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(Before 1230 A.D.) The Russian Language was very limited
in development and use, so most researchers have relied on less-
than-objective church chronicles written beginning in the mid-12th
century. The Russian Eastern Orthodox Christian Church (REOC)
was founded in Russia about 1000 A.D., along with the
establishment of Russia proper and the Russian language. Before
then, it was pagan hunting-gathering. Around the same time as the
REOC began the development of Kievan Rus, a civil society based
around what is now the city of Kiev in Ukraine. The Russians,
expanding further out of the forest than ever before, dictated a deal
with the agrarian Ukrainians: We’ll protect you---you feed us.
(*KEY*) This Russian superior-inferior mindset towards Ukraine
continues stronger than ever today. Being not far from the great
silk road, this was a happy Eden which thrived on trade and,
because of its relatively northerly location, it had no serious
enemies. The city of Novgorod existed in the remote north western
coast, also trading. Moscow, founded in 1147, was an isolated
forest outpost and not a factor during this time. Everything
changed with the Mongolian invasion, which was met with
practically no resistance.
(1235-1460) The Mongols extracted tribute in various
forms while introducing their own socio-economic influences
from their regional capital near the southern Volga River.
(KEY*) It is often considered that during this time, The REOC
acted as the primary facilitator of Mongolian tribute collection
and infrastructure implementation. The REOC grew
tremendously during this time, disproportionate to population
growth, and its expansion/powerful influence continued largely
unabated until 1917. Also, the Mongols made sure that Russia
was kept isolated from trade routes and Western Europe---this
made it physically impossible for Russia to partake
culturally/intellectually in the Renaissance, having been kept
somewhat additionally retarded for 230 years. This common
viewpoint, though merited, really draws people away from the
real causes behind Russia’s perceived isolation, which involve
many thousands of years, not hundreds. The strength to drive
the Mongols out near the end of this period originated from the
north in Moscow, which has been the main power base ever
since.
Before 1460