Byzantine Empire and Russia

When Constantinople fell in 1453 AD the leadership of the Eastern Orthodox Church went into Russia

Geography- Russia

Russia was centered on the steppes which are vast grassy plains of Eastern Europe and western Asia

To the north of the steppes were the very thick forests

To the extreme north the land is tundra where Siberia is located

Region runs from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea

Contains three major rivers: Dnieper, Don, and Volga

Ethnic groups:

The western Slavs were mainly influenced by Europe and the Roman Catholic Church Present day countries include Poland, Czech,

Republic, and Slovakia The southern Slavs were mainly

influenced by the Byzantines and both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Present day countries include Yugoslavia,

Bosnia, Hungary, and Romania

The eastern Slavs were influenced by the Eastern Orthodox Church Present day countries include Belarus,

Ukraine, and Russia

In 900 AD the Grand Prince of Kiev established a loose confederation of city-states that would become Russia

Early Russia

 Early Russian social classes (highest to lowest)

Grand Prince and

noblesBoyars- wealthy merchants and

landownersserfs- poor farmers

who made up 95% of the population

Under Vladimir, the Eastern Orthodox Church was chosen as the official

religion of the land

Reasons:

No food restrictions (Ex. Lent, Ramadan)

King would be the head of the church

Religion could be studied, written, and

spoken in the local language, not just

Latin

Byzantine churches were inspirational

Problems in Russia

The Great Schism coupled with the Mongol invasion of 1240 AD led to Russia’s isolation from the rest of Europe

The Mongol rule of 200 years prevented Russia from benefiting from the European Renaissance

Russians were forced to pay tribute to the Mongols and this strengthened the system of feudalism

Finally, in 1480 Ivan the Great freed Russia from Mongol rule and united the Russia principalities

Russia following the Mongols

With the fall of Constantinople to the Muslim Ottoman Turks in 1453 AD the Eastern Orthodox Church made its home in Russia

Russia became known as the third Rome

Ivan the Great (Ivan III) married a niece of the last Byzantine Emperor and declared himself ▪ Caesar- the basis for the Russian word Czar.