11.2 – Russian Empire

Geography: Birth of Russia• Region: West of the Urals,

between the Black & Baltic Seas

• South: Hilly Grassland• North: Dense Forests, flat,

& swampy• Rivers are slow moving &

interconnected = easy travel

• Peoples: Slavs, Rus, & Vikings

Slavs & Vikings• 862: Viking chief Rurik

founds Novgorod• 880: Oleg founds Kiev on

the Dnieper• Allows Vikings to sail to

Constantinople• Kiev grows into a

principality = lines between Vikings & Slavs blur

Kiev - Orthodox• 957: Princess Olga converts

to Christianity• Grandson, Vladimir sent

teams out view all the religions – p. 308

• 989: Baptism for all citizens of Kiev

• Provides closer ties to the Byzantines

• Vlad imports figures to teach people their new faith

• Utilizes practice of being leader of both the Church & State

Millennium of Russia

Kievan Russia• Kiev grew because of

Byzantine connections• Stretched from Poland to

near the Black Sea• Yaroslav the Wise - Great

Ruler– Alliances to the west

through marriage– Legal code (property)– 1st library in Kiev– Christianity prospers (~400

churches)

Kiev’s Decline• 1054: Yaroslav’s death =

decline• Error: divided territory

among his sons – WHY?– Who in history did this?

• The Crusades disrupts trade, main source of wealth

• Invasion from the East (The Mongols)

Mongol Invasions• Fierce nomadic horsemen

from the steppes of Central Asia

• Rose to power under Genghis Khan

• Burned & killed everything in their way

• Destroyed Kiev in 1240 & rule southern Russia for 200+ years

• Establish the Khanate of the Golden Horde– “ Kingdom of the Golden

Camp”

Mongol Expansion

Mongols in Russia• The Mongols tolerated

other religions; Russians free to practice own customs

• Demands: (1) absolute obedience & (2) huge tributes

• Russian rulers, such as Alexander Nevsky, crushed revolts against the Mongols

• Russia became isolated from the rest of Europe and fell behind

Russia Breaks Free• 1100s: Moscow founded

near the Volga, Dneiper, & Don– Strategic Position – WHY?

• Ivan I becomes “Grand Prince” under Mongols – gains their trust

• Convinces patriarch in Kiev to move to Moscow

• Ivan I & his successors use money, the Church, tricks, & war to gain control

• Establishes a small, but strong Mongol free area around Moscow

Empire Russia• Ivan III (43 years) –

builds a Russian Empire– Challenges the Mongols– Names himself czar

• Russia = “The 3rd Rome”• 1480: Officially breaks

away from Mongols after a bloodless standoff– Futures czars are free to

expand Russian territory