What Are The Similarities Between China And Russia

C/C Essay
Economically, both China and Russia were burdened by taxes that the Mongols inflicted upon them; however, their political systems were different because China’s government was ruled by Mongols and foreigners, whereas Russia kept their local rulers.
China and Russia are similar in that the Mongols taxed their people a great deal when they took control. Mongols were typically very destructive when taking over a civilization, but when a civilization surrendered to their rule, they were spared of much of the destruction. Instead of getting slaughtered, the people of the civilization had to pay taxes to the Mongols. In both China and Russia this particular situation occurred. China had a fixed tax system that burdened much of their peasantry because of their inability to pay the tax. The peasants in China were unable to pay taxes because they were poor, and the little that they did have would be
used by paying for their land and feeding their families. The tax made it impossible for some to have their own land, so many lived on a landlord’s land. Similar to China’s peasants, the people of Russia were also heavily taxed by the Mongols. The Mongols invaded, and they required many taxes from the Russians, which made having their own land difficult. Many Russian peasants became serfs, which are people who live on a noble’s land, work the land, and gain protection from that noble.
China and Russia are different in that China’s political system was taken over by Mongols and foreigners, and Russia was able to maintain their local leaders within the government.
When the Mongols arrived in China, they completely took over the government. They filled political positions with foreigners, particularly Muslims, and themselves, and did not allow any local Chinese to rule. The Mongols did this because they did not want the Chinese scholar-gentry to occupy government positions and eventually overrule the Mongols. Russia’s government was quite different because the Mongols kept Russian rulers as government officials. The Mongols probably allowed this to occur because Russia was previously broken into smaller kingdoms, and they would not be able to easily overthrow the Mongols. China, however, had a more centralized and developed government that could outsmart or defeat the Mongols, which is why only foreigners and Mongols ruled. Although Russia was allowed to maintain its local rulers, it did have to respect and recognize the Mongols as superior
rulers.
The Mongol experience in both China and Russia was very similar because Mongols typically used similar techniques when conquering an area. In Russia and China this was demonstrated in the economic taxation from the Mongols. At the same time the Mongols had to take into account the different advantages or disadvantages the civilizations had. In China, the previously strong government caused the Mongols to take complete control, whereas in Russia they allowed local rulers to maintain their previous position in a weaker government.