RISE OF THE CZARS Medieval Russia Russia came under the control of the Mongols Moscow rulers began to reassert themselves over Mongol rule 1505 Prince of Moscow had become Czar Czar also served as head of the Orthodox Church Associated with the Byzantine (Eastern) branch of Christianity St. Basils Cathedral, Moscow 16 th & 17 th Century Russian Society Power tended to rest with the powerful Russian nobility (boyars) Held land & controlled the serfs the nobility struggled for control with the new czars To gain control, the new czars used the nobility to serve the Russian state Created a government bureaucracy Mandatory military service Nobles were the high-ranking military officers The Russian Peasantry Vast majority of Russians were peasants & serfs Cossacks were outlaw armies of peasants who often challenged the government & boyars Major source of civil unrest & fear Cossack on Duty by Jozef Brandt The Romanov Family 1613 Michael Romanov selected Czar of Russia He & his successors moved Russia toward a more autocratic rule Total enserfment of the Russian peasantry accomplished in 1649 Military service demands were relaxed for boyars Change met with opposition & civil unrest Cossacks challenged power of the state Peter the Great (r ) Committed to policy of Westernization for Russia selective political, economic, & cultural change persuading Russians to change their life proved difficult to impose his will, he became the most autocratic of Europes absolute monarchs During his reign he Built up Russian military organization, 1 st Russian navy, nobles as officers Engaged in wars & some territorial expansion Baltic & Black Seas regions Maintained alliances with Austria & Poland against the Ottomans Forced nobility into military or civil service for life Established compulsory education for all young nobles scientific academies Standardized law code & tax system taxes on peasants increase Encouraged mining using serf labor Attempted to change traditional fashion Boyars to shave beards & wear Western dress Westernization of Russia kept in check Peters orders bureaucracy Chancery of Secret Police Policies encouraged the extension of serfdom Expansion under Peter the Great Set out to extend Russia to the west & south unsuccessfully fought Ottomans to gain warm-water port Long war with Sweden that gave Russia land along Baltic Sea Build new capital = St. Petersburg Exploration of Bering Strait region (between Siberia & Alaska) Peterhof Peter the Greats Palace Catherine the Great (r ) An efficient, energetic empress who ruled in the tradition of absolute monarchs, Catherine Continued selective Westernization welcomed philosophes, patronize arts & sciences Reward nobles for service to the central government given greater authority over peasants (taxation, justice) Territorial expansion partition of Poland (Russia gains eastern portion) successful war against Ottomans gain Crimea & warm-water port on Black Sea Siberia & Alaska Suppression of Resistance Pugachev Uprising Legacy of Russian Absolutism Russian absolutism created an environment of social & political tensions in Russia that would last into the 20 th Century Russia would continue to struggle with modernization &Westernization Absolutism would eventually fail as Russia moved toward socialism & communism in the late 19 th & early 20 th Centuries