Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

(Ben Green) #1

120 NORTH EASTERN EUROPE


Battle of Kulikovo (1380), and the
Russian nation was reborn. During the
long reign of Ivan III the Great
(r. 1462–1505), Moscow’s pres tige
increased and continued under his
grandson Ivan the Terrible (r. 1533–
84), the first to be called “Tsar of All
the Russias”. Yet, his reign ended in
disaster, leading to the so-called Time
of Troubles. To end this strife, in 1613,
Moscow’s citizens chose Mikhail
Romanov to be tsar, thus initiating the
300-year Romanov rule. His grandson,
Peter the Great, transformed medi eval
Russia into a modern European state.

He built the city of St Petersburg and
declared it the cap ital in 1712. For
most of the 18th century Russia was
ruled by women, of whom the most
significant was Catherine II.
Napoleon’s unsuccessful invasion of
Moscow in 1812 and his defeat turned
Russia into a major European power.
Towards the end of the century,
however, the country was on the verge
of break down. Economic unrest and
the urgent need for social reform led
to the 1905 Revolution. The outbreak
of World War I brought about a surge
of patriotism, but war time losses
provoked a series of strikes, the tsar’s
abdication and the establishment of a
provi sional govern ment. This was the
signal for exiled revo lutionaries, such
as Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, to organize an
uprising in October 1917, heralding
more than 70 years of Soviet rule. In
1918, Moscow was reinstated as the
capital of the country.
The Germans invaded the Soviet
Union in 1941, subjecting St Petersburg
(then Leningrad) to a 900-day siege,
but Moscow was never taken; Hitler
had underestimated both the harsh-
ness of the Russian winter and the
willingness of the people to fight.
The USSR ceased to exist in 1991.
Since then, Russia has tried to rein vent
itself as a modern democratic nation.
Vladimir Putin succeeded Boris Yeltsin
as president in 2000. In 2008, after two
terms as president, Putin became
prime minister.

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
Russian is the official language of the
people of Moscow and St Petersburg
and Cyrillic is the alphabet used.
Classical music is the central theme of
a large number of festivals attracting
performers from all over the world.
Christmas masquerades and the Spas
Yablochni Medovy harvest cele bra-
tion are some of the folk festivals.

KEY DATES IN RUSSIAN HISTORY

863 Missionaries Cyril and Methodius create
the Cyrillic alphabet
1147 Moscow is founded
1380 Mongols defeated at the Battle
of Kulikovo
1613 Mikhail Romanov becomes first tsar of
the Romanov Dynasty
1682 Peter the Great ascends the throne
1703 St Petersburg is founded
1712 Seat of government moves to St Petersburg
1762 Catherine II seizes the throne
1812 Napoleon invades Moscow but has
to retreat
1861 Emancipation of serfs
1906 Inauguration of the Duma (parliament)
1917 The Russian Revolution
1918 Civil War starts. Capital moves to Moscow
1953 Death of Stalin
1991 Dissolution of the USSR
1955 Warsaw Pact is established
2000 Putin becomes President of Russia
2008 Medvedev elected president of Russia

Painting of Lenin leading the Russian Revolution, 1917
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