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After freeing themselves from Mongol domination by 1480, the Russians pushed east state of ward. Russia, with its Byzantine-influenced gloss, had been unimportant in world affairs before the fifteenth blow Russias Expansionist governing under the Tsars. During the fourteenth century, the duchy of Moscow took the lead in liberating Russia from the Mongols. Ivan dizzy gave his government a military focus and used a locomote of nationalism and the Orthodox Christian religion Creating a bragging(a) autarkic state The Need for Revival Mongols had not reshaped basic Russian culture.However, decreased the vigor of cultural and economic life Literacy declined and the economy became purely countrified and dependent on peasant labor. Ivan Ill restored the tradition of underlyingized rule, added a sense of lofty mission, and claimed supervision of both Orthodox Churches Russia, asserted Ivan, had succeeded Byzantium as the Third Rome. Ivan IV continued the policy of expansion He ch ange magnitude the power of the tsar by killing many of the nobility (boyars)earning the bring in of Ivan the Terrible Patterns of Expansion. Territorial expansion focused on profound Asia.By the one-sixteenth century, they moved into western Siberia Peasant adventurers (cossacks) were recruited to occupy the new lands. Loyal nobles and bureaucrats trustworthy land grants in the territories The conquests gave Russia change magnitude agricultural regions and labor sources Slavery existed into the ordinal century Important trading connections opened with Asian neighbors. Russia eliminated sovereign central Asia as a source of nomadic invasions Russia became a multicultural state. The large Muslim population was not forced to assimilate to Russian culture. Western Contact and Romanov PolicyThe tsars, mindful of the cultural and economic lag occurring under Mongol rule, also began a policy of carefully managed contacts with the West. Ivan Ill dispatched diplomatic missions to s teer Western states under Ivan V, British merchants established trading contacts. Italian contrivanceists brought in by the tsars built churches and the Kremlin, creating a distinct style of architecture When Ivan IV died without an heir early in the seventeenth century, the Time of Troubles commenced. The boyars tried to guard government, while Sweden and Poland seized territory. In 1613, the oyars chose a member of the Romanov family, Michael, as tsar.The Time of Troubles stop without placing lasting constraints on the tsars power. Michael restored internal order, drove out the foreign invaders, and recommenced imperial expansion. Alexis Romanov increased the tsars authority by abolishing the because conservative believers resisted changes to their established rituals. The government exiled these antiquated Believers to Siberia or southern Russia. Russias First westernization, 1690-1790 lance l, the Great, continued past policies only when added a new interest in changing th e conomy and culture by imitation of Western forms.It was the first Westernization effort in history bill traveled incognito to the West and gained an interest in science and applied science Many Western artisans returned with him to Russia. Tsarist Autocracy of Peter the Great Peter was an autocratic ruler revolts were brutally suppressed. Reforms were initiated through state decrees. Peter increased the power of the state through recruitment of bureaucrats from outside the aristocracy and by forming a Western-type military force A secret police was created to pursue over bureaucracy Foreign policy followed existing patterns.A successful war with Sweden gave Russia a window on the Baltic Sea, allowing it to be a major(ip) factor in European diplomatic and military affairs detonator moved to Baltic city of St. Petersburg. What Westernization Meant Peters reforms influenced politics, economics, and cultural change. The bureaucracy and military were reorganized on Western princip les. The first Russian naw was created The councils of nobles were eliminated and replaced by advisors under his bid Law codes were systematized and the tax system re make to increase burdens on the peasantry metallurgic and mining industries were expandedCultural reforms aimed at bringing in Western patterns to change overaged customs. Nobles had to shave their beards and dress in Western style He succeeded in bringing the elite into the Western cultural zone The condition of f number class women improved No attempt was made to form an trade industrial econom Westernization meant to Peter the encouragement of autocratic rule These changes brought resistance from all classes. Consolidation under Catherine the Great Several decades of weak rule followed Peters end in 1724.Significant change resumed during the reign of Catherine (1762-1796). She used the Pugachev peasant rebellion as an excuse to extend central government authority Catherine was also a Westernizer and brought En lightenment ideas to Russia She gave new power over serfs to the nobles in return for their assist in the bureaucracy and military Catherine continued patronage of Western art and architecture, Russian expansionist policies continued. By the time of her death, Russia had completed an important transformation.Over three centuries the tsars created a strong central state ruling over the worlds great land empire. New elements from the West had entered and altered Russias conomy and culture. Themes in Early recent Russian History Serfdom and a deep-rooted peasant culture did not mesh with Westernization efforts. The Russian nobility, through state service, maintained a vital position Smaller, incompletely Westernized landowners lived less wealthy lives.Serfdom The Life of easterly Europes Masses Before the Mongol conquest, Russias peasantry had been relatively free. The government from the sixteenth century encouraged serfdom A 1649 act made serfdom communicable other seventeenth and eighteenth century laws tied serfs to the land and increase the legal rights of landlords. Serfs were al close slaves they were bought, sold, and punished by owners. Peasant conditions were similar in Eastern Europe. Peasants labored on large estates to produce grain for trade to the West.Western merchants in return brought the serfs owners manufactured and luxury items. Peasants did have some rights village governments regulated many aspects of life Most peasants remained poor and illiterate They paying(a) high taxes and performed extensive labor services in agriculture, mining, and manufacturing Trade and economical Dependence. There were few large cities in Russia 95% of the population was hoidenish Artisans also ere few, since most manufacturing was rurally based. Small merchant groups existed, only most trade was handled by Westerners.Peter the Greats reforms increased trade, yet the nobility managed to prevent the outgrowth of a strong commercial class. Russias soci al and economic system had strengths. It produced equal to(predicate) revenue for the expanding empire, supported the aristocracy, and allowed significant population growth. Commerce was carried on with independent central Asian regions. Agricultural methods remained traditional, and peasants lacked incentives to increase production for the benefit of landlords.Social upheaval By the end of the eighteenth century, Russian reformers were criticizing their nations backwardness and urging the abolishment of serfdom. Peasant discontent was more significant Peasants remained loyal to the tsar, but fiendish landlords for the harshness of their lives. Periodic rebellions occurred from the seventeenth century The tsar and nobility triumphed, but peasant discontent remained a problem In Depth international Empires During the early modern period, Russia created the longest-lasting multinational empire The Mughal Empire ended during the 19th centurySpecial characteristics of the Russian Empire were the presence of a large core of cultural groups prepared to spread widely and establish new settlements Russian index to adopt Western techniques. Such states included minority ethnicities but substantial methods to achieve national unity. From the nineteenth century onward, there have been effective clashes between national loyalties and multinational empires Russia and Eastern Europe Regions west of Russia formed a fluctuating borderland between western and eastern European interests In the Ottoman Balkans, trade with the West spread Enlightenment concepts.Poland and the Czech and Slovak areas were a part of the Some Eastern regions were participants in the Protestant reclamation Many of the smaller states lost political autonomy. The largest state, Poland, was linked to the West by shared Roman Catholicism By 1600, Polish aristocrats weakened the central government and exploited peasants Urban centers and a merchant class were miss The kingdom was partitioned by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Global Connections Russia and the World The Russian empire was diametric from those in the West, but its effect was enormous on two continents in this era.