Reading Questions
Objective #1 Explain how rulers used a variety of methods to legitimize and consolidate their power in land-based empires from 1450 to 1750.
Objective #2 Explain how and why various land-based empires developed and expanded from 1450 to 1750.
Ivan the Terrible Questions
consolidating and legitimizing
consolidating and legitimizing
Objective #2 Explain how and why various land-based empires developed and expanded from 1450 to 1750.
Ivan the Terrible Questions
consolidating and legitimizing
- What technological factors that contributed to the growth Ivan's rise to power?
- What governing techniques did the Ivan the Terrible use to consolidate power?
- In what ways did the Ivan try to legitimize their rule? (art, architecture, ideology)
- What reason Ivan had for expansion into Siberia?
- What were the effects of Russian Expansion?
consolidating and legitimizing
- What the technological factors that contributed to the growth of the Peter the Great's empire?
- What governing techniques did the Peter use to consolidate power?
- In what ways did the Peter try to legitimize their rule? (Art, architecture, ideology)
- Explain why and how peter tried to Westernize Russia?
- What were the reasons Reasons for expansion?
- What were the effects of Russian expansion into Western Europe?
- What internal conflicts or challenges to state power were arose due to Russian rule?
Foundations of Russia
While western European peoples were building maritime empires, Russians were laying the foundations for a vast land empire that embraced most of Eastern Europe and North Asia. Imperial Russia’s foundations lay in the Principality of Muscovy- the region surrounding Moscow. This region was conquered by the Mongols in the late post-classical era and forced to pay tribute to the Ilkhanate of the Golden Horde. However, as the Mongol Empire collapsed, Muscovites expanded rapidly from the 1500s to 1800s, creating the second largest land empire the world has ever seen (the Mongols had the largest). Following the conquest of Constantinople by Ottoman Turks in 1453, Muscovites began considering themselves the “Third Rome,” Rome was obviously the first Rome, Byzantium the second, and Russia the third. This reflects the deep influence Rome and Byzantium had on the fledging Russia state. For example, most Russians are Eastern Orthodox and the Russian Emperors called themselves Czars (or tsar), the Slavic word for Caesar.
Ivan the Terrible
Administration
The first Czar of Early Modern Russia was Ivan Grozny (r. 1533 – 1584), popularly known as Ivan the Terrible in the West. Ivan was intelligent, devout, and passionate. He was the first Czar to organize a standing army that would train during peace time. Additionally, he modernized the army by using gunpowder weapons. However, after a near fatal illness and the death of his wife, Anastasia, his behavior became increasingly erratic and impulsive. Fearing the nobility (called Boyars in Russia) were plotting against him he instigated a rule of terror through a newly created secret police called the oprichnina force which enforced his dictatorial will over the Russian population. He not only terrorized the Boyars but would also end up killing his own son earning him the name "Terrible." He became an absolute monarch.
In 1570, one of the largest commercial hubs within the Russian Empire, Novgorod, was sacked and it’s inhabitants put to the sword after Ivan believed that the entire population of the town was plotting to overthrow him. Ivan led the attack himself, slaughtering thousands. Ivan the Terrible, in a fit of rage, even murdered his own son, Ivan Ivanovich, the heir to the throne.
Legitimizing rule through art architecture
Despite Ivan's terrible reputation, he was a devout and very pious Christian. Called the "New Jerusalem" by Ivan the Terrible, St. Basil's Cathedral is probably the most recognizable structure in the Russian Empire. With eight symmetrical churches built around a tall core tower, the church is meant to look like a bonfire. The unique color scheme is taken directly from the biblical description of the heavenly city in Revelations 4:3 -
"And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats, I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold."
Despite Ivan's terrible reputation, he was a devout and very pious Christian. Called the "New Jerusalem" by Ivan the Terrible, St. Basil's Cathedral is probably the most recognizable structure in the Russian Empire. With eight symmetrical churches built around a tall core tower, the church is meant to look like a bonfire. The unique color scheme is taken directly from the biblical description of the heavenly city in Revelations 4:3 -
"And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats, I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold."
Expansion (conquest of Siberia)
Ivan the Terrible’s long reign centered on the conquest of Siberia. Like the Chinese the conquest was facilitated by the use of gunpowder weapons. Unlike Chinese expansion motivated by defensive purposes, Russian expansion was focused on economic gain. The frozen tundras and dense forecasts of Siberia posed formidable challenges, but explorers and merchants made their way into the region on a quest for furs. As a result of the Little Ice Age that made world wide temperatures lower, fur became fashionable and desired by the elites of Europe, luring Russians eastward just as spices lured Western Europeans into India and Southeast Asia. Russian expansion in Siberia began in 1581. Like the Europeans conquerors of new worlds, Russians viewed these territories as “empty,” loosely filled with sub-human pagans who have no rights, therefore colonization was deemed “holy,” not to mention profitable. |
Siberia was home to about twenty-six major nomadic ethnic groups that lived by hunting, trapping, fishing, or herding reindeer. These indigenous peoples varied widely in language and religion. Russian colonizers did not govern over these tribes, instead they built trading posts and military forts and demanded tribute from them by coercing them to supply pelts on a regular basis. The various Siberian tribes responded in different ways to Russian demands. Some groups readily accepted the demands. These Siberian nomads readily exchanged the skins of fur-bearing animals such as otter, lynx, marten, arctic fox, and especially the sleek sable, for Russian commodities such as iron tools, woven cloth, flour, tea, and liquor.
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Other Siberian groups however resented the ever-increasing demands for tribute and resisted Russian intrusion on their lands. Russian forces then resorted to punishing raids and hostage taking to induce Siberian people to deliver furs. The Yakut people of the Lens and Alkan river valleys in central Siberia united a revolt against Russian oppression in 1642 and experienced brutal retribution. Superior Russian military technology (guns & cannons) easily defeated the rebellious tribes, forcing many Yakut out of their settlements and reducing their population by an estimated 70 percent. Apart from military violence, the people of Siberia also shriveled from epidemic diseases such as small pox and diphtheria, which reduced many populations by more than half.
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The result of Ivan's conquests influenced future Czars to expand Russia.
As violence and disease sharply diminished the delivery of furs, the Russian government recognized that its interest lay in the protection of the “small peoples,” as state officials called the indigenous inhabitants of Siberia. Government-sponsored missionaries sought to convert Siberian peoples to Orthodox Christianity and bring them into the Russian society, but they had little success. Few Siberians expressed an interest in Christianity, and these few mostly came from the ranks of criminals, abandoned hostages, slaves and others who had little status in their own societies. Furthermore, once indigenous peoples converted to Christianity, they were exempt from obligations to provide fur tributes, so the Russian government demonstrated less zeal in its religious mission than did the Spanish monarchs, who made the spread of Roman Catholic Christianity a prime goal of imperial expansion.
Peter the Great
Administration
The Russian Empire reached its height under the Romanov Dynasty. The greatest of the Romanovs was Peter the Great, (r.1689 – 1725) who made major changes to Russia to decrease Russia’s isolation and increase its size and power. Peter is best remembered for his efforts to "Westernize" Russia, which meant that he began the process of turning Russia away from its Asian influences while embracing or mirroring the cultures, technology and other aspects of the emerging Western European empires (Many refer to Western Europe as "the West"). Peter felt that Russia was a stagnant, backwards, landlocked nation. In contrast, he viewed the West as a gleaming beacon of maritime civilization and therefore sought to emulate it. This is best exemplified by his tour of Germany, England and the Netherlands. This journey was deeply influential on the young Czar. When not drinking and being entertained by court maidens, Peter and his crew learned about Western European administrative methods military technology and even medicine. When Peter returned home, he act out on a reform program that sent Russia spinning: he reformed the Russian army, he reformed the Russian administrative bureaucracy, and he built a navy from the ground up. Peter is often hailed as the Russian Czar that began the process of modernizing Russia.
The Russian Empire reached its height under the Romanov Dynasty. The greatest of the Romanovs was Peter the Great, (r.1689 – 1725) who made major changes to Russia to decrease Russia’s isolation and increase its size and power. Peter is best remembered for his efforts to "Westernize" Russia, which meant that he began the process of turning Russia away from its Asian influences while embracing or mirroring the cultures, technology and other aspects of the emerging Western European empires (Many refer to Western Europe as "the West"). Peter felt that Russia was a stagnant, backwards, landlocked nation. In contrast, he viewed the West as a gleaming beacon of maritime civilization and therefore sought to emulate it. This is best exemplified by his tour of Germany, England and the Netherlands. This journey was deeply influential on the young Czar. When not drinking and being entertained by court maidens, Peter and his crew learned about Western European administrative methods military technology and even medicine. When Peter returned home, he act out on a reform program that sent Russia spinning: he reformed the Russian army, he reformed the Russian administrative bureaucracy, and he built a navy from the ground up. Peter is often hailed as the Russian Czar that began the process of modernizing Russia.
Art and Architecture
In St. Petersburg, Peter built himself a new palace in the Baroque style popular in Western Europe. The Peterhof Palace and gardens was commissioned by Peter as a direct response to the Palace of Versailles (pronounced ver-sigh) by King Louis XIV of France. Peter the Great built the palace as a result of his visit to the French royal court in 1717, inspiring the nickname of "The Russian Versailles". More importantly, the palace was purposely to where it “faces the West,” reflecting Peter's fascination with the West and his attempts to westernize Russia.
Expansion
Peter also set out on a new round of imperial expansion. His conquests reflect his fascination with the West: he would not continue pushing eastward as his predecessors did, instead Peter pushed towards Western Europe looking for a warm water port that would open his landlocked empire to the economic and cultural riches of the West. Many of Russia ports become frozen during the colder seasons. Having access to a warm water port ensures Russians can trade with the West year-round.
Peter turned these dreams into reality in the Great Northern War (1700-1721), where Peter’s newly reformed armies defeated the Swedish and offered the Russian empire a warm water port in the Baltic Sea. It is here where Peter would build his new capital: St. Petersburg.
Challenge to state power
The Cossack Rebellions. watch the video below
Westernization
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As a young man Peter visited the big cities of Western Europe and was wildly impressed. His visits to the West impressed upon him the notion that European customs were in several respects superior to Russian traditions. Heavily influenced by his advisers from Western Europe, he reorganized the Russian army along modern lines and dreamed of making Russia a maritime power. Peter even instituted a “cosmetic” makeover on the Russian people, hacking off the beards of the nobility himself to force them to adopt European modes of dress. Russian wore their beards long to either to emulate biblical prophets, or their previous Mongolian overlords. But to Peter they symbolized all that was backwards and barbarous about his country. Peter made it illegal to be bearded in the city of Moscow and posted barbers at all the gates into the city. He personally removed the beards of those who visited him in the palace, sometimes by ripping them off with his bare hands. Those who refused aid a “Beard Tax.” This policy was very unpopular amongst most Russians. Some even saved their shaved whiskers for their coffins, in the hopes they will wear them in heaven. Peter’s fascination with the West also had a profound effect on the lives of Russian women. Russia had always been a highly patriarchal society. Elite women were not allowed to leave the home and were even segregated inside the home from male family members. In order to make Russian gender relations more like Western European relationships, Peter encouraged public festivals like balls, where would dawn the latest Western European fashions (including gowns that showed the knees!) and dance freely with men. He sought to end arranged marriages, which were the norm among the Russian nobility, seeing the practice as barbaric and leading to domestic violence. Peter even did away with the centuries old marriage ceremony in which fathers passed a whip to their son-in-laws, symbolizing the transference of authority over the bride. |