Episode 323: Russian Review

The early Slavs lived in central and eastern Europe beginning at some point between the fifth and tenth centuries. Scholars believed that the Slavs originated in Eastern Europe and migrated west. Certainly, proto Slavic cultures were present in western Poland and Belarus by around fifteen hundred BCE. The Slavs were generally enemies of the Romans, though the Romans didn't call them Slavs.

Beginning in the fifth century CE, the Slavs began to increasingly put pressure on the borders of the then dying Roman Empire. In the five fifties, the Slavs tried to capture Thessalonica but failed. Note by this point the Western Roman Empire had fallen, so we're really talking about the Byzantines. The first source which actually records the Slavs by name is not until the sixth century of the Common Era

the Byzantines acknowledged the Slavs. It was around this period that the Slavs melded from the north with Viking traders and ultimately founded Kiev, becoming known then in our Byzantine sources as the Kievan rus Kiev was a large territory then and extended a long distance into what is today Russia. In five eighty five, the Slavs marched on Constantinople, but failed to take the city. They were, however, able to

establish a permanent foothold in Greece. The Slavs also frequently rated the Byzantine Empire's Danube border, becoming a sort of persistent issue for the Byzantines from the sixth century onward. Byzantine writers often divide the Slavs into two groups, but crucially, they always indicate that they spoke the same language. Scholars today believe that many of the previous step tribes that

lived along the Danube River. Groups like the Sarmatians and the Scythians were incorporated into the Slavic tribes over decades and over the course potentially of an entire century. Slavic and Slava, of course, refers to an ethnic group. In essence. Here what we mean is a group of people who

share a common cultural and particularly linguistic background. Writing scholars believe did not come to the Slavic peoples until their conversation to Christianity in the ninth and tenth centuries Common era. Our major source for the early Ruse was referred to as the Russian Primary Chronicle, written in one thirteen CE. According to this, three Viking brothers decided to establish three

kingdoms in the region around Kiev. After the two older brothers died, their lands felt the third and final Ruric, who was the one who actually founded the city of Kiev. When Rurik died, his lieutenant Oleg, ruled until his son Egor came of age. It was actually Oleg the lieutenant, who rapidly expanded the state so that it was much more prosperous by the time Egor came of age. One quick fun story about Oleg. He was told a prophecy near the end of his life that his favorite horse

would kill him naturally. He sent the horse away, and it later died of perfectly natural causes. Oleg then decided to go see the corpse of the horse himself to prove that the prophecy had been false, But when he stepped on the horse's skull, a poisonous snake slithered out and bit him. He died the next day. True or not, Oleg is a positive character from the history of the russ because he made no effort to keep the Kingdom of Kiev from Igor, and the Cave and russ were

all the stronger for his stewardship. One of the major obstacles to Slavic expansion in the Middle Ages were the Kazars. These were a Turkic people who originated in Central Asia and eventually converted to Judaism. The Kazars controlled a large swath of Eastern Europe, including, in its heyday, much of modern day Russia. Initially, they allied with the Byzantines against the Sassinid Caliphate, but in the nine hundreds CE this

alliance began to fray. Both the Slavs i e. Kievan russ and the Kasars sought to dominate the trade routes from China and the East to Europe, which were extremely lucrative. The Kasars constantly butted heads with both the Slavs and the Vikings, the Vikings, having first arrived in Russia in the sixth century, but by the late eight hundreds, having merged with the Slavs, were firmly in control of Kiev

and Novgorod. Novgorod, for reference, by the way, is about one hundred miles southeast of Saint Petersburg, so it's pretty far north. I'm pointing this out because Novgorod actually plays a pretty substantial role in our story to come once we get to Ivan. Now, by the nine sixties, after a series of war with the Byzantines and the Rus,

the Kasars were eliminated as a major political force. Hence, from a macro level, what you have at this point is a shrinking Byzantine Empire to the south and a growing Rus state centered around the cities of Kiev and Novgorod to the north. And this was the status quo roughly at the turn of the millennium. In the tenth century, relations between Kiev and Constantinople improved for a time, and both sides were able to make advantageous trade deals and treaties.

Olik had by then expanded the Kievan Roos territory to the Nepa River, and under Igor, this boundary moved all the way to the Baltic Sea. Then, in the nine and sixties, Grand Prince Sladislav the First conquered the Kazars. Kiev was now at least territorially larger than the Byzantine Empire. In fact, the Kievan Russ now found themselves as the

most powerful kingdom in the region. It exacted tribute from smaller Slavic communities around it and negotiated on equal par with the Byzantines, though the latter still referred to them as barbarians. At the moment, at least, the Rus were still pagan, but that would change under Prince Vladimir the First. He was the youngest son of Sladislav, who had conquered the Kazars. Vladimir took power in his own right in nine seventy eight, following a brief civil war with his brothers.

He then spent the next decade both expanding and fortifying his borders. It was during the same period that he sent envoys out to examine the various religions of Europe and beyond and to make a recommendation as to what religion the Kievan Rush should follow. When the envoys returned from visiting various sites, they declared Orthodox Christianity of Constantinople

to be the most impressive religion they have found. This makes perfect sense to me, by the way, Constantinople was the most impressive European city at the time, and the Isophia that Basilica was definitely the most impressive place of worship. There are a few versions of events that then lead to Vladimir's ultimate conversion to Orthodox Christianity. One is that he simply believed what his envoys told him and he

converted on the basis of their report. Another has the Byzantine Emperor Basil the second approach Vladimir about a potential military alliance. To sweeten the deal, Basil offers one of his sisters, Anna, in a marriage to Vladimir, and he converts to make that happen. The third version of events has Vladimir simply falling in love with Anna and converting again, so that he could marry her. Regardless, in nine eighty eight,

the Kievan russ converted to Orthodox Christianity. Vladimir had his entire court and all his sons baptized, and immediately ordered that all pagan cults and temples should be suppressed. By It was still the Middle Ages, and you couldn't change the religion of the kingdom by decree, So when Vladimir died in ten fifteen, there were still very large pockets of resistance throughout the Kievan territory to this new fangled religion.

Vladimir did become a saint. However, after Vladimir's death, the Kievan russ continued to enjoy a relative period of peace and prosperity under several successive rulers, notably Yaroslav the Wise, but when he died in ten fifty four, all of that changed. For decades, after various princes and I'm not going to get into this in great detail, fought over different territories and the right to command them all, but

really to no avail. And the reason I'm not going to get into it is because it just probably doesn't really matter, because in the end, it's the arrival of the Mongols. That really changes the situation in Russia and sets the stage for the ultimate rise of a new city, Moscow. By the late twelfth century, the Mongols were pressing east

into Kievan territory. Then in twelve twenty three CE, at the Battle of Kalka, the Mongols crushed the Kievan Rus in battle, effectively eliminating their capacity to resist further Mongol incursions. The heavily armored Kievan troops were simply no match for the swift Mongolian horsemen on the wide planes of what is today Ukraine. In twelve thirty seven, Batu Khan moved

his own army firmly into Rus territory. He took and destroyed several key cities, including Moscow, actually which he burned to the ground, and then in twelve forty he captured Kiev. In response to these incursions, those who wanted to and could resist really didn't have much of a choice but to flee further and further north, where they struggled to

eke out in existence. Once the Rus had been defeated, the Mongols marched west toward the Hungarians and Poles, who they defeated at the Battle of Mohai but this is around the time that Oga Dai Khan dies and the Mongol Empire fractures. The territories in Europe then fell under the control of the famous or i suppose infamous, Golden Horde. The Golden Horde effectively dominated the region for the next two centuries, but failed to fan their territory in any

meaningful way. The Golden Horde built a new capital at Sarai, but largely left the Rus alone as long as they paid their tribute. One such Rus kingdom that paid tribute and was left alone was that of Novgorod, far to the north. In twelve forty six, Alexander Newsky came to power in Novgorod. While he would win a major victory over the Swedes on a frozen lake, which is what his last name means, he would decide that the time

was not right to take on the Golden Horde. Newski spent his reign rebuilding Russian infrastructure, passing laws, and continuing to establish the Orthodox Church as a sense of cultural identity, something that the people could rally around. All of these investments would pay off in time, none of them would have happened, and Novesky chosen to fight the Mongols, but when he died, the Kingdom of the Rus again splintered. Ultimately, however, his son Daniel was able to take control over the

rising Principle of Moscow. Now, Mongol rule had a number of consequences. For the Rus, Kiev was absolutely devastated and it took years for those roots living further south and west to recover. To the North and Novgorod, things were not as bad and recovery was a lot faster. The Golden Horde, however, built new postal roads, improved communications, and introduced badly needed military innovations to Eastern Europe. Importantly, the line of power between where the Horde held more sway

and where it held less. Roughly, it corresponds today to the border between Ukraine and Russia and to some extent Belarus. So the centuries of Horde rule also led to a cultural divide that the world is still experiencing very much today. And of course, the Mongol piece was responsible for the Black Death reaching Europe, which ravaged the region between thirteen

fifty nine and thirteen eighty two. As a result of the plague, Mongol control over the region began to weaken significantly, so much so that in thirteen eighty the Russians won their first major victory over the Mongols at the Battle of Kulikhovo. Eventually, the Golden Horde fractured into various khanates and receded from power, until eventually, by the time of Ivan the Fourth, they only effectively held Crimea. All corresponded with the rise of Moscow during the reign of Vladimir

the First. Moscow was still a small trading post, but it was relatively safe from Mongol attack compared to other potential targets, so more and more people moved there, setting the stage for our first true Russian dynasty under Ivan the First, who ruled from thirteen twenty five to thirteen forty. We don't know a lot about Ivan the First or Ivan the Second, but things get a lot more serious under Ivan the Third, also known as Ivan the Great,

who was born in fourteen forty. When he succeeded his father in fourteen sixty two, his main goals were continuing to get Russia out from under the Mongol Yokin unifying the kingdom. In fourteen seventy six, he decided he would try his luck and didn't pay the yearly tribute to the Khanate. The Horde attacked four years later, but for the first time, at least in Moscow's history, Ivan was able to win. The Horde had no choice but to retreat in the days of Moscow paying tribute to the

khan were over for good. Once that was done, Ivan wanted to unite Moscow and Novgorod. The two cities had been enemies for years, but Ivan defeated Novgorod in battle and brought the territory under his rule. He was also able to take Yaroslav, Rostov and Tavayr, which ended all the independent principalities. And so really this is the time first time that we can speak of a unified Russia

in any real sort of sense. Ivan I also formally allied the monarchy with the Orthodox Church and established a formal code of law for the kingdom. Ivan invented craftsman from the foreigner Byzantine Empire to beautify Moscow, hoping to turn it into the centure of culture for the author the Doc's faith. He also imported what we might call an imperial government structure. For centuries, the leading princess had ruled the various Russian principalities in conjunction with nobles. These

numbles were called boyars. Ivan, though, wanted to rule as an autocrat, so he did everything he could to crush the power of the boyar class to an extent. This worked the position of czar, which actually doesn't start until we get to his grandson, Ivan the Fourth, was much much stronger thanks to Ivan the Third. He died in fifteen oh five and power passed to his son, Vasili the Third. Vasily continued to expand Moscow's borders, which was easier thanks to the rapid decline of the Golden Horde.

He captured Smolensk from the Lithuanians. But Valissi was much more known for his oppressive rule than his expansion is tendencies. More than even his father, he brutally oppressed any Boyar effort to undercut the power of the king. Had it not been for his son Ivan the Fourth slash Ivan the Terrible, as you know him, he might actually get remembered for that oppressive stuff he did. But as we're going to see, Ivan the Fourth takes it to a

next level. The most important way that Vasily decreased the power of the boyars was to replace them in the government with what we might call professional technocrats or bureaucrats. These men also had the advantage of actually being pretty good at their jobs. In reality, while Vasili tried to produce an air, these bureaucrats ran the kingdom. It should probably come as little surprise, but in this era there was a massive disparity of wealth between the rich and

the poor. In Russia, the peasants were terribly poor, while the wealth he lived in relative luxury. Banking was beginning to take root in Russia, though most financial transactions, even as we transition and dive in the Terrible were still gone through barter. Vasily traced his lineage all the way back to Rurek, the legendary founder of the Russian state, though this was purely a propaganda tool. The biggest issue, though, that faced Vasily as he reached middle age, was the

fact that he didn't have an heir. As a result, he divorced his wife, who, according to the sources, willingly retired to a convent and married a Lithuanian princess who had then been being held as a sort of hostage in the court at Moscow. Said Lithuanian girl was twenty years old at the time, Vasily was in his forties. The two were married in fifteen twenty six, Despite that, as the months went by, this younger bride seemed also

unable to produce an air. Of course, it's highly that the women were never the issue here, But in August of fifteen thirty the Princess Elena finally gave birth to a son I. Then in fifteen thirty two, Elena gave birth to a second son named Yuri. But according to our sources, he suffered from some kind we're not sure a birth defect and was never considered to be a

realistic option for the throne. Not that that fact will prevent the Boyars from trying to use him as a puppet alternative to Even later on, in fifteen thirty three, Vassily fell very sick. In truth, he had suffered from ill health for a long time. The doctors were summoned but could do nothing. Sensing the end was near, Vasili sent riders to the Kremlin to get his old will. He had never actually revised it since his marriage to Elena,

which seems like a very big oversight to me. And this old will still gave power to his brother, Vassily didn't want his brother to succeed him, and in fact wanted to cut him out of what was going to have to be a very lengthy regency, given that Ivan at the time was only three years old. In November fifteen thirty three, Vasily was able to return to the Kremlin in person, where he immediately summoned his privy council. There he made them swear an oath that his son

would be the next ruler of the Ruse. Moreover, the regency council would be run by the Princess Elena and Boyars. In general, Vasili's brother was effectively cut out. The Boyars swore it was done. Vassili died at midnight on December third, fifteen thirty three. The people of Moscow wept at his passing. For more than seventy years, the people of Moscow had been under the capable rule of first Ivan the Third and now Vassili. Now they faced a long and uncertain regency.

As we will see, basically, everyone would soon be praying for the return of a ruler more like Vasili or his father. Next week we begin Ivan the Terrible, and let me tell you he is going to earn that name and then some