he form of an annual poll-tax.
Officers called baskaks went from house to house to collect it, either
in money or in furs, and those who could not pay were sold as slaves.
Sometimes this collection caused disturbances. It was some time before
the people of Novgorod would submit. When Bati sent his collectors to
the Republic, the question was brought before the vetche where the
possadnik urged the wisdom of paying the tax, but the people would not
hear of it and promptly murdered the unfortunate burgomaster.
Alexander, too, advised to avoid trouble, but the people refused and
several boyards, including Alexander's son Vassili urged resistance.
The duke acted vigorously. He ordered the arrest of his son, and had
the boyards punished; but it was not before the people heard of the
approach of a Tartar army, that they submitted. Still such was their
resentment that Alexander had the baskaks guarded night and day. At
last Alexander threatened to leave Novgorod with his drujina; then the
people offered no further opposition to the collection of the hated
poll-tax (1260). Two years later the people of Souzdal, Vladimir, and
Rostof rose against the baskaks and killed one of them, a Russian (p. 072)
who had become a Mahomedan. Alexander, who had succeeded his brother
Andrew as Grand Duke, decided to attempt to appease the khan by going
himself to Sarai with presents; he also wished to be excused from
furnishing a body of Russians to serve in the Tartar army. He
succeeded, but was kept at the court of the khan for a year. His
health broke down and he died on his return journey in 1263. The news
of his death was brought to Novgorod, as mass was being said in the
cathedral. The Metropolitan who was reading the service, interrupted
it, and said, "Learn, my dear children, that the Sun of Russia has
set,--is dead," and the people cried, "We are lost." The death of
Alexander Nevski was a heavy blow to Russia.

The Russians, that is the people of Russia whose story we are reading,
did not mingle with any Tartar except the tax collector whom they did
not like. The victors were nomads, who did not care to occupy the land
they had conquered. When they did settle at Sarai on the Lower Volga,
they absorbed the tribes who had lived there before the invasion, and
who were not Russians, but nomads. The Russian _people_ did not
associate with the conquerors. It was at this time that the word
_Krestianine_ or "true Christian" was applied to the p