Kremlin Supports Creation of ‘Aleksandr Nevsky Blog’ to Fight Alternative Histories

Paul Goble

            Staunton, January 15 – A multi-media development group in Kaliningrad has received a Russian presidential grant of approximately half a million rubles (70,000 US dollars) to create and maintain on Instagram a blog on Aleksandr Nevsky directed at young people now supposedly at risk of being led astray by other online materials.

            The development group has invested nearly 400,000 rubles (56,000 US dollars) of its own funds in this project, making the total amount in support of this action nearly one million rubles (125,000 US dollars), Kremlin officials have announced (znak.com/2021-01-15/prezident_rf_dal_grant_na_sozdanie_bloga_aleksandra_nevskogo_v_instagram_pochti_za_1_mln).

            In making the award, the Kremlin noted that this year marks the 800^th anniversary of Nevsky’s birth and calls him “one of the most significant rulers in the history of our Fatherland, whose diplomatic and military achievements had a colossal influence on the fate of the state and people, largely determining the course of Russian history.”  

            Nevsky is known to most people from Sergey Eisenstein’s 1938 film which shows the Russian prince defeating the Teutonic knights. That he allied himself to the Mongols to do so and his actions in the view of some were directed more against Roman Catholicism than Germany are not ideas that Moscow wants to see pushed at least right now.

            Unfortunately, the Kremlin said in making the award, many young people learn their history only from online sources and many of these promote inaccurate pictures of the past. Consequently, and especially now, it is critically important that they have an attractive online destination about this and other Russian historical figures. 

            The group behind the project promises that it will include “actual historical material,” new research, and an accessible style, one that will present everything in contemporary language and use animation to show the true role of Nevsky in Russian life. It will also highlight the celebrations in Russia of Nevsky’s 800^th birthday.