Rus''s struggle against external aggression. Test: The struggle of Rus' against external aggression in the 13th century

Chronology

1211-1215- the beginning of the external expansion of the Mongolian state: Genghis Khan’s army attacks the Jurchen Jin dynasty, which ruled Northern China. About 90 cities were destroyed; Beijing (Yanjing) fell in 1215
1217- in China, all lands north of the Yellow River were conquered
1218-1224- Mongols attack Khorezm
1218- Mongol power extends to Semirechye (modern Kazakhstan)
1219- a hundred thousand Mongol army led by Genghis Khan invades Central Asia
1221- capture of Khorezm, completion of the conquest of Central Asia. Trekking in the territory of modern Afghanistan. Attack on the Delhi Sultanate
May 31, 1223- The 30,000-strong corps of Jebe and Subedei defeats the Russian-Polovtsian army on Kalka
1227- death of Genghis Khan. Two years later, his son Ogedei was elected Great Khan (1229-1241)

The Kurultai of 1206 actually declared world war. At the same time, neither in Asia nor in Europe could anyone even imagine the scale of the catastrophe that was brewing in the depths of the steppes. But soon everything became clear to everyone.

First thing war machine, created by Genghis Khan, fell on Northern China. For the Mongols, the campaign against the local Jurchen Jin dynasty was a sacred act of retribution, like the invasion of the Greek-Macedonian army into Persia. The ruler of the nomads had to take revenge for the shameful execution of his grandfather Ambagai Khan. For three days and three nights he prayed alone in his yurt, while a crowd of warriors stood around in nervous anticipation. Then the ruler came out and announced that Heaven would grant Victory. Having broken through the Great Wall, after several years of fierce battles with numerous Jin troops who relied on well-fortified cities, the Mongols entered Beijing.

This first international campaign, in addition to silk linen to prevent contamination of wounds, supplied the Mongols with siege equipment and gunpowder with which they filled primitive “grenades.” In addition, military engineers of advanced Chinese training were captured. Many former Jin officials also went to serve the new masters, and Genghis Khan’s main “acquisition” was the young adviser Yelu Chutsai. This descendant of the Khitan nomads, raised in the Middle Kingdom, went down in history as the creator of a system of indirect control over the conquered lands, which was later used by the Mongols. There were too few invaders to occupy the gigantic conquered territories, and the cities were alien to them. Continuing to wander, they left the direct management of sedentary peoples to local authorities, who, in turn, were looked after by cosmopolitan bureaucrats of Chinese, Muslims and Christians, who were also responsible for collecting regular tribute. The secret was that at the first sign of indignation, the Mongol army was able to punish the “unwise” with lightning speed. The Confucian Yelü Chutsai fell under the spell of Genghis Khan’s personality, believed that he was called to establish a new world order, and decided to help the uncouth, cruel steppe dweller achieve this using more humane methods...

The disassembled yurt weighed about 250 kg. Wooden gratings, on which felt felt felt, were used to regulate the usable area. The beds were stored in chests, and wooden buckets and wineskins stood at the entrance. On low tables there are wooden or metal utensils. Long boxes with an ornamented front contained food and clothing, and they also served as seats. On the western, male side there was the bed of the head of the family, hunting equipment, harness

Meanwhile, leaving part of the army to finish off the Jin troops in the east, Genghis Khan turned to the kingdom of the Kara-Khitans in the west. Jebenoyon carried out a swift raid, defeated the enemy and reached the border with Khorezm, where in the 13th century the most important caravan routes between China, India and the Mediterranean intersected (one historian even called Khorezm the “British Isles of the Steppe Trade”). After careful reconnaissance, and the Mongols coped with it superbly, Genghis Khan himself led his tumens, hardened in China, to Turkestan. No one doubted victory - after all, the Muslims killed the imperial ambassadors, insulting the Eternal Heaven. What happened next is often referred to in textbooks as the “Central Asian Holocaust.”

Khorezmshah Muhammad decided to defend himself behind the walls of fortified cities, out of habit, considering the enemy to be an ordinary nomadic tribe that would leave after plundering the surrounding area. And he, chuckling, called Bukhara, Urgench and Samarkand in advance “corrals for cattle destined for slaughter.” The desperate resistance of the besieged (for example, Otrar fought back for five months) did not help. Having spread across the country like a wide lava, the Mongols drove captive peasants under the walls of the fortresses. They first carried out siege work under the guidance of Chinese engineers, and then were the first to climb the walls. The most efficient use of the resources of a conquered country is the secret of many of Genghis Khan's successes. While usually the number of conquerors decreases during an invasion, his army grew. The settled population was used as “draft cattle” and “cannon fodder”, and nomads, mainly Turks, joined the Mongolian tumens.

Having taken and plundered the cities of Khorezm, the Mongols carried out unprecedented massacres. The Persian chronicler Juvaini reports about a million killed in Urgench alone, other authors write about several million in Bukhara and nearby cities. These numbers are, of course, exaggerated, but they say a lot. The Mongols methodically killed the townspeople with the dexterity of herders accustomed to slaughtering sheep.

According to estimates modern specialists, at least a quarter of the population of Khorezm died. The war at that time was traditionally fought cruel methods, but, as the French scientist Rene Grousset wrote, Genghis Khan was the first to “erect terror into a system of government, and the massacre of the population into a methodological institution.” This was not the “destruction of cities” by a nomad who hated them (although the steppes did not immediately begin to use the settlements of farmers as “cash cows”). It was a deliberate strategy of intimidation, weakening the will to resist both the conquered peoples and those who faced a terrible fate.

Secrets of victories

Only terror, the Mongols' obsession with the imperial idea, and even the excellent organization of the army cannot explain their stunning victories. Success was ensured by the combination of the world's best weapons and advanced military art. The steppe people literally adored their horses. In the “Secret Legend”, the Savrasy White-faced Runner or the Dun Black-tailed Humpback is described along with the main characters of the story. The unprepossessing Mongolian horse was a match for its rider - hardy and unpretentious. He easily endured severe cold and could get grass even from under the snow, which allowed Batu to attack Rus' in winter. (The riders, dressed in furs and leather boots with felt stockings, did not care about winter at all. And these stockings later turned into felt boots among the Russians.)

An ordinary warrior had three horses, which he rode alternately during the campaign. The army covered up to one hundred kilometers a day. Even when fighting, the steppe inhabitants managed to move faster than the motorized units of the Second World War. Their convoys were minimal: the enemy territory lying ahead was “designated” as the supply base. Each rider carried only an “emergency supply” - “Mongolian canned food,” powdered milk and dried meat. If necessary, the warriors drank the blood of clockwork horses, then ligating the cut vein with a sinew thread.

In addition to the horse, the so-called “compound bow” can also be considered a “miracle weapon” of the Mongols. Several pieces of various types of wood, bone and horn were fitted to each other and glued together with animal glue. The result is a weapon that, in skillful hands, is only slightly inferior in accuracy and firing range to a firearm...

The Hermitage contains a stone found near Nerchinsk in 1818 with an inscription that says that on the way from Turkestan to his last trip In China, Genghis Khan set up camp in the lower reaches of the Onon. War games were held. The famous warrior Isunke, in the presence of the sovereign, shot an arrow at 335 alt. Alda was equal to the distance between the outstretched arms of an adult man and was approximately one and a half meters. That is, Isunke shot half a kilometer away. Rare daredevils shot like this, but even an ordinary warrior could pierce the enemy’s chain mail from a distance of 100 meters. At the same time, the rate of fire was significantly higher than from muskets and rifles. The Mongol began to learn to shoot at full gallop at the age of three.

Having perfected the weapons and training of horse archers, the steppe inhabitants did not forget about heavy cavalry. After the conquest of Khorezm, she received excellent chain mail and sabers from Muslim gunsmiths. The combination of heavy and light cavalry gave rise to flexibility in Mongol tactics.

During the war, they entered enemy territory in several columns and gradually began to narrow the “round-up” ring until the main enemy forces found themselves in it. Individual corps tried not to get involved in battle with superior forces and always knew where other units were. Complex maneuvering, which was carried out with the precision of a Swiss chronometer, ended in a giant “bag” where the Chinese, Khorezm, Russian, Hungarian, Polish-German armies perished. Having surrounded the enemy field army, the light cavalry shot it from a distance with bows. This most complex form The battle required, with good shooting accuracy of each warrior, the rapid reorganization of large cavalry masses. And not a single army in the world could equal the Mongolian in the art of maneuver even several centuries after the death of Genghis Khan. The commanders led the battle using pennants and, at night, multi-colored lanterns. Either flying in or retreating, the archers exhausted the enemy and brought him under the attack of the heavy cavalry, and she decided the matter. Then persecution was sure to take place. Genghis Khan always especially emphasized the need for the complete destruction of the enemy. A couple of tumens finished off the enemy’s field army, and the rest of the Mongols scattered across the country in small detachments, plundering villages and rounding up prisoners to storm fortresses. There, the most advanced Chinese siege technology at that time came into play. For the lumbering European armies, such a war of maneuver was an unfathomable nightmare. The Mongols fought “with skill, not numbers” and died less often in hand-to-hand combat, which they tried to avoid. The enormous numerical superiority of the steppe inhabitants is a myth that they themselves spread. Genghis Khan left his descendants an army of only 129,000 warriors, but it rather resembled modern army, caught up in the Middle Ages. It is no coincidence that the famous British theorist of mechanized mobile units, Liddell Hart, wrote that “an armored vehicle or light tank looks like the direct heir of the Mongol horseman.”

Caught in a hole

After the defeat of Khorezm, the ruler of the Mongols lived for another six years. He managed to send Subedei and Jebe on “deep reconnaissance” to the West, to Eastern Europe. Two tumens fought to carry the victorious banner with a flying falcon almost eight thousand kilometers and returned with rich booty, not to mention priceless information for the upcoming grandiose campaign. The Christian world received a warning, but did nothing to prepare to repel Genghis Khan's planned invasion. Within twenty years, the grandson of the founder of the empire, Batu, will reach the Adriatic. For some time, the Great Khan was still hatching a plan for a campaign in India, but Yelu Chutsai persuaded him to engage in the peaceful settlement of the conquered countries. Genghis Khan, a legislator and conqueror, also turned out to be a most capable civil administrator. The restoration of cities and canals began, the roads were gradually freed from robbers.

Meanwhile, in his camp, the eternal winner had long conversations with the Taoist monk Chang Chun, who, Yelü Chutsai hoped, would be able to soften the temper of the formidable khan. But he was more interested in whether the sage possesses the elixir of immortality or at least can predict when his interlocutor will die? Chang Chun honestly admitted that besides philosophy and asceticism, he does not know any other means of longevity, and the time of death is known only to heaven.

By a strange quirk of fate, the khan and the monk died in the same year and even in the same month. Moreover, no one could even imagine the circumstances of their death in advance. The champion of a combination of spiritual and physical purity, who tried to convince Genghis Khan to force the nomads to wash, fell victim to dysentery. There were rumors that even the disciples could not stand the smell emanating from the holy hermit before his death.

Genghis Khan was destined for even more strange death. At the end of 1226, he set out on a punitive campaign against the Tanguts, whose country occupied part of what is now Chinese territory south of Mongolia. Once these obstinate people refused an alliance with him, hoping that he would get stuck in Khorezm, and the “emperor” had a long memory. Northern Tangut outpost at an important crossroads of the Great silk road- the Khara-Khoto fortress was destroyed and was soon swallowed up by the sands of the Gobi Desert. Only in the 20th century the ruins were discovered by the Russian traveler Pyotr Kozlov. But even before the end of the campaign, during a hunt, Genghis Khan’s horse fell with its hoof into a gopher’s hole, the ruler of half the world fell and was seriously hurt.

He ordered the misfortune to be hidden from the army, was ill for some time and died in August 1227. According to some sources, he was then 66 years old, according to others - 61 or even 72 years old. The dead commander-in-chief stood at the head of his fighting army for several more weeks: his death was announced according to his will only after the victory. Then the body of the terrible hero was taken home and buried secretly.

The tomb of Genghis Khan, according to legend, is located on the southern slope of Mount Burkan Kaldun, sacred to the Mongols, two hundred kilometers from Ulaanbaatar. It is approximately 100 km2 of forested cliffs and gorges. In 1990, a Japanese archaeological expedition, equipped with a special radar for underground searches, worked there but found nothing. There are other “candidates” for the burial place of Genghis and other great khans who followed him: let’s say, ancient capital nomads of Avraga or the area of ​​the so-called Donation Wall (Khentii province). The famous treasure hunter from Chicago, Maury Kravitz, dug there in 2001-2002. And also unsuccessfully.

Brilliant steppe man?

As we have seen, everything that is known about Genghis Khan does not fit into the concept of the “fiend of Hell”, or even into the concept of the “brilliant savage” put forward by the Russian linguist and historian Boris Vladimirtsov. It was based on the previous scientific scheme of human development from barbarism to civilization. According to her " homo sapiens“supposedly began his victorious march across the Earth in the role of a wild hunter-gatherer, who then turned into an uncouth shepherd, and the farmer was seen as the crown of progress. Now historians agree that this theory is outdated. The nomads were not savages, from among whom wise farmers emerged who gave birth to urban culture. On the contrary, steppe shepherds came from farmers. In order to drive herds across vast spaces, animals must first be domesticated. Nomadic cattle breeding was preceded by sedentary cattle breeding, and it arose within agricultural communities. Only later, at a higher stage of development of society, approximately 4,000 BC. e., shepherds learned to roam with horses and sheep in the steppe. In parallel with the plowmen, they created their own, no less complex system economy, knowledge transfer, military affairs and government structure. The Mongol Empire founded by Genghis Khan - highest form steppe civilization. With the invention of firearms and the emergence of science from its infancy, the townspeople moved far ahead. But the Mongol ruler no longer saw this. Therefore, in the formula “brilliant savage” I would simply replace the word “savage” with “steppe dweller”, ridding it of its derogatory meaning.

Deified Sovereign

At the time of his death, Genghis Khan ruled a power stretching from the Aral Sea to Yellow Sea. It was twice the size of the Roman Empire, and the empire of Alexander the Great was four times larger. Moreover, unlike the last ruler, to whom his father left a magnificent army, a kingdom and even a plan for a campaign in Persia, Genghis Khan achieved everything himself, from scratch. And unlike the state of Alexander, which collapsed immediately after his death, the brainchild of Genghis Khan turned out to be more viable. The Mongols deified the founding sovereign, and any successive victory was considered the best sacrifice to this God of Conquest. Over seventy years, his heirs almost tripled the empire, adding to it the rest of Northern and all of Southern China, Korea, Vietnam, part of Burma, Tibet, Iran, part of Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, most modern Turkey, the Caucasus, the unconquered part of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, significant territories of Russia, Ukraine and Poland. On long campaigns, the tumens of the Chingizids reached both Western Europe and Japan. The English historian John Maine noted that the Mongol scout, who visited the walls of Vienna in his youth in 1241, theoretically could have participated in the failed landing sent by Kublai Kublai on Honshu in 1274. Pax Mongolica spread over 28 million square kilometers. The great-grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, was formally the ruler of one fifth of the entire earth's land. Taking into account the fact that in Eurasia at that time no one knew about America and Australia and people had little idea of ​​the size of Africa, by 1300 the Genghisids almost fulfilled the covenant of the Eternal Heaven - they united the whole world. Apart from Japan and India, they were unable to subjugate only Arabia and Egypt and turn the Hungarian steppe into a second Mongolia, and Western Europe and the “island” of Byzantium - to the second China. By the way, they could well have completed the last task if not for the sudden death of the Great Khan Ogedei in 1241, which interrupted the all-Mongol campaign led by Batu.

Georgy Vernadsky described the mechanism of functioning of Genghis Khan's empire best of all. The Mongols, who were under the special protection of Heaven, were the ruling nation in it, accepting into the brotherhood of the steppes the Turks and other nomads who were on the second level in the national hierarchy. The common world for this brotherhood was the steppe zone from Mongolia to Ukraine, divided into uluses of various Chingizids. Here was the core of the empire and the main reservoir of its military power. The periphery, inhabited by conquered farmers: Chinese, Persians, Khorezmians, Russians, became a “second-class world”... Moving along internal steppe communications, the nomads quickly gathered forces to suppress the uprisings of sedentary peoples on the outskirts of the empire and long-distance campaigns to seize prey beyond outside of it.

"Hurray for the Millennium Man"

Modern Mongolia did not miss the opportunity to remind the world, and even itself, that “it had great era" Since history has not preserved the exact date of the kurultai of 1206, they decided to celebrate throughout 2006. January 1st on central square Ulaanbaatar President of the Republic of Mongolia Enkhbayar raised the national flag and declared the celebrations on the occasion of the “unification of nomadic tribes by the man of the millennium - Genghis Khan” open. The organizing committee of the events, united under the motto “The Great Mongolian State - 800”, has developed a rich program. Back in 2005, the country went through a months-long debate about the role Mongol Empire and Genghis Khan in world history; everyone agreed that the security of the Great Silk Road was much more important than “excesses” like the massacres in China and Central Asia. The slogan “the steppe empire is the protector of trade routes” and the idea that its founder was not a conqueror, but a “gatherer of lands” and the forerunner of globalization, received full approval. And, by the way, not only in Mongolia. The UN General Assembly, in a special resolution, welcomed the attempts of official Ulaanbaatar to “celebrate the holiday with dignity” and called on all member countries of this organization to take part in it.

Near the Government House, on the site of the mausoleum of the urgently reburied Sukhbaatar and Choibalsan, a nine-meter-tall throne monument to the Shaker of the Universe was built, flanked by seven-meter-tall figures of his famous descendants - Ogedei and Kublai. Ulaanbaatar airport was named after Genghis Khan. Then, one after another, ceremonies of “passing the baton” from the past to the present took place: the Government Palace was solemnly handed over a copy of the seal of the Great Khan Guyuk, the Ministry of Transport and Tourism - a map of the routes of the Yam service of the Mongol Empire, the Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs - a collection of extant codes "Yasi" "...none civil ministry was not left without its own relic. Some military personnel were left without a “gift”: after all, they already have a black horsetail, which back in the 90s was recognized as a symbol of the power of the Mongolian army. Other symbols of military glory can be seen at the exhibition “Military Art and Weapons of the Mongols,” which opened in March. And yet, in the schedule of celebrations, “war” faded into the background, giving way to cultural events. The festival is here throat singing, and the beauty contest “Miss Mongolia”, and the art exhibition “Mongolian lifestyle”, and the premiere documentary film“Vertical Mongolian Letter”, and the opera “Mother Hoelun”, dedicated to Temujin’s mother. But the culminating event, which literally turned the musical life of the country upside down, was not this, but the first rock opera in the history of the country, “Genghis Khan”, performed by the group “Har Chono”, the main performance of which will take place at the “Great Mongolia” festival in July, at the very peak of the celebrations . On its eve, on June 21, a ceremonial meeting of parliament will open on the occasion of the anniversary, and ten days later, “naadams” will begin in all aimags (regions) of Mongolia - open-air holidays with songs, dances and competitions in the “three arts of men”: shooting from bow, wrestling and horse racing. The big “Naadam” will take place on July 11, the Victory Day of the People’s Revolution. “Genghis Khan’s Guards” will deliver the emperor’s nine-bunched white banner to the Central Stadium of Ulaanbaatar. The “historic” parade and competitions will be watched by thousands of spectators, including government delegations from many countries around the world. On the same day, 50 kilometers from Ulaanbaatar, on the Tsonzin Boldog hill, another, this time forty-meter monument to Genghis Khan will be laid: the khan will be depicted with a golden whip in his hand. But do not think that the Mongols decided to glorify him in the image of the Scourge of God. The steppe tradition recognizes the whip as a symbol of good luck and prosperity. In 2008, it is planned to build a museum and tourist complex dedicated to the life of nomads in the 13th century around the monument on 15 hectares. But this is the distant future, and in the near future, namely in August of this year, the most “serious” event of the celebrations will take place - the International Forum of Mongolian Studies. He will sum up the understanding of what went down in history under the name of the Mongol Empire.

Benefactor and Villain

The conquests of Genghis Khan turned the history of China, Russia, the countries of Central Asia, the Middle East and of Eastern Europe. Rebuilt after the defeat irrigation systems were under the protection of the Mongols. Fundamentally new rules of trade were established, and most importantly, new opportunities opened up for it. Pepper from Southeast Asia, silk and porcelain from China were supplied uninterruptedly to Europe and the Arabs. Management has improved and strict rules have been established in the collection of taxes. But the main thing is that for the first time the Mongols managed to connect the West and East of Eurasia into a single relatively peaceful space, ensuring safety and speed of movement there. The Taoist monk Chang Chun traveled 10,000 kilometers in three years to meet Genghis Khan, and no one touched him. And a Nestorian monk, a certain Rabban ban Sauma from China, visited the Pope in 1285 and met with the English king. Plano Carpini and Willem Rubruck, the Venetian merchant Marco Polo, not to mention Russian, Muslim and Chinese traders, with the help of the Mongolian Yam service, covered vast distances at a speed unheard of at that time.

For example, Plano Carpini traveled four and a half thousand kilometers from Sarai on the Volga to Karakorum in Mongolia in one hundred and four days, while he “dragged” two thousand kilometers from Lyon to Kyiv for ten months. Before the advent of the telegraph there was no better system dissemination of information than the Mongolian postal service. Inventions Chinese civilization, such as paper for writing manuscripts and making money, penetrated the West (some historians believe, by the way, that the Mongols also brought gunpowder there). Engineers from the banks of the Yellow River observed the construction of canals in Iraq. The Russian master Kuzma made the throne for the Great Khan Guyuk, and the Frenchman Boucher made the famous “silver tree” that decorated the palace of Khan Mongke in Karakorum. There was a cultural and information explosion comparable only to the invention of printing. It affected all world religions and influenced science and art. Paradoxically, we even indirectly owe the discovery of America to Genghis Khan: it happened (unconsciously, in any case) because of the thirst of Europeans to restore the unity of Eurasia, lost after the collapse of the Mongol power. Let’s not forget that Christopher Columbus’s reference book was a description of the adventures of Marco Polo “in the land of Tartarus.”

Of course, unprecedented freedom of religion and security were ensured by unprecedented cruelty - let’s not forget about that. The conquests of Genghis Khan and his successors plunged vast territories into a humanitarian catastrophe. Unless the disasters caused by the world wars of the twentieth century can be compared with it. In Northern China, for example, after its final conquest, the population decreased by at least half compared to beginning of XIII century. And when Plano Carpini passed by Kyiv, in the once great city several hundred residents huddled in dugouts, and the fields lay strewn with human bones.

The hatred of the conquered population towards the Mongols could not be reduced by any benefits received thanks to their “new order”. Genghis Khan's empire eventually collapsed, and the ruling nation retreated to the steppe interfluve of Kerulen and Onon, from where the “Mongol project” launched in 1206.

A truth as old as time has been confirmed once again: the policy of violence, no matter how great the initial success achieved with its help, is doomed to failure. The eternal winner has lost the battle with history...

Ticket 2. The emergence of the state of Rus'. Rus' as an early feudal monarchy. The first Russian princes. Characteristics of domestic and foreign policy

The 13th century in the history of Rus' is a time of armed resistance to the onslaught from the east (Mongo-Tatars) and northwest (Germans, Swedes, Danes).

The Mongol-Tatars came to Rus' from the depths of Central Asia. The Empire, formed in 1206, led by Khan Temujin, who accepted the title of Khan of all Mongols (Genghis Khan), by the 30s. XIII century She subjugated Northern China, Korea, Central Asia, and Transcaucasia to her power. In 1223, in the Battle of Kalka, the combined army of Russians and Polovtsians was defeated by a 30,000-strong detachment of Mongols. Genghis Khan refused to advance into the southern Russian steppes. Rus' received almost a fifteen-year respite, but could not take advantage of it: all attempts to unite and end civil strife were in vain.

In 1236, Genghis Khan's grandson Batu began a campaign against Rus'. Having conquered Volga Bulgaria, in January 1237 he invaded the Ryazan principality, ruined it and moved on to Vladimir. The city, despite fierce resistance, fell, and on March 4, 1238, he was killed in the Battle of the Sit River. Grand Duke Vladimirsky Yuri Vsevolodovich. Having taken Torzhok, the Mongols could march on Novgorod, but the spring thaw and big losses forced them to return to the Polovtsian steppes. This movement to the southeast is sometimes called the “Tatar round-up”: along the way, Batu robbed and burned Russian cities, which courageously fought against the invaders. The resistance of the residents of Kozelsk, nicknamed the “evil city” by their enemies, was especially fierce. In 1238-1239 The Mongolo-Tatars conquered the Murom, Pereyaslav, and Chernigov principalities.

North-Eastern Rus' was devastated. Batu turned south. The heroic resistance of the inhabitants of Kyiv was broken in December 1240. In 1241, the Principality of Galicia-Volyn fell. The Mongol hordes invaded Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, reached Northern Italy and Germany, but, weakened by the desperate resistance of 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 was created (the capital of Sarai-Batu), whose rule the devastated Russian lands were forced to recognize. A system was established that went down in history as the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The essence of this system, humiliating in spiritual terms and predatory in economic terms, was that: the Russian principalities were not included in the Horde, but retained their own reigns; the princes, especially the Grand Duke of Vladimir, received a label to reign in the Horde, which confirmed their presence on the throne; they had to pay a large tribute ("exit") to the Mongol rulers. Population censuses were conducted and tribute collection standards were established. The Mongol garrisons left Russian cities, but before the beginning of the 14th century. The collection of tribute was carried out by authorized Mongol officials - the Baskaks. In case of disobedience (and anti-Mongol uprisings often broke out), punitive detachments - armies - were sent to Rus'.

Two get up important issues: Why did the Russian principalities, having shown heroism and courage, fail to repel the conquerors? What consequences did the yoke have for Rus'? The answer to the first question is obvious: of course, the military superiority of the Mongol-Tatars mattered (strict discipline, excellent cavalry, well-established intelligence, etc.), but decisive role played by the disunity of the Russian princes, their feuds, and inability to unite even in the face of a mortal threat.

The second question is controversial. Some historians point to the positive consequences of the yoke in the sense of creating the prerequisites for the creation of a unified Russian state. Others emphasize that the yoke did not have a significant impact on internal development Rus'. Most scientists agree on the following: the raids caused severe material damage, were accompanied by the death of the population, the devastation of villages, and the destruction of cities; the tribute that went to the Horde depleted the country and made it difficult to restore and develop the economy; Southern Rus' actually became isolated from the North-Western and North-Eastern, their historical destinies diverged for a long time; Rus''s ties with European states were interrupted; tendencies towards arbitrariness, despotism, and autocracy of princes prevailed.

Having been defeated by the Mongol-Tatars, Rus' was able to successfully resist aggression from the north-west. By the 30s. XIII century The Baltic states, inhabited by tribes of Livs, Yatvingians, Estonians and others, found themselves in the power of the German crusading knights. The actions of the Crusaders were part of the policy of the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy to subjugate pagan peoples to the Catholic Church. That is why the main instruments of aggression were the spiritual knightly orders: the Order of the Swordsmen (founded in 1202) and Warband(founded at the end of the 12th century in Palestine). In 1237 these orders united to form Livonian Order. A powerful and aggressive military-political entity established itself on the borders with Novgorod land, ready to take advantage of the weakening of Rus' to include its northwestern lands in the zone of imperial influence.

In July 1240, nineteen years old Novgorod prince In a quick battle, Alexander defeated Birger's Swedish detachment at the mouth of the Neva. For his victory in the Battle of Neva, Alexander received the honorary nickname Nevsky. That same summer, the Livonian knights became more active: Izborsk and Pskov were captured, border fortress Koporye. Prince Alexander Nevsky managed to return Pskov in 1241, but the decisive battle took place on April 5, 1242. On the melted ice Lake Peipsi(hence the name - Battle of the Ice). Knowing about the favorite tactics of the knights - formation in the shape of a tapering wedge ("pig"), the commander used flanking and defeated the enemy. Dozens of knights died after falling through the ice, which could not withstand the weight of heavily armed infantry. The relative safety of the northwestern borders of Rus' and the Novgorod land was ensured.

6. The emergence and development of the Moscow principality in the 14th-15th centuries. Formation of the Russian central state. + Battle of Kulikovo. + Ivan Kalita-Ivan

In the XIV-XV centuries. Specific Rus' persistently collected her “crushed parts into something whole. Moscow became the center of the state formed in this way” (V. O. Klyuchevsky). The process of gathering Russian lands led to the formation of a single Russian state. Ruined, bloodless by the Mongol-Tatar yoke, divided into dozens of appanage principalities, the country for more than two centuries consistently, difficultly, overcoming obstacles, moved towards state and national unity. Prerequisites for the merger. The peculiarities of the process of unification of Russian lands were that its economic and social prerequisites matured gradually, as the process itself gained strength, lagging behind it. Population growth, the restoration of the destroyed economy, the development of abandoned and new lands, the spread of the three-field system, the gradual revival of cities and trade - all this contributed to the unification, but hardly made it really necessary. Decisive preconditions have developed in the political sphere. The main impulse was the increasingly persistent desire for liberation from the Horde yoke, from patronage and prodding, to gain complete independence, to renounce humiliating trips to the Horde for the label of the great reign of Vladimir, from paying tribute, from extortion. The struggle for unification merged with the struggle against the Horde. It required the exertion of all forces, unity, and a rigid guiding principle. This beginning could only be the grand ducal power, ready to act firmly, decisively, recklessly, even despotically. The princes relied on their servants - the military in the first place - and paid them with land transferred into conditional ownership (from these servants and this land ownership the nobility would later grow, local system, serfdom). The prerequisites for unification include the presence of a single church organization, a common faith - Orthodoxy, language, historical memory a people who kept memories of lost unity and the “brightly bright and beautifully decorated” Russian Land. Why did Moscow become the center of unification? Objectively, two “young” cities - Moscow and Tver - had approximately equal chances to lead the process of unification of Russian lands. They were located in the northeast of Rus', relatively far from the borders with the Horde (and from the borders with Lithuania, Poland, Livonia) and therefore were protected from surprise attacks. Moscow and Tver stood on lands where, after Batu’s invasion, the population of Vladimir, Ryazan, Rostov and other principalities fled, where demographic growth was observed. Important trade routes passed through both principalities, and they knew how to take advantage of the benefits of their location. The outcome of the struggle between Moscow and Tver was therefore determined by the personal qualities of their rulers. In this sense, the Moscow princes were superior to their Tver competitors. They weren't outstanding statesmen, but ~v4ine others knew how to adapt to the character and juvia of their time.” They, “people, are not large. , they had to “do big things,” their mode of action “was based not on the legends of antiquity, but on a prudent consideration of the circumstances of the current moment.” “Flexible, smart businessmen”, “peaceful masters”, “thrifty, thrifty organizers of their lot” - this is how V. O. Klyuchevsky saw the first Moscow princes. Stages of unification. The process of creating a unified Russian state took a long period from the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th centuries. To end XV-beginning XVI century The end of the 13th - first half of the 14th century: - formation of the Moscow principality under Prince Daniil Alexandrovich ( end XIII c.) And its territorial growth (Pereslavl, Mozhaisk, Kolomna), the beginning of rivalry with Tver for the label for the great reign of Vladimir and the first success of Moscow (1318, murder in the Horde Prince of Tver Michael and the transfer of the label to Moscow Prince Yuri, who owned it until 1325); - the reign of Ivan Danilovich Kalita (kalita is a big wallet; the origin of the prince’s nickname is connected not so much with his stinginess, but with the fact that he was famous for his generosity when distributing alms to the poor). Ivan Kalita took part in the punitive campaign of the Mongol-Tatars against Tver, the population of which in 1327 rebelled and killed the Khan's Baskak Cholkhan. The result was the weakening of Tver and the acquisition by Moscow of a label for a great reign (from 1328). Ivan Kalita convinced Metropolitan Peter to move his residence from Vladimir to Moscow. From now on Orthodox Church firmly supported the Moscow princes in their efforts to unify the country. Kalita managed to accumulate considerable funds, which were spent on purchasing new lands and strengthening the military power of the principality. Relations between Moscow and the Horde were built during this period on the same foundations - with correction, payment of tribute, frequent visits to the khan's capital, with ostentatious humility and readiness to serve. Ivan Kalita managed to save his principality from new invasions. “Forty years of great silence,” according to Klyuchevsky, allowed two generations to be born and grow up, “to whose nerves the impressions of childhood did not instill the unconscious horror of their grandfathers and fathers before the Tatar: they went to the Kulikovo Field.” Second half of the 14th century. In the 60-70s. XIV century Prince Dmitry, the grandson of Ivan Kalita, managed to resolve a number of long-standing and very important issues. Firstly, the claims of neighboring princes to a great reign were repulsed. The label remained in Moscow. Secondly, it was possible to avert the military threat from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, whose ruler, Prince Olgerd, actively participated in internal Russian politics and organized three campaigns against Moscow. Thirdly - and this is especially important - Moscow achieved a decisive advantage over its traditional rival, the Tver Principality. Twice (in 1371 and 1375) Prince Mikhail of Tver received a label for the great reign in the Horde, and twice Prince Dmitry refused to recognize him as the Grand Duke. In 1375, Moscow organized a campaign against Tver, in which almost all the princes of North-Eastern Rus' participated. Mikhail was forced to recognize the seniority of the Moscow prince and abandon the label of great reign. Fourthly, for the first time in more than a century, the Moscow prince felt strong enough to go into open conflict with the Horde, challenge it, relying on the support of the majority of Russian principalities and lands. During these same years, the Golden Horde experienced processes of fragmentation and disintegration. Khans changed their thrones with fantastic frequency; the rulers of the isolated “hordes” sought their fortune in predatory raids on Rus'. Moscow provided support neighboring principalities in repelling aggression. The Battle of the Vozha River in 1378 became especially famous. The army of Murza Begicha, which invaded the Ryazan land, was defeated by a Moscow detachment commanded by Prince Dmitry. An event of enormous historical importance was the victory of the Russian army (it included the princely squads of almost all the lands of North-Eastern Rus', only the Ryazan and Novgorod detachments did not come) in 1380. On the Kulikovo field above the army of the Tatar temnik Mamai. The reasons for the victory in the battle, which apparently lasted more than ten hours, are generally clear: Dmitry showed undeniable military leadership (gathering troops in Kolomna, choosing the battle site, disposition of the troops, actions of the ambush regiment, etc.). Russian soldiers fought courageously. There was no agreement in the Horde ranks. But the main factors of victory are recognized as follows: on the Kulikovo field, for the first time, a united Russian army, composed of squads from almost all Russian lands, under the single command of the Moscow prince; Russian soldiers were overwhelmed by that spiritual upsurge, which, according to L.N. Tolstoy, makes victory inevitable: “The battle is won by the one who firmly decided to win it.” The Battle of Kulikovo brought the Moscow prince Dmitry the honorary nickname Donskoy. The victory was difficult. The ferocity of the battle lives in the words of a contemporary: “Oh bitter hour! Oh, the time of blood is filled!” The significance of the victory on the Kulikovo Field is enormous: Moscow strengthened its role as the unifier of the Russian lands, their leader; a turning point occurred in the relations of Rus' with the Horde (the yoke would be lifted after 100 years, in 1382 Khan Tokhtamysh would burn Moscow, but the decisive step towards liberation was taken on August 8, 1380); the amount of tribute that Rus' now paid to the Horde decreased significantly; The Horde continued to weaken; it never managed to recover from the blow it received in the Battle of Kulikovo. The Battle of Kulikovo became the most important stage in the spiritual and moral revival of Rus' and the formation of its national identity. First half of the 15th century The main event of this stage was feudal war 1425-1453 Between the Moscow prince Vasily II the Dark and the coalition of appanage princes, which was headed by his uncle Yuri, and after the death of Yuri - his second cousins ​​Vasily Kosoy and Ivan Shemyaka. The long period of unrest ended with the victory of the Moscow prince. Second half of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century. The final stage of the unification process is associated with the reign of Ivan III (1462-1505) and the first years of the reign of his son Vasily III (1505-1533): - the gathering of Russian lands around Moscow was basically completed. Novgorod (1477), Tver (1485), Pskov (1510), Ryazan (1521), Smolensk (1514) were annexed to Moscow; - “Standing on the Ugra” (1480) ended the struggle of Rus' for liberation from the two hundred and forty-year Mongol yoke. For more than two months, the Russian army of Ivan III and the Tatar army of Khan Akhmat stood on different banks of the Oka tributary of the Ugra River. Akhmat did not dare to enter the battle and withdrew his troops, essentially recognizing the independence of Rus'; - the process of forming a unified Russian state has also completed. Ivan III accepted the title of "Grand Duke of Moscow and All Rus'", marriage with Byzantine princess Sophia Paleologus and the fall of Constantinople under the blows of the Ottoman Turks (1453) gave him reason to accept the Byzantine double-headed eagle as the coat of arms of the Russian state (the addition of the coat of arms of the Moscow principality - St. George the Victorious - symbolized the role of Moscow as the capital of the state). The organ system gradually took shape government controlled: Boyar Duma (council of the nobility under the Grand Duke), Treasury (central administrative body, from which the authorities were later separated central control- orders; the concept of “order” was first used in 1512), Palaces (government bodies of the newly annexed territories). The country was divided into counties (governed by governors), volosts and camps (governed by volostels). The governors and volostels lived off of feedings - fees from the local population. In 1497, the Code of Law was adopted - the first legislative act a unified Russian state. It, in particular, contained a new rule on a single period for the transfer of peasants from one landowner to another (two weeks before and after November 26 - St. George's Day). From the end of the 15th century. The new term “Russia” was increasingly used.

Mongol Empire

Political fragmentation and constant princely strife facilitated the implementation of large-scale plans of the Mongol-Tatars, begun by the leader of the Mongol tribes, Khan Temujin (Temujin) (c. 1155-1227). In 1206 kurultai(congress of the Mongolian nobility) he was proclaimed Genghis Khan (Great Khan) and founded Mongol Empire.

At the end of the 12th century. among the Mongol tribes roaming the steppes of Central Asia, the process of decomposition of the tribal system and the formation of early feudal relations began.

The reign of Genghis Khan influenced the development of the political and spiritual culture of the population of many Asian regions. Throughout the territory of the Mongol Empire, a single set of laws began to operate - the Great Yasa (Jasak), formulated by Genghis Khan. It was one of the most brutal sets of laws in the entire history of mankind; For almost all types of crimes, only one type of punishment was provided - the death penalty.

The success of the conquests and the large size of the Mongol army are explained not only by the fact that Genghis Khan was able to unite the nomadic tribes of the Asian steppes, but also by the fact that Mongol army Residents of the territories he captured often joined. They preferred to participate in military raids and receive their share of the spoils than to bear duties in favor of the Mongol treasury.

In 1208-1223. The Mongols carried out campaigns of conquest in Siberia, Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Northern China and began to advance towards Russian lands.

The first clash between Russian and Mongol troops took place in the Azov steppes on the Kalka River (1223). The battle ended in the defeat of the Russian-Polovtsian troops. As a result of this battle, the Cuman state was destroyed, and the Cumans themselves became part of the state created by the Mongols.

In 1236, the huge army of Batu Khan (Batu) (1208-1255), the grandson of Genghis Khan, moved to Volga Bulgaria. In 1237 Batu invaded Rus'. Ryazan, Vladimir, Suzdal, Moscow were plundered and burned, and the southern Russian lands (Chernigov, Kiev, Galicia-Volyn, etc.) were devastated.

In 1239, Batu began a new campaign against Russian soil. Murom and Gorokhovets were captured and burned. In December 1240 Kyiv was taken. Then Mongol troops moved to Galicia-Volyn Rus'. In 1241, Batu invaded Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Moldavia, and in 1242 he reached Croatia and Dalmatia. Having lost significant forces on Russian soil, Batu returned to the Volga region, where he founded a state Golden Horde(1242).

The consequences of the invasion were extremely severe. First of all, the country's population has declined sharply. More than anything from Tatar-Mongol invasion cities suffered. The invasion dealt a heavy blow to productive forces. Many production skills were lost, and entire craft professions disappeared. Rus''s international trade relations suffered. Numerous written monuments and outstanding works of art were destroyed.

The Golden Horde occupied a significant part of the territory modern Russia. The Golden Horde included the steppes of Eastern Europe and Western Siberia, lands in the Crimea, the North Caucasus, Volga-Kama Bulgaria, and Northern Khorezm. The capital of the Golden Horde was the city of Sarai (near modern Astrakhan).

In relation to the Russian lands, the Golden Horde pursued a cruel predatory policy. All Russian princes were confirmed on the throne by the khans, and certainly in the capital of the Golden Horde. The princes were given shortcuts- Khan's letters confirming their appointment. Often, during visits to the Horde, princes disliked by the Mongol-Tatars were killed. The Horde maintained power over Russia through constant terror. Horde detachments led by baskaks (officials) were stationed in Russian principalities and cities to monitor the proper collection and receipt of tribute from Rus' to the Horde. In order to record tribute payers, a population census was conducted in Russian lands. The khans exempted only the clergy from taxes. To keep Russian lands in obedience and for predatory purposes, Tatar detachments carried out frequent punitive raids on Rus'. Only in the second half of the 13th century. there were fourteen such campaigns.

The masses resisted the Horde's policy of oppression. In 1257, the Novgorodians refused to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. In 1262, in many cities of the Russian land - Rostov, Suzdal, Yaroslavl, Ustyug the Great, Vladimir - popular uprisings. Many tribute collectors - Baskaks - were killed.

Expansion from the West

Simultaneously with the establishment of Mongol rule over the Russian principalities, the northwestern Russian lands were attacked by crusader troops. The invasion of German knights into the Eastern Baltic began in the 10th century. Supported by the merchants of the northern German cities and the Catholic Church, the knighthood began the “Drang nach Osten” - the so-called “onslaught to the east”. By the 12th century. German feudal lords captured the Eastern Baltic. After the name of the Liv tribe, the Germans called the entire captured territory Livonia. In 1200, Canon Albert of Bremen, sent there by the Pope, founded the Riga fortress. On his initiative, the spiritual knightly order of the Swordsmen was created in 1202. The order was faced with the task of capturing the Baltic states by German feudal lords. In 1215-1216 The crusaders captured the territory of Estonia. In 1234, the Order of the Swordsmen was defeated by Russian troops in the Yuryev area (Tartu). In 1237, the Order of the Sword, renamed the Livonian Order, became a branch of a larger spiritual knightly order, the Teutonic Order, created in 1198 for campaigns in Palestine. The threat of invasion by the Crusaders and Swedish troops loomed over Novgorod, Pskov and Polotsk.

In 1240, the Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavich (1221-1263) defeated the Swedish invaders at the mouth of the Neva, for which he received the nickname Nevsky. In 1240, the crusading knights occupied the Pskov fortress of Izborsk, and then fortified themselves in Pskov itself. In 1241, the order invaded the Novgorod borders. In response to this, in 1241 Alexander Nevsky captured the Koporye fortress, and in the winter of 1242 he liberated Pskov from the crusaders. Then the princely Vladimir-Suzdal squad and the Novgorod militia moved to Lake Peipsi, on the ice of which a decisive battle took place on April 5, 1242. The battle that went down in history as Battle on the Ice, ended in the complete defeat of the crusaders.

I. Causes of aggression:

1. Rus' is weakened.

2. Interest in the rich lands of Northern Rus'.

3. The desire of the Roman Catholic Church to make Russians Catholics.

II. The peoples of the Baltic states in the 13th century.

III. Knights' invasion of the Baltics:

· 1201 – foundation of Riga by the Germans.

· 1202 – creation of the Order of the Swordsmen.

· 1219 – the Danes founded the city of Revel, a center of expansion in the Baltic states.

· 1237 - ____________________________

V. Alexander Nevsky (characteristics of personality and activity).

VI. Battle of the Neva July 15, 1240

Scheme (stroke)

Meaning:

Swedish aggression to the East was stopped

· Russia retains access to the Baltic Sea

The goal of the Swedish invasion was to capture the mouth of the river. Neva and Ladoga, which made it possible to take possession of the most important section of the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” which was under the control of Novgorod the Great. Having received news of the appearance of the Swedes under the command of the son-in-law of King Eric XI Birger, the Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavich, without waiting for the arrival of all his forces, moved down the river. Volkhov went to Ladoga before the Swedes, where he was joined by a squad of Ladoga residents; by this time the Swedes with their allies (Norwegians and Finns) reached the mouth of the river. Izhora. Taking advantage of the fog, the Russians unexpectedly attacked the Swedish camp and defeated the enemy; Only the onset of darkness stopped the battle and allowed the remnants of Birger’s army, who was wounded by Alexander Yaroslavich, to escape. In N. b. especially distinguished themselves Gavrila Oleksic, Zbyslav Yakunovich, Yakov Polochanin and others. Prince Alexander Yaroslavich was nicknamed Nevsky for the leadership and courage shown in the battle. Military-political significance N. b. was to prevent the threat of an enemy invasion from the north and to ensure the security of Russia's borders from Sweden.

Scheme (move).

Meaning

· weakened the power of the Livonian Order

· aggression against Rus' thwarted

· the independence of the Novgorod and Pskov lands was preserved

· an end was put to attempts to impose Catholicism on Rus'.

The defeat of the Swedes on the Neva did not completely eliminate the danger hanging over Russia. Already in the early autumn of 1240, the Livonian knights invaded the Novgorod possessions and occupied the city of Izborsk. Soon Pskov shared his fate. In the same autumn of 1240, the Livonians captured the southern approaches to Novgorod, invaded the lands adjacent to the Gulf of Finland and created the Koporye fortress here, where they left their garrison. This was an important bridgehead that made it possible to control the Novgorod trade routes along the Neva and plan further advance to the East. After this, the Livonian aggressors invaded the very center of the Novgorod possessions and captured the Novgorod suburb of Tesovo. In their raids they came within 30 kilometers of Novgorod. Neglecting past grievances, at the request of the Novgorodians, Alexander Nevsky returned to Novgorod at the end of 1240 and continued the fight against the invaders. The following year, he recaptured Koporye and Pskov from the knights, returning most of their western possessions to the Novgorodians. But the enemy was still strong and the decisive battle lay ahead.

In the spring of 1242, reconnaissance of the Livonian Order was sent from Dorpat (Yuryev) with the aim of testing the strength of the Russian troops. About 18 kilometers south of Dorpat, the order's reconnaissance detachment managed to defeat the Russian "dispersal" under the command of Domash Tverdislavich and Kerebet. This was a reconnaissance detachment moving ahead of A.N.’s troops. towards Dorpat. The surviving part of the detachment returned to the prince and reported to him about what had happened. The victory over a small detachment of Russians inspired the order's command. He developed a tendency to underestimate Russian forces and became convinced that they could be easily defeated. The Livonians decided to give battle to the Russians and for this they set out from Dorpat to the south with their main forces, as well as their allies, led by the master of the order himself. The main part of the troops consisted of knights clad in armor.

The “Battle of the Ice” began on the morning of April 11 (5), 1242. At sunrise, noticing a small detachment of Russian riflemen, the knightly “pig” rushed towards him. The riflemen took the brunt of the “iron regiment” and with courageous resistance significantly disrupted its advance. Still, the knights managed to break through the defensive formations of the Russian “chela”. A fierce hand-to-hand fight ensued. And at its very height, when the “pig” was completely drawn into the battle, at a signal from Alexander Nevsky, the regiments of the left and right hand. Not expecting the appearance of such Russian reinforcements, the knights were confused and began to gradually retreat under their powerful blows. And soon this retreat took on the character of a disorderly flight. Then suddenly, from behind cover, a cavalry ambush regiment rushed into battle. The Livonian troops suffered a crushing defeat.

The Russians drove them across the ice another 7 versts to the western shore of Lake Peipsi. 400 knights were destroyed and 50 were captured. Some of the Livonians drowned in the lake. Those who escaped from the encirclement were pursued by Russian cavalry, completing their defeat. Only those who were in the tail of the “pig” and were on horseback managed to escape: the master of the order, commanders and bishops.

The significance of the victory of Russian troops under the leadership of Prince Alexander Nevsky over the German “dog knights” was truly historical. The Order asked for peace. Peace was concluded on terms dictated by the Russians. The order's ambassadors solemnly renounced all encroachments on the Russian lands that were temporarily captured by the order. The movement of Western invaders into Rus' was stopped. The western borders of Rus', established after the Battle of the Ice, lasted for centuries. The Battle of the Ice has gone down in history as a remarkable example of military tactics and strategy. Skillful formation of battle formation, clear organization of interaction between its individual parts, especially infantry and cavalry, constant reconnaissance and accounting weaknesses enemy when organizing a battle, the correct choice of place and time, good organization of tactical pursuit, the destruction of most of the superior enemy - all this determined Russian military art as advanced in the world.

VIII. Reasons for Victory in the fight against Western aggression:

· training and military tactics of the Russian army

· a strong and united commander, his military leadership talent.

Dominion of the Horde in Rus'

As a result of the Mongol invasion of 1237-1241. Rus' was thrown back in its development by several decades. Many cities were destroyed, 49 of them to the ground, in 14 - life never resumed, and 15 cities turned into villages. Entire craft specialties disappeared (the craftsmanship of grain and filigree was forever forgotten), hundreds of villages and hamlets were deserted. Many of those people who were spared by the Mongolian saber or lasso lived in the forests for several years after the invasion, fearing new devastation. The Mongols disrupted traditional trade routes, which resulted in a sharp reduction in foreign trade and led to the foreign policy isolation of Rus'. From the 1240s Russian land found itself in political and economic dependence on the Golden Horde. The Tatar-Mongol yoke was established, which lasted for about two and a half centuries (1240-1480).

Political dependence was that the Karakoram khan became the supreme ruler of the Russian land, and from 1260. - Khan of the Golden Horde. The Russian princes lost their sovereignty and were obliged to travel to Sarai-Batu (the capital of the Golden Horde) in order to receive a label from the khan - a document confirming the right to reign. The first prince to receive the label was Yaroslav Vsevolodovich Vladimirsky (1243). At the same time, civil strife continued, which the Mongols often provoked themselves. They “traded” the grand-ducal thrones, organizing unique auctions, which, of course, contradicted the Russian traditions of succession to the throne. The khans humiliated, and sometimes tortured and even killed the princes. While “visiting the Khan”, Mikhail Vsevolodovich Chernigovsky and Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy were tortured. Most likely, the Tatars also poisoned Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky.

The Mongol yoke finally destroyed the veche system. The exceptions were Novgorod and Pskov. In most lands, essentially monarchical princely power was established in appanages - hereditarily transferred possessions. It should be noted that the Russian princes gradually adopted the despotic methods of government that existed among the Mongols, and actively introduced them on Russian soil. All democratic traditions and institutions were uprooted from public life, and they were replaced by hypocritical admiration for authority. The Russian people got used to kneeling not only in church. By the way, the pagan Mongols tried not to offend the church, probably fearing the wrath of the “Russian gods.”

The Russian lands were not officially part of the Golden Horde, but permanent representatives of the khan's administration - the Baskaks ("pressors") - had to monitor the development of the situation in the "Zalessky ulus" and brutally suppress even the slightest anti-Mongol attacks from the Russian people.

Rus' did not have the right to defend itself in the event of new predatory raids of the Horde; moreover, the princes were obliged to place part of their squads at the disposal of the khan at his first request.

Economic dependence consisted mainly in the Horde output (annually paid tribute). At first, tribute was collected by Bessermen - Muslim tax farmers. Subsequently, the Grand Duke of Vladimir began to collect the Horde exit, and the Baskaks began to control it. If earlier the plow and plow (ralo) were considered the units of taxation, now they have switched to the household principle. To determine the amount of tribute, the khans sent census takers to Rus', who conducted a population census (for the first time in 1257-1259). In addition to the exit, there was also a trade duty (tamga), food for the Horde ambassadors (honor). Only the church was exempt from taxes.

In 1206, the Mongol Empire was formed, led by Temujin (Genghis Khan). The Mongols defeated Primorye, Northern China, Central Asia, Transcaucasia, and attacked the Polovtsians. The Russian princes (Kiev, Chernigov, Volyn, etc.) came to the aid of the Polovtsians, but in 1223 they were defeated on Kalka due to inconsistency of actions.

In 1236 the Mongols conquered Volga Bulgaria, and in 1237, led by Batu, invaded Rus'. They devastated the Ryazan and Vladimir lands, and in 1238 they defeated them on the river. The power of Yuri Vladimirsky, he himself died. In 1239, the second wave of invasion began. Pali Chernigov, Kyiv, Galich. Batu went to Europe, from where he returned in 1242.

The reasons for the defeat of Rus' were its fragmentation, the numerical superiority of the united and mobile army of the Mongols, its skillful tactics, and the absence of stone fortresses in Rus'.

The yoke of the Golden Horde, the state of invaders in the Volga region, was established.

Rus' paid her tribute, from which only the church was exempt, and supplied soldiers. The collection of tribute was controlled by the khan's Baskaks, and later by the princes themselves. They received a charter from the khan to reign - a label. The Prince of Vladimir was recognized as the eldest among the princes. The Horde intervened in the feuds of the princes and repeatedly ravaged Rus'. The invasion caused great damage to the military and economic power of Rus', its international prestige, and culture. Southern and western lands Rus' (Galich, Smolensk, Polotsk, etc.) later passed to Lithuania and Poland.

In the 1220s. Russians took part in Estonia in the fight against the German crusaders - the Order of the Sword, which in 1237 transformed into the Livonian Order, a vassal of the Teutonic. In 1240, the Swedes landed at the mouth of the Neva, trying to cut off Novgorod from the Baltic. Prince Alexander defeated them at the Battle of the Neva. In the same year, the Livonian knights began an offensive and took Pskov. In 1242, Alexander Nevsky defeated them on Lake Peipus, stopping the Livonian raids for 10 years.

5.Russian lands in the 14th-15th centuries: Ivan Kalita, Dm. Donskoy, Ivan 3. Fundamentals of the Moscow centralized state.

In 1246, the struggle for the Vladimir table began. Alexander Nevsky settled in Vladimir. he helped the Horde impose tribute on Rus' in order to prevent predatory raids. In 1262 Suzdal land Uprisings broke out against the Tatars, but Alexander convinced the khan not to destroy the rebellious cities. In 1263 he died. Later, the Tatars attacked Rus' more than once, interfering in the feuds of the princes.

At this time, Tver and Moscow rose in power, and under Daniil Alexandrovich became an independent principality. Soon the struggle for the Vladimir table began between Yuri Danilovich Moskovsky and Mikhail Yaroslavich Tversky. The Horde intervened in the dispute. In 1327 Tver rebelled against the Tatars. Ivan Kalita, the prince of Moscow, took part in the defeat of the uprising, and for this he received the reign of Vladimir and the right to collect tribute from Russian lands. He acquired a number of lands (Beloozero, Uglich, Galich Mersky). The metropolitan moved to Moscow from Vladimir, which strengthened her influence. Under Dmitry Ivanovich (1359-1389), Moscow began to crush Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, and Ryazan. In the 1370s. the ruler of the Horde, Mamai, decided to weaken Moscow, but in 1378 the Tatars were defeated on the river. Vozhe, and in 1380 Dmitry Donskoy and other princes defeated Mamai on the Kulikovo field. However, Khan Tokhtamysh ravaged Moscow in 1382 and returned it to the rule of the Horde. After the defeat of the Horde by Timur in 1395, Vasily I (1389-1425) did not pay tribute to it for several years. In 1408, the ruler of the Horde, Edigei, again besieged Moscow, did not take it, but terribly devastated the surrounding cities. The power of the Tatars strengthened.

In 1425-1462. In the Principality of Moscow there was a feudal war - the struggle of Vasily II against Uncle Yuri and his sons Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka. During it, Vasily Kosoy was blinded in 1436, Vasily II (“Dark”) in 1446, and Shemyaka was poisoned in 1452, Vasily II won.

A centralized state emerges under Ivan III (1462-1505). Under him, Yaroslavl, Rostov, Novgorod, Tver, and Vyatka were annexed to Moscow. Ivan III stopped paying tribute to the Great Horde (the largest part of the collapsed Golden Horde). Khan Akhmat tried to weaken the power of Moscow and marched against it. But after “standing on the Ugra” in 1480, when the Tatars did not dare to attack the Russian regiments, Akhmat retreated to the steppes and died. Horde yoke fell.

In 1472, Ivan III married the niece of the Emperor of Byzantium, Sophia (Zoe) Paleologus, and made the Byzantine double-headed eagle the coat of arms of Rus', thus acting as the successor of Byzantium. The foundations of a centralized state apparatus are being formed. Its central bodies were the Boyar Duma and the treasury (office). Locally - in counties and volosts - governors and volosts ruled. Under Ivan III, there was a massive distribution of land to service people (nobles, boyar children) - the backbone of the army. Ivan III thought about confiscating church lands for these purposes (secularization), but did not dare to do so due to pressure from the clergy.

In 1497, the Code of Laws was published - the first all-Russian code of laws. For the first time, he introduced a uniform time period for the entire country for the transfer of peasants from their masters on St. George’s Day (the week before and after), subject to the payment of debts and related duties (“elderly”).

Under Vasily III (1505-1533), Moscow captured the last independent centers in Rus' - Pskov and Ryazan, which completed the unification of the country. The economic recovery that began under Ivan III continued.

The unification of Rus' was largely carried out by force, because the economic prerequisites for it were not fully mature. Both the nobility and the common people had practically no rights in relation to the Grand Duke (they called themselves his slaves), whose power was limited only by age-old customs.