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800
The Slavs
The Slavs were the original people of what would eventually become Russia. They all shared one culture and spoke similar languages, but they had no political unity. -
862
The Founding of Novgorod
In the 800's CE, Vikings came down from Scandinavia to Russia and settled peacefully among the Slavs. Rurik, the chief of these Vikings, founded the city of Novgorod in 862 CE. -
880
Kiev
In 880 CE, a nobleman named Oleg moved from Novgorod to the city of Kiev. Kiev eventually became a principality, a small state ruled by a prince. As Kiev was becoming a principality, Vikings and Slavs started intermarrying, and the line between Vikings and Slavs eventually disappeared. -
989
The Christianization of Russia
In 957 CE, Princess Olga of Kiev visited Constantinople and publicly converted to Christianity. In 980 CE, her grandson Vladimir came to power, and he considered conversion to Christianity. In 989 CE, Vladimir held a mass baptism of Kiev's population into Christianity. -
1019
The Rise of Kiev
Prince Vladimir led the way in establishing Kiev's power. He expanded Kiev west into what is now Poland and north almost to the Baltic Sea. He also fought off troublesome nomads from the steppes to the south. In 1019, Vladimir's son Yaroslav the Wise came to the throne and made Kiev even greater than it was before. He married off his daughters and sisters to the kings and princes of Western Europe. Those marriages helped him forge important trading alliances. -
1054
The Decline of Kiev
Kiev's decline began with Yaroslav's death in 1054. Before his death, he divided his realm among his sons, instead of following the tradition of passing on the throne to the eldest son. That proved to be a big mistake. His sons ended up fighting each other over each other's territory, tearing Kiev apart and leaving it vulnerable to conquest... -
1240
The Khanate of the Golden Horde
In 1240, Kiev finally fell. The Mongols, led by Batu Khan (the grandson of Genghis Khan), established a Mongol kingdom where Kiev once was, and that kingdom was called the Khanate of the Golden Horde. -
1480
Russia's Independence From the Mongols
The Mongols ruled Russia for many, many years. But when Ivan III became the prince of Moscow, he openly challenged Mongol rule. He called himself "czar" and publicly claimed his intent to make Russia an independent nation and an empire. In 1480, after refusing to pay the Mongols annual tribute, Russian and Mongol armies faced each other at the Ugra River. However, neither army advanced to fight. A few hours later, both armies turned around and went home. Russia was finally free! -
1547
Ivan the Terrible
After liberating Russia from the Mongols, Ivan III ruled Russia until 1505. Ivan's successor was Vasily III, who ruled for 28 years. Vasily's successor was Ivan IV, who was more famously known as Ivan the Terrible. When Ivan was just a kid, he was abused by the boyars fighting for control of the Russian throne. When Ivan was 16, he seized power and had himself crowned czar of Russia. His reign lasted from 1547 to 1584. -
The Time of Troubles
After Ivan IV's death, his son Feodor became the next czar of Russia. However, he suffered from a learning disability, making him incapable of ruling Russia. When he died in 1598, Russia entered a period of political turmoil called the Time of Troubles. For 13 years, the boyars fought against each other for absolute control over Russia, and then, in 1613, the Time of Troubles ended. The next czar was a man named Michael Romanov, and he started the famous Romanov dynasty. -
Peter the Great's Birth
Peter the Great was born on June 9, 1672 in Moscow. He was the son of Czar Alexis of Russia. -
Peter the Great Becomes Czar
Peter became the czar of Russia in 1682, but he wasn't the sole ruler. At first, he ruled alongside his brother Ivan, but in 1696, Ivan died and Peter became the sole ruler of Russia. -
The Grand Embassy
In 1697, Peter went on an 18-month trip to Western Europe that was known as the Grand Embassy. The reasons for the Grand Embassy was the modernization of Russia and the adoption of Western European culture into Russia. Peter loved visiting Western Europe, but the Grand Embassy was cut short in 1698, when Peter was forced to go back home to put down a rebellion. -
The Great Northern War
Peter brought Western European culture back to Russia, and it caught on like wildfire. Russia was now a modern European nation, but it needed only one more thing: a seaport to connect Russia to the rest of Europe. The only seaport that would connect Russia to the rest of Europe was one on the Baltic Sea, but the entire area surrounding the Baltic Sea was already taken by someone: Sweden. So, in 1700, Russia declared war on Sweden. The war lasted for 21 years, and Russia won the war. -
Peter the Great Becomes Emperor
After winning the Great Northern War, the Senate changed Peter's title from czar to emperor. This made him even more powerful than when he was czar. -
Peter the Great's Death
In November of 1724, Peter went to the Gulf of Finland. Suddenly, he saw a group of soldiers drowning from a ship that ran aground on a sandbank. In order to save them, he heroically dove into the icy Finnish waters. He saved the soldiers, but he caught a cold while doing it, so he had to go back to the palace. After two months of having a cold, on February 8, 1725, at four or five in the morning, Peter finally died. He was 52 years old at the time of his death.
