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King Rurik rules the region from the city of Novgorod. The people are known as the Rus.
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King Oleg moves the capital city to Kiev.
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The kingdom of the Kievan Rus expands and grows in power under the rule of Vladimir the Great.
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Yaroslav the Wise becomes king. The Kievan Rus reach their peak in power. A written code of law is established.
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The land is invaded by the Mongols. They destroy much of the region's cities.
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Ivan III frees Russia from the Mongols.
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Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible, is crowned the first Tsar of Russia.
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Ivan IV conquers Kazan and extends his kingdom.
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The start of the Polish-Russian War. Poland invades Russia.
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The Romanov dynasty begins when Michael Romanov is elected Tsar. The Romanov dynasty will rule until 1917.
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The Salt Riot occurs in Moscow over the introduction of a salt tax.
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Peter the Great becomes tsar. He will establish Russia as a world power introducing reforms and creating a standing army.
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The start of the Great Northern War with Sweden.
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Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg.
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Saint Petersburg becomes the capital of the Russian Empire.
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Russia wins the Great Northern War gaining territory including Estonia and Livonia.
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Start of the Russo-Turkish War against the Ottoman Empire.
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Tsar Peter III is assassinated and his wife Catherine II takes the crown. She will rule for 34 years in what will be called the Golden Age of the Russian Empire.
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Napoleon invades Russia. His army is nearly destroyed by the Russian winter weather. But is then defeated in 1814.
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The Crimean War begins. Russia eventually loses to an alliance of France, the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and Sardinia.
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Russia sells Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million.
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Russia goes to war against Japan in Manchuria and loses badly.
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The Russians exit World War I with the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. They give up Finland, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, and the Ukraine.
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World War II begins. Russian invades Poland in an agreement with Germany.
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The Soviet Union is dissolved. Many countries gain their independence. The country of Russia is established.
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Vladimir Putin is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer serving as President of Russia since 2012, previously holding the position from 2000 until 2008.
