Transcript Absolute Rulers of Russia

Absolute Rulers of Russia
Peter the Great
&
Catherine the Great
5 reasons why Russia was
backward/isolated
• Asian Influence resulting from Mongol rule.
• Civilization had reached Russia from
Constantinople not from Western Europe.
• Cyrillic Alphabet was different from Roman one barrier to communication
• Religion was Eastern Orthodox rather than RC or
Protestant - (no Reformation).
• Geography - Russia was landlocked. Archangel
was the only port and it was frozen for 2/3 of the
year.
We’re
being
invaded
again
Time of Troubles 1558-1613
Ivan’s dead
that’s terrible
I’m in charge now
Another day
another czar
Michael Romanov
• 1613 the National
Assembly (DUMA)
elected Michael
Romanov as Czar.
• The Dynasty lasted
until 1917 - 300 years!
We’re here
to stay
How the Romanovs became
That
despots
Should give
• Any groups that elected
representatives were
banned.
• Old Believers who
opposed religious changes
were repressed
• Made friends with the
Cossacks.
• Made serfdom the way of
life for majority of people
me control
Romanov Dynasty
(1613-1917)
Romanov Family Crest
Romanov Dynasty
(1613-1917)
Peter the Great 16821725
• He was a Russian
giant - 6 feet 6 inches
tall
• Violent temper and
was capable of great
acts of cruelty
• Strong willed and
ruthless.
• Absolute despot
Peter the Mechanic
•Peter the
great had
an
obsession
with clocks
Russia Under Peter I
Window to the West
Execution of the Streltsy
Westernization
• He remodeled Russia along western European
Lines
• Reorganized his army and equipped it with better
weapons.
• War with Sweden 1700-1721 - gained
access to the Baltic Sea.
• In the new territory he built a new capital city. In
1703 he moved to St Petersburg - bringing the
government closer to western Europe and giving
him a “window to the west”
St Petersburg
He moved the capital to the West of Russia
•
•
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•
Western dress was imposed on the nobles
Women no longer isolated - more rights
Biggest changes in trade, finance, industry, & govt.
Imposed taxes on everything - beards!
Followed absolutist ideas of French King - Louis
XIV - highly centralized government.
• Orthodox Church fell under his control
• Created new service ranks for nobles
• Imposed feudal system on Russia when it was
declining in western Europe
Peter Cuts the Beards of His
Boyars
Russia & Sweden After the
Great Northern War
Battle of Poltava (1709)
Nobles required to
work in these areas
Experts to train
the troops
Uneducated nobles
had to get an education
Transportation
developed
Mines & forges
developed
Supply of
troops
War
with
Sweden
Weapons for
troops
Conscription
Census
•Under his
leadership
Russia
became a
great
power.
Catherine the Great
Catherine II 1762 - 1796
Queen by Marriage
• Born Princess Sophia
Augusta Frederika of
Germany.
• At 16 she married Peter
the Great’s grandson who
became Peter III in 1762
• He was murdered 6
months later by nobles
• Catherine seized the
throne and ruled until
1796
How did she become Great
• Influenced by the West
• She was a great supporter
of the arts, science and
theater.
• Nobles become more
western and start to speak
French - lose touch with
peasants
• Nakaz - Code of 256 laws
replaced Moscovite code
of laws
Foreign Policy
• In a war against the Turks she won control of
northern shore of Black Sea and a protectorate over
the Crimea.
• Potemkin Villages - fake settlements to fool CII as
to value of her new conquest. (term used by judges
who dissent from common opinion)
• 3 Partitions of Poland 1772,1793, 1795 she gained
the largest slice of Poland for Russia, with Austria
and Prussia also taking some.
• In 1741 Russia had crossed the Bering Strait and
established a colony in Alaska