1. The Russian Empire

2. Russian Expansion, 1450-1750 Largest landmasses under single rule.
Southward into Central Asia
Eastward into Siberia
Into Alaska & Northern California
Westward into Europe
Baltic region, Poland, and Ukraine

3. Territorial Expansion Changed Russia
It made Russia a multinational society
Russians diminished as a proportion of the overall population
It brought valuable resources
It made Russia one of the great powers of Europe
It made Russia a highly militarized society
It reinforced the autocratic character of the Russian empire

4. Upholding Authority The Czar relied on the landlord class
Landlords were given political and economic powers to manage local affairs
This helped Russia establish some political stability over its vast empire
It tied the fortunes of the landlord to those of the state

5. Westernization Czar Peter the Great, 1689 to 1725
Some changes were cosmetic
Trimming beards
Adopting western clothing
Importing western culture
Some reforms were substantial
Education
St. Petersburg – a modern capital city
Military and economic reforms

6. The goals of Westernization
❶ Enhance the power of the czar and the state ❷ Enhance the power of the Russian military ❸ Improve Russia’s image abroad

7. Peter did not want total Westernization!!!
No constitutional monarchy
No parliamentary tradition
No division of powers
Peter the Great believed in absolutism
No help for ordinary Russians
No commercial economy in Russia
He did not want a western society
He wanted to westernize the upper classes

8. “The British had an empire, Russia was an empire.”

9. Between 1450 and 1750 Russia built an empire
Just like the western European powers
It conquered, settled, and explored
It imposed it’s institutions
But Russia colonized its neighbors
Russia built its empire while it was building a modern Russian state