What Motivated Vladimir I to convert to Christianity and how did the new religion change the culture of Eastern Slavs?
Paganism was a mental mindset of the Eastern Slavs living in a world where a majority of the European countries surrounding them had already converted to a monastic religion. Vladimir I, a great prince of Kiev, reigned from 980 till 1015 and succeeded in the mass conversion of the Eastern Slavs.1 Throughout his reign Vladimir’s agenda had always been to strengthen his empire, in order to be considered valuable among the dominate nations of the European family.2 The traditional view of Vladimir’s motivation for the conversion is that only after considering all monastic faiths, did he finally reach the decision of Eastern
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onfirming that Vladimir sent envoys to make personal enquires about their religious practices.15 Converting to a monastic religion was Kievan Rus’ chance to be adopted into the powerful European family, gain new allies and better trading opportunities.16 With the history of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Russia, it was probably the most logical choice for Vladimir.17 Throughout Vladimir’s reign he campaigned against many surrounding tribes.18 His campaigns were carefully structured and executed accordingly.19 This is illustrated with the Varagians in Kiev itself, and then towards Slavonic and Lithuanian tribes in the north, who he overcame without any difficulty.20 These political elements of Vladimir correlate with his capture of Chersoneus, belonging to Byzantium, the most powerful and wealthy empire at the time.21 With this bold move he was able to negotiate with Emperor Basil II, exchanging Basil’s sister Anna for his cooperation and assistance.22 This illustrates that Vladimir realized if he constructed a scheme, rather than simply just being baptized in Constantinople, he could convert and gain a Byzantium Bride for Kievan Rus at the same time.23 It also shows how Vladimir understood than Byzantium would never allow such a highly prized object to be married to a pagan, and converting after receiving his bride would not be sufficient.24 Vladimir first gave proof of his good faith by being baptized, however Basil became reluctant to fill his side of the bargain, and
What is impressive about Sunderland’s writing is the fact that this book is essentially showing us a broad view of the Russian Empire and only using one man to do this. I also noticed that if you were a noble at the time, there really wasn’t much of a limit.
Many historians argue The Emancipation of the Serfs in 1861, to be a key turning point within Russian history. It drastically altered Russia’s economic, political and social stipulation. One could propose the argument that this event lead to the fall of communism in 1990, further more suggesting the extent to which this event affected Russia. Hence this is ‘perhaps the most defining moment in Russian history, with its impact being seen many years after the event itself’. Although historians identify short term effects of this event, the significance to which this event
(Document C) The religious dissagreements of the Roman and Christian church lead to the determining of the leader of the Orthodox
This demonstrates that since the stress of waging war was tremendous, it should be no surprise that the first war could be a primary cause of the Russian Revolution. Moreover, the major powers of Europe hurt Russia in World War I; yet, by 1917, all the combatants horrifically suffered from the strains of war economically, proving this to be a long-term cause. This was, to a great extent, considerable because the military defeats and social strains of World War I had created a crisis in Imperial Russia. Before, Russia had some military accomplishments and they were on their way to being successful. Nevertheless, their triumphs were not long-standing; hence, Russia was not able to be victorious due to the fact that Russia decreased in economy because of the limitations in Russia. Similarly, restraints included the shortage of food and the huge problems with getting the obligatory materials for the army during World War I, which shows that this was momentous. Along with Russia being defeated and having a scarcity of supplies, Russia also showed economic oppression due to the pressure in jobs workers faced.
The last Tsar Nicholas II ascended the throne in 1894 and was faced with a country that was trying to free itself from its autocratic regime. The serfs had recently been emancipated, the industry and economy was just starting to develop and opposition to the Tsar was building up. Russia was still behind Europe in terms of the political regime, the social conditions and the economy. Nicholas II who was a weak and very influenced by his mother and his wife had to deal with Russia’s troubles during his reign. In order to ascertain how successfully Russia dealt with its problems by 1914, this essay will examine the October Manifesto and the split of the opposition, how the Tsar became more reactionary after the 1905 revolution, Stolypin’s
The ministry of Jesus brought about a new religion: Christianity. Jesus’ teachings were apocalyptic in that he preached the nearness of the Kingdom of God. He also taught, “To love your neighbor as yourself” Mark 12:31[NIV]. “Since Jesus was a Jew and preached to Jews, Christianity was closely linked to Judaism.” “Early Christian missionaries, being Jews, interacted at first with the Jewish communities in the empire’s cities.” “This was only natural and gave them common ground with other groups in the provinces in which Jews were a minority.” “Among the Jews, however, resistance to Jesus being the Messiah was often encountered, and early on, the Christians or the church gained converts from non-Jews.” “Christianity in its early stages used the Jewish synagogues, allowing it access
What was the impact that Constantine had on Christianity after he conquered the Roman Empire?
“Beginning with the reign of Constantine I and the establishment of the Byzantine Empire, the Eastern Christian church became a tool of the Emperors. Byzantine Emperors and Empresses played a dominant role in the Eastern church and used the Christian religion to strengthen the Empire internally, to spread Byzantine cultural and political influence, and at times, to fortify their own power”
Russia emerged as a significant power during the 1500s through war. It fought its neighbors and expanded its territory aimlessly. Ivan the Terrible’s expansion brought him into contact with both Western Europe and the Ottoman Empire. Aiming to gain a port and outlet to the Baltic,
While some may like it and others may not, change is inevitable. This falls very true for countries such as Russia, China, Japan, and Ottoman Turkey in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Of course a region will be affected by even the slightest bit of change as they develop, but these regions were all majorly affected by Western influence at this time. From technologies to land ownership, regions would be changed forever, no matter how much they may have tried to resist. Despite massive efforts by some, Russia, China, Japan, and Ottoman Turkey were all greatly influenced by the West, in many aspects.
One resource used for this investigation was Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie, which describes the reign of Nicholas II. This source was published in 1967 in the United States, thus the book is a secondary source. Massie is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian whose work focuses on the Russian Romanovs. Massie’s alma mater includes Yale and Oxford University. The source is highly valuable in its extremely detailed and comprehensive research of nearly 600 pages, providing the thoughts of those in positions of power and interesting, insightful perspectives to the situation at the time. An analysis on connecting causes and effects are thorough and
Vladimir accepted Christianity in 988 CE for two reasons, the first being that he wanted Russia to have one religion, the second being that he wanted to marry Anna, sister of Byzantine Emperors Basil II and Constantine. Vladimir had a few options for the religion of Russia, being Islam, Judaism, the Catholic Christianity of Western Europe, and the Orthodox Christianity of Eastern Rome. Vladimir’s ambassadors described the great Cathedral of Hagia Sophia as though they did not know if it were in heaven or on earth, and said that God dwells there among men and that their service surpasses the worship of any other place. Vladimir was impressed by Anna, who the Emperors Basil II and Constantine offered to Vladimir as a bride, on the condition
Author Daniel Beer is a senior lecturer in the Department of History at the Royal Holloway, University of London. In addition to The House of the Dead, Beer is author of another book, Renovating Russia: the Human Sciences and the Fate of Liberal Modernity and has contributed on several articles about nineteenth century Imperial Russia. Beer exhibits vast knowledge, extensive research, and ongoing devotion to this topic. With the many articles and books he has written, international educational trips to archives and academies, and ranking as senior lecturer, his expertise and care for nineteenth century Russia is clearly demonstrated.
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
Research for bibliography about the influence of the Tsar during the Bolshevik Revolutions. Instruments used: History Reference books. Three main books were particularly helpful: Three "Whys" of the Russian Revolution, The Russian Revolution, and Rethinking the Russian Revolution. Writing of an annotated bibliography of the topic.