Abstract

The article examines the actions of grand prince Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir on the river Sit’ and their descriptions in the early narrative of the chronicles about the invasion of Batu Khan. The aim of the study is to reconstruct the historical context in which prince Yuri and other rulers of Russian lands acted during the events of 1237–1241, and to reveal the attitude of the authors of chronicles and hagiographic works of the late 13th and early 14th centuries to the princes’ flight from the Tartars. The scholarly novelty of the research consists in the complex use of statistical and axiological methods. The author concludes that almost half of total number of Russian princes (18 out of 37) mentioned in the early narrative of the chronicles about the invasion either defi nitely escaped from the Tatars, or did so with a high probability. This allows us to believe the interpretation in the older version of the Novgorod First Chronicle, according to which Yuri Vsevolodovich also escaped from the Tatars and thus ended up on the River Sit’, where he was killed. Most likely, the princes’ flight itself was not a compromising circumstance in the eyes of their nearest descendants. Quite the contrary, the successful escape was perceived as God’s intercession and was extolled in every possible way. However, Yuri’s case was special: unlike the overwhelming majority of princes who fled, he perished. As a result, the author of the Laurentian Chronicle, who set out to write a eulogy to the grand prince, had to create a rather contradictory picture of events, according to which Yuri Vsevolodovich allegedly was not going to escape, but, on the contrary, he was preparing to withstand the enemy on the river Sit’. And he revealed himself not as an experienced and courageous warrior, but as a martyr who, like saints Boris and Gleb, was ready for sacrifi cial slaughter and, like “new Job”, to meekly face the trials that came upon him.

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