Ivan IV: The Terrible Czar

• Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible, ascended the throne in 1533 at the age of three.
• The boyars were Russia's landowning nobles who fought for control during Ivan's youth.
• At 16, Ivan seized power and crowned himself czar, meaning "caesar," the first Russian ruler to officially use this title.
• Ivan married Anastasia, who was from the Romanov boyar family.
• His "good period" from 1547-1560 involved victories, territorial expansion, a code of laws, and just rule.

Ivan IV as an Absolute Monarch

• Ivan's "bad period" began after Anastasia's death in 1560, suspecting the boyars of poisoning her.
• He turned against the boyars, creating a secret police force dressed in black to hunt down and murder those he considered traitors.
• These secret police were used to execute boyars, their families, and peasants.
• Ivan seized the boyars' estates, redistributing the land to a new class of nobles loyal to him.
• He killed his oldest son and heir during a quarrel in 1581, leading to a weak second son inheriting the throne three years later.

Succession after Ivan IV

• Ivan's son proved to be physically and mentally unfit to rule.
• After the son's death without an heir, Russia entered the Time of Troubles, a period marked by turmoil and power struggles among boyars.
• There were several impostors who tried to claim the throne.
• In 1613, representatives from Russian cities chose Michael Romanov, grandnephew of Ivan the Terrible's wife, Anastasia, as the next czar.
• This established the Romanov dynasty, which would rule Russia for 300 years (1613-1917).

Russia During Peter 1

• The Romanovs restored order by strengthening the government with a law code and suppressing revolt, setting the stage for the absolute rule of Czar Peter I, later known as Peter the Great.
• Peter I came to power when Russia was still a land of boyars and serfs.
• Serfdom lasted longer in Russia than in western Europe, persisting into the mid-1800s.
• Landowners wanted to bound serfs to the land to boost harvest production and treated serfs as property.
• Landowners could sell serfs with the land, and serfs could be given away as gifts or to pay debts.
• It was illegal for serfs to run away from their owners.
• Boyars were largely ignorant of western Europe.
• Russia looked to Constantinople rather than Rome for leadership, adhering to the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity, leading to religious differences and distrust with the Catholic and Protestant Western Europeans.

Peter's Goal of Westernization

• Peter became the sole ruler of Russia at age 24.
• In 1697, he embarked on the "Grand Embassy" to western Europe to learn about customs and manufacturing, unprecedented for a czar.
• Inspired by his trip, Peter resolved Russia would compete with Europe in military and commercial terms.
• Peter saw westernization as a means to strengthen Russia.

Peter's Absolute Rule

• Peter knew many Russians opposed change.
• He believed forcing change was necessary.
• Peter increased his power to rule absolutely.

Peter's Steps to Become an Absolute Ruler

• Peter brought the Russian Orthodox Church under state control abolishing the position of patriarch.
• He created the Holy Synod to run the Church.
• He reduced the power of great landowners, like Ivan the Terrible.
• Peter recruited men from lower-ranking families, promoted them, and rewarded them with land grants.
• Peter hired European officers to modernize his army, drilling his soldiers in European tactics and with European weapons.
• Being a soldier became a lifetime job.
• By the time of Peter's death, the Russian army numbered 200,000 men.
• Peter imposed heavy taxes to pay for this army.

Peter the Great's Legacy

• Peter the Great tried to westernize and reform Russia's culture and government and largely succeeded.
• By his death in 1725, Russia was a significant power in Europe.