Ch. 8 Czarist Russia
MIDDLE WORLD HISTORY STUDY GUIDE
Chapter 8 : Czarist Russia (A.D. 1253 - A.D. 1900)
The Rise of Russia
1. Rus-
-people of Slavic decent who lived in the plain central Asia
-name from which Russia eventually came
-religious conflict with the west (particularly Poland) caused for a distrust of the west which remains today
2. Rurik-
-most influential leader of the Rus
-controlled important cities of Novgorod and Kiev which were on the trade routes to Byzantium
-other cities paid tribute to the Rus
3. Boyars-
-wealthy land owning Rus
-advisers to the Rus leader
4. Eastern Orthodox Church
-religious order which expanded into Russia after the Mongol invasions
-greatly influenced Russian government and society
-made Russia different that Western Europe which was Roman Catholic
5. Olga-
-princess of Kiev, granddaughter of Rurik
-married Igor, Prince of Kiev maintaining control after his murder in AD 945
-impressed with Christianity on trip to Constantinople and converted
-found very few converts among the Rus
-became the first saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church after her death, July 11, 969 AD
6. Vladimir I-
-even though grandson of Olga, refused to follow Christianity
-made pact with Byzantine Emperor Basil II; Russian aid for Anna, Basil’s sister
-converted all of Kiev to Christianity 987
7. Yaroslav-
-Yaroslav the Wise
-leader during the Golden Age of Kiev, built many beautiful cathedrals
-brought many scholars to the city and created a code of law called the Pravda Russkia (Russian Justice)
8. Cyril-
-sent to Russia in response to the growing power of the Roman Catholic Church
-converted many Slavs to Christianity
-developed a system writing, the Cyrillic alphabet, so the Slavs could read the bible
-system of writing still used by Russians today
9. The Golden Horde-
-eastern region of the Mongol empire (Tartar is Slavic word for Mongol)
-led by Batu Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan, brother of Kublia Khan)
-demanded a high tribute from the Slavs in order to rule and live safely
-the ruthless rule of the Mongols greatly influenced the eventual rulers of Russia
-although cruel rules, Mongols forced unification of Slavic territory, law, and culture
10. Ivan III-
-Ivan the Great, Grand Prince of Moscow
-refused to pay Mongol tribute ending their rule of Russia
-made Moscow ruling city of Russia by bringing Byzantine scholars, artists, and architects creating a wonderful city
-considered Russia's first national leader
-helped Russian Orthodox Church fight critics giving him religious power too
11. Ivan IV-
-Ivan the Terrible, grandson of Ivan the Great
-become leader at age three, boyars seized control until he turned seventeen
-did not trust boyars who mistreated him
-he blamed death of wife Anastasia on the boyars increasing his distrust
-paranoid, had secret police terrorized entire population
-killed his eldest son (and heir to the throne) during one of his fits of rage
-left his retarded son Theodore in control during rebellious period in Russia
12. Czar-
-Cyrillic name meaning Caesar
-Ivan believed he was heir to both Roman and Byzantine Empires
-married the daughter of Byzantine leader
-believed he created the third Roman Empire
13. St. Basil’s Cathedral-
-Ivan had famous cathedral constructed to commemorate his victory over the Tartars
-had architects blinded so no other cathedral could be built as beautiful
-Russians became the center for Eastern Orthodox church after the fall of Constantinople to the Turks
14. Dmitri I-
-son of Ivan IV and his last wife, German princess Maria
-church refused to acknowledge this marriage (Ivan’s sixth, only three allowed) so young Dmitri could not claim throne
-died of a knife wound to the neck at age 8 (apparently by Boris Godunov a high ranking boyar)
-reappeared claiming the wrong child had been murdered and he had escaped
-became one of three Russian czars claiming to be Dmitri
Russia in the Age of Absolutism (pp. 459-464)
15. Michael Romanov
-elected czar by a National Assembly in 1613; he was the first of the dynasty to rule Russia
-first ruler of the important Romanov dynasty in Russia which will rule until communism in 1917
-became czar to end a period in Russian history as “The Time of Troubles”
16. Peter I
-also called Peter the Great
-went to great lengths to “westernize” Russia
-ended Russia’s long isolation caused by being landlocked
17. St. Petersburg
-entire city built by Peter I on a swamp in northern Russia
-became the new capital of Russia
-beautiful city built in the style of western European cites
-became Peter’s “window to the west,” being built on the Baltic coast and in western Russia
18. Service Nobility
-developed by Peter the Great to control the noblemen
-gave individuals titles of nobility based on the their government performance
-titles of nobility included land and the workers on the land as a reward
-entrenched Russia in an almost feudal state
19. Catherine II
-also called Catherine the Great
-a German princess, wife of Peter III, Czar or Russia
-became Czarina of Russia after plotting her husband’s murder
-wanted to continue Peter the Greta's work of westernizing the country
-added much land to the country and made it an important world power
Reform and Revolution in Russia
20. Nicholas I-
-expanded Russian borders to reach their largest
-included Poland and Finland allowing greater access to the sea
-many people in the new territories refused to accept Russian leadership and culture
21. “Russification”-
-implemented by Nicholas I
-developed in response to the revolutions which occurred in western Europe
-forced people in Russia to speak Russian, join the Russian Orthodox Church, and follow traditional Russian customs
22. Alexander II
-attempted to westernize Russia by making political changes
-attempted to reduce corruption, revise the court system, and increased freedom and education for all classes
-although many of the reforms sounded good, they did little to improve life for the lower classes
-Russia’s loss in the Crimean War sparked many reforms
23. Emancipation Edict
-issued by Alexander
-serfs were no longer tied directly to the landowner
-some in the Russian government felt “modern nations” should not have a feudalistic type economic system
-but the majority just wanted to free up workers from the farms to work in factories
-did little for the serfs who could not afford land and were forced to work for little pay in the factories
24. Zemstovs-
-also developed by Alexander I
-designed to give local government control over their own regions
-in reality, it guaranteed the nobles and landowners power including the right to rule levy taxes
25. People Will-
-political group that wanted Alexander to expand his reforms
-became more terroristic when their demands were ignored
-responsible for the bombing assassination of Alexander in 1881
26. Alexander III-
-suspended Aleaxander II’s reforms in response to the assassination
-reimplementation autocratic rule
-used secret police, spies, and the unjust courts system to suppress opposition
27. Social Democratic Labor Party-
-industrialization created workers who demanded labor, social, and political reforms
-resorted to terrorism when their demands were ignored
-began calling for massive changes in the government, even the abolishment of the czar