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Apr 5, 1462
Ivan III (The Great)
Ivan III the Great was the grand prince of Moscow and the grand prince of all Russia. During his reign, the Russian state gained independence from the Mongol Tatars, finally ending 200 years of their rule. Ivan also made Moscow the center of the Russian world by considerably expanding its borders. -
Jan 16, 1547
Ivan IV (The Terrible)
Ivan the Terrible created a centrally controlled Russian state, imposed by military dominance. He revised the law, created a standing army, confirmed the position of the Church and created a Parliament. Many believe him to have been mentally ill. Ivan IV went into a deep depression and his behavior became more erratic. Ivan IV conducted a reign of terror, He did have the architects of St. Basil's blinded, so they could never again build a structure so beautiful. -
Michael Romanov
He was the founder of the Romanov dynasty. His involvement in the government helped increase diplomatic, commercial, and cultural contact with Western Europe helped Russian get through this time of problems. -
Peter I (The Great)
He saw himself as a dominan and powerful ruler, who did much to modernize Russia. He carried out a policy of modernization and expansion that turned Russia into an empire. He created the Russian Navy and moderinized the Russian Military. He also defeated the Ottomans to gain a port on the black sea for his new navy to operate from. -
Catherine II (The Great)
Her reign was called Russia's golden age. She was the first Russian ruler of any competence.She acquired a lot of land for her country. This includes the Crimea and lands along the Black Sea. Russia was revitalized under her reign, growing larger and stronger than ever and becoming recognized as one of the great powers of Europe. -
Alexander II
Alexander was a successful Russian reformer. He freed the serfs who were ensalved humans. He brought in political reforms in the cities and in the provinces to increase participation in political life. He also created programme of industrialisation to build up the resources needed for a modern military power. -
Nicholas II
He was an emperor and autocrat and under his reign, Russia went from being one of the top powers in the world to economic and military collapse. He was nicknamed bloody Nicholas. -
Alexander Kerensky
He served as the minister of justice, minister of war and Prime Minister but was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in the October revolution. He was also the leader of the February Revoltion. -
Joseph Stalin
Stalin helf office until 1952. He replaced the new economic policy with a command economy which started a period of industrialization. He also led the Soviet Union throughout WWII. -
Vladimir Lenin
Politically he was a Marxist and his ideas today are known as Leninism. He was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1922-1924, and he led the October revoltuion of 1917. He is also known as the founder of the Soviet Union. -
Nikita Khrushchev
He was the first secretary of the communist party in the Soviet Union. He also began the policy called "Socialism in Africa Doctrine" which made the focus of the Cold War shift to Africa. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev was the 7th and last leader of the Soviet Union. His actions with Ronald Regan and his agreement with his troups helped contribute to the end of the Cold War. He recieved the Otto Hahn Peace Medal in 1989, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 and the Harvey Prize in 1992. -
Borris Yelstin
He was the first offical Russian President elcected by popular vote, and was reelcted again in 1996 until his resignation on 1999. Hetried to transform Russias soialist comand economy into a free market economy, but the reforrms ended up as an "economy genocide." -
Dmitri Medvedev
He was the youngest of the three Russian Presidents who have served. In the economic sphere, Medvedev has launched a modernisation programme which aims at modernising Russia's economy and society, decreasing the country's dependency on oil and gas -
Vladimir Putin
He is the current president of Russia. Putin has been created many laws. Putin recently signed into a law a ban on the U.S. adoption of Russian children. Putin has further strained relations with the United States the following year. -
Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev
Vladimir I, Grand Prince of Kiev and of all Russia, was an outstanding political figure in ancient Russia. During his rule, Christianity was adopted in Russia. The Christian Vladimir also expanded education, judicial institutions, and aid to the poor.
