Mongol rule and Russia

Mongol rule and Russia

In 1237, Batu, a grandson of the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan, led between 150,000 and 200,000 Mongol troops into Russia. The Mongols destroyed one Russian town after another. In 1240, they destroyed Kiev, and Russia became part of the Mongol Empire. It was included in a section called the Golden Horde. The capital of the Golden Horde was at Sarai, near what is now Volgograd.

Batu forced the surviving Russian princes to pledge allegiance to the Golden Horde and to pay heavy taxes. From time to time, the Mongols left their capital and wiped out the people of various areas because of their disloyalty. The Mongols also appointed the Russian grand prince and forced many Russians to serve in their armies. But they interfered little with Russian life in general. The Mongols were chiefly interested in maintaining their power and collecting taxes.

When Kublai Khan, a great Mongol ruler, died in 1294, the Mongol Empire broke up into several parts. These smaller empires were the Golden Horde on the steppes of southern Russia and the Balkans, the Mongolian-Chinese Yuan Empire, and the realm of the Ilkhans in western Asia.

During the late 1400's, Moscow became the most powerful Russian city. It had become stronger as the Golden Horde had become weaker. Ivan III (called Ivan the Great) won control of Moscow's main rivals, Novgorod and Tver, and great numbers of aristocrats called boyars entered his service. In 1480, Ivan made the final break from Mongol control by refusing to pay taxes to the Golden Horde.

Excerpt adapted from the "Russia" and "Mongol Empire" articles, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999