The Rise of Russia

1. The Rise of Russia Chapter 18 Focus Questions: What factors led to the emergence of the Russian Empire? Who led efforts to Westernize Russia?

2. Introduction • The Rise of Russia involved very limited commercial exchange (unlike Europe) • Mongol rule fostered a new level of independence in the 15th century and Russia pushed eastward conquering central and eventually Eastern Asia all the way to the Pacific • Russia experienced limited interaction with the West early on until the early 18th century • Russia was rivaled by regional states like Poland and the Baltics • Russia was still dominated by an air of Byzantine culture and influence (though the empire was long since gone)

3. Revival and Expansion • Moscow took the lead to liberate Russia from the Mongols in the late 15th century • Mongol occupation did not change Russian culture but it weakened it and changed Russian economy into strictly agrarian (no trade)…even weakened literacy • Ivan III (the Great) developed a military government/influence coupled with nationalism and Orthodox religious fervor to create a Russian “manifest destiny” • Ivan III dreamed to turn Russia into the third Rome and took the title Tsar (Caesar) • His son, Ivan IV (the Terrible) continued this policy…he killed off nobles (boyars) to consolidate his power

4. Revival and Expansion • The tsars focused on taking lands away from their former Mongol masters in Central Asia • Both Ivans recruited peasant pioneers (cossacks) to conquer and settle this territory in Central & Eastern Asia…most of this territory was vast open and fertile plains which would be used to expand Russia’s agricultural economy • Acquisition of territory gave the tsars the ability to gain noble loyalty by offering land grants, however, nobility continued the institute of serfdom to level that it was slavery • Expansion into the east created cultural interaction, though the Russians allowed these people to retain cultural identity under Russian rule (much like the Mongols did)

5. Early Western Contact and Romanov Policy • The Ivans began a limited contact with the West, establishing diplomatic relations in an effort to improve Russia’s economy • British merchants traded manufactured goods for furs and raw materials • Italian artists and architects were brought in • However, Ivan IV died without an heir and the Time of Troubles (20-30 year civil war) ensued where boyars attempted to gain control of Russia • Western nations like Sweden and Poland captured Russia’s Baltic territories • In 1613, Michael Romanov was chosen by the boyars as tsar and the Time of Troubles ended, with Romanov restoring internal order, expelling foreign invaders (fought war w/Poland) and interests • Romanov’s son Alexis abolished the boyar assemblies and instituted state control of the Orthodox Church…began the infamous pattern of exiling people to Siberia

6. “Conquerors: Peter the Great” Video Clip • In the years before 1682, why was Russia thought of as “a relic of the Dark Ages?” • What influence did the so-called “German suburb” have on Peter's aspirations for Russia? • What were the most important lessons Peter learned in Amsterdam? • Why did Peter feel he had to challenge the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church, and how did he do it? • What motivated Peter to build St. Petersburg?

7. Peter the Great • Son of Alexis • The Great “Westernizer” of Russia…known for traveling to other European kingdoms in secret to learn their ways • Was a brutal autocrat, crushed dissent mainly by murdering the dissenters…was not interested in the emerging parliamentary governments, rather preferred despotic direct rule • Fought wars with the Ottomans and the Swedes for territory • One major gain was Russia’s “window to the Baltic” where Peter built his new capital, St. Petersburg and moved Russian rule to that locale, thus establishing a new era of contact with the West

8. The Impact of Peter the Great • Despite despotic rule, Westernization did bring a wave of political, social and economic changes to Russia • Bureaucracy and military were modeled after the West…a Russian navy was built…with the boyar council gone, Peter set up advisors under his direct control…a system of governors was established…laws and taxes were created that put more pressure on the serfs (peasants)…Nobles had to shave their beards and dress like westerners (if they did not they were taxed)…Peter brought technical and scientific education to his elites • These changes, however, were met with some measure of resistance…and an eventual build up to revolution/rebellion among the peasantry as they saw no benefits from Westernization

9. “Conquerors: Peter the Great” Video Clip • Before 1682, Russia was a nation of 8 million peasants, isolated from the outside world. It had a history of resisting reform and being dominated completely by the czars. • An oasis of culture and technology just three miles outside of Moscow, the “German suburb” both fascinated and frustrated Peter. He enlisted Franz Timmermann to explain the workings of complex European navigation tools such as the sextant, which would make it possible for Peter to build ships and expand his horizons beyond Russia. He combed Europe to find ideas, inventions, and great minds he could bring back to Russia. • Peter apprenticed himself with a master shipbuilder to learn all the secrets of the shipbuilding trade, but he had to do it under an assumed identity, as apprenticing a Russian czar would have been too intimidating to a commoner. Peter also hired hundreds of Dutch shipbuilders and captains and transplanted them to Russia so he could build a fleet. • Peter challenged the power of the Russian Orthodox Church because he resented the Church's opposition to change and progress. He forced nobles to shave and cut their hair in the European style and enforced a European dress code, in direct opposition to long-held Orthodox practices. • Peter wanted to build St. Petersburg to celebrate his eventual victory over Charles XII of Sweden and to have a new capital that would be both a window on the West and a naval outlet on the Baltic Sea.

10. Catherine the Great • After several decades of weak rule, Catherine (a German princess) conspired to overthrow her “retarded” husband (Peter III) • She continued Peter the Great plans and style of rule, strictly autocratic, quelled all dissent and rebellion (Pugachev’s) • She used sexual relations to get her way in European affairs • She was a Westernizer and brought the European enlightenment (particularly French) to Russia, but still maintained strong central authority (Instruction of 1767) • Was an expansionist (conquered the Caucuses region, claimed Alaska, successfully partitioned Poland among 3 European kingdoms)

11. Themes in Russia: Serfdom • Russian society embraced serfdom and the exploitation of the peasantry, while the rest of Europe rapidly advanced socially • Russia’s peasantry was used to the good life before and during Mongol rule, however, the despotism of the nobility led to serfdom becoming hereditary (1649)…serfs were treated like slaves unlike those in a feudal system…the serfs produced food for the masses and for sale while nobles/landlords kept the profits and bought luxury goods for themselves…peasants remained poor and illiterate, living off the few spoils of their noble masters • The only thing the peasants had were ties amongst villages, small political and religious entities that dictated their daily lives • Russia thus remained largely a rural agrarian society, with few cities and most people were tied to the land on which they were born

12. Themes in Russia: Trade and Dependence • There were few artisans who produced goods…merchants that did exist traded furs and other light manufactured goods…though Peter the Great increased these areas of economic development, the nobility prevented the emergence of a strong mercantile class • Russia’s agricultural wealth and efforts, though backwards and limited, still managed to keep the nations economy afloat, even in times of famine and hunger

13. Themes in Russia: Social Unrest • Serfs did eventually start to rebel against the system…they didn’t stay ignorant and illiterate forever! • Western Europeans cried for an end to serfdom in Russia and attempted to educate the serfs of Russia on democratic and capitalist ideas…most rebellions and foreign intrusions were dealt with harshly • Emelian Pugachev’s led a rebellion in the 1770s promising end to serfdom, low taxes and abolition of the landed nobility…he was chopped into many pieces in Moscow

14. Russia and Eastern Europe • The Eastern European societies, once influenced by Byzantium and Russia, began to fall into the sphere of Western influence • Balkan states in Romania and Bulgaria fell to the Ottomans, Russia’s new enemy • Czech and Slovak along with parts of Poland were absorbed by the Prussians, yet parts of Eastern Poland did become part of Russia • Hungary and Bohemia were absorbed into the Hapsburg Austro-Hungarian Empire