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Around 1200 A.D., Mongol warriors from central Asia conquer Kievan Rus, and many Slavs moved north to found the trading post of Moscow.
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Moscow became the center of a new Slavic territory called Muscovy, and in 1480 Ivan the third declares Muscovy Independant.
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Mujscovy developed into what is today Russia and in 1547 Ivan IV declares himself czar. He was called Ivan the Terrible because he ruled harshly.
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Later czars such as Catherine and Peter the great wanted to increase ties with Europe, so in the early 1700's Peter the Great built St. Petersburg along the Baltic Coast which was close to Europe
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Russia entered a period of great change in the late 1800's, and in 1861 Czar Alexander the second freed all of the countries serfs. In addition, he tried to modernize the economy and create infrastructure, yet many Russians still lived in poverty.
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In 1914 Russia joined France and Britian in World War 1, and since they were ill prepared Russia suffered heavy losses and food shortages. The people blamed czar Nicholas II and they staged a revolution in 1917.
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Later in 1917 Vladimir Lenin staged a second revolution to establish a communist state in which the government controls the economy and society. The new nation was called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or U.S.S.R.
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After Lenin's death, Joseph Stalin becomes head of the USSR. Stalin is a harsh dictator who banned many religions and used secret police to kill anyone who opposed him.
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Early Slavs built a civilization around the city of Kiev, and it prospered from trade with the Byzantine Empire. Kiev is today in modern Ukraine.
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In A.D. 988 the people of Kievan Rus were converted by Byzantine missonaries to Eastern Orthodox. In addition, they brought a written language.
