Honors Global Tsars

History

- 800-900 CE Vikings moved south along the rivers

- Became known as the "Rus" --> mixture of Scandinavian and Slavic peoples

Where was Russian civilization centered?

Kiev (Kyiv)

Vladimir the Great (980-1015)

Introduced Christianity

Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054)

- Legal code with fixed punishments

- Divided kingdom among sons

Why did they decline after Yaroslav?

Lack of clear heir led to civil war

Time period (1242)

- The Golden Horde (Mongols) sacked Kiev

- Local princes acted as tax collectors

- Moscow princes became most powerful

Power of Moscow rose as power of __ declines (1242)

Khan

The Mongol Empire in 1259

The Tatars

- Descendants of the Mongols

- 2nd largest ethnic group (after Russians)

- Dominate Kazan and other Volga cities

- Predominantly Muslim

- Became a political force in new Russia

Tributary State

Muscovite princes paid tribute to the Mongol Empire until 1480

1480

The Mongols retreated leaving Muscovy to be an independent kingdom

Ivan III (1462-1502)

- First Tsar of Russia

- Proclaims Muscovy to be independent in 1480

- Moscow prince who led rebellion against Mongol rule

The Byzantine Empire (11th Century)

Buffer state between Islamic empires and Christian Europe

The Fall of Constantinople (1453)

- Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Empire

- Changes name to Istanbul

Who did Ivan III (1462-1502) marry into?

A Byzantine royal family

What does Russia begin to see themselves as?

The next defender of Christendom

Divine Right

The belief that the right to rule is given direvt

Russian Orthodox Church

- Dominant religion in Russia

- Tsar rules by Divine Right

- Slavic language (not Latin)

Ivan IV The Terrible (1533-1584)

KEY POINTS

- Consolidated power

- Expands borders

- Terror as political tool

- Time of Troubles

How does Ivan IV The Terrible (1533-1584) consolidate power?

- Solidifies the power of the Tsar and eliminates rivals

- Tsar at 3, suffers abuse and neglect at the hands of the Boyars

- At 16 he pushes them aside and takes power

What did Ivan do in 1564?

Abdicates throne

- Alleges corruption of clergy and boyars

- Boyars beg him to return

- He agrees, with conditions --> absolute power

Ivan IV The Terrible (1533-1584)

Terror as a Political Tool

- Uses torture and murder as a way to gain power

Ivan IV The Terrible (1533-1584)

Expansion of borders

- Expands Russia past the historic Moscow borders

- Conquered Mongol strongholds of Kazan and Astrakhan

Ivan IV The Terrible (1533-1584)

Time of troubles

Dies without strong heir --> leads to chaos

- Ivan kills his own son

- Other son (Fyodor) takes over

- Many pretenders "False Dmitrys"

- Invasions by Sweden and Poland

Boyars

Noble class in Russia

Ivan IV The Terrible (1533-1584) Expansion of Russia shown on map

Ivan IV The Terrible (1533-1584)

Oprichnina

Oprichnina - State policy that allowed mass executions, torture, and oppression of boyars and peasants

Oprichnik - Group of "bodyguards" to carry out orders

Ivan IV The Terrible (1533-1584)

Son - Fyodor

- Son that took over

- Weak, Boyars mostly rule

- No clear heir after him

Romanov Dynasty

- Dynasty elected in 1613 at end of Time of Troubles; ruled Russia until 1917

- One of the longest ruling dynasties in European history

Micheal Romanov

- Started the Romanov Dynasty

- Boyars elect him to end troubles

- 16 years old, boyars thought he would be easy to control

- Gives Boyars total control over serfs

Serfs

Peasant in Russia tied to the land they worked on. Similar to slavery

Peter the Great (1682-1725)

KEY POINTS

- Modernization

- Westernization

- Expansion

- Absolutism

Peter the Great (1682-1725)

Modernization

- Modernizes technology and military

- Peter moved Russia away from old Russian ways

- No beards

- Empahsis on modern science

- Baroque art

- Modernizes military

- Builds a Navy

- Prussian-inspired tactics

Peter the Great (1682-1725)

Westernization

- Orients Russia towards Western Europe

- Peter wants to make Russian culture more "western"

- Beard Tax

- Western clothes

Peter the Great (1682-1725)

Expansion

- Expands borders, captures a warm water port

- He desperately wants a warm water port

- Can't trade efficiently without one

Peter the Great (1682-1725)

Absolutism

- Expands power of Tsar, limits opposing factions

Peter the Great (1682-1725)

Background

- Peter's father dies when he is young

- Co-rules with half brother

- Sister really is in charge

- Overthrows sister, brother dies

- He takes over as sole ruler in 1696

- Puts down Streltsy rebellion in 1698

Streltsy

Russian infantry class

Peter the Great (1682-1725)

Touring Europe

- Learns shipbuilding

- Modern medicine

- Military tactics

Peter the Great (1682-1725)

Great Northern War

War with Sweden

Russian wins land that becomes St. Petersburg

What does Peter the Great (1682-1725) create?

Modern Navy

Peter the Great (1682-1725)'s new city

- Builds new city

- Moves capital

- Forced labor and forced residency

What is Peter the Great (1682-1725) reign defined by?

War

St. Petersburg

Russia's "Window to the West"

Peter the Great (1682-1725)

Absolutism - Boyars

- Creates service nobility based on merit system

- Kills and exiles dissenters

Peter the Great (1682-1725)

Absolutism - Russian Orthodox Church

Gets rid of Patriarch, rules as a secular Tsar

Patriarch

Leader of the Russian Orthodox Church

Similar to the Pope

Peter the Great (1682-1725)

Absolutism - Streltsy

- harshly puts down rebellion

- Tortures and kills over 1,000

- Disbands group

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

Key Points

- Government Reform

- Westernization

- Expansion

- Enlightenment

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

Government Reform

- Tries to move away from terror as a political tool

- Increased control of landowning boyars

- Good for boyars, bad for serfs

- Financially supported foreign philosopers

- Not so much Russian ones

- Some religious toleration

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

Westernization

- Creates western/Eurppean-style court

- Catherine is German wants to bring western sophistication to Russian court

- Patron of western philosophers and artists

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

Expansion

Significantly expands borders, including Crimean Peninsula

- Expanded west into Crimea, Black Sea, Poland, Belarus, and Lithunia

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

Enlightenment

- Supported art, education (especially for women), and public health

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

Background

- Born as a German princess

- Name was Sophie von Anhalt-Zerbst

- Married Peter the Great's grandson (Peter III)

- Converts to Russian Orthodox, takes new name

Peter III (CTG's wife)

- Horrible rule

- Obsessed with Prussia

- Hated Catherine (feeling was mutual)

Peter III and Catherine the Great's son

Paul I

Paternity is questioned

Peter III assassination - 1762

Coup led by Catherine's lover and supported by Catherine

Pugachev Rebllion - 1773-1775

Cossack rebellion, put down by Catherine

Pugachev

A peasant who claimed to be Peter III and led a peasant revolt against Catherine but it resulted in worse conditions for them than before

Cossack

Peasent group in Eastern Russia

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

Westernization - The Hermitage

Art gallery started by Catherine

Largest gallery in the world by area today

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

Expansion Map

Potemkin Villages

- To avoid upsetting CII Potemkin would create "false fronts"

- Idyllic peasant villages

- In reality --> poor, hungry & cold

- Becomes the pattern in Soviet Union

What is Catherine the Great (1762-1796) considered as

One of the Enlightened Monarchs

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

Death and Aftermath

- Never remarried

- Hated her only "legitimate" son

- Wanted to skip him in succession and name grandson (Alexander 1) heir

- Catherine died suddenly before that could happen

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)'s son Paul 1

Proceeds to undo most of Catherine's reforms until he is asassinated

Alexander I (1801 - 1825)

Russia V. Napoleon

- Napoleon had conquered much of Europe, moved East against Russia in 1812

- Scorched earth

- Russia sets strategic parts of Moscow on fire to hurt French troops

- Russian winter forces retreat

- Napoleon weakened and never recovers

Alexander I (1801 - 1825)

Russia Defeats Napoleon

- Alexander welcomed as hero in Europe

- Invited to Congress of Vienna in 1814 to decide future of Europe

- Earns respect and recognition from Europe

Nicholas I (1825-1855)

Background

- Becomes king after Alexander dies and older brother refuses

- Interegnum period led to "Decembrist revolt"

- Orhtodoxy, autocracy, nationalism

Interregnum

Period between two monarchs

Nicholas I (1825-1855)

Decembrist Revolt

- Soldiers loyal to Nicholas's older brother (Constantine) revolted to put him in power

- NI put down revolt quickly, harshly punished leaders and sent many to Siberia

Nicholas I (1825-1855)

Military

- Expanded Military

- Many wars

- Army large but weak

- Lost Crimean war

Nicholas I (1825-1855)

Rule

- Strict, harsh rule

- Used police spies

Nicholas I (1825-1855)

Anti-Westernization

- Banned books

- Strictly controlled education

Nicholas I (1825-1855)

Reforms

- Issued some actual reforms

- New legal code

- Economic reform

- Industrialization

- Considered ending serfdom

- Decided not to, didn't want to upset the boyars

Alexander II the Liberator (1855-1881)

Emancipation Reform

1861

- Abolished serfdom on private land

- Made serfs free citizens, could marry, move, own land, etc.

Alexander II the Liberator (1855-1881)

Judicial Reform

- New penal code

- Trial in open court

- Jury stsem

- Lifetime tenure for judges

- Considered elected assembly to advise Tsar

Zemstvo

Local self-government set up in Russia under Alexander II

What did Alexander II the Liberator (1855-1881) sell and to who?

Sold Alaska to the US

Alexander II the Liberator (1855-1881)

Assassination

- Survived 5 assassination attempts from 1866-1880

- Assassinated in 1881 by group called "The People's Will"

Alexander III (1881-1894)

Relationship with father

- Did not get along with his father

- Disagreed about many policy decisions

Alexander III (1881-1894)

Changes

- Undid AII's reforms

- Limited power of zemstvo

- Stopped creation of advisory board to Tsar

Who did Alexander III (1881-1894) kill?

- Hunted down members of "The People's Will" and killed them

- Hung Vladimir Lenin's brother

Alexander III (1881-1894)

Political Ideal (Russification)

- A nation containing only one nationality, language, & religion

Alexander III (1881-1894)

Russification

Imposed Russian language and schools on non-Russian ethnic minorities

Alexander III (1881-1894)

Progroms

- Assassination of AII led to a series of pogroms from 1881-1884

- AIII passed harsh laws against Jews in Russia (part of Russification)

- Caused many to flee, many to America

Pogroms

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

Alexander III (1881-1894)'s death

Died younger than expected

Nicholas II The Last Tsar (1894-1917)

Background

- Not well prepared for throne

- Strong believer in Divine Right

- Wrongly believed all Russians loved and adored him

Nicholas II The Last Tsar (1894-1917)

Russo-Japanese War

1904-1905

- Russia soundly defeated, embarassing for NII

Revolution of 1905

Four main causes

- Agrarian problem

- Nationality problem

- Labor problem

- Educated class problem

Revolution of 1905

Bloody Sunday

- Unarmed group came to present petition to NII

- Imperial guard fired on them and killed many

Revolution of 1905

Result

- Creation of Duma

- New Constitution

- October Manifesto

Duma

Russian parliament, initially created to advise Tsar and create laws (with Tsar veto)

Nicholas II The Last Tsar (1894-1917)

Family

Wife, Alexandra, hated by Russians

5 children, 1 boy who was only chance for an heir

Nicholas II The Last Tsar (1894-1917)'s son

Alexei

Had hemophilia which is a hereditary blood disease

Rasputin

Context

- Self proclaimed healer and mystic

- Befriended NII and Alexandra, claimed he could heal Alexei

Rasputin

Influence

- Increased influence

- At one point was commanding WWI troops

Rasputin

Death

- Assassinated by noblemen who opposed his influence