Russia Terms

Russia Terms     January 25, 2010

  1. Ivan III lived from 1440 to 1505. He was also known as Ivan the Great; the prince of Duchy of Moscow. He claimed decent from Rurik. He was responsible for freeing Russia from Mongols after 1462. Then he took the title of tsar of Caesar-the equivalent of emperor. (Textbook, G-10)

  2. Ivan IV who lived from 1530 to 1584 was also known as Ivan the terrible. He confirmed the power of tsarist autocracy by attacking the authority of the boyars. He continued the policy of Russian expansion, as well as establishing contacts with western European commerce and culture. (Textbook, G-10)

  3. Cossacks were peasants recruited to migrate to newly seized lands in Russia. They were particularly moved to the south. They combined agriculture with military conquests, and spurred additional frontier conquests and settlements. (Textbook, G-5)

  4. The Time of Troubles followed the death of Russian tsar Ivan IV without any heir in the early 17th century. During this period the boyars attempted to use the vacuum of power to reestablish their authority. It ended with the selection of Michael Romanov as tsar in 1613. (Textbook, G-20)

  5. The Romanov dynasty was the dynasty elected in 1613 at the end of the Time of Troubles. They ruled Russia until 1917. (Textbook, G-17)

  6. Old Believers were Russians who refused to accept the ecclesiastical reforms of Alexis Romanov in the 17th century. Many of them were exiled to Siberia or southern Russia where they became part of Russian colonization. (Textbook, G-15)

  7. Peter the Great, also known, as Peter the Great was the son of Alexis Romanov who ruled from 1689 to 1725. He continued the growth of absolutism and conquest, and included more definite interest in changing selected aspects of the economy and culture through imitation of western European models. (Textbook, G-15)

  8. Boyars were Russian aristocrats. They possessed less political power than their counterparts...