Mongol invasion in Russia | Battle of Kulikovo 1380 | Russian Orthodox Army against the Mongols

#Mongol #Russia #Battle #Kulikovo #OrthodoxArmy"Mongol invasion in Russia | Battle of Kulikovo 1380 | Russian Orthodox Army against the Mongols . Russia's history is long and full of upheavals, but it’s only ever been fully conquered once—and that was by the Mongols. Because of this invasion, the Russian historian Nikolai Karamzin developed the idea of Russia “lagging behind” the “enlightened” Europe. He put it bluntly, saying, “We have our own Charlemagne—Vladimir, our own Louis XI—Tsar Ivan, and our own Cromwell—Godunov.” To Karamzin, Russia’s story was intertwined with Europe’s, almost as a mirror of it. So in his view, the “Tatars” (who were actually the Mongols) were “barbarians. He argued that the “civilized” Roman yoke over the previously conquered barbarian tribes was similar to the yoke the Mongols had imposed on the Russian people, rendering them inferior.

Mongol invasion in Russia | Battle of Kulikovo 1380 | Russian Orthodox Army against the Mongols . Why did this happen?
Infact, Before the Mongols invaded, Russia didn’t have any deep political or cultural ties with the Mongol tribes in Central Asia. However, the Russian principalities had long had dealings with other nomadic peoples from the steppes, like the Cumans (also known as Kipchaks) and the Pechenegs. These tribes lived to the south and southeast of Russia and were sometimes allies and other times enemies, creating a tense border zone between the Russian states and the nomadic steppes.
At first, the Mongols were just one of many nomadic alliances in Central Asia. But as they unified and expanded their empire in the 13th century, they began pushing west, reaching as far as Kievan Rus. The conquest began in 1237, with major Russian principalities like Vladimir, Suzdal, and Kiev falling one by one to the Mongols. By 1240, after the fall of Kiev, the Mongols had taken control of nearly all the Russian territories, marking the first time Russia fell under the rule of a nomadic power.
And that's when we first learned about ""Tatar yoke"".

Mongol invasion in Russia | Battle of Kulikovo 1380 | Russian Orthodox Army against the Mongols . Under the Tatar Yoke of the Golden Horde, Russia’s key trade routes were heavily controlled, dealing a serious blow to the economy. Important trade routes, like the one from Novgorod to Constantinople—a vital artery linking Russia to European and Mediterranean markets—were restricted. Other routes, like the East-West corridor from Moscow to the Black and Caspian Seas, which connected Russia with merchants from the Ottoman Empire and Asia, and the famous Silk Road, which linked Russia with China, Central Asia, and Persia, were also impacted. In particular, the Mongols not only levied taxes but also restricted certain strategic commodities, especially military raw materials such as precious metals, in order to prevent the Russian principalities from accumulating wealth and strengthening their weapons. With the Mongols holding much of this network, Russia was cut off from crucial trade and cultural exchange with the East.
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#greathistoryen #greathistoryenchannel #battlehistory #battleof #battleofkulikovo"