In this episode of A Brief History of Russia, David Clark unravels the dramatic collapse of Kievan Rus — once a flourishing and cultured medieval state — that was suddenly wiped off the map by the Mongol invasion. But as we’ll discover, this destruction was more than just tragedy; it reshaped Russia’s destiny. From the chaos of civil wars to the rise of absolute power, the Mongol conquest planted the seed for a new, centralized Russia. How could devastation give birth to an empire?