History of Russia

1. History of Russia In ancient times people were living in and farming much of the land that is now Russia and the Eurasian republics Among the many groups who over the centuries cut through the mountain passes and crossed through the valleys and plains of the region were the Slavs, who came from NE Europe In the 800�s, fierce warrior traders from Scandinavia, called Varangians settled near the Volga river By the 900�s the Varangians had adopted the Slavs� language and many of their customs

2. Mongols In the early 1200�s warriors known as the Mongols invaded from central Asia and destroyed Kiev They conquered much of the Slave territories and made them part of their vast empire For nearly two centuries the Slavic princes kept peace with the Mongol rulers In the 1400�s, a grand prince of Muscovy named Ivan conquered other Slavic princes, set up a Russian state, and drove out the Mongols

3. The Rule of the Czars Ivan became Ivan III, later known as Ivan the Great, the first Czar, or supreme ruler of all Russia Moscow became the religious and political center of all Russia Europeans had made many achievements They moved forward and left Russia far behind, especially in scientific knowledge and technology Then in the late 1600�s, Czar Peter I came to power determined to modernize Russia and make it a European nation

4. Seeds of Discontent By the late 1800�s, the Russian people were tired of war and resentful of the iron rule of the czars and their secret police Peasants and serfs, laborers owned by nobles and bound to the land, lived in poverty and were treated like enslaved persons They favored socialism, a philosophy that called for ownership of all land and factories by peasants and workers

5. Unsuccessful Reform The few reforms the czars made�freeing the serfs and promoting education�were not enough To unify the people the govt. began a program of russification, that required everyone in the empire to speak Russian and to become Eastern Orthodox Christians The policy only made matters worse In March 1917, during the hardships of WWI, the czar abdicated, and the rule of the czars came to an end