Russia between 800-1584
The history of Russia began many centuries ago. By the 800's Slavic groups had founded many towns in what is now the European part of Russia and Ukraine, of which the two most important once are Novgorod and Kiev (1). In 882 a Viking chieftain named Oleg, captured the city of Kiev, situated on the Dnepr River. Kiev became the capital of the state Kievan Rus, and extended from the lakes north of Novgorod to south of Kiev. Kievan Rus became an important power and was recognized as a cultural and commercial center. It had a flourishing trade with the Bezantine Empire, with Constantinople as it's capital, as well as with western European and Asian states. The ruler of Kiev came to be called Grand prince and ranked above the other princes of Kievan Rus followed by the retainers of the prince, the druzhina. With the evolution of the Kievan state the retainers of the prince and the regional nobility fused into a single group named the boyars. The chief Kievan political institutions were the office of prince, the duma or council of the boyars, and the veche or town assembly, which have been linked to monarchic, aristocratic, and democratic aspects of the Kievan state. In both justice and administration the prince occupied the key positio
In the appanage period the Church maintained and developed its strong and privileged position. But they interfered very little with Russian life in general. In 1547 Ivan IV(Ivan the Terrible) became the first ruler to be crowned czar. The Cyrillic alphabet, a modified Greek alphabet created by Byzantine missionaries to translate the Scriptures and church liturgy into the Slavic language, gave impetus to the creation of a written history, literature, and law. Kievan Rus grew into it's golden age under Prince Yaroslav(1036-1054). (5) Fundamental role of agriculture in Kievan economy determined the social character of the prince and his druzhina and indeed the class structure of Kievan society. Mongols also appointed the Russian Grand Prince and forced many Russians to serve in their armies (conscription for life for one out of every ten Russian men into the Mongol military service). The victory briefly freed Moscow of Mongol control. Ivan also tried to win lands northwest to the Baltic Sea, but was defeated by Lithuanian, Polish, and Swedish armies (4). The structure of society was different from Europe's feudal system, where serfs worked the land as tenants in exchange for services to a noble landowner. Power was rooted in the military strength of the Prince and his guard, but occasionally veche did rise in revolt against a Prince. The Kievan Russsians had two religions in succession: paganism and Christianity. The prices occupied the highest rung on the social ladder. Under his rule, Russian forces crossed the Ural Mountains to conquer Kazan, Astrakhan, and western Siberia, opening the way for Russia to cross the continent to the Pacific Ocean (2). However, the peasant could still leave his master once a year, in late autumn, provided his accounts had been settled.
Common topics in this essay:
Kievan Rus,
Western Influences,
Kievan Russia,
Ivan IV,
Russian Mongol,
Lithuanians Germans,
Moscow Mongol,
Culture5 Fundamental,
Ivan III,
Volga River,
kievan rus,
grand prince,
appanage period,
mongol control,
orthodox church,
appointed russian grand,
golden horde,
russian orthodox,
veche town,
prince druzhina,
retainers prince,
veche town assembly,
russian orthodox church,
russian grand prince,
|
Acceptance Essays
