RUSSIA 



5119 



RUSSIA 



saries, and elects a new Executive Committee. 

 The Bolsheviks claim that this system brings 

 the people into the closest possible relation with 

 the government. They admit that they exclude 

 the privileged classes from voting or participat- 



ing in affairs, and state that they are endeavor- 

 ing to wipe out the middle and upper classes in 

 order to destroy, the entire system of privilege 

 and exploitation. They are frankly against all 

 capitalistic governments. 



History of Russia 



The Early Period. The earliest history of 

 ~iu consists of legends. These tell us that 

 in the middle of the ninth century the Slavs 

 and Finnish tribes inhabited the forest region 

 around Lake Ilmen, between Lake Ladoga and 

 the upper waters of the Dnieper. In 859, be- 

 cause of dissension, these tribes invited the 

 Scandinavians, under their leader, Kurik, to 

 i the country, assume rule over it and pro- 

 tect it from invasion by other tribes. The be- 

 ginning of Kurik's rule marks the date of the 

 foundation of the Russian Empire. He died in 

 879, and Oleg, a member of his family, was 

 made regent for Kurik's son, and by him the 

 capital of the country was removed to Kiev. 

 At the beginning of the twelfth century the 

 Russian Slavs occupied scarcely one-fifth of 

 Kuropean Russia. The history of the country 

 for the four following centuries was one of war. 

 rebellion and intrigue, during which the Rus- 

 people increased Jn numbers and extended 

 their domain. 



Beginning of Modern Russia. Previous to the 

 Romanoff dynasty, which began with Michael 

 Feodorovitch (1613-1645), the Russian rulers 

 were of very little interest to history. Russia's 

 progress as a nation began with the reign of 

 Peter the Great, the "Father of Modern Rus- 

 sia." He introduced into the government many 

 of the ideas and methods of the more pro- 

 gressive nations of Western Europe, founded 

 Saint Petersburg (now Petrograd), inaugurated 

 shipbuilding and advanced other industries, and 

 in many ways welded his vast domain into a 

 strong, centralized power. Some of Peter's 

 ideas were strenuously opposed by the nobility. 

 and for a brief period after his death the move- 

 ments he had commenced languished. How- 

 under Catharine II (1762-1796) Russia 

 again made rapid advancement in civilization 

 and was fully recognized as a great power. It 

 was during her reign that Poland was parti- 

 tioned, and 180.000 square miles of territory 

 with 6,000,000 inhabitants were added to Rus- 

 Two successful wars were waged against 

 the Turks, who were compelled to release their 

 control over Crimea and other possessions in 

 what i> now Southern Russia. Under Alexan- 



der I serfdom was abolished in the Baltic prov- 

 inces (see SERFS), and a number of improve- 

 ments in the government were made. He 

 joined Austria against Napoleon, but their com- 

 bined armies were defeated at Austerlitz 

 (which see). Later Alexander entered into an 

 agreement with Napoleon whereby he acquired 

 Finland and the Aland Islands from Sweden, 

 and compelled Turkey to cede to Russia the 

 territory between the Dniester and the Pruth. 

 In 1812, however, Alexander joined the alli- 

 ance against Napoleon, whose overthrow he 

 was largely influential in accomplishing. At 

 the Congress of Vienna which followed, the 

 Duchy of Warsaw was ceded to Poland, which 

 was under control of Russia. 



At the beginning of Alexander's reign the 

 people were led to hope for a more liberal 

 policy on the part of the government, and for 

 some relief from the oppression they had en- 

 dured under his predecessor. Their hopes were 

 not realized, and a rebellion broke out when his 

 successor, Nicholas I, ascended the throne in 

 1825. During the reign of Nicholas I Russia 

 extended its dominions in Asia, and began the 

 conquest of the Caucasus. In 1853 Nicholas 

 began a war against Turkey which led to thr 

 interference of France and Great Britain, by 

 whose influence Russia was compelled t< 

 linquish most of the advantage it had gained 

 through its victories. 



Abolition of Serfdom. Alexander II was 

 noted for his abolition of serfdom throughout 

 the Empire in 1861, thereby setting free more 

 than 20,000,000 men. A state system of loans 

 was also provided, whereby many of the freed 

 men were able to purchase small farms. In 

 1864 the zemstvos were instituted. But not- 

 withstanding these reforms there was a growing 

 spirit of revolution throughout the country. 

 This led to the increase of government espio- 

 nage and the issuing of orders wlm-h n -tricted 

 the freedom of speech and of the press. Many 

 political suspects were arrested and transported 

 to Siberia. In 1877 war was again declared 

 against Turkey and vigorously prosecuted. In 

 leas. than a year the Russian forces had ad- 

 vanced almost to Constantinople, when the 



