REEES 395 flashcards

Primary Chronicle

• A medieval East Slavic chronicle describing the history of the early Rus, including the origins of the Rus state, its rulers, and conversion to Christianity and Vladimir’s baptism from the perspective of a monk.

• Early 12th century

• Kyiv

• One of the most important written sources for early Rus history. It explains the origins of Rus and provides moral lessons about leadership, authority, religion, and good vs. bad rulers.

Varangians

• essentially vikings, traders, and settlers who traveled through Eastern Europe and become involved in the development of the Rus state

• 9-11th centuries

• Baltic-Dnieper river routes and Kyiv

• Important in the formation of the early Rus state. According to the primary Chronicle, Rurik and the Varangians were invited to rule, connecting the vikings to the origins of the Rurikid dynasty

Rurikid Dynasty

• ruling dynasty descended from Rurik, the Varangian ruler associated with the founding of the Rus ruling house

• 9th-17th centuries

• Kyivian Rus → Rus states → moscow

• The first Slavic state, went on the rule over its principalities for 700 years (1598). Started by Vladmimir the Great, and went on to have huge religious and cultural impact to Modern Russia

Vladimir the Great

• Grand Prince of Kyiv who converted to Christianity and made Eastern Orthodox Christianity the official religion of Rus

• Late 10th- early 11th century

• Kyiv

• his conversion fundamentally changed Rus politically and culturally. connected Rus to the Byzantine Christian world and helped establish Orthodox Christinity as a central part of Rus identity

“Baptism of Rus”

• the mass conversion of the people of Ru soto Christinity under Vladimir the Great, traditionally dated to 988

• late 10th century

• Kyiv and the Dnieper River

• Marked the Christianization of Rus and strengthened ties with the Byzantine Emrpire. Influenced Rus’s art, architecture, literacy, politics, and culture

Russkaia Pravda

• “Rus Justice”, unique only to Rus, their local law.

• 11th century

• Kyiv

• one of the earliest legal codes of Rus. Shows the development of organized law and social hierarchy. Empowered the growing class of administrators and also the growing social hierarchy.

Appanage period

• appanage → A gift of land, an official position, or money given to the younger ids of kings/princes to provide for their maintenance

• a period when Rus was divided into multiple principalities and ruled by different princes from the Ruririkid family.

• 12th-15th century

• represents the political fragmentation and eventual decline of Rus. The competition between the princes weakened centralized authority in Kyiv and made them vulnerable.

Novgorod Republic

• Land that was very far from Kyiv and was sovereign for 300 years (1136-1478). They had access to the Baltic Sea → trade routes, fur trade, lots of economic development.

• 12-15th centuries

• Novgorod

• Showed that other regions had power outside of Kyiv. They also had a more democracy centered government, could get rid of a prince from kyiv if they did not like him in public assemblies. However, their freedom was still more restricted than other principalities, they adhered more to the Russkaia Pravda.

Golden Ring

• 8 cities surrounding Moscow that were centers of religion and culture, became major seeds of power, and also have incredible architecture.

• 10th-14th centuries

• Northeastern Russia → Moscow

• Idea of other regions outshining the center —> other principalities outshining Kyiv. These cities became important centers of political and religious life and contributed to the development of later Russian Culture

Smerd

• Medieval Rus term for peasants. These can be free (pay taxes to the gov), or half free (still owe labor to people). Could own property, death was worth the same as a slave.

• 11th-14th centuries

• Rus

• Demonstrates the social stratification in Rus and how there was a large gap to go from Liuidi (townsfolk) down to smerdy (peasants).

The Golden Horde

• Area of land that the Mongols captured; included majority of Rus and parts of Central Asia

• 1225-1502 (-1408)

• Most of Rus

• Implemented a kind of ruling where they adjusted to local customs. Had locals do the administrative work in their towns and then pay tribute to the government. This included princes, and when they paid tribute, they received a jarliq (permission to rule token) in return.

The Mongol - Tatar Yoke

• A view that makes Mongol rule out to be a burden upon local Rus society

• 1220-1480

• Rus

• References Mongols keeping the Rus in line, restricting freedom, and emphasizes the Mongols’ non-christian ideals. However, Eurasianists state that these ruling systems heavily influenced Russia’s later ruling, and possibly even their autocracy.

Muscovy

• Territory in Rus that ended up becoming the epicenter of Rus

• 13th-18th century

• Moscow

• New regional power center that emerged from the Golden Horde. Became a Grand Duchy and was referred to as the “Throne of all Rus”. It had lots of power and had rapid expansion into other principalities.

Ivan Kalita

• Transformed Muscovy from a small area to a regional power center. Became the Grand Prince of Moscow after being appointed and gaining trust from the Mongols.

• 14th century

• Muscovy

• Was able to make Moscow this powercenter through protecting it from raids, collecting tribute and tax, buying nearby lands, and making it a religious center. He was also the first to wear the Cap of Monomakh.

The Battle of Kulikovo

• Major victory for Russian forces under Grand Prince Dmitry of Moscow over the Mongol-Tatar army of the Golden Horde led by Mongol Commander Mamai

• 14th century

• Kulikovo Field

• Massive victory or Muscovy over the Mongol Golden Horde. Established Muscovy as the political and military center for future resistance.

“Gathering of the Russian Lands”

• Process where the Grand Principality of Moscow united fragmented principalities of former Kievan Rus' under its control.

• 14th-16th century

• All around Moscow

• The phrase claims that this is “natural” and that these principalities should be rightfully returned to Muscovy because it was the “will of the people”. In reality, this process was not benign at all and was full of violence. However, this is also where we see the beginnings of the Russian Empire forming.

Conquest of Kazan

• Brutal military campaign led by Ivan the Terrible that captured the capital of the Kazan Khanate. The siege lasted 6 weeks and was done because of Kazan’s fur.

• 16th century

• Kazan Khanate

• Seen as the traditional origin point of the Russian Empire (beginning to rule non-Russians). This was not only a siege for fur, but also of religious conquest (tearing down mosques).

Yazak

• a kind of tax/payment paid by people with lesser rights and status/non-orthodox subjects. fur and cattle

• 16th-20th century

• Kazan

• Contributed to Russia’s expansion into the fur trade and in the East. Russia utilized yasak furs to establish itself as a dominant commercial force in Western Europe and Asia.

Yermak

• Cossak leader that led the Russian conquest of Siberia under Tsar Ivan the Terrible

• 16th century

• Kazan/Siberia

Pereiaslav Agreement

• Agreement in which Ukrainian Cossacks under Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky accepted the protection of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich

• 1654 (17th century)

• Pereiaslav, Ukraine (the Cossack Hetmanate)

• A rare case of a group choosing to join the Russian state and negotiating the terms, keeping its own hetman and self-government; the two sides read it differently, with Russia seeing permanent subordination and the Cossacks a negotiated alliance, and Cossack autonomy eroded over time

Tsar

• Title for the Russian ruler, adapted from the Byzantine emperor's title

• Late 1400s (Ivan III, informal); official in 1547 (Ivan IV)

• Muscovy

• Claimed an imperial, Orthodox legacy after Constantinople fell in 1453; signaled a ruler answerable only to God

Zemskii Sobor (Assembly of the Land)

• Irregular parliament-like assembly of boyars, clergy, townspeople, and merchants (no serfs)

• 1549 to the 1680s, most active in the early 1600s

• Moscow

• Elected Mikhail Romanov in 1613 and approved the Ulozhenie; faded as Romanov power grew

Oprichnina

• Ivan IV's personal domain, run by his private guards (oprichniki) with unlimited power to punish

• 1565–1572

• Muscovy, especially Novgorod (massacred in 1570)

• Terrorized and broke the boyar elite and concentrated power in the ruler, but deepened the crisis of the late 1500s

Time of Troubles

• Period of dynastic crisis, famine, impostors (False Dmitrys), and foreign invasions

• 1598–1613

• Muscovy

• Began when the Rurikid line ended (Fyodor died childless); ended with the election of Mikhail Romanov, which began the Romanov dynasty

Ulozhenie

• Comprehensive law code under Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich

• 1649

• Moscow

• Completed the enserfment of peasants by making serfdom hereditary and ending time limits on recovering fugitives; base of Russian law into the early 1800s

Streltsy

• Hereditary standing corps of musketeers created by Ivan IV

• Created 1550s; revolts in 1682 and 1698

• Moscow

• Became a political force in succession fights (backed Sofia); Peter crushed the 1698 revolt, executed many, and disbanded them, securing his power

The Great Northern War

• War between Russia (with Denmark-Norway and Poland-Saxony) and Sweden

• 1700–1721

• Baltic region (Narva 1700, Poltava 1709)

• Russia gained the Baltic coast by the Treaty of Nystad, became a European great power, and Peter founded St. Petersburg (1703)

Head tax

• Per-male ("soul") tax on peasants and townspeople; nobles exempt

• 1718–1724

• Russian Empire

• Funded Peter's army and navy; based on a census and tied peasants more firmly to their obligations

Rossiiskaia imperiia (Russian Empire)

• New name and title (imperator) adopted by Peter, replacing "tsar" and "Rus'"

• 1721

• St. Petersburg

• Declared after the Treaty of Nystad; presented Russia as a European power

Table of Ranks

• System of 14 parallel ranks in the military, civil service, and court

• 1722

• St. Petersburg

• Promotion based on service and merit; higher ranks conferred nobility; tied the elite to state service

Supreme Privy Council

• Small council of high nobles serving as advisers and de facto regents

• 1726–1730

• St. Petersburg

• Created by Catherine I; held real power under weak rulers after Peter; shows the nobility's push to share rule

"The Conditions"

• Limits on autocracy offered to Anna Ivanovna by the Supreme Privy Council as terms for taking the throne

• 1730

• Moscow

• Anna tore them up with wider noble support and abolished the Council; ended the main attempt to formally limit autocracy

Emancipation of the Nobility

• Manifesto freeing nobles from compulsory state service

• 1762 (Peter III)

• St. Petersburg

• Nobles kept their privileges (including power over serfs) without obligations, which undermined the justification for serfdom; confirmed by Catherine's 1785 Charter

Nakaz ("The Instruction")

• Catherine II's guide for a commission to revise Russia's laws, drawing on Enlightenment thinkers

• 1767

• Moscow (Legislative Commission)

• Built her image as an enlightened ruler, but kept autocracy and serfdom; limited practical effect

The Pugachev Rebellion

• Massive uprising led by Cossack Emelian Pugachev, who claimed to be Peter III

• 1773–1775

• Urals, Volga, and Orenburg region

• Drew Cossacks, serfs, and non-Russian peoples; crushed and Pugachev executed; Catherine strengthened provincial government and relied more on the nobility

Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca

• Peace treaty ending the Russo-Ottoman war of 1768–1774

• 1774

• Ottoman-Russian border (Black Sea region)

• Gave Russia Black Sea access, made Crimea independent of the Ottomans, and gave Russia a claim to protect Orthodox Christians; led to Crimea's annexation in 1783

The Partitions of Poland

• Division of Poland-Lithuania among Russia, Prussia, and Austria

• 1772, 1793, 1795

• Poland-Lithuania

• Poland ceased to exist as an independent state; Russia gained many ethnically and religiously diverse subjects

The Pale of Settlement

• Western zone where Jews were required to live

• 1791

• Western borderlands, Baltic to Black Sea

• Kept Jews out of central Russia, with extra taxes and limited rights; also supported colonization and the growth of Odessa

"Toleration of All Faiths" Edict

• Catherine II's decree giving limited recognition to non-Orthodox religions

• 1773

• Russian Empire

• Allowed Muslims to build mosques; excluded Jews; gave the state a way to regulate religion

Orenburg Muslim Spiritual Assembly

• State institution overseeing Muslim clergy and teaching

• 1788

• Orenburg/Ufa, on the Kazakh border

• Brought Islam under imperial bureaucratic control under the label of toleration

Pauline Laws

• Succession law establishing male primogeniture

• 1797 (Paul I)

• St. Petersburg

• Excluded women from the throne, ending the era of empresses and succession crises

Mikhail Speransky

• Alexander I's chief reform adviser

• 1772–1839; most influential 1807–1812

• St. Petersburg

• Proposed constitutional reforms; created the State Council (1810) and reorganized ministries; most plans never implemented; dismissed in 1812

The Diet of Porvoo

• Finnish assembly convened by Alexander I after Russia took Finland from Sweden

• 1809

• Finland

• Confirmed Finland's laws, institutions, and religion with Alexander as Grand Duke; shows flexible incorporation of a region

The Napoleonic Invasion

• Napoleon's invasion of Russia after it left the Continental System

• 1812 (June invasion, winter retreat)

• Western border to Moscow and back

• Russia used retreat and scorched earth; the French army was devastated; boosted Russian patriotism and Alexander's standing, and made his rule more conservative

The Battle of Borodino

• Costly, indecisive battle, a French victory

• September 1812

• About 70 miles west of Moscow

• Russians retreated and Napoleon entered Moscow, which burned; became a symbol of Russian resolve

Russian American Company

• Chartered fur-trading company expanding Russian presence across the Pacific

• Chartered 1799; Alaska sold in 1867

• Alaska

• Profit-driven and small-scale; contact was often deadly for Indigenous peoples (Luetke judged them "uncivilized"); became unprofitable and was abandoned

Georgian Military Highway

• First paved road across the Caucasus Mountains

• Begun 1799

• Vladikavkaz to Tbilisi

• Let Russia move troops and supplies after annexing Georgia (1801); central to the Caucasian War and wars with Persia and the Ottomans

Dukhobors & Molokans

• Dissenting "spiritual Christian" groups that rejected Orthodox priests, icons, and rituals

• Resettled 1830s–1840s (Nicholas I)

• Transcaucasia

• Used as settlers on the frontier, supposedly agents of Russian civilization

Shamil

• Imam and leader of the Murid holy war against Russia

• 1834–1859

• Dagestan and Chechnya

• Famed leader of Caucasian resistance; survived the siege of Akhulgo (1839); captured in 1859, ending the main resistance

Tsitsekun (assuming this means Pavel Tsitsianov)

• Russian general and governor-general of Georgia, known for harsh methods

• 1802–1806

• Georgia and Transcaucasia

• Pushed Russian expansion in the Russo-Persian war (1804–1813); killed at Baku in 1806