History and Economy of Russia

C/Maj Weisman

MSG/CC

History Overview• Ancient Russia

• Mongol Russia

• Romanovian Russia

• Napoleonic Russia

• Revolutionary Russia

• Soviet Russia

• Modern Day Russia

Ancient Russia

• Many different migrating peoples from different

kingdoms

• In 862 the Varangian leader Rurik led his people

east across the Baltic Sea to modern day

Russia and the city of Novgorod where he ruled

• Started a long line of succession as the

kingdom increased in size and adopted Eastern

Orthodox as religion

• In 1147 small town of Moscow established

Mongol Russia• Rule ended by invasion of Mongols in 1237 by Batu Khan

• Very little happened in the next century

• Moscow gained strength and overthrew Tartars under Ivan the

Great

• Ivan’s grandson, Ivan the Terrible, finally pulled together the

country through domination and subjugation

• At the beginning his reign was good, but got worse as he aged and

his temper worsened

• After Ivan the Terrible’s death there was no clear ruler for 8 years

until the Romanov's came to power

• Romanov's ruled for the next 304 years

Romanovian Russia• Peter the Great and Ivan shared power after their father’s death

• Ivan eventually died and Peter took over

• Peter modernized Russia to be more like western Europe, shaving off beards of men in his

court, changing clothing rules, and increasing industrialization, and militarization

• Peter’s son disagreed with him and fled to Vienna, however he later returned and was tried for

treason and died from torture

• Peter disliked Moscow and had the city of St. Petersburg built and made the new capital

• Peter Ruled until 1725

• Later Catherine the Great came to power and reinstituted Peter the Greats policies of

westernization and centralizing the government

• She ruled until 1796 and shortly thereafter Alexander I came to power

Napoleonic Russia

• Napoleon attempted to get Alexander I to surrender by invading Russia

• Alexander I had his troops retreat slowly and destroy all homes and supplies as they

retreated

• Eventually their armies met 70 miles outside Moscow with no clear victor

• Alexander I then had Moscow evacuated and all supplies destroyed

• Napoleon seized Moscow only to find it devoid of people and supplies, and later that

night the city caught fire

• This left the French without supplies and shelter in the middle of winter, which lead

to their fall

Revolutionary Russia• Since the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the Russian Tsars had followed

a fairly consistent policy of drawing more political power away from

the nobility and into their own hands

• By the time of Catherine the Great, the Russian Tsars enjoyed

virtually autocratic rule over their nobles

• However, they basically purchased this power by granting nobles

virtually autocratic power over the serfs, who by this time had been

reduced to a state closer to slavery than to peasantry

• After several more Tsars and World War I the climate had reached a

boil and Russia went into revolution

• Many different groups started uprising and each struggled for power

for 3 years until the Bolsheviks emerged on top

Soviet Russia• Lenin was the first ruler and instituted a new economic

policy (NEP) including elements of a free market to help

with post war problems

• Lenin ruled until 1924 when he was succeeded by Joseph

Stalin who consolidated the state’s control over all

aspects of Russia

• Stalin waged many brutal campaigns to quell dissention

• Russia allied with Allies in WWII but afterwards viewed

them as an enemy

• After WWII cold war started between Russia and the west

over concerns that western economics and values were

flawed

• USSR finally collapsed in 1991 after economic collapse

Modern Day Russia• Struggling to become a democracy but

held back by many economic problems,

political corruption, and social inequality

• Many were dependent on the USSR

support network but now must find a

way to support themselves without

many jobs and high inflation

• Population decline due to poor

healthcare and poverty, it’s estimated

Russia’s population will fall to 110

million by 2050

Economy Overview

• Economy at a Glance

• Economy from the end

of the USSR to present

• Russia and US

economic relations

• Economic Graphs

Economy at a GlanceRussia USA

GDP (Purchasing Price Parity) $2,076,000,000,000 $13,860,000,000,000Labor Force 75,100,000 153,100,000Unemployment Rate 5.90% 4.60%Population Below Poverty Line 15.80% 12%Inflation Rate 11.90% 2.70%Currency (Exchange Rate) 25.659 rubles $1

Origins of gross domestic product 2006

% of total

Agriculture 4.9I ndustry 39.3Services 55.8

Main destinations of exports 2006

% of total

Netherlands 12.3I taly 8.6Germany 8.4China 5.4

Main origins of imports 2006

% of total

Germany 13.9China 9.7Ukraine 7J apan 5.9

Russian Economy• Russian economy underwent huge economic decline following collapse of

USSR and soviet social net

• “Economic Shock Therapy” instituted by Gorbachev which lead to a policy of

glasnost, or openness within the media and arts, and perestroika

• Perestroika (meaning economic reconstruction), was an economic policy of

reduced subsidies to industry, allowing companies to go bankrupt, accepting

unemployment and foreign investment, and restructuring the banking system

• In 2006, Russia signed a bilateral market access agreement with the US as a

prelude to possible WTO entry

• Russia ended 2007 with its ninth straight year of growth, averaging 7%

annually since the financial crisis of 1998.

• Soaring oil prices have led to Russia being able to pay off much of it’s debt

but Russia still lags behind many G8 countries

Russian Economy (cont)

Conclusion

•History of Russia from ancient Russia to present

•Soviet economic policies

•Current Russian economy

•US-Russian economic relations

•Questions