The iconographic image of saint Alexander Nevsky as a symbol of cohesion of eastern Slavic ethnic groups

The image of holy warriors in the 19th century is found in the icon-painting tradition of the Orthodox denomination and the Uniate Church of the East Slavic peoples. In culture, there are often icons with features of portraits of “Polish Sarmatianism”. Subsequently, they spread to the southern regions of Russia. The specific features of the images of the warriors of these icons, borrowed from the physiognomy of the costume and weapons of ancient Roman legionaries, came to Catholic Poland during the New Age through the images of European medieval knights. The entry of Belarus into the Russian Empire led to the intensification of the national movement for unification with Orthodoxy, headed by graduates of Uniate seminaries, the children of the Uniate clergy. The movement restoring the traditions of Orthodox piety in Belarus was Western Russianism. The image of St. Alexander Nevsky in the icons of Belarusian icon painters of the 19th century, which are currently in storage at the museum of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus in Minsk, is a vivid confirmation of the understanding that Belarusians are a share the same blood and religion as the Russian people.