-Early Russian Absolutism-

I. Russia has a history of strong autocratic rulers II. Throughout history, Russian leaders have struggled to gain access to warm water ports A. Warm water ports include the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea

III. There were three major influences on early Russian civilization A. Vikings 1. Vikings traveled through Russia to trade on the Mediterranean 2. On this trade route Kiev developed as Russia’s first capital

B. The Byzantine Empire 1. Orthodox Christianity 2. Cyrillic alphabet

C. Mongols 1. Ghengis Khan and the Golden Horde further encouraged Russia’s population to center in the west 2. It was the subjugation of the Mongols that enabled Russia to expand to the east and gain the territory it occupies today

IV. Czars A. Ivan III declared himself Eastern Roman Caesar 1. He became the first Czar

B. Ivan IV 1. Known as Ivan the Terrible 2. He crushed the remaining Mongols and began the eastern conquest of Siberia

3. Ivan used the White Sea to trade, but this was in the Arctic and froze during the winter 4. Ivan failed to gain access to the Baltic or Black Seas

C. Michael Romanov established the Romanov Dynasty

D. Peter the Great (1689 – 1725) 1. His two main objectives were to modernize and westernize Russia 2. As a young man, Peter traveled to Western Europe where he learned about western technology and customs 3. Western workers were brought to Russia to help improve Russian industry

4. Peter forced upper and middle class Russians to adopt French customs a. Women were no longer kept in seclusion b. Oriental robes were outlawed c. Tights were encouraged for Russian nobility d. A beard tax was established

5. Peter dismissed the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church 6. He built a modern army and navy 7. Although Peter the Great failed to gain access to the Black Sea, he was successful in obtaining a port on the Baltic Sea

8. Peter built a new modern capital modeled after Versailles a. This city is called St. Petersburg

E. Catherine the Great (1762 – 1796) 1. Catherine became Czarina after arranging with army officers to have her husband assassinated 2. After years of oppression, serfs organized a rebellion against the Russian government a. Catherine crushed the peasant rebellion

3. Catherine was aggressive in foreign policy a. Peter the Great had won territory on the Baltic Sea and Catherine set her sights on the Black Sea b. After war with the Ottoman Turks, Russia controlled the north coast of the Black Sea

4. Catherine the Great signed an agreement with Austria and Prussia over the division of Poland a. Russia obtained two-thirds of Poland b. This brought the Russian border deep into Europe