Russia, the Kievan Rus, and the Mongols: Crash Course World History #20

CrashCourse
7 Jun 201210:46
EducationalLearning
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TLDRThe script discusses the history of Russia leading up to the rule of Ivan the Terrible. It covers the rise of Kiev as a powerful city-state, its fall to the Mongols, and how the Mongols helped propel Moscow and its princes to power. Moscow expanded its influence and eventually asserted independence from the Mongols under Ivan III. His grandson, Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible), brutally centralized power and crushed the nobility, establishing absolutist rule over Russia through terror and secret police. This created a stereotype of Russian barbarity that persisted for centuries among Western Europeans.

Takeaways
  • 😀 The Kievan Rus were a powerful city-state founded by Slavic people who migrated from around the Black Sea
  • 😮 Trade like fur, wax and slaves was critical to the economy of the Kievan Rus
  • 🤔 The leader of the Kievan Rus was called the Grand Prince, a model for future Russian kings
  • 😲 The Mongols conquered the Kievan Rus in 1240, shifting power away from Kiev towards northeast Russia
  • 🔍 Mongol rule isolated Russia from Europe but helped propel Moscow to prominence
  • 🎓 Ivan the Great asserted Russia's independence from the Mongols and laid foundations for a centralized Russian state
  • 😨 Ivan the Terrible crushed nobility, but through extreme brutality, setting a precedent for autocracy via terror
  • 🤨 Western Europe also knew brutality, but saw Russia as more barbaric, the fearful 'Other'
  • 💡 Stereotypes of Russian barbarism persist today, but brutality often seems barbaric depending on perspective
  • 📝 The legacy of Russian autocracy and use of force against citizens continues even today
Q & A

  • Who founded the city of Kiev and when was it founded?

    -Most historians now believe Kiev was founded by Slavic people who migrated from around the Black Sea, though older theories suggest it was founded by Vikings. There is no definitive date for Kiev's founding.

  • What goods did the Kievan Rus trade and what was the social status of peasants?

    -The Kievan Rus traded raw materials like fur, wax and slaves. Peasants often fell into tax debt and became bonded to the land they farmed for life, similar to a slave.

  • How did the Mongols help Moscow rise to prominence?

    -The Mongols named Muscovite princes the Grand Prince, allowing them to collect tribute on behalf of the Khan. This enriched Moscow and helped it expand influence and territory.

  • Why did Ivan the Terrible earn his nickname?

    -In the later part of his reign, Ivan brutally suppressed the boyars (nobility). He used oprichniki (secret police) to destroy entire towns, killing many people, to establish absolute control.

  • What was the zemsky sobor created by Ivan the Terrible?

    -The zemsky sobor was a grand council of representatives, similar to the estates general created in France later. It gave nobles some voice in government.

  • How did Russia's location contribute to stereotypes about it?

    -Russia was seen by Western Europe as both European and non-European for centuries. This 'otherness' led Russia to be feared and stereotyped as brutal and barbaric.

  • What was the importance of Ivan III (Ivan the Great)?

    -Ivan the Great asserted Russia's independence from the Mongols, massively expanded Moscow's territory through conquest and negotiation, and declared himself sovereign of all Russians.

  • How did the Mongol invasion help unify Russia?

    -The Mongol invasion gave the scattered Russian principalities a common enemy. Fighting off the Mongols gave Moscow a leadership role in a growing sense of Russian unity.

  • What made the Muscovite princes well positioned for power?

    -Muscovite princes were stable successors as they usually had sons, and they were at the strategic headwaters of four rivers for trade. Being Mongol allies also gave them security.

  • Why did Prince Vladimir supposedly choose Byzantine Christianity?

    -According to legend, Prince Vladimir chose Christianity over Islam for the Kievan Rus because of its allowance of alcohol, saying "Drink is the joy of the Russian".

Outlines
00:00
🏰 The Rise and Fall of Kievan Rus

This paragraph provides background on the Kievan Rus civilization that existed in what is now Russia and Ukraine before the Mongol invasion. It discusses the likely Slavic origins of the people, the importance of trade and agriculture, and the transition from tribal rule to an early Russian state centered around the city of Kiev and led by Grand Princes who later became the model for Russian monarchs.

05:03
🐎 The Mongol Conquest and its Legacy

This paragraph examines the Mongol conquest of Russia in the 13th century, establishing the Khanate of the Golden Horde. It analyzes the impacts of Mongol rule, including boosting the power of Moscow and its princes, cutting Russia off from Europe, and unifying the idea of Russia itself.

10:05
📜 Ivan the Terrible and the Rise of Russian Autocracy

This final paragraph explores the brutal reign of Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century and how he crushed the Russian nobility to establish absolute rule by the Tsar. It traces how this set the stage for authoritarianism and use of secret police that became synonymous with Russian governance for centuries.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Kievan Rus
The Kievan Rus was a loose federation of East Slavic tribes in Europe from the late 9th to the mid 13th century. It was the predecessor to modern day Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The video discusses the founding and key aspects of the Kievan Rus, including extensive trade networks, agriculture, and a social hierarchy where falling into debt led to enslavement.
💡Mongol conquest
The Mongols conquered the lands of Kievan Rus in 1240, replacing them as rulers. This cut the Kievan Rus off from Europe and Byzantium, further isolating Russia and shaping its distinctive identity between Europe and Asia. The period of Mongol rule made Moscow more prominent.
💡Ivan the Great
Ivan III, also called Ivan the Great (1440-1505), was a Grand Prince of Moscow who increased Moscow's power and territory dramatically. He declared Russia's independence from the Mongols, united lands through conquest and negotiation, took the title "Sovereign of all Russians", and married the niece of the last Byzantine emperor to connect Russia to that lineage.
💡autocracy
Autocracy refers to a system of government in which one person holds absolute power. Ivan IV ("Ivan the Terrible") brutally stamped out the last vestiges of aristocratic and princely rule, establishing Russian autocracy - rule by an all-powerful monarch. This laid foundations for centuries of absolute rule in Russia.
💡oprichniki
The oprichniki were Ivan the Terrible's secret police, used to identify and destroy anyone Ivan considered 'traitors'. Dressed in black and riding black horses, they were greatly feared enforcers of Ivan's brutal autocratic rule, helping him consolidate absolute control through violence and purges.
💡boyars
The boyars were Russian nobility, landowners and former princes whose power and status presented the last challenge to Ivan the Terrible's drive for absolute rule. He unleashed the oprichniki and widespread violence to systematically break the boyars' power and establish the supremacy of the tsar.
💡Byzantine Christianity
The leader of Kievan Rus, Prince Vladimir, converted the people to Byzantine Christianity in the 11th century. This tied Russia's religious identity to Constantinople rather than Western Europe, shaping Russia's cultural separation from the West.
💡appanage
An appanage was a principality governed by a prince under the overall rule of the Mongols. Russia under Mongol rule was divided into constantly warring appanages, preventing stability or unified identity. Eventually Moscow gained power over the other appanages.
💡Muscovite power
The video explains how the Mongols helped establish Moscow as a trading and economic center, protected by its alliance with the Mongols. Its princes collected tribute for the Mongols while keeping some for themselves, enriching Moscow. This allowed it to keep expanding its influence and territory at the expense of other appanages.
💡tsar
Ivan the Great adopted the title Tsar, derived from Caesar, to communicate his status as all-powerful ruler. It became the title for subsequent autocratic Russian rulers, underscoring their supreme authority.
Highlights

The Mongols did set up the Khanate of the Golden Horde in Russia, but it didn’t leave much lasting impact on the institutions of the region

The Mongols were comparatively light rulers: They were happy to live in their yurts and collect tribute from the ever-bickering Russian princes

Mongol rule cut the Russians off from the Byzantines and further isolated them from Europe, leaving Russia not Byzantine, not European, and not really Mongol either

The Mongols successfully conquered Russia in the winter

The Muscovite princes won — that is to say purchased — the right to collect tribute on behalf of the Khan from other princes

Moscow became the seat of the Eastern Orthodox church in 1325, when the Metropolitan Peter moved there

Inflicted the first major defeat of Mongols in Russia at battle of Kulikovo Field. This showed that the Mongols weren’t invincible

There was only one major succession struggle and it was between two blind guys named Basil. That’s not a joke by the way

Ivan the Terrible’s reign represents the end of princely power and the beginning of the autocracy that Russia is famous for

In the second part of his reign, Ivan earned his nickname, the Terrible — which, can mean either bad or just awe-inspiring, depending on your perspective

Ivan set out to break the power of the nobility-- the former princes and landowners, called the boyars. They were the last link to princely rule

Ivan created the oprichniki, a corps of secret police who rode around on black horses, wearing all black, whose job it was to hunt down and destroy any enemies of the tsar

Over the latter half of Ivan’s reign, whole towns were destroyed. It was, in effect, a civil war, except with no resistance

Ivan IV established absolute control of the tsar over all the Russian people, but he also set the precedent of accomplishing this through terror, secret police, and the suspension of law

For centuries, Russia was seen by western Europe as both European and not, an “Other” that was to be doubly feared because it was not fully Other

Transcripts

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