Rise+of+Russia

Rise of Russia




 * 001: Day 1 Questions and Leader Analysis of Peter I**
 * 1) Describe the effects of Mongol occupation on Russian civilization
 * 2) The Mongol occupation of Russia heighted its desire to liberate themselves from Tartar control. The Dutchy of Moscow served as the hub for liberation effort beginning in 14th century. Local princes began to carve out great autonomy and the effectiveness of Mongol control began to decline. Moscow princes gained political experience as tax collectors from the Mongols but gradually moved toward regional independence. After 1492, under Ivan III, who claimed succession from Rurik dynasty and Kievan days, helped free a large part of Russia. He organized a strong army and gave them a military emphasis it would long retain. He returned to an early tradition of centralized rule, and added to it a new sense of imperial mission, marrying the necice of the Byzantine empire and gaining control over all Orthodox churches in Russia or not. Moscow, by 1480, was freed from any payments to the Mongols and had gained a vast territority spanning from the borders of the Polish Lithuanian kingdom to Ural Mountains. Basic Russian values were not reshaped by Mongol control; rulers continued to be interested in tribute, not full government. Many Russian landlords did, however, adopt Mongol styles of dress and social habits. On the other hand, many remained Christians and local administrative issues remained controlled by regional princes, landlords, or peasant villages. Previous Mongol dominance reduced vigor of Russian cultural life and lowered levels of literact among the pristhood. Economic life also deteriorated, because of limited trade and manufacturing. Under Ivan the IV, Russian expansion policy was continued. He placed heavy emphasis on controlling tsarist autocracy and killed many Russian nobles, boyars that he suspected of conspiracy. Ivan's policies confirmed the lack of tradition of political assertion of their counterparts in western Europe amongst Russian aristocrats.
 * move away from trade and manufacturing and more on agriculture
 * socially --> way of dress


 * 1) Trace Russian expansion under the Ivans.
 * 2) Territorial expansion policy was centered around central Asia. The main motive of the tsars was to push former Mongol overlords farther back. Early tsars pushed southward toward Caspian Sea and moved east into the Ural mountains and beyond, Ivan III and IV both recruited peasants to migrate to the newly seized lands, particularly in the south. The cossacks, who were peasant laborers, were Russian pioneers, combining agriculture with daring military feats on horseback. The expansion territories have rough-and-ready frontier quality, only gradually settling down to more regular adminstration. Cossack spirit provided volunteers for further expansion. During the 16th century, the cossacks conquered the Caspian Sea are and also moved into western Siberia, across the Urals, beginning the gradual takeover and settlement of these regions previously inhabited by nomadic Asian peoples. Expansion offered tsars a way to reward loyal nobles and bureaucrats by giving them estates in new territories. This practice provided new agricultural areas and sources of labor. Russia used slaves for certain kinds of production work into 18th century. It created trading connections with its new Asian territories and neighbors.
 * Ivan III was able to control Orthodox churches because of marriage to last Byzantine daughter.
 * Ivan III and IV were able to control more lands in South because of Cossacks that migrated there

** Peter the Great Leader Analysis Sheet **

source: [] || Title: Peter the Great || source: [] || "  From an early age his unique education (commissioned by [|Tsar] [|Alexis I]) was put in the hands of several tutors; most notably [|Nikita Zotov], [|Patrick Gordon] and [|Paul Menesius]. On 29 January 1676, Tsar Alexis died, leaving the sovereignty to Peter's elder half-brother, the weak and sickly [|Feodor III]. Throughout this period, the government was largely run by [|Artamon Matveev], an enlightened friend of Alexis, the political head of the Naryshkin family and one of Peter's greatest childhood benefactors. This position changed when Feodor died six years later in 1682. As Feodor did not leave any children, a dispute arose between the [|Naryshkin] and [|Miloslavsky] families over who should inherit the throne. Peter's other half-brother, [|Ivan V], was the next for the throne, but he was chronically ill and of infirm mind. Consequently, the [|Boyar Duma] (a council of Russian nobles) chose the ten-year old Peter to become Tsar, his mother becoming regent. This arrangement was brought before the people of Moscow, as ancient tradition demanded, where the people ratified it. But one of Alexis' daughters from his first marriage, [|Sophia Alekseyevna], led a rebellion of the [|Streltsy] (Russia's elite military corps). In the subsequent conflict, some of Peter's relatives and friends were murdered, including Matveev, and Peter witnessed some of these acts of political violence.[|[2]]" ﻿source: []
 * Name of Leader: **Peter I** ||
 * Lifespan: June 6, 1672 - Feb. 8, 1725(52 yrs old)
 * Country/region: Russia || Years in Power: 7 May 1682–8 February 1725 (42 years and 277 days)
 * Political, Social, & Economic Conditions Prior to Leaders Gaining Power:


 * Before ascending to the throne, Russia was successful, mainly depending on agriculture.
 * Serf labor increased due to manufacturing ||
 * Ideology, Motivation, Goals:

* added a more definite interest in changing selected aspects of Russian economy and culture by imitating Western forms * interested in Western science and technology

* foreign policy maintained well-established lines
 * brough Western artisans to Russia
 * politically autocratic
 * had no interest in parliamentary features of Western centers such as Holland, seizing on the absolutist currents in the West
 * imitated Western military organization
 * created specially trained fighting force that put down local militias
 * concentrated on improvements in political organizations, selected economic development, and cultural change
 * tried to streamline Russia's small bureaucracy and alter military structure by using Western organizational principles
 * eagar to cut Russian elite off from its traditions, to enhance state power, and to commit the elite to new identities
 * attempts to provide more education in mathematics and other technical subjects for nobility
 * did not try to touch ordinary people or involve them in technological and intellectual aspects of westernization
 * wanted economic development to support military strength rather than to achieve wider commercial goals
 * motivated to enhance powers
 * wanted to build strong economy for trade ||
 * Significant Actions & events During Term of Power:
 * extended predecessor's policies of building up tsarist control and expanding Russian territory
 * added a more definite interest in changing selected aspects of Russian economy and culture by imitating Western forms
 * eager to make country more into Western diplomatic and cultural orbit without making it fully Western
 * traveled throughout West in search of Western allies for a crusade against Turkish power in Europe
 * visited many Western manufacturing centers
 * worked as ship's carpenter in Holland
 * brought scores of Western artisans back with him to Russia
 * put down revolts against his rule with great cruelty
 * established secret police to prevent dissident and to supervise the bureaucracy
 * paralled earlier Chinese innovation but went beyond bureaucratic control impulses of Western absolutists of the time
 * foreign policy maintained well-established lines
 * attacked Ottoman empire but had no great victories
 * warred with Sweden, which was, at a certain point, one of the leading northern powers in Europe
 * gained territory on eastern coast of Baltic Sea and reduced Sweden to second-rate military status
 * became major factor in European military and diplomatic alignments
 * new capital: St. Petersburg --> closer to the West
 * created more well-defined military heirarchy while developing functionally specialized bureaucratic departments
 * improved army's weaponry and aid from Western advisors
 * created first Russian navy
 * eliminated old noble councils and created set of advisors under his control
 * provincial governors were appointed from St. Petersburg
 * tsar-appointed magistrate served as final authority even though town councils were elected
 * Peter's ministers systemized law codes to extend through whole empire and revised tax system, with taxes on ordinary Russian peasants increasing steadily
 * economic efforts focused on establishing metallugical and mining industries
 * used Russian iron holdings to feed state-run munitions and shipbuilding factories
 * landlords were rewarded for using serf labor to staff new manufacturing operations
 * gave Russia the internal economic means to maintain a substantial military presence for almost 2 centuries
 * built Russia into a Western cultural zone
 * western fads and fashions
 * ballet from French royal court
 * promoted serfdom
 * empowerment of upperclass women
 * metallurgy
 * diff. from West
 * based on military not commercialism
 * gov. sponsored
 * import dependent on West ||
 * Short-Term effects:


 * attacked Ottoman empire but had no great victories
 * warred with Sweden, which was, at a certain point, one of the leading northern powers in Europe
 * gained territory on eastern coast of Baltic Sea and reduced Sweden to second-rate military status
 * became major factor in European military and diplomatic alignments
 * required male nobles to shave off beards and wear Western clothes
 * in symbolic ceremonies, he cut off long Mongol-type sleeves and pigtails that were characteristic of boyars
 * only upper class involved || Long-Term Effects:
 * enhanced power of Russian state by using it as a reform force
 * tried to show that aristocratic habits could be modified by state decree
 * extended an earlier policy of recruiting bureaucrats from outside aristocratic ranks and giving them noble titles to reward bureaucratic service
 * secret police to prevent dissident and supervise bureaucracy - "Chancery of Secret Police"
 * survived and changed names/ functions into the 1990's
 * was reinstituted after 1917 by a revolutionary regime
 * new training institutes were established for aspiring bureaucrats and officers
 * brought nonnobles to system
 * abolished the custom in upper class marriages for the father of bride to pass a small whip to groom
 * transfer of malepower over women
 * was abolished
 * encouraged upper class women to wear Western-style clothing and attend public cultural events
 * reduced source of embarrassment among Westerners in Russia
 * made no move to change gender relations amonf masses of Russian peasants
 * Peter and successors founded scientific institutes and academies along Western lines and serious discussion of latest scientific and technical findings became common
 * new manufactuing involving serf labor
 * ballet
 * Russian economy changed ||

Russia + West


 * both military superior
 * land based v.s. sea based
 * limited demographic impact c/t west
 * limited economic dominance
 * state-controlled ventures and primarily private ventures
 * coercive labor system - c/t some parts of work in expansion

002: Leadership Analysis of Catherine the Great and Notes on Serfdom, Dependence, Social Unrest, Eastern Europe


** Catherine the Great Leader Analysis Sheet ** 34 years and 131 days ||
 * Name of Leader: Catherine II ||
 * Lifespan: 1729 - 1796 || Title: Catherine the Great, Empress and Autocrat of all Russia, empress consorrt of all Russia ||
 * Country/region: Russia || Years in Power: 1762- 1796
 * Political, Social, & Economic Conditions Prior to Leaders Gaining Power:
 * Death of Peter the Great in 1724 saw a series of weak, inept rule, dominated partly by power plays among army officers who guided the selection of several ineffective emperors and empresses
 * weakening of the tsardom in these years led to new talk of undue western civilization and some new initiatives by church officials eagar to gain more freedom to maneuver
 * no major new policy directions were set
 * Russian territorial expansion continued, but often clashed with Ottoman empire and further exploration and settlement in Siberia
 * 1761, Peter III, nephew of Peter I's first daughter, claimed the throne
 * was retarded, but his wife, a German-born princess took power
 * Ruled as Catherine II after Peter III's death. ||
 * Ideology, Motivation, Goals:
 * resumed many of Peter the Great's interests
 * defended powers of central monarch
 * put down peasant uprising
 * born Prussian princess, converted to Orthodox faith after marriage to heir of Russian throne
 * miserable marriage and had freuquent threats to divorce husband
 * combined genuine Enlightenment ideas with need to consolidate power as a truly Russian ruler
 * combination that explains the complexities of her policies
 * maintained active personal life and had succession of lovers
 * was a selective westerner
 * "instruction of 1767"
 * flirted with ideas of French Enlightenment
 * centralizer and advocate of strong tsarist hand
 * patronized Western- style art and architecture
 * tried to avoid cultural influence from West
 * pursued Russian expansion
 * originally Prussian princess
 * political marriage ||
 * Significant Actions & events During Term of Power:
 * put down peasant uprising led by Emelian Pugachev
 * butchered Pugachev
 * used **Pugachev rebellion** as excuse to extend powers of central government in regional affairs
 * benefitted from plot to dethrone her husband Peter III, after unpopular foreign policy move
 * imported several French philosophersfor visits and patronizing the arts and sciences
 * summoned various reform commissions to discuss new law codes and other Western-style measures
 * reduction of traditionally severe punishments
 * gave new powers to nobility over their serfs
 * maintaining a tradeoff that had been developing over the previous two centuries in Russia
 * nobles served strong central government and staffied it as bureaucrats and officers
 * were in this sense a service aristocracy, not independent force
 * accepted into their ranks, newly ennobled officials chosen by tsars
 * most of actual administration over local peasants, except for those on government run estates, was wielded by noble landlords
 * could requisition peasant labor, ie. levy taxes in money and goods
 * impose punishments for crimes because landlord dominated courts administered local injustice
 * increased harshness of punishments nobles could decress for their serfs
 * continued to build St. Petersburg in classical styles popular at the time in the West and encouraged leading nobles to tour West and even sent their children to be educated there
 * When French Revolution broke out, Catherine tried to close Russia's doors to "seditious" writings of liberals and democrats
 * censored a small but emerging band of Russian intellectuals who urged reforms along Western lines
 * Western-inspired radical Radishev, who sought abolition of serfdom and more liberal political rule, was constantly harassed by Catherine's police
 * accelerated colonization of Russia's holdings in Siberia and encouraged further exploration
 * claimed territory in Alaska
 * Russian explorers moved down Pacific coast of North America into northern California
 * tens of thousands of pioneers spread over Siberia
 * pressed Russia's interests in Europe
 * played power politics with Prussia and Austria
 * increased Russian interference in Polish affairs
 * able to win agreements with Austria and Prussia for **partition of Poland**
 * 3 partitions, in 1772, 1793, and 1795 eliminated Poland as independent state
 * Russia held lion's share of spoils ||
 * Short-Term effects:
 * attempted to restrict cultural influence from West
 * closed doors to French Rev. to present spread of "seditious" writings of liberals and democrats
 * Radishev --> banned his writings || Long-Term Effects:
 * resumed campaigns against Ottoman empire
 * won new territories in central Asia, including Crimea, bordering the Black Sea
 * Russian- Ottoman contest became central diplomatic issue for both powers
 * Russia became ascendant
 * continued building of St. Petersburg, using classical styles and styles popular in the Wes at the time
 * created basis for further Russian involvement in European affairs
 * Russia's role in putting down French armies of Napoleon after 1812
 * by the time of Catherine's death, Russia:
 * won independence and constructed strong central state
 * one that had to maintain a balance with local political and economic interests of powerful nobility
 * brought new elements into Russian culture and economy
 * borrowed from West
 * extended control over largest land empire in the world
 * est. military aggrandizement
 * real pioneering spirit of settlement ||

__** Serfdom: The Life of East Europe's Masses: **__ __** Trade and Economic Dependence: **__ __** Social Unrest: **__ __** Russia and Eastern Europe: **__
 * MI: In the 17th and 18th centuries, power of nobility over serfs steadily increased. Landlords had control over serfs. **
 * Before Mongol conquests, Russian peasants were largely farmers with legal position superior to that of medieval Western counterparts. After expulsion of Tatars, increasing number of Russian peasants fell into debt and had to accept servile status to noble landowners when they could not repay
 * retained access to much land, but not main ownership
 * Russian gov't actively encouraged serfdom, from 16th century on, because it gave the government a way to satisfy the nobility and regulate peasants when the gov't itself lacked bureaucratic means to extend direct controls over common people
 * By 1800, half of Russia's peasantry was enserfed by landlords, while the other half was owed comparable obligations to state
 * laws passed in17th and 18th centuries bound serfs to land and increased legal rights of landlords
 * can not leagally escape serfdom if born into it
 * illiterate and poor
 * Serfs could be bought and sold, gambled away, and punshied by their masters
 * enslaved many of own members, rather than "outsiders"
 * coerced labor used to produce grain surpluses sold to Western merchants for growing cities of western Europe
 * Western merchants brought in manufactured goods
 * luxury furnishings, clothing essential to aristocratic life
 * In Russia, whole villages were sold as manufacturing labor
 * encouraged by Peter I
 * relied heavily on community ties
 * paid high taxes or obligations and owed extensive labor service to landlords or government
 * agricultural producting, mining, manufacturing
 * Catherine the Great - 1785 - passed a law that allowed landlords to punish and serfs convicted of major crimes or rebellion
 * MI: Cities were mostly rural, but small merchant groups existed. Government growth encouraged nonnoble bureaucrats and professionals, and the nobility, concerned about potential social competition, prevented emergence of substantial merchant class. **
 * Russia's social and economic system produced enough revenue to support and expanding state and empire
 * traded furs and other things with areas in central Asia and outside boundaries
 * economy not totally centered to West
 * Trade and Russian expansion led to pop. growth
 * 18th century - 36 million
 * evident economic advance b/c Russia was able to strive through harsh climate, famines and epidemics
 * economic system suffered from limitations, such as agricultural methods being highly traditional, and little motivation among peasantry for improvement b/c increased production was usually taken by state or landlord
 * MI: Serfdom was being attacked and protested by the end of the 18th century, by people like Radishev, who criticized the regime's backwardness and called for tis abolition. **
 * seeds of radical intelligentisia that, despite gov't repression, would grow with time.
 * rebellions were recurring
 * Russian peasants had been particularly loyal to the tsar, but fostered hostility towards the landlords, accusing them of taking their property
 * periodic rebellions --> peasants destroyed manorial records, seized land, and killed landlords/ officials
 * occured from 17th century onwards
 * Pugachev rebellion of 1770's particularly strong
 * Pugachev was a cossack chieftain who claimed to be the legitamate tsar, and promised to end serfdom, taxation, and military conscription along with abolishing landed aristocracy
 * forces roamed over southern Russia until defeated
 * triumph of Catherine and nobility highlighted mutual dependence of government and upperclass but did not end protest
 * MI: Regions west of Russia continued to form a fluctuating borderland between western European and eastern European influences. **
 * in Balkans, under Ottoman control, growing trade with the West sparked new cultural chandge by 18th century, as Greek merchants picked up Enlightenment ideas
 * Areas like Poland, Czech and Slovak regions operated more fully within Western cultural orbit
 * Polish scientist Coerpnicus was early participant in fundamental discoveries in Scientific Revolution
 * western currents like the Reformation echoed in parts of east central Europe, ie .Hungary
 * Many smaller eastern European nationalities lost political autonomy during early modern era
 * Hungary, freed from Ottomans, became part of German-dominated Habsburg empire
 * took over Czech lands called Bohemia
 * In 1500, Poland, formed in 1386 by a union of regional kingdoms of Poland and Lithuania,was largest state in eastern Europe
 * 1600 --> economic and political setbacks compiled
 * Polish aristocrats, charged with electing the king, began to intentionally choose weak leaders
 * in Russia --> lack of merchant class and urban centers
 * aristocratic gov't vetoed any reform efforts until late 18th century, after Poland began to be partitioned by powerful neighbors

003: Thesis and Comparison of Ecomienda and Serfdom:
(don't mention African slavery... yet)
 * Prompt:** Compare labor systems that emerged in Russia and Spanish Colonies in the Americas 1400-1800


 * Similarity:** Both were economic systems
 * Difference:** different methods of accomplishing similar outcomes


 * Thesis Paragraph**: From 1400-1800, Spain and Russia were increasing nations, seeking to economically further themselves. To accomplish this, the two nations developed economic systems, the Spanish with the ecomienda system, while the Russians had an economy based on serfdom. While both were economic systems, they did differ in that the ecomienda and serfdom utilized different methods to preside over the economy.


 * Similarity:** The encomienda and serfdom, though methodically different, were similiar in that they were both economic systems. Both systems were promoted by their leaders, the encomienda was enforced by the Spanish crown, while the serfdom was sponsored by Catherine the Great. In these systems, there was a more powerful force that presided over the peasant class, for example, in the encomienda, the Spaniards would govern the Native Americans, and in Russia, a more powerful elite governed the weaker( sort of like feudalism). In Russia, the Pugachev rebellion led to a more strict enforcement of the serfdom and suppressing the peasant class. Being that both were economic systems, the main objective of these systems was to obtain revenue. Treatment of the oppressed peoples was terrible and required them to work and produce goods for their overseers.


 * Difference:** Despite the fact that they were both economic systems, the Spanish encomienda and the Russian serfdom did differ in their methods of presiding over oppressed people. While the serfdom sought to enslave their own people, the encomienda would subjagate native people, like the Native Americans. In doing so, the Spanish maintained religious fervor, and would also convert the Indians to Christianity, and use it as a justification for their subjugation. The Russian serfdom, on the other hand, was no religious endeavor, it was entirely economic, and used debt and government intervention as justifications for enslavement. Also, the serfdom would often times collect much of the peasants' productions, while the encomienda was more liberal and would occasionally allow natives to sell their produce in markets. The encomienda proved to be less harsh than the serfdom, as well. While in the serfdom, one was bound to work daily, the encomienda would allow resting periods after working for about 20 days. The serfdom also had no restriction on gender; all had to work, as opposed to the encomienda, where women and children were exempt from many of the laborous tasks. The Russian economy was heavily dependent on the peasant class, which was comprised of Russians who fell into debt and worked to pay them off. This was different for the encomeinda, which used the Sapnish colonies for work and goods, but were less strict.

encomienda = more profit oriented than serdom diseases led to waning of encomienda and led to failure