Russia in the 13th century was going through a period of princely civil strife. While within the country there was a struggle for power and land between the princes, a significant threat was approaching from Asia - the Tatar-Mongol tribes led by Genghis Khan.

Fight against Mongol conquerors

The main events of the 13th century in Russia centered around the struggle against the Mongol-Tatar invasion. At first, it did not touch Russia, but the princes agreed to come to the aid of the Polovtsian princes. Further events in chronological order are presented in the table:

Figure: 1. Khan Batu.

In fact, this is where the list of important events ends - the end of the 13th century did not bring any changes, Russia continued to be under the rule of the Horde, who encouraged the princely feuds.

Fight against Swedes and Germans

Almost simultaneously with the invasion from Asia, the expansion of the West into the Russian lands began. So, in 1240, the knights-crusaders, who settled in the Baltic States, began to threaten the Pskov and Novgorod lands. For the general idea - the spread of the ideas of Catholicism - the combined Swedish-German forces were supposed to act, but the Swedes attacked Russia first.

On July 15, 1240, the Battle of the Neva took place. The Swedish fleet entered the mouth of the Neva, but Alexander, the son of Vladimir Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, came to the aid of the Novgorodians at their request. He set out with an army, chose a strategy of surprise and speed of the onslaught, since his army was inferior in number to the Swedish one. Thanks to the swiftness of the blow, a victory was won, for which the young Alexander was given the nickname Nevsky.

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Figure: 2. Alexander Nevsky.

But the struggle of Russia with the conquerors did not end there. this time against Pskov and Novgorod, the German knights, gaining strength, came out. Alexander Nevsky again came to their aid.

In 1242, on April 5, Russian warriors and crusaders met on the ice of Lake Peipsi. Alexander's army acted harmoniously and won again. Many knights, under the weight of their uniforms, simply fell through the ice. Subsequently, this battle will be called the Battle of Ice.

From 1251 to 1263, the reign of Alexander Nevsky lasted.

Russian culture of the 13th century

The culture of Ancient Russia of the 13th century was based on the culture of the East Slavic tribes. Many of its monuments were lost due to the Mongol-Tatar invasion, many of its monuments. Some examples of architecture have survived - churches and cathedrals, as well as church paintings - icons - and monuments of literature. At this time, parables began to be written, such a genre as the life appeared, and the most famous work of this period is "The Prayer" of Daniel the Imprisoned.

Figure: 3. Church of the 13th century.

Nomadic peoples and countries of Western Europe had an influence on the culture of Russia of this period. as well as Byzantium, which is associated with the adoption of Christianity. It had special features such as a slow pace of development, a predominance of a religious worldview and reverence for the past.

The main political centers, such as Vladimir, Suzdal, Galich, Novgorod, were at the same time cultural centers. Due to the invasion of the Mongols and their constant destructive raids, many secrets of crafts were lost, in particular, jewelry making. The size of the population has also greatly decreased.

What have we learned?

What did Russia live in in the 13th century and who were its main military opponents - these are the Tatar-Mongols and the knights-crusaders who wanted to plant Catholicism. We also learned who ruled in Russia in the 13th century and which ruler saved the Pskov and Novgorod princedoms from the Teutonic knights. We considered how the military events influenced the course of history, as well as the culture of Russia. They established which cities were cultural centers and which tendencies prevailed in architecture, literature and painting. In general terms, we examined the state of culture during this period and its main features.

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SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIA

Serious changes took place in the socio-economic development of Russia in the 13-14 century. After the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars into North-Eastern Russia, the economy was restored, handicraft production revived again. There is a growth and an increase in the economic importance of cities that did not play a serious role in the pre-Mongol period (Moscow, Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Kostroma).

• Fortification is actively developing, the construction of stone temples is resumed. Agriculture and handicrafts are developing rapidly in North-Eastern Russia.

There is an improvement in old technologies and the emergence of new ones.

In Russia received distribution water wheels and water mills ... Parchment began to be actively replaced by paper. Salt production is developing. Centers for the production of books appeared in large book centers and monasteries. Casting (bell production) is developing massively. Agriculture is developing somewhat more slowly than handicrafts.

Slash and burn agriculture continues to be replaced by field arable land. Bisexual is widespread.

New villages are being actively built. The number of domestic animals is increasing, which means that the application of organic fertilizers to the fields is increasing.

LARGE LAND OWNERSHIP IN RUSSIA

There is an increase in patrimonial possessions by the distribution of land by the princes to their boyars for feeding, that is, in management with the right to collect taxes in their favor.

From the second half of the 14th century, monastic land ownership began to grow rapidly.

PEASANTRY IN RUSSIA

By the 15th century, the ordinary rural population began to be called peasants, later this term was fixed as its generalized name. A peasant sitting on land with a three-field turnover had an average of 5 dessiatines in one field, therefore 15 dessiatines in three fields.

Rich peasants took additional plots from the patrimonials in the black volosts. Poor peasants quite often they did not have either land or a yard. They lived in strangers' yards and were called courtiers. These peasants bore corvee duties to their owners - they plowed and sowed their land, reaped crops, mowed hay. Meat and lard, vegetables and fruits, and much more were added to the rent. All the peasants were already feudally dependent.

There were three categories of peasants:

community - worked on state land, proprietary - these could have left, but within clearly limited time frames (Filipov day November 14, St. George's day November 26, Peter's day June 29, Christmas December 25) and personally dependent peasants.

THE FIGHT OF THE MOSCOW AND TVERSK PRINCIES IN RUSSIA

By the beginning of the 14th century, Moscow and Tver became the strongest principalities of North-Eastern Russia. The first Moscow prince was the son of Alexander Nevsky, Daniel Alexandrovich (1263-1303). In the early 90s, Daniil Alexandrovich annexed Mozhaisk to the Moscow principality, and in 1300 won Kolomna from Ryazan.

The son of Daniel, Yuri Danilovich, since 1304, fought for the great Vladimir reign with Mikhail Yaroslavovich of Tver, who in 1305 received a label for a great reign in the Golden Horde.

The Moscow prince in this struggle was supported by the Metropolitan of All Russia Macarius.

metropolitan of All Russia Macarius.

In 1317, Yuri achieved a label for the great reign, and a year later in the Golden Horde, Yuri's main enemy Mikhail Tverskoy was killed. But in 1322, Prince Yuri Daniilovich was deprived of the great reign as punishment. The label was passed on to the son of Mikhail Yaroslavovich, Dmitry Groznye Ochi.

IN 1325, DMITRY KILLED HIS FATHER IN THE GOLDEN ORDER, FOR WHAT IN 1326 THE KHAN WAS EXECUTED.

The great reign was transferred to the brother of Dmitry Tverskoy - Alexander. A Horde detachment was sent with him to Tver. The atrocities of the Horde provoked an uprising of the townspeople, which was supported by the prince, as a result the Horde were defeated.

IVAN KALITA

These events were skillfully used by the new Moscow prince Ivan Kalita. He took part in the punitive Horde expedition to Tver. The Tver land was devastated. The great Vladimir reign was divided between Ivan Kalita and Alexander of Suzdal. After the death of the latter, the label for the great reign was almost always in the hands of the Moscow princes. Ivan Kalita continued the line of Aleksandr Nevsky in that he kept a lasting peace with the Tatars.

He also made an alliance with the church. Moscow becomes the center of faith, as the metropolitan moved to Moscow forever and left Vladimir.

THE GREAT DUK GOT THE RIGHT FROM THE HORDE TO COLLECT THE Tribute, WHICH HAD FAVORABLE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE MOSCOW TREASURE.

Also Ivan Kalita increased his holdings. New lands were bought and begged from the Khan of the Golden Horde. Galich, Uglich and Beloozero were annexed. Also, some princes voluntarily became part of the Moscow principality.

THE PRINCIPALITY OF MOSCOW AT THE HEAD OF THE OVERCOMING OF THE TATAR-MONGOL YAG BY RUSSIA

Ivan Kalita's policy was continued by his sons - Semyon the Proud (1340-1359) and Ivan 2 Krasny (1353-1359). After the death of Ivan II, his 9-year-old son Dmitry (1359-1387) became the prince of Moscow. At this time, the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod prince Dmitry Konstantinovich possessed the label for reign. A sharp struggle developed between him and the group of the Moscow boyars. On the side of Moscow was Metropolitan Alexei, who actually headed the Moscow government until Moscow finally won the victory in 1363.

Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich continued the policy of strengthening the Moscow principality. In 1371, Moscow inflicted a major defeat on the Ryazan principality. The struggle continued with Tver. When in 1371 Mikhail Alekseevich Tverskoy received a label for the great reign of Vladimir and tried to occupy Vladimir, Dmitry Ivanovich refused to obey the khan's will. In 1375, Mikhail Tverskoy again received a label on the Vladimir table. Then almost all the princes of north-eastern Russia opposed him, supporting the Moscow prince in his campaign against Tver. After a month's siege, the city capitulated. According to the agreement concluded, Mikhail recognized Dmitry as his suzerain.

• As a result of the internal political struggle in the North-Eastern Russian lands, the Moscow principality achieved a leading position in the collection of Russian lands and turned into a real force capable of resisting the horde and Lithuania.

Since 1374, Dmitry Ivanovich stopped paying tribute to the Golden Horde. The Russian Church played an important role in strengthening anti-Tatar sentiments.

In the 60s, 70s of the 14th century, there was an increase in civil strife within the Golden Horde. For two decades, up to two dozen khans appear and disappear. Temporary workers appeared and disappeared. One of these, the most powerful and cruel was Khan Mamai. He tried to collect tribute from the Russian lands, despite the fact that Takhtamysh was the legal khan. The threat of a new invasion united the main forces of North-Eastern Russia under the leadership of the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich.

Olgerd's sons, Andrei and Dmitry, who had joined the service of the Moscow prince, took part in the campaign. Mamai's ally, Grand Duke Yagailo, was late to arrive to join the Horde army. The Ryazan prince Oleg Ivanovich did not join Mamai, who only formally entered into an alliance with the Golden Horde.

On September 6, the united Russian army approached the banks of the Don. So for the first time after 1223, since the battle on the Kalka River, the Russians went out into the steppe to meet the Horde. On the night of September 8, Russian troops, by order of Dmitry Ivanovich, crossed the Don.

The battle took place on September 8, 1380 on the bank of the right tributary of the Don river. Untruths, in the area that bore the name of the Kulikov field. At first, the Horde supplanted the Russian regiment. Then they were hit by an ambush regiment under the command of the Serpukhov prince. The Horde army could not withstand the onslaught of fresh Russian forces and fled. The battle turned into a pursuit of an enemy retreating in disarray.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BATTLE OF KULIKOV

The historical significance of the Battle of Kulikovo was enormous. The main forces of the Golden Horde were defeated.

IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE, THE THOUGHT HAS BEEN STRENGTHENED THAT JOINT FORCES CAN INSERT THE HORDE.

Prince Dmitry Ivanovich received the honorary nickname Donskoy from his descendants and found himself in the political role of an all-Russian prince. His authority has grown unusually. Militant anti-Tatar sentiments intensified in all Russian lands.

DMITRY DONSKOY

Having lived only less than four decades, Dmitry Donskoy did a lot for Russia from a young age to the end of his days, Dmitry Donskoy was constantly in cares, campaigns and troubles. He had to fight both the Horde and Lithuania and Russian rivals for power and political primacy.

The prince also settled church affairs. Dmitry received the blessing of Abbot Sergius of Radonezh, whose constant support he always enjoyed.

SERGIUS OF RADONEZH

Church pastors played a significant role, not only in church affairs, but also in political affairs. Trinity Abbot Sergius of Radonezh was unusually respected among the people. In the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, which was founded by Sergius of Radonezh, strict orders were cultivated in accordance with the cenobitic charter.

St. Sergius blesses Dmitry Donskoy

These orders became a model for other monasteries as well. Sergius of Radonezh called people to inner perfection, living according to the Gospel. He tamed strife, tried on princes who agreed to obey the Grand Duke of Moscow.

THE BEGINNING OF THE UNION OF RUSSIAN LANDS

The beginning of the state unification of the Russian lands began with the rise of Moscow. 1st stage of combining one can rightfully consider the activity of Ivan Kalita, who bought land from the khans and begged for them. His policy was continued by his sons Semyon Gordy and Ivan 2 Krasny.

They included Kastroma, Dmitrov, Starodubsky lands and part of Kaluga into Moscow. 2nd stage - Dmitry Donskoy's activity. In 1367 he erected white walls and fortifications around Moscow. In 1372 he achieved recognition of dependence from Ryazan, defeated the Tver principality. By 1380, he had not paid tribute to the Golden Horde for 13 years.

In the 13th century, Kievan Rus as a single state ceased to exist. The fate of the western and eastern Russian lands was different.

In the middle of the 13th century, most of the Russian principalities were conquered by Mongol troops who came from the east. Russian princes began to pay tribute to the khan of the new Mongolian state, the Golden Horde. The Khan of the Horde decided which of the Russian princes would become the Grand Duke. This permission was called the “reign label”.

Mongol rule in Russia lasted over 200 years. One of the results of this domination was the creation by the Russian princes in the 15th century of a new state with the capital in Moscow.

From the west, the Novgorod and Pskov lands in the 13th century were attacked by Swedish, German and Lithuanian troops. These attempts to capture were repulsed. As a result, the population of the northern and eastern Russian lands remained Orthodox and fell under the influence of the khans of the Golden Horde, and did not come under the influence of the Catholic Church and European kings.

After the collapse of Kievan Rus, the southern and western Russian lands fell under the influence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and then of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In these lands, the influence of the Catholic Church grew.

Subsequently, the struggle for the western lands of the former Kievan Rus between the Russian state and the European states took place with varying success. Today, part of these lands are part of Russia, part is part of Belarus and Ukraine.

Mongols are nomads who started their conquests from Central Asia. In the 13th century they conquered China, Central Asia, Transcaucasia, and in the 30s of the 13th century they attacked the Russian lands. Genghis Khan is the founder of the state (empire) of the Mongols.

The first battle of the Mongolian and Russian troops took place in the 20s of the 13th century (in 1223) on the Kalka River (south of the borders of Kievan Rus). The Russians came out in alliance with the Polovtsy against the Mongols, but the Mongols won. The reason for the defeat of the Russian-Polovtsian troops is considered to be the lack of a common command. Historians consider the Battle of Kalka to be a warning to the Russian princes. The princes did not understand this warning and did not join forces before the Mongol invasion of Russia.

The Mongol attack on Russia occurred in two waves in the 30s of the 13th century (in 1236 and 1239). They completed the conquest of Rus by the end of the 30s of the 13th century (by 1240). The first to be conquered were the northeastern Russian lands: Ryazan principality, Vladimir-Suzdal, Smolensk. During the second invasion, the southern and southeastern lands were conquered: the Chernigov, Kiev, Galicia-Volyn principality.

The northwestern Russian lands around the cities of Novgorod, Pskov, Polotsk, Turov were not devastated by the Mongols. During the conquest of Russia by the Mongols, Genghis Khan's grandson Batu Khan was in charge (stress on -u-, often called Batu Khan, stress on -y-).

Genghis Khan at the beginning of the 13th century divided the territory of the state between his sons. This part of the state was called “ulus”. The Golden Horde is a Mongolian state that arose in the 13th century on the lands conquered by the Mongols in Western Siberia, the Urals, Central Asia and the northern Black Sea region. This state was also called “Ulus Jochi”. Jochi is the son of Genghis Khan. Already in the middle of the 13th century, the Golden Horde became an independent state. The horde existed until the end of the 15th century, then divided into separate khanates.

As a result of the Mongol conquest, the Russian princes became vassals of the khans of the Golden Horde. A vassal is a feudal lord, subordinate to another feudal lord and obliged to act with an army on the side of the one to whom he obeyed. In addition, Russian princes paid tribute to the Mongols. Tribute was collected first by the Mongols themselves, then by merchants or by the Russian princes themselves. It is the vassal dependence of the Russian princes on the Mongols that is called the Mongol yoke. To gain power in the principality, the prince had to obtain permission from the Khan of the Golden Horde. This permission was called "shortcut". The Mongol yoke existed in Russia for about 240 years: in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.

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The eastern Russian lands were under the Mongol yoke for about 240 years. The Russian princes, being vassals of the Mongol khans, fought with each other for a shortcut to reign. The Mongol Khan gave the label to the Russian prince. As a result of the Mongol conquest, the eastern Russian lands ceased to be a part of Europe, their further development led to the emergence in the 15-16 centuries of the Muscovy, which claimed a special role in the world. The western Russian lands were either not conquered by the Mongols, or freed from their rule faster than the northeastern ones. Novgorod land remained formally independent. Southwestern Russian principalities (Galicia-Volyn, Turovo-Pinsk, Kiev, Polotsk principalities) already in the 13th century became part of a new state - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Many Russian princes alternately entered into alliances with the Horde against Lithuania, then with Lithuania against the Horde. In the eastern Russian lands, Orthodoxy remained the dominant religion, in the western lands the influence of the Catholic Church increased.

Alexander Nevsky is a Russian prince who is famous for his victories over the Swedish, German and Lithuanian troops who invaded the Novgorod and Pskov lands in the middle of the 13th century.

Nevsky did not fight with the Mongol khans, he preferred to negotiate. Having received a label from the khan for the great Vladimir reign and becoming the main Russian prince, he did not support the Novgorodians, who refused to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. Under pressure from Alexander, a Mongol census was carried out in Novgorod and the population of Novgorod was taxed. Alexander Nevsky had the opportunity to accept the patronage of the Catholic Church and thus get rid of the Horde dependence or reduce this dependence, but refused to do so. This decision of Alexander allowed Orthodoxy to remain the dominant religion in the eastern Russian principalities.

The Novgorodians called for Prince Alexander, first in connection with the invasion of the Swedes, and then in connection with the attack of the Germans in the early 40s of the 13th century. The army, led by Alexander, defeated the Swedes in the Battle of the Neva in 1240 (after which Alexander was given the nickname Nevsky) and over the Germans in the Battle on the Ice on the ice of Lake Peipsi in 1242. The victories of Alexander Nevsky prevented the conquest of Novgorod and Pskov lands by European kings and the spread of Catholicism in them.

The Russian state, formed on the border of Europe with Asia, which reached its heyday in the 10th - early 11th centuries, has always been distinguished by its mentality: unity, strength and courage. The people have always unitedly opposed the enemy. But at the beginning of the 12th century, as a natural stage in the development of the country, it disintegrated into many principalities in the course of feudal fragmentation. The reason for this was, firstly, the feudal mode of production, and, secondly, the formation of an almost independent politics, economy and other spheres of individual principalities. The communication of the princes almost stopped, the lands became isolated. The external defense of the Russian land was especially weakened. Now the princes of the individual principalities pursued their separate policy, reckoning primarily with the interests of the local feudal nobility and entered into endless internecine wars. This led to the loss of centralized government and to a strong weakening of the state as a whole. It was during this period that the Mongol-Tatars invaded the Russians, who were not prepared for a long and strong confrontation with opponents, the land.

Prerequisites for the campaign of the Tatars to Russia

On the kurultai 1204 - 1205 the Mongols were tasked with conquering world domination. Northern China was already in the hands of the Mongols. Having won the victory and realizing their military power, they wanted more significant conquests and victories. And now, without stopping or leaving the marked path, they walked west. Soon after some events, their military mission was more clearly delineated. The Mongols decided to conquer the large and wealthy, as they believed, Western countries, and first of all Russia. They understood that in order to accomplish this task, they first had to take the small, weak peoples located near Russia and on its borders. So what were the main prerequisites for the Mongol-Tatars' campaign to Russia and further to the west?

Battle of Kalka

Moving westward, in 1219 the Mongols first defeated the Central Asian Khorezmians, then advanced to Northern Iran. In 1221, Genghis Khan's army under the leadership of his best commanders Jebe and Subede invaded Azerbaijan, and then received an order to cross the Caucasus. Pursuing their old enemies, the Alans (Ossetians), who were hiding with the Polovtsians, both commanders had to hit the latter and return home bypassing the Caspian Sea.

In 1222 the Mongolian army moved into the lands of the Polovtsians. The battle on the Don took place, in which their army defeated the main forces of the Polovtsians. In early 1223, she invaded the Crimea, where she captured the ancient Byzantine city of Surozh (Sudak). The Polovtsi fled to Russia to ask for help. But the Russian princes did not trust their old opponents and met their request with doubt. And they perceived the appearance on the border of Russia of a new Mongolian army as a way out of the steppe of another weak horde of nomads. Therefore, only a small part of the Russian princes came to the aid of the Polovtsy. A small but strong Russian-Polovtsian army was formed, ready to defeat an unprecedented Mongol army.

On May 31, 1223, the Russian-Polovtsian army reached the Kalka River. There they were met by a powerful onslaught of the Mongol cavalry. Already at the beginning of the battle, part of the Russians could not resist the skillful Mongol archers and fled. Even the frenzied onslaught of the squad of Mstislav the Bold, who almost broke through the fighting lines of the Mongols, ended in failure. The Polovtsian troops turned out to be very unstable in battle: the Polovtsians could not withstand the blow of the Mongol cavalry and fled, upsetting the battle formations of the Russian squads. Even one of the strongest Russian princes, Mstislav of Kiev, never entered the battle with his large and well-armed regiment. He died ingloriously, surrendering to the Mongols who surrounded him. The Mongolian cavalry pursued the remnants of the Russian squads to the Dnieper. The rest of the Russian-Polovtsian squad tried to fight to the last. Ultimately, however, the Mongol army was victorious. The Russian warriors were cut. The Mongols laid the princes themselves under a wooden platform and crushed them, having arranged a festive banquet on it.

Russian losses in the battle were very great. The Mongolian army, already exhausted by the battles in Central Asia and the Caucasus, was able to defeat even the elite Russian regiments of Mstislav the Bold, which speaks of its military strength and power. In the Battle of Kalka, the Mongols first encountered Russian methods of warfare. This battle showed the advantage of Mongolian military traditions over European ones: collective discipline over individual heroism, well-trained archers over heavy cavalry and infantry. These tactical differences became the key to the Mongolian success on the Kalka River, and subsequently to the lightning-fast conquest of Eastern and Central Europe.

For Russia, the battle on Kalka turned into a catastrophe "which never happened." The historical center of the country - the southern and central Russian lands have lost their princes and troops. Fifteen years before the start of the Mongol invasion of Russia, these territories were never able to restore their potential. The battle turned out to be a harbinger of difficult times that befell Kievan Rus during the Mongol invasion.

Kurultay 1235

In 1235, the Mongols held another kurultai, at which they made a decision about a new conquest campaign to Europe, "to the last sea." After all, there, according to their information, Russia was located, and it was famous for its numerous riches.

All Mongolia began to prepare for a new grandiose conquest march to the West. The army was carefully prepared. The best military leaders, a number of Mongol princes were involved. A new khan, the son of Genghis Khan, Jochi, was placed at the head of the campaign. But in 1227 they both died, so the campaign to Europe was entrusted to the son of Jochi - Batu. The new Great Khan Udegey sent troops from Mongolia to reinforce Batu under the command of one of the best commanders - the wise old Subede, who participated in the battle on Kalka, to conquer the Volga Bulgaria and Russia. As always, Mongolian intelligence was at the highest level. With the help of merchants who traded along the Great Silk Road (from China to Spain), all the necessary information was collected about the state of the Russian lands, about the routes leading to the cities, about the size of the Russian army, and many other information. After that, it was decided first to completely defeat the Polovtsy and the Volga Bulgars in order to secure the rear, and then attack Russia.

Hike to north-eastern Russia. On the way to Russia

The Mongol-Tatars headed towards the south-east of Europe. In the fall of 1236, their main forces, which came from Mongolia, joined forces with the Jochi troops sent to help within Bulgaria. In late autumn 1236 the Mongols began their conquest. “Toe of autumn,” as the Laurentian Chronicle says, “came from the eastern countries to the Bulgarian land of atheism of Tatari, and took the glorious Great Bulgarian city and beat them with weapons from the old man to the unago and to the real baby, and took a lot of goods, and burned their city fire, and capturing their entire land. " Eastern sources also report the complete defeat of Bulgaria. Rashid-ad-Din (“That winter”) writes that the Mongols “reached the city of Bulgar the Great and its other regions, defeated the army there and forced them to submit”. Volga Bulgaria was terribly devastated. Almost all of her cities were destroyed. The countryside was also devastated. In the basin of the Berdy and Aktay rivers, almost all settlements were destroyed.

By the spring of 1237 the conquest of the Volga Bulgaria was completed. A large Mongol army, led by Subede, moved to the Caspian steppes, where the war with the Polovtsy, which had begun in 1230, continued.

The first blow in the spring of 1237 was dealt by the Mongols to the Polovtsy and Alans. From the Lower Volga, the Mongol troops moved "in a round-up, and the country that fell into it was captured, marching in lines." The Mongol-Tatars crossed the Caspian steppes on a wide front and united somewhere in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Lower Don. The Polovtsians and Alans suffered a strong, crushing blow.

The next stage of the 1237 war in South-Eastern Europe was an attack on the Burtases, Moksha and Mordovians. The conquest of the Mordovian lands, as well as the land of the Burtases and Ardzhans, ended in the autumn of the same year.

The campaign in 1237 was intended to prepare a bridgehead for the invasion of North-Eastern Russia. The Mongols dealt a strong blow to the Polovtsy and Alans, pushing back the Polovtsian nomads to the west, beyond the Don, and conquered the lands of the Burtases, Moksha and Mordovians, after which preparations began for a campaign against Russia.

In the fall of 1237, the Mongol-Tatars began preparations for a winter campaign to North-Eastern Russia. Rashid ad-Din reports that "in the autumn of the mentioned year (1237) all the princes who were there staged a kurultai and, by general agreement, went to war against the Russians." This kurultai was attended by both the Mongol khans, who destroyed the lands of the Burtases, Moksha and Mordovians, and the khans who fought in the south with the Polovtsy and Alans. All the forces of the Mongol-Tatars gathered for the campaign against North-Eastern Russia. The lower reaches of the Voronezh River became the place of concentration of Mongolian troops in the fall of 1237. Mongolian troops approached here, ending the war with the Polovtsy and Alans. The Tatars were ready for an important and difficult offensive against the Russian state.

Hike to the north-east of Russia

In December 1237, Batu's troops appeared on the frozen rivers Sura, Voronezh, a tributary of the Volga and Don. Winter opened their way across the ice of the rivers to North-Eastern Russia.

“An unheard-of army came, godless Moabites, and their name is Tatars, but no one knows who they are and where they came from, and what their language is, and what kind of tribe they are, and what their faith is. And some say taurmen, and others - Pechenegs. " With these words begins the chronicle of the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars on the Russian land.

Ryazan land

At the beginning of winter 1237, the Mongol-Tatars moved from the Voronezh River along the eastern edge of the forests stretching in its floodplain, to the borders of the Ryazan principality. Along this path, covered by forests from the Ryazan guard posts, the Mongol-Tatars silently walked to the middle reaches of the Lesnoy and Polny Voronezh. But there they were noticed by the Ryazan sentinels and from that moment came into the field of view of the Russian chroniclers. Another group of Mongols approached this place. Here their rather long stay took place, during which the troops were arranged and prepared for the campaign.

Russian troops could not oppose anything to the strong Mongol troops. Strife and strife between the princes did not allow to put up united forces against Batu. Princes Vladimir and Chernigov refused to help Ryazan.

Approaching the Ryazan land, Batu demanded from the Ryazan princes a tenth of everything that was in the city. In the hope of reaching an agreement with Batu, the Ryazan prince sent an embassy to him with rich gifts. The khan accepted the gifts, but put forward humiliating and insolent demands: in addition to a huge tribute, give the princes' sisters and daughters to the Mongol nobility as wives. And for himself personally, he looked after the beautiful Evpraksinya, Fyodor's wife. The Russian prince responded with a resolute refusal and, together with the ambassadors, was executed. And the beautiful princess, together with her little son, so as not to fall to the conquerors, rushed down from the high bell tower. The Ryazan army moved to the Voronezh River in order to strengthen the garrisons on the fortified lines and prevent the Tatars from entering the Ryazan land. However, the Ryazan squads did not manage to reach Voronezh. Batu quickly invaded the Ryazan principality. Somewhere on the Ryazan outskirts, a battle between the united Ryazan army and the hordes of Batu took place. The battle, in which the Ryazan, Murom and Pronsk squads participated, was stubborn and bloody. 12 times the Russian squad left the encirclement, "one Ryazan fought with a thousand, and two with darkness (ten thousand)" - this is how the chronicle writes about this battle. But Batu's superiority in forces was great, the Ryazan army suffered heavy losses.

After the defeat of the Ryazan squads, the Mongol-Tatars immediately moved deep into the Ryazan principality. They passed through the space between Ranova and Pronya, and went down the Proni River, destroying the Pronya cities. On December 16, the Mongol-Tatars approached Ryazan. The siege has begun. Ryazan held out for 5 days, on the sixth day, in the morning of December 21, she was taken. The entire city was destroyed and all the inhabitants were exterminated. The Mongol-Tatars left behind only ashes. The Ryazan prince and his family were also killed. The surviving residents of the Ryazan land gathered a squad (about 1,700 people), led by Evpatiy Kolovrat. They overtook the enemy in the Suzdal land and began to wage a partisan struggle against him, inflicting heavy losses on the Mongols.

Vladimir principality

Now, in front of Batu, there were several roads deep into the Vladimir-Suzdal land. Since Batu was faced with the task of conquering all of Russia in one winter, he went to Vladimir along the Oka, through Moscow and Kolomna. The invasion came close to the borders of the Vladimir principality. Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich, who at one time refused to help the Ryazan princes, himself was in danger.

“And Batu went to Suzdal and Vladimir, intending to capture the Russian land, and eradicate the Christian faith, and destroy the churches of God to the ground,” writes the Russian chronicle. Batu knew that the troops of the Vladimir and Chernigov princes were marching on him, and he expected to meet them somewhere in the area of \u200b\u200bMoscow or Kolomna. And he was right.

The Laurentian Chronicle writes: "The Tatars surrounded them at Kolomna, and fought hard, there was a great slaughter, they killed Prince Roman and the voivode Eremey, and Vsevolod ran to Vladimir with a small squad." The Vladimir army was killed in this battle. Having defeated the Vladimir regiments near Kolomna, Batu approached Moscow, quickly took and burned the city in mid-January, and killed the residents or took them prisoner.

On February 4, 1238, the Mongol-Tatars approached Vladimir. The capital of North-Eastern Russia, the city of Vladimir, surrounded by new walls with powerful gateway stone towers, was a strong fortress. From the south it was covered by the Klyazma River, from the east and north - by the Lybed River with steep banks and ravines.

By the time of the siege, a very alarming situation had developed in the city. Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich brought the news of the defeat of the Russian regiments near Kolomna. New troops had not yet gathered, and there was no time to wait for them, since the Mongol-Tatars were already close to Vladimir. Under these conditions, Yuri Vsevolodovich decided to leave part of the assembled troops for the defense of the city, and he himself went to the north and continued collecting troops. After the departure of the Grand Duke, a small part of the troops remained in Vladimir, led by the voivode and the sons of Yuri - Vsevolod and Mstislav.

Batu approached Vladimir on February 4 from the most vulnerable side, from the west, where a flat field lay in front of the Golden Gate. The Mongol detachment, leading Prince Vladimir Yuryevich, who had been captured during the defeat of Moscow, appeared in front of the Golden Gate and demanded the voluntary surrender of the city. After the refusal of the Vladimir people, the Tatars killed the captured prince in front of his brothers. To inspect the fortifications of Vladimir, part of the Tatar detachments traveled around the city, and the main forces of Batu stopped at a camp in front of the Golden Gate. The siege began.

Before the assault on Vladimir, the Tatar detachment defeated the city of Suzdal. This short hike is understandable. Starting the siege of the capital, the Tatars learned about the withdrawal of Yuri Vsevolodovich from the city with part of the army and feared a sudden strike. And the most probable direction of the blow of the Russian prince could be Suzdal, which covered the road from Vladimir to the north along the Nerl River. Yuri Vsevolodovich could have relied on this fortress, which was only 30 km from the capital.

Suzdal was left almost without defenders and was deprived of its main water cover due to winter time. That is why the city was taken by the Mongol-Tatars at once. Suzdal was plundered and burned, its population was killed or taken prisoner. Also, settlements and monasteries in the vicinity of the city were destroyed.

At this time, preparations for the assault on Vladimir continued. To intimidate the defenders of the city, the conquerors held thousands of prisoners under the walls. On the eve of the general assault, the Russian princes who were in charge of the defense fled from the city. On February 6, battering machines of the Mongol-Tatars broke through the Vladimir walls in several places, but on that day the Russian defenders managed to repel the assault and did not let them into the city.

The next day, early in the morning, the battering guns of the Mongol-Tatars still pierced the city wall. A little later, the fortifications of the "New City" were broken through in several more places. By the middle of the day on February 7, the "New City", engulfed in fire, was captured by the Mongol-Tatars. The defenders who survived fled to the middle, "Pecherny Gorod". Pursuing them, the Mongol-Tatars entered the "Middle City". And again, right off the bat, the Mongol-Tatars broke through the stone walls of the Vladimir Detinets and set it on fire. He was the last stronghold of the defenders of the Vladimir capital. Many residents, including the princely family, took refuge in the Assumption Cathedral, but the fire overtook them there too. The fire destroyed the most valuable monuments of literature and art. Numerous temples of the city have turned into ruins.

The fierce resistance of the defenders of Vladimir, despite the significant numerical superiority of the Mongol-Tatars and the flight of princes from the city, caused great damage to the Mongol-Tatars. Eastern sources, reporting on the capture of Vladimir, create a picture of a long and stubborn battle. Rashid ad-Din says that the Mongols “took the city of Yuri the Great in 8 days. They (the besieged) fought fiercely. Mengu Khan personally performed heroic deeds until he defeated them. "

Hike deep into Russia

After the capture of Vladimir, the Mongol-Tatars began to smash the cities of the Vladimir-Suzdal land. This stage of the campaign is characterized by the death of most of the cities between the Klyazma and the Upper Volga rivers.

In February 1238, the conquerors in several large detachments moved from the capital along the main river and trade routes, destroying the city centers of resistance.

The campaigns of the Mongol-Tatars in February 1238 were aimed at the destruction of cities - centers of resistance, as well as the destruction of the remnants of the Vladimir troops, which had been collected by the fled Yuri Vsevolodovich. They also had to cut off the grand-ducal "camp" from Southern Russia and Novgorod, from where reinforcements could be expected. Solving these tasks, the Mongol detachments moved from Vladimir in three main directions: to the north - to Rostov, to the east - to the Middle Volga (to Gorodets), to the north-west - to Tver and Torzhok.

Batu's main forces went from Vladimir to the north to defeat the Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich. The Tatar army passed along the ice of the Nerl River and, before reaching Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, turned north to Lake Nero. Rostov was abandoned by the prince and his retinue, so he surrendered without a fight.

From Rostov, the Mongol troops went in two directions: a large army headed north along the ice of the Ustye River and further along the plain to Uglich, and another large detachment moved along the Kotorosl River to Yaroslavl. These directions of movement of the Tatar detachments from Rostov are quite understandable. Through Uglich lay the shortest road to the tributaries of the Mologa, to the City, where Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich was camped. A hike to Yaroslavl and further along the Volga to Kostroma through the rich Volga cities cut off Yuri Vsevolodovich's retreat to the Volga and ensured a meeting with another Tatar detachment somewhere in the Kostroma region, moving up the Volga from Gorodets.

The chroniclers do not report any details of the capture of Yaroslavl, Kostroma and other cities along the Volga. Only on the basis of archaeological data can we assume that Yaroslavl was badly destroyed and could not be restored for a long time. There is even less data on the capture of Kostroma. Kostroma, apparently, was the place where the Tatar detachments, which came from Yaroslavl and from Gorodets, met. Chroniclers report about the campaigns of the Tatar detachments even against Vologda.

The Mongol detachment, which was moving from Vladimir to the northwest, was the first to meet the city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky - a strong fortress on the shortest waterway from the Klyazma River basin to Novgorod. A large Tatar army along the Nerl River approached Pereyaslavl in mid-February and, after a five-day siege, took the city by storm.

From Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, the Tatar detachments moved in several directions. According to the chronicle, some of them went to the aid of the Tatar Khan Burundai to Rostov. Another part joined the Tatar army, which even earlier turned from the Nerl to Yuryev. The rest of the troops on the ice of Lake Pleshcheyevo and the Nerl River moved to Ksnyatin to cut the Volga route. The Tatar army, moving along the Nerl to the Volga, took Ksnyatin and quickly advanced up the Volga to Tver and Torzhok. Another Mongol army captured Yuryev and went further west, through Dmitrov, Volokolamsk and Tver to Torzhok. At Tver, the Tatar troops united with the detachments that were climbing up the Volga from Ksnyatin.

As a result of the February campaigns of 1238, the Mongol-Tatars destroyed Russian cities on a vast territory, from the Middle Volga to Tver.

Battle of the City

By the beginning of March 1238, the Mongol-Tatar detachments, which were pursuing Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir, who had escaped from the city, reached the line of the Upper Volga on a wide front. Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich, who was gathering troops in a camp on the City River, found himself in the vicinity of the Tatar army. A large Tatar army moved from Uglich and Kashin to the City River. On the morning of March 4, they were by the river. Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich was never able to gather sufficient strength. A struggle ensued. Despite the surprise of the attack and the great numerical superiority of the Tatar army, the battle was stubborn and long. But all the same, the army of the Vladimir prince could not withstand the blow of the Tatar cavalry and fled. As a result, the Russian army was defeated, and the Grand Duke himself perished. The historical source of Rashid ad-Din did not attach much importance to the battle of the City, in his view it was just a pursuit of a prince who had fled and hid in the forests.

Siege of Torzhok

Almost simultaneously with the battle of the City, in March 1238 a Tatar detachment took the city of Torzhok, a fortress on the southern borders of the Novgorod land. The city was a staging post for wealthy Novgorod merchants and traders from Vladimir and Ryazan, who supplied Novgorod with bread. Torzhok has always had large grain reserves. Here the Mongols hoped to replenish the stocks of fodder that had become scarce during the winter.

Torzhok occupied an advantageous strategic position: it blocked the shortest route from the "Nizovskaya land" to Novgorod along the Tvertsa River. The defensive earthen rampart on the Borisoglebsk side of Torzhok had a height of 6 sazhens. However, in winter conditions, this important advantage of the city largely disappeared, but still Torzhok was a serious obstacle on the way to Novgorod and delayed the advance of the Mongol-Tatars for a long time.

The Tatars approached Torzhok on February 22. There was neither a prince nor a princely squad in the city, and the whole brunt of the defense was borne by the townspeople, led by elected mayors. After a two-week siege and the continuous operation of the Tatar siege engines, the city people weakened. Finally Torzhok, exhausted by a two-week siege, fell. The city was subjected to a terrible destruction, most of its inhabitants died.

Hike to Novgorod

Concerning Batu's campaign against Novgorod, historians usually say that significant forces of the Mongol-Tatars were concentrated near Torzhok by this time. And only the Mongol troops, weakened from continuous fighting, due to the approach of spring with its muddy roads and floods, were forced to return, not reaching 100 miles to Novgorod.

However, chroniclers report that the Mongol-Tatars went to Novgorod immediately after the capture of Torzhok, pursuing the surviving defenders of the city. Taking into account the location at that time of all the Mongol-Tatar troops, it can be reasonably assumed that only a small separate detachment of Tatar cavalry was moving towards Novgorod. Therefore, his campaign did not have the goal of taking the city: it was a simple pursuit of a defeated enemy, usual for the tactics of the Mongol-Tatars.

After the capture of Torzhok, the Mongol-Tatar detachment began to pursue the Seligers' way out of the encirclement of the city's defenders. But, before reaching Novgorod a hundred versts, this mounted Mongol-Tatar detachment united with the main forces of Batu.

Nevertheless, the turn from Novgorod is usually explained by spring floods. In addition, in 4 months of battles with the Russians, the Mongol-Tatars suffered huge losses, and Batu's troops were scattered. So the Mongol-Tatars did not even try to attack Novgorod in the spring of 1238.

Kozelsk

After Torzhok, Batu turns south. He walked across the entire territory of Russia, using the tactics of a hunting round-up. In the upper reaches of the Oka, the Mongols met fierce resistance from the small fortress of Kozelsk. Despite the fact that the city prince Vasilko Konstantinovich was still too young, and the Mongols demanded to surrender the city, the Kozelites decided to defend themselves. The heroic defense of Kozelsk lasted seven weeks. The Kozelites destroyed about 4 thousand Mongols, but could not defend the city. Having brought the siege equipment to it, the Mongol troops destroyed the city walls and entered Kozelsk. Batu did not spare anyone, despite his age, he killed the entire population in the city. He ordered to destroy the city to the ground, plow the land and fill this place with salt so that it could never recover again. According to legend, Prince Vasilko Konstantinovich drowned in blood. Batu called the city of Kozelsk "an evil town". From Kozelsk, the combined forces of the Mongol-Tatars, without stopping, moved south to the Polovtsian steppes.

Mongol-Tatars in the Polovtsian steppes

The stay of the Mongol-Tatars in the Polovtsian steppes from the summer of 1238 to the autumn of 1240. is one of the least studied periods of the invasion. In historical sources, there is an opinion that this period of the invasion is the time of the Mongols' retreat to the steppe for rest, the restoration of regiments and the horse army after a difficult winter campaign in North-Eastern Russia. The entire time of the Mongol-Tatars' stay in the Polovtsian steppes is perceived as a break in the invasion, filled with the restoration of forces and preparations for a major march to the West.

However, eastern sources describe this period in a completely different way: the entire period of Batu's stay in the Polovtsian steppes was filled with continuous wars with the Polovtsians, Alans and Circassians, numerous invasions of Russian border cities, and the suppression of popular uprisings.

Military operations began in the autumn of 1238. A large Mongol-Tatar army headed for the land of the Circassians, beyond the Kuban. Almost simultaneously, a war began with the Polovtsy, whom the Mongol-Tatars had previously ousted beyond the Don. The war with the Polovtsians was long and bloody, a huge number of Polovtsians were killed. As the chronicles write, all the forces of the Tatars were thrown into the fight against the Polovtsy, so it was peaceful in Russia at that time.

In 1239, the Mongol-Tatars stepped up military operations against the Russian principalities. Their campaigns fell on the lands that were near the Polovtsian steppes, and were carried out with the aim of expanding the lands they had conquered.

In winter, a large Mongol army moved north to the region of Mordva and Murom. During this campaign, the Mongol-Tatars suppressed the uprising of the Mordovian tribes, took and destroyed Murom, devastated the lands along Nizhnyaya Klyazma and reached Nizhny Novgorod.

In the steppes between the Northern Donets and the Dnieper, the war between the Mongolian troops and the Polovtsy continued. In the spring of 1239, one of the Tatar detachments that approached the Dnieper defeated the city of Pereyaslavl, a strong fortress on the borders of Southern Russia.

This capture was one of the stages of preparation for the great march to the west. The next campaign had the goal of defeating Chernigov and the cities along the Lower Desna and the Seim, since the Chernigov-Seversk land was not yet conquered and threatened the right flank of the Mongol-Tatar army.

Chernigov was a well-fortified city. Three defensive lines protected him from enemies. The geographical position near the borders of the Russian land and active participation in internecine wars created in Russia the opinion of Chernigov as a city famous for a large number of soldiers and a courageous population.

The Mongol-Tatars appeared within the Chernigov principality in the fall of 1239, invaded these lands from the southeast and surrounded them. A fierce battle began on the walls of the city. Defenders of Chernigov, as Lavrentievskaya chronicle describes, threw heavy stones at the Tatars from the city walls. After a fierce battle on the walls, the enemies rushed into the city. Taking it, the Tatars beat the local population, robbed monasteries and set the city on fire.

From Chernigov, the Mongol-Tatars moved east along the Desna and further along the Seim. Numerous cities built to defend against nomads (Putivl, Glukhov, Vyr, Rylsk, etc.) were destroyed and the countryside was devastated. Then the Mongol army turned south, to the upper reaches of the Northern Donets.

The last Mongol-Tatar campaign in 1239 was the conquest of the Crimea. The Cumans, defeated by the Mongols in the Black Sea steppes, fled here, in the steppes of northern Crimea and further to the sea. Pursuing them, the Mongol troops came to the Crimea. The city was taken.

Thus, during 1239, the Mongol-Tatars defeated the remnants of the Polovtsian tribes not subdued by them, made significant campaigns in the Mordovian and Murom lands, and conquered almost the entire left bank of the Dnieper and Crimea. Now the Tatar possessions have come close to the borders of South Russia. The southwestern direction of Rus was the next target for the Mongol invasion.

Trekking to southwestern Russia. Preparing for the hike

At the beginning of 1240 in winter, the Mongolian army approached Kiev. This campaign can be regarded as reconnaissance of the area before the start of hostilities. Since the Tatars did not have the strength to capture fortified Kiev, they limited themselves to reconnaissance and a short rush to the right bank of the Dnieper to pursue the retreating Kiev prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich. Having captured the "polon", the Tatars turned back.

In the spring of 1240 a significant army was moved south along the Caspian coast to Derbent. This advance southward to the Caucasus was not accidental. The forces of the Jochi ulus, partially freed after the campaign against North-Eastern Russia, were used to complete the conquest of the Caucasus. Earlier, the Mongols continuously attacked the Caucasus from the south: in 1236, Mongol troops devastated Georgia and Armenia; 1238 conquered the lands between Kura and Araks; in 1239 they captured Kars and the city of Ani, the former capital of Armenia. The troops of the Jochi ulus took part in the general Mongol offensive in the Caucasus with strikes from the north. The peoples of the North Caucasus put up stubborn resistance to the conquerors.

By the fall of 1240, preparations for a large march to the west were completed. The Mongols conquered the regions that were not conquered in the campaign of 1237-38, suppressed popular uprisings in the Mordovian lands and Volga Bulgaria, occupied the Crimea and the North Caucasus, destroyed the Russian fortified cities on the left bank of the Dnieper (Pereyaslavl, Chernigov) and came close to Kiev. He was the first point to attack.

Hike to the south-west of Russia

In the historical literature, the presentation of the facts of Batu's campaign against South Russia usually begins with the siege of Kiev. He, "the mother of Russian cities", was the first large city on the path of a new invasion of the Mongols. The bridgehead for the invasion was already prepared: Pereyaslavl, the only large city that covered the approaches to Kiev from this side, was taken and destroyed in the spring of 1239.

The news of Batu's impending campaign reached Kiev. However, despite the imminent danger of an invasion, there were no noticeable attempts to unite in South Russia to repel the enemy. The princely strife continued. Kiev was effectively left to its own forces. He received no help from other southern Russian principalities.

Batu's invasion began in the fall of 1240, again gathering all his devoted people under his command. In November, he approached Kiev, the Tatar army surrounded the city. Spread on high hills above the Dnieper, the great city was heavily fortified. The powerful ramparts of Yaroslav's city covered Kiev from the east, south and west. Kiev in full force resisted the coming enemies. Kievans defended every street, every house. But, nevertheless, with the help of powerful battering guns and rapids on December 6, 1240, the city fell. It was terribly devastated, most of the buildings perished in the fire, the inhabitants were killed by the Tatars. Kiev for a long time lost its significance as a large urban center.

Now, after the capture of great Kiev, the way to all the centers of Southern Russia and Eastern Europe was open for the Mongol-Tatars. It was Europe's turn.

Batu's exit from Russia

From the destroyed Kiev, the Mongol-Tatars moved further to the west, in the general direction to Vladimir-Volynsky. In December 1240, under the onslaught of the Mongol-Tatar troops, the towns along Sredny Teterev were abandoned by the population and garrisons. Most of the Bolokhov towns surrendered without a fight. The Tatars confidently, without turning, went west. On the way, they met strong resistance from small towns on the outskirts of Russia. Archaeological studies of the settlements in this area recreate the picture of the heroic defense and the death of fortified towns under the blows of the superior forces of the Mongol-Tatars. Volodymyr-Volynsky was also taken by the Mongols by storm after a short siege. The end point of the "round-up", where the Mongol-Tatar detachments united after the devastation of South-Western Russia, was the city of Galich. After the Tatar pogrom, Galich became desolate.

As a result, having defeated the Galician and Volyn lands, Batu left the Russian lands. In 1241, a campaign began in Poland and Hungary. The whole campaign of Batu to Southern Russia, thus, took very little time. With the departure of the troops of the Mongol-Tatars abroad, the campaign of the Mongol-Tatars to the Russian lands ended.

Coming out of Russia, Batu's troops invade the states of Europe, where they strike terror and fear into the inhabitants. In Europe, it was announced that the Mongols escaped from hell, and everyone was waiting for the end of the world. But Russia still resisted. In 1241 Batu returned to Russia. In 1242, in the lower reaches of the Volga, he placed his new capital - Saray-batu. At the end of the 13th century, after the creation of the state of the Golden Horde by Batu, the Horde yoke was established in Russia.

The establishment of the yoke in Russia

The campaign of the Mongol Tatars to the Russian lands ended. Russia was in devastation after the terrible invasion, but gradually it begins to recover, normal life is being restored. The surviving princes return to their capitals. The dispersed population is gradually returning to the Russian lands. Cities are being restored, villages and villages are being settled in a new way.

In the first years after the invasion, the Russian princes were more worried about their destroyed cities, were engaged in their restoration, and the distribution of princely tables. To a lesser extent now they were worried about the problem of establishing any kind of relations with the Mongol-Tatars. The invasion of the Tatars did not have a big impact on the interpersonal relations of the princes: in the capital of the country, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich sat on the grand princely throne, and transferred the rest of the lands into the possession of his younger brothers.

But the calmness of Russia was disturbed again when the Mongol-Tatars, after the campaign to Central Europe, appeared on the Russian lands. The Russian princes faced the question of establishing some kind of relationship with the conquerors. Touching upon the issue of further relations with the Tatars, the problem of disputes between the princes arose: opinions on further actions differed. The cities captured by the Mongol armies were in a terrible state of destruction. Some cities were completely burned out. Temples, churches, cultural monuments were destroyed and also burned. To restore the city before the time of the Mongol invasion, huge forces, funds and time were needed. The Russian people had no strength: neither for the restoration of cities, nor for the fight against the Tatars. Strong and wealthy cities in the northwestern and western outskirts, which did not undergo the Mongol invasion (Novgorod, Pskov, Polotsk, Minsk, Vitebsk, Smolensk), entered the opposition. They, accordingly, opposed the recognition of dependence on the Horde khans. They did not suffer, retaining their lands, wealth and armies.

The existence of these two groups - the northwestern one, which opposed the recognition of dependence on the Horde, and the Rostov group, which was inclined to establish peaceful relations with the conquerors - largely determined the policy of the Grand Prince of Vladimir. In the first decade after the invasion of Batu, it was twofold. But the people of northeastern Russia did not have the strength to openly resist the conquerors, which made it inevitable to recognize the dependence of Russia on the Golden Horde khans.

In addition, a significant circumstance influenced the prince's decision: the voluntary recognition of the power of the Horde Khan provided the Grand Duke personally with certain advantages in the struggle to subjugate other Russian princes to his influence. In case of non-recognition of the dependence of the Russian land on the Horde, the prince could be overthrown from his grand-ducal table. But on the other hand, the prince's decision was influenced by the existence of a strong opposition to the Horde power in North-Western Russia and the repeated promises of the West of military assistance against the Mongol-Tatars. These circumstances could awaken hope, under certain conditions, to resist the claims of the conquerors. In addition, in Russia, the popular masses constantly opposed the foreign yoke, with which the Grand Duke could not but reckon. As a result, the formal recognition of the dependence of Russia on the Golden Horde was proclaimed. But the fact of recognition of this power did not mean in reality the establishment of a foreign yoke over the country.

The first decade after the invasion is the period when the foreign yoke was just taking shape. At this time in Russia, the popular forces acted for Tatar rule, and while they were winning.

The Russian princes, recognizing their dependence on the Mongol-Tatars, tried to establish relations with them, for which they often visited the Horde Khan. Following the Grand Duke, other princes reached out to the Horde "about their fatherland". Probably, the trip of the Russian princes to the Horde was somehow connected with the registration of tributary relations.

Meanwhile, strife continued in North-Eastern Russia. And among the princes, two oppositions emerged: for and against dependence on the Golden Horde.

But in general, at the beginning of the 50s of the 13th century, a rather strong anti-Tatar group was formed in Russia, ready to resist the conquerors.

However, the policy of Grand Duke Andrei Yaroslavich, aimed at organizing resistance to the Tatars, collided with the foreign policy of Alexander Yaroslavich, who considered it necessary to maintain peaceful relations with the Horde in order to restore the forces of the Russian princes and prevent new Tatar campaigns.

New Tatar invasions could be prevented by establishing peaceful relations with the Horde, that is, by recognizing its power. Under these conditions, the Russian princes made a certain compromise with the Mongol-Tatars. They recognized the supreme power of the khan and donated part of the feudal rent to the Mongol-Tatar feudal lords. In return, the Russian princes received confidence in the absence of the danger of a new invasion from the Mongols, and they also more firmly established themselves on their princely throne. The princes who opposed the power of the khan risked losing their power, which, with the help of the Mongol khan, could pass to another Russian prince. The Horde khans, in turn, were also interested in an agreement with the local princes, as they received an additional weapon to maintain their dominion over the masses.

Later, the Mongol-Tatars established a "regime of systematic terror" in Russia. The slightest disobedience of the Russians caused punitive expeditions of the Mongols. During the second half of the 13th century, they carried out at least twenty devastating campaigns to Russia, each of which was accompanied by the devastation of cities and villages, and the capture of Russian people.

As a result of the recognition by Russia of dependence on the Golden Horde in Russia, for many years there was a restless, difficult, stressful life. There was a struggle between the princes for and against the Golden Horde, there were frequent strife. Anti-Tatar groups were constantly performing. Both some Russian princes and Mongol khans went against the popular mass demonstrations. The people were under constant pressure from the Golden Horde. Russia, already once shaken by the terrible tragedy of the Mongol invasion, now again lived in constant fear of a new destructive offensive of the Golden Horde. Russia was in such a position dependent on the Golden Horde until the end of the 14th century on September 8, 1380. Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy defeated the main forces of the Golden Horde in the battle on the Kulikovo field, and dealt a serious blow to its military and political domination. It was a victory over the Mongol-Tatars, and the final liberation of Russia from the dependence of the Golden Horde.