Russian shift after Mongol invasion

Cross culture contact was common by 1000 AD but still had strong and long lasting effects. The Mongol invasion of Russia in 1237 was no exception. The Mongolian army called the Golden Horde swept into Russia and conquered it easily. For the next 200 years Mongolians, called Tatars by the Russians, ruled over much of the territory. The occupation brought long lasting changes to Russia long after the Mongolians were driven from the lands.

Before the Mongolian invasion Russian society and power was divided into three levels. At the top there were many princes that were scattered around the country each ruling over his own territory. Bellow the princes were nobles who had a great deal of independence. At the bottom were merchants, shopkeepers, and free peasant farmers who met at times to decide local issues by popular vote. After the Mongol invasion and occupancy Russia would never return to this system.

The Mongolians were all united under a Khan or emperor. The Russians on the other hand were scattered across a large territory and each individual kingdom was power hungry. They princes were suspicious of there neighbor rulers intentions and often made war on each other. One by one the individual princes fell to the Mongolians. They were unwilling to band together to repel the invaders. The Mongolians killed most of the princes, nobles, and anyone else the felt like killing.

Eventually after the Mongolians were no longer united under one ruler there was a Russian uprising and they were able to take back their country. The country now was more accustomed to centralized authority and would be lead by tsars. This new beginning would not tolerate independence or democracy and would eventually become the Soviet Union. The culture of the Mongols including their idea of Khans spread to Russia through force and occupation.