The early history of Russia is one filled with moving people and old kingdoms. Kievan Rus’ struggled into the 13th century but was decisively destroyed by the arrival of a new invader – the Mongols. In 1237, Batu Khan, the grandson of Jenghiz Khan, launched an invasion into Kievan Rus’ from his capital on the lower Volga. Over the next three years, the Mongols (Tatars) destroyed all the major cities of Kievan Rus’ with the exceptions of Novgorod and Pskvo. The invasions of Russia were attempted during this period from the west as well, first by the Swedes (1240) and then by the Livonian Brothers of the Sord (1242). In the best news of the era for Russia, both were decisively defeated by the great warrior, Alexander Nevsky, a prince of Novgorod …show more content…
When his father, Tsar Alexis, died in 1676. Peter’s brother Feodor became the new Tsar, but ended up having an early death in 1682. The family of Peter’s mother succeeded in having him chosen over his not so smart brother Ivan to be Tsar, but no sooner was he established than the Ivan’s family struck back. With the support of the Kremlin Guard, they ended up in a joint Tsar-ship, leaving Peter and Ivan placed under the power of Ivan’s older sister Sophia. In 1696, Ivan died, leaving Peter in full possession of the throne. His response to this was to take part on a Grand Tour of Europe, spending two years there. Peters’ return to Russia hit the country hard. Once back Peter made many drastic changes. In 1703, he transferred the capital of Moscow to a new city. Over the next nine years, St. Petersburg was created. Peter died in 1725 and remains one of the most controversial figures in Russian history. After Peters’ death, Russia went through a large amount of rulers, none who had much of an opportunity to leave a lasting impression. Many of Peters’ reforms failed to take root in Russia, and it was not until the reign of Catherine the Great that his desire to make Russia into a great European power was
For many revolutions people may argue different reasons why that particular revolution was caused, but there often one that is the primary cause. The Russian Revolution began February 1917, many people in Russia lost faith in their government, especially since they had not done so well to begin with when they participated in World War I. Which resulted in a lot of expenses. Others may argue that since Tsar was an unproductive leader and because of the decisions he made when he was in power that influenced the Russian Revolution. Although Tsar’s weak leadership may have influenced the Russian Revolution, World War I was the main cause of the Russian Revolution because it destroyed the economy, which led to riots and many people
Prior to Peter taking reign, the Russian society was in a rough condition. The economy was failing and the country's standing army was extremely weak. Russia was also in the midst of a war against the Ottoman Turkish Empire, with a goal to secure a Russian port on the northern coast of the Black Sea. Peter the Great ruled over Russia from 1682-1752.He tried to form warm water ports so they had the ability to trade in the in the winter. He also tried to improve Russia and modernize the culture. As an effect of these things, Peter the Great had an overall positive impact on Russia during his rule.
During the time periods between 1682 and 1725 Peter the Great took a number of steps to modernize russia and transform it into a major European power. These steps were promoting diversity, encouraging education, increasing foreign trade, enforcing a new style of dress, prompting progress in technology and changing old Russian appearances. Realizing that Russia couldn't confront the Ottoman Empire alone, Peter ventured out to Europe to look for the guide of the European rulers. Despite the fact that the mission failed it presented Peter to Western European artists, scientists, craftsmen, and noble families. This persuaded him that Russia should take after Western Europe in certain ways
Peter the Great who was born to, Tsar Alexis and his second wife Natalya Naryshkina, on June 9, 1672, was the Tsar of Russia. Peter, along with his half-brother Ivan, were to rule Russia from 1682 to their death. Due to Ivans feeblemind and Peter’s young age, Ivan’s older sister Sophia, took charge of the throne as regent.
They are attributed with “westernizing” Russia and reformed the country using models used in Europe. Both Peter and Catherine the Great focused on St. Petersburg as Peter established it as the capital; whereas Catherine focused on expanding the beauty of the city. While these are incidents of where their rule benefitted Russia, there are also examples of where their rule hurt Russia. For instance, Peter worked at expanding the autocracy while enforcing the servitude on the peasants. The differences between these rulers was that Peter strove to add governmental features to Russia, such as growing the Russian army and adopting certain habits he had observed in Western countries. Catherine, however, focused on adding to the prestige of Russia by adding new buildings and incorporating art into St. Petersburg which added not structural changes, but was effective in making the city more beautiful.
The Russian Revolution is a widely studied and seemingly well understood time in modern, European history, boasting a vast wealth of texts and information from those of the likes of Robert Service, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Allan Bullock, Robert Conquest and Jonathan Reed, to name a few, but none is so widely sourced and so heavily relied upon than that of the account of Leon Trotsky, his book “History of the Russian Revolution” a somewhat firsthand account of the events leading up to the formation of the Soviet Union. There is no doubt that Trotsky’s book, among others, has played a pivotal role in shaping our understanding of the events of The Revolution; but have his personal predilections altered how he portrayed such paramount
Many view the United States as an omnipotent force that extends their influence in attempt to aid both itself and others. While this assumption of power and might may give the impression of invincibility, the large size of the United States presents a fairly easy target of espionage. Many historical instances have spoken truth to this statement, such as, the Soviet penetrations of the American government during and shortly following World War II. This act of espionage against the United States was so severe and deep that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) succeeded in accessing confidential information and placing agents in some of the highest echelons of the federal government. When this staggering sense of vulnerability is
He had been, but he was one of many who were greatly angered by the
During the 19th century, the newly organized German nation and the well-established Russian Empire shared some similarities while still being very different. Their political, religious, and scientific worldviews underscore these differences and eventually set the stage for World War I. The reason for World War I happening was Germany’s determination to become a superpower or “world power”. They planned to achieve this by crippling both France and Russia in what they had thought was going to be a short and decisive victory, similar to that of the Franco-Prussian War. After the assassination of the Archduke, Germany used this crisis in relations with Austria-Hungary and Serbia to establish a German hegemony that would spread from Belgium all
After the collapse of the Soviet Union there were many different problems facing the new Russian government. Through the use of reforms many of these issues were cured but not overnight. Boris Yeltsin and his Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar implemented several policies while the economy was not moving well. Then Vladimir Putin would carry on reforms while making new ones or changing existing policies. How would these amendments affect the economy after the collapse of the Communist regime?
The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not reflect
Intro: Russian history is a long complicated story that tells the tale of one of the strongest nation in the world. Learning this history allows one to understand the culture of the nation and what led the nation to the position that it is currently in.
Russia, officially known as the Russian Federation, has a total area of 17,098,242 sq km (“The World Factbook”) and is the largest country in the world. It is about 1.8 times the size of the United States (“The World Factbook”). Most of Russia is either large stretches of plains or areas with a lot of forests and mountains, with the exception of the Siberian Tundra. It is difficult to perfectly describe Russia’s climate because of it’s large size. However, in general, the country only has two seasons, summer and winter. In the summer they have very warm, continental weather and they have very harsh winters with a lot of snow. Russia is plentiful in natural resources. They are particularly
The problem in the relationship between the Russian government and its dealings with the Oligarchs deals with business ethics. Where should the line be drawn between doing business ethically and doing business unethically. The problem here is that the oligarchs are looking out for their best interest, but that interest may not be best for Russia or the public.
During the Mongol invasion many Russians were killed or sold to slavery, the Mongols crippled many Russian cities and the power of the Russian prince’s authority changed to be more like the authority of the Khan. People became more and more accustomed to taking ordered and becoming soldiers. The constant Mongol attacks forced people to move into the northern forests