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| History of Iran |
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Early Settlements of Eastern Slavs There are some traces of the eastern Slavs’ visit to what is today Russia, and was at that time the “East European Plain,” sometime around the 3rd century. The Varangians’ Rurik was the first to establish a state in Novgorod, which is an area to the south of present-day St. Petersburg, during the 10th century. After the Varangians’ Rurik dynasty the Kievans came to power and formed their state, which was called Kievan Rus. The Kievan Rus was responsible for lending a Slavic touch to the Eastern Orthodox religion. The division of Kievan Rus led to the evolution of Russian and other forms or communities. Fall of the Kievan Dynasty The Kievan Rus rulers were unable to assert control over the regional clans. As the regional groups increased in number, they began to show interest in regional developments, to the detriment of the dynasty’s interests. These regional groups were split into three main nationalities: Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. The Russians settled in the north and northeast and the Ukrainians settled in the southeast and southwest while the Belarusians occupied the northwest. In the north, the Republic of Novgorod was formed. After the fall of Kievan Rus the Novgorod functioned independently and was ruled by local authorities and a Prince who headed the city’s military. This area flourished due to their control over the trade routes from the Volga River to the Baltic Sea. The northeast was colonized by the Slavs, who eventually headed the formation of Muscovy. The Formation of Moscow The Mongols invaded the Kievan Rus several times starting in the year 1223. There were several invasions and they caused major destruction everywhere except for in the Republic of Novgorod. Furthermore, this area saw the formation of a prosperous new city that was named Moscow and was controlled by the Mongols. Imperial Russia Peter the Great became the sole controller of the Muscovy state in 1696. Peter was the founder of the First Russian Navy, which helped him to invade the Azov Fortress. Peter had great acumen when it came to building a military and had learned western tactics for building a strong army. He fought with several rulers from Europe and finally became Tsar in 1721 when he transformed the Muscovy state into the Russian Empire. Following Peter’s death, several members of his family tried to rule Russia; but, either due to internal family rivalries or to outside culprits, no one was able to leave a mark similar to that of Peter the Great. Peter III, the grandson of Peter the Great, married Catherine II, who was a German and who managed to depose her husband to become the empress of Russia. The reign of Catherine II was a remarkable time for Russia. New territories were captured and Russia was further divided into districts and provinces according to population types. She also brought law and order and was able to put in place most of the ideas of governance that Peter the Great had wanted to implement. It was during her rule that the modern, stronger Russia evolved militarily, politically and diplomatically. |