1. Early Russia

2. Geography

3. Rivers Rivers connected Russia to Scandinavia in the north and the Byzantines in the south.

4. Rich Soil of the Steppes

6. A difficult yet productive life

8. Cossacks

9. Siberia

10. Brrrr…..

11. Siberia has vast natural resources

12. A great place to get rid of prisoners

13. Themes in Russian History Expansion by conquest.Expansion by conquest. Need for warm-water ports.Need for warm-water ports. The necessity of a strong, central government.The necessity of a strong, central government.

14. Early Russia

15. Kiev Early Russia was the land of the eastern Slavs. Russia’s rivers allowed groups like the Vikings to trade with and eventually conquer Slavic settlements like Kiev. Kiev became the center of early Russian civilization.

16. Byzantine Influences An early Slavic text known as the primary chronicle suggests that the Russians chose the religion of the Byzantines: Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

17. Eastern Orthodox Christianity v. Roman Catholicism ROMAN CATHOLCISM Led by the Pope in Rome. Priest could not marry. Latin was the language of the Church. Churches were decorated with statues and images. Easter was celebrated on a different day in western Europe. *ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY Led by the Byzantine Emperor and the Patriarch in Constantinople. Priest could marry. Greek was the language of the Church. Churches were only decorated with images called Icons.

18. Eastern Orthodox Christianity v. Roman Catholicism

19. Christian Schism 1054 In 1054 there was a final split between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. This split is known as the schism. This divide isolated Eastern Europe and Russia from Western Europe.

20. Language of the Orthodox church in Russia Byzantine monks Cyril and Methodius create the Cyrillic alphabet to convert the Slavs to the Orthodox Christian faith.

21. Alexander Nevsky: 1220-1263 Battle on the Ice (Neva River) Against the Swedes Teutonic Knight

22. The Mongols Invade Russia

23. Ivan the Great (r. 1462-1505) Ivan III Tearing the Great Khan’s Letter Requesting More Tribute in 1480.

24. Autocratic Government When the Byzantine empire fell the Duke of Moscow married the niece of the last Byzantine emperor and took the title Caesar or Czar. Russian rulers like the Byzantine emperors were autocratic – they had complete authority over church and state. Moscow was proclaimed as the third Rome.

25. Russia in the Late 1500s

26. Ivan the Terrible