Regarding the Mongols. Some Westerners considered this period of vassalage bad. However, the Mongols did not claim cultural dominance. They did not want to change our religion and culture. They didn't interfere with the local government. As a result, in Russia, under the Mongols, republican self-government was preserved. Or the so-called people's assembly.
Princes and boyars, were feudal lords and came into conflict with the republic. However, the prince in Russia is the first among equal citizens. He is a military ruler. Cities and principalities employed the prince as a general. The power of the prince was unlimited at the time of the war. In peacetime, the prince could be driven away. If the people's assembly decided so.
Naturally, under such management, the rich still had more power.
What was the alternative to the Mongols? The Crusades of the Knights. There were 2 orders and the Polish Kingdom. They carried Catholicism by the power of the sword. Russia, because of the climatic conditions, hardly resisted. We didn't have that many human resources. In addition, we were economically weaker. At that time, the economy was based on agriculture.
Of course, in the warmer climate of Europe, it was possible to harvest a richer crop. In the colder climate of Russia, the harvest was more meagre.
Europe wanted to conquer our lands. To deprive us of our religion. Our culture and make them your slaves. The Slavonic slave market is famous in Venice. Ivan the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia, allocated 1/3 of the kingdom's budget for the redemption of slaves.
Money has never been the most important thing. Russia has always lacked people. The most important value for Russia is a person. We are not Europe, where there are a lot of people. Under Ivan the Terrible, about 15,000,000 refugees from Europe were accepted, who were hiding from the horrors of the Inquisition.
As a result, the Mongols demanded tribute. Payment of money to the Golden Horde. As a vassal, Russia paid and received military aid. In fact, the greatest good was the coming of the Golden Horde.
If it were not for the Mongols, there would be no Russia. We would become a colony that was destroyed and looted. Perhaps they repeated the fate of the Indians.
Moreover, we prefer the Asian way of development in cultural terms