Absolutiasm in Eaastern Europe

  • Ivan's dynsty came to an end

    When Ivan’s dynasty came to an end in 1598, a period of anarchy known as the Time of Troubles followed.
  • Michael Romanov became new czar

    This period did not end until the Zemsky Sobor, or national assembly, chose Michael Romanov as the new czar in 1613.
  • Peter the Great became czar

    One of its most prominent members was Peter the Great. Peter the Great became czar in 1689. Like the other Romanov czars who preceded him, Peter was an absolutist monarch who claimed the divine right to rule.
  • 1703

    A long and hard-fought war with Sweden enabled Peter to acquire the lands he sought. On a marshland on the Baltic in 1703, Peter began the construction of a new city, St. Petersburg, his window on the West.
  • 1725

    He was especially eager to borrow European tech- nology. Only this kind of modernization could give him the army and navy he needed to make Russia a great power. Under Peter, Russia became a great mil- itary power. By his death in 1725, Russia was an important European state.
  • 1917

    The Romanov dynasty lasted until 1917. One of its most prominent members was Peter the Great.