16a: Russia Gets Started

As the eminent historian Simon Franklin observes in Russia: Land of the Tsars, Russia is an enormous country. To those of us who grew up during the Cold War, Russia is still synonymous with the Soviet Union, the homeland of World Communism. To those who grew up after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia is a remote and mysterious country with superpower dreams and a Third World living standard. In its heyday, the Russian Empire, which lasted from the 1500s until 1917, and which we will study in Unit 4, ruled one sixth of the world's land mass. The same is true of the Soviet Union, which existed from 1917 to 1991, and which we will study in Unit 5. Both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union became tremendously rich and powerful states. Both exerted a great deal of influence in the world at large. But before we study these empires, we will need to learn about the Russian peoples themselves - not just the Russian-speaking Slavs who made up the backbone of the nation and determined its culture, but the awesome diversity of peoples who lived in the lands we call Russian.

In segment 16b: The People Known as the Rus, the East Slavs of modern-day Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine come into contact with a Viking people called the Varangians. Although the Varangians become the ruling class, they are eventually assimilated into the Slavic stock. The cities of Novgorod and especially Kiev become the backbone of the culture now called Kievan Rus. The first princes of Kiev - the descendants of Rurik- find themselves alternately trading with and fighting with the wealthy and ancient Byzantine Empire to the south.

Segment 16c: The Way of Russia's Elders examines Kievan Rus society through the actions and influence of three forward-thinking princes, Saint Vladimir the Great, Yaroslav the Wise, and Vladimir Monomakh. Each of these rulers saw Eastern Orthodox Christianity as a force for cohesion in the Rus state, and the last two also drew great spiritual strength from their faith. Yet neither wise leadership nor religious cohesion were enough to save Kievan Rus from the fsocial inequity and dynastic friction which worked to pull it apart.

In segment 16d: The Mongol Occupation we examine the Mongol invasion and the time of their control over Rus. Although the Mongols and their successor state, the Golden Horde, were remarkably tolerant given their warlike nature, they were very skilled at keeping Rus weak.  While the city states splintered into dozens of ever-shrinking appanage states, the Russian Orthodox church developed into a focal point for what was left of the Rus identity. There were but two exceptions to the endemic Rus weakness. One was the Republic of Great Novgorod, which fought bravely against the Swedes and the Teutonic Order, but cooperated willingly with the Golden Horde. The other was the Grand Principate of Vladimir-Suzdal, which evolved into "Muscovy," which in turn evolved into Russia.