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Early History Looking at Russia's history, particularly the days of the tsars, may help to shed some light on recent events. In the ninth century, the important trading centers of the region were Novgorod and Kiev. In 1240, the Mongols invaded Kiev and left the princedom of Moscow in a position to establish control over the region. These early events brought about the reign of the tsars and the expansion of the Russian empire eastward toward the Pacific. The Russian empire expanded rapidly in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the amount of time it took North American settlers to expand 800 miles from the east coast to the Mississippi River valley, the Russian empire expanded from Moscow all the way to the Pacific Ocean, a distance of more than 4,000 miles. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the empire expanded south and west into Poland, Finland, and central Asia. Russia in the early twentieth century was a difficult place to live for people who were not part of the ruling class. Russia was infamous for the terrible conditions endured by peasants working on farms, the exploitative conditions of its factories, and the wealth and excess enjoyed by its nobility. The seeds of Marxism and revolution imported from the intellectual centers of London and Paris fell upon fertile ground. In November 1917, Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin overthrew the tsarist regime. Lenin died in 1924 and was succeeded by Joseph Stalin. The Soviet Union then embarked on creating a communist state and communicating its revolutionary vision to the world. After World War II, the USSR gained significant territory in Finland, Poland, and Moldavia, and began to expand its empire into the Caucasus and through large parts of central and eastern Europe. [A Closer Look: The October Revolution]
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"Russia" is inspired by programs from The Power of Place: World
Regional Geography, (c) 1997 The Annenberg/CPB Project. All rights reserved. We value your feedback | ||
