DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• CHAPTER 18

2
How did the Mongol occupation affect Russian
Civilization?

• Moscow princes gained political experience from
  being tax collectors for Mongols
• never reshaped basic Russian values (Mongols more
  interested in tributes not governing)
• most remained Christian
• local issues handled locally
• reduced vigor of Russian cultural life
• lowered literacy among priests
• economic life deteriorated (become purely
  agricultural)
• dependent on peasant labor

3
What was the nature of Russian expansion under
the Ivans?

• focus on central Asia
• desire to push former Mongol overlords back
• south to Caspian Sea, east to Ural mountains
  beyond
• recruited peasants to migrate to seized land
  (Cossacks)
• expansion territories have frontier quality
• move into western Siberia
• offers tsars a way to reward loyal nobles (give
  them estates in new territories)
• provides new agricultural areas sources of
  labor
• eliminates independent central Asia
• adds to Russia diverse people especially Muslim
  (makes it multicultural)

4
What was the extent of Westernization under Peter
the Great?

• streamline bureaucracy military structure
• improve armys weaponry, build navy
• provincial governors appointed, town councils
  elected
• systemized law codes, revise tax system
• build up mining metal industries (means to
  maintain military on own)
• no urbanizing or growing commercial class
• cut off Russian elite from traditions, enhance
  state power
• culture cut off beards, western style clothes,
  ballet
• provide more education in math technical
  subjects
• improve conditions of upper class women
• selective changes (didnt affect ordinary people)
• no wage labor, export economy
• economic development to support military not
  commercial

5
What was the extent of Westernization under
Catherine the Great?

• Western style art architecture
• have nobles tour West be educated there
• tried to avoid cultural influences from West
• involvement in European affairs partitioning of
  Poland
• looked into ideas of enlightenment, imported
  French philosophers
• reform commissions to discuss new law codes
• didnt do as much Westernization as Peter

6
What was the nature of Russian serfdom?

• power of nobility increases 1600 1700s
• gives government a way to satisfy nobility
  regulate peasants when govt. didnt have the
  means to rule peasants directly
• had been basically free farmers before Mongols
• serfs tied to land, hereditary status, born to it
• close to slavery, serfs could be bought sold,
  punished, essentially enslave their own people
• whole villages could be sold as manufacturing
  labor
• did use village governments to regulate lives,
  rely on community ties
• illiterate poor
• paid high taxes, owed labor to landlords or
  government (obrok)
• economic legal situation of the peasantry
  deteriorated
• Catherine turned government of the serfs to
  landlords

7
Why did Russia become economically dependent on
the West?

• 95 population rural
• very small merchant class
• European trade handled by Westerners
• shipping by Westerners
• nobility prevents emergence of merchant class
• export of raw materials small manufacturing
• agricultural methods very traditional
• little motivation among peasantry for improvement
  (never saw any of the gains)

8
What is the basis for the culture of the Russian
masses?

• Orthodox Christianity
• village life
• serfdom
• agriculture
• taxes

9
What characteristics did Eastern Europe share
with Russia?

• coerced labor used to produce grain for export
• Western merchants bring in manufactured goods
  luxury items
• serfs taxed policed by landlords
• intensification of estate agriculture serf
  labor
• eastern Europe starts to be economically
  subordinate to the West

10
Discuss the similarities differences between
the development of the Russian Empire from
1480-1800 the expansion of the west during the
same period.

• both based on military superiority over less
  technically advanced people
• economic zones along the frontiers a colonial
  system incorporating ethnic diversity resulted
• Russian different created a land-based empire,
  lacked mercantile ships or navy
• failed to achieve economic parity with West
• did not cause demographic disaster like in the
  Americas
• did not establish economic dominance over
  frontiers
• failed to develop merchant class, state in charge
  of capitalizing ventures
• retention of an agricultural system more like
  dependent economic zone
• retained coercive labor system, depended on
  export of raw materials imported manufactured
  goods

11
Discuss the impact of Westernization in Russia
during the 17th 18th c. whether the process
overcame the separation of Russia the West.

• introduced Western art forms, mandated Western
  style clothing
• Western style political organization used to
  establish a tsarist autocracy
• economic reforms enabled development of industry
  essential to military
• economic development based on exploitation of
  peasants
• Westernization failed to overcome separation b/t
  Russia West b/c reforms only affected nobility
• masses rely on Orthodox Church for cultural
  influence
• retained rigid serfdom (unlike development of
  proletariat in West)
• drawn toward global trading network as a
  dependent zone