Places of the battle of Russia with foreign conquerors. The struggle of Russia against foreign invaders

Wave-like development from the second half of the 11th century, weakened its ability to withstand external aggression from the East and West.

Initially, the Polovtsy, a Turkic-speaking people, who appeared in the southern Russian steppes in the second half of the 11th century, threatened the Russian principalities from the east. They came from the Trans-Volga region and settled from the Volga to the Danube, led a nomadic life, engaged in cattle breeding. Polovtsy united in tribal union headed by Khan. The Polovtsian army, which consisted of light and heavy cavalry, which had a permanent militia, was armed with bows, sabers, and spears; Helmets and light armor served as protection. The military tactics of the Polovtsy was reduced to setting up ambushes, using sudden and swift horse attacks on the flanks and rear of the enemy in order to encircle and defeat him.

The devastating raids of the Polovtsy on the South Russian lands, which began in 1055, continued until the Tatar-Mongol invasion. The Polovtsy ravaged the Russian lands, robbed livestock and property, took away a lot of prisoners, who were either kept as slaves or sold in the slave markets of the Crimea and Central Asia. The border regions of Pereyaslavskaya, Severskaya, Kyiv, Ryazan region. The intensity of the Polovtsian raids was determined by the strength of the rebuff of the Russian princes. The exhausting struggle of the Russian princes with the Polovtsy went on with varying success. There are several main periods in this struggle. The first period, from 1055 to the beginning of the 12th century, is characterized by a high intensity of Polovtsian raids and a weak rebuff from Russia, which was part of a period of specific fragmentation. In the second half of the XI century. only Russian chronicles mention 46 Polovtsy attacks on Russia. The most dangerous and regular attacks were at the end of the 11th century. During this period, the typical outcome of clashes with the Polovtsians was the defeat of the Russian princes. So, in 1061, Vsevolod Yaroslavich was defeated by Khan Iskal, and Pereyaslav land was devastated.

In 1068, during the first major invasion of Russia, the Polovtsy in the battle on the river. Alte defeated the army of the Yaroslavichs and devastated the border lands. After that, the military campaigns of the Polovtsy on Russian lands acquired a regular character. In the battle with the Polovtsy on the Nezhatinnaya Niva in 1078, Izyaslav Yaroslavich of Kyiv was killed. In 1092, the Polovtsy launched a second large-scale offensive against Russia. In 1093, they won the battle on the Stugna River over the united troops of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich of Kyiv, Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh and Rostislav Vsevolodovich Pereyaslavsky. The repeated battle near Kyiv in the same 1093 also ended in the defeat of the Russians. The second period covers the first half of the 12th century. and is characterized by the victories of the combined forces of the Russian princes over the Polovtsy, offensive campaigns in the Polovtsian steppes, which resulted in a temporary cessation of raids and the pushing of the Polovtsians from the borders of South Russia.

The enormous damage that the Russian principalities suffered from the Polovtsian raids forced the specific princes to organize a military alliance in order to eliminate the Polovtsian threat. The results of collective action were not long in coming. In 1096, the Polovtsy suffered their first crushing defeat from the Russians. This was followed by a number of successful offensive campaigns of the Russian princes (1103, 1106, 1107, 1109, 1111, 1116). In 1117, Vladimir Monomakh made a trip to the Polovtsian winter quarters, after which they migrated to the North Caucasus and Georgia. And in 1139, the son of Monomakh, Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, pushed the Polovtsy beyond the Don, Volga, and Yaik. The main success factor in the fight against the Polovtsy was the temporary consolidation of the Russian principalities under the rule of Vladimir Monomakh. The third period of the struggle against the Polovtsy is associated with the resumption of their raids on the Russian principalities after the death of Mstislav the Great (son of Vladimir Monomakh), as a result of another surge in princely civil strife and the collapse of their military alliance. Simultaneously with the raids, the participation of the Polovtsy in the internecine struggle of the Russian princes resumed.

The attempts of some princes to create a new military alliance and organize a collective rebuff to the Polovtsians were unsuccessful, since they could not gather all their forces. A prime example unsuccessful separate offensive actions is the campaign of the hero of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", Igor Svyatoslavovich in 1185, which ended in the defeat and capture of Prince Igor. The fourth period began in the 1190s. It was a time, in general, of peaceful coexistence and partial Christianization of the Polovtsian nobility. In 1222, the Tatar-Mongol invasion approached the Polovtsy themselves, which forced the Polovtsy to seek an alliance with the Russian princes to repel the onslaught of the Mongol-Tatars. In 1223, the allied Russian and Polovtsian troops were defeated by the Mongol army in the battle on the Kalka River.

Then the Polovtsy were absorbed by the Tatar-Mongol army and ceased to exist as an independent military-political force. New aggressors, the Mongol-Tatars, were advancing to replace the Polovtsy from the east to Russia. In 1206, at the congress of the leaders of the Mongol tribes, a centralized Mongol state was formed, headed by the great Khan Temuchin (Genghis Khan). Genghis Khan managed to unite the Mongol tribes and create a strong army for aggressive campaigns to the West and to the South from the Mongolian steppes. The Mongolian army consisted of well-trained, disciplined and armed cavalry. Mongolian horses were very unpretentious and hardy, they could make transitions up to 80 km per day. The main weapon of the riders was the Mongolian bow - the most powerful weapon for that time, manufactured using a secret technology. The lethal range of the Mongolian bow was up to 800 meters.

At the same time, iron armor penetrated at such a distance. Hence the military tactics of the Mongols - firing from long-range bows, encircling the enemy and swift cavalry attacks from the flanks and from the rear. In the wars of conquest with China, the Mongolian army also mastered special equipment for storming fortified fortresses and cities, battering rams and other assault devices. In addition, the size of the Mongol army was constantly growing. Genghis Khan replenished his army with representatives of the conquered peoples, forming new units from them according to the Mongol model and with Mongol military leaders. The military aggression of the Mongol-Tatars was successful not only due to the military superiority of their army and the military talent of Genghis Khan, but also due to the fact that the countries that became the object of their attack were in a stage of feudal fragmentation and could not offer serious resistance. In 1211, the Mongols conquered their neighbors - the Buryats, Evenks, Uighurs, Yakuts, and the Yenisei Kirghiz. In 1215, the Mongols captured Northern China, and in 1218, Korea was conquered. In 1219, almost 200,000 Mongol troops began the conquest of Central Asia.

The advanced detachments of the Mongols, having captured Iran and the Caucasus, went out into the steppes North Caucasus, where in 1223 the combined forces of the Russian princes and Polovtsy were defeated in the Battle of Kalka, but then they turned back and left. In 1227, Genghis Khan died, and in 1229 Khan Ogedei (Ogedei), the third son of Genghis Khan, became the head of the vast Mongol state. In 1235, at the Khural (national congress of the Mongolian nobility) in the capital of Mongolia, Karokorum, a decision was made to continue the aggressive campaigns to the West. Russia was identified as the next object of aggression, and then Europe. At the head of the 30,000th army were placed the grandson of Genghis Khan - Batu, as well as one of the best generals of Genghis Khan, who participated in the first campaign to the West of Subedei (Subedei).

In 1236, the Mongols defeated the Volga Bulgaria, and in the fall of 1237, having previously conquered the Polovtsians and other steppe nomads who bordered on the southern Russian lands, the Mongols invaded the Ryazan principality. Russian principalities that are on the way aggressive campaign, could neither combine their military forces nor prepare to repel aggression and were defeated one by one. The military forces of each individual Russian principality could not offer worthy resistance to the Mongols. The Mongols, after a six-day siege, stormed and ravaged Ryazan, moved to the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. All the cities of this principality were captured and devastated. Moreover, the usual period of the siege of cities was about a week. The courage and heroism of the few Russian professional soldiers could not compensate for the military superiority of the Mongols. The Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich, who tried, but did not have time to gather and prepare the combined Russian forces for battle, on March 4, 1238, suffered a crushing defeat in the battle on the City River and was killed. Then the Mongols moved to Novgorod, but after the capture of Torzhok on March 5, 1238, the main forces of the Mongols, not reaching 100 miles to Novgorod, turned back into the steppes (according to different versions, due to spring thaw or due to high losses). On their way south, the Mongols laid siege to the small town of Kozelsk.

The siege, where the prince was the 12-year-old grandson of the participant in the battle on the Kalka, Mstislav Svyatoslavich Vasily, dragged on for 7 weeks. In May 1238, after a three-day assault, the Mongols took Kozelsk, while suffering heavy losses, both in technology and in human resources. The enraged Mongols killed the entire population of the city, not sparing even the babies. The young prince Vasily, according to chronicle legend, drowned in blood. Batu was enraged by the unheard-of resistance of the inhabitants of Kozelsk, and forbade calling this city Kozelsk, and ordered to call it "Evil City". At the end of 1238 - beginning of 1239. the Mongols led by Subedei, having suppressed the uprising in the Volga Bulgaria and the Mordovian land, again invaded Russia, devastated the environs of Nizhny Novgorod, Gorokhovets, Gorodets, Murom, and again - Ryazan.

On March 3, 1239, a detachment under the command of Berke ravaged Pereyaslavl. In October 1239, after a siege using powerful siege equipment, Chernigov was taken by the Mongols (the army under the leadership of Prince Mstislav Glebovich unsuccessfully tried to help the city). On September 5, 1240, the Mongol army led by Batu laid siege to Kyiv. For three months Kyiv heroically defended itself under the leadership of the thousandth Dmitri. Only on December 6, 1240, as a result of a fierce last assault, the city was taken by the Mongols and subjected to a brutal defeat and plunder. Then, moving to the West, the Mongols captured Vladimir Volynsky and Galich, devastating the lands of the Galicia-Volyn principality. Having done away with the Russian principalities, the Mongols invaded Poland and Hungary. However, weakened by losses in the fight against Russia and, fearing an uprising of the conquered Russian lands, the Mongols did not go deep into Europe and returned to the steppes in the lower reaches of the Volga. The consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion for the ancient Russian civilization were the most difficult. As a result of the invasion, about half of the population of Russia died, and a significant part of it was taken into slavery.

This dealt a crushing blow to the economy, and, above all, to the agriculture of Russia. The developed urban culture of Russia was almost completely destroyed. Of the Russian 74 cities of the XIII century. the Mongol-Tatars destroyed 49. In particular, such main cities of Russia as Kyiv, Vladimir, Suzdal, Ryazan, Tver, Chernigov and many others were destroyed. The exceptions were Veliky Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, as well as the cities of Polotsk and Turov-Pinsk principalities. The Mongol-Tatar invasion undermined urban crafts, slowed down and deformed the development of commodity-money relations. As a result, the Russian city could not become a center of progress: neither socio-politically nor culturally, it could resist feudalism, as well as the despotic form of power that had developed in Russia under the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The southern Russian lands lost almost the entire settled population. The surviving population went to the forest northeast, concentrating in the interfluve of the Northern Volga and Oka. There were poorer soils and a colder climate than in the southern regions of Russia completely devastated, and trade routes were under the control of the Mongols.

In its social economic development Russia was significantly thrown back. After the invasion, Russia fell into the conditions of the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The huge Mongol empire after the death of Khan Ogedei broke up into separate states. Batu formed a state from his possessions, called the Golden Horde. The Golden Horde stretched from the borders of Russia to Western Siberia and Khorezm. Its capital was the city of Sarai founded by Batu in the lower reaches of the Volga. The rulers of the Golden Horde appointed Russian princes, including the Grand Duke of Vladimir, giving them labels for reigning. They imposed an annual heavy tribute on Russia (“the Horde exit”), forced the Russian princes to participate in hostilities on the side of the Mongol-Tatars, and made frequent punitive raids on the rebellious Russian cities.

The ruin of cities, the impoverishment of the population, the collection of tribute and the leakage of silver to the Horde intensified the naturalization of the economy, preserved the patriarchal nature of the Russian village. The invasion and the then established Horde yoke also influenced the development of Russian statehood. The process of dividing the Russian lands in the northeast continued, the princely strife incited by the Horde intensified, and the alienation of the southern and southeastern territories took place. Western Russia who found themselves in the XIV century. as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland. At the same time, it should be noted that Russia retained its statehood and culture. In addition, with its heroic resistance, Russia actually saved Europe and Western civilization from the Mongol invasion. In general, the Mongol-Tatar invasion and the Mongol-Tatar yoke, as a rigid form of dependence of Russia on the Horde, threw Russia back in its civilizational development, which, in turn, led to a serious backlog of Russia from the countries Western Europe. Weakened by appanage strife and devastated by the Tatar-Mongol invasion, Russia became an attractive object of aggression from the West, from the Swedish and German knights and feudal lords.

Their onslaught was directed, first of all, to the Novgorod lands. The Swedes struck first. They took the form of a crusade in their attack of conquest in order to protect and spread Catholic Christianity among the pagans. The Swedish knights were blessed by Catholic bishops. In 1240, a large Swedish fleet landed a strong army at the confluence of the Izhora River with the Neva. The plans of the aggressors included the capture of Staraya Ladoga, and then Novgorod. The leader of the Swedes, Jarl (Prince) Birger, the future ruler of Sweden, sent an arrogant ultimatum to the Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavich: “If you want to oppose me, then I have already come. Come and bow, ask for mercy, and I will give it as much as I want. And if you resist, I will take captive and destroy everything and subjugate your land, and you will be my slave and your sons. Prince Alexander acted with lightning speed. Timely informed about the landing of the Swedes on the banks of the Neva, he, with his retinue and a small Novgorod militia, significantly inferior in number to the Swedes, secretly approached the enemy camp.

Alexander inspired his warriors with a bold and wise call: “We are few, but God is not in power, but in truth”. took place on July 15, 1240. The battle plan chosen by Prince Alexander assumed a sudden double blow along the Neva and Izhora, as a result of which essential part the enemy army is squeezed into a corner formed by rivers. During the battle, foot and horse Russian rati, united, had to push the enemy to the river and throw him into the water. This plan practically leveled the numerical superiority of the Swedes. In the Battle of the Neva, many Russian soldiers distinguished themselves with their remarkable feats. Prince Alexander himself, in a duel with Birger, wounded him with a spear. Having won a brilliant victory, Alexander Yaroslavich returned to Novgorod in triumph.

In honor of the victory on the Neva, the prince received the nickname Nevsky. This victory stopped the Swedes' aggression on the northwestern Russian lands for a long time and, most importantly, kept Russia's access to the Gulf of Finland. The next attempt at aggression was made by the German knights. To capture the Baltic lands inhabited by pagan tribes of Lats, Estonians and Lithuanians, German knights and feudal lords in 1202 created the Order of the Sword, officially called the Brothers of the Host of Christ. The swordsmen wore a red sword and a cross on a white cloak and were not subordinate to the pope, but to the bishop, who undertook to cede a third of the occupied territory as it was conquered. Each member of the order had to take four vows: obedience, chastity, poverty, and constant struggle against the opponents of Catholicism.

Of all these vows, the sword-bearers diligently fulfilled only the last one. At the head of the order was the master, whom the knights themselves chose from their own circle. The sword-bearers undertook crusades against the Livs, Estonians, Semigallians and other Baltic peoples, capturing many lands in the Eastern Baltic, a third of which, with the sanction of the pope, was assigned to the order. Soon the sword-bearers invaded the Polotsk principality, began to threaten Novgorod and Pskov. In 1234, Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Novgorod inflicted a heavy defeat on the order near Derpt, and in 1236 the combined forces of Lithuanians and Semigallians utterly defeated the sword-bearers near Saule. In 1226, the second knightly order appeared in the Baltic States - the Teutonic Order, founded back in 1198 in Syria during crusades to the Middle East. In 1237, the remnants of the defeated Order of the Swordsmen merged with the Teutonic Order, forming the Baltic branch of the Teutonic Order - the Livonian Order. In 1240, the German crusaders captured Izborsk, and then defeated the Pskov army that had come to the aid of Izborsk and laid siege to Pskov.

However, they could not take the city by storm: because of the betrayal of a group of local boyars led by the Pskov mayor Tverdilo Ivankovich. Pskov was surrendered to the Germans without a fight. At the beginning of 1241, the Crusaders captured Koporye and Vodskaya Pyatina, i.e., lands located 40 km from Novgorod. In the same year, these lands were recaptured from the invaders by Novgorod troops led by Alexander Nevsky. At the beginning of 1242, having united the forces of his squad, the Novgorod city militia and the Vladimir-Suzdal regiments sent to help his father, Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, Alexander Nevsky moved towards the German knights. Starting an attack on the land of the Estonians, Alexander unexpectedly turned to Pskov and in March 1242 liberated it from the German invaders and traitor boyars with a surprise attack. On April 5, 1242, on the ice of Lake Peipsi, a general battle took place between Russian troops and German knights, which was called the Battle of the Ice. Total population Russian troops amounted to 15-17 thousand people. The number of troops of the Order in the battle on Lake Peipsi is estimated at 10-12 thousand people.

In this battle, the Germans used their traditional tactics, lining up their troops in the form of a wedge (called the “pig” by the Russians), the tip of which usually broke through the center of the enemy’s position with a powerful blow of the best knights, ensuring a common victory. However, Alexander Nevsky tactically outplayed the crusaders. He placed his strongest regiments not in the center, but on the flanks. A powerful blow from the crusaders broke through the center of the Russian position. Part of the Russian infantry even took to flight, but, having stumbled upon the steep shore of the lake, the system of inactive knights mixed up and could not build on their success. At this time, the flank squads of the Novgorodians squeezed, like ticks, the German "pig" from the flanks. Alexander Nevsky with his retinue struck from the rear. The knights could not stand the tension of the battle and rushed to run. Prince Alexander organized the pursuit, which was carried out for seven kilometers, to the western shore of Lake Peipsi.

The ice broke under the fugitives, many drowned, many were taken prisoner. The Livonians suffered a complete defeat. The brilliant victory in the Battle of the Ice stopped German aggression on Russian lands for a long time, defended the integrity and independence of the Novgorod Republic, and significantly weakened the power of the Livonian Order. According to Russian chronicles, 400 knights were killed in the battle and 50 were taken prisoner. By the middle of the 13th century. on the western borders of Russia, a new source of aggression begins to form - Lithuanian principality. The terrible danger from the Livonian and Teutonic orders forced the Lithuanians in the 30s of the XIII century. to unite around one military leader - the Grand Duke of Lithuania Mindovg. In 1245, the Lithuanian army, led by Prince Mindovg, attacked the Novgorod lands.

Alexander Nevsky immediately rushed to the invaders and inflicted a series of defeats on them near Toropets, near Lake Zhiztsa and near Usvyat, calming the aggressive claims of the Lithuanians for a long time. The successful repulsion of the onslaught of aggressors from the West was of great importance for maintaining the independence and territorial integrity of the Russian lands. The main factors of these successes were the political and military talent of Prince Alexander Nevsky, the unification of Russian forces, the skillful use of the liberation struggle of the Baltic peoples, as well as the happy deliverance of the Novgorod land from the devastating Mongol invasion, thanks to which its military and economic power was not undermined. But even a successful fight against the aggressors in the West did not ultimately save Novgorod from Tatar-Mongol yoke. Novgorod was subject to Tatar tribute, like all Russian principalities. Realizing the inability of Russia at that moment to resist the Mongol-Tatars, Prince Alexander Nevsky was forced to submit to their power.

After the death of his father, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich in 1247, the prince went to the Horde to Batu and in 1249 received a label for a great reign there. Summing up the history of specific Russia in the XII-XIII centuries, it should be noted that this due to many internal socio-economic and political reasons the period of feudal fragmentation, at the beginning was marked by the economic and cultural upsurge of the Russian lands, developing within the framework of small state formations (specific principalities). Then, after a large-scale aggression in the XIII century. on the part of the Mongol-Tatars, which Russia, which did not have a single powerful army, could not resist, this time became a rather tragic page in our national history. The defeat of the Russian principalities in the fight against the Mongols Tatar invasion, the ruin of most of the Russian lands led not only to a significant weakening of their economic, military and political potential, but to the establishment of the most difficult Mongol-Tatar yoke over Russia, which exhausted the forces of Russia and slowed down its recovery.

Topic: Russia's struggle against foreign invaders in the 13th century

University: VZFEI

Year and city: Vladimir 2009

Plan
1. The history of the Mongolian state and its conquests before coming to Russia.
2. The beginning of the Tatar-Mongol invasion and the establishment of the yoke (1238 - 1242)
3. The struggle of the Russian people with the Tatar-Mongols in 1242 - 1300.
4. The struggle of the Russian people against the Swedish-German aggression

1. The history of the Mongolian state and its conquests before coming to Russia.

Since ancient times, primitive peoples have lived in the steppes of Central Asia, the main occupation of which was nomadic cattle breeding. By the beginning of the XI century. the territory of modern Mongolia and southern Siberia was settled by Kereites, Naimans, Tatars and other tribes who spoke the Mongolian language. The formation of their statehood belongs to this period. The leaders of nomadic tribes were called khans, noble feudal lords - noyons. The social and state system of nomadic peoples had its own specifics: it was based on private ownership not of land, but of cattle and pastures. The nomadic economy requires constant expansion of the territory, so the Mongol nobility sought to conquer foreign lands.

In the second half of the XII century. The Mongol tribes under his rule were united by the leader Temujin. In 1206, the congress of tribal leaders awarded him the title of Genghis Khan. The exact meaning of this title is unknown, it is suggested that it can be translated as "great khan".

The power of the great khan was enormous; the management of individual parts of the state was distributed among his relatives, in strict subordination to whom there was nobility with squads and a mass of dependent people.

Genghis Khan managed to create a very combat-ready army, which had a clear organization and iron discipline. The army was divided into tens, hundreds, thousands. Ten thousand Mongol warriors were called "darkness" ("tumen"). Tumens were not only military, but also administrative units.

The main striking force of the Mongols was the cavalry. Each warrior had two or three bows, several quivers with arrows, an ax, a rope lasso, and a good command of a saber. The warrior's horse was covered with skins, which protected it from the arrows and weapons of the enemy. The head, neck and chest of the Mongol warrior from enemy arrows and spears were covered with an iron or copper helmet, leather armor. The Mongolian cavalry had high mobility. On their undersized, with a shaggy mane, hardy horses, they could travel up to 80 km per day, and up to 10 km with wagon trains, wall and flamethrower guns.

The Mongolian state was formed as a conglomerate of tribes and nationalities, devoid of economic basis. The law of the Mongols was "yasa" - a record of the norms of customary law, put at the service of the state. The capital of the Tatar-Mongols was the city of Karakorum on the Orkhon River, a tributary of the Selenga.

With the beginning of predatory campaigns, in which the feudal lords sought funds to replenish their income and possessions, a new period began in the history of the Mongolian people, disastrous not only for the conquered peoples of neighboring countries, but also for the Mongolian people themselves. The strength of the Mongolian state lay in the fact that it arose in the local feudal society at the early stages of its development, when the class of feudal lords still unanimously supported the aggressive aspirations of the great khans. In their attack on Central Asia, the Caucasus and Eastern Europe, the Mongol invaders encountered already feudally fragmented states, split into many possessions. The internecine hostility of the rulers deprived the peoples of the opportunity to put up an organized rebuff to the invasion of the nomads.

The Mongols began their campaigns with the conquest of the lands of their neighbors - Buryats, Evenks, Yakuts, Uighurs, Yenisei Kirghiz (by 1211). Then they invaded China and in 1215 took Beijing. Three years later, Korea was conquered. Having defeated China (finally conquered in 1279), the Mongols significantly increased their military potential. Flamethrowers, wall-beaters, stone-throwing tools, vehicles were taken into service.

In the summer of 1219, almost 200,000 Mongol troops led by Genghis Khan began the conquest of Central Asia. Having suppressed the stubborn resistance of the population, the invaders stormed Otrar, Khujand, Merv, Bukhara, Urgench, Samarkand and other cities. After the conquest of the Central Asian states, a group of Mongolian troops under the command of Subedei, bypassing the Caspian Sea, attacked the countries of Transcaucasia. Having defeated the united Armenian-Georgian troops and causing enormous damage to the economy of Transcaucasia, the invaders, however, were forced to leave the territory of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as they met with strong resistance from the population. Past Derbent, where there was a passage along the coast of the Caspian Sea, the Mongolian troops entered the steppes of the North Caucasus. Here they defeated the Alans (Ossetians) and Polovtsy, after which they ravaged the city of Sudak (Surozh) in the Crimea.

The Polovtsy, led by Khan Kotyan, father-in-law of the Galician prince Mstislav Udaly, turned to the Russian princes for help. They decided to act together with the Polovtsian khans. Vladimir-Suzdal Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich did not participate in the coalition. The battle took place on May 31, 1223 on the Kalka River. Russian princes acted inconsistently. One of the allies, Prince of Kyiv Mstislav Romanovich, did not fight. He took refuge with his army on a hill. Princely feuds led to tragic consequences: the united Russian-Polovtsian army was surrounded and defeated. The captive princes of the Mongol-Tatars were brutally killed. After the battle on the river The winners did not begin to move further to Russia. The next few years, the Mongol-Tatars fought in the Volga Bulgaria. Due to the heroic resistance of the Bulgars, the Mongols were able to conquer this state only in 1236. In 1227 Genghis Khan died. His empire began to disintegrate into separate parts (usuls).

2. The beginning of the Tatar-Mongol invasion and the establishment of the yoke (1238 - 1242)

In 1235, the Mongolian Khural (tribal congress) decided to start a big campaign to the West. It was headed by Genghis Khan's grandson Batu (Batu). In the autumn of 1237, Batu's troops approached the Russian lands. The first victim of the conquerors was the Ryazan principality. Its inhabitants asked for help from the Princes of Vladimir and Chernigov, but received no support from them. Probably, the reason for their refusal was internecine hostility, or maybe they underestimated the threatening danger. After five days of resistance, Ryazan fell, all the inhabitants, including the princely family, perished. In the old place, Ryazan was no longer revived (modern Ryazan is a new city located 60 km from the old Ryazan, it used to be called Pereyaslavl Ryazansky).

In January 1238, the Mongols moved along the Oka River to the Vladimir-Suzdal land. The battle with the Vladimir-Suzdal army took place near the city of Kolomna, on the border of the Ryazan and Vladimir-Suzdal lands. In this battle, the Vladimir army was killed, which actually predetermined the fate of northeastern Russia.

Strong resistance to the enemy for 5 days was provided by the population of Moscow, led by the governor Philip Nyanka. After the capture by the Mongols, Moscow was burned, and its inhabitants were killed.

February 4, 1238 Batu laid siege to Vladimir - the capital of North-Eastern Russia. The distance from Kolomna to Vladimir (300 km) was covered by his troops in a month. While part of the Tatar-Mongolian army surrounded the city with siege engines, preparing an assault, other armies dispersed throughout the principality: they captured Rostov, Yaroslavl, Tver, Yuryev, Dmitrov and other cities, 14 in total, not counting villages and graveyards. A special detachment occupied and burned Suzdal, some of the inhabitants were killed by the invaders, and the rest, both women and children, "barefoot and uncovered" in the cold, were driven to their camps. On the fourth day of the siege, the invaders broke into the city through gaps in the fortress wall near the Golden Gate. The princely family and the remnants of the troops closed in the Assumption Cathedral. The Mongols surrounded the cathedral with trees and set it on fire. The capital of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus with its wonderful cultural monuments was plundered on February 7.

After the capture of Vladimir, the Mongols broke up into separate detachments and subjected the cities of northeastern Russia to a rout. Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, even before the approach of the invaders to Vladimir, went to the north of his land to gather military forces. Hastily assembled regiments in 1238 were defeated on the City River, and Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich himself died in the battle.

The Mongol hordes moved to the north-west of Russia. After a two-week siege, the city of Torzhok fell, and the way to Novgorod was opened to the Mongol-Tatars. But, before reaching the city for about 100 km, the conquerors turned back. The reason for this was probably the spring thaw and the fatigue of the Mongol army. The retreat was in the nature of a "raid". Divided into separate detachments, the invaders "combed" the Russian cities. Smolensk managed to fight back, other centers were defeated. The greatest resistance to the Mongols was provided by the city of Kozelsk, which defended itself for seven weeks. The Mongols called Kozelsk an "evil city".

The second campaign of the Mongol-Tatars against Russia took place in 1239-1240. This time the goal of the conquerors was the lands of Southern and Western Russia. In the spring of 1239, Batu defeated southern Russia (Pereyaslavl South), in the fall - the Chernigov principality. In the autumn of the next 1240, the Mongol troops crossed the Dnieper and laid siege to Kyiv. After a long defense, which was headed by the voivode Dmitr, Kyiv fell. Then in 1241 Galicia-Volyn Rus was ravaged. After that, the conquerors divided into two groups, one of which moved to Poland, and the other to Hungary. They ravaged these countries, but did not advance further, the forces of the conquerors were already running out.

The part of the Mongol Empire that ruled the Russian lands was called the Golden Horde in the historical literature.

3. The struggle of the Russian people with the Tatar-Mongols in 1242 - 1300.

Despite the terrible ruin, the Russian people waged a partisan struggle. A legend has been preserved about the Ryazan hero Yevpaty Kolovrat, who gathered a squad of 1700 "brave" from the survivors of the battle in Ryazan and inflicted considerable damage on the enemy in Suzdal. The warriors of Kolovrat suddenly appeared where the enemy did not expect them, and terrified the invaders. The struggle of the people for independence undermined the rear of the Mongol invaders.

This struggle also took place in other lands. Leaving the borders of Russia to the west, the Mongol governors decided to provide themselves with food in the western region of Kyiv land. Having entered into an agreement with the boyars of the Bolokhov land, they did not ruin the local cities and villages, but obliged the local population to supply their army with grain. However, the Galician-Volyn prince Daniel, returning to Russia, undertook a campaign against the Bolokhov traitor boyars. The princely army "to betray the city of their fires and rowed (shafts) of their excavation", six Bolokhov cities were destroyed and thereby undermined the supply of the Mongolian troops.

The inhabitants of the Chernihiv land also fought. This struggle involved both ordinary people and, apparently, feudal lords. The papal ambassador Plano Carpini reports that when he was in Russia (on the way to the Horde), Prince Andrei of Chernigov “was accused before Batu of taking the horses of the Tatars out of the land and selling them to another place; and although this was not proven, he was nevertheless killed. Stealing Tatar horses has become a widespread form of struggle against steppe invaders.

The Russian lands devastated by the Mongols were forced to recognize vassal dependence on the Golden Horde. The incessant struggle waged by the Russian people against the invaders forced the Mongol-Tatars to abandon the creation of their own administrative authorities in Russia. Russia retained its statehood. This was facilitated by the presence in Russia of its own administration and church organization. In addition, the lands of Russia were unsuitable for nomadic cattle breeding, in contrast, for example, to Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and the Black Sea region.

In 1243, the brother of the Great Vladimir Prince Yuri Yaroslav II (1238 - 1247), who was killed on the Sit River, was called to the Khan's headquarters. Yaroslav recognized vassal dependence on the Golden Horde and received a label (letter) for the great reign of Vladimir and a golden plaque (paizda) - a kind of pass through the Horde territory. Following him, other princes reached out to the Horde.

To control the Russian lands, the institution of Baskak governors was created - the leaders of the military detachments of the Mongol-Tatars, who monitored the activities of the Russian princes. The denunciation of the Baskaks to the Horde inevitably ended either with the summoning of the prince to Sarai (often he lost his label, and even his life), or with a punitive campaign in the unruly land. Suffice it to say that only in the last quarter of the XIII century. 14 such campaigns were organized in Russian lands.

Some Russian princes, in an effort to quickly get rid of vassal dependence on the Horde, took the path of open armed resistance. However, the forces to overthrow the power of the invaders were still not enough. So, for example, in 1252 the regiments of the Vladimir and Galician-Volyn princes were defeated. This was well understood by Alexander Nevsky, from 1252 to 1263 the Grand Duke of Vladimir. He set a course for the restoration and recovery of the economy of the Russian lands. The policy of Alexander Nevsky was also supported by the Russian Church, which saw a great danger in Catholic expansion, and not in the tolerant rulers of the Golden Horde.

In 1257, the Mongol-Tatars undertook a census of the population - "recording in number." Besermen (Muslim merchants) were sent to the cities, to whom the collection of tribute was given. The size of the tribute (“exit”) was very large, only the “royal tribute”, i.e. tribute in favor of the khan, which was first collected in kind, and then in money, amounted to 1300 kg of silver per year. The constant tribute was supplemented by "requests" - one-time requisitions in favor of the khan. In addition, deductions from trade duties, taxes for "feeding" the khan's officials, etc. went to the khan's treasury. In total there were 14 types of tributes in favor of the Tatars.

Census of the population in the 50s - 60s of the XIII century. marked by numerous uprisings of Russian people against the Baskaks, Khan's ambassadors, tribute collectors, scribes. In 1262, the inhabitants of Rostov, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Suzdal, and Ustyug dealt with the tribute collectors, the Besermen. This led to the fact that the collection of tribute from the end of the XIII century. was handed over to the Russian princes.

The Mongol-Tatar invasion had a great influence on the historical fate of Russia. In all likelihood, the resistance of Russia saved Europe from the Asian conquerors.

The Mongol invasion and the Golden Horde yoke became one of the reasons for the Russian lands lagging behind developed countries Western Europe. Huge damage was done to the economic, political and cultural development of Russia. Tens of thousands of people died in battle or were driven into slavery. A significant part of the income in the form of tribute went to the Horde.

The old agricultural centers and the once developed territories were abandoned and fell into decay. The border of agriculture moved to the north, the southern fertile soils were called the "Wild Field". Many crafts became simpler and sometimes even disappeared, which hampered the creation of small-scale production and, ultimately, retarded economic development.

The Mongol conquest preserved political fragmentation. It weakened the ties between the various parts of the state. Traditional political and trade ties with other countries were disrupted. Russian vector foreign policy, passing along the line "south - north" (the fight against nomadic danger, stable ties with Byzantium and through the Baltic with Europe) radically changed its focus to "west - east". The pace of cultural development of the Russian lands slowed down.

4. The struggle of the Russian people against the Swedish-German aggression.

At a time when Russia had not yet recovered from the barbarian invasion of the Mongol-Tatars, from the west it was threatened by an enemy no less dangerous and cruel than the Asian conquerors. Even at the end of the XI century. The Pope of Rome proclaimed the beginning of the crusades against the Muslims who took possession of Palestine, on the lands of which the main Christian shrines were located. In the first crusade (1096 - 1099), the knights captured significant territories in the Middle East and founded their own states. A few decades later, European warriors began to suffer defeats from the Arabs. One by one, the crusaders lost their possessions. The Fourth Crusade (1202 - 1204) was marked by the defeat not of Muslim Arabs, but of Christian Byzantium.

During the crusades, knightly-monastic orders were created, called upon by fire and sword to convert the vanquished to the Christian faith. They also wanted to conquer the peoples of Eastern Europe. In 1202, the Order of the Sword-bearers was formed in the Baltic States (knights wore clothes depicting a sword and a cross). Back in 1201, the knights landed at the mouth of the Western Dvina (Daugava) River and founded the city of Riga on the site of the Latvian settlement as a stronghold for subjugating the Baltic lands.

In 1219, the Danish knights captured part of the Baltic coast, setting up the city of Revel (Tallinn) on the site of the Estonian settlement. In 1224 the crusaders took Yuriev (Tartu).

To conquer the lands of Lithuania (Prussians) and the southern Russian lands in 1226, the knights of the Teutonic Order, founded in 1198 in Syria during the Crusades, arrived. Knights - members of the order wore white cloaks with a black cross on the left shoulder. In 1234, the Swordsmen were defeated by the Novgorod-Suzdal troops, and two years later, by the Lithuanians and Semigallians. This forced the crusaders to join forces. In 1237, the swordsmen united with the Teutons, forming a branch of the Teutonic Order - the Livonian Order, named after the territory inhabited by the Liv tribe, which was captured by the Crusaders.

The knights of the Livonian Order set themselves the goal of subjugating the peoples of the Baltic and Russia and converting them to Catholicism. Prior to this, the Swedish knights launched an offensive against Russian lands. In 1240 the Swedish fleet entered the mouth of the Neva River. The plans of the Swedes included the capture of Staraya Ladoga, and then Novgorod. The Swedes were defeated by the Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavich. The young prince with a small squad secretly approached the enemy camp. A detachment of militia led by a Novgorodian Misha cut off the enemy's retreat. This victory brought the twenty-year-old prince great fame. For her, Prince Alexander was nicknamed Nevsky.

The Battle of the Neva was an important stage in this struggle. The victory of the Russian army, led by our great ancestor Alexander Nevsky, prevented the loss of the shores of the Gulf of Finland and a complete economic blockade of Russia, did not allow interrupting its trade exchange with other countries, and thereby facilitated the further struggle of the Russian people for independence, for the overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

In the same 1240, a new invasion of the North-West of Russia began. Knights of the Livonian Order captured the Russian fortress of Izborsk. When this became known in Pskov, the local militia, which included "all to the soul" combat-ready Pskovians, opposed the knights; however, the Pskovites were defeated by superior enemy forces. AT unequal battle the princely governor in Pskov also fell.

German troops besieged Pskov for a whole week, but they could not take it by force. If not for the traitorous boyars, the invaders would never have taken the city, which in its history withstood 26 sieges and never opened the gates to the enemy. Even the German chronicler, himself a military man, believed that the Pskov fortress, provided the unity of its defenders, was impregnable. The pro-German group among the Pskov boyars has existed for a long time. It was noted in the annals as early as 1228, when the traitorous boyars entered into an alliance with Riga, but then this group kept a low profile, having Tverdila Ivankovich among its supporters. After the defeat of the Pskov troops and the death of the princely voivode, these boyars, who “transfer more firmly with the Germans”, first achieved that Pskov gave the children of the local nobility to the crusaders as a pledge, then some time passed “without peace”, and finally, the boyar Tverdilo and others "brought" the knights to Pskov (taken in 1241).

Relying on the German garrison, the traitor Tverdylo "he himself often owns Plskov with the Germans ...". His power was only an appearance; in fact, the Germans took over the entire state apparatus. The boyars, who did not agree to treason, fled with their wives and children to Novgorod. Tverdylo and his supporters helped the German invaders. Thus, they betrayed the Russian land, and the Russian people, the working people who inhabited cities and villages, were robbed and ruined, putting on them the yoke of German feudal oppression.

By this time, Alexander, who had quarreled with the Novgorod boyars, left the city. When Novgorod was in danger (the enemy was 30 km from its walls), Alexander Nevsky returned to the city at the request of the veche. And again the prince acted decisively. With a swift blow, he liberated the Russian cities captured by the enemy.

Alexander Nevsky won his most famous victory in 1242. On April 5, a battle took place on the ice of Lake Peipsi, which went down in history as the Ice Battle. At the beginning of the battle, the German knights and their Estonian allies, advancing in a wedge, broke through the advanced Russian regiment. But the soldiers of Alexander Nevsky launched flank attacks and surrounded the enemy. The crusader knights fled: "And they chased them, beating them, seven miles across the ice." According to the Novgorod chronicle, 400 knights were killed in the Battle of the Ice, and 50 were captured. Perhaps these figures are somewhat overestimated. German chronicles wrote about 25 dead and 6 prisoners, apparently underestimating the losses of their knights. However, they were forced to admit the fact of defeat.

The significance of this victory is that: the power of the Livonian Order was weakened; began the growth of the liberation struggle in the Baltic states. In 1249, papal ambassadors offered Prince Alexander help in the fight against the Mongol conquerors. Alexander realized that the papacy was trying to draw him into uphill struggle with the Mongol-Tatars, thus making it easier for the German feudal lords to seize Russian lands. The proposal of the papal ambassadors was rejected.

Test 5

Set match:

Election by the Zemsky Sobor to the kingdom of Mikhail Romanov.
Accession to the kingdom of Alexei Mikhailovich.
Cathedral Code Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

The election by the Zemsky Sobor to the kingdom of Mikhail Romanov - A. 1613
Accession to the kingdom of Alexei Mikhailovich - B.
To free download Control work at maximum speed, register or log in to the site.

Important! All submitted Examinations for free download designed to draw up a plan or the basis of their own scientific works.

Friends! You have unique opportunity help students like you! If our site helped you find the right job, then you certainly understand how the work you added can make the work of others easier.

If the Control Work, in your opinion, is of poor quality, or you have already met this work, please let us know.

XIII century in the history of Russia- this is the time of armed opposition to the onslaught from the east (Mongo-lo-Tatars) and the north-west (Germans, Swedes, Danes).

Mongol-Tatars came to Russia from the depths of Central Asia. The empire formed in 1206, headed by Khan Temuchin, who took the title of Khan of all Mongols (Genghis Khan), by the 30s. 13th century subjugated northern China, Korea, Central Asia, Transcaucasia. In 1223, in the Battle of Kalka, the combined army of Russians and Polovtsy was defeated by a 30,000-strong Mongols detachment. Genghis Khan refused to advance to the southern Russian steppes. Russia received an almost fifteen-year respite, but could not take advantage of it: all attempts to unite, stop civil strife were in vain.

In 1236, the grandson of Genghis Khan, Baty, began a campaign against Russia. Having conquered the Volga Bulgaria, in January 1237 he invaded Ryazan principality, ruined it and moved on to Vladimir. The city, despite fierce resistance, fell, and on March 4, 1238, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich was killed in the battle on the Sit River. Having taken Torzhok, the Mongols could go to Novgorod, but the spring thaw and heavy losses forced them to return to the Polovtsian steppes. This movement to the southeast is sometimes called the "Tatar raid": along the way, Batu plundered and burned Russian cities, which courageously fought against the invaders. Especially fierce was the resistance of the inhabitants of Kozelsk, nicknamed by the enemies of the "evil city". In 1238-1239. Mongo-lo-Tatars conquered Murom, Pereyaslav, Chernigov principalities.

North - Eastern Russia was ruined. Batu turned south. The heroic resistance of the inhabitants of Kyiv was broken in December 1240. In 1241, the Galicia-Volyn principality fell. The Mongolian hordes invaded Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, went to Northern Italy and Germany, but, exhausted by the desperate resistance of the Russian troops, deprived of reinforcements, retreated and returned to the steppes of the Lower Volga region. Here, in 1243, the state of the Golden Horde (the capital of Sarai-Batu) was created, whose dominion was forced to recognize the devastated Russian lands. A system was established that went down in history under the name of the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The essence of this system, spiritually humiliating and economically predatory, was that: Russian principalities were not included in the Horde, they retained their own reigns; princes, especially the Grand Duke of Vladimir, received a label to reign in the Horde, which confirmed their stay on the throne; they had to pay a large tribute ("exit") to the Mongol rulers. Population censuses were carried out, norms for collecting tribute were established. The Mongolian garrisons left the Russian cities, but before the beginning of the XIV century. the collection of tribute was carried out by authorized Mongolian officials - the Baskaks. In case of disobedience (and anti-Mongol uprisings often broke out), punitive detachments - rati - were sent to Russia.

Two important questions arise: why did the Russian principalities, having shown heroism and courage, fail to repulse the conquerors? What consequences did the yoke have for Russia? The answer to the first question is obvious: of course, the military superiority of the Mongol-Tatars mattered (tough discipline, excellent cavalry, well-organized intelligence, etc.), but the disunity of the Russian princes, their strife, inability to unite even in the face of a mortal threat played a decisive role.

The second question is controversial. Some historians point to the positive consequences of the yoke in terms of the formation of prerequisites for the creation of a unified Russian state. Others emphasize that the yoke did not have a significant impact on the internal development of Russia. Most scholars agree on the following: the raids caused the heaviest material damage, were accompanied by the death of the population, the devastation of villages, the ruin of cities; the tribute that went to the Horde depleted the country, made it difficult to restore and develop the economy; Southern Russia actually separated from the North-Western and North-Eastern, their historical destinies diverged for a long time; ties between Russia and European states; won tendencies to arbitrariness, despotism, autocracy of princes.

Defeated by the Mongols-Tatars, Russia was able to successfully resist aggression from the northwest. By the 30s. 13th century The Baltic region, inhabited by the tribes of Livs, Yotvingians, Estonians, and others, was at the mercy of the German crusader knights. The actions of the crusaders were part of the policy of the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy to subjugate the pagan peoples catholic church. That is why the main instruments of aggression were spiritual and knightly orders: the Order of the Sword (founded in 1202) and the Teutonic Order (founded at the end of the 12th century in Palestine). In 1237, these orders merged into the Livonian Order. A powerful and aggressive military-political formation was established on the borders with Novgorod land, ready to take advantage of the weakening of Russia to include its northwestern lands in the zone of imperial influence.

In July 1240 The nineteen-year-old Novgorod prince Alexander in a fleeting battle defeated Birger's Swedish detachment at the mouth of the Neva. For the victory in the Battle of the Neva, Alexander received the honorary nickname Nevsky. In the same summer, the Livonian knights became more active: Izborsk and Pskov were captured, the border fortress of Koporye was erected. Prince Alexander Nevsky managed to return Pskov in 1241, but the decisive battle took place on April 5, 1242 on the melted ice of Lake Peipsi (hence the name - Battle on the Ice). Knowing about the favorite tactics of the knights - building in the form of a tapering wedge ("pig"), the commander applied flank coverage and defeated the enemy. Dozens of knights died, falling through the ice, unable to withstand the weight of heavily armed infantry. The relative safety of the northwestern borders of Russia, Novgorod land was ensured.

The formation and development of ancient Russian statehood took place in a continuous and stubborn struggle with the invaders, who at different periods invaded the territory of Russia. The first to be noted here are the Khazars, their state was located east of Kyiv and occupied the territories of the North Caucasus and the interfluve of the Volga and Don. It should be especially noted that the confrontation with the Khazar Kaganate largely determined the nature and development trends of the ancient Russian state. It was a brutal fight not for life, but for death. The future depended decisively on who would win this fight. During the reign of Prince Svyatoslav, the Khazars suffered a severe blow, after which this state finally collapsed.

Russia continued to develop and strengthen. However, already in the era of Vladimir Svyatoslavich, the southern borders of the Kyiv state were under the threat of invasion from the Pechenegs. The long struggle with the Pechenegs ended in 1036, when Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054) inflicted a severe defeat on them. After that, a significant part of the Pechenegs migrated to the Danube steppes. In 1054, in the year of the death of Yaroslav the Wise, a new danger appeared on the southern borders of Russia - numerous tribes of Polovtsy, or Cumans, as they were called in Europe. Relations with these steppe tribes changed over time - from fierce confrontation, especially at the beginning of the 12th century, to the creation of joint military-political and dynastic alliances at the beginning of the 13th century. 16 In the first third of the 13th century, hordes of Tatar-Mongols appeared on the borders of northeastern Russia. In the autumn of 1237 they entered the Ryazan principality and during the autumn-winter of 1237/38. subjected the Ryazan region and the entire Vladimir-Suzdal region to devastating ruin. In the summer of 1240, the Tatar-Mongols moved west.

They captured and plundered Kyiv, the cities of Western Russia, passed like a hurricane through the lands of Poland and Hungary. Their campaign ended on the Adriatic coast of Italy. They reached the city of Trieste and turned back. Since that time, Russia became part of the state formation, which was called the "Golden Horde". In the summer of 1240, a Swedish detachment landed on the coast of the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of the Neva with the aim of conquering the Novgorod lands. In the battle on the Neva, Russian troops under the command of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich utterly defeated the Swedes. After this victory, Prince Alexander received the honorary name Nevsky. Two years later, the Teutonic Order, which was founded in the Baltic states at the beginning of the 13th century, launched another offensive against the Novgorod and Pskov lands. However, in the battle on Lake Peipsi, in April 1242, the Russian army under the command of Alexander Nevsky inflicted a serious defeat on the German knights. The battle on the ice stopped the German expansion of the Russian lands. Glossary: "Ladder" - (from the word ladder) - the principle of transferring power not from father to son, but to the eldest in the family. Majorat - the order of succession, when power is transferred to the eldest son. A fiefdom is a piece of land passed down from father to son. Destinies - territories that were inherited by the sons of the Grand Duke. Posadnik - originally the governor of the Kyiv prince in Novgorod. Later the highest state position in the Novgorod Republic. Posadniks were elected at a veche from among the wealthiest and noblest boyar families. Tysyatsky - Novgorod military leader, led the city militia. He was elected at the veche from the boyars for a certain period. He was an assistant to the landlord.

In the section on the question of the struggle of Russia with foreign invasions in the 13th century, briefly asked by the author chevron the best answer is At the beginning of the 13th century, the Old Russian principalities had to face the onslaught of conquerors from both the East and the West. The Mongol army turned out to be much stronger than all the nomads who had previously attacked Russia, which resulted in the conquest of most of the territory of Russia and the establishment of a two-century Mongol-Tatar yoke. On the contrary, in the battles on the western borders of Russia, Prince Alexander Nevsky managed to stop the onslaught of the crusaders, fixing the historical borders of Russian lands for a long time.
In 1206, the Mongol empire was formed, headed by Temuchin (Genghis Khan). The Mongols defeated Primorye, Northern China, Central Asia, Transcaucasia, attacked the Polovtsians. Russian princes came to the aid of the Polovtsy (Kyiv, Chernigov, Volyn, etc.), but in 1223 they were defeated on Kalka due to inconsistency in actions.
In 1236, the Mongols conquered the Volga Bulgaria, and in 1237, led by Batu, invaded Russia. They ruined the Ryazan and Vladimir lands, in 1238 they defeated them on the river. The city of Yuri Vladimirsky, he himself died. In 1239, the second wave of invasion began. Chernigov, Kyiv, Galich fell. Batu went to Europe, from where he returned in 1242.
The reasons for the defeat of Russia were its fragmentation, the numerical superiority of the close-knit and mobile army of the Mongols, its skillful tactics, and the absence of stone fortresses in Russia.
The yoke of the Golden Horde, the state of the invaders in the Volga region, was established.
Russia paid her tribute (tithe), from which only the church was exempted, and supplied soldiers. The collection of tribute was controlled by the Khan's Baskaks, later by the princes themselves. They received from the khan a charter for reigning - a label. The prince of Vladimir was recognized as the eldest among the princes. The Horde intervened in the feuds of the princes and ruined Russia many times. The invasion caused great damage to the military and economic power of Russia, its international prestige and culture. The southern and western lands of Russia (Galich, Smolensk, Polotsk, etc.) later passed to Lithuania and Poland.
In the 1220s. Russians participated in Estonia in the struggle against the German crusaders - the Order of the Sword, in 1237 transformed into the Livonian Order, a vassal of the Teutonic Order. In 1240, the Swedes landed at the mouth of the Neva, trying to cut off Novgorod from the Baltic. Prince Alexander defeated them in the Battle of the Neva. In the same year, the Livonian knights launched an offensive, taking Pskov. In 1242, Alexander Nevsky defeated them on Lake Peipus, stopping the raids of the Livonians for 10 years.
link