The 400 years of Tatar rule over Rus' starting in mid-13th century are also called "the Tatar yoke". At the time, Rus' was sandwiched between the Kingdom of Sweden and the German Empire in the West and Mongolia in the East. Rus' fought back against the states in the West, but submitted to the rule of the Mongolians from the East renowned for their great military strength. This was because while the states from the West strove to convert conquered territories to their faith, the Mongolians were tolerant with regards to religion and culture and mainly interested in collecting taxes. The sculpture depicts Russian people offering up tribute to a Tatar tax collector at the market.
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