward were led by Dmitry Ivanovich himself. The battle took place on August 11, 1378 in the Ryazan land, on the tributary of the Oka river. Vozhe. The Horde were utterly defeated and fled. The battle on the Vozha showed the increased power of the Russian state, which was taking shape around Moscow.
To participate in the new campaign, Mamai attracted armed detachments from the conquered peoples of the Volga region and the North Caucasus, in his army there were also heavily armed infantrymen from the Genoese colonies in the Crimea. The allies of the Horde were the great Lithuanian prince Jagiello and the prince of Ryazan Oleg Ivanovich. However, these allies were on their own minds: Jagiello did not want to strengthen either the Horde or the Russian side, and as a result, his troops did not appear on the battlefield; Oleg Ryazansky agreed to an alliance with Mamai, fearing for the fate of his border principality, but he was the first to inform Dmitry about the advance of the Horde troops and did not participate in the battle.
In the summer of 1380, Mamai began a campaign. Not far from the confluence of the Voronezh River with the Don, the Horde broke their camps and, wandering, expected news from Jagiello and Oleg.
In the terrible hour of danger hanging over the Russian land, Prince Dmitry showed exceptional energy in organizing a rebuff to the Golden Horde. At his call, military detachments, militias of peasants and townspeople began to gather. All Rus' rose to fight the enemy. The collection of Russian troops was appointed in Kolomna, where the core of the Russian army marched from Moscow. The court of Dmitry himself, the regiments of his cousin Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky and the regiments of Belozersky, Yaroslavl and Rostov princes walked separately along different roads. The regiments of the Olgerdovich brothers (Andrey Polotsky and Dmitry Bryansky, the Jagiello brothers) also moved to join the troops of Dmitry Ivanovich. The brothers' troops included Lithuanians, Belarusians and Ukrainians; citizens of Polotsk, Drutsk, Bryansk and Pskov.
After the arrival of the soldiers in Kolomna, a review was held. The assembled army on the Maiden's Field was striking in its large number. The gathering of troops in Kolomna had not only military, but also political significance. Ryazan Prince Oleg finally got rid of hesitation and abandoned the idea of joining the troops of Mamai and Jagiello. In Kolomna, a marching order of battle was formed: Prince Dmitry led the Big Regiment; Serpukhov prince Vladimir Andreevich with Yaroslavl - regiment right hand; in the regiment of the Left Hand, Gleb Bryansky was appointed commander; The advanced regiment was made up of Kolomna.
Saint Sergius of Radonezh blesses Saint Prince Demetrius of the Don.
Artist S.B. Simakov. 1988
On August 20, the Russian army set off from Kolomna on a campaign: it was important to block the way for the hordes of Mamai as soon as possible. On the eve of the campaign, Dmitry Ivanovich visited Sergius of Radonezh in the Trinity Monastery. After the conversation, the prince and abbot went out to the people. Having overshadowed the prince with the sign of the cross, Sergius exclaimed: “Go, lord, to the filthy Polovtsy, calling on God, and the Lord God will be your helper and intercessor.” Blessing the prince, Sergius predicted victory for him, albeit at a high price, and released two of his monks, Peresvet and Oslyabya, on the campaign.
The entire campaign of the Russian rati to the Oka was carried out in a relatively short time. The distance from Moscow to Kolomna, about 100 km, the troops passed in 4 days. They arrived at the mouth of Lopasna on 26 August. Ahead was a sentry guard, which had the task of protecting the main forces from a sudden attack by the enemy.
On August 30, Russian troops began crossing the Oka near the village of Priluki. Okolnichiy Timofey Velyaminov with a detachment controlled the crossing, waiting for the approach of the foot rati. On September 4, 30 km from the Don River in the Berezuy tract, the allied regiments of Andrei and Dmitry Olgerdovich joined the Russian army. Once again, the location of the Horde army was clarified, which, in anticipation of the approach of the allies, wandered around Kuzmina Gati.
The movement of the Russian army from the mouth of the Lopasna to the west was intended to prevent the Lithuanian army of Jagiello from connecting with the forces of Mamai. In turn, Jagiello, having learned about the route and the number of Russian troops, was in no hurry to join the Mongol-Tatars, trampling around in the Odoev area. The Russian command, having received this information, resolutely sent troops to the Don, trying to prevent the formation of enemy units and strike at the Mongol-Tatar horde. On September 5, the Russian cavalry reached the mouth of the Nepryadva, which Mamai learned about only the next day.
To develop a plan for further action on September 6, Prince Dmitry Ivanovich convened a military council. The votes of the council members were divided. Some suggested going beyond the Don and fighting the enemy on the south bank of the river. Others advised to stay on the northern bank of the Don and wait for the enemy to attack. The final decision depended on the Grand Duke. Dmitry Ivanovich uttered the following significant words: “Brothers! Better an honest death than an evil life. It was better not to go out against the enemy than, having come and done nothing, to return back. Today we will all cross over the Don and there we will lay our heads for the Orthodox faith and our brothers. The Grand Duke of Vladimir preferred offensive actions that allowed him to keep the initiative, which was important not only in strategy (beating the enemy piecemeal), but also in tactics (choosing the battlefield and surprise strike on the enemy’s army). After the council in the evening, Prince Dmitry and the governor Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky moved beyond the Don and examined the area.
The area chosen by Prince Dmitry for the battle was called the Kulikovo field. On three sides - west, north and east, it was bounded by the Don and Nepryadva rivers, cut up by ravines and small rivers. The right wing of the Russian rati, which was being built in battle order, was covered by rivers flowing into the Nepryadva (Upper, Middle and Lower Dubiki); the left one is a rather shallow river Smolka, which flows into the Don, and dried up stream beds (beams with gentle slopes). But this lack of terrain was compensated - behind the Smolka rose a forest in which it was possible to place a general reserve, guarding the fords across the Don and strengthening the battle order of the wing. Along the front, the Russian position had a length of more than eight kilometers (some authors significantly reduce it and then question the number of troops). However, the area convenient for the action of the enemy cavalry was limited to four kilometers and was located in the center of the position - near the converging upper reaches of the Lower Dubik and Smolka. Mamai's army, having an advantage in deploying over 12 kilometers along the front, could attack the Russian battle formations with cavalry only in this limited area, which excluded the maneuver of horse masses.
On the night of September 7, 1380, the crossing of the main forces began. Foot troops and convoys crossed the Don along built bridges, the cavalry - wade. The crossing was made under the cover of strong guard detachments.
Morning on the Kulikovo field. Artist A.P. Bubnov. 1943–1947
According to the watchman Semyon Melik and Pyotr Gorsky, who had a skirmish with enemy reconnaissance on September 7, it became known that the main forces of Mamai were at a distance of one crossing and should be expected at the Don by the morning of the next day. Therefore, in order for Mamai not to preempt the Russian army, on the morning of September 8, the army of Rus', under the cover of the Guard Regiment, adopted a battle order. On the right flank, adjoining the steep banks of the Lower Dubik, stood the regiment of the Right Hand, which included the squad of Andrei Olgerdovich. In the center are the squads of the Big Regiment. They were commanded by the Moscow roundabout Timofey Velyaminov. On the left flank, covered from the east by the Smolka River, the regiment of the Left Hand of Prince Vasily Yaroslavsky was built. In front of the Big Regiment was the Advance Regiment. Behind the left flank of the Bolshoi Regiment, a reserve detachment was secretly located, commanded by Dmitry Olgerdovich. Behind the Left Hand Regiment in the Zelenaya Dubrava forest, Dmitry Ivanovich placed a select cavalry detachment of 10-16 thousand people - the Ambush Regiment, led by Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky and an experienced voivode Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky.
Kulikovo battle. Artist A. Yvon. 1850
Such a formation was chosen taking into account the terrain and the method of struggle used by the Golden Horde. Their favorite technique was to cover one or both flanks of the enemy with cavalry detachments, followed by an exit to his rear. The Russian army took up a position, reliably covered from the flanks by natural obstacles. According to the conditions of the terrain, the enemy could attack the Russians only from the front, which deprived him of the opportunity to use his numerical superiority and use the usual tactical technique. The number of Russian troops, built in battle order, reached 50-60 thousand people.
Mamai's army, which approached on the morning of September 8 and stopped 7-8 kilometers from the Russians, numbered about 90-100 thousand people. It consisted of the vanguard (light cavalry), the main forces (the Genoese mercenary infantry was in the center, and the heavy cavalry deployed in two lines on the flanks) and the reserve. In front of the Horde camp, light detachments of reconnaissance and security scattered. The idea of the enemy was to cover the Russian. army from both flanks, and then surround it and destroy it. The main role in solving this problem was assigned to powerful cavalry groups concentrated on the flanks of the Horde army. However, Mamai was in no hurry to join the battle, still hoping for Jagiello's approach.
But Dmitry Ivanovich decided to draw Mamai's army into battle and ordered his regiments to advance. The Grand Duke took off his armor, gave it to the boyar Mikhail Brenk, and he himself put on a simple armor, but not inferior in its protective properties to the prince's. The Grand Duke's dark red (black) banner was placed in the Big Regiment - a symbol of honor and glory of the united Russian army. It was handed to Brenck.
Duel of Peresvet with Chelubey. Artist. V.M. Vasnetsov. 1914
The battle began at about 12 noon. When the main forces of the parties approached, a duel took place between the Russian warrior monk Alexander Peresvet and the Mongol hero Chelubey (Temir-Murza). As the folk legend says, Peresvet rode out without protective armor, with one spear. Chelubey was fully armed. The warriors dispersed the horses and hit the spears. A powerful simultaneous blow - Chelubey collapsed dead head to the Horde army, which was a bad omen. Re-light stayed in the saddle for several moments and also fell to the ground, but with its head towards the enemy. So the folk legend predetermined the outcome of the battle for a just cause. After the duel, a fierce slaughter broke out. As the chronicle writes: “The power of the Tatar greyhound is great with the Sholomyani coming and that packs, not acting, stash, for there is no place where they will part; and taco stasha, a copy of the pawn, the wall against the wall, each of them on the splash of their front property, the front ones are more beautiful, and the back ones are due. And the prince is also great, with his great Russian strength, from another Sholomian, go against them.
For three hours, Mamai's army unsuccessfully tried to break through the center and the right wing of the Russian rati. Here the onslaught of the Horde troops was repulsed. Andrei Olgerdovich's detachment was active. He repeatedly went on the counterattack, helping the regiments of the center to hold back the onslaught of the enemy.
Then Mamai concentrated his main efforts against the regiment of the Left Hand. In a fierce battle with a superior enemy, the regiment suffered heavy losses and began to retreat. The reserve detachment of Dmitry Olgerdovich was introduced into the battle. The warriors took the place of the fallen, trying to hold back the onslaught of the enemy, and only their death allowed the Mongol cavalry to move forward. The soldiers of the Ambush Regiment, seeing the difficult situation of their brothers-in-arms, rushed into battle. Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovskoy, who commanded the regiment, decided to join the battle, but his adviser, the experienced voivode Bobrok, kept the prince. Mamaev's cavalry, crowding the left wing and breaking through the battle formation of the Russian rati, began to go to the rear of the Big Regiment. The Horde, reinforced by fresh forces from the Mamaia reserve, bypassing the Green Oakwood, attacked the soldiers of the Big Regiment.
The decisive moment of the battle has come. The Ambush Regiment, the existence of which Mamai did not know, rushed to the flank and rear of the Golden Horde cavalry that had broken through. The strike of the Ambush Regiment came as a complete surprise to the Tatars. “The wickedness fell into great fear and horror ... and exclaimed, saying: “Alas for us! ... the Christians have been wiser over us, leaving Lutchia and daring princes and governors in secret and prepared them for us untiringly; our hands are weakened, and our splashes are tired, and our knees are numb, and our horses are tired, and our weapons are worn out; and who can be against them? ... ". Using the emerging success, went on the offensive and other regiments. The enemy took to flight. The Russian squads pursued him for 30-40 kilometers - to the Beautiful Sword River, where the convoy and rich trophies were captured. The army of Mamai was completely defeated. It has practically ceased to exist.
Returning from the chase, Vladimir Andreevich began to gather an army. The Grand Duke himself was shell-shocked and knocked off his horse, but was able to get to the forest, where he was found after the battle under a felled birch in an unconscious state. But the Russian army also suffered heavy losses, which amounted to about 20 thousand people.
For eight days, the Russian army collected and buried the dead soldiers, and then moved to Kolomna. On September 28, the winners entered Moscow, where the entire population of the city was waiting for them. The battle on the Kulikovo field was of great importance in the struggle of the Russian people for liberation from the foreign yoke. It seriously undermined the military power of the Golden Horde and accelerated its subsequent collapse. The news that "Great Rus' defeated Mamai on the Kulikovo field" quickly spread throughout the country and far beyond its borders. For an outstanding victory, the people nicknamed the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich "Donskoy", and his cousin, Prince Vladimir Andreevich of Serpukhov - the nickname "Brave".
Detachments of Jagiello, having not reached the Kulikovo field 30-40 kilometers and having learned about the victory of the Russians, quickly returned to Lithuania on a march. Mamai's ally did not want to take risks, since there were many Slavic detachments in his army. In the rati of Dmitry Ivanovich there were prominent representatives of the Lithuanian soldiers who had supporters in the army of Jagiello, and they could go over to the side of the Russian troops. All this forced Jagiello to be as careful as possible in making decisions.
Mamai, leaving his defeated army, fled with a handful of comrades-in-arms to Kafa (Feodosia), where he was killed. Khan Tokhtamysh seized power in the Horde. He demanded that Rus' resume the payment of tribute, arguing that it was not the Golden Horde that was defeated in the Battle of Kulikovo, but the usurper of power, the Temnik Mamai. Dmitry refused. Then in 1382, Tokhtamysh undertook a punitive campaign against Rus', seized and burned Moscow by cunning. The largest cities of Moscow land - Dmitrov, Mozhaisk and Pereyaslavl - were also subjected to ruthless ruin, and then the Horde marched with fire and sword through the Ryazan lands. As a result of this raid, the Horde dominion over Russia was restored.
Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo field. Artist V.K. Sazonov. 1824.
In terms of its scale, the Battle of Kulikovo has no equal in the Middle Ages and occupies a prominent place in military art. The strategy and tactics used in the Battle of Kulikovo by Dmitry Donskoy surpassed the strategy and tactics of the enemy, they were distinguished by their offensive nature, activity and purposefulness of actions. Deep, well-organized reconnaissance made it possible to make the right decisions and make an exemplary march to the Don. Dmitry Donskoy was able to correctly assess and use the conditions of the area. He took into account the tactics of the enemy, revealed his plan.
Burial of fallen soldiers after the Battle of Kulikovo.
1380. Front chronicle of the 16th century.
Based on the conditions of the terrain and the tactics used by Mamai, Dmitry Ivanovich rationally deployed the forces at his disposal on the Kulikovo field, created a general and private reserve, and thought through the issues of interaction between the regiments. The tactics of the Russian army received further development. The presence of a general reserve (Ambush Regiment) in battle order and its skillful use, expressed in the successful choice of the moment of commissioning, predetermined the outcome of the battle in favor of the Russians.
Assessing the results of the Battle of Kulikovo and the activities of Dmitry Donskoy preceding it, a number of modern scientists who have most fully studied this question, do not believe that the Moscow prince set himself the goal of leading the anti-Horde struggle in the broadest sense of the word, but only opposed Mamai as a usurper of power in the Golden Horde. So, A.A. Gorsky writes: “Open disobedience to the Horde, which grew into an armed struggle against it, occurred at a time when power there fell into the hands of an illegitimate ruler (Mamai). With the restoration of "legitimate" power, an attempt was made to confine itself to a purely nominal, without paying tribute, recognition of the supremacy of the "king", but the military defeat of 1382 frustrated it. Nevertheless, the attitude towards foreign power has changed: it has become obvious that, under certain conditions, its non-recognition and successful military opposition to the Horde is possible. Therefore, as other researchers note, despite the fact that the speeches against the Horde still take place within the framework of the previous ideas about the relationship between the Russian princes - the “ulusniks” and the Horde “tsars”, “The Battle of Kulikovo undoubtedly became a turning point in the formation of a new self-consciousness of the Russians. people", and "the victory on the Kulikovo field secured for Moscow the importance of the organizer and ideological center of the reunification of the East Slavic lands, showing that the path to their state-political unity was the only way to their liberation from foreign domination."
Monument-column, made according to the project of A.P. Bryullov at the factory of Ch. Byrd.
Installed on the Kulikovo field in 1852 on the initiative of the first researcher
battles of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod S. D. Nechaev.
The times of the Horde invasions were a thing of the past. It became clear that in Rus' there are forces capable of resisting the Horde. The victory contributed to the further growth and strengthening of the Russian centralized state and raised the role of Moscow as the center of unification.
September 21 (September 8 according to the Julian calendar) in accordance with the Federal Law of March 13, 1995 No. 32-FZ "On the days of military glory and memorable dates of Russia" is the Day of military glory of Russia - the Victory Day of Russian regiments led by Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy over the Mongol-Tatar troops in the Battle of Kulikovo.
Chronicle collection, called the Patriarchal or Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. SPb., 1897. S. 27.
Cit. Quoted from: Borisov N.S. And the candle would not die out... Historical portrait of Sergius of Radonezh. M., 1990. S.222.
Nikon chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. S. 56.
Kirpichnikov A.N. Kulikovo battle. L., 1980. S. 105.
This number was calculated by the Soviet military historian E.A. Razin on the basis of the total population of the Russian lands, taking into account the principles of recruiting troops for all-Russian campaigns. See: Razin E.A. History of military art. T. 2. SPb., 1994. S. 272. The same number of Russian troops is determined by A.N. Kirpichnikov. See: Kirpichnikov A.N. Decree. op. P. 65. In the works of historians of the XIX century. this number varies from 100 thousand to 200 thousand people. See: Karamzin N.M. History of Russian Goverment. T.V.M., 1993.S. 40; Ilovaisky D.I. Collectors of Rus'. M., 1996. S. 110.; Soloviev S.M. History of Russia since ancient times. Book 2. M., 1993. S. 323. Russian chronicles give extremely exaggerated data on the number of Russian troops: the Resurrection Chronicle - about 200 thousand. See: Resurrection Chronicle. PSRL. T. VIII. SPb., 1859. S. 35; Nikon Chronicle - 400 thousand. See: Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. S. 56.
See: Skrynnikov R.G. Battle of Kulikovo // Battle of Kulikovo in the history of culture of our Motherland. M., 1983. S. 53-54.
Nikon chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. S. 60.
There. S. 61.
"Zadonshchina" speaks of the flight of Mamai himself-nine to the Crimea, that is, the death of 8/9 of the entire army in the battle. See: Zadonshchina // Military stories of Ancient Rus'. L., 1986. S. 167.
See: The Legend of the Battle of Mamaev // Military Tales of Ancient Rus'. L., 1986. S. 232.
Kirpichnikov A.N. Decree. op. pp. 67, 106. According to E.A. Razin, the Horde lost about 150 thousand, the Russians killed and died from wounds - about 45 thousand people (See: Razin E.A. Decree. Op. T. 2. S. 287-288). B. Urlanis talks about 10 thousand killed (See: Urlanis B.Ts. History of military losses. SPb., 1998. P. 39). The "Tale of the Mamaev Battle" says that 653 boyars were killed. See: Military stories of Ancient Rus'. P. 234. The figure of the total number of dead Russian warriors of 253,000 cited there is clearly overestimated.
Gorsky A.A. Moscow and the Horde. M. 2000. S. 188.
Danilevsky I.N. Russian lands through the eyes of contemporaries and descendants (XII-XIV centuries). M. 2000. S. 312.
Shabuldo F.M. The lands of Southwestern Rus' as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Kyiv, 1987. S. 131.
Every student must know this date by heart. September 8, 1380 is the day when two powerful armies clashed on the Kulikovo field: the Tatar horde of Khan Mamai and the combined army of Russian princes led by the great Moscow prince Dmitry, who would later be called Donskoy precisely in honor of this victory.
The significance of the Battle of Kulikovo for the history of the Russian people
There are different opinions about the influence of the Battle of Kulikovo on Russian history and on the liberation from the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Some scientists believe that the battle on the Kulikovo field served as an impetus for the beginning of the liberation process from the Mongol yoke, the most important event for the Russian people.
Others, such as Sergei Sokolov, ascribe a wider meaning to it, comparing the victory of the Russian princes led by Dmitry Donskoy with the Roman victory over the Huns in 451, thus indicating that this victory was perceived as a triumph of Europe over Asia.
Lev Gumilyov believed that during the battle, the gradual unification of disparate principalities into a single powerful state began.
Background of the battle
The prerequisites for the campaign of the Tatar army, led by the leader Mamai, were the fact that in 1374 Dmitry Ivanovich, Prince of Moscow, refused to pay dues to the Horde. Then the khan made Tver the main principality. The Moscow prince, and with him others, set out on a military campaign against Tver. The principality capitulated and fell into vassalage to Dmitry. By this, the princes angered the khan, who had previously appointed the main Russian principality himself. Dmitry, on the other hand, wanted the Principality of Moscow to be the main subject of Rus' and this right was inherited.
At that time, claiming the throne of the Khan of the Golden Horde, he took this fact as a good opportunity to strengthen his influence in the Horde. He organized a military campaign to remind the Russians of the strength of the Horde, and during the period from 1376 to 1378 he made several raids, betrayed the Novosilsky principality to fire and sword, burned Pereslavl. In 1378, a battle took place on the Vozha River, in which for the first time the Tatar army was defeated by Russian troops. This battle was the first great victory over the oppressors.
In the summer of 1380, disturbing rumors began to reach the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich. He was informed that Mamai was organizing a new invasion of Moscow. The old enemy of Rus', the Lithuanian ruler Jagiello, joined the Tatar Khan. And Oleg Ryazansky was supposed to arrive with his army to help the Horde Khan. Dmitry Ivanovich began to convene military forces from all Russian lands. But, although messengers were sent in all directions, not one of the great princes: neither Tver, nor Nizhny Novgorod, nor Smolensk, nor Novgorod, sent help.
Mamai at the same time sent his ambassadors, who reported their demands: to resume the payment of tribute in the previous amounts and to be submissive, as under the old khans. On the advice of the boyars, clerics of the principalities and henchmen of the princes, Prince Dmitry agreed to the demands, paid the ambassadors a huge tax and sent his envoy Zakhary Tyutchev to Mamai with a peace offer. But at the same time, he did not stop collecting the army, not hoping for a peaceful outcome.
As he expected, Zakhary Tyutchev returned with even more sad news that Mamai's army was still marching on Moscow and should cross with the armies of Jagiello and Oleg Ryazansky on the banks of the Oka River on the first day of autumn.
At the assembly council, the princes decided to meet the Horde army and gather all their military forces in Kolomna by August 15. Before the start of the campaign, according to legend, Dmitry Ivanovich went to the Trinity Lavra for a conversation with the Blessed Elder Sergius of Radonezh.
Parting words of Sergius of Radonezh
There were already many legends about the deeds of Sergius of Radonezh at that time, the leaders of the principalities came to him for wise advice, ordinary people made pilgrimages. So Dmitry Ivanovich turned to the elder for prophetic guidance before the most important battle in his life. Sergius of Radonezh ordered him to give gifts to Mamai, to honor him, so that the Lord God would see the humility of the prince and help him in the struggle. Dimitri said that he had already done it, but it had no effect. To which the sage said that in this case, the oppressor would face death, and the Lord would help Dmitry.
From among the monastic novices, Sergius gave two heroes to help the prince - Peresvet and Oslyabya, who were destined to remain in the history of the Battle of Kulikovo.
How Dmitry won the battle
On September 7, 1380, the army of Dmitry Ivanovich approached the Don. The main force of the army was the cavalry. Commander Mamai with the Tatar army on the other side of the river was waiting for the Lithuanian army of Prince Jagail. During the night, the Russian army moved to the other side and settled down at the confluence of the Nepryadva River into the Don.
Thus, Dmitry wanted to prevent the forces of Mamai from uniting with the troops of Jagiello and Oleg Ryazansky, and also to raise the morale of his soldiers. Nearby was a spacious field called Kulikov, crossed by the Smolka River. Although some scholars argue about the location of the most memorable battle in the history of the unification of Rus'.
The prince's army was located as follows: on the right flank was the regiment of the Olgerdovich brothers, on the left - the princes Belozersky. The foot forces made up the advanced regiment under the command of the Vsevolodovich brothers. In addition, Dmitry singled out a reserve cavalry regiment, led by the prince's cousin, Vladimir Andreevich, and the boyar Dmitry Bobrik.
Dmitry and his generals positioned their troops so that the Horde could not surround them from any side. The terrain chosen for the battle served the same goals.
The beginning of the battle was the legendary duel between the Russian knight Peresvet and the Tatar batyr Chelubey. The forces of the two heroes were so equal that once they met in battle, they both immediately fell dead.
The two armies clashed. Dmitry Ivanovich fought on a par with his soldiers and, as the chronicles say, set an example of unprecedented feats. While Mamai followed the action from Red Hill. The Russians have never seen such a fierce battle.
The Tatar army was more numerous and more mobile. Having failed with a breakthrough in the central part, the army began to put pressure on the left wing. And they almost broke through to the rear, where they could defeat the troops, surrounding them from all sides. The Tatars already believed that they were on the verge of a historic victory. But then the reserve regiment of Prince Vladimir Andreevich intervened in the battle. This sudden attack put the Tatars to flight and contributed to an early victory.
After the battle, the heavily wounded Prince Dmitry Ivanovich was found under a tree and troops were brought to the camp. After this battle, he was named Dmitry Donskoy. After calculated the losses, which amounted to half of the army. For another eight days, the commander was on the Kulikovo field while the fallen soldiers were buried.
By the way, on September 8, Jagiello Lithuanian was one day away from the battlefield and, having learned about the victory of the Moscow prince, led his troops back.
Historical meaning
This battle was not so much a battle for territories, it was a battle for Russian traditions and culture. She changed Russia, became the beginning of the unification of Russian lands. And, thanks to this event, a hundred years later, the Russian state was able to finally throw off the shackles of the Golden Horde.
September 8, 1380 is the day when two powerful armies clashed on the Kulikovo field: the Tatar horde of Khan Mamai and the combined army of Russian princes led by the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry. This battle was not so much a battle for territories, it was a battle for Russian traditions and culture.
Before you is a unique article that can claim to be a major breakthrough in the study of the events of the Battle of Kulikovo. It was published in printed form in the second issue of the almanac, and now the author places it in electronic form in his column on the website. The material is given with all footnotes and in the original version, except for the title. The original title was “On the Geography of the Battle of Kulikovo”.
The battle that took place at the beginning of September 1380 on the Kulikovo field, in terms of its historical significance, belongs to epochal events - no less than the battle on the Borodino field at the end of August 1812. But Battle of Kulikovo, unlike Borodino, ended with the complete defeat of the enemy army. The remnants of the Tatar troops fled from the battlefield, pursued by the Russian cavalry. The scale of both battles in terms of the number of troops participating in them and the size of the battlefield differed little, although the information from different sources about the events of 1380 is not without some discrepancies.
According to the Russian chronicles, the size of the army of the Moscow Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, together with the allied troops of the Russian lands who supported him and detachments of individual princes, could slightly exceed two hundred thousand soldiers. 1 The chroniclers unanimously exclaimed that "from the beginning of the world there has not been such a power of Russian princes, as if with this princes of the great Dmitry Ivanovich." 2 Apparently, Mamai's army, which was opposing the Russians and defeated by them, was similar in number. The German chronicle of Detmar under 1380 reported on the "great battle" between the Russians and the Tatars, where four hundred thousand fought on both sides and where the Russians won. 3
However, the last decades were marked not only by the usual conferences, articles and collections on the occasion of the two regular anniversaries of the Mamaev Battle in 1980 and 2005, but also by the spread - especially in the near-scientific environment - of growing and, admittedly, unreasonable skepticism about the real historical significance of this events. I am not referring here to the pseudoscientific fantasies of A.T. Fomenko, but the crisis of confidence in the data of academic science of the past century and a half.
The blatant paradoxes of the current interpretation of the Battle of Kulikovo stem from an allegedly geographical factor. In fact, from a long-rooted misinterpretation of the meaning of important written sources. According to the annals of the XIV-XVI centuries, the Russian army prepared for the battle "coming for Don(i.e. west of the Don. - S.A.), clean in the field, to Mamaev land, at the mouth of the Nepryadva River". 4 It is very significant that the chroniclers are completely unanimous in indicating these three most important geographical parameters: the Sofia First and Novgorod Fourth Chronicles - “The Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich crossed over the Don into the field purely to the Horde lands, to the mouth of the Nepryadva River”; 5 Novgorod First Chronicle - “Go up into their land beyond the Don and be that field is clean, at the mouth of the Nepryadva River”; 6 The Simeon Chronicle and the Rogozhsky Chronicler - “The great prince went beyond the Don, and the field was clean and great green, and the trash of the Polovtsy, Tatar Poltsya met there, the field was clean at the mouth of the Nepryadva River.” 7
However, at the confluence of the Nepryadva into the Don, as it was recently discovered, then there was by no means a “great open field”. Studies of paleogeographers and paleobotanists have established that at that time there was a forest-steppe here, which had only small open areas 2-3 km wide. 8 None of these clearings could have accommodated a significant number of participants in the battle. It was not difficult for archaeologists to explain the strange small number of weapon fragments they found. 9 Leaders archaeological sites Kulikovo fields in their interviews began to say that we should not talk about a major battle, but about skirmishes of relatively small cavalry units.
It is expedient here to cite examples of the categorical and scientific level of such statements captured on the occasion of the anniversary of the battle on the pages of a mass Moscow magazine. The correspondent of the Neskuchny Sad magazine met with the then leaders of the archaeological excavations that had been carried out on the Kulikovo field for ten years since 1995. These are candidates of historical sciences M.I. Gonyany and O.V. Dvurechensky. As the correspondent writes, not without irony, “according to the stories of scientists, the true picture of the great battle is very different from the textbook. “The length of the place of combat clashes is two kilometers with a maximum width of eight hundred meters,” says the head of the Upper Don expedition, Mikhail Gonyany. “In Soviet times, they thought it was a people's militia,” says Dvurechensky. “Now we believe that professionals fought - from five to ten thousand, both on the one side and on the other, horsemen.” eleven
What professional historians of pre-Soviet Russia thought about this, this candidate of historical sciences does not say. True, he mentions some chronicles, specifically naming the never-existing "Novgorod fourth chronicle of the younger version" and citing a fictitious quote "near the mouth of the Don and Nepryadva", as if gleaned from the Novgorod Sophia Chronicle Code, which has not actually survived, 12 a actually representing a tendentious distortion of what is actually read in the annals cited by me above.
The Nepryadva River before flowing into the Don
It is sad that these and similar sensational statements have long managed to multiply and gain a foothold on the Internet. Oddly enough, they sometimes began to influence even the statements of professional historians - not to mention journalists and unscrupulous commentators who are avid for discrediting Russian history. And in Tula, the Kulikovo Field Museum-Reserve even published the Great Illustrated Encyclopedia dedicated to this field. Its volume is 744 pages, of which several pages are devoted to the Battle of Kulikovo itself. Here you can already read that "according to the latest scientific data, the Russian troops lined up, having the Don and Nepryadva behind them between the Rybiy Verkh gully and Smolka, occupying a front of no more than one and a half kilometers." 13 Thus, in the two years that have passed since the above statements of archaeologists, the meager length of the battlefield has decreased by another half a kilometer.
However, the annals unambiguously write about the unprecedentedly numerous troops that were deployed for ten miles open area Kulikovo field. "And covering the shelves of the field, as if ten miles from a multitude of howls." 14
But some current historians of the Battle of Kulikovo, especially archaeologists, invented, as we have seen, a kind of “way out” of the glaring inconsistency, declaring that Russian and foreign written sources greatly exaggerated the scale of the battle and, accordingly, the number of troops on each side.
An important fact remained out of sight of both current and former historians of the Battle of Kulikovo: the word “mouth” at that time denoted source rivers. Such word usage is documented in all lists of the Novgorod First Chronicle of the older and younger editions known from the manuscripts of the 14th and 15th centuries. This chronicle speaks of the end of the war between Veliky Novgorod and Sweden:
In the summer of 6831. Godish Novgorodians with Prince Yury and put the city at the mouth of the Neva, on Orekhovy Island; the same ambassadors who arrived are great from the king of Svei and finish the eternal peace with the prince and with Novgorod according to the old fee. 15
Here we are talking about the construction of the Russian fortress Oreshek (later Shlisselburg) half a century before the Battle of Kulikovo. "Nut Island" is located in the upper reaches of the Neva River when it flows out of Lake Ladoga. The phrase "at the mouth of the Neva" means: at the source of the Neva.
If the historians of the Battle of Kulikovo, not limited to the current understanding of the words “mouth of the Nepryadva”, turned sufficiently to the history of the Russian language or read especially carefully not only those fragments of the well-known annals of the XIV-XV centuries, where this battle is described, then the problem could not arise. Our outstanding linguist Academician Izmail Ivanovich Sreznevsky more than a hundred years ago completed the publication of the dictionary of the Old Russian language compiled by him. The first edition of it last volume was published in St. Petersburg in 1903, the second edition (reprint) - with a circulation of five thousand - in Moscow in 1958. In this book already at the beginning of the last century one could read the necessary explanation:
Ust - the mouth of the river, the source of the river: at the mouth - at the source - Put the city at the mouth of the Neva, on Orekhovy Island (a reference is given to the Novgorod First Chronicle). 16
The Neva flows out of Lake Ladoga. Nepryadva once flowed out of the existing and now, but now very small Volovo lake - before its shallowing, leaving traces of the channel of its former upper reaches around it. Information that even in the first half of the 17th century this lake served as the source of some rivers of the Kulikovo field can be read in an important source of that time - the “Book of the Big Drawing”. The most ancient map of Russia itself has not been preserved, but its most detailed description, drawn up according to the "sovereign decree" in 1627, has been published more than once. In the publication issued by the Academy of Sciences in 1950, taking into account all the lists known by that time, one can read a fairly clear hint regarding the source of Nepryadva:
The Upa River flowed from Volovo Lake from the top of the Nepryadva River, from the Kulikovo Field from the Muravsky Way. 17
There are detailed (large-scale, drawn by hand) maps of the districts of the Tula province, compiled at the end of the 18th century for the needs of general land surveying. These maps show that Volovo Lake, located in the center of the Kulikovo field and already radically reduced in size by that time, is separated by only a hundred fathoms from the stream that gives rise to the Nepryadva River. 18
The testimony of the sources clearly indicates that the battle of 1380 took place near the then source (“mouth”) of the Nepryadva River, in the central part of the Kulikovo field - at a distance of approximately 50 kilometers from the confluence of this river with the Don.
Accordingly, our archaeologists, who in recent decades have been especially intensively, but unsuccessfully looking for traces of mass graves of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers who fell on the Kulikovo field, it is expedient to slightly move the area of their field work. Then the surprising insignificance of the remains of weapons found so far during excavations in this field would have received its natural explanation. It should be mentioned that the insufficiency of the former area of archaeological work has already begun to be realized among the employees of the Kulikovo Field Museum-Reserve for a relatively long time. A wish slipped through the press “that the workers of the museum-reserve should not become isolated in their studies of the area, traditionally defined by them as Kulikovo field in the narrow sense of the word, but would expand the area of their searches.” 19 But its radical expansion was hindered by the adherence of these scientists to the erroneous, as it turned out, idea that the battle took place at the confluence of the Nepryadva into the Don. 20
Source of the Nepryadva River
The above circumstance prompts us to rethink some other information from the usual sources. It is natural to believe that the forcing of the Don described in the annals by the Russian troops on the night of September 7-8 was carried out not below the confluence of the Nepryadva into it, as it is now believed, based only on the "traditional" idea of the place of the battle itself, and upstream of the Don near Fedosov settlements, i.e. closer to the center of the Kulikovo field, where the Don is even less full-flowing, and the road along which the Russian troops were moving from the north came close to it at the confluence of the Muravlyanka river into the Don and where, judging by the geographical maps, there was a crossing used at that time.
The “traditional” idea that the battle took place on the right bank of the Nepryadva also loses its support. in the most detailed way the “left-bank” hypothesis argued not so long ago was subsequently criticized and resolutely rejected. The fact is that supporters of this hypothesis also interpreted the words “at the mouth of the Nepryadva” “traditionally” - as the place where this river flows into the Don, and paleogeographers who disagree with such a hypothesis found out that it was there on the left bank of the Nepryadva that the forest used to be. 21
But it would be unreasonable to assume that the forest once covered the entire left bank of the Nepryadva up to its source and for many kilometers deep into the vast Kulikovo field. A continuous study of its soils to determine possible forest areas in the past was carried out only in a small area in the lower reaches of this river, since all searches for the battle site were based only on the current understanding of the words "mouth of the Nepryadva".
Analysis of data extracted from the totality of official written sources of the 16th-17th centuries. led to the conclusion that the then Kulikovo field was by no means a forest, but “the northeastern tip of the steppes, which with a wide tongue wedged deep into the broad-leaved forests of the Central Russian Upland along the watershed of the upper reaches of the Don and Oka” . As summarized by the current researcher of the historical geography of the Kulikovo field O.Yu. Kuznetsov, "in contrast to the traditional ideas of Russian historiography of the Soviet period, one should recognize the significance of its linear dimensions, reaching 120 km from west to east and 80 km from north to south." 22
As for the 14th century, the chronicles unanimously and repeatedly mention precisely the open area (“the field is clear”), along which the Russian army “went beyond the Don to a distant part of the earth.” In an effort to preempt the actions of the enemy, it hastily headed to the source of the Nepryadva - "crossing the Don soon fiercely and fiercely and in vain" (i.e. fiercely and bravely and swiftly). 23
The fact is that the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, having received an encouraging message from the Monk Abbot Sergius of Radonezh, first prepared to meet Mamai’s army on the left bank of the Don and already appointed governors for the regiments, who then put on “the clothes of their local as a great warrior” (i.e. e. in armor designed to distinguish them during battle). Approaching the Don, the Russian governors “think a lot” whether they should cross to its right bank. 24 However, the reconnaissance sent in advance, led by Semyon Melik, had just reported that Mamai's army was now concentrating on the right bank of the Don, waiting for a connection with the army of Jagiello, which was supposed to approach from the west. This news led to the decision of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich to swiftly cross the Don that very night. 25
It took the Russian cavalry a very short time to overcome the distance of about 20 kilometers along the steppe watershed between the upper reaches of the tributaries of the Upa and the tributaries of the Nepryadva from the place of the crossing over the Don to the central part of the Kulikovo field. Foot soldiers approached, of course, later. But long before noon on September 8, the concentration of Russian troops was to be completed. “To the great prince Dmitry Ivanovich, who came beyond the Don in a clean field, to Mamaev land at the mouth of the Nepryadva River, and having become that prince, he was great according to the inheritance (i.e., as it should be), defusing the regiments and committing governors.” 26
The Horde army of Mamai, who was waiting for the arrival of the allies - the Lithuanian army of Jagiello, obviously intended to be the first to enter the open area in the center of the Kulikovo field between the upper reaches of the Don and Oka tributaries. This was the final section of the long-established path to Rus' by the steppe dwellers, which would later receive the designation "Muravsky Way". According to it, the Crimean Tatars will then make their devastating raids on Russian lands for several centuries, sometimes even reaching Moscow. But on September 8, 1380, the future Muravsky Way was blocked by the consolidated army of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, who blocked the path to Moscow for the Horde. Mamai had to, therefore, engage in battle with the Russians without waiting for the approach of Jagiello's troops.
It follows from the foregoing that the Battle of Kulikovo did not take place at all on the site of “2-3 square kilometers”, as historian A.E. Petrov. 27 It took place in a space dozens of times larger than such dimensions. Deployed in an "open field" for ten miles along the front, the Russian troops had to have a formation depth sufficient for their maneuver and for the timely introduction of a powerful reserve into battle, which decided the outcome of the battle.
Having sent "up the Don" from the place of the general crossing, an ambush regiment (in the annalistic texts it is often called "western", which corresponds to the location - west of the main forces) under the command of his cousin Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky, and "husband wise and brave" Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok Volynsky, and three other well-known princes, and "hiding" 28 this strike reserve in the oak forests, Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich ensured victory. The oak grove is not a spruce forest and not a shrub that makes it difficult for troops to move. Under the crowns of oaks, it was possible to covertly place numerous cavalry and then, at the right time, send it to attack unexpectedly for the enemy.
The location of the disappeared small oak grove was assumed by various historians of the Battle of Kulikovo at different points near the confluence of the Nepryadva into the Don.
But there is still an oak forest not far from the edge of the Kulikovo field, in the direction to the north-east of the Volovo lake. This forest is indicated not only on modern maps of the Tula region, but on the old maps of the general survey of the Tula province. The current area of this oak forest is about twenty square kilometers. 29 The current distance of its southern edge from the upper reaches of the Nepryadva is twenty-five kilometers. But before, the distance could be significantly less, since the southern parts of the forest were probably cut down during the construction of the city of Bogoroditsk, which is now located close to this forest from the south.
The cavalry regiment of Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky, sent from the place of the general crossing, “up along the Don”, could reach this oak forest, now located 3 kilometers to the north and 20 kilometers west of the crossing point, earlier than the foot Russian regiments approached the upper reaches of the Nepryadva.
The main forces of the Russian army deployed over ten miles were obviously to be located, blocking the enemy's path to Moscow, in the interfluve of the tributaries of the Don and Oka. As it should be assumed, to the north-north-east of the area immediately adjacent to Volovo Lake, between the upper reaches of the Nepryadva and Uperta rivers, much north of the upper reaches of the Mechi River (now the Beautiful Mecha) and its tributary, the Plotovaya Mecha River (now the Dry Raft). The Tatars approached the source of the Nepryadva from the south-south-west, from the northern bend of the Swords. thirty
Bend of the Mechi River
The crushing attack of the ambush regiment, briefly described in the Chronicle of the Battle of Kulikovo, led, as you know, to the fact that "Tatars with Mamai ran away." Prince Vladimir Andreevich “and many other governors” who led the pursuit, “chasing them and beating them to the Swords of the River and to their camps, and taking all their wealth and herds and there the countless deaths fleeing. At the same time, many Russians were beaten.” 31
From the upper reaches of the Nepryadva south-southwest to the bend of the upper reaches of the Mechi located here, the distance is less than 20 kilometers. He was overcome, continuing to fight on their already tired horses, by the Russian pursuers of the fleeing Horde. But it would be unrealistic to think that this persecution began from the "traditionally" localized place of the battle - at the confluence of the Nepryadva into the Don. From here to the nearest bend of the Mechi located to the south (in its middle course), the distance is more than sixty kilometers.
From what has been said, it follows that the very location of the enemy camp captured by the Russians could not be near the lower reaches of the Nepryadva, but only near its upper reaches.
But the flight of the remnants of the defeated army of Mamai hardly occurred only in the southern directions. Part of the Horde could rush to the west and join the detachments of Jogail. The other part fled to the east, shooting from bows in the copses of the right bank of the Nepryadva. The traces of the persecution of these fugitives, as can be assumed, are the fragments of weapons found here in a small number, which I mentioned above.
It would be useful for modern historians of the Battle of Kulikovo, especially archaeologists, to comprehend the specifics of their results more widely and more often turn to the classical heritage of Russian science, correlating the current problems of their work with it.
The greatest Russian historian Sergei Mikhailovich Solovyov wrote about the significance of the victory on the Kulikovo field a hundred and fifty years ago: “The chroniclers say that such a battle as Kulikovo had never happened before in Rus'; Europe has long been weaned from such battles. Such was the massacre of Catalonia, where the Roman general saved Western Europe from the Huns; such was the massacre of Tours, where the Frankish leader saved Western Europe from the Arabians. The Kulikovo victory has exactly the same significance in the history of Eastern Europe as the Catalan and Turan victories have in the history of Western Europe, and has the same character as them, the character of a terrible, bloody battle, a desperate clash between Europe and Asia, which was supposed to solve the great question in the history of mankind - which of these parts of the world will triumph over the other. Such is the world-historical significance of the Battle of Kulikovo. 32
In our time, the question of the triumph of Europe or Asia has long since become a thing of the past. But the interests of the true sovereignty of our country require careful attention to the heroic pages of its centuries-old history.
Sergei Nikolaevich Azbelev,
Doctor of Philology, Professor
This victory has become important event on the way to the liberation of our country from the Horde yoke. Today there is a museum and memorial complex dedicated to the victory of the Russian army.
Battle of Kulikovo
The Battle of Kulikovo was notable for the fact that under the banner of the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich, the troops of the previously fragmented, scattered Russian principalities united. They were opposed by the well-trained Horde army of Temnik Mamai and Khan Tyulyak.
The troops converged on September 8, 1380 on a relatively small treeless area bounded by the Don, Nepryadva and Smolka rivers and numerous ravines and gullies. When the Golden Horde cavalry broke through the left flank and began to go to the rear, there was a threat of a terrible defeat. But the Ambush Regiment entered the battle, previously hiding in the Green Oak forest. This blow turned the tide of the battle. Mamai, who had watched the battle from afar, fled. The troops of the Golden Horde were utterly defeated, however, the Russians also suffered huge losses: the dead were buried in mass graves for several days.
The name "Battle of Kulikovo" was put into circulation in the 19th century by the historian Nikolai Karamzin. And the first explorer of the battle site was the landowner and local historian Sergei Nechaev. He owned the village of Kulikovka Shakhovskoye not far from the Battlefield. Nechaev collected finds from the battlefield, bought them from the peasants who lived in the area of the Battlefield. For the first time in historical science, he tried to correlate the course of the battle with the real area. Sergey Nechaev wrote scientific articles about his finds, their history and the battle in general in Karamzin's journal Vestnik Evropy, and later founded the first museum of the Battle of Kulikovo in the Polibino estate of the Ryazan province (today the Lipetsk region). The first archaeological finds from the Kulikovo field (fragments of shells, chain mail, swords, spears) ended up in the collections of local landowners: the Olsufyevs, Chebyshevs, and Safonovs. Sometimes they were given to representatives of the highest authorities. Most of the finds from the Kulikovo field, kept in private collections, were lost during the revolutionary years.
Memorial complex on the Kulikovo field
On the initiative of Nechaev and his son, the governor of Tula, Vladimir Vasilyev, petitioned Emperor Alexander I to erect a monument to Prince Dmitry Donskoy. This monument - a majestic black column crowned with a golden dome and a cross - was designed by Alexander Bryullov and installed in 1850 on the Red Hill of Kulikovo Field. It is generally accepted that this place was the headquarters of Mamai. Later, guardhouses for retired soldiers were built next to the monument. They also conducted the first excursions on Red Hill.
On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the battle in the village of Monastyrshchino, located near the confluence of the Don and Nepryadva rivers, where Russian troops were stationed and where, according to legend, the mass graves of dead soldiers were, a temple was built. The temple was consecrated in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin (on this day the memorable battle took place). The temple is run by the museum, but church services are held in it.
Another temple in the Red Hill area began to be built in 1913 according to the project of the architect Alexei Shchusev. Its construction was completed four years later. The temple was consecrated in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh, who blessed and inspired Dmitry Donskoy to a feat of arms. Now this temple has been transferred to the jurisdiction of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and is operational.
After the revolution, rare attempts were made to study the Kulikovo field, but mostly its monuments were destroyed.
Great Patriotic War and the first post-war decades only exacerbated the deplorable situation, although attempts at archaeological research of the field were periodically made. Only on the 600th anniversary of the battle on the Kulikovo field was it truly remembered. Monuments and temples were restored, the territory was landscaped, and a new museum exposition was created.
Museum-Reserve "Kulikovo Field"
In 1996, the State Military-Historical and Natural Museum-Reserve "Kulikovo Field" was established. Its exposition is located in the village of Monastyrshchino, the village of Epifan, the museum and exhibition center "Tula antiquities" and in the museum complex "Kulikovo field".
Museum complex "Kulikovo field" is located in close proximity to the site of the legendary battle. Since October 2016, the main exposition has been operating here - “The Legend of the Mamaev Battle. New Reading. It consists of three blocks. In the introductory hall “Battle and Battles”, visitors will get acquainted with battles similar to the Battle of Kulikovo - the siege of Orleans in 1429, the Battle of Grunwald, the Battle of Kosovo, the Battle of Borodino and the Battle of Prokhorovka. The other two halls introduce the history of the Battle of Kulikovo - based on the "Tale of the Battle of Mamaev" and modern scientific research. Here are the finds of archaeologists, the reconstruction of the historical landscape of the XIV century, recreated paintings from the life of the ancient settlements of the Kulikovo field, written sources and much more.
The museum complex also has an observation deck: from an eleven-meter height you can look at the epicenter of the battle, Khvorostyanka, where the Horde army lined up before the battle, the Smolka River, Zelenaya Dubrava and other other places.
In the village of Monastyrshchino, according to legend, Russian soldiers who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo were buried. In the 19th century, a temple in the name of the Nativity of the Virgin and a parish school were built here.
On September 19, 2000, a museum and memorial complex was opened in Monastyrshchino. In August 2017, the exposition “Don. All history is on the banks of one river.” It tells about the formation of the Old Russian people and the life of settlements in the Don basin. In the halls there are ancient treasures, household and trade items, which are accompanied by models with scenes from the life of these settlements.
Not far from the temple in the name of the Nativity of the Virgin in 1980, a monument was erected to the great Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy. Here they also laid the Alley of Memory and Unity, where they installed memorial signs of cities and lands - participants in the Battle of Kulikovo. In 2012, a horse yard for 35 horses was opened in the village.
In the village of Epifan, in the Baibakov estate, there is a museum of merchant life. The building of the estate is a typical example of the architecture of county towns in Russia in the late 19th - early 20th century. The museum was created on the basis of materials from the local history museum of the Kimov region and opened on the anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo, September 21, 1998.
In the museum you can walk through the bourgeois living room, the merchant's study, the women's part of the house, the kitchen of the merchant's shop and go down to the basement. All rooms have recreated the original atmosphere of the late XIX - early XX century, in them: old furniture and utensils, old cameras and books, caskets and vases, kitchen utensils and crockery. During the tour, you can learn about the culture of merchant tea drinking and take part in it.
The Tula Antiquities Museum and Exhibition Center was founded in 1993. Two years later, the first archaeological exposition dedicated to the history of the Tula region appeared - from the Stone Age to the creation of the Tula province in the 18th century.
The exposition "The Legend of the Battle of Mamaev" is a cognitive-playing exhibition where you can make chronicle miniatures, weave chain mail in an armory, try on the weapons of Russian and Horde warriors. The exposition "Secrets of the Tula masters" introduces the work of craftsmen of the 16th-18th centuries. The halls present both authentic items and copies made by modern Tula masters.
Battle of Kulikovo, 1380
Battle on the Kulikovo field- a battle between the united Russian troops under the command of the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich and the troops of the Golden Horde, subordinate to beklyarbek Mamayu. This battle became in many ways very important to history and was probably the largest battle of the fourteenth century and the first major Russian victory over the Mongols.
Mongol invasion of Rus'
In 1237, the Mongol troops led by Batu invaded the territory of the Ryazan principality. Three years later, most of Rus', with the exception of the principality of Novgorod, lay in ruins. The invasion of the Mongols, according to historians, delayed the full development of Rus' for more than 2 centuries.
Unlike the Mongol campaigns in Europe, after the end of hostilities, the Mongols took possession of most of Rus' and forced the locals to pay tribute. Novgorod, despite the fact that he managed to avoid the fate of Kyiv and Vladimir, was also forced to pay a large tribute to the Mongol khans. Novgorod was also subjected to numerous Mongol-Tatar raids for 50 years.
Direction starts to change
The opposition to the Mongols took a different direction in 1252, when Prince Andrey Yaroslavovich led his troops against the Tatars near Pereslavl-Zalessky. But, the real result was achieved in 1285, when the prince Dmitry Aleksandrovich was able to drive the Tatars from the Novgorod lands.
Since 1269, the Russian princes actually began to be recruited by the Mongols in their army, and the Russians fought on the side of some khans of the Golden Horde. The direction of the Russian struggle was still clearly defined, and as of 1270 the number of Russian troops had increased significantly. European influences became more and more evident, and the combination of fighting styles contributed to the gradual success of the Russian army.
So, for example, horse archers were still a headache for many Western armies, and the unsuccessful attempts of the Germans and Scandinavians to expand their possessions at the expense of Novgorod territories are obvious examples. European armor, weapons and artillery also became an important component in subsequent clashes between the Russians and the Mongols.
At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the weapons and armor of the Mongols were considerably outdated, while Russian military power was growing. The importance of Moscow as a city has increased significantly, while Kyiv has decreased. It was the Muscovites, under the leadership of several inspiring leaders, who freed Rus' from the Mongol yoke.
In the Battle of Kulikovo, the combined Russian troops under the command Dmitry Ivanovich Moskovsky faced a much larger Tatar force led by Mamai. Allies of Mamai, Grand Duke Oleg Ryazansky and grand duke Jagiello Lithuanian, late to the battle.
Kulikovo, 1380
The Battle of Kulikovo took place on September 8 on the Kulikovo field near the Don River. Russian troops lined up in the traditional three lines, the reserves remained in the rear, and the elite cavalry of Vladimir Andreevich, Prince of Serpukhov (Dmitry's cousin), was hidden in an ambush. Mamai also built his troops in line. In the middle was the infantry, which consisted of Genoese mercenaries. On the flanks and behind the infantry were the Horde cavalry and other mercenaries. Behind them was a reserve.
The number of warriors who took part in the battle is the subject of much debate. So, for example, according to some estimates, the forces of the Mongols numbered about 250,000 soldiers. An acceptable number is considered to be 100-120 thousand Mongols and 70 thousand Russians, but a more reasonable figure is about 70 thousand Mongols and 36 thousand Russians. Be that as it may, these numbers are still huge for the armies of that time.
A.P. Bubnov "Morning on the Kulikovo field"
Thick fog covered the Kulikovo Field on the morning of September 8, 1380. The fog dissipated only by 11 o'clock in the morning, after which both armies moved forward, against each other.
The battle began with a duel between a Russian monk Alexander Peresvet and a Tatar knight named Chelubey. Both killed each other with spears on the first pass, although Russian legend says that Peresvet did not fall from his horse, unlike Chelubey. After the duel, the battle began and both sides suffered heavy losses. Peresvet subsequently became a hero and often his image became an example of courage.
M. A. Avilov “Duel of Peresvet with Chelubey on the Kulikovo field”
The Genoese infantry, supported by the Tatar cavalry, attacked the advanced Russian regiment, but the onslaught was contained. After the first attack was repulsed, the remnants of the regiment returned to the main Russian army. The Horde cavalry launched a powerful frontal attack along the entire line of the Russian front. Dmitry himself fought in the front ranks and received several blows to the body and head and was twice thrown from his horse. Only European-style armor saved his life.
Despite the brutality of the attacks, the Russians stood firm in their positions and forced Mamai to send his reserves against the Russian left flank, hoping to break them. Despite the fierce resistance of the Russian soldiers, the Horde managed to break through the Russian lines. Having lost most of its warriors, the left wing began to retreat. Reserves did not save the situation. At about 2 o'clock, the Horde entered the rear of the Russians, bypassing the main forces of the Russian army. Russian troops were in real danger of defeat.
At this moment, from the ambush, the cavalry of Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky, led by Dmitry Bobrok- Prince Volynsky - attacked the cavalry of the Horde from the rear. This unexpected involvement of fresh Russian troops changed the situation dramatically. From that moment on, the Russian troops went on the offensive. Mamai's army took to flight, and its pursuit continued until late at night. The heavy battle lasted about four hours and ended in an absolute victory for the Russians. The troops of the Golden Horde were completely destroyed. Mamai fled to the Crimea, where he was subsequently killed by his enemies. The reins of government of the Horde passed to Tokhtamysh.
A high price was paid for the victory. Twelve princes and 483 boyars (the flower of the Russian army) were killed - this is 60% of all military leaders of the Russian army - plus a significant part of their armies. It took 7 days to honorably bury all the soldiers who fell in this battle.
After the battle, Dmitry Ivanovich received the nickname Donskoy, and after that he was canonized as a saint. The Battle of Kulikovo became one of the largest, if not the largest battle in the Middle Ages. More than a hundred thousand soldiers took part in it.
Aftermath of the battle
This victory was the beginning of the end of the Mongol rule in Rus', which officially ended in 1480 with a big Standing on the river Ugra. The Battle of Kulikovo was more important for the unification of Russian lands. According to one of the historians, the Russians went to the Kulikovo field as citizens of various principalities, but returned as a single Russian people.
However, before the fall of the Golden Horde was still far away. Just two years later, in 1382, Tokhtamysh attacked Rus' and Moscow was sacked and burned almost to the ground. Tokhtamysh was a great success as the Russians simply couldn't muster enough men to fight him. This suggests that the Russians have not yet been able to fully compensate for the losses suffered on the Kulikovo field. However, already in 1386, Dmitry Donskoy was able to lead a solid army against Novgorod. The fatal conflict with Tamerlane prevented Tokhtamysh from achieving further success in Russia. In 1399, the Russians suffered a serious defeat from the troops of the emir. Edigea in the battle on the Vorskla River.
In the end, strife among the Mongols and the unification of the Russians led to the final defeat of the Golden Horde and the fall of its capital Kazan. One of the most powerful states that were part of the former Golden Horde - the Crimean Tatars - subsequently, in many wars, even took the side of the Russians.
Of great importance is not so much the Battle of Kulikovo itself, since the Mongols quickly restored what they had lost. Rather, that she became a symbol of the struggle against the Mongols and was a source of inspiration for all subsequent campaigns against them. This was the first large-scale battle with the Mongols in which the Russians won a complete victory. The battle of Kulikovo destroyed the myth of the invincibility of the Mongols in Rus', just like the battle of Ain Jalut in the Middle East.
The place of the battle is marked by a memorial temple built according to the project of Alexei Shchusev. The warrior-monk Alexander Peresvet, who killed the Tatar knight Chelubey (also known as Temir-Mirza), but who himself died in this duel, became a hero after the battle.
