Geography and Heritage of Russia and Eastern Europe

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Geography and Heritage of Russia and Eastern
Europe

• Section 2
• Early Traditions

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Kievan Rus

• First Russian state created in late A.D. 800s in
  present day Ukraine
• Vikings from Scandinavia conquered the local
  Slavic people and ruled over a loose
  confederation of city-states
• This state was called Kiev and resided on the
  Dnieper River
• They mainly traded fur, honey, and crops

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Kievan Rus
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Byzantine Influences

• The Byzantine Empire ( also known as the Eastern
  Roman Empire) was the most advanced civilization
  in Europe at the time
• Russia borrowed two important ideas from the
  Byzantines which included writing and
  Christianity
• 860 A.D. two monks named Cyril and Methodius
  spread Christianity from Constantinople to other
  eastern communities
• They created the Cyrillic alphabet, a mixture of
  Greek and Hebrew, that allowed Eastern Europeans
  to read the Bible
• 988 A.D. Prince Vladimir converted to Byzantine
  Christianity (He was impressed by their wealth,
  the Hagia Sophia, and that the Byzantine Emperor
  not the Pope in Rome was the head of the Church)

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Cyril and Methodius

• Vladimir

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The Hagia SophiaNothing remains of the first
church that was built on the same site during the
4th century. Following the destruction of the
first church, a second was built by Constantius,
the son of Constantine the Great, but was burned
down during the Nika riots of 532. The building
was rebuilt under the personal supervision of
emperor Justinian I and rededicated on December
27, 537.
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Split in Christianity

• 1054, Christians split into the Roman Catholic
  and Eastern Orthodox Church
• Eventually the Russians had their own independent
  Orthodox Church
• The split occurred over
• 1) the use of icons
• 2) linguistics Latin vs. Greek
• 3) discrepancies over the Holy Trinity ( the
  filioque clause in the Nicene Creed)
• 4) who is head of the Church

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Mongol Rule

• 1200s. The Tatars, a group of Mongols destroyed
  Kiev and other cities, resulting in many deaths
  and enslavement
• The Mongols heavily taxed the Russians with
  tribute and weakened ties with the Byzantines
• The occupation lasted for 250 years and caused a
  lasting distrust for foreigners in Russia

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The Rise of Moscow

• Russian princes secretly withheld some tribute
  from the Mongols
• The location of the city with its importance to
  trade and seat of the Russian Orthodox Church
  made it very powerful
• Ivan the Great Ivan III, the prince of Moscow
  who ruled from 1462-1505 created a unified
  Russian state, kicked out the Mongols , and
  established a strong central goverment

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Ivan the Great

• Based his government on Byzantine traditions
• Married the last Byzantine princess, Sophia, in
  1472 and claimed the title of Czar (meant emperor
  or Caesar)
• He ruled as an autocrat, claiming absolute power
  and destroyed the power of the nobility giving
  himself ultimate control

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Ivan the Great
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Ivan the Terrible

• Further centralized power and started feudalism
• Feudalism was in decline in Europe when rising in
  Russia
• Ivan had a reign of terror against nobles and
  citizens who opposed him
• He killed many and was very ruthless hence the
  name
• He utilized a secret police force which was the
  precedent for later organizations such as the KGB

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Ivan the Terrible
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A Window on the West Peter the Greats Vision

• Tried to modernize Russia through his clandestine
  visit to Germany
• He tried to work as a disguised ordinary citizen
  in gun factories and in various trades
• Most people recognized him because he was 7 ft.
  tall
• He founded Saint Petersburg, which was supposed
  to idealize western values
• He forced women to take more role in public life
  and he forced people to dress in western clothing
• He even shaved his own nobles at court to make
  them look more western!

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Peter the Great