Is it true that the Kremlin is stored in the helmet of Alexander Nevsky, on which Sura from the Qur'an is engraved?

In October 2024, the statement began to diverge in social networks that a saying from the Qur'an was applied to the helmet belonging to the Russian commander. According to Internet users, this proves the close connection of the prince and Islam. We decided to check the reliability of such publications.

In early October in Tatarstan Passed Forum "Theological Heritage of Muslims of Russia". In particular, Hieromonk Grigory Matrusov, the chairman of the Expert Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' in interaction with the Islamic world, spoke at it. Here is a fragment of his speech, accessible on the network: “In the Kremlin, the helmet of Alexander Nevsky is stored, on which the aysh of the Holy Koran is written, which means“ victory from God, and success is close, and please the believer ”. And for me it is not at all surprising that on the helmet of the Russian Orthodox this aysh of the Holy Quran was engraved. Alexander Nevsky had a special relationship with the Islamic world. <...> He repeatedly went to the headquarters of the Golden Horde Khan. <...> He was friends with the son of the great Khan Batu Khan, with Sartak, but not only because of his friendship he turned out to be this inscription. ” Then Grigory Matrusov began to talk about the general features of Islam and Christianity, primarily about the monotheistic nature of the two religions.

On October 13, the Telegram channel of the warrior in Ukraine as part of the Russian Army of the Volunteer detachment shared a video with the performance of the monk "Nevsky"(308,000 views at the time of writing this analysis). Then the record was replaced by the commander of the Chechen special forces "Akhmat" and the deputy head of the military-political department of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Apti Alaudinov (109,000). Also about the connection of Alexander Nevsky and Islam, on the example of the helmet, channels were written such as "Sheikh Tamir"(141 000) and"Dmitry Vasilet”(142,000; the post was later removed). 

Grigory Matrusov, who was stored in the Kremlin, “helmet of Alexander Nevsky”, obviously had in mind the helmet that enters the assembly of the arms chamber. Indeed, a fragment of the 13th ayah of the 61st Surah of the Qur'an “As-Suff” was engraved on it: “Help from Allah and a close victory. And please the believers! " (translation by I. Krachkovsky).

This helmet began to be associated with Alexander Nevsky only in the 19th century. In 1826, writer Pavel Svinin Compiled Inventory of objects stored in the weapons chamber. Among memorable values, he He mentioned And this military headdress: “The helmet of St. Alexander Nevsky, to the sample of Vostochny, from smooth steel, with an icon of St. Michael ". Svinin was neither a historian nor an artist, but his excessive patriotic ardor and the incredible historical hypotheses often Fleaned Contemporaries.

However, not only he put forward the version of the ownership of the helmet Alexander Nevsky. About this He wrote And Academician Alexei Olenin, who believed that they gave a helmet to the prince during one of his trips to the Horde. Under the leadership of Olenin, artist Fedor Solntsev I drew The helmet, without missing the smallest details. In 1849-1853, this drawing was included in the publication under the title of "antiquity of the Russian state." The signatures for chromolitography were the director of the arms chamber, Alexander Veltman, who also indicated that this headdress belonged to Alexander Nevsky.

Subsequently, the legend was firmly established at the highest level: in 1882, the helmet took a place on the Great State Emblem of the Russian Empire

However, in historical documents, the origin of this subject is described differently. IN discharge books Tsars Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich noted that in December 1621, gunsmith Nikita Davydov was awarded that "he made the sovereign a hat on the Erikhon business." There is also a description of the “Erikhonskaya cap” itself: “The hat of the Erikhonskaya Red Iron Mikitin Davydov; The crown of the crown of another crown and the proliferation, and the regiment, and the back of the head are blocked by gold, herbs, and in the middle of the hat, the crown is blocked by gold, but in the shelf and in the crown of six cloves of on -hand silver are gilded. ” The description that occupies more than one page completely coincides with the helmet preserved in the weapons ward.

By the middle of the 20th century, experts We came to the conclusionthat the helmet (in the form in which he reached our time) was made no later than 1621. Its foundation is more old, but made not earlier than the 16th century, that is, not one century after the death of Alexander Nevsky in 1263. Apparently, the Russian gunsmith took the eastern helmet (according to various versions, the military dill arrived from Persia or the Ottoman Empire) and remade it for Mikhail Fedorovich. This explains the inscription in the Arabic language. And now in the weapons chamber helmet Exhibited Like the "Hat of the Erikhonskaya" Mikhail Fedorovich.

Thus, the helmet has nothing to do with Alexander Nevsky and his time, and as a helmet of the Grand Duke, he was attributed with the light hand of writer Svinin.

As for the statements about the relationship of Alexander Nevsky with Muslims, there are other actual mistakes in the speech of Hieromonk Grigory Matrusov. So, in his speech, the head of the Expert Council on interaction with the Islamic world said that one of the reasons why the Grand Duke received a helmet with a saying from the Qur'an is friendship with the son of Batu Sartak. Firstly, this myth, stated, in particular Lev Gumilyov in the book "Ancient Rus' and the Great Steppe", Does not find confirmation in historical sources. And secondly, Sartak was known outside the Horde primarily as a Christian. In 1253, the de Rubruk, monk and traveler, He went To Sartak with a message from the French king Louis IX, who hoped to establish a connection with the co -religionist. De Rubruk, however, was disappointed - Sartak did not accept the message, and the monk suggested that the son of the khan was not guided by questions of faith, but exclusively with pragmatic considerations: “I don’t know whether he believes in Christ or not. I only know that he does not want to be called a Christian, but rather, it seems to me, he makes fun of Christians. It is he who lives in the path of Christians <...>, who all passes through his region, when they go to his father’s court, bringing him gifts; From here, he all the more appreciates Christians. However, if the Saracens appeared and brought more, they would be sent more likely. ” Therefore, it is not clear why Sartak could, according to Matrusov, to introduce Alexander Nevsky to Islam.

Photo on the cover: Antiquities of the Russian state, published at the Highest Command, 1853. The Presidential Library

Not true

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