Transcript General Information About Russia

General Information
About Russia
 Official
Name: RUSSIAN
FEDERATION
 17,075,200 square miles (1.8
times the size of U.S.A.)
 Capital – Moscow, made up of
8,369,000 people
 Total Population– 140,041,247
 Main Language– Russian
 Religions:
15-20% Russian
Orthodox, 10-15% Muslim, 2%
other Christian
 Current Leader: President Dmitriy
Medvedev & Premier Vladimir
Putin
 Currency: RUBLE (31.60 rubles=
$1)
 Average Income: $7,700 (U.S. is
$27,108)
 The
former Soviet Republics,
although independent, have
formed the COMMONWEALTH
OF INDEPENDENT STATES
(CIS)
 Russia is the figurehead leader
of the CIS
The Rise of Russia
 500
B.C.E. (Roman Times) a
people called the SLAVS
moved into southern Russia
 800’s C.E. – Missionaries from
Constantinople converted Slavs
to Eastern Orthodox
Christianity
 863
C.E. –
Cyrillic
alphabet
created to
translate
Greek bible
 An educated
class forms
 1200’s
C.E. – Mongols
conquered Russia and cut it off
from Western Europe
 1462-1505 C.E. – Ivan III (Ivan
the Great)
 The first CZAR (Russian word
for Caesar), brought Northern
Russia under his control
 Was an AUTOCRAT – ruler
with unlimited power
1533-1584 C.E.–Ivan the Terrible
 Ruled with
ABSOLUTE
POWER
 Centralized royal
power
 Bound serfs to land
& cut BOYARS’
(nobles) privileges
 SERF
– landless peasant who
worked the nobles’ land for “free”
 Created
a secret police force
 Reign of terror against
powerful Boyars to crush them
– earned his nickname
 Introduce reforms like a new
law code
 Encouraged FEUDALISM –
Boyars given land by czar to
strengthen their bonds w/him
1598-1613 C.E. – Time of Trouble
 There
was no MIDDLE CLASS
 Boyars feuded over the throne
 Peasants revolted & foreign
invaders entered Russia
 Michael Romanov finally elected
by Boyars and began the
Romanov Dynasty (ruling family),
which ended in 1917
1682-1725 C.E.- Peter the Great
 Westernized
Russia
 Modernized the
army & navy
 Made government
more efficient
 Built capital of St.
Petersburg –
”window on the
West”
 Used
force and terror to make
people follow his orders (men
had to shave beards, all had to
wear western-style clothing)
 Although Russia strengthened,
large gap still existed between
Russia and Western Europe
1725-1727 C.E. – Catherine I
 Russia’s
1st
empress
 Daughter of
Lithuanian
peasant
 Did not have
real power
1727-1730 C.E. – Peter II
 Grandson
of
Peter the Great
 Young orphan
 Became czar at
11
 Died on his
wedding day of
Smallpox
1730-1740 C.E. – Anna Ivanovna
 Internal
stability
 Successful
foreign policy
1740-1741 C.E. – Ivan VI
 Became
czar at 2
months old
 Overthrown by
order of Peter the
Great’s daughter
 Sent away to live
in secrecy
1741-1761 C.E.– Elizaveta Petrovna
 Daughter
of Peter the
Great
 Improved economy
 Many treaties made
between foreign
countries
 Abolished capital
punishment
1761-1762 C.E. – Peter III
 Banned
persecution
of dissenters
 Released gentry from
compulsory military
service
 Overthrown by his
wife
 Imprisoned & killed
1762-1796 C.E.–Catherine the Great
 Obtained
Boyars’
support by exempting
them from taxes &
giving them complete
control over the serfs
 “Enlightened” ruler–
encouraged Western
thought
1762-1796 C.E.–Catherine the Great
 Successful
foreign
policy: expanded
Russia’s border to the
Black Sea and
defeated Ottoman
Empire
 Also took over part of
Poland
1796-1801 C.E. – Paul I
 Son
of Catherine
the Great
 Liberated Poles
 Limited power of
landowners over
serfs
 Suffocated in his
sleep (murdered)
1801-1825 C.E. – Alexander I
Made many liberal
reforms: partial
liberation for serfs
 Eased censorship &
promoted
education
 Drew back from
reform after
Napoleon’s invasion

Napoleon and Russia
Tried to invade Russia after the
French Revolution
 1812 – Battle for Moscow
 75,000 died in one day
 Russians burned Moscow to the
ground
 Napoleon got stuck in the Russian
winter
 Lost 500,000 men

1825-1855 C.E. – Nicholas I
 “Orthodoxy,
autocracy, &
nationalism”
 Put down
Decembrist Revolt
(liberals)
 Strict, harsh ruler –
used police spies
 Militarized Russia
1825-1855 C.E. – Nicholas I
 Outlawed
Western
philosophy – banned
books
 Jailed or
institutionalized
those with liberal or
revolutionary ideas
 Lost Crimean War to
France/Britain
1825-1855 C.E. – Nicholas I
 Realized
Russia
needed reform
 Issued new law code
& made some
economic reforms
 Even tried to limit
power of landowners
over serfs (but didn’t
want to anger nobles)
1855-1881 C.E. – Alexander II
 1861
- Abolished
serfdom
 Brought problems
– serfs too poor to
buy land & lands
allotted to peasants
too small to
support a family
 Discontent festered
1855-1881 C.E. – Alexander II
 But
peasants
moved to cities &
helped build
industries
 Local gov’t set up –
ZEMSTVOS
(elected
assemblies)
1855-1881 C.E. – Alexander II
Introduced trial by
jury, eased censorship
& tried to reform
military
 Women left homes to
study abroad
 Sold Alaska to the U.S.
 Assassinated by
terrorists

1881-1894 C.E. – Alexander III
 Turned
against
reform and
returned to
repression
 Revived secret
police, restored
censorship, &
exiled critics to
Siberia
1881-1894 C.E. – Alexander III
 Launched
program of
RUSSIFICATION
(suppress
cultures of nonRussians)
 One language &
one church
1881-1894 C.E. – Alexander III
 Persecuted
Russian Jews
 POGROMS –
violent mob
attacks on Jews
 Many Jews fled
Russia as
refugees
1881-1894 C.E. – Alexander III
 Russia
did enter
an industrial age
 Railroad building
occurred &
foreign capital
invested in
industry
 Social problems
increased
1881-1894 C.E. – Alexander III
Workers faced long
hours, low pay,
poverty, disease, and
poor housing
 Marxism began to
appeal to these
workers
 Plot to kill czar was
foiled (Lenin’s brother
executed)
