The Mongol Invasion (trilogy)

The Mongol Invasion (trilogy)
AuthorVasily Yan
Original titleНашествие монголов (трилогия)
LanguageRussian
GenreNovel (Historical novel)
Publication date
1939—1954
Publication placeSoviet Union
Pages1056
Original text
Нашествие монголов (трилогия) at Russian Wikisource
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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.[1] 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).[2]

Vasily Yan became interested in the theme of Genghis Khan's conquests in the early 20th century while serving in the Transcaspian region.[3] 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.[4] However, due to various circumstances, the story was not published until 1939.

By February of 1940, the manuscript for the sequel "Batu" had already been submitted to Goslitizdat. Just two months later, the writer also offered a children's adaptation titled "Invasion of Batu" to Detgiz. As the Great Patriotic War unfolded in 1941, it became evident that his books were incredibly relevant to the current circumstances.[5] On July 21st of that year, Vasily Yan was officially admitted to the Union of Soviet Writers. Thanks to the recommendation of Alexander Fadeev, the writer was honored as the recipient of the prestigious Stalin Prize of the first degree for his work in 1941.

During the Great Patriotic War, the writer kept working on his project even while being evacuated in Uzbekistan. When he got back to Moscow, his third book, "The Golden Horde and Alexander the Restless", was officially announced in the April 22, 1945 edition of "Literaturnaya Gazeta". Excerpts from the highly anticipated book had already been published in various prominent publications. The author submitted the manuscript to Goslitizdat at the end of 1948, but faced opposition from archaeologist Artemiy Artsikhovsky and writer Alexei Yugov. This led to significant revisions to the text. The novel was eventually split into two parts in 1950, and published posthumously in 1955 after the writer passed away.

The trilogy garnered high praise from a wide range of experts such as historians specializing in Russian, medieval, and Oriental studies, as well as critics and literary scholars. As a result of the overwhelmingly positive feedback, the books gained immense popularity and were in constant demand, leading to numerous reprints.

  1. ^ Favereau, Marie (2021). The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv322v4qv. ISBN 978-0-6742-7865-3. JSTOR j.ctv322v4qv.
  2. ^ Ян, Василий (1979). Избранные произведения: В 2 т. / Вступ. статья Л. Разгона; Худож. И. Спасский (1 ed.). Москва: Художественная литература. p. 516. ISBN 5-277-01611-2.
  3. ^ Morrison, Alexander (2008). Russian Rule in Samarkand 1868-1910: A Comparison with British India. Oxford. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-19-954737-1.
  4. ^ Stalin and the Literary Intelligentsia, 1928-39. Springer. 27 July 2016. ISBN 978-1-349-21447-1.
  5. ^ Hill, Alexander (2016). The Red Army and the Second World War. UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 34–44. ISBN 978-1-107-02079-5.