Unit #7 – Age of Reason Russian Absolutism

Class Discussion Questions McKay – “The Development of Russia”, pp

What differences evolved between Russia and Western Europe between 1250 and 1700? The eastern slavs were converted by missionaries from the Byzantine Empire to Orthodox Christianity which became the state religion of the Kievan principality Eastern Orthodox rejects the authority of the Pope The difference between Russia and the West became profound between 1250 and 1700 The absolutism of Russia was markedly different than that of France or even Prussia

What were the negative and positive impacts of the Mongol Yoke on Russia? Mongols ruled the eastern slavs for more than 200 years They forced all of the local princes to submit to their authority Princes were forced to pay tribute and provide slaves Rebellions were put down with brutal force, executions, and destruction The Mongol Khan was the supreme ruler The irony of this Mongol Yoke was that it was the Mongol Khans that created the environment where the slavs were united under one ruler

How did Ivan I (“Moneybags”) begin to break the Mongol Yoke on Russia? The Mongols used local princes as a tax collectors – those who excelled at this tax were rewarded gaining the power to replace the Khan as supreme ruler To emerge was the greatest prince of Moscow who took the title of Tsar The Tsar became the absolute ruler and the Russians began to view Moscow as the third Rome After the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 the Russian Tsars saw themselves as the heirs to both Caesar and Orthodox Christianity

What is the historical significance of the actions taken by Ivan III (“First Czar”)? Married the daughter of the last Byzantine Emperor Gained control of the territories around Moscow Conquered the rich merchant republic of Novgorod Defeated all rivals to gain complete princely authority The first Tsar

What policies were instituted by Ivan IV (“The Terrible”)? Came to the throne at age 3 – crowned himself Tsar at 16 Married Anastasia Romanov Declared war on the remnants of Mongol power Forced all nobles and boyars to serve the Tsar Reign of Terror – attacked all (especially the Muscovite Boyars) who stood in his way Blaming the Muscovite Boyars for the death of his wife they were executed en masse by a special police force Large estates were broken up to reduce the power of the boyars Demanded greater amounts of service from the nobles and peasants Urban traders and merchants were bound to their towns – thus the middle class was never allowed to evolve and emerge

What is the importance of Michael Romanov? As it is often the case in Russian history, the death of an iron fisted tyrant such as Ivan IV in 1584 led to an era of confusion, chaos, and violent struggles for power In order to end the chaos the nobles elected Michael Romanov as Tsar (grand-nephew of Ivan IV) in 1613 The Romanov Dynasty would reign from Michael (1613) to Nicholas II (1917)

What reforms were initiated by Peter the Great to westernize Russia? Interested in strong western style standing military and territorial expansion (gained a large part of Ukraine and all of Siberia / 36 years of rule, 1 year of peace) Toured Western Europe to investigate the technology behind their strength Forced all nobles into military service or civil administration for life Schools and universities were created to produce skilled technicians and experts for the new technology needed for military strength Five years of compulsory education away from home for every male (most hated reform) Interlocking military-civilian bureaucracy with 14 ranks where all members had to start at the bottom and moved up based on merit Increased service requirement for commoners Created a standing army of over 200,000 soldiers Peasants served with taxes and forced labor – see construction of St. Petersburg Under Peter the Great, Russia became the dominant power on the Baltic Sea and very much a European Great Power Because of his feverish desire to use modern technology to build a strong army many westerners and western ideas flowed into Russia

What enlightenment reforms were initiated by Catherine the Great to modernize Russia? She was a German princess who plotted to have her husband killed so she could have power to herself Worked to bring sophisticated western culture to backwards Russia Domestic reform- created better laws, allowed religious toleration (limited), reduced the practice of torture, improve education, and strengthened the local government Territorial expansion Catherine condemned serfdom but the serfs revolt known as Pugacheu’s Rebellion convinced her the peasants were dangerous so she backed off her policy of ending serfdom Peter the Great westernized Russian armies but it was Catherine westernized the thinking of the Russian nobility Catherine’s big territorial prize was Poland as she worked with Prussia and Austria to partition this land- by 1795 Poland vanished from the map