The Presidential Library marking the 800th anniversary of the Battle of the Kalka River

On October 23, 2023 a lecture on the history of the Battle of the Kalka River was held in the Presidential Library as part of the video lecture Knowledge of Russia.

The Battle of the Kalka River, which took place in 1223, was the first clash between Russian and Mongol troops. It can rightfully be considered one of the saddest events in the military history of Russia, which preceded the further period of Mongol rule.

Researcher, historian, author of the book “Rus' and the Mongol Invasion (20–50s of the 13th century)”, published in 2020, Denis Khrustalev presented chronological and topographical versions of the battle, revealed such important aspects as date, place, course of the battle and its meaning. 

In his speech, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Culture and Psychology of Entrepreneurship at the Institute of Economics and Entrepreneurship of Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University Andrei Kuznetsov talked “about the defeat at the Kalka River: the search for those responsible and an attempt at literary revenge”. Russian culture has been turning to understanding this tragic event for many centuries. In Russian chronicles they tried to answer the question, when and why did the decline of the “golden” and great Rus' begin? Among other things, the answer was also sought in the Battle of the Kalka River. They put forward different versions of this event, named those responsible for the defeat and came up with different ways to “punish” them; stories arose that compensated for the tragedy, balancing it with other victories and successes.

The event recording is available on the institution’s Rutube-channel