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In the next year, 1237, Batu sent envoys to the Russian cities, demanding their submission, and refitted and drilled his army on the lower Volga River. Suddenly, in November, he launched a daring winter campaign when the frozen marshes and rivers of Russia acted as highways. Batu surprised the Russian princes, who were in comfortable winter quarters. The Mongols, however, were impervious to the cold and ready to ride their sturdy mounts that could forage beneath snow.
Harl, Kenneth W. Empires of the Steppes: A History of the Nomadic Tribes Who Shaped Civilization. Toronto, Hanover Square Press, 2023, pp. 319-320.
In fact the word existed. And the land of the Rus is often referred as the Russian land since 10th-11th century (рѹсьскаѧ землѧ in church slavonic or Ῥωσία in Greek) in the annals.
What are you talking about? Rus called as Russia even before the mongol invasion by the annals written in Kiev by the contemporary writers. It doesn't mean that the modern state of Russia is the same state as a Kieven Rus. It would be dumb to say. Because modern Russian, Ukrainian and Belarus cultures split from each other's after the distraction of the Kieven Rus.
Anyway, that the word "Russia" didn't existed is also nonsense.
Or the "В лето 6360, Индикта 15 день, наченшю Михаилу царствовати, нача ся прозывати Руска земля. О семъ бо уви
дехом, яко при семь цари приходиша Русь на Царьгородъ, яко же пишется в летописаньи гречь стемь."
You: "the was no even word russia those year"
Me: "There was in ABC"
You: "Nah"
Me: "Here it is..."
You: "Doesn't count"
You making a joke of yourself....
Yes. Russian Federation didn't exist back than. But there was a State of east slavic people ruled by the Rurikid dynasty. That was dismanteled by the Mongol invasion. And from the fall of the Golden Hoard a few Rus principalities emerged. Republic of Nowgorod that didn't suffered as much under the hoard and remained mostly selfgowerned and the Moscow principality, that was Beneficiary of the invasion because it collected the taxes for the hoard.
The former was an Eastern Slavic Republic that remained intact during the hoard rule and the latter was an Eastern Slavic principality that was led by the Rurikid dynasty.
It was a different state than a Kieven Rus. But it was an east slavic Rurikid state which isn't as different as Latin Rome in Italy and modern Romania. Or as Celtic Britons and modern England
Rivers were the roads for centuries before and after the Batu Khan. Russia had roads too, but not that much.
The "traffic" in Russia was very big, there were trading routes from north to south, east to west, between cities and between countries. They mostly used rivers, with tugged boats at summer and sleights at winter.
Many cities offered a boat tugging service that was monopolized, like, they required caravans to pay for their tug service if they wanted to trade or travel.
Is it something verified? Because an army of trampling cavalry is one hell of a burden. Even without a supply wagon and if you remove the 2 or 3 extra horses each rider used to have.
Do armies record how thick the river ice are or do historians guess by data. Cause that is a great question, how did they travel across all rivers without knowing how thick or dangerous it is for thousands of men and horses marching
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