Russia History

By Rabiha
  • 862

    862

    862
    King Rurik rules the region from the city of Novgorod. The people are known as the Rus.
  • 882

    882

    882
    King Oleg moves the capital city to Kiev.
  • 980

    980

    980
    The kingdom of the Kievan Rus expands and grows in power under the rule of Vladimir the Great.
  • 1015

    1015

    1015
    Yaroslav the Wise becomes king. The Kievan Rus reach their peak in power. A written code of law is established.
  • 1237

    1237

    1237
    The land is invaded by the Mongols. They destroy much of the region's cities.
  • 1480

    1480

    1480
    Ivan III frees Russia from the Mongols.
  • 1547

    1547

    1547
    Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible, is crowned the first Tsar of Russia.
  • 1552

    1552

    1552
    Ivan IV conquers Kazan and extends his kingdom.

  • 1609

    1609
    The start of the Polish-Russian War. Poland invades Russia.

  • 1613

    1613
    The Romanov dynasty begins when Michael Romanov is elected Tsar. The Romanov dynasty will rule until 1917.

  • 1648

    1648
    The Salt Riot occurs in Moscow over the introduction of a salt tax.

  • 1689

    1689
    Peter the Great becomes tsar. He will establish Russia as a world power introducing reforms and creating a standing army.

  • 1700

    1700
    The start of the Great Northern War with Sweden.

  • 1703

    1703
    Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg.

  • 1713

    1713
    Saint Petersburg becomes the capital of the Russian Empire.

  • 1721

    1721
    Russia wins the Great Northern War gaining territory including Estonia and Livonia.

  • 1736

    Start of the Russo-Turkish War against the Ottoman Empire.

  • 1762

    1762
    Tsar Peter III is assassinated and his wife Catherine II takes the crown. She will rule for 34 years in what will be called the Golden Age of the Russian Empire.

  • 1812

    1812
    Napoleon invades Russia. His army is nearly destroyed by the Russian winter weather. But is then defeated in 1814.

  • 1853

    1853
    The Crimean War begins. Russia eventually loses to an alliance of France, the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and Sardinia.

  • 1867

    1867
    Russia sells Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million.

  • 1904

    1904
    Russia goes to war against Japan in Manchuria and loses badly.

  • 1918

    1918
    The Russians exit World War I with the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. They give up Finland, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, and the Ukraine.

  • 1939

    1939
    World War II begins. Russian invades Poland in an agreement with Germany.

  • 1991

    1991
    The Soviet Union is dissolved. Many countries gain their independence. The country of Russia is established.

  • 2000

    2000
    Vladimir Putin is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer serving as President of Russia since 2012, previously holding the position from 2000 until 2008.