Transcript A (Brief) - GoldenWorldGeo

A (Brief) History of
Russia
Early Peoples
 AD 600S: group called Slavs settled near water in North
European Plain. Eventually split up
 West: Poland, Czech Republic & Slovakia
 South: Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia & Slovenia
 East: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus
 Loose union of city-states, known as Kievan Rus,
organized by Varangians around 900s
 Ruled by princes
 Kiev, the leading city-state, controlled trading route and
used W. Russian rivers as a link between the Baltic & Black
Seas
 Weakened by fighting among city-states, ended by 1200s
when conquered by a group called Mongols
 Territories still had contact with western & central Europe
Rise of Russia
 Moscow became the center of a territory called Muscovy,
under Slavs
 Liknked by rivers to trade routes, surrounded by lands food for
farming and trapping fur-bearing animals
 Why important?
 Known as “Muscovites”
 Eventually able to drive Mongols out
 Prince Ivan III “The Great”
 Brought Slav city-states together, expanded area known as
RUSSIA.
 Built huge fortress called The Kremlin
 Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible)
 Ivan III’s grandson
 Was Russia’s first crowned czar/tsar, or supreme ruler
 Why “terrible?
 Foreign invasion, declining economy, social conflict +
Romanov dynasty in power  peasants becoming serfs, or
virtual slaves of the nobility
The Ivans
Ivan the Great
 United Slav city-states into RUSSIA
 Built the Kremlin
Ivan the Terrible
 Crowned first czar of Russia, or supreme
ruler
 Lower classes became serfs, or virtual
slaves, under his reign
 The Kremlin in Moscow, built by Ivan
the Great
Romanov Czars
 West Europe doing great during Renaissance (15th c.) while Russia was
struggling
 Peter I—Peter the Great
 Russia enlarged territory, strong military, develop of trade in powerful
Europe
 Capital of St. Petersburg: access to Baltic Sea as “Window to the West”
 Catherine the Great
 Expanded Russia further, gained warm-water port on Black Sea
 Other non-Russian countries under Russian rule
 Culturally: adoption of European ways (French as language)
  cultural gap between nobility & serfs
 Serfs had to deal with poverty & heavy work, too.
Russian Revolution
 Inspired by American & French Revolution
 Catalysts:
 Serfs released in 1861, but they were uneducated  working in
factories during Industrial Revolution
 Policy of Russification introduced: required everyone to speak Russian,
follow Eastern Orthodox Christianity
 Non-Russians had issues with this
  creation of SOCIALISM, or a belief calling for greater economic
quality in society
 Karl Marx: German Philosopher
 Public ownership of all lands
 Classless society with equal sharing of wealth
 Prediction: Struggle between wealthy & working classes would lead to
worldwide revolution led by the working class and would end power of
the wealthy
Notable Notables: Karl Marx
 German Philosopher
 Ideas:
 Public ownership of all lands
 Classless society in which
everyone would share
wealth
 Became the groundwork for
COMMUNISM.
Brief Timeline of Russian Revolution
 1905: Bloody Sunday
 Peaceful crowd of workers who were marching in front of the czar’s
palace in St. Petersburg were attacked by soldiers.
 Nearly 1,000 people killed
 February/March Revolution:1917
 WWI hardships  more workers into the streets
 Demanded “bread and freedom” and joined by soldiers
 Caused Czar Nicholas to abdicate (leave) throne, ending rule of czars
in Russia, revolution ends
 Results
 Czar Nicholas abdicates (leaves) throne, ending rule of czars in Russia
 Established representative government
Bloody Sunday, 1905
Czar Nicholas abdicates his
throne: February/March 1917
A Bunch of Bolshevik
 Centralized government established after Russian Revolution =
super weak
 November 1917: Bolsheviks seize control
 Who they were: revolutionary group led by Lenin
 Believed in communism, or a philosophy based on Karl Marx’s ideas
that called for an overthrow of the government & society led by
workers
 Promise to the people: “Peace, land, and bread!”
 Withdrew Russia from WWI, much territory to Germany
 Took over industry, established eight-hour workday, reformed army
 Not supported by everyone  civil war
 Bolshevik Red Army vs. Anti-Bolshevik White Army
Back in the USSR…
 1921: Bolsheviks (now known as Communists) win Civil War
against opponents
 1922: Established Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
 Moscow = capital
 1924: Lenin dies; Joseph Stalin climbs to power
 Took control of farms & factories
  millions killed or died as a result of hunger, physical harships,
or brutal conditions in labor camps
Notable Notables: Joseph Stalin
 Ruthless leader of
the Soviet Union
Back in the USSR... (cont’d)
 USSR as a superpower
 After WWII, USSR controlled much of Eastern Europe. By 1949, many
had become Soviet satellites, or countries controlled by the USSR
 East Germany (remember?!), Hungary, Poland helped
strengthen military and supplied natural resources
 Cold War: 1950s-1990s
 USSR vs USA
 struggle between communist & capitalist economic systems for
world power and influence
 COULD have turned into a nuclear war, but conflict itself was
avoided BECAUSE of this reason.
 Instead, used propaganda against each other, threat of force,
economic aid
 SPACE RACE!!
Cold War Propaganda: USA
 “School Closed”
Cold War Propaganda: USSR
 “Thank you for a
joyful childhood!”
The Break-Up
 USSR Economy weakened during Cold War, everyone else gets
stronger
 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev begins two policies despite being a diehard Communist
 Perestroika: policy of economic restructuring
 Glasnost: political “openness” designed to eliminate censorship in the
government
 Several communist countries overthrow communist rulers in 1989
(Poland, Czechoslovakia) while others declare independence
from Russia (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia)
 December 25, 1991: Gorbachev’s presidency ended, USSR over
 Boris Yeltsin was elected President of Russia
Notable Notables: Mikhail
Gorbachev
 Two policies:
 Glastnost—openness
 Perestroika—economic restructuring
A Whole New World Russia:
Economics
 Russia under Yeltsin: Command  Market economy
 Government control to control of the people
 Initially, caused lots of bad things:
 Massive unemployment because outdated and inefficient
factories closed and because agriculture was restructured
 By 2000, economy DID improve (which was the point, of course)
 Ruble, the currency, began to strengthen and stabilize
Notable Notables: Boris Yeltsin
 Credited with bringing down
the Soviet Union
 Economic policies eventually
helped Russian economy
bounce back after his term
 Seen as inefficient, corrupt by
Russian people
 Eventually left office to deal
with health problems &
alcoholism—died in April 2007
A Whole New World Russia: Ethnic
Tensions
 1990s: ethnic territories wanted complete break from Moscow
 Russian government vs. Chechnya
 1991: Chechnya declares independence
 Fear of Russia’s break-up  Yeltsin sending Russian troops in
Chechnya in 1994
 Claimed to control much of the territory under Vladimir Putin, who
was Yeltsin’s successor, Chechens still fighting
 Result:
 335,000 people displaced
 Food shortages
 Ravaged oil-based economy
 Also drained economic-development funds from Russia!
Russia Today
 Current president: Vladimir Putin
 1st presidential term: 2000-2008
 Prime Minister under Mendevev: 2008-2012
 Re-elected president in 2012—will serve until at least
2016
 Russia is a major industrial power, but factories & plants are
outdated, inefficient, and in terrible condition
 Less than 8% of the land is arable
 Good grain production  (North European Plain)
 Economy is growing after hit in the late ’90s, but still has
hurdles
 Organized crime, high levels of poverty, scarred
environment (years of neglect and no regulations)
 Also, high rates of alcoholism!