Those who were interested even in the most superficial way in the history of medieval Russia certainly know the names of such iconic figures in Russian history as Daniil Romanovich, Prince Galitsky and Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, Grand Duke Vladimirsky. Both one and the other made a very significant contribution to Russian history, defining for many years to come the direction of the historical development of the two most important areas of the once united Russian state - southwestern Russia (Chervona Rus, Galicia-Volyn lands) and northeastern Rus (Zalesie, Vladimir-Suzdal lands).
Mikhail Vsevolodovich Chernigovsky, a contemporary and the most powerful and consistent political opponent of both Daniel and Yaroslav, is much less known, despite the fact that he lived a long and very eventful life, rich in victories and defeats, was martyred at the headquarters of Khan Batu and subsequently was even canonized, like the son of Yaroslav Alexander Nevsky. I was interested in his personality as the personality of a typical representative of the princely family of Rurikovichs of the first half of the XIII century, who, in my opinion, the circumstances were somewhat different, could have gained a foothold at the head of the Russian state, become the ancestor of another grand-princely dynasty and, who knows, perhaps could have been able to direct the history of Russia - Russia in a completely different direction. For good it could be or for worse, we will not guess … However, in order.
Mikhail Vsevolodovich was born in 1179 in the family of Prince Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermny. His mother was the daughter of the Polish king Casimir II, Maria. Mikhail belonged to the Chernigov Olgovich dynasty and was a direct descendant of Oleg Svyatoslavich (Oleg Gorislavich) in the fifth generation and Yaroslav the Wise in the seventh. At the time of Mikhail's birth, his grandfather, Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, was the Prince of Chernigov and the Grand Duke of Kiev.
All the ancestors of Mikhail in the male line at one time, albeit for a short time, occupied the Kiev grand-ducal table, therefore Mikhail, as the eldest son of his father, knew from early childhood that by birthright he had the right to supreme power. Mikhail's grandfather Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich dies in 1194, when Mikhail himself was already 15 years old. In 1198, Mikhail's father Vsevolod Svyatoslavich received the principality of Starodubskoe (one of the inheritances of the Chernigov land) as an inheritance and was actively involved in the internecine princely struggle for power and, as the highest achievement in this struggle, for the Kiev great table. The first mention of Mikhail Vsevolodovich in sources is noted in 1206, when his father, having quarreled with Vsevolod the Big Nest, the head of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, expelled his protege and, concurrently, his cousin, Rurik Rostislavich, from Kiev and tried to take his place. Pereyaslavl Russian (Southern), Vsevolod Svyatoslavovich handed it over to his son Mikhail, for which the sixteen-year-old son of Vsevolod the Big Nest Yaroslav, the future Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, father of Alexander Nevsky, was expelled from the Pereyaslavl table. However, Vsevolod Svyatoslavich did not last long on the Kiev table, a year later Rurik Rostislavich managed to return, expelling Vsevolod. In 1210Rurik Rostislavich and Vsevolod Svyatoslavich managed to come to an agreement and, according to this agreement, Vsevolod still took the Kiev table, and Rurik sat down in Chernigov, where he soon died.
In 1206, a princely congress took place in Chernigov, at which a general meeting of the princes of the Chernigov land decided to intervene in the struggle for the inheritance of the Galicia-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich, who had died a year earlier (1205). Mikhail Vsevolodovich, of course, was to take the most direct part in this congress convened by his father. It is not known what the princes who had gathered in Chernigov talked about and argued about. Modern historians, based on various indirect data, believe that representatives of the Seversk branch of the Olgovich dynasty, as a result of the congress, received the support of the Chernigov Olgovichi proper in the struggle for Galich and Volhynia in exchange for renouncing their claims to other lands within the Chernigov principality. So to speak, at the same time the conclusion of an offensive alliance, and the division of already existing territories, moreover, the division is uneven, with a great bias towards the Chernigov branch.
Where Michael was and what he did in the period from 1207 to 1223 is unknown. It is assumed that at this time he occupied one of the secondary tables in the Chernigov land, not actively participating in strife.
Not later than 1211, Mikhail married Alena Romanovna, daughter of Roman Mstislavich Galitsky and sister of his future worst enemy Daniil Romanovich. Mikhail's wedding date is not so simple. According to some sources, it could have taken place as early as 1189 or 1190, when Mikhail was only ten or eleven years old, but this design seems dubious. Most likely, Mikhail's marriage with Alena was actually concluded closer to 1211, it was during these years that one of the peaks of activity in the princely strife for the inheritance of Roman Mstislavich Galitsky occurs, when the positions of its active participants - the Chernigov Olgovichi, brothers Vladimir, Svyatoslav and Roman Igorevich (the children of the protagonist of "The Lay of Igor's Regiment") were weakened and they were finally, as it turned out, expelled from the tables, respectively, of Galich, Vladimir Volynsky and Zvenigorod, which they had previously occupied. The marriage of the representative of the Chernigov princely house with the noble dowry Alena Romanovna could and should have strengthened the position of the Olgovichi in the struggle for Galich and Volhynia, because in the event of the untimely death of the minors at that time, the brothers Daniel and Vasilko Romanovich (ten and eight years old, respectively), the children of Mikhail and Alena The Romanovs would become quite legitimate contenders for the Galicia-Volyn lands. However, Daniel and Vasilko survived, in 1217 the representative of the Smolensk Rostislavichi Mstislav Udaloy intervened in the strife, who managed to capture and hold Galich, and Vladimir-Volynsky handed over to Daniel and his brother Vasilko, having entered into an alliance with them through the marriage of Daniel with his daughter. For a while, active actions ceased.
In 1215, Mikhail's father, Vsevolod Svyatoslavich, dies. Mikhail was thirty-six years old this year, his age, of course, is solid, especially at that time, but in the period from 1207 to 1223. there are no references to Mikhail Vsevolodovich in the sources. Even such a grandiose event as the Battle of Lipitsa in 1216, in which his rival in 1206 in the struggle for Pereyaslavl Southern Yaroslav Vsevolodovich took an active part, passed, judging by the chronicles, without him, which, however, is explained by the general detachment Chernigov princes from participation in this strife.
Next time we meet the mention of Mikhail Vsevolodovich in the annals for 1223 in connection with the battle on the river. Kalka between the united army of the princes of the southern Russian lands (Kiev, Galicia-Volyn and Chernigov) and the Mongol expeditionary corps under the command of Jebe and Subedei. Mikhail Vsevolodovich fights as part of the Chernigov regiment and he manages to avoid death and return home, while his uncle Mstislav Svyatoslavich, Prince of Chernigov, dies. In this campaign, which ended so unsuccessfully for the Russian princes, forty-four-year-old Mikhail Vsevolodovich had the opportunity to personally communicate with his brother-in-law and future irreconcilable rival, twenty-two-year-old Daniil Romanovich, Prince of Volyn, the future Galician, and also the "king of Russia." Both are listed as secondary participants in the campaign, Mikhail - in the retinue of Mstislav of Chernigov, Daniel - in the retinue of Mstislav Galitsky (Mstislav the Bold).
Upon his return from an unsuccessful campaign to Kalka no later than 1224, Mikhail, as the eldest in the Olgovichi family, after the death of his uncle Mstislav Svyatoslavich, became the prince of Chernigov. This situation opened up completely new opportunities for Mikhail to realize the political ambitions of his energetic, enterprising and active nature. From a small-scale prince of a purely regional significance, he turned into a political figure of an all-Russian scale. We can say that in the forty-sixth year of his life, his star finally rose.
One of the first steps of Mikhail as Prince of Chernigov was the establishment of friendly relations with the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich, the head of the Suzdal princely house. Help in this was probably provided by his own sister Agafya Vsevolodovna, Yuri's wife.
Yuri Vsevolodovich, unlike his younger brother Yaroslav, probably did not differ in ambition, energy and belligerence, the main direction of his activity he saw the expansion of Russian possessions to the east, the conquest of the Mordovian tribes and the struggle for influence on them with the Volga Bulgaria, but at the same time, he was forced to pay considerable attention to relations with his northern neighbor - Novgorod. However, Yaroslav was more involved in Novgorod affairs, who by that time was already a Novgorod prince twice. His first Novgorod reign was marked by a conflict with the city community, as a result of which Yaroslav was forced to leave Novgorod. That conflict ended in 1216 with the Battle of Lipitsa, in which Yuri and Yaroslav suffered a crushing defeat, and Yaroslav even lost his helmet, which the peasants later accidentally found at the beginning of the 19th century.
The second time Yaroslav Vsevolodovich reigned in Novgorod in 1223-1224, made a campaign with the Novgorodians to Kolyvan (Revel, Tallinn), but again quarreled with them because of their passivity and, demonstrating resentment, left the willful city. Instead of Yaroslav, Yuri Vsevolodovich sent his son Vsevolod to reign in Novgorod, who, however, did not reign in it for long.
By the end of 1224, relations between the Suzdal princes and Novgorod became aggravated again. Vsevolod Yuryevich, who ruled in Novgorod, was forced to flee from it, settled in Torzhok, arrested all Novgorod property there and blocked the trade route. Yuri supported his son by arresting Novgorod merchants within the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. The conflict had to be settled, and at this moment Mikhail Chernigovsky appears on the stage. For some reason, probably of a personal nature, Yuri offers him the reign of Novgorod, Mikhail agrees and departs for Novgorod, which accepts him with joy. In Novgorod, Mikhail leads a populist policy, promises a lot, including making a military campaign in the interests of Novgorod (probably to Livonia or Lithuania), and also promises to settle the conflict with Yuri. And if the latter, thanks to the influence on Yuri, he succeeds (Yuri frees all the captives and returns their goods to the Novgorodians), then the first turns out to be much more difficult to accomplish. Faced with the boyar opposition in Novgorod and the self-willed veche, Mikhail gives up, voluntarily renounces the Novgorod reign and leaves for Chernigov. Mikhail's hasty departure to Chernigov may also be due to the fact that his position there was shaken. Claims for the Chernigov principality were presented by his distant relative, a representative of the Seversk branch of the Olgovichi, Prince Oleg Kurskiy.
Oleg's pedigree can only be established hypothetically, since his patronymic is not mentioned in the annals. Most likely, it was Mikhail's second cousin, who, according to the historical account, had more rights to Chernigov, but according to the decision of the princely congress of 1206, as a representative of the Seversk branch of the Olgovichi, he could not lay claim to him. For help in curbing the "rebel" Mikhail again turned to Yuri Vsevolodovich, who in 1226 provided him with regiments for a campaign against Prince Oleg. It did not come to a battle: Oleg, seeing the overwhelming advantage of Mikhail, resigned himself and did not demonstrate any ambitions in the future.
In Novgorod, after the departure of Mikhail, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich reigned for the third time. However, the hot-tempered and belligerent nature of this prince again led to a conflict with the Novgorodians. Having made in the interests of Novgorod successful campaigns against Lithuania and Emi (the ancestors of modern Finns), in 1228 he conceived a campaign against Riga - the center of the crusading movement in the Eastern Baltic region, but ran into active resistance from part of the boyar elite of Novgorod and open opposition from Pskov, where he was not even allowed, the gate was closed. Irritated by his helplessness, Novgorod's political myopia and the passivity it engendered, Yaroslav left Novgorod again, leaving his young sons Fyodor and Alexander (the future Nevsky) there.
In Novgorod that year (1229) there was a bad harvest, famine began, people died in the streets, popular discontent turned into an open revolt, as a result of which Fedor and Alexander were forced to leave the city, and in their place the Novgorodians again called Mikhail Vsevolodovich. Yaroslav was categorically against such a development of events and even tried to intercept the Novgorod messengers to Chernigov, but did not succeed. Mikhail learned of the invitation and immediately responded. Mikhail reckoned on the passivity of Yuri Vsevolodovich and on the fact that in Chernigov his position was finally established, and due to the Novgorod reign he would be able to significantly expand his capabilities. They did not take Yaroslav's interests into account and, as it turned out, in vain.
Yaroslav, irritated by the passivity of his brother Yuri, and also, suspecting him of a secret conspiracy with Mikhail to the detriment of his, Yaroslav's interests, tried to organize an "anti-jury" coalition, to which he attracted his nephews, the sons of his late brother Konstantin Vsevolodovich - Prince of Rostov Vasilko Konstantinovich (married, by the way, to the daughter of Mikhail of Chernigov) and Prince of Yaroslavl Vsevolod Konstantinovich. In fairness, it must be said that Yuri's actions could indeed cause discontent among the Vsevolodovich princes, since they were in clear disagreement with the interests of the dynasty. In order to resolve the conflict in 1229, Yuri convened a general princely congress, at which misunderstandings were eliminated. Yaroslav, meanwhile, was not idle, he, considering Mikhail the usurper of the Novgorod table, seized the Novgorod suburb of Volokolamsk and refused to conclude peace with Mikhail until Mikhail connected Metropolitan Kirill to the peace negotiations as an intermediary. By that time, Mikhail had already returned to Chernigov, leaving his son Rostislav in Novgorod.
Despite the peace concluded with Mikhail, Yaroslav continued to prepare a revenge. His numerous supporters remained in Novgorod, who continued to defend his interests on the banks of the Volkhov. In some way, this was facilitated by the continuation of the famine in Novgorod in 1230, due to which the situation in the city was very far from calm. Unable to withstand the constant stress and threat of rebellion, the prince Rostislav Mikhailovich fled from the city and settled in Torzhok, where it was probably much better with food. For a young man who was hardly eighteen years old (the date of his birth is unknown, but it could not have been earlier than 1211 - the year of the wedding of Mikhail Vsevolodovich with Rostislav's mother, Alena Romanovna), such an act could be quite natural, but as the plenipotentiary representative of his father in the city, of course, he had no right to act in this way. It should be remembered that in 1224, his cousin and, possibly, the same age as Vsevolod Yuryevich under similar circumstances also fled from Novgorod to Torzhok, which led to the temporary loss of the Novgorod table by the Suzdal dynasty. Outraged by Rostislav's behavior, the Novgorodians raised a mutiny, Yaroslav's party prevailed at the veche, the agreement with Mikhail was terminated and Yaroslav was invited to reign again, for the fourth time. This was his final victory, since that time only he and his descendants reigned in Novgorod.
To consolidate this success in 1231, Yaroslav, together with his brother Yuri, made a military campaign to the Chernigov land in order to finally dot the i's and once and for all discourage Mikhail from interfering in their affairs in the north. Michael evaded the battle, concluding an agreement with the brothers, the terms of which he later adhered to. This was the end of the "northern epic" of Mikhail Chernigovsky. Other things awaited him, this time in the south.
In 1228, Prince Mstislav Mstilavich Udaloy, Prince of Galitsky, dies in Torchesk. After an eleven-year hiatus, the war for the Galician inheritance resumed. A few words about ancient Galich.
The exact date of the foundation of Galich is unknown. In Russian chronicles, it was first mentioned around 1140, although, of course, it existed long before that date. In the XI century. Galich was part of the Terebovl principality, but by the middle of the XII century. stood out as an independent reign. In 1141, Vladimir Volodarevich, Prince of Terebovl, moved the capital of his principality to Galich. The Galician principality reached its greatest prosperity during the reign of Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl (1153-1187), during whose reign Galich turned into an economic and political center of the region, became a city comparable in importance to Kiev, Chernigov, Vladimir-Zalessky, Veliky Novgorod.
Being very favorably located geographically, Galich was a large center of transit trade along the east-west line, it had free passage for ships to the Black Sea along the Dniester, on the bank of which it was actually located, on the territory of the principality there were deposits of table salt, in the Carpathian mountains there were open deposits of copper and iron. In combination with a warm, mild climate that favored the development of agriculture, Galich was a gem that could adorn the crown of any ruler.
The ethnic composition of the Galician principality and, especially, Galich itself also differed from most of the Russian principalities. In addition to the Russians, who, of course, were the majority, the city was inhabited by the Polish and Hungarian diasporas, who had a significant impact on the internal life of the settlement.
Among the cities of ancient Russia, Galich, like Novgorod, stood out for its traditions of rule of the people. Probably, this similarity is due to the fact that in both Novgorod and Galich, transit trade was the main source of income for the population. Merchant associations had significant funds, the income from trade exceeded the income from land ownership, so the landed aristocracy in cities such as Novgorod and Galich did not enjoy such unconditional dominance as in other lands of ancient Russia. The population of Galich, like the population of Novgorod, had its own political will, capable of resisting the princely will. Absolutely all Galician rulers, including Yaroslav Osmomysl, who enjoyed indisputable authority, had to constantly fight against the powerful boyar-merchant opposition, even resorting to mass executions. It was in Galich that an unprecedented case of the execution of princes by the boyar opposition was recorded - in 1211, in front of the ten-year-old prince Daniil Romanovich (the future Galitsky), princes Roman and Svyatoslav Igorevich, representatives of the Seversk Olgovich dynasty, who had been ransomed from Hungarian captivity specially for this, were hanged.
So, in 1228, the struggle for Galich, this noisy, rich, capricious and headstrong city, accepting everyone, and able to expel anyone, entered a new phase.
The troublemaker was twenty-seven-year-old Daniil Romanovich, Prince of Volynsky. Before his death, Mstislav Udaloy bequeathed the city and the principality to the Hungarian prince Andrei (son of the King of Hungary Andrei II) under pressure from urban communities before his death. Daniel, however, considered Galich his patrimony "in the father's place" and was not going to cede the city to the Hungarians. To begin with, he decided to strengthen somewhat in his own lands and expand his sphere of influence - he seized Lutsk and Czartorysk from the local princes. These aggressive actions of the young and promising prince attracted the attention of the "great uncles" - Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov and Vladimir Rurikovich of Kiev. Having formed a coalition, to which the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan was attracted, they moved to Volhynia against Daniel. Realizing that his army would not stand up in an open field battle, Daniel occupied the Kamenets fortress in the east of his region, reasonably believing that the princes would not dare to go deeper into his lands, having an undefeated army in the rear, and would be forced to be distracted by the siege. And so it happened. Allied princes besieged Kamenets and began negotiations with Daniel. During these negotiations, Daniel managed to split the coalition. Khan Kotyan (the grandfather of Daniil's wife) left Kamenets for the steppe, on the way having pretty much plundered the Galician region, Mikhail Vsevolodovich and Vladimir Rurikovich retired to their lands. It is noteworthy that from that time Vladimir became a loyal ally of Daniel and during the internecine strife he always acted as a united front with him against Mikhail of Chernigov.
So, the campaign of the princes against Daniel turned into nothing, but the political alignment in the south of Russia changed. In 1229 Daniel managed to capture Galich, expelling the prince Andrew, but he felt extremely insecure there. The annals mark the dissatisfaction of the boyar and commercial elite of Galich with the fact of the expulsion of Andrei, it even came to an attempt on the life of Daniel. In 1230, Andrei, at the head of the Hungarian army, which Daniel could not oppose anything, returned to Galich, expelling Daniel to Volhynia, thus restoring the "status quo".
In the same year, 1230, Mikhail Chernigovsky, who had just suffered a defeat in the struggle for Novgorod, decided to seize the Kiev table under his former ally Vladimir Rurikovich. Probably, preparing his campaign to Kiev, Mikhail enlisted support from Hungary and Galich in the person of the prince Andrew. His preparations became known to Vladimir, who, realizing that he could not cope with Mikhail alone, turned to Daniel for help. For Daniel, the alliance with Kiev opened up significant opportunities in the struggle for Galich, therefore, already in 1231, he and his squad arrived in Kiev. Upon learning of Daniel's arrival in Kiev, Mikhail revised his plans and abandoned the campaign, reconciling with Vladimir.
In 1233 the prince Andrey with the Hungarian army and Galicians invades Volhynia, but in the battle of Shumsky he suffers a crushing defeat from Daniel and his brother Vasilko. Daniel's retaliatory invasion in the same year leads to another defeat for Andrey in the battle on the Styr River, after which Daniel laid siege to Galich. For nine weeks the Galicians were under siege, but after the sudden death of Andrew, the reasons for which were not indicated in the sources, they submitted to Daniel and let him into the city. However, Daniel's position in Galich remained precarious, the prince understood that at the first opportunity the Galicians would betray him.
In 1235, Mikhail Chernigovsky decided to repeat his attempt to capture Kiev. This time, his ally was Prince Izyaslav Mstislavich, possibly the son of Mstislav the Bold, who reigned at that time in Torchesk. And again Daniel comes to the aid of Vladimir of Kiev, the coalition of Mikhail and Izyaslav falls apart, the latter runs to the Polovtsy, and Mikhail returns to Chernigov. However, now Daniel and Vladimir are pursuing him all the way to Chernigov, ruining the Chernigov lands along the way. In the Chernigov land, Mikhail's cousin Mstislav Glebovich joined the allied princes. Historians assess his role in this strife with a diametrical opposite. Some believe that Mstislav, joining Vladimir and Daniel, pursued his own goals - he hoped to seize the Chernigov table under his brother, others believe that he, in fact, acted in the interests of Mikhail, confusing the allies and trying to split their coalition. One way or another, Vladimir and Daniel fought hard against the Chernigov land, plundered several cities, the chronicle marks the capture of Again, Horobor and Sosnitsa and approached Chernigov. Mikhail himself was not in Chernigov, he and his retinue circled not far from the allies, trapping their careless actions. The chronicle speaks of some kind of deception of Daniel on the part of Michael, as a result of which Michael attacked the army of Daniel alone, inflicting heavy losses on him, after which Daniel and Vladimir left Chernigov, never daring to storm the city.
However, this was only the beginning of major troubles for them. Near Kiev, near Torchesk, they met the Polovtsian horde led by Prince Izyaslav Mstislavovich and suffered a crushing defeat from it. Vladimir Rurikovich was captured and taken to the steppe, and the Kiev table went to Mikhail's ally Izyaslav Mstislavovich. Daniel managed to escape and arrived in Galich, where his brother Vasilko was waiting for him. As a result of a provocation cunningly conceived by the Galicians, the Vasilko detachment, the only combat-ready force at the time of Daniel's hand, left Galich and the local nobility immediately showed Daniel to the door. Not wanting to tempt fate, Daniel left the inhospitable city and left in search of allies in Hungary, in the hope that the new king Bela IV would change the political course of Hungary and lean from an alliance with Chernigov to an alliance with Volyn.
The Galicians, who were left without a prince, in the best traditions of Veliky Novgorod, invited themselves to reign … Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov. Thus, Mikhail managed to unite under his hand two of the three most important princely tables in southern Russia - Chernigov and Galitsky. The third table - Kievsky - was in the hands of his ally Izyaslav.
It is clear that such a situation could not suit Daniel and a new round of confrontation should have been expected. The next year, both sides spent looking for new allies in the west - in Poland, Hungary and even in Austria, where Daniel managed to establish friendly contacts with Duke Friedrich Babenberg. The result of these diplomatic maneuvers was the following. Hungary, under the pressure of threats from Austria, refused any participation in the conflict between Daniel and Michael, in Poland Daniel was defeated - Mikhail managed to win over Daniel's former ally Konrad Mazovetsky to his side and persuade him to participate in hostilities against Volhynia. Along the way, with active diplomatic actions, the sides did not forget to periodically disturb each other with raids, devastating the border lands.
At the beginning of 1236, Vladimir Rurikovich ransomed from Polovtsian captivity, immediately expelled Izyaslav from Kiev and, having restored control over the Kiev principality, began to provide active military assistance to Daniel. The detachment sent by them defeated the army of the Galicians, returning from a raid on the territory of the Volyn principality. The union of Volhynia and Kiev was restored. To take advantage of the fruits of the victories in 1235, Michael was unable or did not have time, carried away by diplomatic maneuvers.
Nevertheless, the issue with Daniel had to be resolved. By the summer of 1236, Michael decided to realize his superiority achieved in 1235. An invasion of Volhynia was planned from three sides with multiply superior forces: from the west, Konrad Mazowiecki, one of the largest and most influential Polish feudal lords of that time, was supposed to attack, from the east - Mikhail himself with Chernigov troops, from the south - the Galicians with the support of the Polovtsian army led by Izyaslav Mstislavich. Volyn, of course, could not withstand such a triple blow, it seemed that Daniel's song was sung, especially since Vladimir Rurikovich did not have time to provide him with any military assistance - Kiev was too far from the scene. Daniel was in despair and, according to the chronicler, prayed for a miracle.
And the miracle happened. Unexpectedly for all the participants in the events, except, perhaps, Vladimir Rurikovich, who can be suspected of preparing this "miracle", the Polovtsy, who came with Izyaslav Mstislavovich, refused to go to Volyn, drove the Galician army into Galich itself, after which they plundered the Galician lands and left in the steppe. Izyaslav Mstislavovich, for whom this turn of events was as unexpected as for the others, hastily rushed to look for Mikhail. Mikhail, in view of the ambiguity of the situation, as usual, stopped the campaign and returned to Chernigov. Konrad Mazowiecki was left alone with Daniel. With all this, he was the only member of the coalition who managed to invade hostile territory and, accordingly, most of all risked being hit by Daniel's counterattack. Therefore, having received the news of the betrayal of the Polovtsy and the departure of Mikhail, he hastily also turned his camp and right at night, which speaks of his extreme haste, began to move home to Poland. Daniel did not pursue him.
So, by the end of 1235, a stalemate arose on the territory of southern Russia. Mikhail Chernigovsky owned Chernigov and Galich, but there was no direct communication between his possessions. To get from one part of the possession to another, one had to cross the hostile territories of the Kiev or Volyn principalities. Hungary, through the efforts of Daniel, withdrew from participation in the strife, Konrad Mazowiecki, as a representative of Poland, also convinced of the unreliability of Mikhail of Chernigov as an ally, refused to further oppose Daniel. Not Mikhail Vsevolodovich, not Daniel and Vladimir Kievsky had the strength to inflict a decisive blow on the enemy. In such cases, it is customary to conclude peace agreements, but Daniel could not take such a step. Considering Galich his "fatherland", he was ready to fight for him to the last.
It is not known which of the two princes - Daniil Romanovich or Vladimir Rurikovich, came up with the idea to involve Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, prince of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky and Novgorod, rival and foe of Mikhail Chernigov, and also, concurrently, the brother of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, in the civil strife, of the Grand Duke Vladimir. However, it was done. And they promised Yaroslav for help and participation not just anything, but the Kiev Great Table itself, which the Kiev prince Vladimir Rurikovich voluntarily ceded to Yaroslav Vsevolodovich.
They do not refuse such offers, and Yaroslav, who was at the time of receiving the invitation in Novgorod, gathered a small army of Novgorodians and Novgorodians and right through the Chernigov lands, betraying them to fire and sword, moved to Kiev, where he arrived at the beginning of 1237.
There are differences in historical science as to how the relationship between Vladimir Rurikovich and Yaroslav Vsevolodovich developed during the period of Yaroslav's stay in Kiev. Some scientists believe that Yaroslav and Vladimir created a kind of duumvirate, some talk about the temporary return of Vladimir Rurikovich to their domains in the Smolensk principality (he was a representative of the Rostislavich dynasty of Smolensk), some call his place of residence in Ovruch, one hundred and sixty kilometers from Kiev …
One way or another, the unexpected appearance in the political game of a new and such a heavy figure was a terrible blow for Mikhail Vsevolodovich. Now, in the event of any of his aggressive actions against Daniel, his domain possessions - the Chernigov principality, which had no one to defend and nothing, would inevitably come under attack from the north. It is noteworthy that Yaroslav arrived in Kiev with an insignificant volunteer squad of Novgorod and Novgorod residents, which he sent back literally a week after his arrival. This undoubtedly indicates that Yaroslav did not plan any military actions on the territory of southern Russia. His appearance in Kiev was, rather, a demonstration of support for Daniil Romanovich by the Suzdal house.
During the spring and summer of 1237, bound hand and foot, Michael powerlessly watched as Daniel alternately neutralized his allies in the west - knocking out the Teutonic Order crusaders from the Dorogochin castle, where Konrad Mazovetsky had planted them, in the hope of creating a kind of buffer between his lands and Volyn, intervening in the Austro-Hungarian conflicts, putting significant pressure on Bela IV and forcing it to remain neutral. Daniel could afford to carry out such bold foreign policy actions, since he was sure that from the south and east his possessions were completely safe. In the summer of 1237, peace was concluded between Daniel and Michael, which, by all indications, was simply a legally formalized pause to prepare for further battles. Under the terms of the peace between Michael and Daniel, the latter received under his authority the Principality of Przemyshl, which was previously in the sphere of influence of Galich. Everything went to the fact that Daniel, having collected a sufficient amount of forces, would launch an attack on Galich, and Mikhail, who was in political isolation, would hardly be able to oppose this attack.
It could have happened, but it didn't. And the reasons for this "did not happen" stem from the Talan-Daba steppe tract, located somewhere far to the east. In this previously unremarkable place in 1235, the Great Khan Ogedei gathered a kurultai, where one of the priority areas of further military operations of the Eurasian Empire of the Genghisids was recognized as the expansion of the empire to the west and, as a result, the organization of a general Mongol campaign to Europe, “to the last sea. " On the western borders of the empire, which at that time passed somewhere in the interfluve of the Urals and the Volga, there was a war between the Mongols and the Volga Bulgaria - a powerful and developed state centered on the Middle Volga in the area of its confluence with the Kama. Few know that after the victory at Kalka over the Russian princes, the Tumens of Jebe and Subedei invaded the territory of this state and were defeated by the Bulgars in a bloody battle, after which only four thousand Mongols survived and managed to retreat in the steppe. From 1227 between the Mongols and the Bulgars there were ongoing hostilities with varying success. Khan Batu, who led the Mongols, did not have sufficient military contingents to conquer the Volga Bulgaria.
This "shameful trampling" was noted at the kurultai of 1235 and it was decided to provide Batu with every possible assistance in expanding the "Jochi ulus" to the west. (Jochi is the eldest son of Genghis Khan and the father of Batu, according to his father's will, all the lands of the empire west of the Irtysh, including those not yet conquered, were allocated to him).
In the winter of 1236-37. By the combined efforts of seven Mongol khans, who each headed their own tumen (ten thousand horsemen), the Volga Bulgaria was crushed, its largest cities (Bulgar, Bilyar, Zhukotin, etc.) were destroyed, many of them were never restored.
In the winter of 1237-38. it was the turn of Russia. Khan Batu, who carried out the general command of the invasion troops, calculated correctly and began the conquest of Russia from the most powerful and cohesive formation on its territory - Vladimir-Suzdal Russia. For almost four months, from December 1237until March 1238, Mongolian troops ravaged region after region on the territory of North-Eastern Russia, the largest cities of this region, including the capital Vladimir, were captured, devastated and burned. The victory was not cheap for the invaders, according to various estimates, about 60% of the participants in the campaign did not return from it, in a difficult and bloody battle near Kolomna, won by the Mongols with great difficulty, the son of Genghis Khan, one of the seven khans who participated in the Kulkan campaign, died. By the way, this is the only case of the death of the Chingizid Khan on the battlefield in the entire history of the Mongol Empire. Also, it was on the territory of Russia that the Mongols were forced to carry out the longest siege - for seven weeks they could not take Kozelsk - a small town in the Chernigov land.
Nevertheless, the military defeat of northeastern Russia was evident, the supreme ruler, Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich, and his entire family were killed during the invasion.
We have already seen, using the example of the southern lands of Russia, that on the eve of the invasion, the most capable and gifted Russian princes, not paying attention to anything, selflessly sorted out relations with each other. I wonder if their behavior has changed since the start of the invasion? Let's see.
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, having received information about the Mongol invasion of the Suzdal lands, immediately threw Kiev into the care of Vladimir Rurikovich and departed north to Novgorod, where his son Alexander was sitting, to gather troops to help his brother Yuri. However, the Mongols advanced too quickly and, probably, managed to block the access routes to Novgorod, since in the winter of 1238 Yaroslav did not appear in Novgorod. In March 1238, Yaroslav, immediately after the departure of the Mongols, appears in Vladimir and, together with the surviving princes, is engaged in the restoration and arrangement of the devastated lands.
Mikhail Vsevolodovich perceives Yaroslav's departure from Kiev as his chance to find the coveted Kiev table, and immediately takes him bloodlessly, expelling Vladimir Rurikovich, who remained “on the farm”. Still, the Mongol invasion, which destroyed the military power of the Vsevolodovich dynasty, untied his hands and, as he saw it, provided an excellent chance in the struggle for supreme power. The fact that Chernigov, Kiev and the rest of the Russian lands were in the hands of Khan Batu, as they say, "next in line" to him then did not think. In Galich, Mikhail left his son Rostislav, who by that time was already in his twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth year, who immediately again took Przemysl from Daniel Romanovich, transferred to the latter a year earlier under a peace agreement. At that moment, Daniel with his Volyn principality, which was far from being of paramount importance in the region, was left alone against the combined forces of Chernigov, Kiev and Galich, and he could not oppose anything to this force. It would seem that Mikhail Vsevolodovich's triumph was complete. It is not clear why at this moment he did not take active action against Daniel, probably really considered his victory complete and unconditional, and the death of Daniel - a matter of time. Apparently, Mikhail lacked the so-called "killer instinct" necessary for a high-level politician. A short and powerful blow to Volhynia by combined forces with the capture of Volodymyr-Volynsky would have turned Daniel and his brother Vasilko into beggars outcasts, forced to wander through the cities and villages in search of allies and food, if, of course, if they managed to survive in this war … Perhaps Michael hoped to gain a foothold in Kiev and undertake a campaign against Daniel in the winter of 1238-39. or in the summer of 1239, but, as it turned out, no one was going to give him time to prepare such a campaign.
The conventional wisdom that after leaving the steppe in the spring of 1238 the Mongols licked their wounds and did not appear in the Russian borders until the siege of Kiev in 1240 is fundamentally wrong.
In 1239 the Mongols made as many as three campaigns against Russia, albeit with limited forces. The first attack came from Pereyaslavl Russkiy (Yuzhny), the same one from which, thirty years earlier, in 1206, Mikhail Vsevolodovich and his father had expelled the young Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. The city, located one day's march from Kiev, where Mikhail Vsevolodovich was at that time, was captured and destroyed, virtually destroyed. It happened in March 1239.
The next victim of the Mongols was Chernigov - Mikhail's fatherland. Unlike Pereyaslavl, which was taken almost outright, perhaps by exile, the assault on Chernigov was preceded by a siege, and a real battle broke out under its walls, which was given to the Mongols not by Mikhail Vsevolodovich, the owner of the city, but by Mstislav Glebovich, the very prince who fooled Daniel and to Vladimir of Kiev in 1235 during the siege by the latter of the same Chernigov. With his small squad, without any hope of victory, he rushed under the walls of the city, attacked the Mongol army and, in all likelihood, died along with the squad, since we no longer find any mention of him in the sources. During the defeat of Chernigov, Mikhail himself sat in Kiev, looking at the destruction of his fatherland from the outside.
And, finally, the third campaign of the Mongols against Russia was directed to the region of northeastern Russia, not affected by the first campaign - Murom, Gorokhovets and other cities along the Klyazma and Oka were burned. Except for the battle given to the Mongols by the squad of Mstislav Glebovich, nowhere did they actually meet resistance.
In 1240, the turn came to Kiev. In March, Mengu Khan, sent by Batu Khan, drives up to the city for reconnaissance and negotiations. Ambassadors were sent to the city with some kind of "flattery", as the chronicles put it, that is, deception. Mikhail did not listen to the ambassadors, but simply ordered them to be interrupted. Considering that the custom of killing ambassadors was not cultivated among the Russian princes, this was considered a terrible crime, such an act of Mikhail requires an explanation, and there may be several such explanations.
First, the personalities of the ambassadors did not correspond to their status. So, before the battle on Kalka, the Mongols also sent ambassadors to the Russian camp … local roamers speaking Russian. The princes did not speak to them, but simply executed them. Tramps and bandits, why stand on ceremony with them? It is possible that a similar situation took place in this case.
Second, the behavior of the ambassadors did not correspond to their status and mission. Perhaps one of them committed, through ignorance or deliberately, some act incompatible with the title of ambassador. For example, he tried to take possession of someone's wife or daughter, or did not show respect to any cult object. From the point of view of the Mongol, such an act may not carry anything reprehensible; from the point of view of the Russians, this could be regarded as a gross violation of ethical norms. However, such an episode, most likely, would have been reflected in the annals.
The third, as it seems to me, the most correct explanation - Mikhail just lost his nerves. For a year, he sat in Kiev without getting out, receiving information about various devastations perpetrated by the Mongols in Russia. But besides the Mongols, there were also the worst enemies among the Russian princes - Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and Daniil Romanovich. The first of them, in the fall of 1239, raided the Chernigov lands (revenge for the capture of Kiev) and took the wife of Mikhail Vsevolodovich prisoner, while the second tricked the son of Mikhail Rostislav out of Galich from Galich and captured the city. Rostislav was forced to flee to Hungary.
Michael, pursued by bad news, was afraid to leave Kiev, thinking that anyone, yes, even the same Daniel, would immediately take him, take him away. And at the same time, he understood that the Mongols would certainly get to Kiev, and the appearance of the Mongol ambassadors clearly showed that everything, the end, got there. Perhaps this combination of circumstances gave rise to a nervous breakdown in the prince.
His further behavior to some extent indirectly confirms the correctness of this explanation - the prince, after beating the ambassadors, immediately fled from the city to the west - to Hungary to his son. In Hungary, at the court of King Bela IV, Michael behaved strangely, to say the least. Apparently, wanting to enlist the support of the king in the fight against the Mongols, his behavior achieved a diametrically opposite result - he upset the planned marriage of his son with the royal daughter, after which both father and son were expelled from the country and forced to move to Poland. Already from Poland, Mikhail was forced to start negotiations with Daniel, who from that time can rightfully be called Galitsky, about peace.
Daniel, after the capture of Galich, did not sit idly by. He immediately organized a campaign to Kiev and ousted from there Prince Rostislav Mstislavich, a representative of the Smolensk princely family, who had seized the city, but he did not rule it himself, but left his governor there, thereby making it clear to Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, busy with affairs in the north, that he believed Kiev is his patrimony and itself does not claim it. Yaroslav appreciated such delicacy of Daniel and sent him his captured wife of Mikhail Vsevolodovich - the sister of Daniel Galitsky himself.
Meanwhile, the negotiations between Daniel Galitsky and Mikhail Chernigovsky about peace in the summer of 1240 finally began to remotely resemble an attempt to create an anti-Mongol coalition. In the future, Hungary, Poland, and even Lithuania could be involved in this coalition, where the political genius of Prince Mindaugas has already begun to manifest itself, with whom Daniel has established effective contacts. If such a coalition had been created and would have held out until a real military clash with the Mongols, the outcome of such a battle would have been difficult to predict. However, by the summer of 1240, the parties only managed to agree on the unimpeded passage of Mikhail to the Chernigov lands to collect troops in order to organize the defense of Kiev. Under the same agreement, Daniel returned to Mikhail his wife, who had been given to Daniel by Yaroslav Vsvolodovich. According to the coalition's plan, Mikhail was supposed to act in its vanguard, taking the main blow of the Mongolian army upon himself. However, it was already too late. In the process of negotiations and gatherings, Michael received the news of the fall of Kiev, he again dropped all business, forgot about the agreements reached, and fled to Poland, to Konrad Mazowiecki. From there, when the Mongols approached during their European campaign, he left for Silesia, was robbed there, lost his entire retinue, on the eve of the Battle of Legnica, in which he personally refused to participate, returned to Konrad, and at his court waited for the Mongols to leave.
At the beginning of 1242, when the wave of the Mongol invasion rolled back into the Black Sea steppes, Mikhail decided to return to Russia. Having secretly traveled through the lands of Daniel, he arrived in Kiev and reigned there, about which he was not slow to notify those around him. Daniel took this news calmly, because Mikhail's actions were fully consistent with their joint agreements in 1240 - Mikhail occupies Kiev and does not claim Galich. However, the son of Mikhail Rostislav, who was pretty mature, approaching thirty years old, did not agree with this formulation of the question. It is not known, with the knowledge of his aged sixty-three-year-old father, or on his own, but he made an attempt to seize the Galician lands. The attempt was unsuccessful, his army was defeated, after which Daniel also punished Rostislav's allies, who gave themselves away by acting on his side.
At the end of the summer of 1242 Rostislav again provokes an uprising against Daniel, now in Galich itself. And again, Daniel's quick reaction helps him to cope with the rebellion, Rostislav and his accomplices in the conspiracy are forced to flee to Hungary, where he still manages to fulfill his old dream - to marry the daughter of King Bela IV.
Mikhail Vsevolodovich, who was in Kiev, could not stop his son this time, however, upon learning about the wedding, he immediately got ready and went to Hungary. What happened between King Belaya and Rostislav Mikhailovich, on the one hand, and Mikhail Vsevolodovich, on the other, during his last visit to Hungary, what was the essence of the conflict that broke out again between Belaya and Mikhail, we do not know. Probably, Mikhail had some reasons unknown to us to sharply object to the marriage of his son with the daughter of Bela. Another thing is known: having quarreled with his son and matchmaker, Mikhail returned to Russia, but not to Kiev, but to Chernigov. This route was probably due to the fact that by that time Kiev had already been recognized by the Khan of Batu as the patrimony of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, and it was not worth making the khan angry again. From Chernigov, Mikhail went directly to the headquarters of Khan Batu, who shortly before had sent out an urgent invitation to all Russian princes to come to him to clarify the relations that had developed recently.
Most likely, at the rate of Batu, Mikhail had to confirm his right of ownership of Chernigov. In order to meet with the khan, Mikhail had to undergo a pagan rite of purification by fire, however, according to the testimony of his contemporaries, he categorically refused to do this, which provoked the khan's anger and was executed on September 20, 1245. It seems to me that there are not enough reasons to speak about the foregone conclusion of his fate even before arriving at Batu's headquarters, although, of course, the murder of the ambassadors of Khan Mengu in Kiev in 1240 could and should have influenced Batu's decision. Nevertheless, Mikhail remained the most authoritative ruler of Russia, was its nominal head at the time of the start of the Mongol invasion and, among other things, political considerations about creating a counterbalance to the power of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, creating an effective opposition to his rule, could persuade Batu to decide to leave Mikhail alive. However, the aged prince (at the time of his death he was sixty-six years old), tired and broken morally, apparently did not seem to Batu in any way useful, while his execution could serve as a sufficiently clear lesson in the need to demonstrate obedience to the khan's will for the rest of the Rurikovichs.
Ironically, almost simultaneously with Mikhail, in September 1245 in the Mongolian Karakorum, his eternal rival, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, was poisoned by Khan Batu as his plenipotentiary representative at the kurultai held there, dedicated to the election of a new khan after the death of the Great Khan Ogedei.
Daniel Galitsky lived for a long time, he died in 1264, at the age of sixty-three, having managed to build a powerful state on the territories under his control - the Galicia-Volyn kingdom. Since 1253, Daniel bore the title of "King of Russia", received along with the crown from the Pope.
After the death of Mikhail Vsevolodovich, his body was secretly buried, and then transferred to Chernigov, where he was reburied with honor. The cult of Mikhail of Chernigov as a saint began in Rostov, a city in the Suzdal land, where his daughter Maria, the wife of Prince Vasilko Konstantinovich, who was executed by the Mongols immediately after the battle in the City and also canonized, was a princess. Michael himself was canonized in 1572, after which his relics were transferred from Chernigov to Moscow and laid to rest in the family burial vault of the Rurikovichs - the Archangel Cathedral, where they rest to this day.
Mikhail's eldest son Rostislav made another attempt to win back Galich from Daniel Romanovich, for which in the summer of 1245 he came to Russia at the head of a large Hungarian army, but on August 17, 1245, a month and a half before the death of his father, he was defeated in the battle of Yaroslav on his head, he managed to escape from the battlefield and return to Hungary, where the donkey finally settled and if he thought about returning to Russia, he did not take any action for this. Did Mikhail Vsevolodovich know on the day of his execution about the next defeat of his son in the fight against Daniil Galitsky, whom he himself did not manage to defeat? Maybe he knew.
Numerous younger brothers of Rostislav became small-scale princes of the Chernigov land and gave rise to many famous noble families. So, for example, the Obolensky, Odoevsky, Vorotynsky, Gorchakovs and many others trace their origins from Mikhail Chernigovsky.
The time has come to give a general assessment of the activities of Mikhail Vsevolodovich Chernigovsky, but for me it somehow does not add up, or rather, it comes together in one word - mediocrity.
During his life, Mikhail not only did not win, he did not even fight a single battle - and this was at a time when everyone and everywhere fought, and he himself, often, was one of the most active participants in conflicts. The only battle about which we know for certain that Michael took part in it was the battle of 1223 on Kalka, but in it Mikhail played a far from leading role. As a commander, one cannot speak of him from the word “in general”.
As a politician, Mikhail also did not show himself. He underestimated the energy of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich in the struggle for the Novgorod reign, allowed a change in attitude towards himself on the part of Yuri Vsevolodovich, fell out with Vladimir Kievsky, making him a loyal ally of Daniil Galitsky, then fell out with Bela IV, and only a quarrel with his own son and the beating of Mongol ambassadors in Kiev do not stand up to any criticism at all. In all the coalitions in which he participated, he showed himself as an indecisive, cowardly and unfaithful ally.
Perhaps Mikhail Vsevolodovich was a good administrator, otherwise, why would Novgorod and Galich, cities with pronounced, so-called “democratic institutions”, hold on to him so? However, it is known that in Novgorod, Mikhail pursued a purely populist policy - he canceled taxes and fees, gave indulgences and liberties to everything that Novgorodians asked of him. In comparison with Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who constantly tried to strengthen his power in Novgorod and maximize the princely powers, Mikhail, of course, won. And, although we do not have information about the internal politics of Mikhail in Galich, the assumption that in Galich Mikhail behaved similarly to Novgorod, by which he sought the support of the Galicians, seems to me quite acceptable.
And even the fact that the veneration of Michael as a saint did not begin in Chernigov, where he ruled and was buried, not in Kiev and not in Galich, where he was well known, but in Rostov, where he was not known at all, but he enjoyed great authority. daughter Maria speaks volumes.
To what does Mikhail owe his political successes? Thanks to what qualities was he at the top of the political Olympus of the ancient Russian state for twenty years, constantly expanding his already significant possessions? Starting the study of this topic for writing an article, I hoped to find answers to these questions, but my hopes were not destined to come true. Mikhail Vsevolodovich Chernigovsky has remained a mystery to me.
