In the spring of 1228, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, while in Novgorod, began to prepare a global campaign against the most important center of the crusading movement in the Eastern Baltic - against the city of Riga.
There is no need to think that at that time Riga at least somehow resembled modern Riga. In 1228 Riga had not even celebrated its thirtieth anniversary yet. It was a small town inhabited mainly by German settlers with a strong castle, a convenient harbor and an unfinished Dome Cathedral, just a relatively small settlement with very big ambitions.
However, the political significance of Riga for the Baltic region was extremely high. Riga was the seat of the Riga bishop Albert von Bugsgevden, the main founder, inspirer and leader of the crusading movement in the Eastern Baltic and, accordingly, the political and economic center of the Catholic enclave in this region, the backbone of which was the Order of the Swordsmen. The fall of such a significant center could predetermine a large-scale crisis, if not a complete collapse of the entire crusading movement in the Baltic States, since it would inevitably cause a wave of uprisings in the not yet completely conquered territories of Estonians, Livonians, Latgalians and other forcibly Christianized tribes of the Baltic States, massive invasions of Lithuania and others. neighbors.
However, Yaroslav's intentions were destined to face significant opposition both within Novgorod and from such a significant Novgorod suburb as Pskov.
A few words about Pskov.
During the period under review, Pskov was a large commercial and administrative center with a pronounced desire for separatism relative to its “older brother” - Novgorod. Being on the border with the zone of German influence, it was subjected to this influence to a greater extent than Novgorod. As a center of transit trade, Pskov also suffered more from hostilities that hinder this trade than its "elder brother". In addition, Pskov more often than other Russian lands was attacked by Lithuania, and in the event of conflicts between Novgorod and the Germans, it became the first target for knightly raids.
For a long time, the brother of Mstislav Udatny, Prince Vladimir Mstislavich, ruled in Pskov. He was a very intelligent and energetic prince, not deprived of the abilities of a politician. A characteristic feature of his policy was its pro-Western vector. He managed to find a common language with the crusaders and even married his daughter to Theodorich von Buxgewden, a close relative of the aforementioned first Riga bishop Albert von Buxgewden, thereby joining the upper strata of the crusader society. His pro-Western orientation was so obvious that from 1212 to 1215. he was expelled from Pskov and served Bishop Albert, receiving from him flax in the vicinity of Venden. In 1215, Vladimir Mstislavich, having quarreled with the Germans, returned to Russia again and was received in Pskov, which he ruled without interruption until his death in about 1226-1227. During his reign, Pskov was largely accustomed to independence and no longer looked back at his "older brother" so often, making many political decisions on his own.
The campaigns of the Suzdal princes Svyatoslav and Yaroslav Vsevolodovich against the Germans (1221 and 1223), the latter responded with a series of short but painful blows on Pskov. Novgorod, as usual, either gathered for a long time with help, or completely refused it, leaving Pskov alone with its warlike neighbors - Lithuania and the crusaders, so the Pskov community was forced to pursue a more independent policy in relation to Novgorod as its overlord. The opponents of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich in Novgorod managed to take advantage of this situation.
In the spring of 1228, Yaroslav, in preparation for a campaign to Riga, set off with a small squad, accompanied by the Novgorod mayor and the tysyatsky, to Pskov, however, in the middle of the journey he learned that the Pskovians did not want to let him into their city. In Pskov, a rumor spread that Yaroslav was going to arrest his political opponents, and the Pskov veche decided not to extradite theirs, and not to let Yaroslav into the city. Who spread these rumors remains unknown, however, based on subsequent events, researchers make certain assumptions. And the sequence of events was as follows.
Upon learning of the refusal of the Pskovites to accept him as their sovereign, Yaroslav returned to Novgorod and gathered a veche, at which he complained to the Novgorodians about the Pskovites, claiming that he did not contemplate any evil against them, but carried with him not fetters to chain his opponents, but gifts to the Pskov For "wilted people" - expensive fabrics and "vegetables". It is not known whether the Novgorodians believed their prince, but they did not take any action against Pskov or against the prince. What were the real intentions of Yaroslav also remains a mystery, but nevertheless, such an unusual suspicion of the Pskovites could have had its own objective reasons. Two Russian proverbs come to mind: "There is no smoke without fire" and "The cat knows whose meat it has eaten." In the end, the matter ended in nothing, since soon both the Novgorodians and the prince were distracted by other events.
On August 1, 1228, the news came to Novgorod that the eight, who had been plundered last year, apparently decided to take revenge and organized a predatory raid on the territory of Novgorod.
A detachment of at least 2,000 people came on ships to Lake Ladoga and began to plunder the coast. Yaroslav at that time was in Novgorod with his wife and children. Having received information about the attack, he loaded the squad into baits (small vessels designed to move along rivers and coastal voyages in large bodies of water) and moved to intercept the robbers. However, he was outstripped by the Ladoga mayor Volodislav, who, without waiting for the Novgorod army with his retinue, began to pursue the em and overtook their detachment in the area of the Neva delta. In the battle, which lasted until the evening, it was not possible to identify the winner, however, the citizens of Ladoga managed to occupy a certain island on the Neva and block, thus, the exit to the Gulf of Finland. He asked for peace, Volodislav refused. Then, at night, Eme killed all the prisoners and, abandoning the boats, decided to return home by the shore. On the way, according to the chronicle, every single person was destroyed by Izhora and Korels.
Most researchers believe that the battle with the family in 1228, in some sources called the "first battle of the Neva" took place on the territory of modern St. Petersburg, and the island on which the Ladoga squad was fortified is now called Petrogradsky Island. Thus, the most likely place of the battle is opposite the place where the cruiser "Aurora" now stands.
In connection with this campaign, the chronicle mentions the beginning of another conflict between Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and the Novgorodians: “Novgorodians stood in the Neva for a few days, opening the Veche and wanting to kill Sudimir, and hide the prince in the seat; from thence, back to Novgorod, not waiting for Ladozhan,”that is, the Novgorodians on the march took up what they loved, created a veche, at which they decided to kill a certain Sudimir for some fault. What he was guilty of is probably absolutely clear to the chronicler, but completely incomprehensible to a modern researcher. Nevertheless, it is known that Sudimir, in order to avoid death, took advantage of the patronage of Yaroslav, who hid him on his head, which could not but cause displeasure among Novgorodians.
Having spent the veche, and not having achieved the extradition of Sudimir, Yaroslav's detachment, together with the prince, without waiting for the Ladoga squad, returned to Novgorod - to continue preparations for the grandiose campaign planned by Yaroslav.
By winter, Pereyaslav regiments began to gather in Novgorod to march on Riga. The number of soldiers was such that in Novgorod the prices for products increased significantly, which were already insufficient due to the poor harvest. At that moment, rumors spread around Novgorod that Yaroslav, who claimed that he was going to march to Riga, was actually planning to attack Pskov, which had treated him so impolitely in the spring, and, of course, these rumors immediately reached Pskov.
The situation for the people of Pskov is dangerous. Probably, from their point of view, the situation when the combined forces of Novgorod and Pereyaslavl under the leadership of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich would begin to bring Pskov to submission was quite acceptable. There was an urgent need to enlist someone's military support, and Riga was the only candidate for a military alliance against Novgorod. The agreement between Pskov and Riga was concluded in a very short time and its essence was that when someone attacked one of its sides, the other side renders military assistance to it. As a guarantee for the fulfillment of the agreement, the Pskovites left forty hostages in Riga, and the Riga bishop sent a large military detachment to Pskov.
In order to prevent a full-fledged civil war in the region, Yaroslav sent an embassy to Pskov with assurances of his peaceful intentions and an invitation to the Pskovites to participate in the campaign to Riga: “Come with me on the path, and I haven’t thought of anyone before you, but take those, who hit me with you."
But the Pskovites firmly answered: “To you, prince, we bow down to the Novgorod brothers too; we do not go on the path, but we will not betray our brothers; and they took the world from Riga. They took the silver to Kolyvan, but they themselves would go to Novgorod, but you won’t get the truth, you won’t take the city, but it’s the same from Kesya, and the same from Medvezha’s head; but for that, I beat our brothers on the lake, and my behavior, and you, who have grown up, are away; or naturally they thought about us, that we are against you with the Holy Mother of God and with a bow; then you will heal our ray, but you will eat wives and children for yourselves, and not with the ray of perdition; we bow to you."
The Pskovites refuse to Yaroslav in a joint campaign and extradition of their citizens, referring to the fact that they have made peace with the people of Riga. They also reminded the prince of the campaigns of the Novgorodians to Kolyvan, Kes and Bear's Head, as a result of which, after the departure of the Novgorod troops, the Pskov land was subjected to ruin. In the last part of the message, the Pskovites express their intention to resist the Novgorod aggression even at the cost of their own lives.
Having received such an answer, the Novgorodians refused to participate in the campaign, which finally thwarted it. The Pereyaslavl regiments were sent back to Pereyaslavl, the Riga detachment went back to Riga, after which the Pskovians expelled all Yaroslav's supporters from the city, finally and firmly identifying their independent position in relation to the prince and the Novgorodians.
Yaroslav also left for Pereyaslavl, leaving his sons Fedor and Alexander, ten and eight years old, respectively, on the Novgorod table as locum tenens. Some researchers believe that the reason for this departure is the prince's resentment against the Novgorodians, who did not want to go to war against the Pskovites, but it is difficult to imagine that this was really so. Yaroslav perfectly knew the political realities of the north of Russia and understood that the internecine war between Novgorod and Pskov, in any case and whatever its outcome, would only play into the hands of its main opponents - the Germans. Returning Pskov to the orbit of Novgorod or, more broadly, the all-Russian policy, followed in a different way. Most likely, the departure of Yaroslav was caused by a calculation based on the fact that the Novgorodians would soon make peace with Pskov, and in the event of any external threat, they would certainly call him to reign again. In this case, it will be possible to try to expose new, more favorable conditions for reigning. And so that it would not occur to the Novgorodians to turn to someone else with an invitation to reign, Yaroslav left his two eldest sons in Novgorod.
Departure of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich from Novgorod in 1228
The autumn of 1228 was rainy, its own harvest on the Novgorod land died, and famine began in the city. At the same time, the political struggle between the Novgorod parties escalated to the limit. Yaroslav's opponents, using the difficult financial situation of ordinary Novgorodians, and the discontent caused by this situation, accused the current Vladyka Arseny of illegally occupying the table of the Novgorod archbishop, which was, allegedly, the reason for God's punishment in the form of crop failure and hunger. Arseny was removed from his post and replaced by the aged monk Anthony, who had previously held the post of Archbishop of Novgorod, a seriously ill person, who by the time of his appointment had even lost his speech.
By the winter of 1229, the food situation in Novgorod had not improved, and civil unrest intensified. Supporters of the "Suzdal party" in Novgorod were subjected to repression by the popular masses, their estates in Novgorod were plundered. Yaroslav's opponents gradually occupied all key administrative posts in Novgorod, the post of mayor was still retained by Ivanko Dmitrovich, more or less loyal to Yaroslav, but his ardent opponent Boris Negochevich had already been appointed to the second most important position in the city - tysyatsky. In such a situation, in February 1229, the young princes Fyodor and Alexander Yaroslavich, abandoned by their father as his locum tenens, secretly fled the city at night and went to their father in Pereyaslavl.
Upon learning of the flight of the princes, the Novgorodians decided to invite Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov to their reign again, to whom messengers were immediately sent. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich did not want to lose the Novgorod table at all and even tried, having agreed with the Smolensk prince, to intercept the Novgorod ambassadors, but Mikhail nevertheless found out about the Novgorodians' proposal and in early March had already arrived in Novgorod. In Novgorod, Mikhail pursued an absolutely populist policy. His first act was to change the mayor. Ivanko Dmitrovich, a representative of the "Suzdal party", was exiled to Torzhok, from where he later fled to Yaroslav, instead of him Vnezd Vodovik, an ardent opponent of the Suzdal people, became a mayor. The rest of the supporters of the Suzdal party at the veche were ordered to finance the construction of a new bridge across the Volkhov as a fine to replace the one destroyed by the autumn flood.
Yaroslav, however, did not accept the current situation. And this time, the prince, in whose family another, already fourth son (Mikhail, who later received the nickname Hororite, that is, the Brave), and who came close to his forty-year anniversary, was recently born, acted consistently and wisely, showing the dignity not so much of a commander as politics.
List of used literature:
PSRL, Tver annals collection, Pskov and Novgorod chronicles.
Livonian rhymed chronicle
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