Mongol Invasion of Rus' - Impact On Development

Impact On Development

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The influence of the Mongol invasion on the territories of Kievan Rus' was uneven. Colin McEvedy (Atlas of World Population History, 1978) estimates the population of European Russia dropped from 7.5 million prior to the invasion to 7 million afterwards. Centers such as Kiev never recovered from the devastation of the initial attack. The Novgorod Republic continued to prosper, however, and new entities, the rival cities of Moscow and Tver, began to flourish under the Mongols. Indeed, Moscow's eventual dominance of northern and eastern Rus' was in large part attributable to the Mongols. After the prince of Tver joined a rebellion against the Mongols 1327, his rival prince Ivan I of Moscow joined the Mongols in crushing Tver and devastating its lands. By doing so he eliminated his rival, allowed the Russian Orthodox Church to move its headquarters to Moscow, and was granted the title of Grand prince by the Mongols. As such, the Muscovite prince became the chief intermediary between the Mongol overlords and the Rus' lands, which paid further dividends to Moscow's rulers. While the Mongols often raided other areas of Rus, they tended to respect the lands controlled by their principal collaborator. This, in turn, attracted nobles and their servants who sought to settle in the relatively secure and peaceful Moscow lands.

Although Russian forces defeated the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, Mongol domination of parts of Rus' territories, with the requisite demands of tribute, continued until the Great stand on the Ugra river in 1480.

Certainly, it can be (and often is) argued that without the Mongol destruction of Kievan Rus' that Moscow, and subsequently the Russian Empire, would not have risen. Trade routes with the East came through the Rus' lands, making them a center for trade from both worlds. In short, the Mongol influence, while destructive in the extreme to their enemies, had a significant long term effect on the rise of modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

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