Who defeated Mamai? Battle of Kulikovo: briefly
The scheme of the Battle of Kulikovo is an important topic in the study of this event in the history of medieval Rus' of the 14th century. It indicates the participants in the battle, the location of the troops, the location of the regiments, cavalry and infantry, as well as the features of the terrain. It clearly shows the course of the battle and therefore must be used when addressing the topic of the struggle for liberation from the Tatar-Mongol yoke.
General characteristics of the era
The diagram of the Battle of Kulikovo allows us to better understand the strategic maneuver undertaken by the Moscow prince and his entourage for victory. However, before embarking on such an analysis, it is necessary to briefly characterize the socio-political situation in the Russian lands. Already by the middle of the 14th century, there was a tendency to unite the fragmented principalities into a single state. Moscow became the center around which this important process began. However, its superiority was not yet decisive, since at the time in question there were still other strong principalities whose rulers aspired to become all-Russian leaders.
One of the most significant events of the time in question was the Battle of Kulikovo. was marked by a number of important phenomena. In the middle of the century, a crisis began in the Golden Horde. Civil strife began to occur in it, one khan replaced another, which could not but weaken it. However, with the actual coming to power of Mamai (who ruled on behalf of the ruler who was under his influence), the situation changed. He began to gather forces to strike Russian lands, and he succeeded. Temnik even enlisted the support of Prince Jagiello and used the Genoese cavalry. Moscow Prince Dmitry Donskoy also gathered a large army from almost all the principalities and set out to meet the enemy.
Packing and starting the hike
The Battle of Kulikovo (14th century) became the largest military conflict in medieval Rus'. It made a great impression on contemporaries, as evidenced by the appearance of a number of literary monuments dedicated to this event. Dmitry Ivanovich carefully prepared for battle. He called for help from all the Russian princes who united under the banner of Moscow. The gathering was appointed at Kolomna, an important strategic point near the capital of the principality. From here the troops advanced to the Don and, having reached this river, crossed it in order to cut off their path to retreat in advance.
Troop disposition
The diagram of the Battle of Kulikovo shows how the opposing sides deployed their forces. Below is shown how the infantry were positioned. Ahead of the Russian troops stood a guard, or advanced regiment. His main task was to withstand the enemy's onslaught and protect a large regiment. At the rear there were reserve units that covered the main forces. There were two regiments on the right and left. The main idea was the decision to hide a special separate ambush regiment for a surprise attack on the enemy.
The Mongol forces consisted of cavalry and infantry and a Genoese unit. Mamai also expected and counted on the help of Prince Jagiello, who also moved with his forces to help him. The task of the Russian command was to prevent the union of their groups.
Before the collision
The diagram of the Battle of Kulikovo clearly shows the features of the location of combat forces. The location of the ambush regiment can undoubtedly be considered a successful decision by the prince and his assistants. However, Mamai’s powers were also very great. In addition, the battle took place in an area surrounded on three sides by river flows: the field was located in a bend where the Nepryadva River flows into the Don. The main stages of the Battle of Kulikovo are as follows: a duel, confrontation between troops and pursuit of the enemy by Russian regiments.
Start of the battle
The battle of September 8, 1380, also called the “Mamaevo Massacre,” began with a duel between two fighters: Peresvet and Chelubey, who died in the clash. After this, the battle of the troops began. The main goal of the Mongols was to crush and overturn the main regiment, but it was successfully defended by the soldiers of the advanced detachment. With the help of reserve forces, the soldiers of the large regiment held out and withstood the enemy's onslaught. Then Mamai unleashed forces on the flanks. The right-hand regiment was greatly weakened, but the Mongols managed to break through the forces on the left flank. Thus, they were able to bypass the main forces and press them to the river.
Climax of the battle
The Battle of Kulikovo, in which the troops were positioned in such a way that the Russians had no possibility of retreat, after the events described above, entered decisive stage. When the Mongol cavalry broke through the left regiment, an ambush army unexpectedly entered the battle under the command of Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky and the governor. It was these forces that determined the outcome of the battle. The regiment attacked the enemy's cavalry, which, taking flight, crushed its own cavalry. This was a decisive turning point in the course of the battle, which determined the victory of the Russians.
Final stage and significance
The story of the Battle of Kulikovo ends with the flight of Mamai and his remaining forces from the battlefield. For some time Russian troops pursued them. Temnik fled to Crimea, where he was soon defeated by the new ruler, Tamerlane, where he was killed.
The importance of the battle of 1380 is enormous. Firstly, she raised the question of the final liberation of Russian lands from the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Secondly, it strengthened the prestige and power of Moscow as the basis and initiator of the unification of fragmented principalities into a single state. Thirdly, the victory contributed to the spiritual uplift of the Russian people, who dedicated a number of outstanding literary monuments to this event, the most famous of which are “Zadonshchina” and “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev.”
Results
After the Battle of Kulikovo, the Tatar-Mongol yoke was not overthrown. The final liberation occurred only a hundred years later. Nevertheless, after this significant victory, Dmitry Donskoy in his will expressed the hope of liberating the Russian lands from Horde dependence, and also, without the sanction of the Horde khan, bequeathed to his eldest heir the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, a label for which previously only the khans had always granted. And although two years later Moscow experienced a terrible invasion by the new Horde ruler Tokhtamysh, who devastated it, nevertheless it became obvious that this city became the center of the unification of Russian lands. The Massacre of Mamaev showed her strength and ability to organize troops to fight the enemy. After this event, he took on the role of initiator in the unification of Russian lands. Many historians pay attention to the fact that a big role in this was played by the fact that Moscow gathered almost all the forces from Russian lands for the battle.
Battle of Kulikovo - crucial moment in relations between the Principality of Moscow and the Golden Horde. In fact, this is the first step towards independence and ending the yoke. Moscow Rus' enters the world political arena. This article examines the causes and consequences of the Battle of Kulikovo and provides a summary of the course of the battle.
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Historical situation at the end of the 14th century
At the end of the fourteenth century Golden Horde loses its former self power due to the “political leapfrog” that occurred after the death of Khan Dzhanibek (this period was called by the chroniclers “the great revolution”), Horde territory disintegrates. The Chinggisid Empire is losing control over such peoples as the Guzes, Mordovians, and Kama Bulgars.
Temnik Mamai(temnik - commander of “darkness”, ten thousand warriors), who managed to make a political career under Khan Abdullah (actually ruling on his behalf), later seizes power in the Black Sea region. In his reign, he focuses on the West, in particular, he counts on the gold of the Genoese merchants who have a colony in the Crimea.
Attention! According to L.N. Gumilyov, the most important thing for the Genoese is to gain the right to trade in the north of Rus' and acquire a profitable contract for the extraction of furs. For the provision of these rights, they were ready to finance the maintenance of Mamai’s army. Fortunately, the deal did not take place; it was not possible to come to an agreement with Russia, which did not want to have anything to do with the Latins.
Muscovy significantly strengthens positions during " great slaughter». Dmitry Moskovsky He was not used to obeying the Horde: several times he had to go against the Khan’s will, taking away the title to the Vladimir throne (despite the clear leadership of the Moscow and Tver principalities, it was the Vladimir throne that confirmed the full power of the ruler) from the Suzdal and Tver princes.
Headed by Dmitry Ivanovich, Muscovite Rus' achieves submission from its main competitors - Tver princes: an agreement has been reached regarding the Tatars. According to Dmitry, whether Rus' will pay the “exit” or not - depends on the decision of the Russian authorities, in any case, in the event of a military threat from the Tatars or an attack by the Russian Horde, all principalities must fight together.
Basic prerequisites:
- Moscow stops taking into account the will of the khan for issuing a label and stops paying tribute to the Horde.
- IN Nizhny Novgorod(according to Gumilyov, due to the incitement of Bishop Dionysius of Suzdal), the townspeople stage a bloody massacre of the Tatar peace embassy.
- Prince Dmitry Bobrok-Volynets captures the Bulgars. Moscow controls trade routes on the Volga.
- The Principality of Moscow forces Kazan (which was subordinate to the Golden Horde) to pay tribute.
- Mamai takes revenge for the reprisal against the ambassadors in Nizhny Novgorod and sends a punitive detachment. The city is ruined.
- 1377 Next Mamaia's campaign to Rus', which ended with the defeat of the Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal princes on the Piana River.
- 1378 Campaign against Rus' under the leadership of governor Begich. Defeat of the Tatars on the Vozha River.
Important! A clash between the parties was inevitable. The formal reason for military action was the refusal to pay “output” to the Horde in the same amount in which it was paid back under Khan Janibek.
Dmitry's strong move was support for the church: The prince is blessed for his feat of arms by the Monk Sergius of Radonezh, who had enormous public authority. Campaign against the Tatars acquired the significance of a patriotic, spiritual feat, thanks to which it was possible to collect an impressive civil uprising. About 30 cities helped form the army: Vladimir, Rostov, Kostroma, Suzdal, Kolomna, Murom, Uglich, etc. The gathering of soldiers under the banner of Moscow took place in Kolomna.
Troop training
In addition to the popular forces, Moscow’s side was supported Polotsk and Bryansk princes- brothers of the Lithuanian prince Jagiello, who adhere to anti-Horde views. In the camp of Mamai’s allies, Dmitry had his own man - the prince Oleg Ryazansky: in 1371, Oleg and Dmitry were in conflict, and Oleg suffered a severe defeat from the Don governor - Dmitry Volynsky-Bobrok, so he was an ideal candidate for the role of a defector - his motives for siding with the khan looked realistic. However, Oleg Ryazansky was the main informant of Donskoy's headquarters about the plans of the Tatars. Apparently, Oleg decided to support the campaign against the Horde due to the fact that the Ryazan principality suffered the most from Tatar attacks.
At the headquarters of the Tatar-Mongols, the calculation was to the rescue Lithuanian Prince Jagiello, with whose army it was planned to connect before the battle. Mamai's army consisted of mercenaries paid in Genoese gold. Were mobilized Circassians, Alans, Polovtsians. The number of Tatar troops was approximately 6 0 thousand people, against 40 thousand Russian troops.
Progress of the battle
Knowing about Temnik’s intention to unite with the Lithuanian troops, Dmitry Donskoy works ahead of the curve: The army advances to meet the Tatars, planning to fight before the enemy army joins forces with the ally.
On September 8, 1380, participants in the Battle of Kulikovo crossed the Don to build in a place located between the Don and its tributary, the Nepryadva River.
Plan of the Battle of Kulikovo was as follows: the advanced regiment, consisting of Kolomna residents, was covered by a large regiment under the command of Dmitry. The left (under the command of Gleb Bryansky) and right flanks were on the sides of a large regiment covering the reserve troops. Ten thousand mounted soldiers were positioned in ambush (the ambush technique was adopted from the Tatars!), the secret detachment was led by Vladimir Serpukhovskoy and Dmitry Bobrok-Volynets. Three echelons of defense represented an impressive force, although the chosen position did not leave a single chance of retreat.
The course of the battle briefly:
- Military skirmishes between the forward detachments on both sides.
- Horde people in full destroy the advanced regiment.
- Basic hit fell on center(large regiment) and Russian left flank.
- Trying to cut off the left regiment and break through to the reserves, the Tatar cavalry turns around rear to the regiment of Serpukhovsky and Bobrok-Volynets.
- When the Tatars lose formation, ten thousand Russian cavalry from an ambush starts an attack, which helps to win.
Dmitry gets a nickname Donskoy after the Battle of Kulikovo and strengthens the position of Moscow. Despite the victory, the consequences of the Battle of Kulikovo were not comforting: Russian forces suffered huge losses
, in the chronicles they write that the Russian land has become impoverished governors, servants and all sorts of troops, which caused great fear. According to scientists, losses during the Battle of Kulikovo amounted to approximately 20 thousand Russian soldiers, which was equal to half the army. The infantry suffered the most; the chronicles of the Battle of Kulikovo especially note the Muscovites: “Muscovites, as if they were not accustomed to battle, ran away.”
Important! The victory was also won thanks to the help of Oleg Ryazansky, who was able to detain the Lithuanians (their army numbered approximately 80 thousand), who did not have time for the battle. Using only his five thousand strong detachment, Oleg managed to detain the Lithuanians for a day.
According to L.N. Gumilyov, the latecomers took out their anger on the convoys with the wounded, for which Jagiello’s uncle, Prince Keistut, removed the latter from the throne (unfortunately, Jagiello was later able to kill Keistut and regain his position).
Additional Information:
- Dmitry Donskoy fought among Russian warriors in the ranks of a large regiment. Instead of him, in princely garb, was boyar Mikhail Brenok, died on the battlefield.
- The legend about him described in the chronicles Onakh Peresvet and the Tatar warrior Chelubey is almost a pagan relic: a form of fortune telling, by which the winner was determined in advance.
- Despite the joint victory, D Mitri continues the struggle for power with the Suzdal princes.
- Moscow continued to pay tribute to the Horde(albeit in a smaller size).
- From the point of view of the Horde, it was gift according to Mamai, who was a usurper of power.
Historical meaning
This historical event is proof of the unification of the Russian people, because people from Suzdal, Kolomna, Pskov, Rostov and other cities. : the unification of representatives of different principalities under the banner of Moscow showed the world a fait accompli, a newly formed state - Moscow Rus', which united the disparate Russian lands. Moscow becomes the undisputed leader and now expresses the interests of Russian society.
Finally, in relations between Russia and the Horde, historical the initiative was given to the Russian state. Despite the fact that there is still a hundred years left until the end of the history of Russian-Horde relations (1480 - standing on the Ugra River), Rus' is no longer as dependent on the Horde khans as before.
Victory over the Horde is significant for supporters of the religious approach, who view this event as a confrontation between Christian Russia and the Muslim Horde.
Meaning of the battle:
- The unification of the Russian people is taking place.
- Dependence on the Tatars is weakening.
- Moscow becomes the recognized political center of the state.
- The Moscow prince acquires the importance of the national leader of northern Rus' in defending the state against invaders.
Sources with reports about the Battle of Kulikovo
There are four main Russians written sources, containing a description by ancient authors of the Battle of Kulikovo: “Zadonshchina”, “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev”"(the most complete description of the battle), "A short chronicle story about the Battle of Kulikovo", "A lengthy chronicle story about the Battle of Kulikovo".
There are also foreign sources telling about the events of those years. Accounts of the battle can be found in several Western chroniclers. The information given by Posilge, Lidenblat and Dietmar of Lübeck answers the question of what year the Battle of Kulikovo took place and briefly tells the most important things about the Battle of Kulikovo.
Film "Battle of Kulikovo"
Conclusion
This great battle will forever remain the most important page in the history of the glory of Russian weapons, telling about the heroism of our ancestors. Many historians will speak, comparing it with the victory of Europe over the countless hordes of the Huns under the leadership of Attila. For Russian history, this became a symbol of the unification of the Russian state. Therefore, every Russian is obliged to know what year the Battle of Kulikovo took place and how it ended.
From the point of view of official historical science, the main hero of the Battle of Kulikovo is Grand Duke of Moscow and Vladimir Dmitry Ivanovich
, who received the honorary nickname from his grateful contemporaries and descendants "Donskoy"
.
Portrait from the "Tsar's Titular Book" of 1672:
But is the image of this prince really such an unambiguous hero if we carefully consider all the sources describing the Battle of Kulikovo?
Let's read an excerpt from "Tales of the Massacre of Mamayev" , and then we’ll try to ask a few questions that we’ll try to answer.
“Prince Vladimer Andreevich stood on the bone under the black banner.<...>And you will not find your brother, the Grand Duke, in the crowd... and commanded the assembled trumpets to be blown. After waiting an hour and not having found the Grand Duke, he began to cry and scream, and to ride along the planks himself, and he did not find it and said to everyone: “My brothers, Russian sons, who has seen or who has heard our shepherd and leader?” And he said: “If the shepherd is defeated, the sheep will be scattered. Who will have this honor, who will appear to this victory?”
And the Lithuanian princes said: “We imagine him to be alive, wounded by the velma; when he lies in a dead corpse?” Ying said: “I saw him at the seventh hour, fighting hard with his filthy club.” And he said: “I saw him later; four Tatars lashed him out, but he fought hard with them.” A certain prince, named Stefan Novosilskaya, said: “I saw him just before your arrival, on foot and coming from the battle, the magistrates were wounded. For this reason I could not help him - I am being persecuted by three Tatars, but by the grace of God I barely escaped from them, but I received a lot of evil from them and suffered greatly."
Prince Volodymer said: “Brothers and friends, Russian sons, if anyone finds my brother alive, you will truly be among us!” And everything scattered into a great, strong and terrible battle, seeking victory for the winner. Ovi came upon the murdered Mikhail Andreevich Brenk: to lie in the bridle and in the helmet that the great prince gave him; In other words, he came across the murdered prince Feodor Semyonovich Belozerskaya, who expected him to be the Grand Duke, even more befitting him.
Two years of war escaped to the right side of the country in Dubrova, one named Theodore Sabur, and the other Grigory Kholopishchev, both from Kostroma. Having barely left the battle and having run over the Grand Duke, he was beaten and wounded by the great and difficult, resting under his canopy, a birch tree was cut down. And she saw him and, falling from her horses, bowed to him. Sabur soon returned to tell Prince Vladimer, and said: “Great Prince Dmitry Ivanovich hello be there and reign forever!"
All the princes and governors heard, and quickly rushed and fell on his foot, saying: “Rejoice, our prince, ancient Yaroslav, new Alexander, conqueror of the enemy: with this victory honor is sufficient for you.” The great prince barely said: “What is, tell me.” Prince Vladimer spoke: By the grace of God and His Most Pure Mother, by the help and prayers of the relatives of our holy martyrs Boris and Gleb, and by the prayer of the Russian Saint Peter and our helper and champion, Abbot Sergius, - and with the prayers of all those saints we have conquered our escapes, but we have been saved." .
The great prince, hearing this, stood up and said: “The Lord has made this day, let us rejoice and be glad, people!”<...>
And he brought him a horse and, mounted the horse and rode out into a great, strong and menacing battle, and saw that the velvet had beaten a lot of his troops, and the filthy Tatars had been beaten even more by the quarter and, turning to Volynets, he said: “Truly, Dmitry, it is not false This is your mark; it behooves you to always be a commander."
(See: The Legend of the Massacre of Mamayev // Monuments of Literature of Ancient Rus': X - XVI centuries. M., 1981. P. 180, 182).
First, about the main characters of this story.
About who he is Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich is known to everyone, so let’s move on from him to another prince - Vladimir Andreevich, with whose name the above excerpt from the “Tale” begins.
Vladimir Andreevich
- the appanage prince of Serpukhov, as well as Dmitrov, Uglich, Galitsky and Borovsk, had, according to the rule established by Ivan Kalita, a third of the income from the Moscow Posad, as the son of the youngest of his sons, Andrei Ivanovich.
Fresco of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Inexhaustible Chalice"
Serpukhov Vysotsky Monastery:
Cousin of Dmitry Ivanovich, the son of the eldest of Kalita’s sons. According to the ancient law of the ladder, he had no right to the Moscow throne, since his father, Prince Andrei Ivanovich, did not occupy it, having died of the plague during the “great pestilence” of 1353, unlike the father of Prince Dmitry, Ivan II Ivanovich the Red, who ruled after his death elder brother of Simeon the Proud in 1353 - 1359. and passed the throne to his 9-year-old son Dmitry.
Before the death of his brother, Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, he tried, not very successfully and not very decisively, to lay claim to Moscow, but retreated, recognizing as his “elder brother” the nephew of Vasily I Dmitrievich, the eldest son of Dmitry Donskoy, retaining Serpukhov for himself and his family inheritance and the Moscow third.
During the invasion of Moscow by Khan Tokhtamysh in 1382, unlike his overlord, the Great Moscow Prince Dmitry, he did not hide from the enemy, although his homelands of Serpukhov and Dmitrov were also burned by the Horde, but gave battle to the Horde detachment near Volok Lamsky, in which he won .
During the raid on Moscow by Khan Edigei in 1408, he led the defense of the city.
IN Battle of Kulikovo commanded an ambush regiment, whose entry into the battle, when the advantage was clearly leaning towards Mamai, decided the outcome of the battle.
He outlived his cousin by 21 years (died in 1410 at the age of 57). During his lifetime, he earned from his contemporaries a nickname that any medieval commander could be proud of - "Brave" . But on his tomb in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin he is named not only “Brave”, but also "Donskoy" (however, we will return to this issue later).
Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok Volynsky (or Volynets ) - unruled prince, governor in the service of the Moscow prince since the 60s of the 14th century. A gifted commander who participated in many civil strife on the side of the Moscow princes. Thanks to his numerous victories, he managed to become related to the great prince, and by marrying his sister, he became his son-in-law. Among the Moscow governors, he occupied the main position, which is confirmed by the fact that it was his signature that stands first among the boyars on the spiritual charter of Dmitry Ivanovich in 1389. After this, the name of the governor is no longer mentioned in any of the known sources.
IN Battle of Kulikovo was the commander of an ambush regiment under the command of Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky. Although the question of who actually commanded whom is resolved very simply: an experienced commander at least 50 years old, who had gone through many battles, of course, had to be the mentor of his immediate commander - the 27-year-old Prince Serpukhovsky. Yes, in fact, according to sources, this is how they were: it was Bobrok who decided exactly when the ambush regiment needed to strike in the rear of the rapidly advancing Horde army that had broken through the right flank and part of a large regiment of the Russian army. At the same time, the governor constantly besieged the young prince, eager for battle, and struck a blow that decided its outcome only 5 hours after it began. It was after this attack by the ambush regiment that the Tatars, who were not expecting it, were crushed and, in fact, admitting defeat, which until recently had seemed like a victory, quickly fled, pursued by the Russian army.
Vladimir Andreevich and Bobrok Volynets in ambush
(miniature from the Facial Vault):
Mikhail Andreevich Brenok . Very little is known about this participant in the Battle of Kulikovo, but judging by the mention of his patronymic, he was unlikely to be an ordinary warrior. Before the battle, Prince Dmitry Ivanovich gave him his horse, a princely helmet and a drag (a type of short sleeveless outerwear), while he himself, in the clothes of an ordinary warrior, participated in the battle among the foot soldiers. The princely robes attracted the attention of the enemy, so it is not surprising that during the battle Mikhail Brenok was killed, among other warriors including noble birth who took him for the Grand Duke and defended him to the last.
All the fabrications that Brenok allegedly led a large regiment of Russian troops, which was in the center of the battle and took the main blow of the Horde, have no confirmation in the sources.
Now that you have become acquainted with both the historical source and the main characters mentioned in it, I bring to your attention a few questions and my answers to them(if you do not agree with them, then I will be happy to discuss with you).
Question one.
Have you paid attention to the words of Prince Vladimir: “Who has seen or who has heard our shepherd and leader?”; “If the shepherd is defeated, the sheep will be scattered.”?
How else can these words based on the Holy Scriptures be interpreted, if not in the sense that the shepherd should tend his sheep, or, in relation to the situation, the leader - the commander should be at the head of his army?
What do we see from the text of the "Tale"? “Shepherd” - Prince Dmitry Ivanovich before the battle changed into “sheep’s clothing” - the clothes of an ordinary infantryman, and substituted another warrior in his place (according to the source of a certain Mikhail Brenk).
How could Prince Dmitry lead the battle if he hid from both his enemies and his soldiers? Or was the course of the bloody battle led by Mikhail Andreevich Brenok? Hardly. Most likely he was killed long before the battle entered its main stage. It turns out “sheep” - Russian soldiers during the battle were left without their “shepherd” - the commander. Perhaps this is why during the first five hours of the brutal battle, the troops of Mamai (by the way, who was left on September 8, 1380 without the expected allies - the Ryazan prince Oleg and the Lithuanian prince Jagiello) were pressed by the Russian regiments, who found themselves without a commander-in-chief. And most likely this is why Temnik Mamai was already ready to celebrate victory.
And Mamai would have triumphed, if not for the ambush regiment led by Prince Vladimir Andreevich and governor Dmitry Bobrok Volynsky.
That is, it turns out that when depicting the beginning of the Battle of Kulikovo, artists paint the wrong person in their paintings, because Prince Dmitry Ivanovich managed to take care of himself in advance.
“Morning on the Kulikovo Field” (Bubnov A.P. 1947):
Thus, we can conclude that the Grand Duke neglected his immediate responsibilities, both temporal and spiritual. And speaking in modern terms, he behaved like coward , as indeed during the invasion of Moscow by Khan Tokhtamysh in 1382, when he abandoned a well-fortified city to the mercy of fate (here it is appropriate to remember that Prince Dmitry Ivanovich had no merit in the construction of a new fortress - the white-stone Kremlin), the initiator and leader of the fortification of Moscow was Metropolitan Alexei from the old Moscow family of the Byakontovs).
Question two.
Where was Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich at the decisive moment of the battle? The source gives a very definite answer to this question: it turns out that he was resting under the “canopy of a cut birch tree” away from the battlefield in a certain oak grove, where he was found by the soldiers sent by Prince Vladimir to search for him.
How did he end up there? And who arranged this “canopy” for him under the felled birch tree?
Don’t you think that the image of the “victor” prince takes on clearly comic, if not satirical, features here?
In addition, it turns out that this “great commander” is not at all aware of what happened, which is why he asks the Kostroma warriors: “Tell me what is there.”
Of course, the following argument can be made to justify the Grand Duke: he was seriously wounded in the battle, perhaps even shell-shocked, so he barely speaks ("... the Grand Duke can barely speak...").
"Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo Field"
(V.K. Sazonov, 1824):
But still, how to explain that the prince, “scarred by the great and difficult,” was able to get to his “birch canopy,” and especially that one of the warriors who found him in the oak grove, returning to Vladimir Andreevich, hastened to please him, saying that “Great Prince Dmitry Ivanovich is in good health!”?
In my opinion, confirmed by the same source, Prince Dmitry did not have any special wounds, because as soon as he became aware of the victory won without his decisive participation, as if immediately forgetting about his shell shock, he “rose up” and announced that Now you can rejoice and have fun (!!!). And when they brought him a horse, he immediately (apparently his wounds healed instantly?) “mounted the horse” (try to saddle a horse and stay in the saddle if you are so seriously wounded that you can barely speak!).
And here the Grand Duke of Moscow “drove out for a great, strong and menacing massacre.” Isn’t it the first time, to finally see why exactly he will later be called “the winner of victory”?
Thus, Grand Duke Dmitry cannot in any way be called not only a great commander, but also the winner of Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo.
In this case, there is third question : who actually defeated Mamai on September 8, 1380 on the Kulikovo Field?
I think the answer to this question is obvious. This is the Prince of Serpukhov Vladimir Andreevich , who informed his cousin Dmitry Ivanovich about the outcome of the battle, as well as, and perhaps even to a greater extent, the governor Dmitry Volynets , which the Grand Duke himself admitted: “Truly, Dmitry, ... it behooves you to always be a commander.”
He is the one who should be depicted in this picture,
corresponding to the words: “Prince Vladimer is on the bones
under the black banner":
By the way, it is very interesting that the nickname "Donskoy" in the early tradition, it was assigned not to the Great Prince of Moscow, but to his cousin - the appanage prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky, also called the Brave.
This is exactly how he is mentioned in the spiritual letter of Ivan the Terrible:
“And my son Ivan keeps his great governor in Moscow, in the old days, as it was under my father, under the Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich of All Russia, and as it was under me, and the other governor is kept in third place by Prince Volodimer Andreevich Donskoy in Moscow.”.
(See: Spiritual charter of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich IV // Spiritual and contractual charters of the great and appanage princes of the 14th - 16th centuries. M.; Leningrad, 1950. P. 434).
And in the conventional portrait in the “Titular Book” of 1672, Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich is not called “Donskoy”.
Trying to be completely objective, I cannot help but notice that “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev” was created in the Trinity Monastery, which was located in the Serpukhov appanage principality, so local scribes could strive in every possible way to glorify their prince to the detriment of Dmitry Ivanovich. But I think that if Dmitry Donskoy were the hero he is portrayed as in modern historical mythology, no attempts by provincial monks to belittle the importance and glory of the Great Prince of Moscow would have been successful.
But why there is no halo above the head of the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich in the same “Tsar’s Titular Book”, and why he is not called “saint” or “blessed”, unlike his younger brother Vladimir Andreevich the Brave (Donskoy), this may be about a separate story is told, connected with his more than difficult relationship with the Church.
For now, I’ll just mention that Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich was canonized only in 1988, when in the USSR, which was rapidly ceasing to be an atheistic state, the “millennium of the Baptism of Rus” was widely celebrated, and the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which had long been in the service of the interests of the state, obviously remembered Stalin’s famous speech at the parade on November 7, 1941, in which Dmitry Donskoy was mentioned among other commanders of Rus' and Russia (Alexander Nevsky, Suvorov and Kutuzov).
In conclusion, I want to express my deep gratitude to my Teacher - Igor Nikolaevich Danilevsky , who taught me to think critically and form my own opinions primarily based on the analysis of historical sources. It is thanks to communication with him that I can call myself a historian.
(When working on this post, I used the book by I. N. Danilevsky “Russian lands through the eyes of contemporaries and descendants (XII - XIV centuries): A course of lectures. - M., 2001.).
Thank you for attention.
Sergey Vorobiev.
Battle of Kulikovo (Mamaevo Massacre), 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 Don, Nepryadva and Krasivaya Mecha rivers in the south- east of the Tula region.
Strengthening the Moscow Principality in the 60s of the 14th century. and the unification around him of the remaining lands of North-Eastern Rus' occurred 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 destinies 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.
Militia of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich in 1380 Lubok, 17th century.
In 1374, Moscow Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, who also had a label for the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, refused to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. Then the khan in 1375 transferred the label to the great reign of Tver. But virtually the entire North-Eastern Rus' opposed Mikhail Tverskoy. The Moscow prince organized a military campaign against the Tver principality, which was joined by Yaroslavl, Rostov, Suzdal and regiments of other principalities. Novgorod the Great also supported Dmitry. Tver capitulated. According to the concluded agreement, the Vladimir table was recognized as the “fatherland” of the Moscow princes, and Mikhail Tverskoy became Dmitry’s vassal.
However, the ambitious Mamai continued to consider the defeat of the Moscow principality, which had escaped subordination, as the main factor in strengthening his own positions in the Horde. In 1376, the Khan of the Blue Horde, Arab Shah Muzzaffar (Arapsha of Russian chronicles), who went over to the service of Mamai, ravaged the Novosilsk principality, but returned back, avoiding a battle with the Moscow army that had gone beyond the Oka border. In 1377 he was on the river. It was not the Moscow-Suzdal army that defeated Pian. 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, imagining the existence of the house,” and then ruined the Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan principalities.
In 1378, Mamai, trying to force him to pay tribute again, sent an army led by Murza Begich to Rus'. The Russian regiments that came out to meet were led by Dmitry Ivanovich himself. The battle took place on August 11, 1378 in Ryazan land, on a tributary of the Oka river. Vozhe. The Horde were completely defeated and fled. The Battle of Vozha showed the increased power of the Russian state emerging around Moscow.
Mamai attracted armed detachments from the conquered peoples of the Volga region and the North Caucasus to participate in the new campaign; his army also included heavily armed infantrymen from the Genoese colonies in the Crimea. The Horde's allies were the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello and the Ryazan Prince Oleg Ivanovich. However, these allies were on their own: Jagiello did not want to strengthen either the Horde or the Russian side, and as a result, his troops never appeared on the battlefield; Oleg Ryazansky entered into 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 his campaign. Not far from the place where the Voronezh River flows into the Don, the Horde set up their camps and, wandering, awaited news from Jagiello and Oleg.
In the terrible hour of danger hanging over the Russian land, Prince Dmitry showed exceptional energy in organizing resistance to the Golden Horde. At his call, military detachments and militias of peasants and townspeople began to gather. All of Rus' rose up to fight the enemy. The gathering of Russian troops was appointed in Kolomna, where the core of the Russian army set out from Moscow. By different roads Separately there was the court of Dmitry himself, the regiments of his cousin Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky and the regiments of the Belozersk, Yaroslavl and Rostov princes. The regiments of the Olgerdovich brothers (Andrei Polotsky and Dmitry Bryansky, the Jagiello brothers) also moved to join the troops of Dmitry Ivanovich. The brothers' army included Lithuanians, Belarusians and Ukrainians; citizens of Polotsk, Drutsk, Bryansk and Pskov.
After the troops arrived in Kolomna, a review was held. The assembled army on the Maiden Field was striking in its numbers. The gathering of troops in Kolomna had not only military, but also political significance. The Ryazan prince Oleg finally got rid of his hesitations and abandoned the idea of joining the troops of Mamai and Jagiello. A marching battle formation was formed in Kolomna: Prince Dmitry led the Big Regiment; Serpukhov Prince Vladimir Andreevich with the Yaroslavl - regiment Right hand; Gleb Bryansky was appointed commander of the Left Hand regiment; The leading regiment was made up of Kolomna residents.
Saint Sergius of Radonezh blesses Saint Prince Demetrius Donskoy.
Artist S.B. Simakov. 1988
On August 20, the Russian army set out from Kolomna on a campaign: it was important to block the path of Mamai’s hordes as soon as possible. On the eve of the campaign, Dmitry Ivanovich visited Sergius of Radonezh at the Trinity Monastery. After the conversation, the prince and the abbot went out to the people. Having made the sign of the cross over the prince, Sergius exclaimed: “Go, sir, against the filthy Polovtsians, 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 sent two of his monks, Peresvet and Oslyabya, on the campaign.
The entire campaign of the Russian army to the Oka was carried out in a relatively short time. The distance from Moscow to Kolomna is about 100 km; the troops covered it in 4 days. They arrived at the mouth of Lopasnya on August 26. Ahead there was a guard guard, which had the task of protecting the main forces from a surprise attack by the enemy.
On August 30, Russian troops began crossing the Oka River near the village of Priluki. Okolnichy Timofey Velyaminov and his detachment monitored the crossing, awaiting the approach of the foot army. 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, awaiting the approach of the allies, was wandering around the Kuzmina Gati.
The movement of the Russian army from the mouth of Lopasnya to the west was intended to prevent the Lithuanian army of Jagiello from uniting with the forces of Mamai. In turn, Jagiello, having learned about the route and number of Russian troops, was in no hurry to unite with the Mongol-Tatars, hovering around Odoev. The Russian command, having received this information, decisively sent troops to the Don, trying to forestall 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 southern bank of the river. Others advised staying on the northern bank of the Don and waiting for the enemy to attack. The final decision depended on the Grand Duke. Dmitry Ivanovich uttered the following significant words: “Brothers! An honest death is better than an evil life. It was better not to go out against the enemy than to come and do nothing and return back. Let's all cross the Don today and lay our heads there Orthodox faith and our brothers." The Grand Duke of Vladimir preferred offensive actions that made it possible to maintain the initiative, which was important not only in strategy (hitting the enemy in parts), but also in tactics (choosing the location of the battle and the surprise of a strike on the enemy’s army). After the council in the evening, Prince Dmitry and voivode Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky moved beyond the Don and examined the area.
The area chosen by Prince Dmitry for the battle was called Kulikovo Field. On three sides - west, north and east, it was limited by the Don and Nepryadva rivers, cut by ravines and small rivers. The right wing of the Russian army forming into battle formation was covered by the rivers flowing into the Nepryadva (Upper, Middle and Lower Dubiki); on the left is the rather shallow Smolka River, which flows into the Don, and dried up stream beds (gums with gentle slopes). But this lack of terrain was compensated for - behind Smolka there was a forest in which a general reserve could be placed to guard the fords across the Don and strengthen the wing’s battle formation. Along the front, the Russian position had a length of over eight kilometers (some authors significantly reduce it and then question the number of troops). However, the terrain convenient for enemy cavalry action was limited to four kilometers and was located in the center of the position - near the converging upper reaches of Nizhny Dubik and Smolka. Mamai's army, having an advantage in deployment along a front of more than 12 kilometers, could attack the Russian battle formations with cavalry only in this limited area, which excluded maneuver by cavalry 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, and cavalry forded. The crossing was carried out under the cover of strong guard detachments.
Morning on the Kulikovo field. Artist A.P. Bubnov. 1943-1947.
According to the message of the guard Semyon Melik and Pyotr Gorsky, who had a battle with enemy reconnaissance on September 7, it became known that the main forces of Mamai were at a distance of one march and by the morning next day they should be expected at Don's. Therefore, so that Mamai would not forestall the Russian army, already on the morning of September 8, the army of Rus', under the cover of the Sentinel Regiment, took up battle formation. On the right flank, adjacent to the steep banks of Nizhny Dubik, stood the Right Hand regiment, which included Andrei Olgerdovich’s squad. The squads of the Big Regiment were located in the center. They were commanded by the Moscow okolnichy Timofey Velyaminov. On the left flank, covered from the east by the Smolka River, the Left Hand regiment of Prince Vasily Yaroslavsky formed. Ahead of the Big Regiment was the Advanced Regiment. Behind the left flank of the Big Regiment, a reserve detachment was secretly located, commanded by Dmitry Olgerdovich. Behind the Left Hand Regiment in forest area Green Dubrava Dmitry Ivanovich placed a selected cavalry detachment of 10-16 thousand people - the Ambush Regiment, led by Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky and the experienced governor Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky.
Battle of Kulikovo. Artist A. Yvon. 1850
This formation was chosen taking into account the terrain and the method of fighting used by the Golden Horde. Their favorite technique was to envelop one or both flanks of the enemy with cavalry detachments and then move to his rear. The Russian army took up a position reliably covered on the flanks by natural obstacles. Due to the terrain conditions, 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 tactics. The number of Russian troops, formed in battle order, reached 50-60 thousand people.
Mamai’s army, which arrived on the morning of September 8 and stopped 7-8 kilometers from the Russians, numbered about 90-100 thousand people. It consisted of a vanguard (light cavalry), main forces (mercenary Genoese infantry were in the center, and heavy cavalry deployed in two lines on the flanks) and a reserve. Light reconnaissance and security detachments scattered in front of the Horde camp. The enemy's plan 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 the battle and ordered his regiments to march. The Grand Duke took off his armor, handed it over to boyar Mikhail Brenk, and he himself put on 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 Brenk.
Duel between Peresvet and Chelubey. Artist. V.M. Vasnetsov. 1914
The battle began around 12 o'clock. When the main forces of the parties converged, a duel between the Russian warrior monk Alexander Peresvet and the Mongolian hero Chelubey (Temir-Murza) took place. As folk legend says, Peresvet rode out without protective armor, with only one spear. Chelubey was fully armed. The warriors dispersed their horses and struck their spears. A powerful simultaneous blow - Chelubey fell dead with his head towards the Horde army, which was a bad omen. Pere-light stayed in the saddle for several moments and also fell to the ground, but with his head towards the enemy. This is how the folk legend predetermined the outcome of the battle for a just cause. After the fight, a fierce battle broke out. As the chronicle writes: “The strength of the Tatar greyhound from Sholomyani is great, coming and then again, not moving, stasha, for there is no place for them to make way; and so stasha, a copy of the pawn, wall against wall, each of them has on the shoulders of his predecessors, the ones in front are more beautiful, and the ones in the back are longer. And the great prince also with his great Russian strength went against them with another Sholomian.”
For three hours, Mamai’s army unsuccessfully tried to break through the center and right wing of the Russian army. Here the onslaught of the Horde troops was repulsed. Andrei Olgerdovich’s detachment was active. He repeatedly launched a counterattack, helping the center regiments hold back the enemy onslaught.
Then Mamai concentrated his main efforts against the Left Hand regiment. In a fierce battle with a superior enemy, the regiment suffered heavy losses and began to retreat. Dmitry Olgerdovich's reserve detachment was brought 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 military brothers-in-arms, were eager to fight. Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovskoy, who commanded the regiment, decided to join the battle, but his adviser, the experienced governor Bobrok, held the prince back. Mamaev's cavalry, pressing the left wing and breaking through the battle formation of the Russian army, began to go to the rear of the Big Regiment. The Horde, reinforced by fresh forces from the Mamaia reserve, bypassing Green Dubrava, attacked the soldiers of the Big Regiment.
The decisive moment of the battle had arrived. The Ambush Regiment, the existence of which Mamai did not know, rushed into the flank and rear of the Golden Horde cavalry that had broken through. The attack by the Ambush Regiment came as a complete surprise to the Tatars. “I fell into great fear and horror of wickedness... and cried out, saying: “Alas for us!” ... the Christians have become wise over us, the daring and daring princes and governors have left us in hiding and have prepared plans for us that are not tired; our arms are weakened, and the shoulders of the Ustasha, and our knees are numb, and our horses are very tired, and our weapons are worn out; and who can go against them?..." Taking advantage of the emerging success, other regiments also went on the offensive. The enemy fled. Russian squads pursued him for 30-40 kilometers - to the Beautiful Sword River, where the convoy and rich trophies were captured. Mamai's army was completely defeated. It 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 unconscious after the battle under a felled birch tree. But the Russian army also suffered heavy losses, amounting 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 of 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 his outstanding victory, the people nicknamed Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich “Donskoy”, and his cousin, Prince Vladimir Andreevich of Serpukhov, nicknamed him “Brave”.
Jagiello's troops, having not reached the Kulikovo field 30-40 kilometers and having learned about the Russian victory, quickly returned to Lithuania. Mamai’s ally did not want to take risks, since there were many Slavic troops in his army. In the army of Dmitry Ivanovich there were prominent representatives of Lithuanian soldiers who had supporters in Jagiello’s army, 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, abandoning his defeated army, fled with a handful of comrades 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 in the Battle of Kulikovo it was not the Golden Horde that was defeated, but the usurper of power - Temnik Mamai. Dmitry refused. Then, in 1382, Tokhtamysh undertook a punitive campaign against Rus', captured and burned Moscow by cunning. The largest cities of the Moscow land - Dmitrov, Mozhaisk and Pereyaslavl - were also subjected to merciless destruction, and then the Horde marched through the Ryazan lands with fire and sword. As a result of this raid, Horde rule 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 the history of military art. The strategy and tactics used in the Battle of Kulikovo by Dmitry Donskoy were superior to the strategy and tactics of the enemy and were distinguished by their offensive nature, activity and purposefulness of action. Deep, well-organized reconnaissance allowed us to make the right decisions and make an exemplary march-maneuver to the Don. Dmitry Donskoy managed to correctly assess and use the terrain conditions. He took into account the enemy’s tactics and revealed his plan.
Burial of fallen soldiers after the Battle of Kulikovo.
1380. Front chronicle of the 16th century.
Based on the terrain conditions and the tactical techniques used by Mamai, Dmitry Ivanovich rationally positioned 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 the battle formation and its skillful use, expressed in the successful choice of the moment of entry into action, 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 issue do not believe that the Moscow prince set himself the goal of leading the anti-Horde struggle in the broad concept of the word, but only spoke out against Mamai as a usurper of power in Zolotaya Horde. So, A.A. Gorsky writes: “Open disobedience to the Horde, which developed into an armed struggle against it, occurred during a period when power there fell into the hands of an illegitimate ruler (Mamai). With the restoration of the “legitimate” power, an attempt was made to limit itself to a purely nominal, without paying tribute, recognition of the supremacy of the “king,” but the military defeat of 1382 thwarted it. Nevertheless, the attitude towards foreign power changed: it became obvious that, under certain conditions, its non-recognition and successful military opposition to the Horde were possible.” Therefore, as other researchers note, despite the fact that the uprisings against the Horde still occur within the framework of previous ideas about the relationship between the Russian princes - “ulusniks” and the Horde “kings”, “The Battle of Kulikovo undoubtedly became a turning point in the formation of a new self-awareness of the Russian people,” and “the victory on the Kulikovo Field secured Moscow’s role as 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 path to their liberation from foreign domination.”
Monument-column, made according to the design of A.P. Bryullov at the Ch. Berd plant.
Installed on the Kulikovo field in 1852 on the initiative of the first explorer
battles of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod S. D. Nechaev.
The times of the Horde invasions were becoming a thing of the past. It became clear that in Rus' there were 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 a 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 - Victory Day of the Russian regiments led by Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy over the Mongol-Tatar troops in the Battle of Kulikovo.
A chronicle collection called the Patriarchal or Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. St. Petersburg, 1897. P. 27.
Quote by: Borisov N.S. And the candle would not go out... Historical portrait of Sergius of Radonezh. M., 1990. P.222.
Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. P. 56.
Kirpichnikov A.N. Battle of Kulikovo. L., 1980. P. 105.
This number was calculated by the Soviet military historian E.A. Razin based on the total population of Russian lands, taking into account the principles of recruiting troops for all-Russian campaigns. See: Razin E.A. History of military art. T. 2. St. Petersburg, 1994. P. 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 19th 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. P. 110.; Soloviev S.M. History of Russia from ancient times. Book 2. M., 1993. P. 323. Russian chronicles provide extremely exaggerated data on the number of Russian troops: Resurrection Chronicle - about 200 thousand. See: Resurrection Chronicle. PSRL. T. VIII. St. Petersburg, 1859. P. 35; Nikon Chronicle - 400 thousand. See: Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. P. 56.
See: Skrynnikov R.G. Battle of Kulikovo // Battle of Kulikovo in the cultural history of our Motherland. M., 1983. S. 53-54.
Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. P. 60.
Right there. P. 61.
“Zadonshchina” talks about the flight of Mamai himself-nine to the Crimea, that is, about the death of 8/9 of the entire army in the battle. See: Zadonshchina // Military stories of Ancient Rus'. L., 1986. P. 167.
See: The Legend of Mamaev’s Massacre // Military Tales of Ancient Rus'. L., 1986. P. 232.
Kirpichnikov A.N. Decree. Op. P. 67, 106. According to E.A. Razin’s Horde lost about 150 thousand, the Russians killed and died from wounds - about 45 thousand people (See: Razin E.A. Decree. Op. T. 2. P. 287-288). B. Urlanis speaks of 10 thousand killed (See: Urlanis B.Ts. History of military losses. St. Petersburg, 1998. P. 39). The “Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev” says that 653 boyars were killed. See: Military stories of Ancient Rus'. P. 234. The figure given there for the total number of dead Russian combatants of 253 thousand is clearly overestimated.
Gorsky A.A. Moscow and Horde. M. 2000. P. 188.
Danilevsky I.N. Russian lands through the eyes of contemporaries and descendants (XII-XIV centuries). M. 2000. P. 312.
Shabuldo F.M. The lands of Southwestern Rus' as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Kyiv, 1987. P. 131.
Yuri Alekseev, senior researcher
Research Institute of Military History
Military Academy of the General Staff
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
Battle of Kulikovo (Mamaevo Massacre), 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 Don, Nepryadva and Krasivaya Mecha rivers in the south- east of the Tula region.
Strengthening the Moscow Principality in the 60s of the 14th century. and the unification around him of the remaining lands of North-Eastern Rus' occurred 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 destinies 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.
Militia of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich in 1380 Lubok, 17th century.
In 1374, Moscow Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, who also had a label for the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, refused to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. Then the khan in 1375 transferred the label to the great reign of Tver. But virtually the entire North-Eastern Rus' opposed Mikhail Tverskoy. The Moscow prince organized a military campaign against the Tver principality, which was joined by Yaroslavl, Rostov, Suzdal and regiments of other principalities. Novgorod the Great also supported Dmitry. Tver capitulated. According to the concluded agreement, the Vladimir table was recognized as the “fatherland” of the Moscow princes, and Mikhail Tverskoy became Dmitry’s vassal.
However, the ambitious Mamai continued to consider the defeat of the Moscow principality, which had escaped subordination, as the main factor in strengthening his own positions in the Horde. In 1376, the Khan of the Blue Horde, Arab Shah Muzzaffar (Arapsha of Russian chronicles), who went over to the service of Mamai, ravaged the Novosilsk principality, but returned back, avoiding a battle with the Moscow army that had gone beyond the Oka border. In 1377 he was on the river. It was not the Moscow-Suzdal army that defeated Pian. 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, imagining the existence of the house,” and then ruined the Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan principalities.
In 1378, Mamai, trying to force him to pay tribute again, sent an army led by Murza Begich to Rus'. The Russian regiments that came out to meet were led by Dmitry Ivanovich himself. The battle took place on August 11, 1378 in Ryazan land, on a tributary of the Oka river. Vozhe. The Horde were completely defeated and fled. The Battle of Vozha showed the increased power of the Russian state emerging around Moscow.
Mamai attracted armed detachments from the conquered peoples of the Volga region and the North Caucasus to participate in the new campaign; his army also included heavily armed infantrymen from the Genoese colonies in the Crimea. The Horde's allies were the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello and the Ryazan Prince Oleg Ivanovich. However, these allies were on their own: Jagiello did not want to strengthen either the Horde or the Russian side, and as a result, his troops never appeared on the battlefield; Oleg Ryazansky entered into 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 his campaign. Not far from the place where the Voronezh River flows into the Don, the Horde set up their camps and, wandering, awaited news from Jagiello and Oleg.
In the terrible hour of danger hanging over the Russian land, Prince Dmitry showed exceptional energy in organizing resistance to the Golden Horde. At his call, military detachments and militias of peasants and townspeople began to gather. All of Rus' rose up to fight the enemy. The gathering of Russian troops was appointed in Kolomna, where the core of the Russian army set out from Moscow. The court of Dmitry himself, the regiments of his cousin Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky and the regiments of the Belozersk, Yaroslavl and Rostov princes walked separately along different roads. The regiments of the Olgerdovich brothers (Andrei Polotsky and Dmitry Bryansky, the Jagiello brothers) also moved to join the troops of Dmitry Ivanovich. The brothers' army included Lithuanians, Belarusians and Ukrainians; citizens of Polotsk, Drutsk, Bryansk and Pskov.
After the troops arrived in Kolomna, a review was held. The assembled army on the Maiden Field was striking in its numbers. The gathering of troops in Kolomna had not only military, but also political significance. The Ryazan prince Oleg finally got rid of his hesitations and abandoned the idea of joining the troops of Mamai and Jagiello. A marching battle formation was formed in Kolomna: Prince Dmitry led the Big Regiment; Serpukhov Prince Vladimir Andreevich with the Yaroslavl people - the regiment of the Right Hand; Gleb Bryansky was appointed commander of the Left Hand regiment; The leading regiment was made up of Kolomna residents.
Saint Sergius of Radonezh blesses Saint Prince Demetrius Donskoy.
Artist S.B. Simakov. 1988
On August 20, the Russian army set out from Kolomna on a campaign: it was important to block the path of Mamai’s hordes as soon as possible. On the eve of the campaign, Dmitry Ivanovich visited Sergius of Radonezh at the Trinity Monastery. After the conversation, the prince and the abbot went out to the people. Having made the sign of the cross over the prince, Sergius exclaimed: “Go, sir, against the filthy Polovtsians, 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 sent two of his monks, Peresvet and Oslyabya, on the campaign.
The entire campaign of the Russian army to the Oka was carried out in a relatively short time. The distance from Moscow to Kolomna is about 100 km; the troops covered it in 4 days. They arrived at the mouth of Lopasnya on August 26. Ahead there was a guard guard, which had the task of protecting the main forces from a surprise attack by the enemy.
On August 30, Russian troops began crossing the Oka River near the village of Priluki. Okolnichy Timofey Velyaminov and his detachment monitored the crossing, awaiting the approach of the foot army. 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, awaiting the approach of the allies, was wandering around the Kuzmina Gati.
The movement of the Russian army from the mouth of Lopasnya to the west was intended to prevent the Lithuanian army of Jagiello from uniting with the forces of Mamai. In turn, Jagiello, having learned about the route and number of Russian troops, was in no hurry to unite with the Mongol-Tatars, hovering around Odoev. The Russian command, having received this information, decisively sent troops to the Don, trying to forestall 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 southern bank of the river. Others advised staying on the northern bank of the Don and waiting for the enemy to attack. The final decision depended on the Grand Duke. Dmitry Ivanovich uttered the following significant words: “Brothers! An honest death is better than an evil life. It was better not to go out against the enemy than to come and do nothing and return back. Today we will all cross 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 made it possible to maintain the initiative, which was important not only in strategy (hitting the enemy in parts), but also in tactics (choosing the location of the battle and the surprise of a strike on the enemy’s army). After the council in the evening, Prince Dmitry and voivode Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky moved beyond the Don and examined the area.
The area chosen by Prince Dmitry for the battle was called Kulikovo Field. On three sides - west, north and east, it was limited by the Don and Nepryadva rivers, cut by ravines and small rivers. The right wing of the Russian army forming into battle formation was covered by the rivers flowing into the Nepryadva (Upper, Middle and Lower Dubiki); on the left is the rather shallow Smolka River, which flows into the Don, and dried-up stream beds (beams with gentle slopes). But this lack of terrain was compensated for - behind Smolka there was a forest in which a general reserve could be placed to guard the fords across the Don and strengthen the wing’s battle formation. Along the front, the Russian position had a length of over eight kilometers (some authors significantly reduce it and then question the number of troops). However, the terrain convenient for enemy cavalry action was limited to four kilometers and was located in the center of the position - near the converging upper reaches of Nizhny Dubik and Smolka. Mamai's army, having an advantage in deployment along a front of more than 12 kilometers, could attack the Russian battle formations with cavalry only in this limited area, which excluded maneuver by cavalry 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, and cavalry forded. The crossing was carried out under the cover of strong guard detachments.
Morning on the Kulikovo field. Artist A.P. Bubnov. 1943–1947.
According to the guards Semyon Melik and Pyotr Gorsky, who had a battle 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, so that Mamai would not forestall the Russian army, already on the morning of September 8, the army of Rus', under the cover of the Sentinel Regiment, took up battle formation. On the right flank, adjacent to the steep banks of Nizhny Dubik, stood the Right Hand regiment, which included Andrei Olgerdovich’s squad. The squads of the Big Regiment were located in the center. They were commanded by the Moscow okolnichy Timofey Velyaminov. On the left flank, covered from the east by the Smolka River, the Left Hand regiment of Prince Vasily Yaroslavsky formed. Ahead of the Big Regiment was the Advanced Regiment. Behind the left flank of the Big Regiment, a reserve detachment was secretly located, commanded by Dmitry Olgerdovich. Behind the Left Hand regiment in the Green Dubrava forest, Dmitry Ivanovich placed a selected cavalry detachment of 10–16 thousand people - the Ambush Regiment, led by Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky and the experienced governor Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok-Volynsky.
Battle of Kulikovo. Artist A. Yvon. 1850
This formation was chosen taking into account the terrain and the method of fighting used by the Golden Horde. Their favorite technique was to envelop one or both flanks of the enemy with cavalry detachments and then move to his rear. The Russian army took up a position reliably covered on the flanks by natural obstacles. Due to the terrain conditions, 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 tactics. The number of Russian troops, formed in battle formation, reached 50–60 thousand people.
Mamai’s army, which arrived on the morning of September 8 and stopped 7-8 kilometers from the Russians, numbered about 90-100 thousand people. It consisted of a vanguard (light cavalry), the main forces (mercenary Genoese infantry were in the center, and heavy cavalry deployed in two lines on the flanks) and a reserve. Light reconnaissance and security detachments scattered in front of the Horde camp. The enemy's plan 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 the battle and ordered his regiments to march. The Grand Duke took off his armor, handed it over to boyar Mikhail Brenk, and he himself put on simple armor, but not inferior in its protective properties to the prince’s. The Grand Duke's dark red (black) banner was raised in the Big Regiment - a symbol of honor and glory of the united Russian army. It was handed to Brenk.
Duel between Peresvet and Chelubey. Artist. V.M. Vasnetsov. 1914
The battle began around 12 o'clock. When the main forces of the parties converged, a duel between the Russian warrior monk Alexander Peresvet and the Mongolian hero Chelubey (Temir-Murza) took place. As folk legend says, Peresvet rode out without protective armor, with only one spear. Chelubey was fully armed. The warriors dispersed their horses and struck their spears. A powerful simultaneous blow - Chelubey fell dead with his head towards the Horde army, which was a bad omen. Pere-light stayed in the saddle for several moments and also fell to the ground, but with his head towards the enemy. This is how the folk legend predetermined the outcome of the battle for a just cause. After the fight, a fierce battle broke out. As the chronicle writes: “The strength of the Tatar greyhound from Sholomyani is great, coming and then again, not moving, stasha, for there is no place for them to make way; and so stasha, a copy of the pawn, wall against wall, each of them has on the shoulders of his predecessors, the ones in front are more beautiful, and the ones in the back are longer. And the great prince also with his great Russian strength went against another Sholomian.”
For three hours, Mamai’s army unsuccessfully tried to break through the center and right wing of the Russian army. Here the onslaught of the Horde troops was repulsed. Andrei Olgerdovich’s detachment was active. He repeatedly launched a counterattack, helping the center regiments hold back the enemy onslaught.
Then Mamai concentrated his main efforts against the Left Hand regiment. In a fierce battle with a superior enemy, the regiment suffered heavy losses and began to retreat. Dmitry Olgerdovich's reserve detachment was brought 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 military brothers-in-arms, were eager to fight. Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovskoy, who commanded the regiment, decided to join the battle, but his adviser, the experienced governor Bobrok, held the prince back. Mamaev's cavalry, pressing the left wing and breaking through the battle formation of the Russian army, began to go to the rear of the Big Regiment. The Horde, reinforced by fresh forces from the Mamaia reserve, bypassing Green Dubrava, attacked the soldiers of the Big Regiment.
The decisive moment of the battle had arrived. The Ambush Regiment, the existence of which Mamai did not know, rushed into the flank and rear of the Golden Horde cavalry that had broken through. The attack by the Ambush Regiment came as a complete surprise to the Tatars. “I fell into great fear and horror of wickedness... and cried out, saying: “Alas for us!” ... the Christians have become wise over us, the daring and daring princes and governors have left us in hiding and have prepared plans for us that are not tired; our arms are weakened, and the shoulders of the Ustasha, and our knees are numb, and our horses are very tired, and our weapons are worn out; and who can go against them?...” Taking advantage of the emerging success, other regiments also went on the offensive. The enemy fled. Russian squads pursued him for 30–40 kilometers - to the Beautiful Sword River, where the convoy and rich trophies were captured. Mamai's army was completely defeated. It 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 unconscious after the battle under a felled birch tree. But the Russian army also suffered heavy losses, amounting 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 of 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 his outstanding victory, the people nicknamed Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich “Donskoy”, and his cousin, Prince Vladimir Andreevich of Serpukhov, nicknamed him “Brave”.
Jagiello's troops, having not reached the Kulikovo field 30-40 kilometers and having learned about the Russian victory, quickly returned to Lithuania. Mamai’s ally did not want to take risks, since there were many Slavic troops in his army. In the army of Dmitry Ivanovich there were prominent representatives of Lithuanian soldiers who had supporters in Jagiello’s army, 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, abandoning his defeated army, fled with a handful of comrades 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 in the Battle of Kulikovo it was not the Golden Horde that was defeated, but the usurper of power, Temnik Mamai. Dmitry refused. Then, in 1382, Tokhtamysh undertook a punitive campaign against Rus', captured and burned Moscow by cunning. The largest cities of the Moscow land - Dmitrov, Mozhaisk and Pereyaslavl - were also subjected to merciless destruction, and then the Horde marched through the Ryazan lands with fire and sword. As a result of this raid, Horde rule 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 were superior to the strategy and tactics of the enemy and were distinguished by their offensive nature, activity and purposefulness of action. Deep, well-organized reconnaissance allowed us to make the right decisions and make an exemplary march-maneuver to the Don. Dmitry Donskoy managed to correctly assess and use the terrain conditions. He took into account the enemy’s tactics and revealed his plan.
Burial of fallen soldiers after the Battle of Kulikovo.
1380. Front chronicle of the 16th century.
Based on the terrain conditions and the tactical techniques used by Mamai, Dmitry Ivanovich rationally positioned 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 the battle formation and its skillful use, expressed in the successful choice of the moment of entry into action, 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 issue do not believe that the Moscow prince set himself the goal of leading the anti-Horde struggle in the broad concept of the word, but only spoke out against Mamai as a usurper of power in Zolotaya Horde. So, A.A. Gorsky writes: “Open disobedience to the Horde, which developed into an armed struggle against it, occurred during a period when power there fell into the hands of an illegitimate ruler (Mamai). With the restoration of “legitimate” power, an attempt was made to limit ourselves to a purely nominal, without payment of tribute, recognition of the supremacy of the “king,” but the military defeat of 1382 thwarted this. 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 are possible.” Therefore, as other researchers note, despite the fact that protests against the Horde occur within the framework of previous ideas about the relationship between the Russian princes - “ulusniks” and the Horde “kings”, “The Battle of Kulikovo undoubtedly became a turning point in the formation of a new self-awareness of the Russians people,” and “the victory on the Kulikovo field secured Moscow’s role as 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 path to their liberation from foreign domination.”
Monument-column, made according to the design of A.P. Bryullov at the Ch. Berd plant.
Installed on the Kulikovo field in 1852 on the initiative of the first explorer
battles of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod S. D. Nechaev.
The times of the Horde invasions were becoming a thing of the past. It became clear that in Rus' there were 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 a 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 Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of Russia” is the Day of Military Glory of Russia - Victory Day of the Russian regiments led by Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy over the Mongol-Tatar troops in the Battle of Kulikovo.
A chronicle collection called the Patriarchal or Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. St. Petersburg, 1897. P. 27.
Quote by: Borisov N.S. And the candle would not go out... Historical portrait of Sergius of Radonezh. M., 1990. P.222.
Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. P. 56.
Kirpichnikov A.N. Battle of Kulikovo. L., 1980. P. 105.
This number was calculated by the Soviet military historian E.A. Razin based on the total population of Russian lands, taking into account the principles of recruiting troops for all-Russian campaigns. See: Razin E.A. History of military art. T. 2. St. Petersburg, 1994. P. 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 19th 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. P. 110.; Soloviev S.M. History of Russia from ancient times. Book 2. M., 1993. P. 323. Russian chronicles provide extremely exaggerated data on the number of Russian troops: Resurrection Chronicle - about 200 thousand. See: Resurrection Chronicle. PSRL. T. VIII. St. Petersburg, 1859. P. 35; Nikon Chronicle - 400 thousand. See: Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. P. 56.
See: Skrynnikov R.G. Battle of Kulikovo // Battle of Kulikovo in the cultural history of our Motherland. M., 1983. S. 53-54.
Nikon Chronicle. PSRL. T. XI. P. 60.
Right there. P. 61.
“Zadonshchina” talks about the flight of Mamai himself-nine to the Crimea, that is, about the death of 8/9 of the entire army in the battle. See: Zadonshchina // Military stories of Ancient Rus'. L., 1986. P. 167.
See: The Legend of Mamaev’s Massacre // Military Tales of Ancient Rus'. L., 1986. P. 232.
Kirpichnikov A.N. Decree. Op. P. 67, 106. According to E.A. Razin’s Horde lost about 150 thousand, the Russians killed and died from wounds - about 45 thousand people (See: Razin E.A. Op. cit. T. 2. pp. 287–288). B. Urlanis speaks of 10 thousand killed (See: Urlanis B.Ts. History of military losses. St. Petersburg, 1998. P. 39). The “Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev” says that 653 boyars were killed. See: Military stories of Ancient Rus'. P. 234. The figure given there for the total number of dead Russian combatants of 253 thousand is clearly overestimated.
Gorsky A.A. Moscow and Horde. M. 2000. P. 188.
Danilevsky I.N. Russian lands through the eyes of contemporaries and descendants (XII-XIV centuries). M. 2000. P. 312.
Shabuldo F.M. The lands of Southwestern Rus' as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Kyiv, 1987. P. 131.