Beginning in the 1200's, Russian lands had been controlled by Mongol rulers. But the city of Moscow, now the most powerful in Russia, recently broke away from Mongol control. In 1480, Moscow's Grand Prince Ivan refused to pay taxes to the Golden Horde, the name of the section of the empire that included Russia. Mongol troops moved toward Moscow to put down the revolt, but the threat of a Russian attack on the Mongol capital forced them to turn back.

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