The sovereign state in Russia developed under the influence of Ivan the Great (III) and Ivan the Terrible (IV), who are known as the two key figures in the process of centralization. When Ivan III began/started his reign Moscow had become the political and religious centre of Russia (Dukes, 1998, p.42). One of the major contributions in the centralization process were made by Ivan the Great since he took part in the ingathering process of Russian lands and thus, expanded and centralize the Muscovite state and consequently ended the period of Appanage Rus (Ziegler, 1999). He conquered new territories and distributed these to loyal army officers which in return had to support him in military campaigns; accordingly with this. In 1480 Ivan ended foreign conquests of Russia by raising the military apparatus and defeating the Mongols. Furthermore, in 1497 a national law code called Sudebnik was emerged by Ivan III. A united judicial authority was therefore created in central and …show more content…
Ziegler (1999) examined that Peters more significant actions to establish the state mainly consisted of the emergence of a representative legislature. Furthermore, he improved the Russian military by generating the Baltic Fleet and increasing the military apparatus to strengthen the state and make it internationally compatible. The focus on war-making and competition with Europe made St. Petersburg the strategic capital city as a ‘window to the West’. Such a link to Western states and societies generated the act of Russia increasingly applying European war technologies and strategies onto its own state. Peter, therefore, modernized Russia geographically, due to the possibility to expand with a strong military and being a valuable competitor, nevertheless, he disregarded European liberal ideologies for the state (Ziegler,
Having a warm water port year round had a huge impact on Russia’s import and export rate. This provided the country with many new trading opportunities. Peter after a long time did manage to strengthen the country’s army. By doing so he was able to conquer many areas like territory along the Baltic Sea. Towards the beginning of Peter's rule in 1695 the country’s army included around 30,000 men, by 1675 the Russian army had 300,000 strong army men.
Their military was lacking as well. To fix this Peter the Great moved Russia’s capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg. This decision was made because of the water access that St.Petersburg has. Peter built up a Navy for Russia along St.Petersburg’s coast. According to Document 3, Peter also improved Russia’s ground military to protect trade routes.
Peter did his best to help Russia emerge as a great power, and he
“He was determined to establish a sphere of influence that would safeguard Soviet periphery for all time.” (doc. 12) Stalin’s goal was to promote a great country, and he did. His footprint was left behind, as effects of his work is still shown throughout the previous countries of the
It can be argued that Peter the Great had a lot to pick up after, especially following Ivan IV’s reign, the Time of Troubles, false Tsardom, and the great Raskol. However, Peter the Great creatively used all of these disadvantages to his own advantage. Rather than “tearing apart” society, Peter the Great reoriented Russian society by means of merit and collective productive contribution to society. Although it can be disputed “whether Peter the Great was a “revolutionary” tsar, Peter’s immense impact on Russia’s service system is simply undeniable” (Kaiser and Marker 226). It was perhaps Peter’s different upbringing that allowed him to formulate such distinguishable values that the country ran on during his reign.
Peter the Great Peter the Great was an iconic individual in Russian history and even in world history. He made many strides for Russia to become more of a westernized nation. World Civilization II: The Rise and Fall of Empires© 1500- present stated, "From his father, Peter learned of Russia’s need for modernization, so in the early 18th century, Peter embarked on an extended journey throughout Europe where he learned how to build ships, observed modern military techniques, and recruited Western craftsmen and artists to come back to Russia with him" (Sattler, 60). He was very determined to make Russia modernized to say the least. In his reign, he held many reforms to push Russia to become more westernized (Sattler, 60-61).
(Background Essay) Before Vladimir Lenin came into power to rule Russia, Russia was ruled by Czar’s. A Czar was an emperor that the ruled Russia before 1917. The last Czar to rule Russia was Nicholas II. He was overthrown by Bolsheviks in the year of 1917.
Peter abolished the old national subdivisions and established in their place eight governorates. To gain a warm-water port, Peter he used the knowledge he gained in the Netherlands and waged war against the Swedish Empire and eventually gained a Baltic sea port. To defeat the Swedes he had to make several reforms to the Russian army. He had a meritocratic approach to appointing general and high-military positions, which created a more efficient, better drilled, and prudently commanded army. The new Baltic port also served to improve trade with western Europe.
By attempting to cultivate the western European way of life, Peter made Russia diplomatic, military, political, commercial, scholastic, literary, and industrial (“Peter I.” 1). During his reign Peter the Great developed a number of policies, and he dramatically reformed his country. Like any ruler, Peter encountered a few problematic incidents,
Absolutism in Russia For a long time Russia was isolated from the rest of Europe. It did not experience many of the things that happened in western Europe like new technology, Renaissance, the Protestant reformation, and the spread of many ideas. Russia’s temperatures were frigid and resulted in there being no warm-water port. A warm-water port was necessary for year-round trade and growth.
Post WWl, Russia was still not industrialized, suffering economically and politically and in no doubt in need of a leader after Lenin’s death. “His successor, Joseph Stalin, a ruthless dictator, seized power and turned Russia into a totalitarian state where the government controls all aspects of private and public life.” Stalin showed these traits by using methods of enforcement, state control of individuals and state control of society. The journey of Stalin begins now.
Both Catherine the Great and Peter the Great sought to enhance and further Russia’s international position. This I believe is most consistent with classical realism as they both sought to place their country in a more powerful position, through the expansion of both their state abroad and within their nation-state. These readers without a doubt westernized Russia, but were limited by the constraints of the Russian culture and power structure. The first issue I would tackles is the attempt of Peter the Great to establish Russia as a formidable regional power by taking the traditional metrics of power such as a more centralized government and modernizing the Russian military.
I covered how Putin’s visionary leadership traits ignored key aspects of diversimilarity and show how he was methodical in planning and executing is objectives. I also demonstrated how his drive for success and a lack of open-mindedness made him an unethical leader. Finally, I reflected on my own leadership as it pertains to these lesson principles, and my pursuit to continue growing as a self-aware leader. Perhaps there would be no Russia, as we currently know it, without Putin”, certainly he has shaped his country and has effected countless lives and treasure. Influential Russian author, Fyodor Dostoevsky might have foreshadowed such a leader as Putin in his book The Brothers Karamazov: “He understood very well that for the meek soul of a simple Russian, exhausted by grief and hardship and, above all, by constant injustice and sin, there was no stronger need than to find a holy shrine or a saint to prostrate himself before to worship”.
The Russian Revolution, which was started by Lenin and his followers, was a rebellion that occurred in 1917 which forced higher powers to act to the needs of the lower class. For instance, many citizens were worried for their protection in consequence to the lack of survival necessities due to an early drought. Furthermore, their current czar during the time was incapable for his position as a czar and made horrendous decisions as czar. For example, when the czar, Nicholas, entered in World War I, he sent untrained troops into countless battles of failure which costed in mass amounts of lost life (paragraph 23).
“Is what you want? A miserable little bourgeois republic? In the name of the great Soviet republic of labour we declare war to the death on such a government!” (Bukharin, 1917) . The Russians were fed up of being poorly treated by their own country, so they decided to take a stance.