THE DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIA

Essential Question: How did Slavic, Viking, and Byzantine influences impact the development of Russia?

Russia is the largest country in the world Russia’s land is in two continents; the more populated part of Russia is in Eastern Europe, while the vast majority of it stretches across Asia Russia

Just how big is Russia? Currently, it takes up 6.6 million square miles and mainland Russia has 12 time zones; by comparison, the U.S. has four time zones and occupies 3.8 million square miles Russia

The development of Russia was influenced by several different groups of people Russia’s development into a country of its own was mainly impacted by the Slavs, the Vikings, and the Byzantine Empire Russia

The Slavs were a people who lived in the forests that were north of the Black Sea in Eastern Europe The Slavs

The Slavic people had similar languages, but no political unity The Slavs They worked primarily as farmers, but also hunted and fished to survive

The Slavs The Slavs were polytheistic; their most important gods existed in nature or were animals (the bear god was the master of the forest, the wolf god was master of the hunt) STATUE OF PERUN, THE SLAVIC GOD OF THUNDER AND LIGHTNING

The Slavs As the Germanic “barbarians” began attacking the Western Roman Empire and moving into its territory, the Slavs began spreading out into the fertile areas of Eastern Europe The Slavs would be the basis of the culture that would become Russia

The Vikings The Vikings, also called “Northmen” or “Norsemen”, were a Germanic people who lived in Scandinavia (present-day countries Denmark, Norway, and Sweden ) VIKING HOMELANDS OF SCANDINAVIA (TODAY’S DENMARK, NORWAY, SWEDEN)

The Vikings Vikings worshipped multiple gods and their religion was based on war and conquest

The Vikings Their winters were especially cold, which led to difficulties with farming; they turned to conquest as a way of attaining resources They were fierce warriors who raided Western Europe with terrifying speed

Using swords, spears, axes, and heavy shields, these helmeted seafaring warriors would beach their ships, attack quickly, and move out to sea again The Vikings

They were gone before the people being attacked could mount a defense

The Vikings The Vikings were not only warriors; they were traders, farmers, and explorers as well, venturing far beyond Western Europe

The Vikings They journeyed down rivers into the heart of what would become Russia and as far south as the Byzantine and Islamic Empires

The Vikings The Vikings traveled across the icy waters of the North Atlantic Ocean; Viking explorer Leif Ericson reached North America in the year 1000, about 500 years before Christopher Columbus did

The Vikings When the Vikings attacked Europe, the non-Christian warriors had no qualms about attacking churches and monasteries inside villages and towns; they would brutally slaughter priests and monks

The Vikings In fact, churches were a favorite target because of their gold crosses, chalices, and expensive artwork

The Vikings Gradually, the Vikings stopped raiding Europe and instead peacefully settled in it, eventually accepting Christianity, too

The Vikings As the Vikings traded with the Slavs and Byzantines, they settled in parts of Eastern Europe A group of Slavs invited the Viking chief Rurik to be their king; Vikings and Slavs intermarried, and a new culture emerged from their union

Vikings were the founders of a city called Kiev; they called themselves the Kievan Rus (“People of Kiev”); this was Russia’s first unified territory Kiev would become the kingdom of Muscovy, which later would become Russia The Vikings

The Byzantines were the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, the part that did not fall to the Germanic barbarian invasions The Byzantines

The Byzantine Empire survived for a thousand years, preserving Greco- Roman culture for use by future societies (such as Emperor Justinian using Roman laws to create the basis for modern legal systems)

Under Justinian, the Hagia Sophia (pronounced “ah YEE ah so FEE ah”) was built, which was the largest Christian church in the world The Byzantines

Under the rule of the Byzantine emperors, Christianity grew in the Eastern Orthodox Church

The Byzantines The Byzantine Empire was located close to the Slavs of Eastern Europe; merchants from Kiev (where the new Russian culture was emerging), traded with Constantinople BYZANTINES SLAVS

The Byzantines This trade increased Russia’s wealth and led to cultural diffusion between the Byzantines and the Russians Byzantine missionaries (those who spread religion) brought Eastern Orthodox Christianity north to the Russians

The Byzantines To help themselves spread their religion in Russia, two Byzantine missionaries (Saint Methodius and Saint Cyril) developed an alphabet for the Slavic languages so the Russians could read the Bible in their own language This new alphabet became known as the Cyrillic alphabet, which is what Russians and other Eastern European people use today

The Byzantines The curved “onion” domes of Russian architecture were influenced by Byzantine designs

The Byzantines

King Vladimir of Kiev sent his people to observe the major religions of the time; they were unimpressed by Islam, Judaism, and Western Christianity (Catholics) The Byzantines The Russians were highly impressed by Eastern Orthodox Christianity

One report stated: “They led us to buildings where they worship their God, and we did not know if we were in Heaven or on Earth. For on Earth, there is no such splendor or beauty, and we are at a loss as how to describe it. We only know that God dwells there among men.”

This report convinced King Vladimir to convert the Russian people to Eastern Orthodox Christianity The Byzantines Vladimir liked the Byzantine idea of the emperor being the supreme ruler of the Church

The Byzantines Eventually, Russian kings viewed Russia as the “Third Rome”, after Rome (the “First Rome”) and Constantinople (the “Second Rome”)

The Byzantines Russian kings took the title of “czar”, a Slavic term which derives from “Caesar”, the Roman and Byzantine title for “emperor”

This mixture of Slavic, Viking, and Byzantine cultures shaped the culture and development of Russia VIKINGS BYZANTINE EMPIRE SLAVS Kiev

Originally created by Christopher Jaskowiak