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Battle of the Ice, 1242

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Today marks the anniversary of the famous Battle of the Ice as depicted in Eisenstein's classic movie, Alexander Nevsky.  We were on Lake Peipus on the border of Estonia and Russia a few summers ago.  It stretches out like one of the American Great Lakes, but felt so calm and peaceful that it was hard to imagine such a great battle taking place here 768 years before.

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  1. untermenschApril 16, 2010 at 8:58 AM

    It wasn't all that great a battle in reality, but it did mark the high water mark of the expansion of the Roman Catholic Church into Eastern Europe. What I find most fascinating is that this Northern Crusade on Russia was part of the Great Crusades, and that Russians were considered heathens needing conversion to Western ways. This is still the mindset today, by my reckoning.

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  2. James FergusonApril 18, 2010 at 10:44 AM

    I guess Russia worries more about Pentecostals and Mormons these days.

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