CHAPTER 18

The Rise of Russia

CHAPTER SUMMARY

The rise of the Russian Empire, unlike the rise of Western colonial empires, although altering
power balances through Eurasia, involved only limited commercial exchange. After freeing
themselves from Mongol domination by 1480, the Russians pushed eastward. Some extension of
territory also occurred in eastern Europe. Regional states, many differing from Russia, were
present, with Lithuania and Poland rivaling Russia into the 17th century. Russia, with its
Byzantine-influenced culture, had been unimportant in world affairs before the 15th century.
Russia then entered into new contacts with the West without losing its distinct identity. Between
1450 and 1750, many lasting characteristics of the eastern European world were formed.

Russia’s Expansionist Politics under the Tsars. During the 14th century, the duchy of
Moscow took the lead in liberating Russia from the Mongols. Ivan III gave his government a
military focus and used a blend of nationalism and the Orthodox Christian religion to succeed by
1480, in creating a large independent state.

The Need for Revival. The Mongols, content to leave local administration in indigenous hands,
had not reshaped basic Russian culture. The occupation did, however, reduce the vigor of
cultural and economic life. Literacy declined and the economy became purely agricultural and
dependent on peasant labor. Ivan III restored the tradition of centralized rule, added a sense of
imperial mission, and claimed supervision of all Orthodox churches. Russia, asserted Ivan, had
succeeded Byzantium as the Third Rome. Ivan IV continued the policy of expansion. He
increased the power of the tsar by killing many of the nobility (boyars)—earning the name of
Ivan the Terrible—on the charge of conspiracy.

Patterns of Expansion. Territorial expansion focused on central Asia. Russians moved across
their region’s vast plains to the Caspian Sea and the Ural Mountains. By the 16th century, they
moved into western Siberia. Peasant adventurers (cossacks) were recruited to occupy the new
lands. Loyal nobles and bureaucrats received land grants in the territories. The conquests gave
Russia increased agricultural regions and labor sources. Slavery existed into the 18th century.
Important trading connections opened with Asian neighbors. The Russian advance, along with
that of the Ottomans to the south, eliminated independent central Asia as a source of nomadic
invasions. Russia became a multicultural state. The large Muslim population was not forced to
assimilate to Russian culture.

Western Contact and Romanov Policy. The tsars, mindful of the cultural and economic lag
occurring under Mongol rule, also began a policy of carefully managed contacts with the West.
Ivan III dispatched diplomatic missions to leading Western states; under Ivan IV, British
merchants established trading contacts. Italian artists brought in by the tsars built churches and
the Kremlin, creating a distinct style of architecture. When Ivan IV died without an heir early
in the 17th century, the Time of Troubles commenced. The boyars tried to control government,
while Sweden and Poland seized territory. In 1613, the boyars chose a member of the Romanov
family, Michael, as tsar. The Time of Troubles ended without placing lasting constraints on the
tsar’s power. Michael restored internal order, drove out the foreign invaders, and recommenced
imperial expansion. Russia secured part of Ukraine and pushed its southern border to Ottoman
264
lands. Alexis Romanov increased the tsar’s authority by abolishing the assemblies of nobles
and restoring state control over the church. His desire to cleanse the church of changes
occurring during the Mongol era created tensions because conservative believers resisted
changes to their established rituals. The government exiled these “Old Believers” to Siberia or
southern Russia.

Russia’s First Westernization, 1690-1790. By the end of the 17th century, Russia, although
remaining more of an agricultural state than most leading civilizations, was a great land empire.
Peter I, the Great, continued past policies but added a new interest in changing the economy and
culture through imitation of Western forms. It was the first Westernization effort in history.
Peter traveled incognito to the West and gained an interest in science and technology. Many
Western artisans returned with him to Russia.

Tsarist Autocracy of Peter the Great. Peter was an autocratic ruler; revolts were brutally
suppressed. Reforms were initiated through state decrees. Peter increased the power of the
state through recruitment of bureaucrats from outside the aristocracy and by forming a Western-
type military force. A secret police was created to prevent dissent and watch over the
bureaucracy. Foreign policy followed existing patterns. Hostilities with the Ottomans went on
without gain. A successful war with Sweden gave Russia a window on the Baltic Sea, allowing
it to be a major factor in European diplomatic and military affairs. Peter’s capital, reflecting the
shift of interests, moved to the Baltic city of St. Petersburg.

What Westernization Meant. Peter’s reforms influenced politics, economics, and cultural
change. The bureaucracy and military were reorganized on Western principles. The first
Russian navy was created. The councils of nobles were eliminated and replaced by advisors
under his control. Provincial governors were appointed from the center, while elected town
councils were under royal authority. Law codes were systematized and the tax system reformed
to increase burdens on the peasantry. In economic affairs, metallurgical and mining industries
were expanded. Landlords were rewarded for using serfs in manufacturing operations. The
changes ended the need to import for military purposes. Cultural reforms aimed at bringing in
Western patterns to change old customs. Nobles had to shave their beards and dress in Western
style. Peter attempted to provide increased education in mathematics and technical subjects.
He succeeded in bringing the elite into the Western cultural zone. The condition of upper-class
women improved. The first effort in Westernization embodied features present in later ventures
in other lands. The changes were selective; they did not involve ordinary people. No attempt
was made to form an exporting industrial economy. Westernization meant to Peter the
encouragement of autocratic rule. These changes brought resistance from all classes.

Consolidation under Catherine the Great. Several decades of weak rule followed Peter’s
death in 1724. Significant change resumed during the reign of Catherine (1762-1796). She
used the Pugachev peasant rebellion as an excuse to extend central government authority.
Catherine was also a Westernizer and brought Enlightenment ideas to Russia, but centralization
and strong royal authority were more important to her than Western reform was. She gave new
power over serfs to the nobles in return for their service in the bureaucracy and military.
Catherine continued patronage of Western art and architecture, but the French Revolution
caused her to ban foreign and domestic political writings. Russian expansionist policies
continued. Territories, including the Crimea on the Black Sea, were gained in central Asia from
the Ottomans. Catherine pushed colonization in Siberia and claimed Alaska. Russian explorers
went down the North American coast into northern California. In Europe, Catherine joined

265
Prussia and Austria to partition Poland and end its independence. By the time of her death,
Russia had completed an important transformation. Over three centuries, the tsars created a
strong central state ruling over the world’s greatest land empire. New elements from the West
had entered and altered Russia’s economy and culture.

Themes in Early Modern Russian History. Russian society was very different from that of
the West. Serfdom and a deep-rooted peasant culture did not mesh with Westernization efforts.
The Russian nobility, through state service, maintained a vital position. A minority of great
landholders lived in major cities and provided important cultural patronage. Smaller,
incompletely Westernized landowners lived less opulent lives.

Serfdom: The Life of East Europe’s Masses. Before the Mongol conquest, Russia’s
peasantry had been relatively free. The government from the 16th century encouraged serfdom
as a means of conciliating the nobility and of extending state control over peasants. A 1649 act
made serfdom hereditary; other 17th- and 18th-century laws tied serfs to the land and
augmented the legal rights of landlords. Serfs were almost slaves; they were bought, sold, and
punished by owners. Peasant conditions were similar in eastern Europe. Peasants labored on
large estates to produce grain for sale to the West. Western merchants in return bought the
serfs’ owners manufactured and luxury items. Peasants did have some rights; village
governments regulated many aspects of life. Most peasants remained poor and illiterate; they
paid high taxes and performed extensive labor services in agriculture, mining, and
manufacturing. Their condition deteriorated throughout the 18th century.

Trade and Economic Dependence. There were few large cities in Russia; 95 percent of the
population was rural. Artisans also were few, since most manufacturing was rurally based.
Small merchant groups existed, but most trade was handled by Westerners. Peter the Great’s
reforms increased trade, yet the nobility managed to prevent the emergence of a strong
commercial class. Russia’s social and economic system had strengths. It produced adequate
revenue for the expanding empire, supported the aristocracy, and allowed significant population
growth. Commerce was carried on with independent central Asian regions. There were
important limitations. Agricultural methods remained traditional, and peasants lacked
incentives to increase production for the benefit of landlords. Manufacturing suffered from
similar constraints.

Social Unrest. By the end of the 18th century, Russian reformers were criticizing their nation’s
backwardness and urging the abolition of serfdom. Peasant discontent was more significant.
Peasants remained loyal to the tsar, but blamed landlords for the harshness of their lives.
Periodic rebellions occurred from the 17th century, peaking with the Pugachev rising of the
1770s. The tsar and nobility triumphed, but peasant discontent remained a problem.

Russia and Eastern Europe. Regions west of Russia formed a fluctuating borderland between
western and eastern European interests. In the Ottoman Balkans, trade with the West spread
Enlightenment concepts. Poland and the Czech and Slovak areas were a part of the Western
cultural orbit. Copernicus participated in the Western Scientific Revolution. Some eastern
regions were participants in the Protestant Reformation. Many of the smaller states lost
political autonomy. Hungary and Bohemia were incorporated into the Habsburg Empire. The
largest state, Poland, was linked to the West by shared Roman Catholicism. By 1600, Polish
aristocrats weakened the central government and exploited peasants. Urban centers and a
merchant class were lacking. The kingdom was partitioned by Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

266
In Depth: Multinational Empires. During the early modern period, Russia created the
longest-lasting multinational empire. The Mughal Empire ended during the 19th century; the
empires of the Ottomans and Habsburgs disappeared early in the next century. Special
characteristics of the Russian Empire were the presence of a large core of ethnic groups
prepared to spread widely and establish new settlements, and Russian ability to adopt Western
techniques. During the period of new empire creation, the importance of the western European,
culturally more cohesive, nation-state was confirmed. Such states included minority ethnicities
but developed methods to achieve national unity. From the 19th century onward, there have
been serious clashes between national loyalties and multinational empires. Most of the latter
have collapsed.

Global Connections: Russia and the World. Russia’s emergence as a key player in both
Europe and Asia was a crucial development in the early modern era. The Russian Empire was
different from those in the West, but its effect was enormous on two continents in this era.

KEY TERMS

Ivan III (the Great): Prince of the duchy of Moscow; responsible for freeing Russia from the
Mongols; took the title of tsar.

Third Rome: Russia, with Moscow as its capital, claimed to be the successor of the Roman and
Byzantine empires.

Ivan IV (the Terrible): Confirmed power of tsarist autocracy by attacking the authority of the
boyars; continued policy of expansion; established contacts with western European commerce
and culture.

Boyars: The Russian nobles.

Cossacks: Peasant adventurers with agricultural and military skills recruited to conquer and
settle in newly seized lands in southern Russia and Siberia.

Time of Troubles: Early 17th-century period of boyar efforts to regain power and foreign
invasion after the death of Ivan IV without an heir; ended with the selection of Michael
Romanov as tsar in 1613.

Romanov dynasty: Ruled Russia from 1613 to 1917.

Alexis Romanov: Second ruler of the dynasty; abolished assemblies of nobles; gained new
powers over the Orthodox church.

Old Believers: Russians who refused to accept the ecclesiastical reforms of Alexis Romanov;
many were exiled to southern Russia or Siberia.

Peter I (the Great): Tsar from 1689 to 1725; continued growth of absolutism and conquest;
sought to change selected aspects of the economy and culture through imitation of western
European models.

267
St. Petersburg: Baltic city that was made the new capital of Russia by Peter I.

Catherine the Great: German-born Russian tsarina; combined selective Enlightenment ideas
with strong centralizing policies; converted the nobility to a service aristocracy by granting
them new power over the peasantry.

Partition of Poland: Three separate divisions of Polish territory among Russia, Prussia, and
Austria in 1772, 1793, and 1795; eliminated Poland as an independent state.

Obrok: Labor obligations of Russian peasants owed either to their landlords or to the state; part
of the increased burdens placed on the peasantry during the 18th century.

Pugachev rebellion: Unsuccessful peasant rising led by Cossack Pugachev during the 1770s;
typical of peasant unrest during the 18th century and thereafter.

Westernization: Process in which traditional cultures come under the influence of Western
culture.

Serfdom: Institution in which a peasant is attached to a feudal estate.

LESSON SUGGESTIONS

Leader Analysis Peter the Great

Peoples Analysis tsarist autocracy

Conflict Analysis Old Believers versus ecclesiastical reforms

Change Analysis Peter the Great’s reforms

Societal Comparison Russia versus western Europe

Document Analysis Nature of Westernization

Dialectical Journal In Depth: Multinational Empires

LECTURE SUGGESTIONS

Compare the development of the Russian Empire from 1480 to 1800 and the expansion of
the West during the same period. Both expansions were based on military superiority over
less technologically advanced peoples. There were economic zones along frontiers and a
colonial system, and incorporating ethnic diversity resulted. Russian expansion was different
because the Russians created a land-based empire; they lacked a mercantile fleet and had only a
limited military navy. The Russians failed to achieve economic parity with Western empires,
and they did not cause a demographic disaster similar to the European effect on the Americas
and Polynesia. The Russians did not establish the same economic dominance over frontiers as

268
did the West. The Russians failed to develop merchant classes, and the state, unlike in the
West, was in charge of capitalizing ventures. Russian retention of an estate agricultural system
was more typical of dependent economic zones than of Western core regions. They retained a
coercive labor system, depended on the export of raw materials, and imported manufactured
goods and luxuries.

Describe the effect of Westernization in Russia during the 17th and 18th centuries and
whether the process overcame the separation of Russia and the West. Westernization
introduced Western art forms; Peter the Great mandated Western dress styles. Western political
organization was used to establish an effective tsarist autocracy, although grants of local
authority to the nobility under Catherine the Great reduced the ability of the central government
to control the masses of the people. Although the economy remained largely agricultural,
economic reforms enabled the development of industry essentially devoted to military
production (mining and metallurgy). Economic development was based on the increasing
exploitation of a peasant labor force. Westernization failed to overcome the separation between
Russia and the West because the reforms affected only the nobility and did not make complete
changes among them. The masses continued to rely on the Orthodox church as the primary
cultural influence. Social organization remained typical of large estate agricultural systems.
Unlike the Western development of a proletariat less tied to the land, Russia maintained a rigid
serfdom. Russia was drawn into the global trading network as a dependent zone.

CLASS DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS

Describe the effects of Mongol occupation on Russian civilization.

The effects of the Mongol occupation can be seen in the reaction of the Russians. Although
local administration was left to the Russians, literacy and culture declined. The economic life of
the Russians also plummeted. The reaction led to Tsar Ivan III’s policies and ideas. Also, the
Russians started the idea of building buffer states to insulate the core from future attacks. This
marked the beginnings of the Russian feeling of not trusting non-Russians.

Trace Russian expansion under the Ivans.

Under the Ivans, Russia began a policy of carefully managed contacts with the West. Ivan III
dispatched diplomatic missions to leading Western states; under Ivan IV, British merchants
established trading contacts. Italian artists brought in by the tsars built churches and the
Kremlin, creating a distinct style of architecture.

Summarize the extent of Westernization under Peter the Great.

Peter inherited the throne and went to the West to observe and study. As tsar, Peter the Great
continued past policies but added a new interest in changing the economy and culture through
imitation of Western forms. It was the first Westernization effort in history. Peter traveled
incognito to the West and gained an interest in science and technology. Many Western artisans
returned with him to Russia. There were successes politically by curtailing the power of the
aristocracy. He created a navy and altered archaic law codes. Unfortunately for Russia, Peter the
Great instituted social policies that were very superficial and extremely unpopular with Russian
nobles.

269
Summarize the extent of Westernization under Catherine the Great.

Catherine was also a Westernizer and brought Enlightenment ideas to Russia, but centralization
and strong royal authority were more important to her than Western reform. She gave new
power over serfs to the nobles in return for their service in the bureaucracy and military.
Catherine continued patronage of Western art and architecture, but the French Revolution
caused her to ban foreign and domestic political writings.

Describe the nature of Russian serfdom.

Before the Mongol conquest, Russia’s peasantry had been relatively free. The government from
the 16th century encouraged serfdom. A 1649 act made serfdom hereditary. Serfs were almost
slaves. Most peasants remained poor and illiterate; they paid high taxes and performed
extensive labor services in agriculture, mining, and manufacturing. Their condition deteriorated
throughout the 18th century.

Trace how Russia become economically dependent on the West.

The entrance of Western ideals by Peter the Great open a floodgate of new items for trading.
This imbalance of trade grows exponentially all the while the aristocracy fails to modernize.

Describe the basis of the culture of the Russian masses.

Russia is a long-lasting multicultural society consisting of European, Asian, and Middle Eastern
influences.

Compare characteristics of eastern Europe with Russia.

At this time eastern Europe shared a common culture. However, most of eastern Europe was
closely tied into western European ideas and movements.

270
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.

1. Ivan III was responsible for the

A) abolition of serfdom in Russia.

B) military campaigns that freed much of Russia from the Mongols.
C) policies of Westernization that required changes in dress among the Russian elite.
D) conversion of Russia to Roman Catholicism.
E) founding of the Romanov dynasty.

2. Ivan the Great’s claim that Russia was the successor of the Byzantine Empire implied that
Russia was the

A) “next Byzantium.”
B) Golden Horde.
C) “pax Romana.”
D) Mandate of Heaven.
E) “Third Rome.”

3. What group did Ivan the Terrible attack as a means of furthering tsarist autocracy?

A) The Old Believers

B) The Orthodox priesthood
C) The growing merchant class
D) The peasants
E) The boyars

4. Cossacks were

A) those who objected to reforms in the Orthodox church.

B) members of the Russian nobility.
C) peasants recruited to migrate to newly seized lands in the Russian Empire.
D) the designated heirs of the tsars.
E) a secret organization that opposed the tsars’ autocracy.

5. The Time of Troubles followed the death of which Russian tsar?

A) Ivan III
B) Peter the Great
C) Ivan IV
D) Alexis Romanov
E) Michael Romanov

271
6. Old Believers were

A) Russians who refused to accept tsarist reforms of the Orthodox church.

B) Roman Catholics in western Russia.
C) opponents of the Romanov dynasty’s claims to authority.
D) Russian heretics who believed in Christian dualism’s divine forces of both good and evil.
E) people who refused to accept any contact, no matter how minimal, between Russia and
western Europe.

7. Where was Peter the Great’s program of economic development concentrated?

A) Cloth production
B) Mining and metallurgical industries
C) Urbanization
D) Pottery production
E) Shipbuilding and seafaring

8. Peter the Great’s policy of cultural Westernization was directed primarily at the

A) merchants.
B) peasants.
C) nobility.
D) Orthodox church.
E) government officials.

9. The government of Catherine the Great

A) controlled all aspects of central and local administration.

B) advocated the abolition of the peasantry and removed some of the worst abuses of the
coercive labor system.
C) was so besieged by peasant rebellions that it scarcely functioned by the end of the reign.
D) was strongly centralized, but yielded virtually all local control to the nobility.
E) was never considered legitimate.

10. In 1649, Russian serfdom

A) was abolished.
B) was converted to legal slavery.
C) became hereditary.
D) began to modify to a free peasantry under the influence of Westernization.
E) became a source of unrest that led to its abolition within the next decade.

272
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.

1. Under __________, who claimed succession from the old Rurik dynasty and the old Kievan
days, a large part of Russia was freed from the Mongols after 1462.

2. Russian tsars insisted that Russia had succeeded Byzantium the “__________,” with all that
this implied in terms of grandeur and expansionist potential.

3. Following the death of Tsar Ivan IV, Russia entered a politically disturbed era known as the
__________.

4. The first Romanov tsar, __________, established internal order following the era of political
disturbance.

5. The tsarist government exiled thousands of the “__________” attached to the former rituals
and beliefs of the Orthodox church to Siberia or southern Russia.

6. Tsar __________, son of Alexis, changed selected aspects of Russian economy and culture
through imitation of Western forms.

7. Peter the Great moved his capital from Moscow to a new Baltic city that he named
__________.

8. The 18th-century female ruler of Russia, __________, flirted vigorously with the ideas of the
French Enlightenment and invited French philosophers for visits.

9. __________, a Cossack chieftain who claimed to be the legitimate tsar, launched a rebellion
against tsarist authority and promised to abolish serfdom, taxation, and military conscription.

10. In 1500, __________, formed by a union with Lithuania, was the largest state in eastern
Europe aside from Russia.

273
TRUE/FALSE. Write ‘T’ if the statement is true and ‘F’ if the statement is false.

1. As a reformist, Peter the Great concentrated on improvements in political organization, on

selected economic development, and on cultural change.

2. Unlike Peter the Great’s attempts at Westernization, Catherine the Great’s reforms went
beyond appearances to offer real substance.

3. Because of its great estates, its local political power, and its service to the state, the Russian
nobility maintained a vital position in Russian society.

4. Pugachev was an intellectual who criticized serfdom.

5. Three partitions in 1772, 1793, and 1795 eliminated Poland as an independent state and gave
Russia the lion’s share of the spoils.

6. Ivan III, called the Terrible, continued the policy of Russian expansion with emphasis on
confirming the power of the tsarist autocracy.

7. Peter the Great abolished the assemblies of nobles and gained new powers over the Russian
church.

8. In 1613, an assembly of Russian nobles chose a member of the Romanov family as tsar.

9. The duchy of Kiev served as the center for the liberation effort beginning in the 14th century
against Mongol domination of Russia.

274
ANSWER KEY

Multiple Choice

1. B 6. A
2. E 7. B
3. E 8. C
4. C 9. D
5. C 10. C

Short Answer

1. Answer: Ivan III

2. Answer: Third Rome
3. Answer: Time of Troubles
4. Answer: Michael
5. Answer: Old Believers
6. Answer: Peter I
7. Answer: St. Petersburg
8. Answer: Catherine the Great
9. Answer: Pugachev
10. Answer: Poland

True/False

1. T 6. F
2. F 7. F
3. T 8. T
4. F 9. F
5. T

275
CHAPTER 18

TIMELINE

Insert the following events into the timeline. This should help you to compare important
historical events chronologically.

election of first Romanov tsar

beginning of reign of Peter the Great
Pugachev revolt
Ivan III frees much of Russia from the Mongols
hereditary status of serfs fixed
Time of Troubles begins

____ 1462

____ 1604

____ 1613

____ 1649

____ 1689

____ 1773-1775

TERMS, PEOPLE, EVENTS

The following terms, people, and events are important to your understanding of the chapter.
Define each one on a separate sheet of paper.

Catherine the Great Radishev Peter III

Copernicus serfdom Ivan III
Third Rome Rurik dynasty Kremlin
partitions of Poland obruk instruction of 1767
Peter I (the Great) St. Petersburg Westernization
Pugachev rebellion Cossacks Romanov dynasty
Time of Troubles Old Believers Alexis de Tocqueville
Ivan IV (the Terrible) boyars Chancery of the Secret Police
Alexis Romanov

276
MAP EXERCISE

The following exercise is intended to clarify the geophysical environment and the spatial
relationships among the important objects and places mentioned in the chapter. Locate the
following places on the map.

Moscow St. Petersburg

boundaries of the Russian Empire by 1800

Compare the boundaries of the Mongol Empire of Chinggis Khan to the Russian empire by 1800.
To what extent could the Russians claim to be heirs of Chinggis Khan and the unifiers of central
Asia? How were these empires different?

277
 Chapter 18 Notes

I. Introduction
A. Land empire created between 1450-1750
1. Involved limited commercial exchange
2. Altered balance of power Asia/Europe
3. Expanded eastward into Asia
B. Link to Eastern Europe
1. Some regional kingdoms
2. Conflict with Poland and Lithuania
C. Changes of nation
1. Sense of separate identity
2. Reaction to Western influence – accept it, select from it, shun it

II. Russia’s Expansionist Politics Under the Tsars

A. First step – Break free from Mongol control
1. Moscow princes strong as tax collectors
2. Ivan III – Ivan the Great – large army – 1462 frees chunk
i. Utilized support for Orthodox Church
ii. Played off nationalism
iii. 1480 totally freed of Mongol control
B. Need for Revival
1. Basic Russian Values
i. Under Mongols
1. Some adopted dress
2. Christianity maintained
3. Arts diminish
4. Economic hit – trade down/manufacturing limited
a. Purely agricultural economy
2. Centralized Rule
i. With imperial mission – make an empire
ii. Connection to Byzantine Empire – married niece of empero
3. “Third Rome” – Caesar – Tsar
4. Ivan IV – Ivan the Terrible
i. Killed many nobles (boyars) for alleged conspiracy
1. Nobles couldn’t stand up for selves – no tradition
C. Patterns of Expansion
1. Central Asia
i. Why? Push back Mongols
ii. Vast plains easy to conquer/stage battles
iii. Cossacks – Russian pioneers – horse + farm
1. Took over then settled lands
2. Skilled horsemen – think American cowboys/Mongol
2. Usages of expansion
i. Land given to nobles for allegiance
ii. Further east opened new trading relationships
3. Eliminated independent Central Asia
i. Nomads gone
ii. Diverse peoples added to Russia – multicultural empire
1. Like Mughal Empire/Ottoman Empire
2. Large Muslim minority
D. Western Contact and Romanov Policy
1. Carefully managed contacts with the west
i. Early contacts with British merchants
ii. Imported Italian artists/architects to work on churches/palaces – onion
iii. Nobles look to west for style/art/status - precedent
2. Conflict over heir to the throne
i. After Ivan IV – Time of Trouble – disputes for throne – boyars
ii. Romanov Dynasty chosen by boyars
3. Romanov’s reestablish order
i. Stopped Swedish/Polish attacks
ii. Expanded empire
1. Met Ottoman Empire
 2. Part of Ukraine
4. Alexis Romanov’s new powers
i. Abolished noble assemblies – think Louis XIV
ii. State control of Orthdox faith – get rid of superstitions of Mongol era
1. Exiled to Sibera – Old Believers

III. Russia’s First Westernization

A. Introduction
a. Unusually agricultural existence
i. Peter the Great extended tsarist control
ii. Expanded territory
iii. Imitated Western forms
b. Peter the Great – exceptional leader
i. Traveled to west in disguise – picture 6’8” guy in disguise
ii. Visited manufacturing centers – empires for alliances
1. Gained interest – brought back artisans, scientists
B. Tsarist Autocracy of Peter the Great
a. Autocrat
i. Put down revolts with cruelty
1. Organized military
ii. Devalued parliament
iii. Recruited bureaucrats from outside nobility
iv. Secret police to watch bureaucrats/prevent dissent
1. Chancery of Secret Police to 1990
b. Foreign policy
i. attacked Ottoman Empire, but didn’t win a ton of battles
ii. weakened Sweden – sea port
iii. shifted capital to St. Petersburg
C. What Westernization Meant
a. Political changes
i. Small bureaucratic departments (think Ministries or Departments)
ii. Military
1. Improved weaponry
2. First Russian navy
iii. Got rid of nobility for advisors – got specialized people
iv. Tsar-appointed local magistrates – can control provinces
v. Systemized law codes/tax system (stuff China did 2000 years ago)
vi. New training institutes for bureaucrats
b. Economic changes
i. Metallurgy and mining
ii. Unlike W. Europe, didn’t urbanize, develop middle class
1. Serfs used for manufacturing – nobles rewarded
iii. economics funded military
c. Cultural changes
i. Power to upper class women
1. stopped the pass the whip ceremony (whipped?)
2. wear Western clothing
3. Attend public events
4. Peasant relations stayed the same
ii. Take power from elite
1. shave beards, wear western clothes – Mongol connection
2. altered appearance
d. Borrowing from the West
i. Education in math/sciences
ii. Western cultural zone
1. imported ballet from France
2. Christmas trees from Germany
e. To what extent was West imitated? Selective
i. Didn’t change poor
ii. Not wage labor, but serf (slave/coerced) labor
iii. Economics for military purposes not for commercial expansion
iv. Ideas to strengthen aristocracy, not create political rebellions
f. Hostile Responses
 i. Peasants resented nobles – some didn’t speak Russian
ii. Elite discouraged Western change – losing Russian identity
iii. Set precedent for cycle of enthusiasm > revulsion
D. Consolidation Under Catherine the Great
a. Weak rule following Peter the Great
i. Military leaders fought for power
ii. Anti-western leaders emerged
iii. Peter the Great’s daughter’s nephew – Peter III – mentally challenged
1. Wife Catherine – German princess – takes over
a. Put down rebellions
b. Centralized power
c. Used Pugachev Rebellion as an excuse for more power
b. Catherine II – fascinating women rulers
i. Hated husband/son
ii. Helped overthrow husband
iii. Enlightened leader + realist/needed to centralize
iv. Active personal life – doubt you need to know that
c. Selective westernizer
i. Brought some ideas of French Enlightenment
ii. Brought some reformers to discuss law codes
d. Image vs. Reality – centralized authority – serf life gets worse
i. New powers to nobility – could increase punishment
1. Nobles then gave more power to central authority
2. Became service aristocracy – sold out?
ii. Role of landlord
1. Requisition peasant labor
2. Levy taxes
3. Impose punishments
e. Fading from Western influence – still selective
i. Improved St. Petersburg
ii. Encouraged nobles to travel
iii. Closed Russia after French Revolution – hmmm…why?
1. Censored intellectuals – here’s a pattern/precedent
f. Russian expansion
i. Fought Ottoman Empire
ii. Extended holdings all the way down to modern day Alaska, Oregon, N. California
g. Russia’s interests in Europe
i. Divided Poland between Austria and Prussia
1. Poland’s parliament kept crippling gov’t flexibility
ii. Set precedent of involvement in W. Europe
1. Eventually, Russia would stop Napoleon
h. Success by 1800 – summary – here’s what they accomplished
i. Won independence
ii. Centralized gov’t
iii.

IV. Themes in Early Modern Russian History

A. Introduction
a. Nobility extremely important
b. Two types
i. Great landowners/absentee owners living in the cities – westernized
ii. Smaller owners live out in the countryside – less Westernized
B. Serfdom: The Life of East Europe’s Masses
a. Nobles power over serfs increases
i. Free farmers before
ii. Fell into debt – repay through servitude
1. worked land, but didn’t own it
iii. Gov’t encouraged process – why?
1. Made nobles happy – won’t revolt
2. Method of controlling masses, when bureaucracy wasn’t effective
b. Serf laws
i. 1649 – hereditary status – born a serf – can’t escape
c. Similarity to slavery
 i. Bought and sold
ii. Gambled away
iii. Punished by masters
iv. Differences
1. nation enslaved own people, not outsiders
2. relied on community ties (see precedent for commun-ism)
d. Similarity to Eastern Europe
i. Nobles in Poland, Hungary benefited from system
1. Supported political control
2. Allowed them to have distinctive/Western life
e. Eastern Europe subordinate to the West
i. Russian grain traded for luxury items for nobility
f. Life of serfs on estates
i. Whole villages could be sold for manufacturing jobs
ii. Poor/illiterate
1. Paid high taxes/obligations – impossible to escape
iii. Catherine the Great created model villages to show off
C. Trade and Economic Dependence
a. Classes between serfs and landlords
i. Prevented emergence of merchant class
1. Western European merchants lived in Russian cities/controlled trade
b. Success of Russia’s social and economic system
i. Enough money to support empire
ii. Exported furs/commodities to central Asia – balanced trade
iii. Significant population growth
1. Surprising considering harsh climate
c. Limitations of Russia’s social and economic system
i. Man labor not technological innovation
1. No motivation – extra profit just goes to lord
ii. Manufacturing lagged behind w. Europe
D. Social Unrest
a. System leads to protests
i. Western-oriented aristocrats push for change – end of 18th century
ii. Peasants – loyal to tsar, but resented lords
b. Peasant Rebellions
i. Pugachev rebellion – Cossack chieftain – promised
1. End to serfdom
2. End to taxation
3. End to military conscription
4. End to landed aristocracy
ii. Eventually put down after roaming Southern Russia
1. Cut into pieces in Moscow square
E. Russia and Eastern Europe
a. Eastern Europe
i. Changing boundaries
ii. More embracing of enlightenment/scientific revolution – contributed scholars
b. Nationalities lose autonomy
i. Hungary part of German Hapsburgs
ii. Czech part of Hapsburgs - Bohemians
c. Decline of Poland
i. Link to west – Catholic
ii. Political aristocrats chose weak kings on purpose
1. Vetoed reform efforts
iii. Poland split into three parts

V. Global Connections
A. Why so significant?
a. Huge land empire – 10 time zones
b. Different from w. Europe, but huge impact
Chapter
Chapter

18
The Rise of Russia
(1450 – 1800)
Section
1 The Moscovites
 Mongols of the Golden Horde, called Tatars, invaded
the Russian steppes and influenced Russian society
and government.

 Ivan III, known as Ivan the Great drove out the

Mongols and moved the capital from Kiev to Moscow.

 By 1462, much of Russia from freed from the

Mongols.

 By 1480, Moscow from freed from paying tribute to

the Mongols.

 He expanded the Russian empire and laid the

Ivan III the Great
foundation for extreme absolute power by limiting
the power of the boyars and took the title Czar.

 He organized a strong army, giving the new

government a military emphasis it would long retain.
Ivan III Tearing the Khan's Letter to Pieces
Apollinari Vasnetsov (1864-1933). Court of a Feudal Russian Prince.

During the reign of Daniel (1263-1303), Moscow was little more than
a small timber fort lost in the forests of Central Russia
 Ivan the Terrible
 Ivan IV was the first Russian ruler to claim
the title Czar (Tsar), a derivative of Caesar.
 He further centralized royal power and
continued the policy of expansion
conquering the Mongols to expand into
central Asia and western Siberia.
 He was known for his ruthlessness and
reduced the power of the boyars by
eliminating opponents, becoming
increasingly unstable.
 He recruited peasants, called cossacks, to
migrate to the newly seized lands in the
south.

Czar Ivan IV the Terrible

 End of Ivan IV and Beginning of the Romanovs
 Ivan the Terrible organized the oprichniki, or agents of terror, to
enforce his will.
 After the death of his wife, in a fit of anger he killed his son.
 His death plunged Russia
into the “Time of Troubles”
that lasted from 1604 to
1613.
 Finally in 1613,
the zemsky sobor,
an assembly of nobles,
clergy, and townsmen
chose Michael Romanov
to be the new czar.
 Effects of the Mongol Conquest
In the early 1200s, Mongol armies, led by Ghengis Khan,
conquered Russia. The Mongols ruled Russia for 240 years.

 Kiev and other Russian towns were destroyed.

 Many Russians were killed.
 The Mongols tolerated the Russian Orthodox Church, which grew
more powerful.
 Russians adopted Mongol practice of subjugating women.
 Trade routes opened up between China and Eastern Europe.
 Absolute power of the Mongols served as a model for later Russian
rulers.
 Russia was cut off from Western Europe at an important time.
 Moscow Emerged as the Chief Russian Power

 During the Mongol period, the princes of Moscow steadily

increased their power.

 Moscow benefited from its location near important river trade

routes.

 Moscow was made the capital of the Russian Orthodox Church.

 Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible centralized power and
recovered Russian territories.
Section
2
The Romanovs
 The Romanov Dynasty would
rule from 1613 until the great
revolution in 1917.
 Michael Romanov reestablished
internal order, drove out foreign
invaders, and continued the
expansionist policies of his
predecessors.
 In a war against Poland he
gained part of Ukraine, including
Kiev.
 In the South he expanded the
boarders to meet up with the
Ottoman Empire. Michael Romanov, Tsar of all Russia
 Alexis Romanov
 Alexis Romanov, successor to
Michael, abolished the
assemblies of the boyars.
Alexis I, Tsar
 He returned the church to its
of Russia
Orthodox tradition by purging
Mongol influences and resumed
state control of the Church.
 Dissident religious conservatives,
called Old Believers, were exiled
to Siberia or southern Russia.

Tsar Alexei chooses his bride by Grigory

Sedov (the result of the Tsardom-wide
contest organized by Boris Morozov was
his relative Maria Miloslavskaya)
 Absolute Monarchy in Russia
Peter the Great was committed to a policy of
westernization in Russia. However, persuading
Russians to change their way of life proved
difficult. To impose his will, Peter became the
most autocratic of Europe’s absolute monarchs.
During his reign he:
 forced the boyars, or landowning nobles, to
serve the state.
 imported western technology and culture.
 insisted that the boyars shave their beards
and wear western-style clothing.
 used autocratic methods to push through
social and economic reforms.
 imposed policies which caused the spread
Peter I the Great of serfdom.
Emperor and Autocrat  brought all Russian institutions under his
of all the Russians
control.
 Expansion Under Peter
 Peter created the largest standing army in Europe and set out to extend Russian
borders to the west and south.

 Peter unsuccessfully fought the Ottomans in an attempt to gain a warm-water

port for Russia.

 Peter engaged in a long war with Sweden, and eventually won land along the
Baltic Sea. On land won from Sweden, Peter built a magnificent new capital city,
St. Petersburg.

 Peter signed a treaty with Qing China which recognized Russia’s right to lands
north of Manchuria.

 Peter hired a navigator to explore

what became known as the Bering
Strait between Siberia and Alaska.

Peter the First Looking

at the Baltic Sea.
Peter Built St. Petersburg in the style of Western Europe

The most famous (1782) statue of Peter I in Saint Petersburg,

informally known as the Bronze Horseman
 Catherine the Great
An efficient, energetic empress, who ruled
in the tradition of absolute monarchs,
Catherine:
 reorganized the provincial government,
codified laws, and began state-
sponsored education for boys and girls.
 embraced and encouraged Western
ideas and culture.
 gained a warm-water port on the Black
Sea.
 agreed to partition Poland and gained
the eastern portion.
 granted special privileges to the boyars.
 allowed the boyars to increase their
Catherine II the Great control of the peasants and repressed
peasant rebellions.
Expansion of Russia, 1689 – 1796