The Russian Empire Chapter 4, Section 4

Russia Rules Itself Geographically, Russia is the world’s largest nation. Located in both Europe and Asia. Mongols from eastern Asia conquered Russia in the 13th century and ruled for about 200 years. In the 15th century, Russia freed itself from Mongol rule. At the time, Moscow was the most important city.

The First Czars of Russia—Ivan the Terrible In 1547, Ivan IV--or Ivan the Terrible--was crowned the first czar at 16 years old. He was known for his cruelty, especially towards his enemies. He ruled for 37 years, and the country was usually at war. During his rule, Russia had an unlimited government, and the people had no say in how the country was run.

Conflicts at Home The first czars often conflicted with the Russian nobles because they possessed land and wealth. The czars viewed the nobles as a threat. Ivan the Terrible ordered his soldiers to murder Russian nobles and church leaders who opposed him. Ivan the Terrible created laws that forced peasants to become serfs.

A Window on the West—Peter the Great Peter the Great ruled Russia from 1682 to 1725. He defeated Sweden in war and gained land along the Baltic Sea. He built the port city of St. Petersburg, which became the capital, on the Baltic Sea. He viewed St. Petersburg as Russia’s “window on the west.”

A Window on the West—Peter the Great (Cont’d) Peter wanted closer ties with Western Europe because he thought the Scientific Revolution would modernize and strengthen Russia. He reformed the army and government and built new schools. He ordered Russians to dress like Europeans, and men to shave their beards. Peter made Russia stronger but it did not help the lives of the peasants!

A Great Empress—Catherine the Great Catherine the Great took control of Russia in 1762 and ruled until her death in 1796. Added new lands to Russia. Borrowed ideas from Western Europe and started new schools. Encouraged art, science, and literature and built new towns and expanded trade. Under her rule, Russia became one of the most powerful nations in Europe. The peasants lives, however, remained miserable, and she crushed their uprising in the 1770s.

A Divided Russia—The Nobles Many nobles sent their children to school in France or Germany Most spoke French at home and only spoke Russian to their servants. Many believed—as Western Europeans did—that a nation’s government should reflect the wishes of its people. Many nobles were army officers or government officials. Most supported the czar and were proud of Russia’s growing power. In 1825, one group of nobles tried to replace the government but the attempt failed.

A Divided Russia—The Serfs In the 1800s, Russian serfs still had no land or money because they worked on land owned by others and received little help from the government. In 1861, Alexander II ended serfdom in Russia because he wanted his country to compete with Western Europe. After serfdom, the former serfs were given poor land for farming and had to pay heavy taxes.

Bloody Sunday—Unhappy Russians Many university students, artists, and writers believed that the government did not treat the serfs fairly. Some of them joined groups to overthrow the government. Russian workers complained about low pay and poor working conditions.

Bloody Sunday—Unhappy Russians (Cont’d) In 1905, a group of workers marched to the royal palace in St. Petersburg with a list of demands. Government troops shot many of them. News of the “Bloody Sunday” spread throughout Russia and made Russians even more angry with the government and czar.

The End of the Russian Empire—Nicholas II In 1914, World War I began. Nicholas tried unsuccessfully to keep Russia out of the war. Russia allied with the United Kingdom and France and suffered terrible losses against Germany and its allies. Russians suffered food shortages, and workers went on strike. Revolutionaries organized workers against the czar. The army also turned against the czar, and he was forced to give up power in 1917, which started the Russian Revolution.

The End of the Russian Empire—Nicholas II (Cont’d) Nicholas II and the royal family— the Romanovs—were imprisoned by the revolutionaries. On July 17, 1918, the royal family was shot to death. The execution ended more than 300 years of rule by the Romanov family and nearly 400 years of czar rule.

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