9 century

In 9c the Krivichs, the Slovenes, the Mari, and the Chudes (Finnish and Slavic tribes) paid tribute to the Vikings coming from overseas. As the tribes began to grow wary of these tributes, the fights and conflicts have started to erupt. To stop the enmity, the Slavics called the Vikings to rule.
Vikings Prince Rurik, of the Vikings, and his brothers Sineus and Truvor agreed to come. Rurik started to reign in Novgorod, Sineus - in Beloozero, Truvor - in Izborsk.
From the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea to Constantinople the trade route flowed from the Vikings to the Greeks. The first ancient Rus cities appeared along the river banks.
Trade in the northern part of the path was controlled by Novgorod , in the southern part by Kiev. Due to a more favorable geographical position Kiev had a power over the lands from the middle reaches of the Dnieper River to Lake Ladoga.
«Khazar Kaganat» (the state located between the Black and the Caspian seas, created by the nomadic Khazars) collected tribute from the East Slavic tribes.
The nomadic Pecheneg tribes (Pecheneg Horde) lived from the lower Volga river to the mouth of the Danube river. The Pecheneg Horde bordered Rus, Byzantium, the Tsardom of Bulgaria and the Khazar Khaganate.
Pechenegs started systematic raids on these states.

10 century

The state Volga Bulgaria was created in the north of the Volga and the Kama rivers at the end of the 9c. It had military and trade rivalry with Kievan Rus.
Due to its favorable commercial location and fertile lands Bulgaria eventually became the most powerful state in the Middle and Lower Volga river region.
The outstanding commander of ancient Rus Prince Svyatoslav fought with the Volga Bulgaria, the Khazar Kaganate, the Bulgarian Tsardom and the Byzantium.
Svyatoslav established control over the upper course of the Volga river lands.
He created the conditions for the revitalization of the trade route along the Volgariver by defeating the Volga Bulgaria and the Khazar Khanate.
The conquest of Tmutarakan and Surkela cities made it possible to use the trade route from North-Eastern Rus to Constantinopl along the Don river, bypassing Kiev.
This way conditions were created for the successful economic development of the Rus North-Eastern lands.
The Pecheneg Horde continued to inflict enormous damage to the resources of Rus. Pechenegs' main goal was to seize slaves, livestock and property.
In 10c under the rule of Vladimir, the Red Sun, Orthodox Christianity became the official state religion of Rus.

11 century

The adoption of Orthodox Christian religion strengthened the ties between Rus and Byzantium. The new faith helped Greek culture, science and art to spread among the Slavs. The Slavic alphabet was created.
Under the role of grand prince of Rus Yaroslav the Wise Rus has become one of the largest states in Europe, and Kiev became one of the largest cities in the world.
Kiev was called the 2nd Constantinople. Yaroslav was titeled the Tsar similar to the Byzantine emperors.
In 1097 Princes had a congress in Lyubech. At this congress the rule «Everyone keeps his fatherland» was adopted. This stated the beginning of political fragmentation of the Old Rus state.
The feudal fragmentation, internal instability and the constant struggle of Princely groups for the Kiev throne started. Princes in Kiev were changing one after another.
Siblings, uncles, and nephews became participants in internecine wars. They were killing each other struggling for power.
From the 11th to the 13th century the Polovtsy (the nomadic people of Turkic origin, who occupied the territory of the Great Prairies from the Danube to the Irtysh) became a serious political opponents of Ancient Rus.
The Polovtsy defeated the tribes of the Pechenegs and the Turks. They constantly raided the Rus lands.

12 century

The disintegration of Kievan Rus led to the formation of principalities. The numerous descendants of Yaroslav the Wise were fighting for Kiev power.
Bloody feuds and Princely raids ravaged cities and villages. This was the cause of popular unrest and invasions of militant nomads.
In 1108 the Grand Prince Vladimir Monomakh (the grandson of Yaroslav) founded Vladimir city as the new center of the North-Eastern Rus.
In the middle of the 12th century Andrei Bogolyubsky (the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh) moved the capital of Rus to Vladimir city. Vladimir city was located between Kiev (the southern center of Rus) and Ladoga (the Northern center of Rus).
The completion of the state formation of Rus predetermined the transfer of its center into the interior of the country.
It changed the role of Southern Kievan Rus. After for almost four centuries (9th-12th centuries) Southern Kievan Rus stopped being a focus of the historical development of Rus. And for almost four centuries (12th-17th centuries) was cut off from the center of Rus (first by Mongols, then by Lithuania and Poland).
From 1136 Novgorod became a republic ( Mr. Novgorod the Great ). Novgorod state administration was carried out using the system of veche bodies.
At the end of the 12th century Galitsky-Volyn principality was formed in the south-west by combining the Galitsky and the Volyn principalities.
Galicia-Volyn principality was one of the largest principalities during the collapse of Kievan Rus.

13 century

At the beginning of the 13th century a huge army of Genghis Khan devastated Asia and Transcaucasia. In 1223 the Mongolian army defeated the combined forces of the Slavic Princes and Polovtsy on the Kalka river.
The army of Batu Khan (the grandson of Genghis Khan) defeated the troops of the Rus Princes in the east of Rus and in 1240 conquered Kiev. In 1243 Batu Khan founded the state of the Mongol-Tatars Golden Horde and imposed a tribute on the Rus lands. The state was located in the lower reaches of the Volga river.
Rus Princes could obtain the power over their lands only with the approval of the Khans of the Golden Horde.
The feudal division and Princely internal quarrels also facilitated the subsequent successes of the Mongols, who conquered and subjected most of the Russian lands, although in socio-economic and cultural terms the conquerors were less developed than the people they had conquered.
Having conquered the Russian lands, Batu invaded Eastern Europe, with the intention of subjecting the European states. Weakened by the struggle with Russia, however, his forces were not strong enough to carry out these plans, and at the end of 1242 the conquerors turned back eastwards. Batu settled on the Lower Volga river, where a new state was sittuated, the Golden Horde, with its capital in Sarai. The Russian land owners became vassals of the Horde.
Mongol-Tatars did not reach Novgorod. Novgorod became the main custodian of Old Rus culture after the collapse of Kievan Rus.
In the 13th century German knights and Swedish feudal lords also began to make raids on Rus.
German Crusader Knights invaded the Baltic States after the Vatican proclaimed a crusade against the Northwest. Livonian Order was created. After strengthening their power in the Baltic States the knights turned their aggression against Novgorod and Rus.
In the North Swedish feudal lords laid claim to the territory of Novgorod and sought to conquer the Baltic coast.
Prince Alexander defeated the Swedes in 1240 at Neva river and became known as Alexander Nevsky. In 1242 Alexander's army defeated the Livonian Order (this event is known as the Ice Battle).

14 century

In the 14th century, as in the preceding period, a bitter struggle continued between the Russian principalities for political and economic supremacy. This internecine strife profited the Horde, because it undermined the forces that could have resisted Mongol oppression. The khans of the Horde encouraged this internal struggle between the Russian princes and used it to suppress the popular uprisings against the invaders that broke out sporadically.
A prince who succeeded to a princely throne had first to obtain the sanction in the Horde in the form of a special written document or yarlyk permitting him to reign. The Russian prince who obtained a yarlyk to rule in the grand principality of Vladimir was senior to all the other Russian princes. The competition between the politically and economically strongest princes for sanction to rule the grand principality led to the killing of one Russian prince while he was visiting the Horde, with the connivance of another.
In the late13th and early 14th centuries the principality of Moscow emerged as one of the strongest in North-Eastern Russia. The Moscow princes played an active part in the struggle for supremacy among the Russian princes, and, consequently, for the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir. The main rivals in this struggle at the beginning of the 14th century were the princes of Tver and Moscow. At that time when religious ideology was prevalent the support of the Church was extremely important. Moscow was most successful in strengthening its alliance with the Church. In the 1320s during the reign of Prince Ivan Kalita (Ivan the Money-Bag) Metropolitan Peter of All Russia moved from Vladimir to Moscow, and Moscow became the ecclesiastical centre of all the Russian lands.
By the end of the 14th century Moscow Rus openly opposed the Mongol-Tatar Horde. In 1380 Prince Dmitry defeated the army of Khan Mamai on Kulikovo Field.
In the 14th century a strong state of Grand Duchy of Lithuania appeared in Europe. The Grand Prince Gediminas was the founder of Lithuania.
Smolensk, Pskov, Galitsko-Volynsk, and Kiev principalities became dependent on Lithuania. Many Rus lands joined Lithuania, seeking to find protection from the Mongol-Tatars.
In 1362 the Grand Duchy of Lithuania seized Kiev and cut off Kiev from the center of Rus. The independent Ukrainian nationality began to form with its own language and culture.
Until the end of the 14th century Rus regions within the Lithuanian principality did not experience national-religious oppression.

15 century

In the 1st half of the 15th century, at the same time as the unification of the lands around Moscow, the number of apanages within the borders of the Moscow principality increased as a result of territory being divided up between a number of heirs. The grand prince sought to turn them into privileged landowners bound to serve him. This led to the outbreak of a feudal war in the 2nd quarter of the 15th century which lasted for almost 30 years. In the end, the forces of the apanage and boyar opposition was defeated, and the power of the Grand Prince of Moscow consolidated.
The principality of Tver and the Novgorodian boyar republic took an active part in the struggle against Moscow. This feudal war was a bitter, cruel one, complicated by the constant struggle against the Horde.
The 2d half of the 15th century, during the reign of Ivan III, saw the formation of a united Russian state. Novgorod and the extensive Novgorodian lands (which had an outlet for the White Sea and the Arctic Ocean) were joined to Muscovy, together with Tver, Yaroslavl, and other lands, and also Vyazma, Gomel and Chernigov, which were won back from Lithuania; in the early 16th century Pskov, Ryazan and Smolensk also joined the Russian state.
Ivan III of had the role of liberator from the Tatar-Mongolian yoke.
The end of vassal dependence on the Horde was marked by standoff between the forces of Akhmat Khan of the Great Horde, and the Grand Prince Ivan III of Muscovy in 1480 («standing on the Ugra»). Soon after this the Great Horde was defeated by the Crimean Khanate and lost its independence.
Ivan III was the first of the Rus Princes to take the title of «Sovereign of All Russia», and introduced the term «Russia».
Ivan III got the nickname «the Great».
The new symbol of the country was double-headed eagle, the same as state symbol of the Byzantium and the Holy Roman Empire. Ivan III's wife, Sophia Paleolog, was the niece of the last Byzantine emperor. Russia was promoting the idea of the continuity of power from the Byzantium.
In the 15th century the Kazan (on the territory of the former Volga Bulgaria state), the Astrakhan and the Siberian Khanates separated from the Golden Horde.
The Moscow Princes tried to establish control over the Kazan and the Astrakhan Khanates.

16 century

At the beginning of the 16th century the Kazan Khanate entered into an alliance with the Muslim Crimea and Turkey, becoming an implacable opponent of the Moscow state.
In 1552 Ivan IV the Terrible conquered the Kazan Khanate.
In 1556 his army conquered the Astrakhan Khanate.
In 1582-98 the Siberian Khanate was conquered. Gradually other Islamic states were annexed to become a part of Orthodox Tsarist Russia by military means.

After the conquest of Kazan Khanate, Russia wanted to gain access to the Baltic Sea. It put forward plans for the capture of Livonia.
In 1561 the Livonian Order passed under the protectorate of Lithuania and Poland. Russia had to contend with a much stronger opponent.
In 1569 Poland and Lithuania merged into the Commonwealth (Lublin Union).
After the Union of Lublin in 1569 South territories of Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the territory of modern Ukraine) passed to Poland. It strengthened the process of separation between Ukranian and Belorus nationalities.
Russia was defeated in the 25 year long (1558–1583) Livonian War without getting access to the Baltic Sea. The consequence of the Livonian war was the extremely difficult situation for Russia. The country was devastated.

In 1571 Moscow was burned by the army of the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey. Following that in 1572 the 120,000-strong Crimean-Turkish army was destroyed by Russia. It was the end to the many-century struggle between Russia and Khanate on the South.
The early reformationist movement (Protestant Reformation Martin Lutheror the European Reformation) in Russia was unsuccessful because the basis of the reformationist movements of the late Middle Ages were the towns, and in the 15th and 16th centuries Russian towns were not sufficiently developed.
The theory of «Moscow as the third Rome» - the idea of «Moscow as the new city of Constantine», proclaiming Moscow to be the spiritual centre of the whole of Christendom. Shortly before the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, the Byzantine Emperor and Patriarch, wishing to obtain help from the West, agreed to a union of the Greek Orthodox Church with the Latin Catholic Church. The union was not recognised in Russia, and the fall of Constantinople was seen as Divine punishment of the Greeks for renouncing Orthodoxy.
In 1598, with the death of the son of Ivan the Terrible, Fedor, the dynasty of Rurikovich was interrupted.
The TIME OF TROUBLES began.

17 century

The beginning of the 17th century was called in history as the Time of Troubles. This was a time of profound social and political crisis for Russia. The increasing social contradictions produced many uprisings of peasants, bondmen and urban townsfolk. The Polish intervention led to the loss of Smolensk and other south­western territories. The Swedes blocked Russia’s outlet to the Baltic. The crisis in the social and state structure was accompanied by a dynastic crisis.
Ivan the Terrible’s son Theodore died in 1598 leaving no heir. His brother-in-law Boris Godunov, who had in fact ruled Russia under Theodore and was a member of the old Moscow boyar family, acceded to the throne. After Boris’ death the cap of Monomachos became a plaything in the hands of numerous pretenders, lost as easily as it was won. Boris Godunov’s son Theodore held the title of sovereign of All Russia for 6 weeks only, before being killed by the supporters of Pseudo-Dmitry I. Pseudo-Dmitry I was murdered before a year had passed. And 2 days after his death, Prince Vasily Shuisky, the leader of the plot, came to the throne, the last of the line of Rurik to accede to the throne of Moscow.
But Russia did not want to acknowledge this «boyar tsar».A new enemy threatened it — Pseudo-Dmitry II. He advanced as far as Moscow, largely thanks to the Polish interventionists. For almost 3 years Moscow and Tushino (Pseudo-Dmitry II capital) threatened each other, but neither side could gain the upper hand.
Vasily Shuisky, Tsar of Russia between 1606 and 1610, was forced to turn to the Swedes for assistance.
The Russian people had ceased to believe in the Divine origin of autocratic power, in the idea that there could be only one tsar «by the Will of God» in the country. During the Time of Troubles more than 10 of them appeared, and they came from different social strata.

The accession of the new Romanov dynasty in 1613 .
During the reign of Tsar Mikhail Romanov, Russian expeditions began the development of Eastern Siberia, Russia went to the Pacific Ocean.
17th century was known in history as the «Century of Rebellions». The most famous riots were: Salt and Copper riots in Moscow, riots in Novgorod and Pskov, Stepan Razin uprising, Streltsy riot or «Khovanshchina».
These revolts, which reflected the insoluble social contradictions of pre-Petrine Russia, compelled the government to introduce half-hearted reforms. But most of of reforms benefited the nobility, against whom the revolt had been directed. The estates which the serviced gentry had previously been held for their lifetime only were turned into hereditary holdings, and the peasants were bound once and for all to the land. This intensification of oppression immediately produced peasant revolts. Thus the revolts produced reforms, and the reforms fresh revolts.
The other very important event of the middle of 17th century was the church reform of Patriarch Nikon. Nikon introduced many reforms which eventually led to a lasting schism known as Raskol in the Russian Orthodox Church.
Historians reckon that between a quarter and a third of the population remained true to the old rites (the Old Believers). The nobility supported the reforms for various reasons and Old Believers’ movement very quickly turned into a movement of the lower classes.
An important event for the further development of the state was the unification of Russia and Ukraine in 1654. The close interaction of the culture of the Slavic peoples emerged as a result.
From the end of the 16th century to the middle of the 17th century serfdom took shape in Russia .
Peter the Great ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 1682 until his death in 1725, jointly ruling before 1696 with his elder half-brother, Ivan V.

18 century

Under the rule of Peter I (Peter the Great) radical reforms took place in the Russian state. With his transformations Peter I wanted to change Russia to resemble the European style. The army, the state administration, and the education system were modernized.
As a result of Northern War Russia returned the Russian lands seized by Sweden at the end of the 16th century. After Russia's victory over Sweden, Peter I was proclaimed as the first Russian emperor. Under Peter I, an absolute monarchy was established. The church became dependent on the state.
The city of St. Petersburg was founded at the mouth of the Neva river. In 1712 the capital of Russia was moved to St. Petersurg.
Under Peter I rule, the Vedomosti newspaper started to be published in Russia. From January 1st, 1700 a new calendar was introduced - starting that year the new calendar year started January 1st (before that the new year was counted from September 1st). Schools were opened focusing on the new disciplines including: mathematical and navigational sciences, medical sciences, and engineering.
After Peter the Great began the Era of Palace Coups. It covered the period of Russian history between the reign of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great defined by rulers overthrowing each other from the throne with the help of elite palace guard.
Anna Ioanovna rule: some reforms were carried out such as the reform of the army, the Senate, the fleet, and others. The Office of Secret Investigation Affairs was established.
Elizaveta Petrovna continued the policy of her father, Peter the Great. Elizabeth conducted a population census, abolished customs duties within the country, conducted tax reform, expanded the rights of the nobility. Moscow University was founded .
The second enlightened monarch reformer of 18century after Peter the Great was Catherine II (Catherine the Great). She carried out the provincial reforms, the judicial reforms, strengthened the army and the navy, strengthened the bureaucracy, and increased the exploitation of serfs.
Under Empress Catherine the Great, the conquest of America began. Russia conquered from Turkey the access to the Black Sea.
The growth of the privileges of the nobility in the 2nd half of the 18th century and their actual release from compulsory service led to a tightening of serfdom.

19 century

At the beginning of the 19th century much of Western Europe viewed Russia as hopelessly backward – even Medieval. It was considered more a part of Asia than an outpost of European thought. During the 1st half of the century, indeed, peasants (called «serfs») were still treated as the property of their feudal masters and could be bought and sold, though they had a few more rights than slaves.
However, the nobility of Russia had looked to the West for ideals and fashions since the early 18th century: Russian aristocrats traveled extensively in Western Europe and adopted French as the language of polite discourse. They read French and English literature and philosophy, followed Western fashions, and generally considered themselves a part of modern Europe.
The reign of Alexander I was characterized as «Russia at the crossroads». Russia now began to develop a culture which would be admired and emulated by the West. The Empire now moved to the center of of European diplomacy arena. Russian educators, who reflected the ideals of Voltaire and his followers, saw public education as contribution to native virtues and leading of national progress. However, that mood changed after the Napoleonic wars when, in fear of revolution, authorities saw the school system primarily as a means for inculcating obedience and Christian pietism.
In 1809 Russia seized the Swedish-owned Finland , which became part of the Russian Empire.
In 1812 the Patriotic War with Napoleon , who declared himself emperor of France, began.
After the victory in the Patriotic War, a campaign of the Russian army took place, which liberated the European countries from the domination of Napoleon. After the end of the war revolutionary ideas that had penetrated into Russia in 1825 turned into a failed Decembrist uprising.
Fearing the new uprisings, the state tightened control over the country's political, economic, and cultural life. Russia was called «The gendarme of Europe.»
After the Decembrist uprising, Nicholas I did not trust the nobility, and the officials became the ruling class.
As a result the number of officials increased 6 times.
In the course of long wars with the mountaineers in the 19th century Russia annexed the Caucasus. The territories of Central Asia were also annexed (Bukhara and Khiva Khanates, Kazakh zhuz).
In 1861 under the rule of Emperor Alexander II serfdom was abolished in Russia. There were also a number of liberal reforms that accelerated the modernization of the country. These reforms radically changed society and were called the «Revolution from Above».
Since the authorities feared the weakening of the foundations of autocracy, the reforms were not completed. Bureaucratic centralism was preserved, the agrarian question was not resolved, the constitution was not adopted, there were no legislative power or political parties.
The 70s of the 19th century were the period of the emergence of ideas about the revolutionary struggle.
After the assassination of Alexander II, Alexander III ascended the throne, who during his reign did not conduct a single war, for which he was called «Peacemaker».
His task was to strengthen the economy and the development of large industrial enterprises. Alexander III developed a new «hard» course in all areas of public life, limiting the freedom of the press and the democratic nature of local self-government.
The period 1881-1917 was not only a reaction time, but also the spread of Marxism in Russia and formation of revolutionary parties: of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers Party (RSDLP) and the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRs).

20 century

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Russia began to actively explore the Far East, which caused Japan’s concern. In the course of Russian-Japanese War Russia was defeated due to the lack of modern technical equipment and incompetence of senior officers.
In 1914 Russia entered the World War I. The February Revolution of 1917 put an end to the monarchy: Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne, power passed to the Provisional Government. After the October Revolution of 1917 the Russian Soviet Republic was proclaimed in . The Soviet Republic began to liquidate private property and nationalize it.
The Soviet Republic signed piece treaty (treaty of Brest-Litovsk) with Central Powers (German Empire, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire) that ended Russia's participation in WWI. The peace treaty resulted in the loss of Ukraine, the Baltic states, Poland, parts of Belarus and ~ 90 tons of gold. It also became one of the causes of the civil war. In March 1918 the Soviet government moved from Petrograd to Moscow, fearing the Germans would seize the city.
In 1922, the USSR (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Transcaucasian Federation) was formed. In 1921–1929, the New Economic Policy ( NEP ) was carried out. In the 1930s Stalin carried out a «purge» of the party apparatus. A labor camp system was established ( GULag).
In 1939–40 Western Belorussia, Western Ukraine, Moldavia, Western Karelia, and the Baltic states were annexed by the USSR.
In 1941 the surprise attack of Nazi Germany started the Great Patriotic War. The Second World War ended with the capture of Berlin in May 1945 and the surrender of Germany.
As a result of the war with Japan in 1945, the South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands became part of Russia.
As a result of the WWII the countries of Eastern Europe (Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the GDR) fell into the Soviet zone of influence. Relations with the West have dramatically escalated.
The «cold war» began - the confrontation between the West and the countries of the socialist camp, which reached its peak in 1962. At that time the intensity of the conflict gradually subsided, and was some progress in relations with the West, in particular, an agreement on economic cooperation with France was signed.
In the 70s the confrontation of the USSR and the USA weakened. Agreements on the limitation of strategic nuclear weapons were reached.
The second half of the 70s was called the «era of stagnation» , when, with relative stability, the USSR gradually lagged behind the advanced countries of the West in terms of technology.
When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1985, the Soviet Union declared the policy of restructuring «perestroika», to solve the problems in the social sphere and the social production, and also to avoid the impending economic crisis caused by the arms race.
However this policy led to a deepening crisis, the collapse of the USSR and the transition to capitalism. In 1991 the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was created, which included the RSFSR, Ukraine and Belarus.