Russia

autocrat

ruler with absolute power; dictator

Tsar

emperor of Russia; autocratic leader

Serfs

Peasant class in Russia;

Tied to the land they worked on;

Similar to slavery

Boyars

Noble class in Russia

Cossacks

Peasant group in Eastern Russia

Tatars

Descendants of the Mongols;

2nd largest ethnic group (after Russians);

Dominate Kazan and other Volga cities;

Predominantly Muslim;

Becoming a political force in new Russia

Ivan the Terrible: key points

consolidated power; expands borders; terror as political tool; time of troubles

Ivan the Terrible: consolidated power

solidifies power of Tsar and eliminates rivals;

gave himself absolute power

Ivan the Terrible: expands borders

Russia's borders extended past Moscow

Ivan the Terrible: terror as political tool

uses torture and murder to gain power;

oppressed boyars and peasants;

created Oprichnik (bodyguards) to carry out mass executions and torture

Ivan the Terrible: time of troubles

dies without a strong heir which leads to chaos;

He kills his own son, and the other one (Fyodor) takes over;

Fake Dmitrys come in for the throne

Peter the Great: key points

modernization, westernization, expansion, absolutism

Peter the Great: modernization

modern technology and military (builds a Navy & emphasis on science);

modern culture (no beards)

Peter the Great: westernization

orients Russia towards western Europe

Peter the Great: expansion

expands borders of Russia;

desperately wants a warm water port for trade for Russia;

acquires St. Petersburg by the Great Northern War "Russia's window to the west"

Peter the Great: absolutism

expands power of Tsar;

Boyars

- creates nobility based on a merit system

- kills those that don't follow

Russian Orthodox Church

- gets rid of leader

- rules as a secular Tsar

Streltsy

- puts down rebellion

- tortures and kills over 1,000

Scorched Earth

Russia sets strategic parts of Moscow on fire to hunt French troops

Catherine the Great: key points

government reforms, westernization, expansion, enlightenment

Catherine the Great: government reform

tries to move away from using terror as a political tool;

increased control landowning boyars

Catherine the Great: westernization

western-style court

Catherine the Great: expansion

acquires Crimean peninsula

Catherine the Great: enlightenment

supported art, education, and public health;

made life worse for peasants

Alexander I

welcomed as a hero in Europe from war;

earns lots of respect and recognition for defeating Napoleon

Alexander II The Liberator

abolished serfdom on private land;

made serfs free citizens; could marry, move, own land;

made judicial reforms;

he was assassinated

Alexander III: key points

Counter-reformer, russification

Alexander III: counter-reformer

did not agree with most of the ideas from Alexander II so he

undid many of them

Alexander III: russification

Political idea was to have a nation that contained one nationality, language, and religion;

passed harsh laws against Jews

Nicholas II and WWI

last straw for Russia;

weak leadership;

lack of preparation;

food shortages;

worst for peasants

Rasputin

self-proclaimed healer;

Was commanding WWI troops at one point;

claimed that he could heal Alexei (son w/ hemophilia);

Nicholas II became friends with him;

assassinated by nobleman that didn't agree with his views

Nicholas II

the last Tsar

End of Tsarist Russia: March Revolution

mass protests and revolt against Tsar;

Nicholas II renounces his position and a provisional government was created

End of Tsarist Russia: October Revolution

communists overthrow the provisional government;

start of civil war; Nicholas II's family were executed

Nicholas II and Russo-Japanese War

Russia was defeated;

embarrassing for Nicholas II

Nicholas II and Hemophilia

his one son suffered from a hereditary blood disease;

only chance of an heir

Bloody Sunday

unarmed group came to present a petition against Nicholas II;

Imperial guard fired on citizens and killed many of them

Pogroms

violent riots aimed at expelling a particular ethnic group, usually Jews

Russian Orthodox Church

Dominant religion in Russia;

Tsar rules by Divine Right;

Use slavic language (not Latin)

Divine Right

belief that the right to rule is given directly by God

Bolsheviks

Russian communist party

Civil War: Red Army

workers and peasants;

won from support from the inside

Civil War: White Army

group of revolutionary workers that fought against Bolsheviks;

limited by unclear vision;

a bunch of people that didn't want communism

Karl Marx

German philosopher;

advocate for communism

Politburo

created in 1917;

beginning of dictatorship in Russia;

government body of communist party in Russia

Vladimir Lenin: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

peace treaty between Russia and central powers;

took Russia out of WW1

Vladimir Lenin: groups created

- Bolsheviks