The History of: Russia

[MagPiesRUs]

The Kievan Rus', 11th Century

In the 8th Century, the Vikings of Scandinavia had rapidly expanded. With their combination of piracy and trade, they travelled all around Europe. In the mid-9th Century, Vikings began to travel along the Baltic Sea. A group of Vikings called the Rus' exacted tribute from the local Slavs and Finns, but they soon drove the Rus' back to Scandinavia. However, the Slavs and Finns began to conflict with one another, and they called back the Rus' to bring peace to the region. The Rus' sailed back, and under Rurik, they settled in Novgorod. Later, his successors moved and established a state in Kiev. These Kievan Rus' grew rich from trade betwen Scandinavia and the Byzantine Empire. The Norse had began to merge with the Slavic population, and they adopted the Orthodox religion from their Byzantine neighbours. The Rus' culture grew, until their achievements in literature, religion and architecture were greater than those of the Western states.

However, the state of the Kievan Rus' began to crumble as princes began to fight with one another as nomads frequently attacked them. In the 13th Century, the Mongol Golden Horde conquered much of Russia, and Kiev was destroyed. Novgorod now became the greatest Russian power, although they still had to pay tribute to their Mongol invaders.

Ivan the Terrible and the Oprichnina, 1564-1570

Ivan IV, while known for his cruel ways, was also known for changing Russia from a nation state to a small empire, and for forming the basic structure for Russia that would be followed for the next 400 years. Ivan's early reign was a very succsful one, where he annexed the Tatar Khanates along the Volga River, established trade and became the first Russian ruler to be officially crowned as the "Tsar".

However, when Ivan's first wife Anastasia died, he grew ill and increasingly paranoid about his subjects. Ivan especially distrusted the Boyars, nobles of the court, who had mistreated him as a child and who he suspected of poisoning his wife. He set up the Oprichniki, a sort of predecessor to secret police, who would often terrorise the local people. The Oprichniki would wear black clothing and ride black horses with black saddles, and carry a dog's head and a broom to represent that they would sniff out treason, and sweep away the Tsar's enemies. These men would use horrific methods of torture, such as impaling or roasting their victims over a fire. In a dispute, Ivan sent his Oprichniki to massacre the inhabitants of Novgorod, where around 3,000 were killed.

Ivan the Terrible became increasingly unstable. During an argument, he struck his son Ivan Ivanovich with his staff, accidently killing him. Realising what he had done, he lived the rest of his life grimly in his palace, until in 1584 he died while playing chess. His successor, his only other son, the mentally retarded Feodor, became Tsar of Russia. He had no children, and following his death, Russia plunged into civil war.

Peter the Great and Westernisation, 1703

With the death of the ill and childless Feodor III in 1682, disputes arose as to who should be the next tsar. Peter the Great's half brother Ivan V was rightfully next in line, but he too was very ill, and it was agreed that the ten-year-old Peter would become tsar. However, Sophia, one of the daughters of a previous tsar, led a rebellion of the Steltsy (Russia's elite military corps), killing some of Peter's relatives, and made herself acting regent of Russia. Peter wanted power back however, and upon gaining supporters, overthrew Sophia. Peter became sole ruler of Russia when Ivan V died in 1696.

One of Peter's main concerns was that Russia was a very backward country. It was isolated from the rest of the world, had little trade, lacked in technology and had a weak military. Attempting to gain access to the Black Sea, which was mostly controlled by the Ottoman Empire, Peter attacked the fortress of Azov in 1695, and after a building up a large navy, captured it in 1696. Seeking support against the Ottomans, Peter made an 18-month journey across Europe, known as the Grand Embassy. Although he failed to gain any help, he was able to learn more about Western culture. In the United Provinces, Peter studied shipbuilding and masonry as well as metalworking and dentistry.

Peter returned to Russia, eager to put his knowledge of Western customs to use. He banned beards in his court, encouraged the wearing of European clothing, ended arranged marriages in Russia and introduced the Julian Calendar. He made peace with the Ottomans, seeking to gain some control of the Baltic Sea, which had been taken by Sweden earlier. In the Great Northern War, Peter the Great eventually defeated Sweden, taking Livonia and Estonia from them. Wanting a new modern capital, Peter the Great built Saint Petersburg in 1712. He continued to reform Russia, replacing the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church with a council of ten clergymen, created the Table of Ranks, which determined hierarchy by service to the Emperor, and introduced new tax systems. Peter's rule had succesfully westernised Russia, turning it from a relatively uncivilised and isolated country to a modern power that could compete with Europe.

The Russian Revolution, 1917

In the early 20th Century, Russia was still an autocracy ruled by the Romanov tsars, though the people were growing restless. Russia had been dealt a humiliating defeat by the Japanese in 1905, and the people were starving and wanted more freedom. In 1905, a group of starving workers made a peaceful protest at the Tsar's palace, but were fired upon by soldiers in what was known as Bloody Sunday. Angered by this, the people began to riot across the Empire. Tsar Nicholas II finally gave in and set up a duma (parliament) for the people. However, he ignored them, causing further unrest.

World War I started in 1914, and Russia fought against the Central Powers. Russia did poorly though, having little supplies and equipment for their troops, as well as incompetant generals. The people grew angrier and in February 1917 the Russian Revolution began. The Tsar abdicated and a Provisional Government was set up. However, they did not pull out of World War I.

Meanwhile, news reached the Bolshevik party leader Vladimir Lenin that a Revolution had started in Russia. He away in Switzerland at the time, but as he promised to take Russia out of World War I, the Germans sent him to Russia on a train. Lenin began to drum up support, until in October 1917 the Bolshevik Red Guards stormed the government's Winter Palace and took over. Lenin pulled out of World War I, but it wouldn't be long until Russia had another war. The "Whites" tried to reinstall the Tsar into power, and fought against the Bolshevik "Reds". The Bolsheviks executed Tsar Nicholas II and his family, thus removing the White's figurehead. Soon the Civil War ended, and the Bolsheviks remained in power.

"The Great Patriotic War", 1941-1945

Ever since the formation of the USSR, the Soviets had feared attack. The Western Powers hated Communism, and feared that it would spread. They had even helped the Whites fight the Reds in the Russian Civil War. By the 1930's, Joseph Stalin believed that Russia was under threat. However, Stalin had recently purged the military, executing his best generals. The Soviets had shown how incompetant they were in the Winter War against Finland in 1939. Needing time to rebuild his army, he agreed not to attack Germany in the Nazi-Soviet Pact.

By 1941, two years into World War II, Adolf Hitler had devastated the Allied forces, having conquered Poland, Czechoslovakia and France in fast Blitzkreigs. With the battle on the Western Front almost won, Hitler turned his attention to Russia. In June 1941, Germany commenced Operation Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union. Germany launched a three-pronged attack, hoping to take Leningrad, Moscow and the Caucus Oil Fields. Germany was having great success until they attacked Stalingrad in 1942.Though it was a long and bloody battle, the Russians managed to surround and starve the German forces, forcing them to surrender. It was a decisive victory for the Soviets. The Russians now began to advance, and engaged the German Panzers at Kursk, which was the largest tank battle in history. It was another great victory for the Russians. Now the Soviets pushed the Germans back further, until they came to Berlin itself. Earlier, a Russian colonel had pointed at the rubble that was Stalingrad and said to the German prisoners: "That's how Berlin is going to look". Most of the defenders of Berlin were only children. It wasn't long before the Russians poured into the city. On April 30th 1945, Hitler committed suicide, and the remaining Germans surrendered. World War II was over in Europe.

All 5 vignettes:

Enjoy! Feedback is much appreciated.

[Commander Flash]

Social Studies i like: With Legos . Keep up the great work!

[CommanderCody77]

Wow great! They have no flaws

[The Penguin]

Very well done! )

You've captured most Russian's turning points in history. ) Though I'd have added Kathreene The Great too. )

i'm looking forward to seeing your next MOCs. )

Good day, gentlemen! )

[BlueBard]

As the rest of your "The History of" works, simply great! Nevertheless I don't know pretty much about russian history excepting the main details you exposed here so I cannot criticize anything... The Ivan the terrrible vig is awesome!

BTW, could we expect a "The History of Spain"? I could help you if you need somme suggestions or ideas

[TenorPenny]

The best yet. I <3 your Lenin minifig. I know people who'd pay good money for him, really! Did you copy and paste the history, in the end, or sum it up yourself? Either way it's sterling work!

[Etzel]

Wonderful! I half expected your next country to be Russia with it's very interesting history. Very good job!

I especially like Peter the Great and Lenin, very good figs with excellent choices for heads.

[Basiliscus]

All of these are great, but I particularly love the Ivan IV one. The beard choices and the novel hat designs really do it for me. Well done!

[Dadster]

Nicely done again!

I too might have included Katherine. I was also expecting at least a blurb regarding "General Winter".

[united brick]

I love the russian revolution because the head fits perficly with Vladimir Lenin and Ivan the Terrible and the Oprichnina, 1564-1570 hat is awesome

[Natman8000]

Wow. My history class in Lego. The Mocs are very captivating and well designed. Good job.

[Quarryman]

Very nice indeed!

Like others I would have liked a vignette with Katherine the Great, and also one referring to the Cold War, though I'm very unsure about what that could be.

[L-space]

Again a great job.

And the baest alternate use og tires a hive seen in a wile.

Looking forward to the next one.

[medieval_total_lego]

Again a great job.

And the baest alternate use og tires a hive seen in a wile.

Looking forward to the next one.

fantastic!

[Captain Blackmoor]

Another great piece of history, I like the last one the most. I've seen that scene on so much pictures...awesome.

I'm curious to see the next one!

[Fluyt]

Very nice, I'm really enjoying the series so far, can't wait for what will come next (the Netherlands maybe? ).

[oo7]

I seem to like every next series better than the previous. In fact, I'm very eager to include some of these in the timeline, I might just have to crop some of them.

And a question; It seems that you limit yourself to five vignettes for each country, all pre-World War II? I'm not sure if that's intentional but I think that in some cases like this one, going into the atomic age with a Sputnik or Yuri Gagarin vignette would be another great addition.

Anyhow, the grouping you have is nonetheless great, although I'm not exactly sure what it is upon which the soldier is soldier is mounting that flag.

[MagPiesRUs]

Thanks for all of your feedback everyone!

You've captured most Russian's turning points in history. ) Though I'd have added Kathreene The Great too. )

i'm looking forward to seeing your next MOCs. )

Thanks. I considered creating a Catherine the Great vig, but I've decided to make 5 vignettes for each country, and thought the other events to be more important.

As the rest of your "The History of" works, simply great! Nevertheless I don't know pretty much about russian history excepting the main details you exposed here so I cannot criticize anything... The Ivan the terrrible vig is awesome!

BTW, could we expect a "The History of Spain"? I could help you if you need somme suggestions or ideas

Thank you. Yes, you can expect a "History of Spain".

The best yet. I <3 your Lenin minifig. I know people who'd pay good money for him, really! Did you copy and paste the history, in the end, or sum it up yourself? Either way it's sterling work!

Thanks. You may not be able to see from the photo, but Trotsky is also there behind the lectern. Yes, I've summed up the history myself. Considering the amount of time it takes to write 10 or so paragraphs though, I'm thinking of copy and pasting them from now on.

I seem to like every next series better than the previous. In fact, I'm very eager to include some of these in the timeline, I might just have to crop some of them.

Thanks!

And a question; It seems that you limit yourself to five vignettes for each country, all pre-World War II? I'm not sure if that's intentional but I think that in some cases like this one, going into the atomic age with a Sputnik or Yuri Gagarin vignette would be another great addition.

Yes, I'm only making 5 vignettes for each country. No, that's not intentional, though both Britain and Russia have featured vigs from World War II. I agree a Cold War vig would have been nice, though as I said above, I'm only choosing 5 vigs that I feel are most important.

Anyhow, the grouping you have is nonetheless great, although I'm not exactly sure what it is upon which the soldier is soldier is mounting that flag.

He's mounting it on a statue atop the Reichstag during the Battle of Berlin. The vig is based on the famous photo:

Though in reflection I really should have added something at the bottom to show that it was on top of a building.

Thanks again everyone.

[Sir Dillon]

Another nice addition, I particularly like the Ivan the Terrible vignette.

My one suggestion would be to post only one picture of each vignette, and link to the others. In my opinion that would make the format cleaner.

[Colonel]

All 5 vignettes are great!

What will it take to get you to make 5 from Denmark?

[marshal gershon]

fantastic! my favorite one is the russian soldier above the Reichsstadt.

[TLV]

Amazing work as usual. Can't wait for more history lessons from you!