Kievan Rus', as it was undergoing fragmentation,…

Kievan Rus', as it was undergoing fragmentation, had faced its greatest threat from invading Mongols.

In 1223 an army from Kievan Rus', together with a force of Turkic Polovtsians, had faced a Mongol raiding party at the Kalka River.

The Kievan alliance was defeated soundly.

Then, in 1237-38, a much larger Mongol force had overrun much of Kievan Rus'.

In 1240 the Mongols had sacked the city of Kiev, then moved west into Poland and Hungary.

Of the principalities of Kievan Rus', only the Republic of Novgorod had escaped occupation, but it pays tribute to the Mongols.

One branch of the Mongol force had withdrawn to Saray on the lower Volga River, establishing the Golden Horde.

From Saray the Golden Horde Mongols rules Kievan Rus' indirectly through their princes and tax collectors.

The impact of the Mongol invasion on the territories of Kievan Rus' is uneven.

Centers such as Kiev never recover from the devastation of the initial attack.

The Republic of Novgorod continues to prosper, however, and a new entity, the city of Moscow, begins o flourish under the Mongols.

Although a Russian army defeats the Golden Horde at Kulikovo in 1380, Mongol domination of the Russian-inhabited territories, along with demands of tribute from Russian princes, will continue until about 1480.