Russia: Consolidation of the Russian State
Consolidation of the Russian State
Under Ivan III (1462–1505) and his successor, Vasily III (1505–33), the Muscovite state expanded, and its rulers became more absolute. The principality of Yaroslavl was annexed in 1463 and Rostov-Suzdal in 1474; Novgorod was conquered in 1478, Tver in 1485, Pskov in 1510, and Ryazan in 1521. The Mari, Yurga, and Komi were subjugated at the end of the 14th cent., and the Pechora and Karelians at the end of the 15th cent. Ivan ceased to pay tribute to the Tatars, and in 1497 he adopted the first code of laws. Having married the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Ivan considered Moscow the “third Rome” and himself heir to the tradition of the Byzantine Empire.
In 1547, at the age of 17, Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible;
reigned 1533–84) was crowned czar of all Russia. He conquered
the Tatar khanates of Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556), establishing
Russian rule over the huge area of the middle and lower Volga; thus
he laid the basis for the colonization and annexation of Siberia, begun by the Cossack
Yermak in
1581. The conquered border territories were colonized by Russian
settlers and defended by the Cossacks. At home, Ivan crushed
the opposition of the great feudal nobles—the
boyars—and set up an autocratic government. After the reign
of the sickly Feodor I (1584–98), state power passed to Boris
Godunov
(reigned 1598–1605), who was elected czar by a
With the death of Boris in 1605 began the “Time of
Troubles”—a political crisis marked by the appearance
of pretenders (see Dmitri) and the intervention of
foreign powers. In 1609, Sigismund III of Poland
invaded Russia, and in 1610 Polish troops entered Moscow according
to an agreement concluded with the boyars. However, in 1612, Russian
forces led by Prince Dmitri Pozharski took Moscow, and in 1613 a
Russia in the 17th cent. was still medieval in culture and outlook, and it was not regarded as a member of the European community of nations. In its economic development it was centuries behind Western Europe; distrust of foreign ways and innovations kept its inhabitants ignorant and isolated. The consolidation of central power was effected not with the help of the almost nonexistent middle class or by social reforms but by forcibly depriving the nobility and gentry of their political influence. The nobles were compensated with land grants and with increasing rights over the peasants. Thus serfdom (see serf), which became a legal institution in Russia in 1649, included growing numbers of persons and became increasingly oppressive. The process of enserfment, which reached its peak in the 18th cent., resulted in several violent peasant revolts, notably those led by Stenka Razin (1667–71) and by Pugachev (1773–75).
Sections in this article:
- Introduction
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- Post-Soviet Russia
- War and Revolution
- Reaction, Reform, and RevolutionExpansion
- Empire and European Eminence
- Consolidation of the Russian State
- Early Russia
- History
- Government
- Russian Far East
- Northern and Northeastern Siberia
- Eastern Siberia
- Western Siberia
- Ural Area
- North Caucasus
- Volga
- North and Northwest European Area
- Central European Area
- General
- Religion and Education
- Political Subdivisions and Major Cities
- Population and Ethnic Groups
- Major Geographic Features
- Bibliography
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