Russian History Until the 1917 Revolution :
Content Titles
- History and Population of the Russian Empire
- Founding of the Russian Empire
- Great Emperors of Russia
- Political Structure of the Russian Empire
- The Fall of the Russian Empire
- Conclusion
Have you ever wondered what was going on in Russia before the famous 1917 Bolshevik revolution? Have you ever heard of Catherine the Great, Peter the Great ? But do you know why they are called "big"? Maybe you don't know much about how Russia got so big.
In this article we focus on the Russian Empire and will answer any questions you might have about the third largest empire in history (the first British Empire , the second Genghis Khan ). We'll cover everything from the early years of the Russian Empire to its political system to its great fall .
History and Population of the Russian Empire:
The Russian Empire, which we come across often during history lessons , spanned approximately 23 million square kilometers and had a population of over 125 million in 1897 . It was a fairly large empire. At its height, it spanned three continents: Europe, Asia, and the Americas, where it had Alaska. Some areas in China, Mongolia, and Iran also belonged to the Russian Empire. Its capital is St. Petersburg.
The official proclamation of the empire took place in 1721 , when Peter I changed his title from "tsar" to "emperor" . Thus, the Russian tsarism disappeared. All monarchs held this title until the Russian Revolution overthrew the Russian monarchs in 1917. In this revolution, revolutionaries, including Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, attacked the government by using Russia's political weakness after the First World War.
As a result, II. Nicholas was killed and the country plunged into civil war. When the war was over, Russia became a republic: the Soviet Union.
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Founding of the Russian Empire:
The empire officially began in 1721 with the proclamation of Peter the Great. However, Russia had an empire structure before that. Only the empire was formalized at this date. However, before that, military activities and conquests were gradually preparing the ground for Russia's imperial structure.
Ivan III defeated the Golden Horde State in the 15th century and tripled the territory of Russia. Michael (Michael of Russia) conquered Siberia in the early 17th century and expanded Russia's borders to the Pacific Ocean.
After its proclamation in 1721, the Russian Empire won the Great Northern War with the Swedish Empire and captured the Baltic. Thus, Estonia and Livonia also became part of the Russian Empire. The empire soon expanded into Siberia and Persia.
From Tsar to Emperor:
So why did this state pass from tsarism to empire? How did the Russian tsars become emperors?
Although everyone in the Romanov family, including Michael, were successful rulers, the title of "emperor" was seen as a title superior to the king . And for Peter the Great, who was very interested in the traditions of Europe and wanted Russia to reach their level, this difference was quite significant. Thus, Tsarist Russia left its place to the empire.
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Great Emperors of Russia :
Peter the Great (1682-1725) :
As you can understand from its name, Peter I has always been a very important ruler for the Russians . They owe most of the changes in the administration of the country to him.
Peter's, the capital until 1917, in the swamps shrouded in fog. He founded and built the city of St. Petersburg. He moved the government here from Moscow. He is also known for restructuring the Russian military, inspired by Western Europe, making it a "modern weapon".
These modernization efforts are thought to have come from his travels to Europe as an ambassador over the years. Peter was impressed by the industry, politics, and military army of Western Europe, and he felt that Russia was far behind in these matters .
There were many innovations that Petro brought to the country with his modernization efforts . He wanted modern clothes to be worn in Russia. He even imposed a tax on the beard in 1698 so that no one in the country would grow a beard. In 17oo he replaced the Russian calendar with the Julian calendar.
Catherine the Great (1762-1796) :
Another "great" Russian was Katerina. He was a fan of Petro and continued to modernize Russia. During the reign of Catherine, Russia was experiencing its golden age. The period of enlightenment of Russia, the development of its art and culture took place in this period.
Katerina greatly supported the conquest of Alaska, and during her reign she captured what was called "Russian America". It also exempted aristocrats from military service and extended its borders into Poland.
In 1767 he formed a large committee in Moscow with 652 members from different classes, from state officials to the town's natives. This committee acted as a kind of parliament. His aim was to create a new constitution, taking into account the wishes of the people.
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Alexander II (1855-1881) :
II. During the reign of Alexander, the Russian empire left its golden age behind. This era gave way to social turmoil that led to the revolutions that brought communism .
But Alexander was an avid reformer. He outlawed slavery and torture in 1861. He tried to encourage the public to university education.
This is the emperor himself made many water from Ikast venture a result of the successful one was killed by revolutionary socialists.
Political Structure of the Russian Empire :
Absolute Monarchy :
The political structure of the Russian Empire was absolute monarchy . So there was no institutional limitation in royal power . This system was highly autocratic, as can be seen from Peter's forcibly cutting people's beards.
But the real trouble with absolute monarchy was that the empire never had an effective method of establishing power over the people. Local officials were often unreliable and corrupt. The people, on the other hand, did not feel much of the power of the law.
Government Reform :
As we mentioned, the rulers tried to implement many reforms to liberalize the country , mostly inspired by the thinkers of the enlightenment period in Western Europe such as Rousseau and Voltaire .
After the 1905 Revolution, which took place as a result of the social turmoil in which many assassinations took place , a legislative body called the Duma was established with the power to enact laws . This was the first time in Russian history that such a thing had happened. During this revolution, a party system was established and citizens were given rights such as the right to assemble and demonstrate, and freedom of expression .
The monarch still held substantial power, including veto power. But the successes achieved by the revolution would ultimately lead to destruction.
Religious and Ethnic Structure :
Considering the size of the Russian Empire, we can say that there are many people of different ethnic origins and beliefs . However, the official religion was Russian Orthodoxy. The emperor must have been Orthodox. The Holy Orthodox Synod represented the government church.
This structure in government was the result of Peter the Great taking control by making his own men bishops. Katherina also did not attach much importance to the church. He spent most of the money he earned from the land on wars.
During Catherine's reign, Jews were considered "foreigners" and did not enjoy the same rights as Russian Orthodox citizens. He also tried to control the Muslim population who settled in the country as nomads. He established special towns for the Muslims to prevent them from living a nomadic life in the empire.
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The Fall of the Russian Empire :
Political unrest in the empire was growing. The rule of law and the powers of the absolute monarch were constantly tested by strikes, assassinations, demonstrations, terrorist activities, and the 1905 revolution .
Political differences arose with the Duma, and the public, whose role in politics was increasing, began to express their opposition to the monarch. Emperor II. Nikolai was aware that he was losing his former strength. He was under tremendous pressure. There was a huge increase in the death penalty.
Revolution and War :
Russia entered World War I to defend the Serbs with which it was allied. They eventually fought the British and French against the Germans, Austrians, and the Ottoman Empire . For most of the imperial period, Russia had many conflicts with its neighbor, the Ottoman Empire. However, World War I did not go well for these two states. Both collapsed at the end of the war .
Russia experienced another 1905 revolution in 1917. However , this time the monarchy was overthrown in this revolution led by the Bolsheviks . The mobilization for the foreign war was halted. But a civil war broke out between the revolutionaries and the monarchists.
The Bolsheviks won this war and proclaimed the republic, which brought the end of the empire .
Conclusion :
If you want to get an overview of empires , learn about the Qing Dynasty , which has a great place in China's history, or want to know more about the Roman Empire, check out our other articles. Improve your knowledge of history with different histories of empires!
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