Russia under the Old regime

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served them no less ably than his grandfather Alexander Nevsky had done, keeping in line, with force when necessary, Novgorod, Rostov, Smolensk and any other city that dared to raise its head. Karl Marx, whom the communist government of Russia regarded as an authoritative historian, characterized this first prominent representative of the Moscow line as a blend of 'the characters of the Tartar's hangman, sycophant and slave-in-chief'.2

Moscow profited in many ways from Sarai's favour. The Mongols, who frequently raided other parts of Russia to loot and take prisoners, tended to respect the properties of their principal agent, with the result that the principality of Moscow became an island of relative security in a country torn by violence. Boyars with their retainers readily entered the service of the Moscow prince to benefit from the protection which the principal collaborator alone was able to provide. Pax mongolica, whatever its dark aspects, placed a good part of Asia and the Near East under the sovereignty of a single dynasty, of which Russia was a tributary. This political unity opened considerable commercial opportunities. It was under Mongol domination that Russian merchants first began to venture to the Caspian and Black seas to trade with Persians and Turks, and it is then that the north-eastern principalities began to develop a rudimentary mercantile culture.

Moscow also profited greatly from support of the church. The Metropolitan of Kiev, Russia's highest ecclesiastic, finding himself in a deserted city, transferred in 1299 his see to Vladimir. He had excellent reasons for maintaining close relations with the Horde, because under Mongol rule the church and the monasteries enjoyed exemption from the tribute and all the other obligations imposed on the Russian populace. This valuable privilege was granted by charters which every new khan had to reconfirm on his accession. To preserve its advantages, the church obviously required effective representation at Sarai. In 1299, the contest between Tver and Moscow was not yet resolved, and although the Metropolitan favoured Moscow, he preferred formally to assume a neutral stance by establishing himself in Vladimir. But after Tver's uprising in 1327 and its sacking by Ivan 1 the outcome could no longer remain in doubt. The very next year (1328), the Metropolitan see was moved from Vladimir to Moscow which became henceforth the centre of Russia's Orthodoxy and a 'Holy City'. In all subsequent rivalries over the title of Great Prince, the church loyally supported Moscow's claim. In gratitude, Moscow bestowed on it large landholdings backed by immunity charters.

Although all the appanage princes had a keen acquisitive spirit, the princes of Moscow seem to have inherited an outstanding business acumen, which proved a great asset at a time when political power was