(LBE) The Rise of Russia, continued Lesson

The Rise of Russia, continued Lesson

Themes in Early Modern Russia History

Russian society was very different from that of the West. Serfdom and a deep-rooted peasant culture did not mesh with Westernization efforts. The Russian nobility, through state service, maintained a vital position. A minority of great landholders lived in major cities and provided important cultural patronage. Smaller, incompletely Westernized landowners lived less opulent lives.

 

Serfdom: The Life of East Europe's Masses

Before the Mongol conquest, Russia's peasantry had been relatively free. The government from the sixteenth century encouraged serfdom as a means of conciliating the nobility and of extending state control over peasants. A 1649 act made serfdom hereditary; other seventeenth and eighteenth century laws tied serfs to the land and augmented the legal rights of landlords. Serfs were almost slaves; they were bought, sold, and punished by owners. Peasant conditions were similar in Eastern Europe. Peasants labored on large estates to produce grain for sale to the West. Western merchants in return brought the serfs' owners manufactured and luxury items. Peasants did have some rights; village governments regulated many aspects of life. Most peasants remained poor and illiterate; they paid high taxes and performed extensive labor services in agriculture, mining, and manufacturing. Their condition deteriorated throughout the eighteenth century.

 

Trade and Economic Dependence

There were few large cities in Russia; 95% of the population was rural. Artisans also were few, since most manufacturing was rurally based. Small merchant groups existed, but most trade was handled by Westerners. Peter the Great's reforms increased trade, yet the nobility managed to prevent the emergence of a strong commercial class. Russia's social and economic system had strengths. It produced adequate revenue for the expanding empire, supported the aristocracy, and allowed significant population growth. Commerce was carried on with independent central Asian regions. There were important limitations. Agricultural methods remained traditional, and peasants lacked incentives to increase production for the benefit of landlords. Manufacturing suffered from similar constraints.

 

Social Unrest

By the end of the eighteenth century, Russian reformers were criticizing their nation's backwardness and urging the abolition of serfdom. Peasant discontent was more significant. Peasants remained loyal to the tsar, but blamed landlords for the harshness of their lives. Periodic rebellions occurred from the seventeenth century, peaking with the Pugachev rising of the 1770s. The tsar and nobility triumphed, but peasant discontent remained a problem.

 

In-Depth: Multinational Empires

During the early modern period, Russia created the longest-lasting multinational empire. The Mughal Empire ended during the nineteenth century; the empires of the Ottomans and Habsburgs disappeared early in the next century. Special characteristics of the Russian Empire were the presence of a large core of ethnic groups prepared to spread widely and establish new settlements, and Russian ability to adopt Western techniques. During the period of new empire creation, the importance of the western European, culturally more cohesive nation-state was confirmed. Such states included minority ethnicities but developed methods to achieve national unity. From the nineteenth century onward, there have been serious clashes between national loyalties and multinational empires. Most of the latter have collapsed.

 

Russia and Eastern Europe

Regions west of Russia formed a fluctuating borderland between western and eastern European interests. In the Ottoman Balkans, trade with the West spread Enlightenment concepts. Poland and the Czech and Slovak areas were a part of the Western cultural orbit. Copernicus participated in the Western scientific revolution. Some Eastern regions were participants in the Protestant Reformation. Many of the smaller states lost political autonomy. Hungary and Bohemia were incorporated into the Habsburg Empire. The largest state, Poland, was linked to the West by shared Roman Catholicism. By 1600, Polish aristocrats weakened the central government and exploited peasants. Urban centers and a merchant class were lacking. The kingdom was partitioned by Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

 

Global Connections: Russia and the World

Russia's emergence as a key player in both Europe and Asia was a crucial development in the early modern era. The Russian empire was different from those in the West, but its effect was enormous on two continents in this era.

 

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