THE TARTAR YOKE
If the Byzantine heritage has had an important influence on the
development of Russian history and culture, so has another heritage,
coming from another direction and leaving behind more uncertain
benefits. The destinies of nations, like the fates of individuals,
are sometimes profoundly affected by events over which they have
no control. The conquest by the Mongols, in the thirteenth century,
of a large portion of the then known world, including Russia,
is a good example of the decisive part which the contingent and
the unforeseen play in human affairs.
The Mongols were a mixed group of peoples who first enter upon
the world state in the area of North China and Eastern Siberia.
They were nomads who raised cattle and moved about on fleet horses.
They were fierce warriors who had perfected the art of horseback
Blitzkrieg. They were always on the move, looking for better grazing
pastures and sedentary settlements to plunder. According to tradition
the various Mongol chiefs held a council in 1206 which decided
to establish an empire under the leadership of Ghingis Khan. So
they embarked on a vast program of conquest. In 1207 they took
southern Siberia, followed by long wars in China and Turkestan.
By the time of Ghingis Khan's death in 1227 they had conquered
China, Siberia, central Asia and Trans-Caucasia.
Although a flying detachment of Mongol horsemen invaded Russia
and defeated her armies in 1223, giving the Russians a taste of
what was to come, nothing happened until 13 years later. In 1236,
however, Batu, the grandson of the great Khan, decided it was
time to go on the warpath again. A large Mongol army under Batu
crossed the Urals and wiped out the Volga Bulgars. This time it
was more than fun and games. The Mongols brought wagons, wives,
children and cattle with them. Although the Russians did not at
first realize it, the Mongols apparently planned to stay for a
while. But they made themselves rather unwelcome by destroying
cities, towns and settlements. Yet the Russian princes made no
effort to unite and organize for the defense.
The princes of Riazon, the first Russian land to be invaded, pleaded
vainly for assistance from the grand duke of Vladimir. The city
of Riazan was captured in December 1237, pillaged and burned.
A similar fate befell Kalomma, Moscow, Suzdal, Vladimir, Rostov,
Yaroslav and Tver. The next spring 14 more Russian cities fell
to the conqueror. By 1239 most of Russia except Novgorod and the
northwest had been subdued. In 1241 Batu crossed the Carpathians
and invaded Hungary, Silesia, Moravia, Croatia and the Dalmatian
coast of the Adriatic. Batu was about to threaten Western Europe
in 1242 when he suddenly turned back and retreated to the Black
Sea steppes. For the next 240 years the Mongols stayed in Russia.
In the Black Sea area Batu established the autonomous Mongol state
of the Golden Horde with the newly built capital of Sarai on the
lower Volga. This state included the Russian principalities, the
land of the Volga Bulgars, the Black Sea steppes inhabited by
the Cumans, the northern Caucasus, Western Siberia and Turkestan.
The Golden Horde was at first a province of the Mongol empire.
This fact forced many Russian princes to travel all the way to
Karakorum in Mongolia to consult with the great Khan himself over
such things as tribute, conformation of office and redress of
grievances. But dissension eventually weakened the empire and
its autonomous states became warring factions.
In the fifteenth century it became apparent that the Mongol empire
could no longer hold together. At the same time the Russians finally
succeeded in overcoming their ancient disorders. and building
up a unified state under the leadership of the Moscow princes.
The disintegration of the Golden Horde and them consolidation
of Muscovy culminated in what is traditionally known as the "liberation
from the Tatar yoke," an event that took place at the end
of the fifteenth century.
The Mongols, as a nation, were notably free from racial and religious
exclusiveness. They mixed willingly with the Chinese, absorbed
and assimilated the Cumans and other nomadic peoples whom they
had conquered. In the fourteenth century they officially embraced
Islam. With the weakening of the Golden Horde, many Tatar chieftains
and dignitaries entered the Russian service and were eventually
merged with the Russian nobility.
The khans of the Golden Horde were stern masters. The principal
objective of their Russian policy was recruitment of men for the
army and the raising of revenue to meet the costs of administration
and imperial expansion. Russian soldiers are known to have fought
in the ranks of the conquerors. The Russian princes continued
to draft men into their armed forces as they did before the invasion,
but under the Mongol rule these troops were largely at the disposal
of the khan.
Exaction of tribute was one of the chief concerns of the Golden
Horde in dealing with the Russian dependency. There was a variety
of new taxes and their assessment was based on census taken by
the Tartars. Collection of tribute was at first in the hands of
Mongol officials, but late this function was handed over to Russian
grand dukes and princes. The most important direct tax was the
"vykhod". Its total amount was determined by the Mongols
and was then assessed by the local grand duke among the princes
under his jurisdiction, who made the final allocation and then
collected it. Direct extortion's were heavy, among them being
the provision of transportation, lodgings and maintenance for
Mongol officials. No less burdensome were the frequent trips the
princes had to make to Mongolia and Sarai to appear before the
Khan. They usually brought their families and suitable presents
for the Khan and his officials.
While the devastation wrought by the invasion was great, the conquerors
made surprisingly few formal changes in the pattern of the Russian
government. But one change was unmistakable: the source of all
power was now the sovereign will of the khan of the Golden Horde.
This meant in practice that the Russian princes had to be confirmed
in office by their new suzerain and that all major issues were
referred to the Golden Horde. The Mongols, however, seldom used
their absolute powers in an arbitrary fashion. As a rule they
showed respect for Russian traditional institutions and confirmed
in office the princes who appeared to be entitled to it by precedent
and custom. When more than one prince appeared to claim the position
the khan usually selected the prince who promised to raise the
most tribute. Thus the Russian people usually received a higher
tax rate along with a new prince.
The dynastic position of some of the ruling families, as for instance
the princes of Moscow, was strengthened by increasing the financial
burdens of the people whom they governed. In many instances the
princes came to be looked upon, not as spokesmen of local interests
before the Mongol power, but as agents of the khan enforcing his
edicts at the expense of the local people.*Another significant
change brought by the Mongols was the undermining of the constitutional
position of the veche. After the conquest the veche was deprived
of its traditional powers of making agreements with the princes
and of expelling or inviting them. This loss of authority, combined
with the devastation suffered by the commercial cities and the
decline of trade during the opening decades of the Mongol rule,
was responsible for the eclipse of the veche. With the exception
of Novgorod and Pskov the veche ceased to meet in the middle of
the fourteenth century.
The church fared poorly during the invasion. Monasteries and houses
of worship were pillaged and burned, bishops and priests were
butchered. After the conquest, however, the policies of the Golden
Horde towards the church were more tolerant, humane and politically
expedient. The status of the church was determined by decrees
of the khan. Higher clergy like the princes were confirmed in
office by the khan and the church agreed to pray publicly for
the Mongol ruler and his family.
In return the church and the clergy were exempt from taxes and
military service. Anti-church propaganda was punishable by death
and the church and its property was protected by the khan's agents.
This cooperation proved to be mutually beneficial. It made if
easier for the Mongols to rule Russia and its allowed the church
to grow and increase its land holdings. In the long run it created
difficulties between church and state by strengthening the material
power and independence of the church.
Although trade was at first hampered by the invasions and disorders,
it soon recovered and was actively promoted by the Mongols. Most
of the trade was controlled by the Mongols but many native traders
had a share of the profits. Trade with Western Europe was carried
on chiefly through Novgorod, which was an outpost of the Hanseatic
League.
The internal strife that developed in the Mongol empire towards
the end of the thirteenth century and continued intermittently
until its final disintegration offered the Russian princes opportunities
to reassert their independence. In the 1360's a rebellion in southern
China led to the severance of that territory and the breakdown
of the Mongol empire. These difficulties led t young prince, Dimitry
of Moscow, to top payment of the tribute. The khan then tried
to force payment with a punitive invasion. The Russians had no
choice but to fight. Dimitry issued a call to arms, but few of
Russia's princes responded. Yet enough of an army was raised to
give the Russian forces under Dimitry an unexpected victory in
1380 at the Battle of Kulikovo near the Don. Dimitry thus received
the name of Donskoy. This battle was the first and only major
Russian victory over the Golden Horde and it added stature and
luster to the grand dukes of Moscow.
However, the Tartars soon recovered and reasserted their domination
of Russia. They now interfered more directly in Russian affairs
than before Kulikovo. More revolts and punitive expeditions followed
for another whole century. Finally in the second half of the fifteenth
century Moscow grew stronger and the Mongols weaker. The leading
Russian prince of this period was Ivan III of Moscow (1462-1505).
The Golden Horde was ruled from 1460 to 1480 by Khan Akhmad.
Friction, presumably resulting from Russia's failure to provide
tribute, led to a major Mongol invasion in 1472 which was accompanied
by the destruction and burning of a number of cities. Two years
latter Moscow was visited by a large Tartar embassy and a huge
trade delegation comprising some 3000 merchants. New difficulties
soon arose thereafter. When negotiations failed, Akhmad concluded
an alliance with the king of Poland and the grand duke of Lithuania
and in 1480 invaded Russia.
Ivan was reluctant to accept the challenge but was finally persuaded
to assume command of the troops. The two found themselves facing
each other across the Ugra River, a narrow stream that formed
the boundary between Russia and Lithuania. They just stood there
glaring at each other for months. finally in November Akhmad suddenly
retreated. Why? Well his Polish and Lithuanian allies failed to
send troops and a rival Tartar chieftain attacked one of his camps
which contained Akhmad's wives and family. Soon after that Akhmad
was assassinated by one of his countrymen. In this undramatic
and unheroic fashion the "Tartar yoke" fell from the
neck of Russia. The Golden Horde survived until 1502, when the
Crimean Tartars delivered the final blow which terminated its
existence as a state.
In conclusion we might ask ourselves what influence the Tartar-Mongols
had on Russia.
Two and one half centuries of foreign rule are bound to leave
a profound imprint on a subjugated nation. The influence of the
Mongol tradition may be traced in the crude methods by which Russia's
unification was achieved in the fifteenth century and in the character
of the absolutist government that was to rule her for over 300
years. The conditions created by the invasion were probably instrumental
in bringing about the destruction of the veche, although there
is no assurance that this rudimentary form of democracy would
have survived and would have grown into an institution of truly
representative government even if the Tartars had never come to
Russia. The military organization and administrative practices
of Muscovy were probably also affected by Mongol institutions.
The social effects of the Mongol rule are more pronounced. There
was a great deal of intermarriage and social intercourse between
the Russian princes and members of the Russian upper class, on
the one hand, and their opposite numbers in the Golden Horde,
on the other. As the fortunes of Sarai declined and those of Moscow
increased many Mongol notable switched their allegiance to Muscovy.
Many of these people became important Russian landowners. Many
Mongols also entered the /Russian administrative and military
services. At the end of the 17th century about 17% of the Russian
upper class were of Eastern, chiefly Mongol, origin.
There were also important cultural effects. Mongol domination
retarded Russia's cultural development. It delayed for at least
two centuries any contact between Russia and Europe, which was
at that time the only fountain of progress and enlightenment.
The Russian Middle Ages were barren of achievement in any field
of creative endeavor, except perhaps that of icon painting, which
reached high standards in the fifteenth century.
In the economic field the most spectacular development was that
of the invasion. It took time before the Russian economy recovered
from the devastation wrought, although the extremely low technical
and economic levels prevalent during this period facilitated the
task. Foreign trade, which came to a standstill with the conquest,
revived substantially thereafter. There was little progress in
agriculture and industry, but there is no evidence that these
pursuits sank below their modest pre-Mongol level. As with cultural
endeavor it was a case of stagnation and arrested development
rather than of deterioration and decline. The Russian economy,
however, was severely affected by two manifestations of the Mongol
rule: exaction of tribute, often exorbitant ones, and warlike
action that took the form either of invasions of Russia or of
foreign wars in which the Russians were forced to participate
side by side with their masters.
The blending of the Byzantine tradition embodied in the church
and Mongol ideas and administrative usages paved the way for the
establishment of the semi-oriental absolutism of the Muscovite
tsars. The window on Europe, which might have admitted the refreshing
breeze of western influences, was still tightly shut, while the
deadening storms from the Asiatic steppes swept freely through
the length and breadth of the land. Moscow autocracy of the 16th
century was no different form that of the Tartar Khans. The landed
aristocracy became servile to the Moscow grand dukes and tsars.
the veche lost the right to choose and expel princes - a function
which had been taken over by the khans. The common people began
to drift quite noticeably into the dark night of serfdom.
Send comments and questions to Professor
Gerhard Rempel at Western New England College