ancient russia

8/8/2019 Ancient Russia

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Ancient Russia

The early history of Russia, like those of many countries, is one of migrating peoples and ancientkingdoms. In fact, early Russia was not exactly "Russia," but a collection of cities that gradually coalescedinto an empire. I n the early part of the ninth century, as part of the same great movement that brough theDanes to England and the Norsemen to Western Europe, a Scandanavian people known as theVarangians crossed the Baltic Sea and landed in Eastern Europe. The leader of the Varangians was thesemilegendary warrior Rurik, who led his people in 862 to the city of Novgorod on the Volkhov River.Whether Rurik took the city by force or was invited to rule there, he certainly invested the city. FromNovgorod, Rurik's successor Oleg extended the power of the city southward. In 882, he gained control ofKiev, a Slavic city that had arisen along the Dnepr River around the 5th century. Oleg's attainment of ruleover Kiev marked the first establishment of a unified, dynastic state in the region. Kiev became the centerof a trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, and Kievan Rus', as the empire came to beknown, flourished for the next three hundred years.

By 989, Oleg's great-grandson Vladimir I was ruler of a kingdom that extended to as far south as theBlack Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, and the lower reaches of the Volga River. Having decided toestablish a state religion, Vladimir carefully considered a number of available faiths and decided uponGreek Orthodoxy, thus allying himself with Constantinople and the West. It is said that Vladimir decidedagainst Islam partly because of his belief that his people could not live under a religion that prohibits hardliquor. Vladimir was succeeded by Yaroslav the Wise, whose reign marked the apogee of Kievan Rus'.Yaroslav codified laws, made shrewd alliances with other states, encouraged the arts, and all the othersorts of things that wise kings do. Unfortunately, he decided in the end to act like Lear, dividing hiskingdom among his children and bidding them to cooperate and flourish. Of course, they did nothing ofthe sort.

Within a few decades of Yaroslav's death (in 1054), Kievan Rus' was rife with internecine strife and had

broken up into regional power centers. Internal divisions were made worse by the depradations of theinvading Cumans (better known as the Kipchaks). It was during this time (in 1147 to be exact) that YuriDolgorukiy, one of the regional princes, held a feast at his hunting lodge atop a hill overlooking theconfluence of the Moskva and Neglina Rivers. A chronicler recorded the party, thus providing us with theearliest mention of Moscow, the small settlement that would soon become the pre-eminent city in Russia.

Kievan Rus' struggled on into the 13th century, but was decisively destroyed by the arrival of a newinvader--the Mongols. In 1237 Batu Khan, a grandson of Jenghiz Khan, launched an invasion into KievanRus' from his capital on the lower Volga (at present-day Kazan). Over the next three years the Mongols(or Tatars) destroyed all of the major cities of Kievan Rus' with the exceptions of Novgorod and Pskov.The regional princes were not deposed, but they were forced to send regular tribute to the Tatar state,which became known as the Empire of the Golden Horde. Invasions of Russia were attempted during this

period from the west as well, first by the Swedes (1240) and then by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword(1242), a regional branch of the fearsome Teutonic Knights. In the best news of the era for Russia, bothwere decisively defeated by the great warrior Alexander Nevsky, a prince of Novgorod who earned hissurname from his victory over the Swedes on the Neva River.

For the next century or so, very little seems to have happened in Russia. In fact, given the tributedemanded by the Tatars, there wasn't much money available for building, campaigns, or anything else ofthat sort. With the Tatars off to the southwest, the northeastern cities gradually gained more influence--first Tver, and then, around the turn of the 14th century, Moscow. As a sign of the city's importance, the


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patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church was transferred to the city, making it the spiritual capital ofRussia. By the latter part of the century, Moscow felt strong enough to challenge the Tatars directly, andin 1380 a Muscovite prince named Dmitri Donskoy had the audacity to attack them. His decisive victory atKulikovo Field immediately made him a popular hero, though the Tatar retaliation two years latermaintained their rule over the city. It wasn't until 1480, after another century had passed, that Moscowwas strong enough to throw off Tatar rule for good. Its ruler at that time was Grand Duke Ivan III, betterknown as Ivan the Great. Ivan began by subjugating most of Moscow's rival cities, and by the time he toreup the charter binding it to Tatar tribute he was effectively in control of the entire country. However, itwasn't until the reign of his grandson, Ivan IV (the Terrible), that Russia became a unified state.

Ivan the Terrible succeeded his father Vasily III as Grand Duke of Moscow in 1533 at the age of three.His mother served as regent until she too died, when Ivan was eight. For the next eight years, the youngGrand Duke endured a series of regents chosen from among the boyars (the nobility). Finally in 1547, headopted the title of tsar and set about crushing the power of the boyars, reorganizing the military, andpreparing to smite the Tatars. In 1552 he conquered and sacked Kazan, and in 1556 Astrakhan, havingthus destroyed the lingering power of the Golden Horde. Ivan's Tatar campaigns opened vast new areasfor Russian expansion, and it was during his reign that the conquest and colonization of Siberia began.

Believe it or not, Ivan was not supposed to have been very terrible at all during the early years of his

reign. However, as he grew older his temper worsened, and by the 1560s he carried out a pretty horrificcampaign against the boyars, confiscating their land and executing or exiling those who displeased him.In 1581, in a rage, he struck his son and heir Ivan with an iron rod, killing him.

When Ivan the Terrible died in 1584, he was succeeded by his son Fyodor, who was not exactly up tofilling the shoes of an autocratic legend. Fyodor left most of the management of the kingdom to hisbrother-in-law, Boris Godunov, and it was not long before Godunov began to work to secure thesuccession for himself. In 1591, he murdered Fyodor's younger brother Dmitri in the ancient town ofUglich, a spot now marked by the magnificent Church of St. Demetrius on the Blood. When Fyodor diedin 1598, Godunov was made tsar, but his rule was never accepted as entirely legitimate. Within a fewyears a pretender arose in Poland, claiming to be Dmitri, and in 1604 he invaded Russia. Godunov diedsuddenly the next year, and the "Time of Troubles" began. For the next eight years both the first and asecond false Dmitri laid claims to the throne, both supported by invading Polish armies. Finally, in 1613,

the Poles were ousted from Moscow, and the boyars unanimously elected Michael Romanov as Tsar.The Romanov dynasty was to rule Russia for the next 304 years, until the Russian Revolution brought anend to the Tsarist state.

The early history of Russia, like those of many countries, is one of migrating peoples and ancientkingdoms. In fact, early Russia was not exactly "Russia," but a collection of cities that gradually coalescedinto an empire. I n the early part of the ninth century, as part of the same great movement that brough theDanes to England and the Norsemen to Western Europe, a Scandinavian people known as theVarangians crossed the Baltic Sea and landed in Eastern Europe. The leader of the Varangians was thesemilegendary warrior Rurik, who led his people in 862 to the city of Novgorod on the Volkhov River.Whether Rurik took the city by force or was invited to rule there, he certainly invested the city. FromNovgorod, Rurik's successor Oleg extended the power of the city southward. In 882, he gained control of

Kiev, a Slavic city that had arisen along the Dnepr River around the 5th century. Oleg's attainment of ruleover Kiev marked the first establishment of a unified, dynastic state in the region. Kiev became the centerof a trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, and Kievan Rus', as the empire came to beknown, flourished for the next three hundred years.

By 989, Oleg's great-grandson Vladimir I was ruler of a kingdom that extended to as far south as theBlack Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, and the lower reaches of the Volga River. Having decided toestablish a state religion, Vladimir carefully considered a number of available faiths and decided uponGreek Orthodoxy, thus allying himself with Constantinople and the West. It is said that Vladimir decided


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against Islam partly because of his belief that his people could not live under a religion that prohibits hardliquor. Vladimir was succeeded by Yaroslav the Wise, whose reign marked the apogee of Kievan Rus'.Yaroslav codified laws, made shrewd alliances with other states, encouraged the arts, and all the othersorts of things that wise kings do. Unfortunately, he decided in the end to act like Lear, dividing hiskingdom among his children and bidding them to cooperate and flourish. Of course, they did nothing ofthe sort.

Within a few decades of Yaroslav's death (in 1054), Kievan Rus' was rife with internecine strife and hadbroken up into regional power centers. Internal divisions were made worse by the depradations of theinvading Cumans (better known as the Kipchaks). It was during this time (in 1147 to be exact) that YuriDolgorukiy, one of the regional princes, held a feast at his hunting lodge atop a hill overlooking theconfluence of the Moskva and Neglina Rivers. A chronicler recorded the party, thus providing us with theearliest mention of Moscow, the small settlement that would soon become the pre-eminent city in Russia.

y 500-800 ADEastern Slavs settle in lands west of Volga Rivery 862 ADA Varangian, Rurik, became prince of Novgorod.892 ADOleg, a Viking

warrior, built the first Kievan Rus state.

y907 AD

The campaign of Oleg against Constantinople.

y 912-945 ADThe reign of Igor in Kiev.y 941 AD1st campaign of Igor against Constantinople, which failed.y 944 ADThe second campaign of Prince Igor against Constantinople.

The agreement between Rus and Byzantine Empire.

Rus lost the right of duty-free trade.

Had to help protecting territories of Byzantine Empire). y 945-969 ADIgor Rurikovich gets killed by the Drevlianians.

Princess Olga takes rule as regent for her son Sviatoslav 1. y 957 ADOlga adopts Christianity the name of Elena.y 965 ADThe defeat of Khazars on the Volga by Prince Svyatoslav. y 972 ADAssassination of Prince Svyatoslav by the Pechenegs.y 972-980 ADPrince Yaropolk the son of Sviatoslav 1, ruled.y 980 ADPrince Vladimir Sviatoslavich the illegitimate son of Sviatoslav 1 takes the

throne985 ADThe campaign of Prince Vladimir against Volga Bulgars.y 988 ADEastern orthodoxy became official religion of Kievan Rus.y 1019 ADYaroslav, the son of Valdimir I, became Grand Prince of Kiev. y 1036 ADNomadic, Pechenegs approached Kiev.

Prayed to the Virgin Mary for victory.

King Yaroslav drives them off Ukraine soil.

y 1037Yaroslav orders construction of Cathedral Saint Sophia.It was built on the site of the battle.

y 1054 ADRus trade delined.People shifted to farming.


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y 1100 ADSlavic traditions written down in Primary Chronicle.y 1113 ADVladimir Monomakh comes to rule.y 1125 ADMstislav The Great comes to rule.y 1147 ADMoscow founded.y 1155 ADYuri Dolgoruky comes to rule.y 1237 ADBatu Khan launched an invasion into Kievan Rus

He was the grandson of Jenghiz Khan,

y 1240 ADMongols (Tatars) conquer Rus.Kingdom of the Golden Hind

Forced many Rus people to leave.

Many settle near Moscow.y 1242 ADAlexander Nevsky and his troops defeated the German Christian Teutonic

Knights at the Battle of Lake Peipus.

y 1263 ADAlexander Nevsky gave the duchy of Moscow to his son, Daniel.y 1328 ADIvan I, persuades the Russian Orthodox Church to take up residence in

Moscow.1380 ADDmitry Donskoy, the Prince of Moscow, attacks and defeats theMongols at Kulikovo Field

y 1453 ADConstantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks.Ivan the Greaty 1462 ADGrand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich ends Mongol control. Ivan III took title of

czary 1480 AD1st Russian ruler since Alexander Nevsky to refuse to pay the annual

tribute to the Mongols in the south.y 1505 ADIvan the Great dies.Ivan the Terribley 1547 ADIvan the IV becomes czary 1552 ADIvan the Terrible conquers Kazan in Mongol territory.

Muscovites begin moving eastward.y 1556 ADConquered and sacked Astrakhan.

Destroyed the lingering power of the Golden Hordey 1558 ADMoscow attack Livonia, a land on the Baltic Sea.y 1562 ADLivonia and neighbors defeat Moscow. Take Baltic land. Ivan takes boyar

land.Creates a secret police that kills thousands of enemies.

y 1581 ADIvan struck and killed his son Ivan with an iron rod.y 1584 ADIvan the Terrible dies.

Succeeded by his son Fyodor Most of the management of the kingdom to hisbrother-in-law, Boris Godunov


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y 1591 ADBoris Godunov murdered Fyodor's younger brother Dmitri.y 1598 ADFeydor, son of Ivan, dies. Ruirk dynasty ends.

Boris Godunov proclaimed czar.y 1600-1603 ADCrop failure. Faminey 1605 ADFalse czar crowned.y 1606 ADFalse czar overthrown.

Boyar, Vasiliy Shuyskiy, was proclaimed tsary 1610 AD2nd False czar crowned. Poles occupy Moscow.y 1613 ADMikhail Romanov proclaimed czar.

304 year dynasty begins.yIvan the Terribley Ivan the Terrible succeeded his

father VasiliiIII

and was the first GrandPrince to have himself officially crowned

tsar. With his reign, Russia became a fullyautocratic state. He succeeded to the throne

at the age of three and regents ruled forhim until at the age of 16 he had himself

crowned tsar. He also married Anastasiawho was a member of the Romanov boyar

family. As a boy, Ivan IV suffered underthe regents. While he was treated with

respect in public, in private he was oftenneglected and tortured. He also witnessed

the boyars fighting to come to power.These two things are believed to have

caused Ivan IV to be cruel. As a child hewas known to torture animals, and as an

adult his actions earned him the name Ivanthe Terrible. His title in Russian was

Gronzy which actually means theawesome. He was also very suspicious of

the boyars and heavily persecuted them.This too may have been from seeing the

actions of the boyars when he was a child. He even had a leading boyar named AndreiShuisky fed to the dogs to show his power.

y Ivan IV's reign is usually divided into two parts. During the first half, the good period,Ivan IV ruled with the advise of a council. In 1549 he called together a zemskii sobor,assembly of the land, and then in 1550 established a new law code. He also updated the

army and was initially successfully in military matters, defending Russia's borders to theeast. However, he suffered losses when trying to expand his territories westward. Ivan

also had St. Basil's Cathedral bulit in 1560 to show his victory over Kazan. Also in 1560


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Ivan's wife Anastasia died. He thought that the boyars poisioned her and he becameparanoid. The second half ofIvan IV's reign is known as the bad period. During this time

he discontinued using a council of advisors and became especially suspicious of theboyars. He gained the authority to rule with complete autonomy when he threatened to

abdicate the throne but was asked to continue his rule. This threat was calculated by IvanIV to gi

ve him more power and he got it by agreeing to remain in power but only if hecould rule without the moral guidelines of the church. He said that there were to be no

more trials for those he thinks are against him. Those against him were killed.

y After this, Russia was divided into two areas. In the region known as the Oprichnina IvanIV had sole control. In the other, the boyar Duma was to have direct rule. This agreement

was never carried out though and Ivan IV had sole rule over the entire nation. He used theOprichniki, a militia which was loyal to him to terrorize the country. They wore all black

and rode black horses. (Black being the color of death.) They also had symbols of abroom and a dogs head on their saddles to symbolize that they were sweeping out the

dogs. The Oprichniki were used against the boyars but later on Ivan started killing themwhen he thought they were plotting against him. In fact Ivan destroyed and killed most of

the people liv

ing in Novgorod because they had supposedly risen up against him.

Ivanwas paranoid and prone to mood swings. One day in a fit of rage he killed his eldest son

with a blow to the head. Ivan IV became famous for torturing and executing thousands ofpeople. Even members of the Russian Orthodox church were not exempt from Ivan IV'sexecutions. The church had traditionally been a check on the power of the rulers,

however when church leaders expressed disagreement with Ivan' IV's policies they wereoften tortured and executed. Oddly, Ivan IV was a member of the Russian Orthodox

church and he offered prayers for those he had executed.

y Sources

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