War of the Rus with the Rus
It is worth remembering that now we know for sure that there were no "Mongols from Mongolia" in Russia ("The Secret of the Russian Horde and Great Tartary"; "The Myth of the Tatar-Mongol yoke").
Basically, Christian Rus (while maintaining dual faith and Russian paganism on the outskirts, for example, in the Novgorod region and villages), European Rus, came to Rus clans (hordes) of the Rus of the Scythian-Siberian world, which since ancient times stretched from the Northern Black Sea region to Altai and Sayan Mountains (including Mongolia), to the borders of China.
The Rus of this world (they are known by many names - Hyperboreans, Aryans, Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, Dinlins, etc.) were Caucasians, armies-Rus, pagans - "filthy", lived in a tribal system, in contrast to the more "civilized »Christian Rus. It was Pagan Rus, Asiatic Rus, direct heirs of the northern tradition of Great Scythia, as well as the Russian-Rus of Ryazan, Moscow and Kiev.
It is much later that the southern and eastern clans (hordes) of the Rus will be Islamized and will be assimilated by the Turkic, Mongoloid and Iranian peoples of Asia. At the same time, they will pass on to them part of their traditions. They will remain in the epics, legends and tales of many peoples of Asia as ancient ancestors, giants with blond hair and eyes.
This should not be surprising. Mongoloid characters are dominant. The Russians were not racists in the modern sense of the word. Other people were not considered "second class" as future European "discoverers".
Mixed marriages prevailed, as the soldiers left without families, wives were taken in new lands. Therefore, thousands of Russians in China after two or three generations became "true Chinese". A similar picture can be seen in the relatively recent past.
After the Civil War in Russia, many thousands of White Guards fled to the Celestial Empire, members of their families, just people who fled from the fighting and devastation. Harbin was then a real Russian city. But already their children and grandchildren have become Chinese. Although if Russians lived in an isolated community, observing their traditions and preserving the language (like Muslims, Arabs, Asians in today's Europe or the United States), then now China would have a multimillion-strong Russian community. But she's not there.
But in the XIII century, it was the Rus who came to Ryazan, Vladimir-Suzdal, Chernigov, Kiev and Galitskaya Rus. And we know that the fiercest battles are internecine when a brother stands up against a brother.
How discord is now being kindled between the Russians of Donbass and the Russians of the Kiev region (the civil war in Little Russia). How the Russians fought in the Civil War a hundred years ago. How the Russians of Moscow and Tver, the Russians of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and Lithuanian Rus fought in the Middle Ages. How the sons of Svyatoslav Igorevich, then Vladimir Svyatoslavich, were at enmity with each other.
However, every cloud has a silver lining. The invasion of the Russian Horde (Rod) eventually turned Russia into a huge Eurasian empire. During the time of Ivan the Terrible, Russia united the European and Asian parts of the northern (Eurasian) civilization.
Fierce battle at Chernigov
After the defeat of Pereyaslavl ("How the Russian Pereyaslavl died. On the question of the" Tatar-Mongol horde ") in March 1239, the Horde set their sights on Chernigov. It was a strong fortress on the borders of the Polovtsian steppe, which repeatedly rebuffed the steppe inhabitants.
To devastate the Chernigov-Seversk land was quite logical from a military point of view. In order to secure their flank for the future great march to Southern Russia and further to Western Europe. Northeastern Russia, except for Novgorod, had already been defeated. Winter campaigns in 1239 liquidated the last recalcitrant lands - Murom, Mordovians, cities on the Lower Klyazma.
Also, the Horde Rus completely secured their southern flank - they suppressed the resistance of the Alans and Polovtsians. Those of the Polovtsians who refused to submit to the Horde (Rod) fled to the Transcaucasus, Hungary, and Bulgaria. Part - to Russia, strengthening the Russian squads.
But the bulk of ordinary Polovtsians (mostly noble people fled with their squads and families) joined the Horde. Fortunately, there were no special differences between the "Mongol" Rus and the Cuman Rus. They were representatives of a single spiritual and material culture of Great Scythia.
In particular, in anthropological terms, the Polovtsians were typical Rus-Russians - fair-haired (blond and red) and light-eyed. The invention of their Mongoloid features is a later myth created with the aim of distorting and destroying the true history of Russia-Russia.
Chernigov was the capital of a large, rich and populous principality. Severskaya Rus was famous for its military traditions. The city was large and well fortified. On the high bank of the Desna there was a Detinets (Kremlin), covered from the east by the Strizhen River. Around Detinets there was a "roundabout city", fortified by a rampart. Another rampart encircled a vast "suburb".
Chernigov was one of the largest cities in Russia. In the fall of 1239, the Horde captured the eastern suburbs of Chernigov and made their way to the city itself through dense forests. They brought powerful siege engines to the city. The owner of the city was Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov. But at that time he occupied the Kiev grand-ducal table and, apparently, was absent. The Novgorod-Seversky prince Mstislav Glebovich, a cousin of Mikhail Chernigovsky, came to the aid of the city. He occupied the second oldest table in the Chernigov-Seversk land.
The chronicle reports that Prince Mstislav led a large army. Obviously, he brought in many younger princes with their retinues. He gathered the main forces of the Chernigov land and dared to give an open battle to a strong enemy. Mstislav Glebovich's brother tried to push the enemy away from the capital city.
"A fierce battle was at Chernigov", - says the Russian chronicle.
The besieged tried to help the regiments of Mstislav, fired at the enemy from the walls with stones from throwing guns. The army of Mstislav Glebovich suffered a heavy defeat. After a fierce battle
"Mstislav was defeated, and many of his troops were killed."
Mstislav himself with a small number of soldiers was able to cut through the ranks of the enemy and fled. Many princes of the Chernigov land laid down their heads in the battle.
On October 18, 1239, the Horde managed to break into the city engulfed in fire and staged a terrible pogrom. For several centuries Chernigov could not recover from this defeat.
Then the Batu Horde walked along the Desna and the Seim. Numerous townships on these rivers were burned. The southern and southeastern regions of the Chernigov land are devastated. At the same time, on the southern flank, the Horde broke into the Crimea, where the still unconquered Polovtsy were hiding. By the end of the year, the Horde occupied Surozh (now Sudak).
And the Russian land of war was fulfilled
At the beginning of 1240, the advanced forces of the Horde, under the command of Mengu, reached Kiev. The chronicler reports that the "Tatars" are located on the other side of the Dnieper, opposite the city. Seeing the hail, Mengu Khan
"I was surprised at its beauty and size"
sent ambassadors and offered to surrender Kiev voluntarily. However, he was refused and withdrew the troops. He did not have enough regiments to siege and storm such a large city.
They have not yet finished off the Polovtsians, they fought in the North Caucasus. In the spring of the same year, the rati Mengu and Guyuka launched an offensive to the south, along the western coast of the Caspian. The Horde took the "Iron Gate" - Derbent.
Another horde under the command of Batu himself fought again in the Volga Bulgaria. The local nobility revolted. These hostilities delayed the large march westward until the fall of 1240.
There is evidence that the invasion to the west was undertaken by Batu with smaller forces than in Ryazan and Vladimir-Suzdal Russia. Part of the troops left the Polovtsian steppes and settled in their hordes.
However, there is no exact information. So, Russian chronicles report about a prisoner taken on a sortie named Tovrul. Who said that Kiev was besieged by Batu's troops. And also his older brother Orda, Baydar, Biryuy (Buri), Kadan, Bechak, Mengu, Guyuk. The famous commanders Subudey and Burundai were present.
The Horde did not go directly to Kiev. Forcing the deep Dnieper near the city was a dangerous business. In addition, it was necessary to deprive the "mother of Russian cities" of possible assistance in order to avoid a battle, as near Chernigov.
The Horde crossed the Dnieper south of the city, where the camps of the "black hoods" were located on the river Ros and the "heroic outposts" were located. It was the then border guard, the military estate (Cossacks), covering Kiev from the steppes.
The squads of the "black hoods" and small Russian castles-fortresses on the Ros River were the first to meet the enemy. The Horde swept away the defensive line of the Kiev land. Archaeological excavations of the Poros fortress towns testify to the fierce battles. Skulls and skeletons of fallen soldiers, many remnants of weapons were found under the burnt ruins of walls and closely built dwellings. Many valuable things and treasures were found under the ruins of houses. They did not have time to take them out and hide them well. And the enemies, apparently, did not delay to search the ashes.
The fortified line on the Lower Ros was broken. Small garrisons located along the middle course of the river were probably notified of the huge enemy army. And they managed to retreat to Kiev. Archaeological excavations in this area give a different picture than, for example, on Knyazha Hill or Mount Devica. Finds of dead people are rare, as are valuable property. That is, the bulk of the people with their luggage most likely managed to escape.
That same summer the Tatars took Kiev and plundered St. Sophia
Having overcome the fortified line on the Ros River, Batu's regiments moved along the right bank of the Dnieper to the north, towards Kiev. On the way, they smashed feudal castles and villages. Thus, the Soviet archaeologist V. Dovzhenok, who conducted research in the basins of the Ros and Rossava rivers, discovered 23 pre-Mongol settlements and settlements. They were all defeated and never recovered.
The fortresses that covered the capital from this direction perished: Vitichev, Vasilev, Belgorod. In November, the Horde came to Kiev and laid siege to it.
“Batu came to Kiev in a heavy force, with a lot of his strength,” says the Galician Chronicle. - And the city was surrounded and surrounded by a Tatar force, and the city was in a great siege. And Batu stood near the city, and his soldiers surrounded the city, and it was impossible to hear a voice from the creak of his carts, from the roar of his many camels and from the neighing of his herds of horses. And the Russian land of military men (soldiers. - Auth.) Was fulfilled."
The ancient capital of Russia had strong defenses. The defensive belt around Kiev was formed over the centuries, was completed and improved. From the east, south and west were the ramparts of the “city of Yaroslav”. They reached a thickness of 30 meters and a height of 12 meters. In terms of their power, these ramparts had no equal in the ancient Russian fortification.
The total length of the shafts of Yaroslavov Gorod exceeded three and a half kilometers. There was a moat under the ramparts, on the rampart there was a wooden wall with a gallery for soldiers and towers. To avoid arson, the logs were coated with clay and whitewashed with lime. The main fortress had three passage gates - Zolotye (the most powerful), Lyadsky and Zhidovsky (Lvovsky). The gate towers were made of stone.
The ramparts and walls of the ancient "city of Vladimir" were the second fortified line. In addition, inside the city there was a fortified “Yaroslav's yard”, stone cathedrals and churches. Podil (a trade and craft area on the banks of the Dnieper) had its own fortifications, but they were abandoned due to a lack of garrison forces.
In fact, the city could withstand a long siege if it had been prepared in advance for this and given a large garrison. But that did not happen.
The fact was that in Southern Russia, as in North-Eastern, the princes were more occupied with strife. On the eve of Batu's attack on Southern Russia, the local princes did not manage to organize a defense, although they had before their eyes the sad experience of their neighbors, and received news of the defeat of the neighboring lands by the "nasty" ones.
Vladimir, Smolensk, Chernigov and Galich fought for the Kiev table. After the departure of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (Prince of Novgorod) in 1238, Kiev was occupied by Mikhail Chernigovsky. After the fall of Chernigov, he fled "before the Tatars to the Ugry" (Hungary). I tried to conclude an alliance with the Hungarian king against the Horde, but without success. Europe had its own strife, and the threat of the Horde was still underestimated.
Then Kiev tried to capture one of the Smolensk princes - Rostislav Mstislavich. He was expelled from the city by a stronger prince - Daniel Galitsky. However, he was occupied by quarrels in the Galicia-Volyn land and departed, leaving his thousand Dmitry in the city. Obviously, under his leadership there were several hundred professional vigilantes, the remnants of the defeated garrisons of fortresses on the Ros, and several thousand militias. Part of the city's population left it, fled with property to deep forests.
That is, there were not enough troops to defend such a large city. Kiev did not receive any help from other principalities. Daniil Galitsky, who himself asked for help from Hungary, did not send reinforcements.
People, young and old, were all killed with a sword
The Horde surrounded the city. The main blow was directed from the southeast, to the Lyadsky Gate. Most of the "vices" - battering tools - were located here. Also here "wilds" - steep slopes of Kiev hills covered with dense forest approached to the city itself.
The Horde cut their way, made room for guns. The abundance of forest made it possible to fill up the ditches, to bring “signs” (embankment) to the ramparts and walls. Therefore, the siege dragged on.
After completing the preliminary preparations, the "nasty" began to systematically fire from the catapults.
"The vices are constantly beating day and night", - says the chronicle. If the garrison had sufficient defensive strength, it could extend this period significantly, making sorties, setting up ambushes in the wilds, trashing siege engines.
Batu's warriors with the help of battering tools (vices) smashed a section of the wall. The remainder of it was occupied by the Kiev defenders. There was a fierce battle:
"Tu beash see the scrap of spears and shields of skepticism" and "arrows darkened the light of the vanquished."
In this decisive battle, voivode Dmitr was wounded, and obviously most of his squad fell. After a fierce battle, the Horde captured the rampart of the Yaroslav's City. However, the battle was so bloody that the Horde took a break:
"And the rider of that day and night."
We could not take the city on the move. At this time, the last defenders of Kiev fortified themselves in the area of the "city of Vladimir". The next morning the battle resumed. The Kievites could no longer stop the enemy on the walls of the "city of Vladimir", the last line of defense fell.
The Horde broke through in the area of the Sofia Gate (later they were called Batuykh). There, archaeologists have found many skeletons of dead soldiers. One of the last battles took place in the area of the Holy Mother of God, that is, near the most ancient church of the capital of Russia - the so-called Tithes. The stone church collapsed under the blows of "vices".
Thus, on December 6, 1240, after a nine-day siege, Kiev fell.
Voivode Dmitr will be taken prisoner. Batu will spare him out of respect for his bravery and will use him as a military adviser in his further march to the west.
The city was terribly devastated, most of the buildings were destroyed in the fire. Most of the city's population was also killed, others were captured. All churches and monasteries were plundered and destroyed, including the famous Pechersk monastery.
The Horde, with the help of battering rams, destroyed the walls of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, killed many monks and lay people hiding here, others were taken away to the full. True, the monks managed to brick up the caves before the assault, and saved some of the relics. But life in the city and the monastery froze for many years.
According to archaeologists, of the 40 monumental structures of ancient Kiev known to us, only a few survived in severely damaged form. Out of more than 8 thousand households, no more than 200 survived. And out of the 50 thousand population of the city, no more than 2 thousand people remained. In many areas, including the center of Kiev, life will revive only after a few centuries.
Kiev will for a long time lose its significance as the most prominent political, spiritual and economic center of the Russian land.
