After their invasions, the Mongols controlled both Russia and China politically. In China, Mongol invaders began by reaping destruction in northern China. Yet, after their initial settlement, the empire became relatively peaceful. The Mongols controlled the Chinese government firsthand by establishing a centralized government, similar to what the Chinese already had in place. The Mongols set up their own dynasty, the Yuan. Under the Yuan dynasty and Kublai Khan, China’s roads improved, canals were built, and peasant agriculture was supported. However, despite all of these accommodations, Mongol rule was exploitative and harsh. The Russian invasion began in a similar way to that of China, with ferocity and devastation. As the Mongols passed through a developing Russia, though, they deemed that it had little to offer, and they began to rule over it from the steppes. In Russia, although the Mongols ruled over Kievan Rus, their control was much less involved than in China. However, contrary to the total Mongolian occupation and authority over China, Mongol control over Russia was left to regional Russian princes. These Russian princes were appointed by the khan, a Mongol ruler, and were required to send tribute to the Mongols. The Russian princes were basically left alone if they paid their tribute. Also, unlike in China, the Mongols did not rule directly, therefore they were not influenced by Russian culture. As a result of Mongol rule, politically, China was once again united under one dynasty while struggling Russia remained divided.
Economically, Mongolian rule had an effect on both Russia and China. Under the Mongols, China’s economy expanded greatly. During Pax Mongolica, Mongolian peace, the Mongols reopened the Silk Roads which greatly improved China’s economy. China became the center of the vast system of trade routes, spanning from the Mediterranean to the East China Sea. With traders flowing in and out of China, their culture spread and their economy flourished. Opposed to the balanced growth of the Chinese economy under Mongol rule, the state of the economy across Kievan Rus was not as equally affected by Pax Mongolica. As the Russian princes were participating in the tribute system established by the Mongols, some of them were able to operate the system as tribute collectors to grow wealthy. Again, this was only some of them, not all of the Russian princes gained wealth. Yet, it was through this manipulation that Moscow emerged as the primary tribute collector and became a prominent city in the renewed Russian state when Mongol control diminished. Though China and parts of Russia experienced economic gain under Mongol rule, the ways in which they grew economically were contrasting on all counts.
China and Russia were changed both economically and politically as outcomes of Mongol rule. Mongolian contact unified China, but left Russia as a group of separate, locally ruled areas. The Mongols also influenced the economies of both civilizations, China’s more so than Russia’s. However, the Mongols influenced China’s economy through their re-opening of the Silk Roads, while the rulers of Kievan Rus took advantage of the tribute system. It is evident that Mongol rule influenced Russia and China in more ways than one, helping them shape into the strong empires we know of today.
