13th Century – invasion of Mongols or Tatars – marked
final eclipse of Kievan Russia.
After
Mongol conquest, indigenous population scattered basically along 2 exodus
routes.
1)West and northwest to Poland and
Lithuania
2)North and northwest to the
headwaters of the Volga
First group
successfully escaped subjugation of Tatars, but fell easy victims to
Lithuanian and Polish expansion after 1240.
Second
group – safe from regular incursion by nomads, Upper Volga region had
extremely well-linked natural transportation network, Valday Hills northwest of Moscow are the headwaters region
for the rivers that drain into the White, Baltic, Black, and Caspian
areas,
Radial
drainage pattern played no small part in MoscowÕs rise to prominence.