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862
Early Settlement in Novgorod
Varangians, Scandinavian voyagers, had crossed the Baltic Sea and landed in Eastern Europe and ended up settling on the Volkhov River in the city of Novgorod, the leader being Rurik. -
882
First Dynasty
Rurik's successor, Oleg, decided to extend the power of the city. Conquering southward and gained control of the Slavic city of Kiev. This established the first unified dynasty of the region. -
989
Establishing Relgion
Oleg's great-grandson Vladimir I was the ruler of a kingdom that covered a vast area. As ruler he established the religion of Greek Orthodoxy, and it was said that he chose against Islam due to his belief that his people could not live under a religion that prohibits hard liquor. -
1237
Mongol Invasion
Batu Khan had decided to launch an invasion into Kievan Rus'. Over the next three years, the Mongols destroyed all major cities besides Novgorod and Pskov. -
1380
Challenging the Mongols
Believing they were strong enough, Moscow decided to challenge the Mongol ruling above them. Muscovite prince, Dmitri Donskoy, lead the charge and attacked. A victory at Kulikovo Field made him a hero. However, two years later, the Mongols attacked and reestablished their control and power of the region. -
1480
Overpowering the Mongols for Good.
After a century, Moscow finally regained enough strength to attack the Mongols again. And, this time, Mongolian rule was overthrown for good. The leader and hero at this time was Ivan The Great. -
Failed Revolt
A young group of reformist military officers had made attempts to force the adoption of a constitutional monarchy there is Russia by trying to prevent the addition of Nicholas I becoming the new leader. However, they failed and Nicholas became very very conservative. -
Abolishing Serfdom
Alexander II, coming after Nicholas, was anywhere near as conservative. He was amendable to change and reform. Which was why he later got rid of and abolished serfdom as an emacipation -
Peter The Great Emerges
Six years after his sister is defeated and confined after an attempted coup, Ivan, his brother, dies and Peter is left in sole possession of the throne in Moscow. -
Yet Another Rebellion
While away on tour, Sophia, Peter The Great's sister, instigates another rebellion. Peter comes back and deals with it swiftly and easily, and also leaves executed rebels outside of Sophia's window. -
Under Attack
The Japanese decided to attack the Russians. Defeat is seemingly all of what Russia experienced during the series of attacks, which led to any support for Nicholas's II Government to totally dissipate. -
Communism?
As Lenin's death left a struggle for power within the Communist Party, Joseph Stalin, on the other hand became victor of the party and had set the country immediately on a different course. Communism seemed to be on the rise. -
Non-Aggression Pact
Just before World War II got underway, Germany and Russia signed a pact to where they agreed to not attack each other. Therefore, this allowed Germany to attack Poland without the fear of Russia interfering, thus starting WWII. -
Germany Betrays
Going against the recently made pact, Germany invades Russia and begins to attack them. Through the end of the year, Germany had seized most of Russia's (Soviet Union) territory in the west. -
Soviet's Victory
With Germany continuing to invade deeper and deeper into Soviet territory, they planned yet another invasion to capture the rail center of Stalingrad. Even though the Soviet army was heavily outnumbered and overpowered in terms of weaponry, they pulled off the victory,especially due to the fact that they were used to harsh weather and temperature in their home country, unlike the Germans were.