Russia in the Age of Absolutism Ch. 19 Sec. 2 Russia in the Age of Absolutism

Isolation & a New Dynasty 1.Isolated bcuz Russia was under control of Mongols which gave it an Asian influence 2. Russian religion was E. Orthodox not Roman Catholic or Protestant 3. Russia used the Cyrillic alphabet not the Roman alphabet 4. Russia was landlocked w/ no trading

Ivan the Terrible centered absolute power & authority on the czar Michael Romanov became czar of Russia in 1613 & he began the Romanov czars who ruled for the next 300 yrs. In 1682 Peter I became czar at age 10 & in 1689 he was the sole leader of Russia

Peter the Great Peter ruled Russia until 1725 & wanted a warm-water port on the Black Sea To do this he needed a stronger Russia; he disguised himself as a private citizen & went to Europe to study When he returned he improved his army’s training & weaponry Peter went to war w/ Sweden & w/ victory in 1721 came a cold water port on the Baltic Sea

Peter built St. Petersburg in his new territory & moved the capital from Russia to here Other social changes included women becoming less socially isolated, nobles to shave off beards & dress European, modernized the army & reformed the gov’t administration, encouraged manufacturing & foreign trade he created a “service nobility” in which the individual noble’s rank depended on the performance of gov’t service

Peter granted nobles large estates w/ thousands of serfs (worsened their condition bcuz now they are tied not only to land but to lords as well) Many resented his reforms; ex. The Russian Orthodox Church didn’t like Peter’s interference in traditional practices & he required nobles to move to St. Petersburg where he could keep an eye on them Peter failed to westernize Russia, but he did make Russia a great power

Catherine the Great Catherine II ruled from 1762 to 1796 She continued the expansion begun by Peter & she had a successful war w/ the Turks which gave her control of most of the northern shore of the Black Sea (warm-water port) In 1772 Russia along w/ Prussia & Austria took pieces of a weakened Poland in what was known as the First Partition of Poland

In 1773 Russia & Prussia took more land in the Second Partition In 1795 Russia, Prussia, & Austria took what was left of Poland in the Third Partition Russia became a force to consider in the European balance of power Expansion eastward was also successful; in 1581 the Mongol city of Sibir was captured & Russia had access to Siberia

A rich fur trade built settlements that thrived & became important links in Russia’s economic development In 1689 China & Russia signed a treaty that fixed the Amur R. as the border between them & established trade relations