Eyewitness History of the World 2.0

THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The Russian Federation was part of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 
1922 to 1991.
FIRST STATES
In about 800 BC the Scythians of Central Asia migrated to settle 
in what is now southern Russia. The forested north was inhabited 
by Slavs, some of whom moved west to eastern Europe. The Slavs 
who remained were the ancestors of the modern Russian people. 
From the AD 300s Scythia was overrun by the Goths, and later 
the Huns, Avars, and Magyars. From the 600s BC Greek colonies 
were founded along the Black Sea coast, which later fell under 
Roman and Byzantine control.
KIEVAN RUSSIA
In the 800s the Slavs of western Russia were overrun by Swedish 
Vikings known as the Rus, who founded the Russian states of Novgorod 
and Kiev. The prosperous Kievan state fell under the influence 
of the Byzantine Empire, and in 988 embraced Christianity. Within 
a century, it began to split up into quarrelling principalities.
MONGOL RULE
In 1236 the Mongols invaded Russia, and within four years they 
had conquered most of the country. The Russian princes became 
vassals of the Golden Horde. The Mongols granted the state of 
Muscovy (the area including Moscow) seniority over the other 
principalities, and its power grew steadily. Muscovy challenged 
and defeated the Mongols in 1380 at the battle of Kulikovo Plain, 
but continued to pay tribute to the Golden Horde well into the 
1400s. Once it had fully expelled the Mongols, Muscovy slowly 
absorbed its neighbors and unified the country.
MUSCOVITE RUSSIA
In 1547 Ivan IV (15301584), known as Ivan the Terrible, became 
the first Russian ruler to be crowned czar. He stamped out feudal 
traditions and reduced the power of the boyars. Discontent with 
the czars power led to the Time of Troubles, a period of anarchy 
and civil war that lasted from 1605 to 1613. During this time 
Russia was invaded by Sweden and Poland. The Poles were driven 
from Moscow in 1613. Mikhail Romanov (15961645) became czar, 
founding a dynasty that lasted until 1917. By about 1640 Russian 
explorers completed their conquest of the vast territory of Siberia 
to the east.
IMPERIAL RUSSIA
In the 1700s Peter the Great (16721725) transformed Russia into 
one of Europes great powers. Through conquests from Sweden and 
Turkey, and the partitions of Poland, its territory expanded 
to the Baltic Sea. Peter built a new capital, St. Petersburg, 
on land captured from the Swedes. Manufacturing, education, learning, 
and literature flourished. Peter introduced Western culture, 
customs, and government. Modernization continued during the reign 
of Catherine the Great (17291796), who further expanded the 
borders of the empire. In 1812 Russia successfully resisted the 
attempt of the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (17691821) 
to invade of the country. However, Russia was defeated in the 
Crimean War (18531856) by Turkey, France, and Britain.
REFORM
In the 1800s Russian society was still very backward. Russian 
serfs, who made up more than half the population, were little 
better off than slaves, and agriculture was extremely inefficient. 
Alexander II (18181881) introduced a series of reforms in the 
1860s, including the Emancipation of the Serfs and changes to 
local government. However, the emancipation decree did little 
to improve the lives of Russian peasants. The czar was assassinated 
by a small revolutionary group in 1881, and under his successor 
Alexander III (18451894), the regime became increasingly oppressive. 
The late 1800s saw rapid industrial development, the construction 
of the Trans-Siberian railroad, the growth of the working class, 
and the beginning of the labor movement. Opposition to czarist 
rule grew, and nationalism spread among the subject peoples of 
the empire, such as Poles, Lithuanians, and Ukrainians.
REVOLUTION OF 1905
Following defeat in the Russo-Japanese war of 19041905, revolution 
broke out after troops fired on peaceful demonstrators in St. 
Petersburg. As a result, the czar established an elected parliament 
known as the Duma. However, the czar remained supreme and the 
reforms failed to achieve substantial change in the way Russia 
was governed.
WORLD WAR I
In World War I (19141918) Russia was allied with Britain and 
France. Poorly equipped Russian soldiers suffered terribly on 
the Eastern Front. Without proper equipment and clothing, many 
died of cold and starvation. The cities also experienced a lack 
of fuel and food. The February Revolution in 1917 was a popular 
uprising which overthrew the czar, but the provisional government 
continued Russias participation in the war. Many Russian soldiers 
deserted and returned home to claim land.
OCTOBER REVOLUTION
In October 1917 the communist Bolshevik party seized power under 
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (18701924), who used the backing of the 
soviets. The Bolsheviks took Russia out of World War I, restored 
Moscow as the capital, redistributed land, and nationalized the 
factories. Armed resistance to communist rule turned into a civil 
war. Britain and France sent military support to the Bolsheviks 
opponents (called the Whites) hoping to force Russia to reenter 
the war against Germany. In 1918 the czar and his family were 
executed, and by 1920 the communist Reds were victorious. The 
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or Soviet Union, 
was created under a new constitution in 1923.
STALIN
Joseph Stalin (18791953) succeeded Lenin as leader of the Communist 
party. Stalin launched policies to expand industry, and collectivize 
agriculture, which led to widespread peasant resistance, deportations, 
and famine. In 1934 purges began, designed to root out all opposition 
to Stalin. An estimated 5 million people were executed, and many 
millions more died in forced labor camps. The Soviet Union made 
huge progress in industry in the 1930s, but agriculture was almost 
destroyed.
WORLD WAR II
In 1939 the Soviets and the Germans signed friendship pact, which 
enabled Germany to attack Poland, and led to the outbreak of 
World War II (19391945). Despite this pact, Germany invaded 
the Soviet Union in 1941, and the Soviets joined the Allies. 
The Germans initially had great success and advanced almost to 
Moscow, but Soviet forces withstood the German attack. In 1945 
Soviet troops captured Berlin, having beaten back the German 
forces in a conflict that cost 20 million Soviet lives. The Soviet 
army occupied countries in Eastern Europe, which allowed Stalin 
to establish communist regimes there.
DESTALINIZATION
After Stalins death there was a struggle for power among leading 
figures in the Communist party. Nikita Khrushchev (18941971) 
emerged as the victor, and under his leadership restrictions 
were relaxed, and the political police, the KGB, lost some of 
its power. This led to uprisings in the labor camps between 1953 
and 1955, and revolutions in Poland and Hungary in 1956, which 
were brutally crushed.
COLD WAR
After the war, Soviet relations with the West had deteriorated, 
and both sides began stockpiling nuclear weapons. They also began 
to compete in the space exploration. The Soviets launched Sputnik, 
the first satellite, in 1957, and in 1961 Yuri Gagarin (19341968) 
became the first man in space. In 1962 the Soviet attempt to 
install missiles in Cuba brought the world to the brink of nuclear 
war. After this incident, the Soviets pursued a policy of reconciliation 
with the West. Treaties controlling underground nuclear explosions 
and limiting nuclear weapons were signed in the 1970s. In 1979 
Soviet troops entered Afghanistan to support a communist uprising 
there, and remained for 10 years.
END OF COMMUNISM
Mikhail Gorbachev (born 1931) came to power in 1985. He introduced 
political and economic reforms that brought a measure of openness 
and democracy to the Soviet Union. In 1989 open elections were 
held for the first time. As repression was reduced, 15 Soviet 
republics declared independence and the communist states of Eastern 
Europe gradually broke away from Soviet control. In 1991 hardline 
communists attempted to overthrow Gorbachev. Power and property 
passed from the Soviet Union to Russia, and its president Boris 
Yeltsin (born 1931). The Soviet Union was dissolved, and the 
republics formed the Confederation of Independent States (CIS). 
In the 1990s poverty, unemployment, and crime soared in Russia, 
and the Russian mafia became a powerful force in the economy. 
Russia fought a war against separatist rebels in the region of 
Chechnya.

Copyright 1995, 1998 Dorling Kindersley
