Essay questions

chap14-russia_wk3.pptx

Russian Empire- Chapter 14

History 015

Largest Empire in the World

Russia

Beginning of Empire

A small Russian state centered on Moscow began to emerge ca. 1500.

1.Moscow began to conquer neighboring cities

2.over three centuries grew into a massive empire

Russian Empire

3.early expansion into the grasslands for security against nomads

4.expansion into Siberia was a matter of opportunity (especially furs), not threat

Expansion of Russian Empire

Experiencing the Russian Empire

1.conquest was made possible by modern weapons and organization

2.conquest brought devastating epidemics, especially in remote areas of Siberia.

A. locals had no immunity to smallpox and measles

Experiencing the Russian Empire

3. pressure to convert to Christianity

4. large-scale settlement of Russians in the new lands, where they outnumbered the native population (e.g., in Siberia)

Siberian Nomads

Experiencing the Russian Empire

5. discouragement of pastoralism

6. many natives were Russified

Russians and Empire

1.with imperial expansion, Russians became a smaller proportion of the overall population

2.rich agricultural lands, furs, and minerals helped make Russia a great power by the eighteenth century

b.reinforced autocracy

Peter the Great

Romanovs

Romanovs Palace

Russian Peasants

Russian Peasant House

Russians and Empire

3. became an Asian power as well as a European one

4. long-term Russian identity problem

5. expansion made Russia a very militarized state

Russians and Empire

5. colonization experience was different from the Americas

a. conquest of territories with which Russia had long interacted

b. conquest took place at the same time as development of the Russian state

c. the Russian Empire remained intact until 1991