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Mongols In Russia Research Paper

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Believe it or not, the Mongols helped Moscow to not only become the most powerful city in Russia, but also to eventually unite the Russians against their foreign occupiers! This lesson explains how.
!!!Founding Moscow

Moscow was founded as one of many small city-states in what is now Western Russia and Ukraine. In fact, Moscow was one of the last ones founded, as it was first established as a landmark sometime during the twelfth century. This is late for the period, as the powerful cities of Novgorod and Kiev are more than 300 years older. Founded by __Yuri Dolgorukiy__, it was soon important enough to have its own fortress, known as a __Kremlin__. Situated on the Moskva River, it was a considerable stronghold.

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By 1238, the city had been burned to the ground by the invading Mongols, with all of its inhabitants either killed or carried off into slavery. However, the Mongols were willing to let a native Russian rule the city, just as long as he paid plenty of money for the honor of doing so. That native son, who would eventually restore Moscow to much of its previous greatness, was __Alexander Nevsky__. So popular in Russian history that he was made a Saint in 1547, Nevsky helped to keep the city strong against the attacks of other European powers, all while sparing it further destruction at the hands of the …show more content…

As the most powerful Orthodox Christian state, even under the thumb of the Mongols, Moscow was viewed as a successor to Constantinople. By this time, Constantinople had been under the very real threat of Turkish conquest. In 1453, this fear came true as Ottoman Turks took over the city. With that, the most powerful Orthodox Christian city in the world became Moscow. As a result, it was soon called the __Third Rome__, due to the fact that the original Rome had fallen to Catholic heretics and the Second Rome, Constantinople, had been defeated by the Turks. As such, Moscow gained significant cultural prestige throughout the Orthodox world, helping to consolidate its territorial gains throughout the

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