Grun, you get offended when I say something about Croatians, while keep on bashing people for their countries/nations? Strange.
On this board you are the person who spoke too much things not suitable for sane person. Including justification of genocide and praising Chechen terrorists. You supported people who want to blow up MY house!
Yes, if you want - I am from barbaric communist orthodox country, and I am proud of it. Just look at my avatar, it is here mostly to make people like you angry. But unlike most of the people attacking me here you probably know that hammer and a sickle are not traditional Russian weapons.
As for being Croatian - man, I root (is it a right word?) for Croatian team in almost every international sport. We are Slavs, and we can easily understand each other's language. I am so angry sometimes only because I see a usual Western media attitude, as old as the first Crusade.
Miko, did you read Lev Gumilev's works? The key books on Mongol history are "Ancient Russia and the Great Steppe" and "Quest for an imaginary kingdom" ("Древняя Русь и Великая Степь" и "В поисках вымышленного царства"). The latter is dedicated to relations between different Christian confessions. His main work is called "Ethnogenesis and the Biosphere of Earth" ("Этногенез и биосфера Земли").
Gumilev's idea is that there was no "Tatar yoke", and there was only one Horde state, including Russian principates. BTW, Kulikovo field battle was in fact a fight with rebels against Horde, where Russian troops helped legimate Tatar "government".
BTW, the main reason for destruction of Ryazan', Vladimir and other Russian cities was that local princes executed Tatar ambassadors, committing the worst crime - betrayal of confidets (bad words here, in Russian it's "предательство доверившихся"). Batiy was only a Tatar prince who "travelled" with his guards (400 Mongol warriors) and 5000 other troops. They came to Russian cities only to ask for some food for horses...