Good-evil categories are very slippery matters that should not be applied to people who lived centuries ago. Alexander Yaroslavich was a man of his time, as well as a representative of the military aristocracy, which imposed a characteristic "professional deformation" on his personality. Some of the things that Alexander Yaroslavovich did may seem exceptionally wild and even inhuman to a modern person. However, it is important to always understand that in the Middle Ages, all representatives of the military aristocracy from the Pillars of Hercules to the Japanese islands did this. In other words: do not judge people of other eras by modern categories.
Myth three: the Russian prince forever stopped the advance of the Germans to the east
No. The Battle of the Neva in 1240 and the Battle of the Ice in 1242 were only episodes in the complex relationship between the knights of the order, the Swedes and the Slavic-Baltic lands. Armed conflicts will continue with the Germans. For example, in 1253 the knights of the Order burned and plundered the Pskov settlement. They will not be able to put an end to difficult relations with the order even in 1410, when the Polish-Lithuanian army defeats the Germans near Grunwald.
Myth four: Alexander Yaroslavovich remained a pagan
No. This myth grows from the fact that the Tatars forced Mikhail of Chernigov to perform a pagan rite, bow to idols and the sun. However, there is no mention that this was practiced in relation to every Russian prince. So to say that Alexander Nevsky was an apostate from the faith is impossible.
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Myth five: Alexander Yaroslavovich was nicknamed "Nevsky" during his lifetime
No. The nickname "Nevsky" is apocryphal. It was invented much later than the death of the famous Russian prince. The first mentions of this nickname are found in Russian vaults of the 15th century. Prior to this, in no source, chronicle, the prince is called that. It is curious that contemporaries called Alexander Yaroslavovich, among other things, "formidable."
Myth six: on the Order of Alexander Nevsky there is a portrait of the legendary prince
No. Unfortunately, history has not preserved for us either the image or the death mask of Alexander Nevsky (if there was one at all). What Alexander Yaroslavovich looked like, no one knows and most likely will never know. As for the order, the portrait on it was made by the Soviet architect Igor Telyatnikov with photos of Nikolai Cherkasov, the actor who played Alexander Yaroslavovich in the famous film by Sergei Eisenstein.
In continuation of the topic, read about why in Russia there were always tsars, and in Europe - kings: what is the difference between the names of monarchs.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/130322/62317/