Alexander Nevsky, Rus, Susdal, & Tatar Mongols

[gl556tr]

Difficult to know the early history of any country, but Russia's of the 12th and 13th centuries, more so, I think.
I am interested in, and intrigued about, that country's history. Can anybody please help in putting together the complex jigsaw-puzzle of the above names? Also, was Nevsky really the hero he is made out to be? I've heard that he didn't fight the Mongol hordes that over-ran vast tracts of the Asian and East European land, but accepted their ruling of his lands.
Any assistance in this regard would be appreciated.
Thank you.
As they say, history is written ...

[Buenchico]

"The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Premodern Identities in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus" by Serhii Plokhy (2010) might be of interest to you.

It's reviewed here:
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/260188

A secondhand print copy will cost you around thirty quid on Amazon but there's a Kindle edition for £22.62 or it's available as an eBook on Google Play for £15.66:
http://tinyurl.com/mb6snsp

If you want a flavour of the text, the initial chapters can be read for free here:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pCdUmCWxwJ8C&pg=PR1#v=onepage&q&f=false