The+Rise+of+Russia

Homework 1: Russia and his little sister Belarus- kolkolkol Q1. How did Mongol occupation effect Russia?
 * Mongol control never reshaped Russian Values, as Mongols were more interested in tribute than governmental control.Some Russian landlords adopted Mongol styles of dress and social habits, but the vast majority chose to practice the traditional russian culture, + Christianity.However, Mongol occupation did reduce russian cultural vigor, for example by decreasing the literacy rate among the clergy.
 * Economic life deteriorated, as trade was weakened and manufacturing was very limited, Russia quickly turned to peasant labor/agriculture to support it's economy.
 * Russian territorial expansion was mainly motivated by a desire to push back the Mongol overlords, being that Russia posessed few natural barriers to invasion.This gave rise to the Cossacks, peasants who gained military training (The rough equivalent of the American Pioneers) and greatly aided the Rise of Russia.

Q2. Russian Expansion under the Ivans:

Ivan III (The Great)- Claimed succession of the Rurik dynasty(founders of Russia), and was responsible for freeing large parts of Russian territory from Mongol control.He organized a strong army and made Russian politics thenceforth be highly militaristic. By 1480, Moscow had been freed, as well as the territory from the polish kingdom of Lithuania to the Ural Mountains. Russia's rise paralleled that of Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire: A new state on the edge of the civilized world gfaining great power at a steady rate.Russian expansion largely eliminated the nomadic people of central asia.

Ivan IV (The Terrible)- continued the policy of russian expansion. He placed a much greater emphasis on controlling the Tsarist autocracy, earning his nickname by killing many Russian Boyars (Nobles who were suspected on conspiracy against him).Russian aristocrats lacked the tradition of political assertion of their counterparts in Western Europe.

Leader Analysis : Peter I Title: Emperor and Autocrat of all Russia Self appointed Title: (The Great) Born 1672 Died 1725 @ Age 52 Years in Power- 1682- 1725

Political conditions Prior to the leader gaining power: From an early age his unique education (commissioned by [|Tsar] [|Alexis I]) was put in the hands of several tutors; most notably [|Nikita Zotov], [|Patrick Gordon] and [|Paul Menesius]. On 29 January 1676, Tsar Alexis died, leaving the sovereignty to Peter's elder half-brother, the weak and sickly [|Feodor III]. Throughout this period, the government was largely run by [|Artamon Matveev], an enlightened friend of Alexis, the political head of the Naryshkin family and one of Peter's greatest childhood benefactors. This position changed when Feodor died six years later in 1682. As Feodor did not leave any children, a dispute arose between the [|Naryshkin] and [|Miloslavsky] families over who should inherit the throne. Peter's other half-brother, [|Ivan V], was the next for the throne, but he was chronically ill and of infirm mind. Consequently, the [|Boyar Duma] (a council of Russian nobles) chose the ten-year old Peter to become Tsar, his mother becoming regent. This arrangement was brought before the people of Moscow, as ancient tradition demanded, where the people ratified it. But one of Alexis' daughters from his first marriage, [|Sophia Alekseyevna], led a rebellion of the [|Streltsy] (Russia's elite military corps). In the subsequent conflict, some of Peter's relatives and friends were murdered, including Matveev, and Peter witnessed some of these acts of political violence. ([])

Ideology: Peter wanted:
 * the economy to support military strength, rather than commercial expansion.
 * Russia to be culturally similar to the west (importing Ballet, Christmas Trees, etc....)
 * to streamline the russian bureacracy based on Western Principles.

Accomplishments/effects: MI:Overall, peter concentrated on improvements in political organization, on selected economic development, and cultural exchange. Leadership Analysis of Catherine the Great:
 * He improved the Russian Army and founded the Russian Naval division with help from his western advisors, and overall created a well defined military and political hierarchy, completely eliminating the power of the old noble counsels.
 * Peter's ministers created a systematized law code, and revised the system of taxes, placing increasing economic burden on the peasants. However, training institutes were founded to bring talented non-nobles into the government.
 * Peter's economic efforts focused on building up the metallurgical and mining industries, using RUssia's massive iron ore supplies to feed state run munitions and shpibuilding industries. Thus, without urbanization, or development of a large commercial class, Peter managed to reform the economy of Russia, giving it enough economic strength to last nearly 200 years.
 * Peter was eager to make Russia culturally acceptable in the eyes of Westerners, abolishing many traditional russian practices such as the passing of a whip from the bride's father to the groom at marriage, and encouraged many upper class women to wear western style clothing and attend public social events, earning the support of many women. He even forced the Russian nobility to cut their beards and wear western clothes to commit them to a new political identity and strengthen the state.
 * Though these attempts at westernization were frequent, Peter never attempted to change the masses of Russian peasants.Westernization met with harsh rebuke from the peasants, who felt alienated being that their landlords were no longer in-tune with Russian culture, speaking french, using Christmas Trees, and watching Ballet, creating much tension throughout the subsequent years of Russian History.

Reign: 34 years, 131 days Years in Power:1762-1796 Title: Empress and Autocrat of all Russia/ "The Great" /Empress Consort of All Russia

Political Climate Prior to gaining power: After the death of Peter the Great in 1724, Russia had several decades of weak rule, and was dominated by army officers who would choose weak emperors and empresses. The weakness of the Tsardom encouraged more dissent, including the Church attempting to gain power and open complaints about westernization.Russian territorial expansion continued, leading to several conflicts with the Ottoman Empire, and settlements in Siberia. In 1761, Peter III took the throne. He was retarded, but his wife, a german born princess who changed her name to Catherine took matters in hand via a coup-d'tat. After his death, she ruled as Catherine II.

Motivation: > In fact, this may have intensified due to the fact that her husband, the retarded Peter III, refused to consummate their relationship. IN her memoirs, Catherine was quoted as saying "If only I could have found a husband who I truly loved... I would have been forever loyal to him". Accomplsihments/Effects: In the years after her husband's death, Catherine promoted Westernization and extended Russia's borders. During her reign she may have added 200,000 square miles to the Russian Empire. Among Catherine's other accomplishments was the educational reform she brought to Russia. She created many elementary schools, secondary schools, and universities. She promoted the education of women and religious tolerance. Many Europeans began to settle in Russia because of the florishing culture during her reign. Politically, Catherine followed the liberal ideas of that era, sometimes called the Age of Reason. However, she did little to bring equality to the people of Russia. In 1767 she set up a Legislative Commission to try to reform the legal system of the empire, but the Commission was a failure and disbanded after a few years. In 1785 the Charter to the Nobility was passed, giving more power to the gentry, and increasing their rule over the serfs. This made the common people angry and revolts began to break out. As the French Revolution began to make the Europeans think of democracy she had to abandon many of her political reforms. Rumors say that Catherine had twenty-one lovers during her reign and was an immoral woman. Although in the early years of her reign she had been devoted to learn the Orthodox religion, she was eventually responsible for the secularization of the church lands.
 * Originally a prussian princess, Catherine the great was motivated by a hatred for her husband, who would often speak to her about his love affairs with many mistresses, come home drunk, or often ignore her entirely. ([])
 * Catherine was known for having an extensive sex-life, especially for the time period, and some view her assumption of power as a way to further these ends.
 * As a russian ruler, she felt the need to consolidate her power while combining Enlightenment interests, explaining the complexities of her political policies and sometimes inconsistent image.
 * SHe resumed many of Peter the Great's old agendas, including suppression of the peasants and defending centralization.
 * Patron of western styles and architecture.

Even through these few shortcomings, Catherine II left Russia much stronger and more prosperous than before her ascension to the throne. She had increased healthcare by supervising the building of hospitals and development of vaccines. Through her love of the arts she had brought European culture to Russia and increased education. She expanded Russia's borders and defeated the Ottoman Empire in war. The people of Russia did not fully realize appreciate her until after her death in 1796, when her son Paul inherited the throne.([])

Notes:Themes in Russia
 * Serfdom- The power of nobility over the serfs increased steadily through the 17th and 18th centuries. Before the Mongol conquest, Russian peasants had been largely free farmers with a legal position far superior to their western counterparts.However, after the expulsion of the Tatars, increasing amounts of peasants fell into debt, and had to accept "serf" status when they could not pay. They retained much of their land, but did not have primary ownership. The Russian government encouraged this system from the 16th century onward, with laws granting landlords additional rights, and making Serfdom a hereditary status.Serfdom was used to satisfy the nobility and regulate peasant activities when the government lacked bureaucratic means to directly control the commoners.By 1800, more than 50% of Russia's peasantry was made up of serfs, and the other 50% owed considerable debts to the state.Due to this oppressive system, most peasants were illiterate and poor, and paid heavy taxes with interest.
 * Social Unrest- Russia's economic system lead to protests. By the end of the 18th century, a small but growing number of western aristocrats were ctiticizing the system as "backwards" and even called for the abolishment of serfdom.While Russian peasants were loyal to the Tsar, but harbored a great resentment towards their landlords. Periodic peasant rebellions saw peasants destroying manors, stealing land, and sometimes killing landlords, claiming that they stole the land first.Ex-> Pugachev rebellion (A Cossack Leader) who promised to end taxation, serfdom, and abolish the aristocracy.Eventually he was defeated by Catherine the GReat's Army and cut into chunks in a public execution, highlighting the mutual dependance of aristocrats on the lower class.
 * Trade and Economic Dependance- 95% of the Russian population remained rural, and cities were small. Russia's economic andd social system worked well in many respects, able to not only support an expanding state and empire, but also allow for fur trade to other areas than western Europe.Russia's population doubled to 36 million in the 18th century in response to the dynamic state.Yet the system suffered from many limitations, such as agricultural methods being purely traditional and unsuited to mass-production, low morale of self-improvement for the peasant class, and heavy taxes on the destitute peasants.