The Mongol Invasion (trilogy)

The Mongol Invasion (trilogy)

Author	Vasily Yan
Original title	Нашествие монголов (трилогия)
Language	Russian
Series	Genghis Khan Batu To the "Last Sea"
Genre	Novel (Historical novel)
Publication date	1939—1954
Publication place	Soviet Union
Pages	1056
Original text	Нашествие монголов (трилогия) at Russian Wikisource

The Mongol Invasion is a trilogy of historical novels by Soviet writer Vasily Yan that explores the Mongol conquests, including the Mongol conquest of Central Asia and their Western campaign, as well as the resistance of the peoples living in Central Asia and Eastern Europe during the early 13th century. This trilogy is considered the author's most renowned work and comprises the novels "Genghis Khan" (1939), "Batu" (1942), and "To the "Last Sea" (1955).

Vasily Yan became interested in the theme of Genghis Khan’s conquests in the early 20th century while serving in the Transcaspian region. Vasiliy Yan was inspired to write after having a dream in which Genghis Khan attempted to defeat him. In 1934, after receiving a recommendation from Maxim Gorky, the publishing house Young Guard commissioned Yan to write a story about Genghis Khan. However, due to various circumstances, the story was not published until 1939.

By February 1940, the manuscript for "Batu," the eagerly awaited sequel, had already found its way to the austere halls of Goslitizdat. A mere two months later, Yan, with an eye for the young reader, presented "Invasion of Batu," a children's adaptation, to Detgiz. Then, in 1941, the storm clouds of the Great Patriotic War gathered, and Yan’s chronicles of conquest and resistance resonated with a fierce, timely relevance. On July 21st, 1941, Vasily Yan was formally inducted into the Union of Soviet Writers, a testament to his growing stature. Further recognition arrived swiftly; championed by Alexander Fadeev, Yan was awarded the prestigious Stalin Prize of the first degree for his impactful work that same year.

During the Great Patriotic War, the writer continued working on his project while being evacuated to the The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. Upon his return to Moscow, the Literaturnaya Gazeta heralded the impending arrival of his third book, "The Golden Horde and Alexander the Restless," on April 22, 1945. Anticipation for the work had been stoked by excerpts gracing the pages of leading publications. Yet, the path to publication was not smooth. Though the manuscript was delivered to Goslitizdat by the close of 1948, it encountered resistance from the scholarly quarters, namely archeologist Artemiy Artsikhovsky and writer Alexei Yugov, prompting significant revisions. The novel was ultimately cleaved in two, appearing posthumously in 1955, a final legacy released after the author's passing.

The trilogy, a monumental undertaking, was met with resounding acclaim. Historians specializing in Russia, medieval studies, and the Orient, alongside discerning critics and literary scholars, united in their praise. This chorus of approval propelled the books to unprecedented heights of popularity, their narratives proving perpetually in demand, resulting in countless reprints.

Books

Genghis Khan

The story starts close to Gurganj in Khwarazm, where a beggar dervish named Hadji Rakhim Baghdadi is on his way. While crossing the desert, he comes across a robbed caravan and learns from the merchant Mahmud-Yalvach, who miraculously survived, that the attack was carried out by the notorious robber Kara-Konchar. Then a snow storm begins, forcing the dervish and the wounded merchant to seek shelter with wandering nomads. There, they are joined by bey Jalal al-Din, son of the powerful ruler Muhammad II of Khwarazm, lost in pursuit of goitered gazelle. Everyone gathers to feast on Bek's bounty, extending a warm welcome to Kara-Konchar as well. Jalal al-Din grants Kara-Konchar a special pass, allowing him to bypass security and gain entry into Gurganj.

In Gurganj, Hadji Rakhim discovers that his father and brother are dead in the city's prison, his home stands hollow and abandoned. He escapes to Baghdad, where Muhammad orders the execution of ten prisoners but spares a boy named Tugan, whom Rakhim recognizes as his own brother. When a teacher-blacksmith refuses aid, Rakhim becomes Tugan's protector, commissioning a dagger forged from the very shackles that once held him captive, while Mahmud-Yalvach provides the coin to sustain them.

Shah Muhammad, swayed by the machinations of his mother, the formidable Turkan-Khatun, names his youngest son as heir, banishing the valiant Jalal ad-Din to Ghazna, a province bordering India. Muhammad's obsession with uncovering the true identity of his 301st wife, Gül-Jamal, a woman of Turkmen blood, drives him to send a fortune teller to probe into her past, but her efforts prove fruitless, and Gül-Jamal finds herself trapped in a locked room with a leopard, but Kara-Konchar, a shadow in the night, saves her. Uprisings in the East trouble the palace, leading Muhammad to march to Samarkand, his decision fueled by his mother's whispers.

Timur-Melik, captain of the Shah’s guard, finds himself sharing a meal with both Kara-Konchar and the exiled bey Jalal al-Din, a gathering of disparate souls. A captured Türkic hunter, unwilling to bend the knee to Genghis Khan, reveals glimpses of the Mongol leader’s terrifying ruthlessness. Meanwhile, spurred onward by his mother's relentless ambition, Muhammad advances eastward, turning a deaf ear to Mongol offers of peace. Initial military successes are short-lived; a breach in his defenses, orchestrated by Genghis Khan’s son, leads to a devastating defeat, the Khwarazmian empire crumbling.

The Shah stops in pacified Samarkand, where three merchants arrive as envoys of Genghis Khan, bearing rich gifts. Among them is Mahmud-Yalvach, who serves as a spy for the Mongol ruler and convinces the Khorezm Shah of the greatness of the Khagan. In a desperate bid, the Shah offers Mahmud a bribe, a pearl that shimmers with false hope, only to be betrayed. Mahmud delivers the secret of his whereabouts to Genghis, a treachery that unleashes the Mongol horde upon Khwarazm, sparked by the execution of Mongol emissaries in Otrar, an act that ignited Genghis Khan's all-consuming wrath.

Shah Muhammad, driven by fear, levies taxes three years in advance, conscripting men into his faltering army. This is shown through the example of a peasant named Kurban-Kyzyk: he has nothing to pay, and after asking for a postponement, he rides an old horse to Bukhara and meets Haji Rakhim and Tugan along the way. That night, Kurban’s horse is stolen, and the next day the Mongols appear near Bukhara. The imams surrender the city without a fight, Kurban flees, and the Kagan feasts to the chorus of prisoners and Haji Rakhim, whom Genghis Khan wants to see next to him. Shah Muhammad, his son at his side, and his loyal jigits, with Kurban-Kyzyk among them, flee westward, towards Iran, leaving a trail of fallen cities in their wake: Samarkand, too, succumbs to Mongol control, followed by Merv, each city a fallen domino.

Shah Mohammed is abandoned by everyone, even Kurban-Kyzyk (who tries to rescue him amidst the chaos). Kurban kills a Mongol, takes his horse, and rushes to his native village, where his half-dead mother and emaciated wife remain; their children have died. The Shah ends up on the island of lepers, goes mad, and dies. Timur-Melik buries Muhammad, breaks his saber, and becomes a dervish. Kurban kills a Mongol, takes his horse, and hurries back to his native village, where his half-dead mother and emaciated wife remain, their children having died. Genghis Khan distributes the former Khwarazmian ruler's daughters to his sons and allies. Turkan-Khatun, once the self-proclaimed "mistress of all the women of the universe", now begs for scraps of food outside Genghis Khan's yurt, a deeply tragic turn.

Jalal al-Din remains the only one to resist the Mongols, and his army is growing like a snowball. However, internal treachery has crippled his ability to confront the invaders directly. After defeat, he leaps into the tumultuous Sindh River. Emerging on the opposite bank, he brandishes his sword in a final, defiant challenge to Genghis Khan himself, before vanishing into the shadows. For years, Jalal al-Din, with his brave and dwindling band, continued to harry the Mongol advance, a flickering beacon of hope for those who refused to bow before the inevitable.

Hadji Rakhim serves Mahmud-Yalvach and is sent by him to deliver a message to Jochi, the Khagan’s son. While in the desert, Rakhim and Tugan are captured by Kara-Konchar's band but are freed after the dervish narrates Kara-Konchar's exploits, including the dust storm encounter with Jalal al-Din and rescuing Gül-Jamal from the leopard. Learning that she is still alive, he plans a rebellion in Gurganj to rescue her from Turkan-Khatun's infamous "tower of eternal oblivion". However, they both perish in the Mongol sack of the city, swallowed by the raging flood unleashed when the dams of Gurganj are breached. Following the untimely death of Jochi Khan, Hadji Rakhim becomes a tutor to his son, the future Batu.

Genghis Khan sends Subutai bagatur and Jebe noyon to locate the ex-Khwarazmian ruler. This advanced detachment conquered Simnan, Qom, Zanjan in Northern Iran, sparing only Hamadan, yet they fail to find Muhammad. Polovtsian Khan Köten asks for Russian help, leading to Russian princes gathering near Kyiv. Subutai clarifies that the Tatars targeted the Polovtsians and Kipchaks, not Russians. The Mongols retreat from the Dnieper, deceiving Russian princes into pursuit, then defeat the Kipchaks and Mstislav Udatny's forces, slaughtering surrendered Kyiv regiment and executing captured princes during victory celebrations under planks.

Genghis Khan battles in India, where Jalal al-Din seeks refuge. The Mongol rulers aimed to conquer the land and eliminate the former Khwarazm Shah’s son. The Khan’s wife urges advisor Yelü Chucai to convince Genghis Khan to return home. His health is failing, and the conqueror seeks a potion of immortality. Yelü suggests that the wise Taoist Qiu Chuji who was brought before the lord, is wise. However, a Chinese sage reveals that immortality is a myth. Shortly after, Genghis Khan passes, naming Ögedei his heir. Batu, the grandson of Genghis Khan and future Khan Batu, remains the ruler of the former Khwarazm.

The epilogue reveals that Tugan survives and transforms into a Mongol warrior. He sets out for Khwarazm to look for his relatives and learns that his brother, Khaji Rakhim, is imprisoned and the imams want to execute him. Before that, he must write the history of Genghis Khan's conquests. Tugan gives his brother pills that cause him to lose consciousness and lie as if dead. The guards throw his body onto a dump for mockery; at night, Tugan takes his brother away and drives him to an unknown destination.

Batu

The tale unfolds from the perspective of Hadji Rakhim, who begins his narrative by recounting his own miraculous escape. Following this event, he serves as a scribe. One night, he shelters a fugitive dressed in fine clothing, a man who identifies himself as the messenger of the Grand Vizier, Mahmud-Yalvach. Rakhim doesn’t recognize him as his former student, Batu Khan. Besides the old faqih (religious scholar), the only other witness to the fugitive’s presence was the orphan, Yülduz, who lives with the respected Nazar-Karyazik, the stable master of the Kipchak Khan, Bayander.

Batu is sought after by assassins as he hides and plans to conquer the universe to its furthest edge — the "last sea". He is greeted by Arapsha an-Nasir, a young jigit, with a message from Khan Jalal al-Din. Nazar-Karizek begs Khan Bayander for horses so that he and his sons can participate in the great campaign. Just before leaving, he sells Yülduz for the Khan's harem, and his youngest son Musuk, who is in love with her, renounces his father.

Nazar-Karizek fell into the retinue of Subutai-bagatur, Batu Khan’s mentor, and was assigned as a guard and spy to Hadji Rakhim. The fugitive Musuk, who was robbed, is taken into his squad by an Arab woman. Yülduz was also in the light: before leaving Sighnaq, Batu’s mother selected seven of his forty wives who were to accompany their lord on a campaign. The Khan ordered that one of the "seven stars" should be Yülduz. The rest were four noble Mongols and two daughters of Khan Bayander, who nicknamed Yülduz "a hard-working, black wife".

Six months after leaving Sighnaq, in late fall, the Mongol army arrives at the Volga in late autumn. Musuk is wounded during a meeting with Gleb Vladimirovich, the deposed Grand Duke of the Principality of Ryazan, and Babila, a fisherman, helps build a ford across the river. Batu Khan camps at Urakova Mountain near Yeruslan in the autumn of 1237.

Gleb Vladimirovich joins Batu’s service as a nöker, offering guidance through Russian lands during a stormy night. Batu, entertained by Gazuk’s tale of Attila, hears his younger wife declare him the Mongols’ guiding star. Ryazan holds a veche where Yuri of Ryazan receives Mongolian envoys. One, a Bulgar merchant and suspected spy, demands a tithe for all goods. On Evpaty Kolovrat’s advice, Yuri seeks aid from Grand Prince Yuri II of Vladimir. Anticipating disaster, Yuri also calls for assistance from other principalities. The content of the Tatar ambassadors' conversation with Georgy remains a mystery.

Batu Khan winters by the Voronezh River, rejecting Russian gifts as inferior to Chinese crafts. He accepts only a dozen horses, keeping one black steed and distributing the rest. Prince Fyodor refuses to bow to Batu, treating him as an equal. As punishment, the Ryazan delegation receives the meagerest food portions. They retort with a Polovtsian proverb: "Go to the feast, having eaten your fill at home". Fyodor and his companions are subsequently killed on Batu Khan’s orders.

Facing winter's onset, the Mongol leader considers campaigns toward Ryazan or Kyiv. Heeding his advisors Subutai and Hadji Rakhim, he opts to resupply in captured Russian cities. In Ryazan, Princess Eupraxia of Kyiv, grieving for her deceased husband, commits suicide. During the Mongol advance, Musuk and Uriankh-Kadan (Subutai's son) were captured by Prince Yuri of Ryazan. After the defeat of the Russians in the Wild Field, the near-frozen Uriankh-Kadan is revived by Baba Opalenikha, a Russian captive. When faced with the powerful commander's offer of recompense, she reveals a surprising humanity: "We show compassion even to sick livestock. Though he is not of our faith, a human soul still dwells within him".

Ryazan valiantly resists the Mongolian invasion, but without aid from other Russian lands, it is destroyed. Khan Batu quickly moves towards Kolomna, where an attempt to capture Genghis Khan’s son results in death and the city’s destruction. Moscow (Mushkaf) and Vladimir suffer the same fate. Russian princes unite to form an army under Evpaty Kolovrat to defeat the Mongols, but a traitor alerts the Khan, leading to a devastating attack.

After the defeat of Kozelsk, Batu Khan heads south to the Kipchak steppes. He sent Chinese architect Li Tong-po to Urakov Mountain to build a marching palace, the center of a new power. Yülduz requested Nazar-Karizek to accompany her, an unforgivable request due to his past actions. The traitor Gleb is cast out by Arapsha after completing his task.

"Batu's" finale couldn’t have come at a more fitting time than during the grueling war year of 1942. What makes this ending so powerful is the sharp contrast between its two chapters. The first chapter, titled And Russia is Being Built Again!, is filled with the harsh, relentless sound of axes chopping away at the blazing Perunov Bor forest—a legendary place in Slavic folklore linked to Perun, the god of thunder and lightning. It’s a vivid image of reconstruction and resilience amidst destruction. Then, the story shifts to the second chapter, In a Distant Homeland, which focuses on the somber aftermath rather than triumphant celebration. Instead of victory fanfare, plaintive songs fill the air. We meet Old Nazar-Karizek, who returns to his native yurt not with spoils of war, but with four horses saddled but empty - a heartbreaking symbol of the sons he lost fighting against Russia. This contrast between the two chapters highlights the complex reality of war: the drive to rebuild and move forward, shadowed by personal loss and sorrow. In the context of 1942, a year marked by hardship and struggle, Batu’s finale resonates deeply, reminding us that victory often comes at a heavy cost.

To the "Last Sea"

In the first part of the novel, Duda the Righteous, a skilled seal carver and advisor to the Caliph of Baghdad, learns that Abd-ar-Rahman, a descendant of Abd al-Rahman I, has appeared in the city. Recognizing his potential, they sent him north to Batu Khan to address the Tatar threat over Iraq. Duda is a secretary and chronicler. Ambassadors travel by ship from the Iron Gate to Xacitarxan, with Islam Agha, the ship’s owner, carrying the captivating Byzantine princess Daphne, who is destined for the Mongol khan after being captured by pirates. Meanwhile, Abd-ar-Rahman stays safe, adhering to Genghis Khan's Yassa. The ambassador consults the wise fortune teller Bibi-Günduz, who reveals that the young Arab seeks fame over wealth, before continuing to Batu Khan's headquarters with a caravan of Arab merchants.

The action shifts to the golden palace, erected in the Volga steppe by the architect Li Tong-po, imported from China. He is served by Musuk, who has reached the rank of taiji. Very little time has passed since the pogrom committed by Batu in Zalessky Rus. Batu is still young and full of energy, having gained self-confidence and subdued his relatives. Convinced of his election, the khan wants to fulfill the covenant of the divine ruler, aiming to reach the "last sea", bringing the conquered everywhere the light of the yasa of Genghis Khan. After seeing the new palace, Batu feels sick. His beloved wife Yülduz-Khatun protects him, while his brother Ordu is busy trying to find a doctor, played by Princess Daphnia. Together with Duda, she is brought by the centurion Arapsha. Having come to his senses and witnessed the scandal involving his wives and Yülduz, Batu Khan gives three of them to his generals. Ordu Khan promises Daphne a shoal of mares, freedom, and ninety-nine gifts, and settles in his yurt. At a meeting with wladika, Ambassador Abd-ar-Rahman promises him his sword and service. During the discussion, Lee Tong-po and the chronicler Haji Rakhim inform Batu Khan that the greatness of Iskander the Two-Horned is based not only on conquests but also on mercy to the conquered peoples, whom the king "made his children". Batu Khan announces the foundation of a new state — the Blue Horde.

The fourth part is presented on behalf of Haji Rakhim, who continues his "Travel Book". Batu Khan grows alarmed by the fierce love of freedom in Novgorod the Great and orders the selection of the most intelligent prisoners to extract all the information he desires. This task falls to Arapsha, who finds the beaver hunter Savva and the mighty Nikita the Tanner. They tell the Khan about Yaroslav II of Vladimir and his son Alexander Nevsky. Subotai-bagatur declares that he will grant Alexander the rank of a tysiatskii ("thousandman"), and Batu appoints Arapsha as ambassador to Novgorod. At the same time, rafters arrive from Prince Alexander bearing gifts for the Tatar Khan and the ransom of prisoners. Ambassador Gavrila Aleksich arranges a Bear fun (one of the oldest forms of entertainment in Russia, considered royal fun) for Yülduz-Khatun, for which he is rewarded by a Polovtsian dancer and spy, Zerbiet-Khanum. Deftly avoiding humiliation (he is sent old mares under luxurious saddles), Gavrila successfully redeems the captured Russians and sends them in small batches across the steppe. Although he refuses the honor of leading the march on Kiev, Haji Rakhim quotes Batu saying to Mahmud Yalvach, "trust this man." Batu Khan releases Gavrila to Novgorod together with Emir Arapsha. The only thing that worries Gavrila Aleksich is how he will appear before his wife Lyubava after Zerbiet-Khanum, but it turns out that just before leaving, she is abducted by the charming noyon Nogai Khan. Returning home, Gavrila finds out that he almost loses Lyubava, who is about to enter a monastery when she learns that her husband has contacted a Tatar woman and lives in a foreign land. At the last moment, Gavrila takes her away from her tonsure, despite the threats of the hegumen.

During the preparations for the campaign to the West, Batu Khan experiences strong anger from the opposition of the Genghisids, and even Yülduz advises him not to destroy Kyiv, but to make it a second capital. After the meeting, Ordu's brother complains that his Greek concubine has been seduced and abducted by the restless Nogai Khan, who turns out to be the wayward son of the Tatar Khan, sent to the army as a guard. When he tries to enter the chambers of Yülduz-Khatun, Batu and Subutai set a trap for him and assign him to the "brutal" detachment — the vanguard of the Mongolian army. There are all kinds of people among the batyrs, right down to the Kurdish knacker Utboy, who has a horse blanket made of skin torn from an unfaithful concubine. The Utboy of Kurdistan passes off the blanket as the remains of Jalal al-Din. Yesun beats him and forces him to confess that he has not defeated the son of Khorezm Shah. Mengü-khan is the first to be sent to Kyiv. Next, the action shifts to the camp of Khan Kotyan, where the Hungarian monk Friar Julian stays, bringing his king Béla IV of Hungary an arrogant message from Batu. Part of the presentation is conducted on behalf of Abd-ar-Rahman, who sends reporting messages to Baghdad.

The reader gets acquainted with Vadim, who dreams of becoming an icon painter and finds himself in the retinue of Alexander Nevsky’s wife. After he portrays the blue-eyed image of the princess instead of the Virgin, Father Makariy accuses him of demonic temptation, and Vadim flees to the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery, hoping to find a worthy mentor and be cured of his longing. He manages to make his first successes in his chosen art but is forced to take up arms and fall in battle with the invaders, because Kiev stands in the way of the Mongols to the Sunset Sea. The King of France prepares to accept the martyr’s crown, and the German emperor prepares to flee to Palestine. But after the pogrom in Eastern Europe, Batu does not dare to go further; his army is drained of blood in the hardest battles and tired of fighting. Batu himself waits for sad news at home: his noble wives have taken out the "black one", but the most beloved is Yülduz, and her servants, intellectuals Haji Rakhim and Lee Tong-po, mourn her. The city grows and is built, and in the bloody throes of the great war, a new powerful state is born, determining the fate of all its neighbors for many hundreds of years to come. Concluding his story, Haji Rakhim writes: "...I can only wish my future readers that they never have to experience the most terrible thing that can happen in our lives — the all-destroying hurricane of a cruel and senseless war".

Language

Whether Vasily Yan’s sweeping historical narratives qualify as novellas or novels remains a keenly debated point, especially regarding his monumental "Invasion of the Mongols" trilogy. Yan himself resolutely maintained they were novellas, a claim fiercely contested by critics and scholars, who championed works like "Genghis Khan," "Batu," and "To the Last Sea" as full-fledged novels. Central to Yan's artistry is his vivid dramatization of pivotal historical moments and the complex, often unflattering, portrayal of key figures, as Lydia Alexandrova observes regarding his historical antagonists. This enduring disagreement underscores the inherent slipperiness of genre classification while simultaneously cementing Yan's profound contribution to the landscape of the Soviet historical novel.

Author and critic alike perceive the trilogy as a unified tapestry, woven with consistent literary threads and a shared approach to depicting history. The deep well of research that fueled these narratives, particularly Yan's sojourn amongst the Tuvans in the 1920s, profoundly shaped his work. The character of Baba Opalenikha in "Batu," for instance, is drawn directly from the wellspring of a real-life Uyuk resident.

"Genghis Khan" delves into the turbulent crucible of the father-son dynamic between Genghis Khan and his eldest, Jochi. Yan paints Jochi as a warped mirror image of his father, inheriting the Khan’s imposing presence and piercing gaze. The novel chillingly recounts Jochi's brutal demise, a fate decreed by Genghis Khan and carried out by mercenaries in accordance with Mongol custom – a stark testament to the Khan's unbridled ruthlessness. Vasily Yan unflinchingly presented Genghis Khan as a figure of tyranny, unafraid to offer repulsive and unaesthetic descriptions of his appearance and actions. The author's pen bleeds with the vivid portrayal of the Khan's cruelty, highlighting his brutality through unflinching detail, such as his monstrous reaction to a boy's heart being fed to a dog.

The envisioned unity of the trilogy's final volume shattered upon the altar of publication. Never released in its original, intended form, the coherent novel born from The Golden Horde and Alexander the Restless suffered dismemberment. Chapters, once integral, were excised, reborn as standalone novellas: The Return of the Dream, In the Eagle’s Nest of the "Old Man of the Mountain", The Jester’s Amusement – fragments adrift from their parent star. The body of the novel itself was cleaved in two, yielding To the "Last Sea" and The Youth of a Commander, a division that invited harsh judgment. Vladimir Pashuto excoriated Yan's treatment of historical sources, lamenting his descent into "historical narration full of errors and inaccuracies." Lev Razgon cataloged a litany of woes stemming from this forced partition: in To the "Last Sea", the seams of the fractured narrative gaped open, episodes rendered jarringly "fragmentary." The heavy hand of ideological decree further marred the text. In the postwar era, the suffocating "theory of non-conflict," with its insistence on the flawless hero, cast a pall over Yan's work. He stood accused of the heretical act of elevating Batu Khan above a deliberately diminished Alexander Nevsky. Even Hadji-Rakhim, Yan's own alter ego from the 1930s, sang the praises of "the two horned Alexander' (al-Iskandar Dhu 'l-qurnayn), Alexander the Great, proclaiming his glory "true, eternal." The "serving intelligentsia," too, underwent a troubling transformation. Where Yelü Chucai, Genghis Khan’s advisor, and the Taoist sage Qiu Chuji once dared to confront the Khan, threatening heavenly retribution, Li Tong-po, builder of the Golden Khan’s palace, now obsequiously assured Batu Khan of his subjects’ love, born of his justice and benevolent care. Critics further decried "artistic flaws": an overwhelming deluge of historical minutiae juxtaposed with a jarring abandonment of "pedantic accuracy." For instance, the rafters navigating the Volga, hauling timber for Alexander of Novgorod, inexplicably sang an 18th-century ditty, "How the fog fell on the blue sea." Lev Razgon, noting the general absence of romance in Vasily Yan's oeuvre, found the abundance of female characters in To the "Last Sea" all the more conspicuous: the haughty Greek princess Daphnia, "a plague and a thorn"; the enigmatic prophetess Bibi-Gunduz; Batu’s beloved wife Yulduz, destined to be poisoned by envious rivals; the shadowy Polovtsian spy Zerbiet-Khanum; and a host of others, each a discordant note in a once-harmonious composition.

Valentin Oskotsky considered the most striking part of the novel to be the vivid depiction of Batu Khan’s campaign "towards the sunset", across which stood Kyiv, inheriting the tragic legacy of Ryazan and other cities burned by "Batu", and through its envoys declaring a "categorical refusal to voluntarily submit to the Mongols". Vasily Yan sought to contrast Batu Khan’s straightforward onslaught with the caution of Alexander Nevsky, who, having defeated the Swedes and Livonian knights, did everything possible to avoid direct confrontation with the Horde. Thus, if Genghis Khan and Batu Khan in Yan’s artistic world embodied destruction, then Alexander Nevsky personifies creation, equally manifested in both military affairs and state governance. Although this was not fully achieved, even by separating these characters into different books, the writer demonstrated their polar opposition.

Reception

The reception of Vasily Yan's historical trilogy, particularly "Genghis Khan," is a captivating study in the dance between artistic merit, political climate, and the ever-shifting sands of critical opinion. Initially, the trilogy faced formidable obstacles to publication, its pages deemed treacherous territory for their implicit critique of tyranny – a perilous venture in the stifling atmosphere of 1930s Soviet Union. Even with the influential Maxim Gorky championing its cause, "Genghis Khan" languished for five long years before seeing the light of day.

The first wave of reviews (1939-1940) presented a fractured landscape. While some lauded Yan's vibrant prose and meticulous historical detail, dissenting voices emerged. Georgy Schtorm, for instance, pointed to an overabundance of orientalist clichés, while Sergei Khmelnitsky decried what he saw as historical oversimplification. Zoya Kedrina, though admiring Yan's literary craftsmanship, found the narrative arc wanting in cohesion.

The onset of World War II dramatically dramatically altered the critical terrain. Re-released during the war years, the novel resonated with newfound power, garnering effusive praise. Critics such as Leonid Volynsky and Valery Kirpotin celebrated Yan's ability to breathe life into history and his unwavering commitment to historical truth, a stance perfectly aligned with the official Soviet narrative of patriotism and national pride. A. Fadeev's 1942 endorsement underscored the trilogy's vital role in igniting national fervor. This wartime crucible allowed Yan's subtle critique of tyranny to be recast as a rallying cry against external aggression. Lev Razgon further lauded Yan for upholding the compassionate traditions of Russian literature, fostering resilience and bolstering the spirit of dignity in his readers. Later, Igor Kondakov noted a striking resurgence of interest in Yan's work during the tumultuous decades of the 1980s and 1990s, suggesting its enduring relevance amidst societal upheaval and the twilight of empire.

Further analysis delved into the intricacies of Yan's stylistic choices. Sergei Petrov observed the author's fluctuating cadence, his prose oscillating between descriptive grandeur and analytical precision. Lydia Alexandrova, however, offered a favorable comparison between Yan's meticulous use of documentation and that of Alexander Pushkin in The Captain's Daughter. The strategic deployment of historical quotes as epigraphs, coupled with the portrayal of Hadji Rakhim as a reliable narrator, served to enhance the text's sense of authenticity and credibility.

Years later, in 2016, Russian writer Dmitry Bykov offered a provocative observation, suggesting that Vasily Yan's Stalin Prize was no accident, his novels about the Mongol horde serving as a chilling blueprint for Stalin's own empire. Bykov, however, was less enamored with Yan's ornate prose, dismissing it as anachronistic and devoid of innovative thought. Yet, despite this, Yan's books have remained a potent force, captivating readers in both the Soviet era and contemporary Russia. Literary scholar Wolfgang Kasack, in his own analysis, noted that Yan's novels, with their focus on resistance against a superior foe and the struggle for liberation, possessed undeniable resonance on the eve of war, thus explaining the author's receipt of the Stalin Prize.

The trilogy was included into the 2013 list 100 Books for Schoolchildren recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science (Russia).

Bibliography

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• Lane, George (2004). Genghis Khan and Mongol Rule. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-3133-2528-1.
• Козак, В. (1996). Ян. Лексикон русской литературы XX века = Lexikon der russischen Literatur ab 1917 / [пер. с нем.] Москва: РИК «Культура». p. 492. ISBN 5-8334-0019-8.
• Козлов, Д.В. (2013). Историческая проза в контексте советской эпохи (послевоенный советский исторический роман): учеб. пособие. Иркутск: Изд-во ИГУ. p. 98. ISBN 978-5-9624-0980-1.
• Разгон, Лев (1995). Позавчера и сегодня. Москва: Инфра-М. ISBN 5-86225-098-0.
• Razgon, Lev (1995). True stories: The memoirs of Lev Razgon. Translated by John Crowfoot. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Ardis. ISBN 0-87501-108-X.
• Янчевецкий, М. (1972). "Новое о творчестве В. Яна". Вопросы литературы (1): 222–224.
• Янчевецкий, М. (1972). "О новых изданиях и литературном наследии В. Яна". Русская литература (2): 190–191.
• Янчевецкий, М. (1977). Писатель-историк В. Ян. Очерк творчества. Москва: Детская литература. p. 192.

External links

• Dmitry Bykov (2016-07-30). "Василий Ян. «Батый»". Сто лет — сто лекций Дмитрия Быкова. Выпуск № 43. Tvrain.ru. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
• The Islamic World to 1600: The Golden Horde
• "Ян Василий Григорьевич". Проект ХРОНОС. Retrieved 2019-12-22.