The Rise of Russia

1. The Rise of Russia By: Lachlan Moore, Eva Holland, Austin Rieth, and Joe Daus

2. Russia’s first Westernization:Peter I • Peter I ruled from 1689 to 1725 • He built up tsarist control, and expanded Russia’s territory • He had an interest in changing Russia’s economy and culture like the west • Peter traveled incognito through western lands looking for allies against the Turks

3. Peter I cont. • Brought many western artisans to Russia • Peter was an aristocrat • Didn’t institute a parliament • Used Nobel titles for bureaucrats, and even elected no aristocrats • This freed Russia from the aristocrats • He created a military force specifically for putting down local militias

4. Catherine the Great • German born Russian tsarina in the 18th century, ruled after the assassination of her husband, gave appearance of enlightened rule, accepted western cultural influence, maintained nobility as service aristocracy by granting them new power over peasantry. • Her marriage was arranged to Peter III • She hated her son and husband • Her husband was mentally unstable and gave frequent threats of divorce

5. Catherine the Great cont. • She used the Pugachev Rebellion to extend government control over religion • She supported enlightenment by: • Imported French philosophers • Created new law codes • Reduced traditional brutal punishment • Encouraged education and the arts • Held campaigns against the Ottomans • Claimed territory in Alaska • Claimed part of Poland

6. Accomplishments of Catherine the Great • Made Russia an economic powerhouse • Constructed a strong central state • Created one of the largest empires in the world • Improvements in the arts

7. Russia and the Mongols • The emergence of Russia as an Eastern superpower depended upon gaining freedom from the Mongols • Ivan the 3rd (Russian emperor who gained power in 1462) freed Russia from Mongol rule and was then given the title Ivan the Great • After Russia was freed from Mongol rule, Ivan the Great took even more Mongol territory in the Ural mountians

8. Patterns of Expansion • Russian expansion matched that of Macedonia and Rome because of the steady gain of power • Ivan the 4th,also known as Ivan the Terrible, continued the Russian policy of land expansion • Cossacks (peasants recruited to migrate to seized lands) expanded and settled future Russian lands

9. Western Contact & Romanov Policy • The Time of Troubles was when there was no Russian heir to the throne in the 17th century • The Romanov family took over and lasted until the great Russian revolution of 1917 • The Romanovs tightened Russian serfdom and created new laws to bind peasants to their land

10. Serfdom: The Life of East Europe’s Masses • After the expulsion of the Tartars, increasing numbers of Russian peasants fell into debt and became serfs • The Russian government encouraged serfdom and in 1649 fixed hereditary status of serfs • Life for serfs deteriorated, they became more like slaves • By 1800 half of the Russian peasants were serfs

11. Estate Agriculture, Trade, and Dependence • Nobility used estate agriculture system, this stifled social mobility and urbanization, prevented possible merchant class • Began to rely on Western manufactured goods • Economic system supported Russia’s doubling population • Although agricultural methods were traditional

12. Social Unrest • More peasant rebellions against landlords taking land • Pugachev Rebellion in 1770s was led by Pugachev who was a cossackcheiftain • He claimed to be tsar, and promised end of serfdom and taxation; he was publically executed

13. Russia and Eastern Europe • The Balkan picked up Enlightenment ideas through trade with Greece • Czech, Slovak, and Hungary had Western influences • Russian territory pushed into Polish areas • Although Poland and Lithuania combined to be the second largest state in Europe, economic setbacks led to weakness • The eclipse of Poland highlighted Russian emergence on the European as well as Eurasian stage