Alexander Nevsky defeats Swedes on the Neva

1240

A young prince of Novgorod met a Swedish force at the mouth of the Neva River and routed them in a hit-and-run cavalry fight. The victory earned him his toponym, Nevsky, and a reputation as the defender of Orthodox Rus against northern Catholic crusaders. Soviet propaganda would later transform him into a national hero, and Eisenstein's 1938 film cemented his legend for the modern age.