alternatehistory.com

When you're reading history, it seems like Russia is the red-headed stepchild of Europe--always put upon and behind everyone else. Was it the Mongol invasions, some property of the Russian nobility or state structure, the interventions of her neighbors, low population densities or something else? My question here is, what, in your opinion, retarded the Russian state so? What POD(s) would be necessary to have Russia advance to become just as wealthy and important as Germany, France, England, or Castille during the Middle Ages or later? What would the effects of a richer and more powerful Russian state be, in your opinion?
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