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Jan 1, 1530
Ivan The Terrible
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Period: Jan 1, 1530 to
Ivan The Terrible
Ivan the Terrible began Russia’s expansion into Siberia, which made Russia a multi-religious and multi-ethnic country. He constructed the St. Basil’s Cathedral, and a legend was started about him blinding the men who built the Cathedral. He also created the Oprichnina, who was a clan of hunters that tortured and killed anyone they suspected of treason. Ivan cause a tragedy of famine and drought, which continued with lost funds from failed wars. He supposedly died of poisoning -
Peter The Great
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Period: to
Peter The Great
Peter the Great made major reforms. He made Russia into a European power. Peter made major advances in trade routes. He also opened trade to the Baltic Sea, as well as trade routes for land, sea, and waterways. Peter also made gains in Westernizing Russia. -
Catherine the Great
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Period: to
Catherine The Great
Catherine the great was known as an “Enlightened” ruler. She gained power when she allied with rebels who took down her husband and has him arrested. While in power she worked to change the Code of Laws to the Instruction, which reformed the legal system in a way that was extremely ahead of its time. The Instruction promoted preventing crime instead of harsh punishment for crime. -
Period: to
Catherine The Great (Continued)
The major war during her time was the Russo-Turkish War, which gained southern Ukraine, Northern Caucasus, and the Crimea. She also faced a revolt led by Yemelyan Pugachev, who claimed to be her dead husband Peter. Outside of foreign affairs she put much effort into the Russian Educational System as well as the arts and sciences. -
Nicholas I
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Period: to
Nicholas I
Nicholas I was not raised to be a czar. He actually had to become the Czar or face death. He was an aggressive czar. He also did not receive a formal education. Nicholas was attracted to engineering and the military, though he was not a successful military leader. He was focused on the Battlefield as opposed to the homefront. -
Alexander II
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Period: to
Alexander II
When Alexander II came into power he inherited the Crimean war from Nicholas. He also had talks about the economy. During his time, Alexander introduced better education, relaxed censorship, and independent press flourished. He got rid of Serfdom, though Russia was one of the last countries to do so. He was know as the "Liberator" tsar because of this. -
Alexander III
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Period: to
Alexander III
Alexander III was known as the “Peacemaker” because no wars took place during his reign. Unlike his father, he introduced harsh new security measures in an attempt to fight terror. This included executions, tighter police oppression, and an increase in censorship. Alexander started the Trans-Siberian railroad construction. He didn’t want Western reforms and encouraged trade, industry and frugality.
