Unit 9
Absolute Monarchs
Section 2 – Russia
Russia
• Separated from Europe
• Culture and Geographically
• Influenced by Mongols/Asian
• Landlocked - No warm water ports
Had not experienced
• The Renaissance
• The Reformation
• The Scientific Revolution
• Still stuck in the Middle
Ages
• Religion
•Eastern Orthodox not Roman Catholic
•Services in Greek or Russian
•Czar claims authority over church
•Divorce is can be allowed
• Different Alphabet – Cyrillic
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and
freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as
race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social
origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made
on the basis of the political, jurisdictional
or international status of the country or
territory to which a person belongs,
whether it be independent, trust, non-selfgoverning or under any other limitation of
sovereignty.
Ivan the Terrible
• Ivan IV
• came to power in 1533
• 3 years old
• Struggled for power over boyars
•Landowning nobility
•Tried to control him
• At 16, seized control and
declared himself Czar
• The ‘Good Period’
•1547 – 1560
•Good leader, code of laws,
added lands (50 miles a day)
Ivan the Terrible
• “Bad Period” – after 1560
• 1st Wife Anastasia died
•Accused boyars of poisoning,
turned against them
• Created his own secret police force
•To hunt traitors
•Dressed all in black
•Executed many boyars and
peasants
• Forced nobles to loyal to him or
lose land
Ivan the Terrible
• 1581 – Killed oldest son & heir
• Left only weaker son to rule
• He also dies
• After Ivan’s death, 1584,
• Period of unrest =‘Time of Troubles’
• Boyars fought for power
• Neighboring countries invaded
• For 30 years, over 50 claim throne
• 1613 Representatives from Russian National Assembly met
• Chose new Czar, Michael Romanov
• Ivan’s Grandnephew
• Romanov’s rule Russia for next 300 years, till 1917
Romanov’s
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Powerful wealthy family
Tried to build the power of the Czar
Suppressed religious protests
Absolute Rulers – restored order
• 1682
• Peter I, age 10, shared power
• With half brother and half sister
• 1689
• Peter became sole leader of Russia
Peter The Great
• Peter I = Peter the Great
• Russia’s greatest reformer
• Increased power of the czar, could
be ruthless
• Wants to make Russia great and
more like Europe
• Knew Russia needed a warm water
port.
•One port, Archangel, frozen
much of the year
Peter the Great
• Reorganized Russia
• Improved Army Training & Weaponry
• Peter increased his powers
• To be able to ‘force’ change
• Brought the church under his control
• Reduced power of the landowners
• Recruited able men from lower classes
• Gave them lands, got their loyalty
• Service Nobility – Rank tied to Service
Peter the Great
• 1697 – Embarks on ‘Grand Embassy’
• Long visit to Europe
• To learn about customs and industrial
techniques
• First time Russian leader had traveled to
west.
• Kept his identity a secret.
• Dressed as locals, worked and learned skills
• Visited Netherlands, England, Austria
• Cont’d to inspired Peter to make Russia
more like Europe
• Militarily and commercially
•Brought back scientists and Artisans
Peter the Great
• 1700-1721 War with Sweden for warm water port
• Won area on Baltic Sea
• Creates city of St. Petersburg
• Moves capital from Moscow
• Orders Nobles to move there
•Like Louis XIV
Peter the Great - Westernization
• Russia had a lot to learn
• Military
• Hired European officers
• Trained soldiers
• Military became a lifetime job.
• Peter had to impose heavy taxes to pay for
this.
• Commercially
• Hired 700 engineers, shipbuilders,
mathematicians to teach
• Government
• Modeled govt. after Louis XIV
Peter the Great
• Westernizing continued
• Introduced potatoes, became staple crop
• Russia’s first newspaper
• Raised Status of Women
• Ordered nobles to dress in Western European
clothes
• Ordered to cut off beards
• 1725 - Peter Dies
• Succeeded in making Russia an European power.
• Did not complete westernization
• Series of weak rulers
• starting with his 2nd wife Catherine I
till……..
Catherine the Great
• Married to Peter III, PTGs Grandson
• Ruled from 1762 -1796
• Supported ..
• The Arts, Sciences, Literature and
Theatre
• Most Russians poor – No changes
• Continued Peter’s plan of Westernization
• Most Important contribution
• Foreign Policy
Catherine the Great
• Continued Expansion
• Successful war against the Turks
•Control of northern shore of Black Sea
•Now two warm water ports
• Partitioning of Poland
• Poland weak – internal struggles
• 1772 – Russia, Austria and Prussia
• 1793 – Prussia and Russia
• 1795 – Russia, Prussia and Austria
•Split rest of Poland
•No longer on the Map – till 1919
End Russia