The Rise of Russia Chapter 18 I) Russia’s Expansionist Politics Under the Tsars II) Russia’s First Westernization, 1690-1790 III) Themes in Early Modern Russian History

Chapter 18 Introduction The rise of the Russian Empire altered the balance of power throughout Eurasia, although unlike the rise of Western colonial empires involved only limited commercial exchange Prior to the 15th century, Russia had been unimportant in world affairs The Russians pushed eastward after freeing themselves from Mongol domination in 1480 Some extensions also occurred in Eastern Europe where Lithuania and Poland were rivals in the 17th century Russia then entered into new contacts with the West without losing it’s cultural identity

I) Russia’s Expansionist Politics under the Tsars Moscow took the lead in liberating Russia from the Mongols in the 14th century. Ivan III succeeded by 1480 in creating a large independent state. He gave his government a military focus and used a blend of nationalism and the Orthodox Christian religion.

a) The Need for Revival While the Mongols were content to leave local administration in local hand, they did reduce the vigor of cultural and economic life. Literacy declined and the economy became purely agricultural and dependent on peasant labor. Ivan III asserted Russia had succeeded Byzantium as the third Rome as he restored centralized rule, an imperial mission and claimed supervision of all Orthodox Churches. Ivan IV earned the name Ivan the Terrible by killing many of the nobility (boyars).

b) Patterns of Expansion The Russians focused their territorial expansion on Central Asia, moving across the vast plains to the Caspian Sea, Ural mountains and into Western Asia Peasant adventurers (cossacks) were recruited to occupy new lands and loyal nobles and bureaucrats received land grants in the territories These conquests gave Russia increased agricultural regions and labor sources Slavery existed until the 18th century, and Russia opened important trading connections with neighbors Russia became a multicultural state and the large Muslim population was not forced to assimilate to Russian culture

c) Western Contact and Romanov Policy The tsars began a policy of carefully managed contacts with the West Ivan III dispatched diplomatic missions to the leading western states and Ivan IV established trading contract with British merchants. Ivan IV died without a heir which led to new power claims by the boyars and Swedish and Polish attacks on Russian territory. After the Time of Troubles, the boyars chose a member of the Romanov family, Michael as Tsar. This family, the Romanov dynasty, was to rule Russia until the great revolution of 1917. Michael restored internal order and secured part of Ukraine and pushed its southern border to Ottoman lands. He increased the Tsar’s authority by abolishing the assemblies of nobles and restoring state control over the church. Michael’s successor, Alexis Romanov, abolished the assemblies of nobles and gained new powers over the Russian church. The government exiled religious conservatives, called “Old Believers” to Siberia or southern Russia

II) Russia’s 1st Westernization, 1690 – 1790 Russia was a great land empire by the end of the 17th century, although it remained more of an agricultural state Peter I initiated Western forms of the economy and culture, the first effort in Russia history Peter traveled incognito to the West and gained an interest in science and technology, and many Western artisans returned to Russia with him

a) Tsarist Autocracy of Peter the Great Peter was an autocratic ruler; reforms were initiated through royal decree and any resistance was brutally suppressed He formed a Western-type military force and recruited bureaucrats from outside the aristocracy. A secret police was created to prevent dissent and watch over the bureaucracy Hostilities with the Ottomans went on without gain, but a successful war with Sweden gave Russia a window on the Baltic Sea, allowing it to become a major factor in European diplomatic and military affairs Peter moved the capital to the Baltic city of St. Petersburg

b) What Westernization Meant Peter’s reforms influenced politics, economics, and cultural change The military was reorganized, the first Russian navy was created The council of nobles was eliminated and replaced by advisors under his control In economic affairs, metallurgical and mining industries were expanded and landlords were rewarded for using serfs in manufacturing Cultural reforms aimed at bringing in Western patterns, nobles had to shave their beards and wear Western clothes Peter attempted to increase education in math and technical subjects, although Westernization meant to Peter the encouragement of autocratic rule These changes brought resistance from all classes

c) Consolidation under Catherine the Great After several decades of weak rulers, significant change resumed under the reign of Catherine the Great (1762-1796) Like Peter, strong royal authority was more important to her than Westernization, but she did bring Enlightenment ideas to Russia. She put down a vigorous peasant uprising called the Pugachev rebellion, butchering leader Emelian Pugachev herself. She gave new power over the serfs to the nobles, yet continued her patronage of Western art and architecture. The French Revolution caused her to ban foreign and domestic political writings, and Russia’s expansionist policies continued Territories were gained in central Asia from the Ottomans, including the Crimea on the Black Sea. Russian explorers went down the North American coast to Northern California, and claimed Alaska. Catherine joined Prussia and Austria in the partition of Poland and end its independence. By the time of her death Russia had completed a transformation into a strong central state ruling over the world’s largest land mass

III) Themes in Early Modern Russian History Russian society was very different from that of the West Serfdom and a deep rooted peasant culture did not mesh with Westernization efforts Russian nobility, through state service, remained a vital position A minority of great landholders lived in major cities and provided important cultural patronage Incompletely Westernized landowners were smaller and lived less opulent lives

a) Serfdom: The Life of east Europe's Masses Russia’s peasantry had been relatively free before the Mongol conquest The government encouraged serfdom as a means of extending state control over the peasants, laws tied serfs to the land, made serfdom hereditary and augmented the legal rights of landlords Serfs were almost like slaves, they were bought, sold, and punished by owners Peasant conditions in Eastern Europe were similar, they labored on large estates to produce grain for sale to the West, which merchants exchanged for luxury goods. Most peasants remained poor and illiterate, paying high taxes and performing extensive labor in agriculture, mining and manufacturing, their condition deteriorating throughout the 18th century

b) Trade and Economic Dependence 95% of the Russian population lived in rural areas, there were few artisans or large cities, manufacturing was agriculturally based. Peter the Great’s reforms increased trade, but most trade was handled by Westerners. Nobility prevented the emergence of a strong commercial class. Russia’s social and economic system had its strengths, it produced adequate revenue for the expanding empire, supported the aristocracy, and allowed significant population growth. There were important limitations, agricultural methods were traditional, peasants lacked incentives to increase production, and manufacturing suffered similar constraints.

c) Social Unrest Russian reformers were criticizing their nation’s backwardness by the end of the 18th century and urging the abolition of serfdom. Peasant dissent was more significant, they remained loyal to the tsar, but blamed landlords for the harshness of their lives. Periodic rebellions took place from the 17th century, peaking with the Pugachev uprising in1770. The tsar and nobility triumphed, but peasant discontent remained a problem.

d) In Depth: Multinational Empires Russia created a long lasting multinational empire during the early modern period, while the Mughal, Ottoman and Habsburgs all disappeared Special characteristics of the Russian Empire was the presence of a large core of ethnic groups prepared to spread widely and establish new settlements, and Russian ability to adopt Western techniques Such states included minority ethnicities but developed methods to achieve national unity There have been serious clashes between national loyalties and multinational empires from the 19th century onward, with most of the empires collapsing.

e) Russia and Eastern Europe Regions west of Russia formed a fluctuating borderland between western and eastern European interests. In the Ottoman Balkans, trade with the west spread Enlightenment concepts, and Poland and the Czech Slovak area were part of the Western cultural orbit. Some Eastern regions participated in the Protestant reformation, but Poland was linked to the West by shared Roman Catholicism. Polish aristocrats weakened the central government and exploited peasants by 1600, and the kingdom was partitioned by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Many smaller states also lost political autonomy, Hungary and Bohemia were incorporated into the Habsburg Empire.

f) Global Connections: Russia and the World Russia’s emergence as a key player in both Europe and Asia was a crucial development in the early modern era Today Russia spans 10 time zones and much of this territory had been acquired by the late 18th century Russia had gained a direct hold on central Asia, and was affecting diplomatic and military developments in Europe, the Middle East and east Asia Russia’s spread to Alaska and expeditions to Hawaii suggested even a larger role This was a different kind of empire from those the West was building, but it had a huge impact.