Russia, China's northern neighbor, is both familiar and unfamiliar to us, seemingly not far away, but like a thousand mountains and rivers, it straddles two continents of Europe and Asia, and its cultural connotation not only absorbs the nutrition of the civilizations of the East and the West, but also has a certain rejection of the civilizations of the East and the West; it is like a huge bell hovering between Europe and Asia, and like a proud two-headed eagle, looking at the West and the East at the other. In fact, Russia's "tangled" mood stems from the rapid expansion of the East and West in the 17th and 19th centuries, which is the dream of the fighting people to chase the sea, and it is also a history of advancing towards the ocean.
In the centuries from the Mongol Empire to the Qing Dynasty, the biggest geopolitical power shift in Eurasia was the rise of Russia. Image quoted from The Bureau of Earth Knowledge.
Located in the northern part of Eurasia, Russia is a federal semi-presidential republic consisting of 22 autonomous republics, 46 oblasts, 9 krai regions, 4 autonomous regions, 1 autonomous oblast and 3 federal municipalities. With a land area of 17,098,200 square kilometers, it is the largest country in the world, with a territory of about 1.78 times that of China, and there are 194 ethnic groups distributed on the vast land, but the total population is only 146 million, with Russians as the main ethnic group, accounting for about 77.7% of the total population of the country. Russia's territory as a whole experienced two rounds of surges, which were finally largely fixed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
With an area of 17,098,200 square kilometers, Russia is the largest country in the world, with an area about 1.78 times that of China.
From the Grand Duchy of Moscow to the Third Rome
The ancestors of the Russians were the Rus' tribes of the East Slavs. The earliest form of state was the Muscovite Principality, which was born in 1294 and was a feudal principality along with the surrounding Rus' that was divided from Kievan Rus' secession. However, at this time they were still subject to the rule of the Golden Horde, but by the 15th century, the Golden Horde was in decline, the Siberian Khanate, Kazan Khanate, Crimean Khanate, Astrakhan Khanate and other khanates established themselves as kings, and finally in 1480, the Rus' with the Grand Duchy of Moscow as the core defeated the Golden Horde and achieved political and military independence, at this time the Golden Horde had been in this land for 240 years, which is why the Western proverb "Peel off the skin of a Russian, you will see the blood of the Mongols under the skin".
Russian ancestors were East Slavic Rus tribes, and the Muscovite Principality, which was born in 1294, and the surrounding Rus' were feudal principalities from the division of Kievan Rus' and Rus' s
As the Western proverb goes, "Peel off the skin of a Russian and you will see the blood of the Mongols under the skin."
At this time, Russia was still the Grand Duchy of Moscow under the leadership of Grand Duke Ivan III (1462-1505), known in history as the Rurik Dynasty, and the red brick Moscow Kremlin that still stands still standing to this day was ordered by Ivan III, it can be said that Ivan III was the founder of Russia, and it was Ivan III who started the expansion of the Muscovite Principality. At that time, the Golden Horde was in decline, and the splinter khanates were also independent, and no one paid any attention to the unification of the Muscovite principality with other Rus' principalities, such as the Yaroslavl, Tver, Novgorod, and Ryazan principalities.
In the 15th century, the Muscovite Principality annexed Yaroslavl, the Tevir Principality, the Novgorod Principality, and the Ryazan Principality.
The Baltic and White Seas were the first seas to which the Muscovite Principality came into contact.
By 1533, Vasily III (son of Ivan III in 1479-1533) had made the Duchy of Moscow the de facto leader of Northeastern Rus' and extended its territory to the Baltic and White Sea coasts, the earliest seas russians had come into contact with, but the White Sea was the edge of the Arctic Ocean, with a cold and remote climate, and was not taken seriously.
Ivan III married Princess Sophia, niece of the last Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, Constantine XI, making the Muscovite Principality his legal heir.
Ivan III also left a legacy that still makes Russians proud today, that is, he married Princess Sophia (1472), the niece of the last Emperor of the Byzantine Empire (i.e., the Eastern Roman Empire), And thus the Muscovite Principality inherited the royal blood of the Eastern Roman Empire. The double-headed eagle, a symbol of the Byzantine Empire, also became the coat of arms of the Muscovite Principality, which is still in use today, and Russians have always considered themselves the legal heirs of ancient European civilization. (See "Russia and Turkey's Century-Old Feud, The Real-Life Version of the "Mother of Dragon" Revenge Is Behind the Geopolitical Conflict.")
The double-headed eagle, a symbol of the Byzantine Empire, also became the coat of arms of the Muscovite Principality and is still in use today. On the left is the coat of arms of the double-headed eagle of the Byzantine Empire and on the right is the coat of arms of Russia
Ivan IV was the first Tsar in Russian history, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow evolved into the Russian Tsarist State.
Fast forward to 1547, ivan iii's grandson, vasily III's son, with mongols (from his mother).
Elena Grimskaya) and Ivan IV (1530-1584), of the Byzantine bloodline, were crowned the first tsars in Russian history, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow evolved into the Russian Tsarist State (tsarist Russia). "Tsar" means Caesar in Russian, symbolizing that Russia is an orthodox continuation of Roman history and power.
Ivan the Terrible Kills the Son, painted by Repin in 1885, measuring 200×254 cm, in the Trechakov Museum in Moscow.
Ivan the Terrible ordered the eyes of the church designer to be gouge out the eyes of the designers of the church in order to make the most beautiful church of St. Basil's Cathedral a "orphan".
In addition, Ivan IV was also known as "Ivan the Terrible" or "Ivan the Terrible", which stemmed from his harshness and cruelty, especially in 1565-1572, in order to strengthen the centralization, Ivan IV slaughtered more than 4,000 powerful nobles, eradicated the hidden danger of the division of local lords, and single-handedly planned the looting of Novgorod and the massacre of the Kazan Khanate, and even killed his heir Prince Ivan (Ivan Ivanovich) in 1581.
Yermak's messengers reported to Ivan the Terrible on the conquest of the Siberian Khanate.
Ivan IV expanded Russia's territory to the Ob, Volga, and middle and lower don rivers, reaching the Barents Sea to the north and the Caspian Sea to the south.
But Ivan IV was also the one who really started Russia's foreign expansion, and compared with his grandfather Ivan III's unification of the Duchy of Rus, Ivan IV went further and directly began to annex the Mongol Tatar khanates left over from the dissolution of the Golden Horde, such as the Kazan Khanate, the Astrakhan Khanate, and the Siberian Khanate, which were annexed one after another, and the Crimean Khanate was also defeated. Ivan IV expanded Russia's territory into the Ob, Volga, middle and lower Don rivers, the Barents Sea in the north, the Caspian Sea in the south, becoming the largest country in Europe and opening the door to Siberia.
When Ivan IV suffered a stroke in 1584, Tsarist Russia fell into a period of chaos, with famine, revolts, and plagues, and factions competing for power, resulting in the death of one-third of the population.
After Ivan IV's sudden death after a stroke in 1584, Tsarist Russia fell into a period of chaos, with famine, revolts, and plagues, and various factions vying for power, resulting in the death of nearly one-third of the population. Ivan IV was succeeded by his third son, Fyodor (1557-1598), but this man indulged in monastic theology, and the actual power was controlled by his brother-in-law Boris Godunov (1552-1605), who became Tsar after Fyodor's death, but this man died in vain after only seven years of reign, and then a Demetri I disguised as Ivan IV's younger son Dmitry, who was crowned Tsar with the help of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but was executed for fraud only one year.
The Kremlin, built in the 14th and 17th centuries, was the residence and religious center of the Tsar, where all important historical and political events in Russia took place after the 13th century
The Kremlin is triangular in shape. The maintained wall is 2235 meters long, 6 meters thick and 14 meters high, and there are 18 towers on the wall.
Finally there was Vasily Shusky (1552-1612), but lacking prestige, was deposed in 1610 and forcibly converted to a monk, where he died two years later. It was not until 1613, when the All-Russian Gentry Congress elected Empress Ivan IV's nephew Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov (reigned 1613-1645), that the Tsarist regime stabilized. But since then, the Rurik dynasty in Russia has ended, and the second dynasty in Russian history, the Romanov dynasty, has begun. At the same time, the Ottoman Empire, which spanned three continents in Asia, Africa and Latin America, enjoyed its final glory (after 1619, Jin defeated the Ming army at the Battle of Salhu).
Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov succeeded to the throne, marking the end of the Rurik dynasty in Russia and the beginning of the Romanov dynasty.
Dynasty change, Romanov dynasty
After the change of dynasty, the chaos caused by the death of Ivan IV ended, but due to years of turmoil, Sweden in the north occupied seven cities led by Novgorod, Poland in the west occupied a large area of land in the Smolensk and Dnieper Valley, and the Tatar cavalry of the Crimean Khanate in the south entered the Russian hinterland for the first time to plunder, and in the face of internal troubles, Tsarist Russia had to cut off land in exchange for respite. At this time of crisis, the vast expanse of Siberia created a great deal of wealth for Tsarist Russia, and Russian merchants made huge profits by exporting expensive furs and timber to Europe.
Tsarist Russia bribed the Cossack upper echelons by issuing them to the Cossacks and dividing up the lands, in order to control the Cossack army and act as a pawn for expansion into Siberia and the Far East.
Here we must talk in particular about the Cossacks, the heroes of Tsarist Russia's expansion into Siberia. The word Cossacks, of Turkic origin and meaning "free people", are a group of nomadic groups living in the steppes of Eastern Europe, belonging to the Eastern European type of The Europa race, known for their bravery and superb horsemanship, generally believed to be composed of nomads who fled early from the principalities of Poland, Lithuania and Moscow to the Dnieper and Don regions, and their grass-roots organization was a village community, which was militarized. Therefore, Tsarist Russia bribed the Cossack upper echelons by issuing them to the Lulu and dividing up the land to control the Cossack army (similar to mercenaries) and drive them to act as pawns for their expansion into Siberia and the Far East.
The Cossacks were a nomadic group living in the steppes of Eastern Europe, belonging to the Eastern European type of the Europa race, known for their bravery and skill in horsemanship.
Repin's "Zaporosh Letter to the Sultan of Turkey" is set in the context of a letter written by the Sultan of Turkey to persuade them to submit, but is ridiculed in response.
At that time the Cossacks were divided into six major communities: the Zaporozhian group (mainly west of the Dnieper), the Don group, the Greban group (distributed in the Caucasus), the Yek group (distributed in the middle reaches of the Ula River), the Wowa river group and the Dnieper river group. Among them, only the Don and Yeke groups submitted to Tsarist Russia. Moreover, the Cossacks were not a people, they were just a community of people who maintained similar traditions, and the Soviet writer Sholokhov's novel "The Quiet Don" described the life of the Don Cossacks before and after the October Revolution. There are currently about 7 million Cossacks in Russia.
The Cossack army was the main force supporting Tsarist Expansion into North and Central Asia in the 17th century, and they were equipped with Russian advanced firearms and artillery.
In less than half a century from 1601 to 1649, the Cossacks basically completed the conquest of Siberia and the Far East.
These Cossack armies were the main forces supporting Tsarist Russia's expansion into North and Central Asia in the 17th century, they were equipped with Russian advanced firearms and artillery, in the face of the nomadic tribes of North Asia that were still in the era of cold weapons and dispersed power, the Cossacks from 1601 to 1649 in less than half a century, basically completed the conquest of Siberia and the Far East, and incorporated the North Asian region east of the Ob River, the Mongolian Plateau, the Outer Hing'an Mountains north of the Sea of Okhotsk into the territory of Tsarist Russia. It also began to infiltrate into the Heilongjiang River Basin, which is more suitable for living and farming.
Taking advantage of the lack of time for the Qing Dynasty to fight back, the Tsarist Russia established a number of forts in the Heilongjiang And Jingqili River (Jieya River) basins, and established the Nebuchu Military District.
However, the northeast, as the land of longxing of the Qing Dynasty, must not allow the Tsarist Russia to touch, so from 1652 (the ninth year of Shunzhi), the Cossack army of the Tsarist Russia broke out in conflict with the Qing Dynasty in the Heilongjiang River Valley, but at this time, the Qing Dynasty coincided with the chaos of the Aobai government and the Rebellion of the San Fan, the Qing Dynasty had no time to fight back against the invasion, and the Tsarist Russia gradually established a number of forts in the Heilongjiang River and the Jingqili River (Jieya River) Basin, and established the NebuchuTu Military District to prepare for further aggression. It was not until the San Francisco Rebellion was settled in 1681 that the Kangxi Emperor decided to fight back.
In 1683 (the twenty-second year of the Kangxi Dynasty), he was placed as a general in Heilongjiang and stationed in Yaohun, with jurisdiction over the area north of Qiqihar, the upper and middle reaches of the Heilongjiang River, and the area south of the Waixing'an Mountains.
In 1689, the two sides signed the Treaty of Nebuchu, with the Gelbizi River, the Erguna River and the Waixing'an Ridge as the eastern boundary between China and Russia.
Therefore, in 1683 (the twenty-second year of the Kangxi Dynasty), the general of Heilongjiang was placed in Heilongjiang, stationed in Yaohun, and had jurisdiction over the area north of Qiqihar, the upper and middle reaches of the Heilongjiang River, and the south of the Waixing'an Mountains; General Jiningguta (Jilin General) had jurisdiction over the area east of the Songhua River and downstream of the Heilongjiang River to the Sea of Japan, including Sakhalin Island. In 1685, the Battle of Yaksa was launched to crush the Russian invading army, but due to the Dzungar Khanate's invasion of the Khalkha Mongols (that is, the Desert Northern Mongolia) approaching the city of Beijing, the two sides had to retreat on the issue of demarcation, so in 1689 the two sides signed the Treaty of Nebuchu, with the Gelbiqi River, the Erguna River and the Waixing'an Ridge as the eastern boundary between China and Russia.
Peter the Great will usher in the most glorious era in Russian history.
After the setback of the eastern expansion, Tsarist Russia turned the direction of expansion back to the west, but the first round of expansion to Siberia and the Far East laid the foundation for Russia's vast territory. Next, Peter the Great will usher in the most glorious era in Russian history. But before that, Tsarist Russia, the second Tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Alexei I, tried to annex the eastern Ukrainian region east of the Dnieper River. Later, in 1676, he passed the throne to his eldest son Fedor III, but this person was weak and sickly, and the power fell to the Naryshkin family. When Fedor III died of illness in 1682, the ten-year-old Peter was proclaimed the new Tsar, but was later forced to join the weak Ivan V as Tsar in an internal struggle.
Ilya Repin, Princess Sophia, 1879, collection of the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow
It was not until 1689 that Peter I overthrew his sister Grand Duke Sophia with the Scout Legion he had cultivated for many years (similar to the capture of Aobai by the Kangxi Emperor), after which Ivan V, who lost Sophia's support, renounced power and retained only the title of Tsar. In 1696, the Co-Ruling Tsar Ivan V died, and Peter I became the sole supreme ruler of Russia.
A force that cannot be ignored in both Europe and Asia has extended its claws, and the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Pacific Ocean will become the next targets.
Russia is about to embark on a political, economic, military, and scientific and technological reform, a force that cannot be ignored in Europe or Asia has extended its claws, and the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Pacific Ocean will become the next targets.
In the last issue: Middle East Railway: A branch line of the Trans-Siberian Railway, a railway that has stung the nerves of China's modern history
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