Also, where'd you get those pants? And all those teeth? Mmm, you smell pretty. Right, so to discuss how important the Mongols were to Russia, let's go to the Thought Bubble. The Mongols did set up the Khanate of the Golden Horde in Russia, but it didn't leave much lasting impact on the institutions of the region, which had already been set up by the Kievans. But they did bring about a population shift, away from the south, where Kiev was, toward the northeast. This was partly to get away from the Mongols and their massacring, but that noted, the Mongols were comparatively light rulers.