Absolute Rulers in Russia

1
Absolute Rulers in Russia

• Chapter 21
• Section 4

2
Key Terms

• Ivan the Terrible
• Boyars
• Peter the Great
• Westernization

3
The Monarchy and Ivan IV

• 1500s Russia far behind the West
• Boyars- landowners or church officials with
  conservative viewpoints
• Czar-Latin word for caesar or emperor
• 1546 Ivan becomes czar

4
Reforms of Ivan IV

• Created a general council (merchants, low, level
  nobles)
• Promote military on merit
• Drew up a new legal code
• Defeated the Tartars
• Expanded Russian territory

5
Ivan the Terrible

• 1547-1563 known as the good period
• 1560s he changed
• Suspicious of closest advisors
• When his wife died he thought she was murdered
• People were conspiring against him

6
Ivan the Terrible

• Created a 6,000 police force
• Dressed in black and rose black horses
• Controlled half of Russias territory
• Brutal punishment for speaking out
• 1565 seized 12,000 Boyars

7
Ivan the Terrible

• Ordered killing of thousands in Novgorod
• 1581 killed his own son
• Russia left without an heir
• Time of troubles lasted till 1613

8
Russia Contrasts with Europe

• Land of boyars and serfs
• Landowners wanted serfs to stay to produce large
  harvests
• Looked to Constantinople and not Rome for
  leadership

9
Russia Contrasts with Europe

• Russia isolated
• One seaport blocked with ice most of the year
• Religious differences with the west
• Orthodox Christianity
• Viewed as heretics by the west

10
Peter the Great

• Peter became czar in 1682
• Age of 17 took over the throne
• Peter said to be 66
• Stormed Azov- Black Sea port held by the Turks
• Attack was a disaster

11
Peter the Great

• Peter built a better navy
• Peter helped to build the ships
• Built hundreds of ships
• New navy Azov surrendered

12
Peter Rules Absolutely

• Westernization- the process of bringing western
  ideas to Russia
• 1697 Peter went to Europe (Grand Embassy)
• Traveled in disguise
• Learned hands on skills (ship building)

13
Peters Reforms

• Recruited Europeans to bring skills to Russia
• Streltsy rebelled to have his sister on the
  throne
• Disbanded the Streltsy and started modern army

14
Modernization and Reform

• Brought church under state control
• Built up Russian industry
• Started first newspaper
• Started schools
• Modernized calendar
• Promoted based on merit instead of social status

15
Peters Reforms

• Modernized the Army
• Hired European Officers to drill soldiers
• European tactics and weapons
• Soldier became a lifetime job
• 200,000 man army

16
Westernizing Russia

• Russians needed to learn more science
• Wanted to adopt European style of clothing
• Cut off his own long hair and beard
• Boyars resisted this action

17
Westernizing Russia

• Introduced potatoes which became a Russia staple
• Raised womens status to attend social gatherings
• Advanced education by opening a school of
  navigation and a school for the arts and science

18
Establishing Saint Petersburg

• 1700 fought Swedes for warm water port
• Russias other ports choked with ice much of the
  year
• Baltic Sea would open Russian trade
• Built new capitol of Saint Petesburg

19
Establishing Saint Petersburg

• Every summer forced thousands of serfs to leave
  home to work there
• 25,000 to 100,000 die
• Ordered nobles to leave Moscow and settle in new
  capitol
• Russia became a European power by 1725

20
Catherine the Great

• Czar Peter III 1761
• Catherine and soldiers grew angry at his
  incompetence
• Catherine seized power declare Czarina

21
Early Reforms

• Kept Peters westernization efforts
• Built statue said to Peter the First from
  Catherine the Second
• Reformed Russias legal and educational system
• Removed restrictions on trade

22
Challenges to Catherines Rule

• War with Poland
• Russia won and took half of Polands territory
  also on the Black Sea
• Rebellion inside Russia
• Yemelyan Pugachev-claimed he was Peter III

23
Challenges to Catherines Rule

• Gained support among peasants
• Caught and was beheaded
• Catherine needed to strengthen the monarchy in
  rural areas
• Reorganized local government

24
Challenges to Catherines Rule

• Administration, hands of local landowners
• In return for government service taxes were
  reduced
• Gave them absolute control over their lands and
  the peasants