Purgaz (Inyazor Purgaz, Purgas) (c. 1169—1232) — prince (inyazor) of the Erzya, a skilled politician and military commander. He is presumed to have died in battle at the age of 63. He is best known as the unifier of the Mordvin lands, entirely subordinating his personal life, which unfolded in a complicated and dramatic way, to the building of statehood for the Erzya people.
Among the best-known works portraying the image of Purgaz are the poem "Retribution" by V. F. Yegorov (1978) and the novel "Purgaz" by the Erzya people's writer K. G. Abramov, published during Perestroika in 1988.
Alexander Kizaev's mini-opera "Purgaz tsöryne" ("Young Purgaz") is also well known.
The Essence of the Phenomenon
Inyazor Purgaz is the central hero of Mordvin statehood: every epic work of national art tells the story of Purgaz or refers to his image.
The national motto of the Erzya is the phrase Purgazon' tevtne – mel'senek! / We remember the name and deed of Inyazor Purgaz!
"Purgaz was a prominent political figure of the 13th century. He was a wise diplomat, a fearless warrior, a talented organizer, and a progressive man of his time. In a historically difficult time, caught between Rus and the Mongol east, he knew how, when needed, to build friendly relations, and when needed, to give worthy resistance" — this is how the prince of today's Erzya, Kshumantsyan Pirguzh, presented the national hero to the mayor of Saransk, Vladimir Sushkov.
The State of Purgaz
The territory of Inyazor Purgaz was the right bank of the Oka and the Volga up to the point where the Sura flows into it, excluding the lands adjoining the fortress of Nizhny Novgorod. It further extended into the interfluve of the Sura and the middle course of the Moksha. In the south it descended along the right bank of the Alatyr. The political center of the whole territory was the fortress of Arzamas).
The great city of Sarov (Saraklych) no longer existed by this time, and the fortress town of Burtas was apparently subject to Purgaz. Puresh and his heirs constantly aligned themselves with stronger neighbors, and by 1232 they had sided with the Vladimir-Suzdal princes, who took advantage of Purgaz's absence — he was at that time fighting the Mongol-Tatars near Bilyar, the capital of the Volga Bulgars. The Vladimir-Suzdal druzhinas burned Erzya villages and made war on old men and women: "and they burned their villages, and killed many of the Mordvins."
The Mongol-Tatar war against Bulgaria in the spring of 1237, despite heroic resistance, ended in the complete destruction of the flourishing kingdom. The capital Bilyar was wiped off the face of the earth, but Bulgar resistance was not entirely broken. They withdrew into the Erzya forests, in particular to the fortress of Burtas. The second strike of Batu's horde in the summer of 1237 fell on the southern territories of the federation of Finnic tribes, as well as the Polovtsians, Kipchaks, and Moksha.
The Mongol historian Rashid al-Din wrote: "In the year of the Hen, corresponding to the year 634 of the Muslim calendar, the sons of Jochi-Batu — Orda and Berke, Kadan the son of Ögedei Khan, Buri the grandson of Chagatai, and Kulkan the son of Genghis Khan — took up war with the Moksha, the Burtas, and the Arjans (Erzya), and in a short time took possession of them." The course of events, according to the Hungarian monk Julian, who travelled through this territory shortly after the events described, was somewhat different. The Moksha prince Puresh submitted to the Mongols, betrayed the Burtas, and fought on Batu's side. The Erzya inyazor Purgaz, with a small band of men, withdrew to fortified places (korodomy) to defend himself as far as his strength allowed.
The involvement of Purgaz's forces in the battle for Burtas is evident. He had great experience of war with the Mongols. As early as 1223, fighting on the side of the Bulgars, they completely destroyed the invincible army of Genghis Khan, led by the legendary commander Subutai. In 1222 he defended the Bulgar capital Bilyar. In 1229, fighting alongside the Bulgars, he applied tactics of forest warfare tested over centuries. In 1237 he fought by means of guerrilla warfare, ambushes, and night raids, and by this preserved his people.
Attack on Nizhny Novgorod
In April 1229 Purgaz attempted to sack Nizhny Novgorod, "the stronghold of Russian power in the Mordvin land." He managed only to burn the town's posad and the surrounding villages, but failed to take the fortress.
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...The Mordvins came with Purgas to Novgorod [Nizhny Novgorod], and the men of Novgorod beat them off; then they set fire to the monastery of the Holy Mother of God and the church that stood outside the town; and that same day they rode away, taking with them many of their own slain. That same summer Puresh's son, together with the Polovtsians, defeated Purgas, and slew all the Mordvins and Purgas's own Rus', and Purgas barely escaped with a small band Laurentian Chronicle
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Significance for History
In the book "Mokshertzyatne umon' shkasto dy ney" ("The Erzya and Moksha in Antiquity and Today," 1999), the Mordvin historian Valery Anatolyevich Yurchyonkov writes:
«Пек стака шкакс ульнесь 13 пингень ушодксось…эрявсь истямо ломань, конанень кемевельть, арсеманзо, мереманзо топавтовольть, мельганзо куш ков сыргавольть. Самай истямокс кармась улеме Пургаз – превей, сюбав ойме, кеме обуця, икелев неиця».
(The early 13th century was a very difficult period for the Erzya people. What was needed was a man who could be trusted, whose ideas and instructions would be carried out, and whom people would follow in any undertaking. Purgaz became exactly such a man — wise, rich in spirit, strong in character, and far-sighted.)
«Весе ёвтазесь ливтизе-аравтызе Пургаз Инязоронть…раськень васенце героекс».
(All of the above places Inyazor Purgaz as the first national hero.)
The Dynasty of Purgaz Today
"Purgas is mentioned more than once in Russian chronicles as the man who defeated the combined forces of the northern Russian princes. Coins bearing the image of the head of Purgas's Rus' were struck in the Arab Caliphate after his death, during the second attempt to burn the The Kremlin during Batu's invasion. My family has preserved a legend connected with this name. According to my father, from generation to generation the heads of families, before their death, passed on to an elder or younger son the legend that our line descends from Purgas. He told it to me a few days before his death (my father died on 3 December 1937).
Since the Erzya had no writing in the 13th century and their history was not studied, this information was never widely circulated among people. Now I am the only man left of our line. No one can verify this legend, but no one can disprove it either. Incidentally, the film director Rauzhin (who prepared a screenplay for a film about Erzia), spent two years sitting in libraries, digging through archives, and told me that the Erzya people had not only leaders but also dynastic lines. Purgas's father and grandfather were both hereditary Erzya inyazors, that is, princes."
Fyodor Setin, "My 20th Century," Saransk, 2008. As the reader himself noted, the creators of the text cleverly cast the Erzya as allies of Batu, turning them into enemies of Rus'.
Stories about Purgaz
- Purgaz was a talented military commander. In 1228 he defeated the druzhinas of the Russian princes Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, Vasilko, and Vsevolod Konstantinovich.
- Purgaz was a wise diplomat. For joint defense against raids by Russian princes, he formed an alliance with Volga Bulgaria.
- Purgaz was an intelligent and tolerant ruler of Erzyan Mastor. He allowed runaway peasants from the Russian principalities to settle in Erzyan Mastor.
- Purgaz was brave both as a commander and as a man. He did not surrender himself to the Mongol forces, nor did he surrender his country, Erzyan Mastor, to them, although he understood that resisting such a powerful force would be very difficult.
At What Age Should the Monument to Purgaz Be Erected
"There shall be a monument to Purgaz!" So decided the public Fund for the Preservation of the Erzya Language. To this end the "Purgaz Fund" was opened, and fundraising began.
The question of a monument to Purgaz has long been overdue. The revival of national self-awareness is impossible without knowledge of the people's heroic past. Inyazor Purgaz is one of the most striking figures in our history. A statesman, a wise politician, and a talented commander, he ruled the country for more than three decades and died, as I believe, heroically defending the future of his people and the independence of his country — Erzyan Mastor. It is a pity that his name is passed over in silence in Saransk. There is not even a street named after him.
In the newspaper "EM," issue No. 3 of 9 February 2006, I first proposed erecting a memorial sign to Purgaz in Nizhny Novgorod. But the initiative went no further than the newspaper publication. The Fund's decision to erect the monument in 2007–2008 is already a concrete matter. It would be an honor for any sculptor, not excluding the great Tsereteli, to submit a design. As an artist, I well understand all the subtleties of this unusually serious work. After all, not a single image of him has come down to our contemporaries. However, taking liberties in the interpretation of his image is also unacceptable. His political longevity, his sympathies, and his trade and military cooperation with Volga-Kama Bulgaria must find a place in his image.
Relying on the scant information from Russian chronicles and works of folklore, I tried through logic to determine, at least approximately, the period of the inyazor's life. My article "How Long Did Purgaz Live" appeared in "EM" on 11 July 1996. Here is a brief account of his life according to my version. For reference points we take the years 1161 and 1242. The first date is linked to the destruction of the city that was the political center of the Land of the Erzya, Obran osh (tsyoran' osh). Inyazor Obran perished there. Speaking of his dynasty makes no sense, since he was an elected figure. 1242 is the year the Mongols suppressed resistance in the Volga Region; it is precisely after this year that the name of Purgaz disappears.
A span of 81 years. What hard times did the Erzya people live through in this period? The north-western Russian princes constantly invaded Erzyan Mastor and raided Volga Bulgaria. A struggle was fought over the mouth of the Volga-Oka. For 60 years the enemy could not gain a foothold on the site of the burned city because of the steadfastness of the Erzya druzhinas, but without centralized authority the Erzya could not rebuild the city either. Political power was in the hands of clan elders, who nonetheless did not enjoy tribe-wide support.
The authority of the Erzya proto-city of Sarov could not produce an inyazor from among its own people. The procedure was complex, drawn out over decades. At the end of the 12th century city of Sarov was finally destroyed. And yet nationwide elections did take place. No earlier than 15 years after the destruction of Obran osh did the marking of boys as candidates for inyazor begin, and only 15–18 years later did Purgaz emerge from among them. Conventionally this happened in 1194, when the inyazor was 25 years old. From this his year of birth falls on 1169. In 1220 came the destructive campaign against Bulgaria by the Russian prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, and in 1221 the Russians established themselves on the Dyatlovy Hills with a "detinets" (citadel). In 1223 the battle on the river Kalka took place between the south-Russian princes and the Mongols of Genghis Khan, led by Subutai. The Russian armies perished ingloriously. A threat loomed over the Volga region. Volga Bulgaria and the armies of the Volga peoples routed the aggressor. Without doubt Purgaz too commanded troops there.
He was 54 years old. He successfully resisted the Mongol invasion, which devastated the Land of the Erzya only on its third attempt. Purgaz himself, fighting the enemy, died at the age of 63. I consider these dates to be the more accurate ones. It is at this age that the great inyazor Purgaz should appear in stone or metal.
N. Anoshkin, director of the Museum of Erzya Culture, Lukoyanov. 20.06.2007
Interesting Facts
- Among the heads of conquered principalities who came to the Horde for charters (yarlyks) to rule, the name Purgaz is not mentioned.
- During a "kurultai," the president of Mordovia, N. Merkushkin, refused the sitting inyazor and his retinue a site for the erection of a monument to Purgaz.
- The image of Inyazor Purgaz became the center of the historical novel "Purgaz" by the Erzya people's writer K. G. Abramov (1988), which was also translated into Russian. The Abramov family owes its surname to their ancestor Obran Nadezhkin, who moved at the end of the 18th century from the Sura-region, then Moksha, village of Kochelay to the Erzya village of Nayman. For five generations in a row, Obran's descendants married Erzya women (archive) .
- ZAO "Purgaz" is an enterprise in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, established in 1998 to develop the Gubkinskoye gas field. It then built and commissioned the Gubkinskoye gas field facility in a record-short time — within a single year.