Larian Studios Forums General Chat Chat (Anything) Probably useless but interesting/funny facts

I disagree.

Mongol Invasion
In the early 1200s, Mongol invaders (nomad warriors from central Asia)--under Genghis Khan and his grandson Batu Khan--conquered much of Kievan Rus. In a brutal and terrifying manner, Kiev--at the time an equal of Paris with its 80,000 people--was looted and burned. Barely 200 structures remained standing.

Mongol rule over Russia lasted almost 250 years (@1240-1480). Though Russians were allowed to keep their language and customs, learning and craftsmanship declined. The Eastern Orthodox Church gained in prestige, fostering strong nationalist feelings, but turned increasingly inward. Ritual and ceremony, rather than behavior, became primary. In addition, the Russian people became more suspicious of foreign ideas and ways. Mongol isolation kept the European Renaissance from making headway. Moscow gradually became the chief city-state. In 1380, Dimitri Donskoy, with an army of 150,000 men, defeated Mongol hordes, though half his soldiers were killed. Dimitri replaced wooden and earthen walls surrounding Moscow with a kremlin (KREM-lin), or fortress, made of stone. This victory temporarily interrupted Mongol rule.


During so called Time of Troubles (1598-1613)
The harsh ruling Boris Godunov (GOD-enohf, 1552-1605), a wealthy nobleman elected tzar after no male heir was born to Ivan IV’s son, brought to an end the Rurick dynasty. Famine, plague, civil unrest (including an uprising by peasants and Cossacks), and the capture of Moscow byPolish and Lithuanian forces were indicative of the societal chaos during this time of troubles.