Some historians see Genghis Khan as a noble savage, and illiterate skyworshipper whose inspired leadership, flawless judgments of human character, and military genius catapulted the obscure Mongols to the height of world power. Others believehe is a gangster whose bloodthirsty cruelty mobilised Mongols for a worldwide rampage of death and destruction.
Genghis Khan's great abilities were not alone responsible for his success, he relied on the conditions of the Inner Asian steppe and the culture of the nomads who dwelt there. The central unit of nomadic society was the clan, which served all economic, social, political, and military functions. Women and children looked after the herds, which feed the men for warfare. Males were trained from boyhood as mounted archers. They fought as a unit under the command of the clan elder, who also determined the political allegiance of the clan as a whole. Some historians believe that the Mongol invasion and domination of Russia kept back the development of the country by 150 – 200 years.
Temojin Later to be known as Genghis Khan first starts his clan by welding different tribes together in the country of Mongolia, and with the different tribes welded together they make a terrifying military force The Mogols first appear at 1221 and by 1223 fight the Russians (tartars) at the River of Kalka. The Mongols did a lot in Russia they were the first to introduce taxes and kept it tight to make sure that taxes were collected if taxes were not paid a military force was sent to the village to find out why not. They were also the first group to establish a clear hierarchy with one strong leader; opposition was suppressed by military force.
Once the Mongols had left places such as Muscovy, new leaders began to emerge, such as Princes of Muscovy which became the ruling group; Ivan Kalita was put in charge of collecting effective taxes.
By the mid – 17th century, the rulers of Muscovy had established two pillars of the social and political systems that would define Tsarist Russia, Serfdom and Autocracy. Peter’s great lasting achievement was the acquisition of a Baltic coastline, which gave Russian and outlet to the west. His expansionist aims were held back by defeat at the hands of Turkey and Sweden, and was always engaged with neighbouring states. However is fair to say that Russian had been established as dominant power in Europe by the time of his death. Peter greatest problem was the fact that he did not have access to an ice-free port so in 1700 declared war on Sweden however there were huge set backs in declaring the war on Sweden so Peter adopted Mongol savagery, executing and torturing over 1200 rebels. After 1700, he increased army number, tightened discipline all of which are big characteristics of the way in which the Mongols used, so this is an indication to what kind of impact the Mongols had Russia.
I think it is fair to say the Mongol occupation of Russia had a big impact on the way that Russia was governed for a long time after they had disappeared. The way that the Mongols governed was the first of its kind and was a very effective way to govern. With one strong leader telling people what to do and them carrying it out. Taxes were set out and gathered efficiently, they also set up a clear line of communication which had to travel hundreds of miles. The methods used by the Mongols can be clearly seen during the reign of Peter the Great and also Ivan the terrible and Catherine the Great.
