The Mongol-Tatar yoke in Russia is the only successful example of a long military-political conquest of Russian lands in their entire history. The invasion of the powerful Mongolian army in Russia in 1237-1241 ended rather poorly. However, this meeting with the eastern conquerors was not the first. The first acquaintance with the capabilities of nomads took place fourteen years before their main arrival, at the Battle of Kalka in 1223, when the Russian-Polovtsian troops were defeated, and the state lost several
their princes. After this event, the hordes of Genghis Khan temporarily suspended their victorious advance to the west, because at first it was necessary to deal with another unyielding opponent - the Volga Bulgaria.
Western hike
Unfortunately, no proper conclusions were made by Russian statesmen in order to meet with dignity a threat in the future and to nip the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The years until the next invasion took place in endless mutual strife and wars for the principalities. The result of such carelessness was the successful western campaign of Batu (the grandson of Genghis Khan, who died in 1227) and the military commander Subeday. As a result of this campaign, many Russian cities were defeated: Ryazan (1237), Moscow, Tver, Torzhok, Vladimir (all in 1238), Chernigov and Pereyaslavl (1239), and finally, Kiev (1240). The Mongol-Tatar yoke in Russia determined the vassal dependence of the once great principalities for centuries to come. The defeats themselves, committed by the conquerors during the campaign, led to disastrous results: many cities that were never able to recover were completely and permanently destroyed, a significant amount of living people were destroyed. Practical skills and crafts also suffered a painful blow. Military action alone pushed the country centuries ago in its development.
Russia under the Mongol-Tatar yoke
At the same time, the military-political dominance of Asian nomads in the next two hundred years was not at all of any destructive nature. The main form of this dominance was the so-called shortcuts. Labels were issued to the Russian princes by the Mongol khans after the affirmation of their devotion and respect for the latter. After the issuance of such a label, essentially, the intervention of the khans in the internal economy of the country ended. Fortunately, the created Golden Horde lacked its own strife and other problems. Of course, the princes paid tribute to the khans, however, they collected it themselves, determining the total amount of fees, some of which went to the local treasury, and some to
Sarai Batu (the capital of the Mongolian state). The Mongol-Tatar yoke in Russia even created the conditions for the successful development of some structures. So, for example, the policy of non-interference in religious affairs, which is traditional for nomads, (which was a very wise step, which allowed finding important supporters even among the conquered peoples) created the conditions for the development and strengthening of the Orthodox Church in the country. It is important that this happened during the escalation of the confrontation with the Catholic Church and the
Crusades of the Western Knights.
The rise of the Russian principalities and the elimination of the yoke
The Mongol-Tatar yoke in Russia was not eliminated simultaneously in different regions.
So, for example, the southwestern lands of Galicia and Volhynia moved to Poland and the
Grand Lithuanian Principality in the first half of the XIV century. In most of the Russian territories, the exit from this dependence was gradual. Throughout the 15th century, the Horde increasingly lost its power as a result of internal contradictions and external attacks (Tamerlane's raids, for example). This allowed the Moscow prince in 1480 to finally lose all dependence on himself and was the first step in the creation of the Moscow kingdom. The latter subsequently itself included the Tatar khanates in its possessions.