Chapter 18
The Rise of Russia
Themes of the Chapter
Territorial state
huge land empire
 Power of the tsars & the Romanov
Dynasty (1610-1917)
 Dominant aristocracy
 Reliance on coercive labor systems
 Lack of a merchant class
 Dependence on the West

Russia Under the Mongols
Late Postclassical period: Mongol conquest &
Moscow became center for resistance
 Result of Mongol Rule =


limited cultural development, economic stagnation,
dependence on peasant labor
Land of the Tsars

Video:
 Rise
of Ivan III
 Ivan IV expansion & attack on boyars
 Time of Troubles
 Peter the Great
Comparison

Use Adan Olearius’s account to compare
Western Europe & Russia.
 Politically
 Economically
 Socially
Need for Revival & the Ivans

Mongol Rule

Ivan III (the Great) 1462-1505
 Reclaims
early Roman, Byzantine Christian
traditions
 Emphasis on military rule
 Begins an expansionist policy
Patterns of Expansion

Focused on Central Asia
 lack
of natural barriers made expansion easier
Volga River (Astrakhan) became a bustling
center for Eurasian trade
 New trade contacts w/Asia

 Ottomans,

Iran, India
Tsars use new lands to reward faithful
nobles/bureaucrats
Policies toward Native Peoples

Siberia is home to 26 ethnic groups

Russian gov’t used cossacks & westerners
(fur trade) to inhabit the area
 By

1763, 420,000 Russians live in Siberia
Russians wanted tribute in the form of
furs & resorted to violence to get it
Peter the Great
Russia’s 1st Westernization

17th c. = unusually agrarian
compared to Europe & Asia

So… Peter the Great sought
adopting some Western reforms
to improve Russian society
Peter the Great (1689-1725)

Autocrat:
 Militaristic,
suppressed power of nobility, used
secret police, used capital punishment

Westernization:
 Political
= streamlines bureaucracy
 Economic= built up mining/ iron industry
 Social = encourages western styles among
the upper classes; education for nobility
Peter the Great
Read the document:

What was his impact?

How was he viewed?
What a person says is impacted by who
they are and where they are

This is known as “point of view” in WHAP
 explaining
how the circumstances and
background of the author affect a document

Some things that impact pov
 Political
ideology, Class, Race, Religion,
Nationality, Profession, Gender

Not simply bias – everyone is biased
Analyze the point of view of Sherbatov’s or
Lomonosov’s document.

“_________(author) emphasizes
_________(content) because ________(circumstance).”

“_________(author) attempts to persuade
_________(content) because ________(circumstance).”

“_________(author) attempts to justify
_________(content) because ________(circumstance).”
Results of Peter’s Reforms

Changes were selective


Military & trained bureaucrats, but not representative
parliaments or independent merchants
Upper class, but not lower class
Serf labor expanded
 Encouraged the autocratic state; didn’t challenge it
 Widespread resentment as people clung to Russian
traditions

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)
Consolidating Reforms
 Selective Westernizer

Enlightened Despot ?


Enlightenment ideals
Expands tsarist power
Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

Political =


Economic =


further entrenches Russia into serfdom
Territorial=


increases power of nobility over the serfs, censors
revolutionary ideas, crushes rebellions
campaigns against the Ottoman Empire, claims
Siberia and Alaska, claims part of Poland
Cultural =

patronized Western art, architecture and clothing
styles, but avoided other influences (French
Revolution)
Selective Westernization: palace architecture
Peter I
v. Catherine II
Who had the greater impact on :
 Russian politics
 The Russian economy & serfdom
 Russian culture
Peter
Ambitious, Adventurous, Autocratic
Related to Caesars, Muscovites, & the Romanovs
Lover of sailing, shaving, & ballet
Who feels enlightened, armed, & self-conscious
Who needs secret police, metallurgy, & serf labor
Who fears stagnation, revolt, & boyar influence
Who gives codified laws, trained bureaucrats, & new taxes
Who would like to see scientific institutes, selective
westernization & a warm water port
Resident of 18th century, St. Petersburg, Russia
the Great
Russia Today: Czar Putin?

CNN’s Amanpour
Reports: Czar Putin
Trade & Economic Dependence

95% rural population; few artisans or
merchants
 Little
incentive for agricultural or industrial
innovation

Vast size allows economy to support
nobility & growing population
Serfdom

1200s: peasants relatively free before Mongols
1500s: serfdom used to appease nobles &
extend state control
 1649: serfdom became hereditary


1700s: laws tie serfs to land, give nobles great
rights

Serfs were almost slaves
Peasants in
Russian
village
Reflection
Write a paragraph in response to one of the
following:
1. Compare and contrast Russia (3rd Rome)
to the Roman Empire
2. Compare and contrast Peter the Great &
Catherine the Great.
3. Explain the connections between early
modern Russia and 20th century
Communist/post-Communist Russia.