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From 750 to 860, Vikings ruled over the Russian land after traveling from their home, Sweden. They settled west of the Ural Mountains and established small farming communities.
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Because of good trade between Sweden and the Byzantine Empire, small kingdoms were set up along the rivers and became known as Rus, or Kievan Russia.
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The Mongols invaded Russia between 1200 and 1400. They captured all of the land except for the small princedom of Moscow. Because of this, Russia was shut off from the rest of Europe and missed the Renaissance.
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Czar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) became the first Czar of Russia. Anyone who opposed him got killed but he expanded Russia and strengthened the power of the throne.
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In 1613 Czar Michael Romanov came into power for 32 years.
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In 1649 serdom became legal. Serfdom is when serfs can be enslaved by higher ranking people.
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In 1689, Czar Peter the Great became Czar of Russia. He brought back some modernization from Europe. He gave freedoms to the lower class and moved the capitol to St. Petersburg.
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Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Russia with 600,000 men and came back with only 10,000 left.
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Czar Alexander became Czar and emancipated the serfs, built railroads, modern banking systems, made a jury system, and gave freedom of the press.
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Czar Alexander III made the first faberge egg for his wife Czarina Maria.
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Born in 1868, Czar Nicholas II became Czar in 1894, at age 26. He was reluctant to become Czar because Russia's citizens were angry at the Government.
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In 1899 the Trans-Siberian railway was completed. It was 4,500 miles long.
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In May 1906, Czar Nicholas II created a constitutional monarchy by establishing the Duma, an elected Parliament.
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In 1917 riots were caused due to the low food shortages. Czar Nicholas II ordered his army to stop the riots, but his army joined them.
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In 1918, Czar Nicholas II and his family were assassinated by communists. Their bodies were found hidden in a ditch years later.
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The USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) or the Soviet Union was established.
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In 1929 after Lenin's death, Joseph Stalin became the sole dictator of the USSR. He maintained powerin 3 ways by the KGB, the communist party, and the Soviet army.
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In 1948, the USSR took over Germany and divided it into two parts, east and west, for the Allied powers after WW2. West Germany was under control by Britian and the US and was democratic. East Germany was controlled by the USSR and was communist.
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In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became president of Russia.
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In 1989 the Cold War between the US and the USSR finally ended.
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Vladimer Putin became president and served two terms till 5-7-08.
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Dmitry Medvedev is inauguarated for president on 5-7-08. Vladimer Putin was his right hand man and some people thought that Putin was still ruling over Russia.
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Vladimer Putin was elected for president again for Russia and will take office in May 7, 2012. The terms for Russia;s president are six years now so that means Putin will be ruling for a long time.
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Kievan Russia got a lot of their culture from the Byzantine Empire, where their religion was Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The Rus people then converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
