-
800
Early Russian History 800CE to 1200CE
800 CE - Scandinavian Warriors (Varangians) & Slavs settle near Volga & Dnieper Rivers
1200 CE - Mongols invade Kyiv - rule area for over 200 years
upheaval -
1470
Ivan the Terrible
1530 CE- Ivan IV “The Terrible” became Russia’s first crowned czar
Czar - Supreme Ruler
The country faced foreign invasions, economic decline, & social upheaval -
Early History 1650 to late 1600s
800 CE - Scandinavian Warriors (Varangians) & Slavs settle near Volga & Dnieper Rivers
1200 CE - Mongols invade Kyiv - rule area for over 200 years
1470 CE - Ivan III “The Great” ended Mongol rule; expanded territory -
Revolutions & Change 1848 to 1881
Serfs moved to cities
Non-Russians faced prejudice
Russification - which encouraged people to speak Russian & follow E Orthodox Christianity
Workers sought Socialism
Socialism - a belief that calls for greater economic equality in society
Karl Marx -” classless society” equal sharing of wealth, public ownership of land (1848) -
1855 Death of a Monarch
Czar Alexander II - 1855 was assassinated -
(1917) Bolsheviks
1917 Bolsheviks seized control from Czar Nicholas II
Bolsheviks - revolutionary group, believing in Communism, led by Vladimir Lenin -
Joseph Stalin (1922 to 1952)
Governed Russia with an ‘Iron Fist’ (1922-1952)
Eliminated those who disagreed w/his policies
Killed 20-25 million Russians (Hunger, Murder)
Defeated Hitler in WWII
Demanded half of Europe after WWII -
Lenin- Stalin- Putin 1917 to 1924
Communism - a philosophy based on Karl Marx’s ideas that called for the violent overthrow of the government & a society led by workers
Vladimir Lenin - head of Soviet government from 1917-1924
Changed the Soviet Union into a one-party Communist State
Organized the death & persecution of up to 140K people, many members of the high-class bourgeoisie -
Post WWII (1985)
Cold War - Soviet Union (Communism) vs. NATO (US/allies) (Democracy)
4 Decades
State of geopolitical tension where both sides did not directly attack each other, but propped up smaller nations in “proxy wars”.
Vietnam
Korea
1985- Mikhail Gorbachev assumed power
Reform-minded
Perestroika - the policy of economic restructuring
Glasnost - the policy of greater political openness -
(1991-Present)
Communism collapses (Republics declared independence)
Boris Yeltsin named 1st President
Command to Market economy
Vladimir Putin - became President 1999
Stabilized economy
Joined NATO
Named successor - Dimitry Medvedev
Appointed self “Prime Minister” 2008
Ran for 3rd term : 2011:
Still President (6-year terms)
