Churchgoers Aren’t Able to Sing During the Pandemic – Here’s Why That Matters Though such restrictions are understandable, they rob congregations of an important aspect of their Christian faith. by Donna M. Cox

Because of COVID-19, churches no longer reverberate with song; hymnals are neatly stacked and projection screens blank. Even as church leaders plan for reopening, scientists warn that it might be too early to resume singing in groups.

Though such restrictions are understandable, they rob congregations of an important aspect of their Christian faith. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5, Believers should be “filled with the spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

As a choral conductor, scholar in African American sacred music and teacher of sacred music and worship, I have studied the relationship between singing and worship for over three decades. Singing is critical to identity and faith. In some traditions, it is as important as the sermon. In African American churches, for instance, there is an equal emphasis on preaching, praying and singing.

First, verse

The importance of song in Christian worship can be traced to its Judaic beginnings. Throughout the biblical canon, the Apocrypha, the collection of books omitted from the Protestant Bible and noncanonical biblical texts, there are hundreds of references to Christians singing.

In the Old Testament, singing was used to praise God, provide lessons for the community, confess sins, provide solace in times of lamentation and joy in times of celebration. For instance, Moses and sister Miriam memorialized the miraculous exodus from Egypt through the Red Sea in song.

Early Christians even sang their prayers. The Book of Psalms – a collection of 150 songs and proclamations – served as the songbook of the early church.

The New Testament is similarly filled with song. In the Book of James, the Apostle Paul and his companion, Silas, sang their way to freedom in a jail. After the Last Supper, Jesus led the disciples in song.

Main chorus

Singing has tremendous power, both spiritually and physically.

When people sing, sound runs through the body, giving rise to emotion and facilitating transformation. It acts as a natural antidepressant by releasing endorphins, the feel-good chemical. Studies have also linked singing with improved mental alertness, memory and concentration through increased oxygenated blood to the brain. Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg found that changes in the brain during worship make people “nicer, more forgiving, and trustful.”

Choral singing creates the kind of community togetherness that is necessary in churches. It brings disparate parts into a cohesive oneness, just as corporate worship – the gathering of the faithful to worship together – brings individuals into oneness in Christ.

Bringing people together for song has proven to be dangerous in the coronavirus pandemic. On March 10, a group of 61 singers met at the Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church in Washington state for rehearsal. One of the members unknowingly infected 52 people with COVID-19; two people died.

Stay-at-home orders designed to stem the spread of diseases hit church music programs hard – some more than others.

Conversations I have had with church music directors around the country reveal the creativity employed to keep the music going: utilizing solo performers, prerecorded music, reducing the amount of music to the essential in liturgical services and creating virtual choirs.

Those with praise teams and bands that lead the congregation in song found it easier to provide music in online services – with fewer people, social distancing was easier to maintain. As a result, they continued to rehearse and perform in livestreamed or prerecorded services.

For churches that rely on choirs to carry the music, things have been tougher.

National guidelines limiting gatherings to 10 or fewer people meant no in-person choir rehearsals. Virtual choir rehearsals and performances are very problematic. Differences in bandwidth create lags that challenge the essence of choral singing: cohesion and community. Virtual performances demand technological expertise most choral directors are not trained to execute.

The resulting experience often falls short of a true choral experience. My own gospel choir, the Ebony Heritage Singers, recorded a song for the University of Dayton’s virtual commencement using this technique. The result was pleasing, but it lacked the true feel of a gospel music performance.

In my experience, virtual choral experiences are pale imitations of the real thing. Being connected in a physical way, feeling each others’ inhalations, coordinating exhalations and blending voices gives life to singers and to congregations.

A codetta?

Although research on the spread of COVID-19 is rapidly changing, singing in groups might be deemed too risky to enable churches to return to anything approaching “normal” for a long time.

So, until further notice, congregations are being advised to consider alternatives to singing. Worship may still be joyful, but it will likely be more quiet.

How This General Plans to Harness Advanced Technologies to Help America on the Battlefield This is TNI's second interview with General Murray, Commanding General of Army Futures Command, U.S. Army. by Kris Osborn

This is TNI's second interview with General Murray, Commanding General of Army Futures Command, U.S. Army.

TNI: What are some of the main challenges your Command is thinking about in terms of future warfare? 

Murray: “First you figure out the environment and then you figure out what you need to fight in the environment. Concepts should drive material developments and S&T should drive concepts too because a big piece of this future operating environment is tech forecasting. There is a tech forecasting cell at the Army Research Lab, not only from a U.S. Tech base but worldwide which looks at where the investments are being made and where we are going to be in technology in 10 to 15 years.” 

TNI: Many are talking about cloud technology and the extent to which large weapons platforms will function as “nodes” in a meshed, multi-domain network? 

Murray: “Cloud architecture and tactical cloud are going to be absolutely critical to what we do in the future. Any sensor and shooter and any C2 (Command and Control) node. When you start talking about “any” you will run into some bandwidth issues. We have a saying in the Army for as long as I have been in the Army which is “any soldier is a sensor.” I see a point in the future where everything on the battlefield is a sensor.” 

TNI: What do you see as some of the major advantages of using cloud networking? 

Murray: “Munitions are sensors, air vehicles are sensors... I just see a plethora of sensors. It all comes down to the data. When you talk about the cloud, it is about having someplace for that data to go where it is successful. All that data has to be available and then it is all about having the ability to get the right data out of the cloud to the right shooter through the right C2 node, so that you don’t have these massive bandwidth requirements on every platform everywhere.” 

TNI: I understand Long Range Precision fires has hit more than 60km with artillery?

Murray: “An Excalibur shot hit 63km. It pretty much doubled the range. Then we have the non-precision XM1113, a new round which we have shot over 70km. What is next is providing the accuracy we need. So, we need to modify some of our precision guidance kits to deliver that round. That is on track to be ERCA (Extended Range Cannon Artillery) in 2023. XM1113 is not as precise. Right now we fire dumb artillery rounds with a PGK (Precision Guidance Kit), so this is adopting a PGK to a new range. You are shooting at longer ranges and the round is going higher in the atmosphere where you are dealing with thinner air so the dynamics are different. That is also for FY 2023.”

TNI: How was the recent test with the Army’s Precision Strike Missile which, I understand, seeks to eventually fire 500km? 

Murray: “The precision strike missile flew out for test number 3 at Yuma. That is our post-INF solution for rockets. We have not tested it beyond 500km yet, but that is coming up within the next month. The thing most people miss is about the range. The current missiles can go about 350km and this will go beyond 500km eventually. We are almost doubling the range with existing launchers so we are not having to invest in new launchers. We can now put two missiles in the launcher as opposed to what we can do now which is one.”

Twitter Cracks Down on Massive Chinese Coronavirus-Focused Disinformation Network “Narratives around Covid praise China’s response to the virus while tweets also use the pandemic to antagonize the U.S. and Hong Kong activists.” by Chris White

Tech experts who worked with Twitter to remove 170,000 accounts tied to the Chinese government say the profiles promoted deceptive content regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

The accounts were “spreading geopolitical narratives favorable to the Communist Party of China,” Twitter wrote in a blog post announcing the move, which comes as the company faces withering criticism from the Trump administration for not doing enough to target pro-China propagandists. The company removed them for violating the platform’s manipulation policies.

“Narratives around Covid praise China’s response to the virus while tweets also use the pandemic to antagonize the U.S. and Hong Kong activists,” an analysis of the tweets by the Stanford Internet Observatory noted, according to a CNN report Thursday on Twitter’s decision.

Twitter removed 23,750 accounts that compromised the core network, which were highly engaged and posted frequently, and another 150,000 accounts that were merely designed to promote the core group’s content.

The amplifier accounts had few followers and were “strategically designed to artificially inflate impression metrics,” Twitter noted.

Israeli data firm Next Dim located two tweets from pro-China accounts with small followings that were liked and reposted hundreds of thousands of times in March, The New York Times noted in a report Monday discussing the group’s findings.

Next Dim’s findings raise the potential that a giant crew of social media influencers intervened to help the tweets go viral, the report noted.

Next Dim located a March 12 tweet from user @manisha_kataki, who posted a video of workers spraying streets in China with disinfectant and wrote: “At this rate, China will be back in action very soon, may be much faster than the world expects.”

Another user with the handle @Ejiketion retweeted the post along with the video the next day, telling his Twitter followers that Westerners are meanwhile “washing our hands LOL.” The account has since been deleted, according to TheNYT. Both tweets received more than 382,000 retweets and 1.1 million likes, many of them within the first two days.

Twitter’s blog post Thursday did not mention the fate of one of China’s largest and most prolific promoters of misinformation.

China’s deputy director of the Foreign Ministry’s Information Department Zhao Lijian was one of the first Chinese officials on Twitter to push a theory suggesting the virus originated at a U.S. Army base that houses and researches infectious diseases. The theory accelerated after Chinese embassy accounts in France and Jordan retweeted Zhao’s post, the data showed.

Officials believe coronavirus, or COVID-19, originated in Wuhan, China, before spreading worldwide before reportedly killing 110,000 people in the United States. Twitter applied a fact-check label to his March tweet in May, but Zhao’s account has not yet been removed.

Twitter has not responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment regarding why Zhao’s account is still active.

What South Korea Could Teach America About Policing As Americans look for new models of policing short of the extreme choice of closing departments altogether, South Korea is a nice example of what humane, community policing can be. by Robert E. Kelly

The protests in the United States over George Floyd’s death have gone global. The debate over racism and policing have spilled into other countries, as has a corollary debate about police tactics. Polling consistently shows greater concern about American police behavior than the actions of the protestors, and the list of incidents of police brutality is growing. As police behavior appears unchanged after two weeks of harsh tactics, the demands against the police are now spilling into full-blown efforts to defund departments altogether. A large debate about policing will grip the U.S. in the coming months.

As an American residing in South Korea, the difference in police behavior have long struck me as one of the largest institutional differences, and one almost never remarked upon.

The following points stem from this sprawling tweet thread on this issue. As Americans look for new models of policing short of the extreme choice of closing departments altogether, South Korea is a nice example of what humane, community policing can be.

During its period of dictatorship, South Korea’s police were quite harsh. (Check this valuable thread for the long take, and this superb movie.) In the 1990s, as democracy enrooted itself, police reform followed. The South Korean police now practice a low-intensity, de-escalatory fashion of community policing I daresay would stun – and delight – most Americans.

For starters, the police are here far more approachable and less intimidating. Wearing regular uniforms and usually disarmed, the sense of anxiety common in American interactions with the police is far lower. There is a conscious effort to avoid the ‘stormtrooper’ look – heavy kit, jackboots, body armor, and so on - so in fashion in U.S. police departments now.

Similarly, the macho, ‘warrior-cop’ ethos which has characterized American post-9/11 policing is almost nonexistent here. The kind of domineering arrogance of the police officer in Sandra Bland's minor traffic stop, and terrifying physical confrontation into which it quickly spiraled, would provoke national soul-searching if it happened here.

This community policing approach is facilitated by the total lack of militarization. As is now well-known, the U.S. Defense Department has donated military-grade kit, weapons, and vehicles to U.S. police departments for several decades. As with the shift toward a warrior-cop mentality, 9/11, and the notion that police were now the frontline of homeland security against imminent terrorist threats seem to have driven the military bulking up of U.S. departments. Nothing like this has happened here despite the seemingly better militarization rationale of living right next to North Korea. I simply cannot imagine the public outcry here if the police had armored vehicles or routinely carried long guns.

That raises the next big difference – that the South Korean police are usually unarmed. Obviously, in dire circumstances, the necessary weaponry is available; South Korea, like most countries, has SWAT-style specialized police units. But the average cop on the beat does carry a weapon, and even the riot police are usually unarmed. This is more feasible than in the U.S., because gun control is very strict here. The South Korean police are not in an arms-race with their own citizens, as American police are, nor do South Koreans form anything like the armed paramilitaries we saw during the ‘liberate’ protests last month.

Because unarmed police face an unarmed population, riot squads need not pursue the aggressive tactics widely seen in the U.S. in the last two weeks. The riot police here pursue a de-escalation strategy colloquially known as the 'lipstick line'. So when hundreds of thousands of South Koreans protested for months against their corrupt president a few years back, nothing remotely like what is happening in the U.S. now happened here. As in the U.S. today, the entire country was in ferment; huge numbers of people hit the streets week after week for months, and everyone had cellphones. But it all went down peacefully, with almost no injuries; police excess was never even in an issue in the media debate around the marches.

Importantly, all these elements flow together to create a healthier, less militant, less domineering police culture, and protest experience. Strict restraints on gun ownership mean the police do not need to kit up like Darth Vader. Disarmed police, less nervous about gun violence against them, can then pursues less aggressive street tactics. Moderate, restrained police tactics then signal to protestors that the cops are not a repressive opposition force in a street clash, but facilitators of the protestors' constitutional right to assemble. Less provoked by the police, the protestors then behave better too, and any troublemakers, looters, and so on are much easier to identify.

The U.S., by contrast, has seen the opposite: harsh tactics inciting angry protesting and encouraging even larger protests the next day. The Koreans’ gentler tactics also dramatically reduce the likelihood of these disturbing videos of police brutality leaking out for weeks now.

How to get there in the U.S. is a tough question. Breaking down police praetorianism and restoring civilian – i.e., mayoral - control over departments strikes me as the first step. But the larger point is that modern policing does not have to look like U.S. police departments today - military gear, aggressive tactics, rogue behavior, choke-holds, and so on. These are US policy choices that can be changed, and there are other models out there.

Tesla Is Now World’s Most Valuable Automaker Elon Musk and Tesla have dethroned Toyota to become the world’s most valuable automaker. by Ethen Kim Lieser

Elon Musk and Tesla have dethroned Toyota to become the world’s most valuable automaker.

With a market cap now valued at about $185 billion, the next-gen electric carmaker is worth more than Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen Group and Daimler.

Tesla, which only became profitable just this year, has really separated itself in terms of valuation from its chief U.S. rivals, including Ford, GM and FCA.

GM is roughly worth $41 billion, Ford at $27 billion and FCA has about a $20 billion market cap. For a moment, the market valued Tesla more than all three combined.

Earlier this year, Tesla CEO Musk, who is also the majority owner and CEO of SpaceX, enjoyed a payout of about $700 million as the company’s stock price kept on rising. He doesn’t receive a salary from the company, but he still earns stock options at rock-bottom prices, which he can sell whenever he sees fit.

With its stock price now sitting at about $1,000 per share, there continues to be skeptics abound. In January, analysts at Bank of America forecast an average stock price of only $350 for the rest of the year.

Tesla’s stock did sink to that level in March as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, but it has since made a remarkable comeback.

There are, however, plenty of analysts who are positive on the company’s future prospects. Just this week, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said he thinks it still has “room to run further,” citing “game-changing” developments as his reason.

The analyst lifted his price target to $1,000 from $800 and boosted his bull-case target to $1,500.

“While the stock has been roaring higher, we believe the main fundamental catalyst continues to be the massive China market which is showing clear signs of a spike in demand for Musk & Co. heading into the rest of this year,” Ives wrote.

Also this week, electric truck maker Nikola—also named for the famed inventor Nikola Tesla—reached a market valuation of $34 billion, despite forecasting zero revenue this year.

Not only that, the company won’t deliver its first car, the Tre battery-electric semi-truck, until next year and won’t make any use of its Arizona plant for eight more years.

House Republicans Want to Sanction the Entire Chinese Politburo and Their Families The proposal proposes to “push back against the [Chinese Communist Party] and its efforts to undermine U.S. interests, remake the world order, and promote an alternative form of governance.” by Matthew Petti

The Republican Study Committee, which includes 147 members of Congress, published a new national security strategy on Wednesday aiming to “push back against the [Chinese Communist Party] and its efforts to undermine U.S. interests, remake the world order, and promote an alternative form of governance.”

The 120-page document proposes various sanctions against high-level Chinese officials, including a blanket ban on studying at U.S. universities. The ban would cover members of the Politburo, the Central Committee of the Communist Party, and the 2,280-delegate National Congress.

It would also extend these officials’ children and spouses.

“In recent decades, China has utilized a number of underhanded methods to pilfer the IP [intellectual property] of the United States and other Western nations,” the document states. “It should go without saying that Chinese government officials and senior [Chinese Communist Party] officials and their family members should not be able to study in the United States while China undertakes a campaign of IP theft and economic espionage against the United States.”

The Trump administration has overseen a stepped-up law enforcement crackdown on alleged IP theft as part of a “competitive approach” towards China.

FBI director Christopher Wray said in February that his bureau had about 1,000 open investigations into Chinese economic espionage at the time.

The Republican proposal also includes economic sanctions for human rights abuses in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet.

China is accused of human rights abuses in its assimilation campaigns against Tibetan Buddhists as well as Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang. Chinese authorities are also cracking down on the autonomy of Hong Kong, a city that was granted its own government under the “One Country, Two Systems” policy in 1997.

U.S. law currently mandates sanctions against Chinese officials involved in human rights abuses in Hong Kong, and a bipartisan coalition has proposed expanding those sanctions to target banks as well.

Both houses of Congress have also passed bills calling for sanctions on Chen Quanguo, the Politburo member overseeing Xinjiang.

The Republican Study Committee proposed mandating sanctions against Chen, in addition to the Minister of Public Security, the Communist Party Secretary for Tibet, and several Politburo members and senior officials responsible for Hong Kong.

These officials would have their U.S. assets frozen and be banned from entering the United States.

Republicans also proposed blocking Xinjiang’s exports under a U.S. law that bans goods made with slave labor.

“As China attempts to promote an alternative theory of governance, the United States must double down on our values of freedom, democracy, and human rights as part of our strategy to counter China’s threat,” the report states.

Ruined: Why Russia Was Unable to Stop the Mongols at the Battle of Kalkha River It was a terrible defeat. by Warfare History Network

 

The Russians chose to valiantly fight. But they would not be able to win.

A tumultuous discussion raged in the hall of Mstislav III “The Old” Romanovich, the Grand Prince of Kiev, in March 1223. An embassy of Turkic-speaking Polovtsian nomads humbly stood before the throne of the Russian prince. The embassy had arrived earlier in the day bearing rich gifts that included a bounty of gold and silver, exotic fabrics from the East, and slave girls.

They also bore news of disturbing developments on the steppe lands to the south. They reported that a large Mongol army had passed through the Caucasus Mountains several years earlier. During their march through the mountains, the Mongols had defeated the Georgians. They emerged into the Russian steppe where they had been encamped with no sign of leaving any time soon. During that time, the Mongols had also routed several Polovtsian tribes.

The Mongol victory over the Georgians and several Polovtsian tribes had been so thorough that it unnerved Khan Kotyan, one of the senior Polovtsian khans in the delegation. He appealed directly to Mstislav Romanovich for military assistance against the Mongols. While the grand prince was considering the request, shouting erupted among the nobles of his court and his generals.

The uproar was a negative reaction to the request given that the Polovtsians were traditional enemies of the Russians. Their frequent raids had caused extensive destruction throughout southern Russia. Many of Mstislav Romanovich’s nobles had lost kin fighting the Polovtsians. Neither the grand prince nor his advisors were familiar with the Mongols and, therefore, it was difficult for them to judge the severity of the threat. Although some of those present were all too glad to hear about the misfortunes that had befallen the Polovtsians, Mstislav Romanovich knew it was important to examine the situation from all angles before making a decision.

The sexagenarian grand prince was a veteran of the dynastic intrigues and internecine wars that embroiled Kievan Rus. Once the dominant power in medieval Russia, by the beginning of the 13th century Kievan Rus had disintegrated into a number of squabbling principalities. Upon the death of a ruler succession often went not to his sons as it traditionally had, but to his brothers. This resulted in clannish struggles that pitted brothers against uncles. Princes ruling small principalities constantly maneuvered to take control of bigger, richer, and more prestigious ones.

After some consolidation, a dozen principalities emerged. The two most prestigious and powerful of them, centered on the cities of Kiev and Vladimir, were titled grand principalities and their rulers were called grand princes. Other substantial principalities were Novgorod in the north, Galicia-Volhynia in the south, and Smolensk and Chernigov in the center. 

Bordering Russian territory in the south was an extensive steppe land north of the Black Sea known as the Wild Field, which stretched from the Dniester River in the west to the Don River in the east. The most powerful of the numerous nomadic tribes in the region were the Polovtsians. They occupied the lands from north of the Black Sea to the Aral Sea. There was certainly a precedent of making alliances with the Polovtsians, for Russian princes often enlisted their assistance against their rivals. Indeed, Russian princes frequently married pretty Polovtsian princesses, who upon marriage converted to Christianity. The intermarriage flowed only one way, though, for no Russian prince would allow his daughter to marry a shamanistic nomad.

One such matrimonial union for political purposes was that of a daughter of Khan Kotyan to Prince Mstislav “The Lucky” Mstislavovich, a ruler of the Principality of Galicia-Volhynia in modern-day Ukraine. The principality was the result of a union between the neighboring provinces of Galich and Volyn. Prince Mstislav of Galicia was an experienced, well-respected, and widely feared war leader who had proven himself in the Kipchak Wars. His protégé was young Prince Daniel Romanovich of Volyn, a famous warrior in his own right. Although the Grand Principality of Kiev was nominally senior to Galicia-Volhynia, Mstislav did not hold himself junior to his namesake, who was jealous and cautious of the other man’s reputation. 

Even though Khan Kotyan was related to Mstislav of Galicia by marriage and could count on at least some military assistance from his son-in-law, it was a shrewd move to turn to Mstislav Romanovich of Kiev first. Not only were the lands of Kiev closer to a possible Mongol invasion, but such a display of deference was sure to play to Mstislav Romanovich’s vanity and desire to enhance his reputation as a great warrior.

Although Mstislav Romanovich decided to assist the Polovtsians, he met fierce resistance from his nobles. Many of the nobles vehemently opposed aiding the Polovtsians. Some went so far as to make veiled hints that Mstislav Romanovich was bought by the bounty of gifts the Polovtsian khans had brought him. But Mstislav Romanovich believed it was essential to assist the Polovtsians; otherwise, they might strike a deal with the Mongols and turn against Russia.

Sensitive to both sides, Mstislav Romanovich crafted a compromise. He not only intended to assist the Polovtsians, but also summoned the Russian princes to attend a subsequent military council for the purpose of planning how to defend the Russian principalities against the Mongols. He promptly dispatched messengers to both grand and minor princes of roughly a dozen principalities requesting that they attend the council.

To Mstislav’s chagrin, many princes did not respond to his summons. Some replied that that they had more pressing affairs, while others did not response at all. Nevertheless, 20 princes of various ranks gathered in Kiev. The most important of them was Mstislav of Galicia, who was accompanied by Prince Daniel Romanovich.

Several other princes attended the council. Prince Mstislav “The Mute” Yaroslavovich arrived from Lutsk. In his younger days, Mstislav of Lutsk had been wounded in the face by a spear, which left his jaw and tongue badly mangled and resulted in his nickname. He could only speak in a whisper as a result of his wounds and therefore was accompanied by an attendant who would listen to what the prince whispered and repeat it in a clear voice. In addition, Mstislav Svyatoslavovich of Chernigov attended with his sons Vsevolod and Dmitriy. Also arriving to participate in the council was Vladimir Rurikovich, the Prince of Ovruch, who had been designated to represent the Principality of Smolensk.

A heated discussion occurred as to whether the Russians should furnish assistance to the Polovtsians. Many princes were categorically opposed to aiding the Polovtsians. They held that the looming clash between the Polovtsians and Mongols was simply a rebalancing of power in the steppe. As proof of their theory, they pointed to how the Polovtsians had ejected the Pecheng tribes in the late 11th century. In contrast, another faction, which was headed by Mstislav of Galicia, was spoiling for a fight. It had the support of many of the younger princes.

Mstislav Romanovich’s sons Rostislav and Vsevolod pulled their father aside to protest in private against the campaign. They said that they had their own problems with rivals in Polotsk and Grodno. Although this caused Mstislav Romanovich great frustration, he nevertheless gave his sons leave to attend to their personal affairs.

These arguments lasted three days before Mstislav Romanovich prevailed and the majority of the princes reluctantly agreed to participate in his campaign against the Mongols. Then, a new point of contention emerged. Mstislav of Galicia and Mstislav Romanovich quarreled over who should command the joint Russian forces. As the most senior prince, Mstislav Romanovich demanded to be placed in command, while many other princes wanted to see the more experienced Mstislav of Galicia in charge. Arguments threatened to collapse the fragile alliance before it even began. Vladimir Rurikovich, cousin of both princes, whose son Andrey was married to Mstislav Romanovich’s daughter, brokered a compromise. Mstislav Romanovich would command the forces of Kiev, Chernigov, and Smolensk, and Mstislav of Galicia would lead the forces of Galicia-Volhynia and Lutsk.

The Russians began preparing for war against the Mongols in mid-March 1223, and the Russian forces began gathering at the designated rendezvous point in early April. The campaign was scheduled to officially begin immediately following Orthodox Easter, which fell on April 23.

The rendezvous point was the great bend in the Dnieper River where the old trade route,  Zalozni Way, began on its way southeast to the Sea of Azov. The infantry from Kiev, Chernigov, and Smolensk sailed down the Dnieper in longships while the cavalry rode along the west bank. The forces of Galicia-Volhynia, including men from Lutsk, Pinsk, and Turiv, journeyed by boat down the Dniester River to the Black Sea then along its north shore to the mouth of the Dnieper River, and then up the river to the staging areas. Polovtsian war bands steadily trickled in to join the Russians.

While the Russian forces were gathering, an embassy of six Mongol envoys accompanied by two Muslim interpreters arrived at Mstislav Romanovich’s camp. The Russian leaders where not impressed by what they saw. Specifically, the Mongols were short of stature and their stocky torsos were supported by bow legs. As for their haughtiness, the Russians were greatly offended by it.

Mongol ambassadors requested that the Russian princes remain neutral in what the Mongols saw as their personal conflict with the Polovtsians; instead, the Mongols offered an alliance with the Russians. The Russians discerned that the envoys were insincere and dishonest. Moreover, they believed they were spies. Despite protests by some of the princes, Mstislav Romanovich ordered the six Mongols executed. The Russians allowed the Muslim interpreters to leave unharmed.

In mid-May the forces of Galicia-Volhynia arrived. They were followed by the main body of Polovtsians under Khan Kotyan. Another Mongol embassy arrived with the same interpreters. They made another request for Russian neutrality and again proposed an alliance. Both propositions were rejected, but this time the envoys were allowed to leave with their lives.

The mood in the Russian camp was light, for the princes were confident of victory and viewed the upcoming campaign as a minor distraction before returning to the serious business of jockeying for power. The Russian army is reported to have numbered 80,000, although its actual size was probably smaller. The cavalry is estimated to have consisted of 12,000 Russian horsemen and 8,000 Polovtsian horsemen. The rest of the Russian army was on foot.

The elite heavy cavalry that belonged to the princes fought with lances and used swords and battle axes as secondary weapons. As for the infantry, it fought with a variety of weapons, including spears, swords, war axes, maces, and bows. The Russians wore a wide variety of armor, including scale, lamellar, and mail. They carried large teardrop-shaped shields and wore conical helmets.

The Russian lack of intelligence about the Mongols was glaring. The Mongol Empire had come into being in 1206 at a great assembly of all the Mongol tribes held in Outer Mongolia. The new nomad empire was unlike previous ones in that it had a fixed center. From their base in the Mongolian steppe, the Mongols could send armies to the east or west as they saw fit.

Mongol Chieftan Temujin of the Borjigin clan was the founder of this powerful new empire. Over the course of 20 years of continuous warfare, he had succeeded in bringing all of the tribes of the grasslands north of the Gobi Desert under his personal rule. At the great assembly in 1206 he informed the clans under his rule that they would soon embark together on a conquest of other lands and peoples beyond the Mongolian steppe. In confidence of a successful campaign of conquest, he assumed the title of Genghis Khan, meaning Lord of the Earth.

As Genghis Khan had anticipated, his army of conquest was unstoppable. He subjugated the neighboring Quara Khitai Empire in 1220 and immediately afterward conquered the sprawling Khwarizm Empire, which stretched from the borders of India to those of Anatolia. Warriors of many of the defeated empires were assimilated into the Mongolian army and became bound together through common language, lifestyle, and religion.

An able and astute administrator, Genghis Khan reorganized the war bands of the Mongol tribes into a military organization based on the decimal system. A squad of 10 warriors was called a harban, a company of 100 men was known as a dzhaun, and a 1,000-strong regiment was called a mingan.

As the Mongol army grew in size, a larger division-sized unit called a toumen was formed from 10,000 warriors. The officers, known as noyans, were typically members of tribal aristocracy, but promotion by merit was widespread and members of humble backgrounds frequently rose to upper ranks. The most senior ranks, which commanded a corps composed of two or more toumens, were reserved for members of Genghis Khan’s immediate family and his most trusted commanders.

The bulk of Genghis Khan’s army was composed of horse archers. These horsemen had been trained from early childhood to hunt and fight and were inured to the suffering and harsh conditions of the Mongolian steppe. The striking power of the Mongols was based on their extraordinary mobility, with each soldier leading a string of four to six horses and capable of remaining in the saddle for days. Genghis Khan and his generals readily adopted the advanced military technology and skills possessed by the people they conquered. For example, they assimilated artillery and engineering skills from the Persians and Chinese. Each large Mongol unit included a staff of astute Chinese administrators who collected and collated reports by scouts and spies and questioned travelers and merchants about the lands of interest to the Mongols.

Numerous foreign travelers noted the high quality of Mongol weapons, armor, and equipment. Each Mongol warrior was equipped with “a sword, a club, a bow, sixty arrows: thirty small arrows with a short, iron point used for piercing remote targets and thirty larger ones with broad arrowheads which were tossed at people who were very near in order to injure their faces, shoulders, cut the bow strings and cause damage,” wrote Italian explorer Marco Polo. In addition to the lightly armored horse archers, the Mongol army included a significant number of heavy cavalry who wore lamellar armor and whose horses were often armored as well.

After overseeing the conquest of the Khwarezmian Empire, Genghis Khan made plans to return to Mongolia. Before his departure, he granted permission to his top general, Subutai, to conduct a reconnaissance-in-force. Subutai already was contemplating future campaigns of conquest and the reconnaissance would aid in planning them. Genghis Khan ordered another to general, Jebe, to accompany Subutai. For their reconnaissance, the two commanders had 20,000 troops.

Subutai and Jebe defeated a Georgian army three times the size of theirs in 1220 and then marched into the steppe lands occupied by the Polovtsians. They planned to camp for a prolonged period in the steppe to regain their strength. During that time they would dispatch envoys to negotiate with the Russians. The envoys not only negotiated, but also assessed an enemy’s strength through observations reported to the senior commanders.

The day after the second Mongol embassy departed, Polovtsian scouts on the east bank of the Dnieper River reported contact with leading elements of the Mongol army. Eager to cross swords with the mysterious enemy, the Russians built a bridge by lashing boats together and nailing planks on top of them to facilitate the crossing of their cavalry. The first across were 500 horsemen under Daniel Romanovich. Afterward, more Russians and Polovtsians streamed over the bridge of boats. The Mongols fell back along the Zalozni Way, shooting arrows over their shoulders from their composite bows. The Russians and Polovtsians marveled at the accuracy and range of the Mongol horse archers.

A small unit of Mongols was trapped by the Polovtsians and Russians. More Mongols and Russians joined in and soon thousands of riders whirred in a sharp melee. The Mongols began falling back, scattering before larger numbers, quickly reforming just out of reach and closing in again, always firing their bows. As more and more Russian and Polovtsians cavalry crossed the river and joined the fray, the Mongols melted away. Young Russian princes who had their blood up wanted to pursue the Mongols, but Mstislav of Galicia restrained them.

Encouraged by their first success against the Mongols, Russian forces continued crossing the river; in the process, they brought commercial traffic on the river to an abrupt halt. After the crossing was completed, the plank bridge was dissembled and the long ships beached on the east bank of the river under guard of 300 foot soldiers.

The Russian princes bickered once again at an evening council about the issue of command. Neither Mstislav of Galicia nor Mstislav Romanovich was willing to acknowledge the other’s leadership. Another compromise was reached. This time Mstislav of Galicia was placed in charge of the vanguard, which consisted of the troops of the principalities of Galicia-Volhynia and Lutsk. Mstislav Romanovich commanded the main body of the Russian army. There was tension within the main body of the army as well for both Mstislav of Chernigov and Prince Vladimir Rurikovich of Smolensk desired to march at the head of the main body rather than their respective contingents.

The Russian army followed the Mongols for seven days along the Zalozni Way, passing over a seemingly unending terrain of rolling hills and small rivers. The Mongols were always in sight, but just out of reach. Frequent skirmishes occurred between the Polovtsians and Mongol scouts. Marching columns and wagon trains of the Russian army stretched over 15 miles. Thick screens of Polovtsian cavalry protected the flanks of the column.

The squabbling among the Russian princes continued unabated. Mstislav of Galicia was pressing for faster advance, demanding to be reinforced by mounted contingents from Chernigov and Smolensk in order to locate and pin down the main Mongol army before the Russians went too far into vast steppe. In contrast, Mstislav Romanovich demanded that the army slow down so that infantry could keep up. The foot-sore Russian infantry had grown weary under the hot sun and grew more fatigued with each passing day.

On May 30, the eighth day of the pursuit, the Russian forces reached the fords in the Kalka River, a narrow tributary flowing south through the hilly terrain to the Sea of Azov. Although the exact location remains unknown, it is believed to be 20 miles north of the modern-day city of Mariupol on the north shore of the Sea of Azov.

The forces of Galicia-Volhynia, Lutsk, and Smolensk splashed across and set up their camps on the east side of the river, while those of Chernigov established their camp in the immediate vicinity of the ford on the west side. As for Mstislav Romanovich, he moved his Kievan contingent to a steep hill a half-mile from the river. It was a strong position that was protected by deep ravines on the south and east side of the prominence.

At that point, the two senior commanders argued over strategy. Mstislav Romanovich wanted to slow the army’s speed of advance. He therefore proposed a new marching order. The Chernigov forces would lead the way. The main body following them would be arrayed as follows: the Smolenskian troops on the right, Lutskian troops on the left, and Kievan troops in the middle. In a deliberate move to restrain Mstislav of Galicia, Mstislav Romanovich ordered that his rival’s forces constitute the rear guard. Mstislav of Galicia left the council in a huff without consenting to the new marching order.

Before dawn on May 31 the Polovtsian scouts returned to Mstislav of Galicia with news that they had spotted the main Mongol camp. Knowing that if he alerted the other princes to this development—especially Mstislav Romanovich—the large part of the morning would be spent arguing about the course of action, Mstislav of Galicia made the crucial decision to prepare his troops for action without the usual trumpet signals.

Despite the precautions taken by Mstislav of Galicia, his preparations were noticed by sentries in the Smolensk camp, who promptly alerted their prince. Quickly discovering what was underway and not wishing to be left out of the upcoming action and glory, Vladimir of Smolensk ordered his trumpeters to rouse his troops. The commotion in the Smolensk camp in turn alerted the men of Chernigov bivouacked on the west bank of the river. Prince Mstislav of Chernigov rushed to inform Mstislav Romanovich.

The Grand Prince of Kiev angrily observed the preparations from his hilltop position as his rival’s forces formed up and marched over the hill on the other side of the river. The men of Smolensk soon disappeared from view as well, and grumbling began in the Chernigov camp. Most of the Chernigov commanders wanted to march for they were anxious to participate in the action; however, Prince Mstislav of Chernigov would not march without Mstislav of Galicia’s permission, and he would not give it.

The first to make contact with the enemy were the Polovtsians, who were spread out ahead of the coalition force in a thick screen under the joint command of Khan Kotyan and Yarun, one of Mstislav of Galicia’s officers. They brushed aside the Mongol pickets before running into a small Mongol vanguard, which retreated after a brief clash. Close on the heels of the retreating Mongols, the Polovtsians came upon a small Mongol camp, which they took for the leading element of the main Mongol army. Quickly overrunning the camp and pushing on in a headlong pursuit, the Polovtsians encountered the main body of Mongols, which had been cleverly concealed behind a chain of rolling hills. The Mongols’ initial volley of arrows emptied hundreds of Polovtsian saddles. The Mongol heavy cavalry then overran the Polovtsians.

The Polovtsian collapse was as complete as it was sudden. Believing it was on the verge of easy victory, the Polovtsian cavalry was suddenly confronted with ordered ranks of Mongol cavalry. Thousands of Polovtsians fled in panic, unheeding any and all attempts by their leaders to rally them. Although some escaped to the north and south, the main body of Polovtsians fled northwest the way they had come, right into the path of the advancing Russian forces attempting to catch up to them.

The leading Russian column consisted of 500 Volyn cavalry under Prince Daniel. The torrent of fleeing Polovtsian riders disordered and scattered them. The Polovtsians also disordered the men of Galich and Lutsk who did not have time to close up. The only troops that were not immediately disordered by the Polovtsian retreat were those from the Smolensk force. Given that they were farther back along the route of advance, the Smolensk cavalry had sufficient warning. Prince Vladimir of Smolensk ordered his horsemen to close ranks, and they formed a circle on a low hillock.

The Mongols smashed into the disordered horsemen under Prince Daniel. In turn, each Russian mounted detachment became isolated, desperately fighting to link up with the others. From the top of the small hillock, Prince Vladimir could see the unfolding disaster. His troops were an island in the sea of disordered Russians and Polovtsians. His trumpeters repeatedly sounded the rally for other groups of Russian cavalry that had become separated to join them. Realizing the futility of remaining in place, Prince Vladimir ordered an attack to link up with Mstislav of Galicia, so that the Russians could withdraw together. Seeing the banner of Mstislav of Galicia falling back, other Russian cavalry forces began retreating as well. Prince Daniel fought bravely and was wounded several times. Barely able to stay in his saddle, he was supported on each side by a bodyguard.

The main body of the Mongols swept around the Russian cavalry to reach the infantry of Galicia-Volhynia and Smolensk. These lightly armored foot soldiers, to their credit, were falling back in some semblance of order. The Mongol horse archers rode back and forth along the Russian ranks, firing into them at point-blank range, inflicting heavy casualties in the process. The Russian infantry eventually broke under the merciless barrage of arrows. The panicked foot soldiers streamed in flight toward the Kalka River.

Back at the Kalka River crossing, the first fleeing Polovtsians arrived at 11 am with news of the unfolding disaster. But Mstislav Romanovich refused to budge from his position on top of his rocky knoll. Not wishing to wait any longer, Prince Mstislav of Chernigov took his forces forward. About an hour later, he led his troops across the river. They deployed to march in battle formation with the infantry in the center and cavalry on the flanks.

Before the men of Chernigov marched forward, retreating groups of infantry from Galicia-Volhynia and Smolensk arrived. The men of Chernigov closed ranks to keep the panicked men from disordering them. Desperate foot soldiers clawed at the Chernigov shield wall in blind panic in an attempt to squeeze their way through to perceived safety. The Mongol heavy cavalry rode behind and among the retreating infantry, spearing panic-stricken men with impunity. Before the Chernigov infantry had the chance to close the gaps caused by the fleeing men, the Mongols succeeded in cracking their line. 

Prince Mstislav of Chernigov counterattacked with his cavalry, allowing his infantry to reform and briefly halted the Mongols. The fighting grew both in its intensity and brutality. Mstislav of Chernigov’s two nephews were cut down. The Mongols also felled Prince Mstislav of Chernigov. His son, Vsevolod, was able to briefly maintain control. But when the Mongols slayed him as well, the men of Chernigov began a disordered retreat back across the river. Just in the nick of time, though, the remaining cavalry of Galicia-Volhynia, Lutsk, and Smolensk attacked the Mongols from behind. As the Mongols fell back to reform, a lull settled over the battlefield.

On the east bank of the Kalka River, Mstislav of Galicia rallied the surviving cavalry of Galicia-Volhynia, Lutsk, and Smolensk. A humiliated Mstislav of Galicia appealed to Mstislav Romanovich for help. Even seeing his rival humbled, the Grand Prince of Kiev still refused to budge from his fortified camp. His 2,000 men were among the best armed and experienced troops in the entire Russian army. With a heavy heart, Mstislav of Galicia ordered a general retreat sounded. His surviving troops withdrew to the west bank of the Kalka River where they began the long trek back to the Dnieper River and the awaiting longships.

The Russian infantry was in bad shape. Many had discarded their arms and armor in their flight. They staggered along the track, suffering from heat, thirst, and wounds. On the evening of May 31, the Mongols caught up to the retreating Russians. In order to buy time for his infantry to reform, Mstislav of Galicia led his cavalry in a desperate counterattack. His two nephews, Izyaslav and Svaytoslav, both died in the desperate fighting. The Mongol archers once again took a heavy toll of the beleaguered Russian infantry. Darkness brought a welcome end to fighting for the Russians.

Weary Russian princes gathered to discuss their next course of action. It was painfully obvious that the tattered remnant of the Russian infantry was in no condition to escape the fast-moving Mongol cavalry nor could it offer an effective defense. With that in mind, the surviving Russian cavalry could either remain with the infantry where they would in all likelihood perish alongside them, or they could abandon the infantry to their fate in the hope of making their own escape. With heavy hearts, the majority of the princes made the brutal decision to abandon the infantry. The only one who did not was young Prince Dmitriy Mstislavovich from Chernigov. He and his small retinue of men-at-arms valiantly decided to fight to the death.

Many of the infantrymen managed to slip away during the night. The desertions continued in the early morning hours of June 1 as Dmitriy Mstislavovich formed up the remaining men for battle. The Mongols appeared shortly after dawn. The Russians held out for almost an hour. When Dmitriy Mstislavovich fell, all resistance collapsed. After several hours spent riding down and slaughtering the fleeing Russians, the bulk of the Mongols withdrew. The infantry of Galicia-Volhynia, Chernigov, Lutsk, and Smolensk were virtually annihilated by that point.

On the evening of June 1 approximately 1,200 surviving Russian cavalrymen halted to rest on their way back to the Dnieper River. When the time came to leave again in the morning, Prince Yuri Glebovich of Nesvizh halted to rest his troops on the belief that they were sufficiently safe from the pursuit. The other princes continued their withdrawal without him, but the Mongols soon appeared. They proceeded to slaughter nearly all of Prince Yuri’s 100 remaining men, as well as the prince himself. The Mongols then withdrew to the Kalka River.

Approximately 1,000 Russian cavalry reached the Dnieper River and the safety of long ships. After ferrying his men across the river, Prince Mstislav of Galicia ordered the rest of the boats burned so that the Mongols, if still in pursuit, could not use them to get across. Once on the west bank of the river, Mstislav of Galicia and Mstislav of Lutsk, accompanied by a seriously wounded Daniel Romanovich, headed to Galich. Prince Vladimir of Smolensk led his troops back to Kiev.

Having crossed the Kalka River, Subutai and Jebe divided their army into two sections. One section encircled the Kievans’ fortified camp, while the other section chased the retreating Russian forces. The Russians were in a good defensive position, protected by circled wagons and sharpened stakes. The slopes of the hill were sufficiently steep to prevent a Mongol mounted attack; for that reason, the Mongol warriors launched a dismounted attack. The Russian warriors, who were sheltered behind and on top of their wagons, repulsed multiple assaults. In vain, the Mongols tried to hook and pull apart the wagons, while the Russian warriors stabbed and slashed at them from above. Crouched behind their shields and wagons, the Russians succeeded in blunting the Mongol archery.

After three days of attacks, the Mongol commanders sent Mstislav Romanovich an offer of safe passage if the Russians left behind their weapons, banners, and possessions. Mstislav Romanovich refused, for surrendering their weapons and banners would result in a major blow to his prestige. But the Russian position had one major weakness, which was that it was a half mile from the river. By the end of the third day of siege, the Kievans were nearly out of water.

Mstislav Romanovich held a war council to determine his next steps. Most of his commanders argued for retaining their weapons and fighting their way out of the trap. While the Grand Prince of Kiev was mulling over his options, a Mongol envoy arrived. The envoy’s name was Ploskinya, and he was the leader of the Brodniki band that served as scouts. Brodniki were escaped serfs and slaves from Russian lands who settled on the far outskirts of the steppes and frequently intermarried with local nomads. Ploskinya had a Russian father and a Polovtsian mother. He swore on a cross that the Mongols were sincere in their promises of safe passage. Taking Ploskinya at his word, Mstislav Romanovich ordered his men to disarm.

As the Russians marched out of their camp, they laid down their arms and armor and set off northwest after refilling their canteens from the Kalka River. Mstislav Romanovich and his two sons-in-law, Prince Aleksander Glebovich of Dubrovitsy and Prince Andrei Vladimirovich, became separated from their men and were captured by the Mongols. Alarmed at their circumstances, they asked what their fate would be. They were told that they would be held for ransom, but not harmed. Once the column of disarmed Kiev warriors was out of sight of its abandoned camp, the Mongols overtook the column and slaughtered most of the unarmed troops. Those who were mounted, which numbered about 200 warriors, managed to escape.

The Mongols then turned their attention to the captured princes. They bound Mstislav Romanovich and his two sons-in-law by hand and foot. These high-ranking Russians were informed that the punishment for killing Mongol ambassadors was death; however, Mongol custom allowed the shedding of princely blood only in battle. The three Russian princes were then placed on the ground and boards were laid on top of them. Subutai, Jebe, and several senior Mongol commanders climbed the wobbly platform for a victory feast. As the Mongols leaders laughed and celebrated their victory, the three captive Russian princes were crushed to death.

The disaster that befell the combined Russian forces at the Kalka River was devastating. Less than one-tenth of the army returned home. A dozen Russian princes died. As soon as Prince Vladimir of Smolensk reached Kiev, he declared himself regent until the return of Mstislav Romanovich. The fate of the Kiev contingent was yet unknown, but Prince Vladimir was gambling that Mstislav Romanovich would not return and began maneuvering accordingly.

As soon as the three sons of Mstislav Romanovich returned to Kiev from their own campaign against Grodno and Polotsk, they immediately began plotting to remove Prince Vladimir from Kiev. Yet Vladimir, who was supported by Mstislav of Galicia and Daniel Romanovich, ultimately gained the upper hand. In the wake of his triumph, he exiled them from Kiev.

After Mstislav of Galicia died of natural causes in 1228, Daniel Romanovich became a major force in southwestern Russia. He succeeded in navigating the dangerous political shoals that confronted him. He had to muster all of his political skills to deftly handle the Mongols, Hungarians, Poles, and Lithuanians. By the time of his death in 1264, Daniel had greatly enhanced the prestige and expanded the territory of Galicia-Volhynia; for his achievements, he is revered in Ukraine as one of the region’s greatest leaders.

Khan Kotyan eventually fled to Hungary with tens of thousands of his followers after suffering another crushing defeat at the hands of Mongols in 1237. When King of Hungary Bela IV offered the Polovtsians asylum in Hungary, Kotyan converted to Catholicism and wed another one of his daughters to Bela’s son, the future King Stephen V. But the Hungarian nobles never completely trusted Kotyan, who was christened Jonas on his conversion. The former Polovtsian khan was assassinated in 1241 on the eve of the Mongol invasion of Hungary.

After remaining on the steppe lands south of Russia until the end of 1223, the armies of Subutai and Jebe returned to Mongolia. Their reconnaissance campaign, which had lasted three years and covered more than 5,500 miles, was a resounding success. They not only returned with a tremendous amount of plunder, but also had gleaned invaluable insight into the Russian political situation and military strength. Furthermore, they had seen with their own eyes the characteristics of the terrain.

Subutai and Genghis Khan’s grandson Batu returned to Russia in 1237. Over the course of the next two years he subjugated a number of Russian principalities, including Kiev, Chernigov, and Galicia-Volhynia. Thus began a 240-year period known as the Mongol Yoke in which many of the Russian princes became vassals of the Mongols. Russian vassalage to the Mongols officially ended in 1480 with the defeat of the Golden Horde at the Great Stand on the Ugra River.