High School world history lecture on the absolute monarchs (tsars) of Russia.

1. ABSOLUTE RULERS OF
RUSSIA
Ch. 5 Section 4

2. The First
Czar
• Ivan IV (“Grozny” which translate to
fearsome butWesterners translate it to
“Terrible”) came to the throne in 1533 at the
age of only 3 yrs old. His mother Eleanor
served as his regent until her death when the
boyars (Russian nobles) took over the job.
Ivan violently took control from the boyars at
the age of 16 and crowned himself czar in
1544. Ivan IV marriesAnastasia who was
related to an old boyar family, the
Romanovs.

3. Objectives:
•Explain how Russian rulers began to
build a stronger Russian state.
•Characterize the differences between
Russia and western Europe.
•Describe Peter the Great’s reforms and
their impact on Russia.

4. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times…”
• 1547-1560- Ivan IV’s “good period” was a time
when he won great victories, added lands to
Russia, gave Russia a code of laws, and ruled
justly. He was happily married to Anastasia.
• 1560-1584 – Ivan IV’s “bad period” began after
the death of his wife Anastasia. He accused
the boyars of poisoning his wife and
organized a secret police force called the
Oprichniki. He used this police force to hunt
down those he considered traitors and
execute them, their families and the peasants
who worked their lands. The lands of these
traitors was confiscated and then given to a
new class of nobles who had to remain loyal
to him or lose their land.
• He was married eight times. All his wives
but two died before him. Some were
poisoned, one was drowned and two were
sent to nunneries.
Young Ivan IV and Anastasia, his first wife.

5. THE OPRICHNIKI, 19th Century Painting (Ivan IV Grozny, center, mocks the boyar to the right
who had tried to overthrow him. He sat him on the throne in a fake coronation. He has just
informed him that his family has been tied to gunpowder barrels and exploded. Notice how the
boyar on the right has the crown and scepter. Also, notice how Ivan has a knife. He and his
Oprichniki kill the boyar shortly following this mocking ceremony… I know… terrible.)

6. 1581- Over a quarrel with
Ivan IV’s son (also called
Ivan) about his wife’s
immodest clothing, Ivan
IV struck his oldest son
and heir, killing him. Ivan
IV, reportedly cursed
from the tragedy, died 3
years later while playing
chess.

7. Feodor I – last of the Rurik Dynasty
• Feodor I was Ivan IV’s weak and
second son was the heir. Feodor,
reputedly mentally retarded, took
little interest in politics. He left the
running of the country to his brother-
in-law. After he died without an heir,
Russia experienced a period of
turmoil known as theTime of
Troubles. Boyars struggled for
power, heirs of the czar died
mysteriously and several imposters
tried to claim the throne.

8. Romanov Dynasty
• 1613- A new czar is chosen by
representatives from many
Russian cities. They chose the
grandnephew of Ivan IV’s wife
Anastasia, Michael Romanov.
This begins the more than 300
year reign of the Romanov
dynasty which would begin by
strengthening the government,
passing a law code and putting
down a revolt.

9. Serfdom
• At the beginning of Peter’s
rule, Russian society was
still structured around the
boyars and their serfs.
Boyars were the land-
owning nobles of Russia
and serfs were the peasant
agricultural laborers,
bound under the feudal
system to work on his
lord's estate.
• Serfdom remained in
Russia until the mid-1800’s
(much longer thanWestern
Europe.)
• Boyars wanted to keep their serfs to
produce large harvests.
• Serfs were treated as property (given as
gifts, used to pay off debts, sold along
with land transactions…etc.)
• It was illegal for serfs to run away from
their owner/lord preventing the growth
of cities or a middle class.
• This old feudal system in Russia, along
with differences in religion, a history of
political connections and influence from
Asia and geographical barriers, allowed
Russia to remain isolated and unaware of
the advances ofWestern Europe.
Boyars during Peter
the Great’s rule.
17th Century Russian Serfs

10. PeterThe Great
• The grandson of Michael Romanov, Peter, would be the next
ruler. Peter Alexeyevich was born in 1672 and was the son of
TsarAlexei Milhailovich of Russia.At the age of ten, Peter and
his half-brother IvanV both shared the title of tsar after their
father had passed away.The boys were under the control of
their older sister Sophia who acted a regent.When Ivan died in
1686, a 14 year old Peter became the single ruler of Russia but
still under the control of a regency. In 1696, at the age of 24,
Peter took sole control of the country. Peter I (the Great)
becomes one of Russia’s greatest reformers and continued to
increase the czar’s power. One year after becoming sole czar,
he embarks on the “Grand Embassy,” which was a long visit to
western Europe. This extended visit was a means of learning
about European customs and industrial techniques. Peter I
traveled in disguise and worked with the people. He was
fascinated by the modern tools and machines of the west and
was even more obsessed with ships and the sea. Peter I
believed that Russia’s future depended on having a warm-
water port in order to compete with western Europe..

11. Westernization
Peter’s goal was for Russia to compete with western Europe, both militarily and commercially. He began a process of
westernization which used western Europe as a model for change in order to make Russia stronger. Peter forced this
process of change and consequently increased his powers as an absolute ruler.
• He brought the Russian Orthodox church under state control. He abolished the office of patriarch and
set up a group called the Holy Synod to run the church (under his direction.)
• He reduced the power of the landowners by recruiting men from lower-ranking families and gave
them positions of authority and grants of land.
• He hired European officers to drill and instruct his soldiers in European tactics and weaponry. His
army numbered about 200,000 men by the time of his death (imposed heavy taxes to pay for army.)
Peter also attempted to westernize Russia by:
• Introducing potatoes
• Starting Russia’s first newspaper
• Raising women’s status by having them attend social gatherings
• Ordering the nobles to give up traditional clothes for western fashions
• Promoting education with the establishment of schools and granting permission to leave the country
in order to study the sciences in foreign lands

12. Kicking and
Screaming…
This image depicts Peter the Great’s
attempt at westernizing Russians.
The cutting of the beard is in an
attempt to make the noble appear
to be a westernized European. It was
not uncommon for someone in the
traditional long robes of the
Cossacks, to be stopped on the
streets and have their robes cut off
on the spot by a soldier. Many were
forcibly made to appear as
Westerners in style and dress.

13. 1703…a window on the sea…
• Peter I began building a new city on
Swedish lands occupied by Russian troops.
Peter wanted a “window on the sea” and
fought the Swedish for a piece of the Baltic
coast. The fight between Russia and
Sweden would last 21 years.
• Peter I’s new city was called St. Petersburg
and he made it the new capital of Russia.
Built on a swamp, anywhere from 25,000 to
100,000 died from the terrible working
conditions and the rampant disease.When
the city was finished, he ordered many
Russian nobles to leave the comforts of
Moscow and settle in his new capital. It
became a booming seaport, just as the czar
envisioned.
Peter the Great enlisted conscripts, convicts, serfs and
prisoners of war to build his city from scratch on Hare’s
Island.

14. Peter’s death
• While he was never a fully healthy man, the king’s body took a grim turn for the
worse in 1723.The following year, he had to get surgery that removed four
pounds of blocked urine from his body.
• Another legend says that Peter died in the middle of writing his famously
incomplete will. Dying of uremia (the kingly death of urine pollution in his
blood),it’s said he managed to scrawl “Leave all to…” but then passed out, only
having enough energy to summon his daughter. His wife, Catherine, would seize
power and rule.
• In the end, Peter the Great died at the age of 52 on February 8, 1725. Sitting on
the throne for 42 years, he left behind a great empire and also a gangrene-
infested bladder.