During the century following the Mongol invasion of the Rusˈ lands, the Mongol khans and Riurikid princes stabilized their relations. The Riurikid princes acknowledged Golden Horde suzerainty. They paid tribute to the khans, supplemented those payments with gifts to Horde notables, and participated in Mongol military campaigns. The khans issued patents confirming each prince's right to rule. When the occasion demanded, they intervened diplomatically or militarily in interprincely disputes. Despite the devastation caused by their invasion and subsequent military expeditions and despite the loss of capital occasioned by tribute payments, those Mongol demands for tribute coupled with the Rusˈ involvement through the Horde in the vast Mongol commercial network provided an economic stimulus for the Rusˈ. The Rusˈ principalities gradually recovered.

Mongol participation in both the political and economic activity of the Rusˈ lands slowly altered Rusˈ political institutions and patterns. Initially the Mongol khans issued patents to princes who, according to dynastic traditions, were also the legitimate heirs to their thrones, including, most significantly, the throne of the grand prince of Vladimir. Ruling princes cooperated with the Mongol officials, the baskaki, who oversaw censuses and conscription and tribute collection. As the Mongols shifted responsibility for those functions from their own baskaki to the Riurikid princes, they favored those princes who demonstrated the best ability to raise and deliver revenue to the Horde and maintain peace and stability in the Rusˈ lands.