1. Medieval Christian Europe (330–1450)
Lesson 8 Russia and Eastern Europe

2. Medieval Christian Europe (330–1450)
Lesson 8 Russia and Eastern Europe
Learning Objectives
Describe how geography influenced the rise of Russia, and how Kiev grew to be the center of the first Russian state.
Explain how Mongol rule affected Russia.
Describe how Moscow took the lead in Russia and how its rulers developed authoritarian control.
Describe how geography influenced the development of Eastern Europe.
Understand how migration contributed to cultural diversity in Eastern Europe, and learn about three early Eastern European kingdoms.

3. Medieval Christian Europe (330–1450)
Lesson 8 Russia and Eastern Europe
Key Terms
steppe,
Kiev,
Cyrillic
Ivan the Great.
Ivan the Terrible.
Balkan Peninsula.
ethnic group
diet,
Golden Bull of 1222,

4. The Geography of Russia
While feudalism and the Roman Catholic Church were shaping Western Europe in the Middle Ages, another culture was emerging in Russia to the east. Russia lies on the vast Eurasian plain that stretches from Europe to the borders of China. Although mapmakers use the Ural Mountains to mark the boundary between Europe and Asia, these ancient mountains were long ago worn away to wooded hills. They posed no great obstacle to the movement of peoples who were constantly migrating from Asia into Russia.

5. The Geography of Russia
Three Regions
Rivers

6. The Geography of Russia
The vast, rolling plain made invasions easy, contributing to the early diversity of the Russian culture.

7. Early Russia
Russia's early history was similar to that of much of Western Europe. Migrating peoples settled on the land, which was fragmented into many small kingdoms. Early Russia included a collection of small cities that were in time united into an empire.

8. Early Russia Slavs and Vikings Byzantine Influences
Kiev's Golden Age Under Yaroslav

9. Early Russia
This reconstruction of a Viking ship unearthed in Russia is an example of the swift Viking trading ships that traveled Russia's many rivers.

10. The Mongols Conquer Russia
In the early 1200s, a young leader united the nomadic Mongols of central Asia. As his mounted bowmen overran lands from China to eastern Europe, he took the title Genghis Khan (GENG is kahn), or “World Emperor.”

11. The Mongols Conquer Russia
Mongol Rule
Effects of Mongol Conquest

12. The Mongols Conquer Russia
Skilled warriors, Mongol armies swept through southwest Russia. They were called the Golden Horde because of the color of their tents that presented a sea of golden cloth that stretched for miles.

13. Moscow Surpasses Kiev
During the Mongol period, the princes of Moscow steadily increased their power. Their success was due in part to the city’s location near important river trade routes. They also used their positions as tribute collectors for the Mongols to subdue neighboring towns. When the head of the Russian Orthodox Church made Moscow his capital, the city became Russia’s religious center as well as its political center.

14. Moscow Surpasses Kiev
Ivan the Great
Ivan the Terrible

15. Moscow Surpasses Kiev
Analyze Maps Between 1300 and 1584, Russian lands expanded from a small area around Moscow to a large territory. In which period did Novgorod come under Moscow's rule?

16. Moscow Surpasses Kiev
Ruthless in trying to centralize government, Ivan IV worked to create a class of landed gentry that owed their holdings to the tsar instead of nobles who held their lands as a hereditary right.

17. The Geography of Eastern Europe
Many peoples and nations flourished in Eastern Europe over the centuries. In part because of its location, the region was often shaped by migration and foreign conquest.

18. The Geography of Eastern Europe
Location
Diverse Cultural Influences
Geographic Features Shape Eastern Europe

19. The Geography of Eastern Europe
Analyze Maps Locate on the map regions where Eastern Europe meets Asia. What might happen in these regions?

20. The Geography of Eastern Europe
The Danube had been a major river trading route from the time of the Vikings. It continued to be a water highway to and from the Byzantine markets to the south.

21. Migrations Increase Diversity
Eastern Europe has long been a crossroads and buffer. Many peoples migrated into the region, which had no difficult geographic barriers such as high mountains or wide deserts. As a result, Eastern Europe today includes a wealth of languages and cultures.

22. Migrations Increase Diversity
A Mix of Peoples
Diverse Religious Influences
Jews Settle in Eastern Europe

23. Migrations Increase Diversity
Analyze Charts Which cultural influences are present in the Balkans?

24. Migrations Increase Diversity
Analyze Maps The constantly changing treatment of Jews throughout medieval Europe led to periods of migration and expulsion for the Jewish people. Was the movement of Jews into Eastern Europe a result of migration or expulsion?

25. Migrations Increase Diversity
Medicine was one of the many skills Jewish emigrants brought to their new homes.

26. Early Kingdoms of Eastern Europe
During the Middle Ages, wars constantly shifted boundaries in Eastern Europe. Sometimes strong empires absorbed national groups. Alliances or royal marriages might bind others together. The histories of three kingdoms—Poland, Hungary, and Serbia—illustrate the shifting fortunes that the peoples of Eastern Europe faced.

27. Early Kingdoms of Eastern Europe
Poland
Hungary
Serbia

28. Early Kingdoms of Eastern Europe
The marriage of Queen Jadwiga of Poland and Duke Wladyslaw Jagielo of Lithuania in 1386 created a unified and powerful state in Eastern Europe.

29. Quiz: The Geography of Russia
Which describes a way in which Russia's geography influenced the development of its civilization?
A. West-flowing rivers connected it economically and culturally to Western Europe.
B. The Ural Mountains and the Eurasian plain kept Russia culturally and economically isolated.
C. South-flowing rivers connected it economically and culturally to the Byzantine empire.
D. Its southern steppe region allowed it to grow so much grain that it became a leading food exporter.

30. Quiz: Early Russia
What are two factors that probably helped isolate Russia from Western Europe?
A. the Cyrillic alphabet and Olga's selection of the Byzantine Church
B. the Cyrillic alphabet and Olga's selection of the Roman Catholic Church
C. Yaroslav's written law code and his persecution of the Christian Church
D. Its defeat of the Vikings in the 700 and 800s and the abandonment of Novgorod as its capital

31. Quiz: The Mongols Conquer Russia
Which statement best summarizes the effects of Mongol rule on Russia?
A. The absolute power of the Mongols influenced later Russian rulers and led to a decentralized style of rule.
B. The Mongols were lenient and tolerant rulers who helped forge strong bonds between Russia and Western Europe.
C. The Mongols were lenient and tolerant rulers, but they isolated Russia from the advances taking place in western Europe.
D. The Mongols spread Islam throughout Russia, which linked the country more closely to the Byzantine empire.

32. Quiz: Moscow Surpasses Kiev
What was one way Ivan III and Ivan IV strengthened their authoritarian rule?
A. They allied themselves with the Mongols.
B. They encouraged peasants to present grievances.
C. They increased trade with Western Europe.
D. They limited the power of the boyars.

33. Quiz: The Geography of Eastern Europe
Which statement best summarizes the effect of geography on Eastern Europe?
A. Russia was the strongest influence in each of the different regions.
B. Different parts of the region were most influenced by cultures that had easiest access to them.
C. Rivers had little influence on which parts of the region were influenced by specific foreign cultures.
D. Invading armies most strongly influenced the different parts of the region.

34. Quiz: Migrations Increase Diversity
Which is an example of a nation benefiting from its policy of religious tolerance?
A. South Slavs settled in the Balkans, which became a unified country.
B. Poland welcomed Jews, who contributed to the country's economic and cultural development.
C. Ottoman rulers issued a charter protecting the liberties of Jews, who helped them occupy the Balkans.
D. German knights and missionaries brought Eastern Orthodox Christianity to Poland and Hungary.

35. Quiz: Early Kingdoms of Eastern Europe
What was one way the histories of medieval Poland and Hungary were similar?
A. Both became the ancestors of the Serbs and recognized Byzantine authority.
B. In both, political power gradually shifted from the nobles to the monarch.
C. Both had been powerful Eastern Orthodox kingdoms that were conquered by the Mongols.
D. Both had been powerful Roman Catholic kingdoms that were conquered by different ethnic groups.