Muscovite Manorialism - Tartar Invasions

Tartar Invasions

1237 marked the beginning of a period of decline for the Rus', as both a culture and as a people. The first through Fourth Crusade, which effectively halted trade with the Byzantine Empire and cut off the Middle Eastern trade routes, began the decline of Kievan importance. The Mongol invasion of 1237 also helped mark the passing of free Kievian society. The Tatars sacked Kiev and all major towns; their practice of total destruction led to the dismemberment of the Kievian princedom and an end to Russian society as their people knew it. With the annihilation of Kiev and every city west of it all the way into Central Europe, Russian trade with the west and south was curtailed. With the destruction of its trade base and its trade routes curtailed, Kiev's role as an important seat of power ended. The people found it necessary to move to the northeast where they found a new home in the princedoms of the upper Volga River and Oka River.

As the invading Mongols ravaged the countryside, entire populations were wiped out. The peasant and serf classes were nearly destroyed en totalium; the continuation of the historical family commune social structure was broken and proved ineffective for large-scale governmental control. Most of the minor princedoms were destroyed. Most cities in the Rus' were razed and the population found it necessary to flee to the northeast in hopes of escaped the wrath of the Golden Horde.

As the Golden Horde expanded across Asia, the Khanate found it necessary to incorporate different governing aspects of the peoples it conquered; from these, much was taken from the Chinese. Their philosophy on autocratic dual government was carried from the Tatar state all the way to Muscovite Rus'. The ruling Khanate injected the Mongol governing ideology into the Rus', formed its princes to this mold and exacted control on the society as dictated by their synthesized theorem of government and established dominance over the Rus' political structure.

The Mongols realized the importance of cultural assimilation and local government. Mongols borrowed the political and cultural ideas from the societies they conquered. The Qipchaq idea of dual government, a principle of dual civil-military administration used to affect control over a large area, was initially developed by the Han Chinese. Han civil code, with the synthesis of Islamic iqtā, a system of decentralized cavalry control (power dispersion), proved to be an effective way of governing the Mongols' empire. After the death of Genghis Khan it was obvious the succeeding khans needed to implement effective government control over their subjects; the importance of local government, run by the natives, became evident.

By the early 14th century, the Prince of Moscow was seen as one of the chief princes of the Rus', and by the late 14th century recognized as the chief prince of Rus', or Grand Prince. Consequently the Khanate granted him the governing power of the Mongolian basqaqs, or governor. Power was laid to the prince to collect taxes and use military force to maintain order. When the Khan was thoroughly convinced the Grand Prince could perform all the duties of the basqaqs effectively, he was given total control and the Mongol basqaqs were withdrawn from the Rus'. Although the Khan removed his governors due to acquiescence and acceptance of Qipachaq authority, he did maintain an envoy to the Rus' to keep open dialogue with the Grand Prince. In concession to the khan for this near autonomy, a monetary payment based on population, military service and of course compliance to Qipachaq whim was demanded. In effect the Rus' was commanded as a tribute state to the Mongol Empire.

Taking advantage of a peaceful situation with the Mongols, the Grand Prince was able to look again to his princedom and began extending his power further from Moscow. Grand Princes of Moscow ruled the Rus' for much of the rest of the century in near peace. As the Grand Princes extended their power, land ownership was assuming a more dominant role in deciding one's true worth in the social strata. Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries there were no restrictions on land ownership, as men of every class were able to hold a piece of dirt and call the other their equal. Since primary production was still the chief means of working the land, the serf class, as was seen in England, did not develop quickly. Instead the land was worked by the owner and his family, slaves, and those he paid for labor.

Internal consolidation of power accompanied outward expansion of the Rus' state. Even though the occurrences of private land ownership were increasing, the Grand Prince and his subservient princes considered all the lands of their realms their personal property. Traditionally the Grand Prince was forced to recognize private ownership of land, because the prince was not able to wield enough power to push his belief in supreme ownership. Later, when the Grand Prince was able to consolidate power, the idea of princely land ownership would not be forgotten and would have consequences on the future.