Dostoevsky and World Culture Dostoevsky and World Culture 2619-0311 2712-8512 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2025-2-288-325 Research Article Articles "Apollon Maikov. About the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky and the Tatar Invasion." Text Preparation, Introductory Article and Comments by Olga V. Sedelnikova, Anastasia V. Baldova, Irina S. Andrianova Sedelnikova Olga V. fedor@dostmirkult.ru Baldova Anastasia V. fedor@dostmirkult.ru Andrianova Irina S. fedor@dostmirkult.ru 25 06 2025 1 2 288 325 A.N. Maikov F.M. Dostoevsky Tales from Russian History Alexander Nevsky Tatar-Mongols Russia Europe Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 This publication introduces readers for the first time to the final typeset draft of A.N. Maikov’s story “About the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky and the Tatar Invasion,” which, judging by the earliest of the surviving plans for the unfinished cycle Tales from Russian History, was intended to open the work. In a letter dated April 12, 1869, to Fyodor Dostoevsky, the poet announced the completion of this story. However, the first story published in the cycle (in the fifth issue of the magazine “Zarya” for 1869) was the subsequent planned piece, “About the Holy Moscow Metropolitans Peter and Alexy and about the Glorious Slaughter of Mamai.” During research in the Maikov archive, a set of manuscripts was discovered in the Manuscript Department of the Institute of Russian Literature RAS, including both preparatory materials and the typeset manuscript of the story about Alexander Nevsky. This evidence points to the existence of a final version of the text ready for publication. The reason for Maikov’s decision not to publish the story—despite its completion and his mention of it to Dostoevsky—remains unclear. Perhaps the poet, known for his exactingness towards himself, intended to make further revision and then, due to work obligations and other matters, postponed his efforts. He returned to contemplating this idea in the 1880s but never published it. An analysis of the manuscript’s content and artistic features reveals that Maikov abandoned the biographical principle in presenting the material, which he noted in one of the preparatory documents. The story’s title reflects this, linking Alexander’s image to the catastrophe that befell Russia during his reign and the pivotal challenges he faced. This principle is also implemented in the structure of the plot, a significant part of which describes Batu’s troops capturing fragmented Russian lands. Against this backdrop, Maikov portrays Alexander Nevsky as a wise diplomat and subtle politician who understood how to save Russia from destruction at a time when Europe and Asia simultaneously turned against it. In Maikov’s conception, Alexander Nevsky emerges as the first Russian ruler who managed to forge the only viable path at this critical historical juncture, allowing him to preserve his native land and the spiritual values of the Russian people. Bogdanov, A.P. Aleksandr Nevskii [Alexander Nevsky]. Moscow, Veche Publ., 2009. 197 p. (In Russ.) Ilovaiskii, D.I. Kratkie ocherki russkoi istorii, kurs starshego vozrasta [Short Essays on Russian History, Senior Course]. Moscow, Tip. I. N. Kushnerev i K Publ., 1895. 368 p. (In Russ.) “Zhitie Aleksandra Nevskogo” [“The Life of Alexander Nevsky”]. Biblioteka literatury Drevnei Rusi [Library of Ancient Russian Literature], vol. 5. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ., 1997, pp. 358–369. (In Russ.) Karamzin, N.M. Istoriia gosudarstva Rossiiskogo: v 12 tomakh [The History of the Russian State: in 12 vols], vol. 4. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1991. 480 p. (In Russ.) Karpov, A.Iu. Velikii kniaz’ Aleksandr Nevskii [Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky]. Moscow, Molodaia gvardiia Publ., 2010. 335 p. (In Russ.) “Letopisnye povesti o mongolo-tatarskom nashestvii. Iz Lavrent’evskoi letopisi” [“Chronicle Stories of the Mongol-Tatar Invasion. From the Laurentian Chronicle”]. Biblioteka literatury Drevnei Rusi [Library of Ancient Russian Literature], vol. 5. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ., 1997, pp. 95–107. (In Russ.) Maikov, A.N. “O Sviatykh Moskovskikh mitropolitakh Petre i Aleksii i o slavnom Mamaevom poboishche” [“About the Holy Moscow Metropolitans Peter and Alexy and the Glorious Slaughter of Mamai”]. Zaria, no. 5, 1869, pp. 1–19. (In Russ.) Maikov, A.N. “Nachalo vostochnogo voprosa” [“The Beginning of the Eastern Question”]. Zaria, no. 8, 1869, pp. 1–50. (In Russ.) Maikov, A.N. Izbrannye proizvedeniia. Biblioteka poeta. Bol’shaia seriia [Selected Works. The Poet’s Library. Big Series]. Leningrad, Sovetskii pisatel’ Publ., 1977. 910 p. (In Russ.) Maikov, A.N. “Pis’ma k Dostoevskomu 1867-78” [“Letters to Dostoevsky 18671878”]. Publ. by N.T. Ashimbaeva. Ashimbaeva, N.T. Dostoevskii. Kontekst tvorchestva i vremeni [Dostoevsky. The Context of His Works and Time]. St. Petersburg, Serebrianyi vek Publ., 2005, pp. 103–168. (In Russ.) Maikov, A.N. Putevoi dnevnik 1842-43 gg. Ital’ianskaia proza [Travel Diary 1842–1843. Italian Prose]. Ed. by O.V. Sedel’nikova. St. Petersburg, Pushkinskii Dom Publ., 2013. 400 p.; il. (In Russ.) Parshuto, V.T. Aleksandr Nevskii [Alexander Nevsky]. Ekaterinburg, UDT Posyltorg Publ.; Moscow, Molodaia gvardiia Publ., 1995. 160 p., il. (In Russ.) “Povest’ o razorenii Riazani Batyem” [“The Story of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu”]. Biblioteka literatury Drevnei Rusi [Library of Ancient Russian Literature], vol. 5. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ., 1997, pp. 140–155. (In Russ.) Sedel’nikova, O.V. “V dopolnenie kommentariia k pis’mam F.M. Dostoevskogo A.N. Maikovu (Pis’mo o ‘poeme’ Dostoevskogo i sobytiia russkoi istorii v tvorcheskom osmyslenii Maikova)” [“In Addition to the Commentary on Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Letters to Apollon Maikov (The Letter on Dostoyevsky’s ‘Poem’ and the Events of the Russian History as Understood Creatively by Maikov)”]. Sibirskii filologicheskii zhurnal, no. 2, 2012, pp. 95–103. (In Russ.) Sedel’nikova, O.V., Golovacheva, E.A., and O.P. Oleinik. “Rasskazy iz russkoi istorii A.N. Maikova: ot idei k realizatsii” [“Apollon Maykov’s Tales from Russian History: from Idea to Implementation”]. Dostoevskii i mirovaia kul’tura. Filologicheskii zhurnal, no. 1 (25), 2024, pp. 198–221. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2024-1-198-221 Sedel’nikova, O.V., and I.S. Andrianova. “Apollon Maikov i Fedor Dostoevskii: neosushchestvlennyi zamysel rasskazov iz russkoi istorii” [“Apollon Maikov and Fyodor Dostoevsky: The Unfulfilled Idea of Short Stories from Russian History”]. Neizvestnyi Dostoevskii, no. 1, 2024, pp. 127–153. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.15393/j10.art.2024.7101 “Letopisnye povesti o mongolo-tatarskom nashestvii. Iz Tverskoi letopisi” [“Chronicle Stories of the Mongol-Tatar Invasion. From the Tver’ Chronicle”]. Biblioteka literatury Drevnei Rusi [Library of Ancient Russian Literature], vol. 5. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ., 1997, pp. 107–131. (In Russ.) Ustrialov, N. Nachertanie russkoi istorii dlia srednikh uchebnykh zavedenii, priniatoe ministerstovm narodnogo prosveshcheniia v rukovodstvo dlia gimnazii [The Outline of Russian History for Secondary Schools, Adopted by the Ministry of Public Education in the Manual for the Gymnasium]. 10th Edition. St. Petersburg, 1857. 320 p. (In Russ.) Shenk, F.B. Aleksandr Nevskii v russkoi kul’turnoi pamiati: Sviatoi, pravitel’, natsional’nyi geroi (1263–2000) [Alexander Nevsky in Russian Cultural Memory: Holy Ruler, National Hero (1263-2000)]. Moscow, NLO Publ., 2007. 592 p. (In Russ.) Iampol’skii, I.G. “Iz arkhiva A.N. Maikova” [“From the Archive of A.N. Maikov”]. Ezhegodnik rukopisnogo otdela Pushkinskogo doma na 1974 god [The Yearbook of the Manuscript Department of the Pushkin House for 1974]. Leningrad, Nauka Publ., 1976, pp. 24–52. (In Russ.) Bourdin, A. Cosmogonie des fluides. Le Christ, esprit protecteur de la Terre. Genève, 1884. (In French)