Rus Vikings & Global Warming

RUS’ & Russia Introduction
800 AD
By Michael Johnathan McDonald

 (Section: See update of "07012007 Russian History Vikings")

Russian History Vikings, by mjm

(Title) Russian are not an Ethnicity, but a Federation of Peoples under the auspices of a national identity.

Legend has it, the Name Rus’ comes from the Finish ( or/and Swedish) group of adventure-traders, generally known as the Vikings, who came down to southern Europe from the boarders close to the Artic regions, during the Global Warming period which lasted from ninetieth to twelfth centuries.

Viking’s capitalized on Global Warming, heading down the northern rivers into Russia and connecting Europe to Eurasia, and brought vital managing skills into eastern regions west of the Ural Mountains, in the ninth century. Great rivers such as the Volga contained watersheds, making it easy for Viking navigation to reach the inner regions of the unknown far east (according to them). Anther River, the Dnieper, became a historic trade-river, handled fur, spice, honey, slaves and exotic commodities. These were two main river systems, all part of a vast network of close too 200,000 rivers of varying size in all of modern day Russia’s boarders. The Vikings only needed the rivers that flowed to settlements, which there were plenty.

In the Northern Forest Zones,  one finds Fur, Spruce and Pine. The needles and foliage waste increase difficulties in farming the coniferous forest. Along with undesirable soil, clearing forests without metal tools seems too difficult on a wide-scale. The short growing season, due too a short climate window in the summer months, makes life hard for living as well as making a living. Without the ability for marketing agricultural wares to needy states, the Slavs, Mari and other groups living in the northern forest regions, found trade a viable alternative. The Viking provided this opportunity for living and making a living. The products made by handicraft could by food, and transportation, secured by the Rus’ companies operating the river system west of the Ural Mountains, created a sustainable civilization, later known as Kievan Rus’.

Kiev, a city, prospered due to its proximity to north-south river axis of the Dnieper. On the edge of the steppe system, groups, mainly Slavs settled down and begin to borrow culture from around them, and then modify it to form their own brand. The climate of the Steppe compares with the United States of America’s northern climate of Montana. The short growing season lead to near subsistence. 3:1 yield on harvest lead to near starvation: one seed to eat, one seed to plant and one seed to the prince’s house. The acidic soil made growing a chance circumstance. Any natural disaster meant death to the people, a disaster of crops by cold weather, and other agricultural variables.

The climate of the Northern hemisphere cooled in the ninth century. Over 100,000 northern rivers flowed into the Antarctica. The glaciers melted away, not because of automobiles or gaseous emissions’ by man-made factories, but natural occurrences, not understood by scientists, today. The Vikings first headed west, and when they arrived at Marseille, they understood the possibilities of the Mediterranean trade system. They arrived in Constantinople, the people of the eastern Roman Empire, and asked “who are you?” They described themselves as Rus’. Ethnically, the Viking’s were Fins. But a close look and we see a conglomerate of groups and people in a vast trade and adventure organization. Fins called a trading company Ruotsi, which means oarsmen. Fittingly, this means they have river boats. In Old Germanic, they referred too themselves as RTU. They eventually spread into Mesopotamia, Volga, and modern Northern Russia.  So at first, the name related to a group of traders and adventures.

Who were the peoples that inhabited the boarders we see as modern day Russia before the arrival of the Vikings?  Here are some. Tubash, who are Turkic and Barbar (and Tatar, semi-automatons people) are organized under the idiom of Turkic. They live in western Russia, and from long ago – by the Caspian – Volga region, before the Slavs came and settled. Polen/ Ukran, the Slavs origins’ near Chernobyl, in 600 AD, speaking a common Slavic – not written, over time as they spread,  the language differences emerged as west slav –pole; Yugoslavia slavs  were identified as south slavs, and east were identified as yellow.  Huns and Turks related along the Volga river,  and  in the ninth century they split into one Crimean peninsula, prospered and began to run Silk Road guide service or racket service (depending on preference) for protecting, extortion racket, and general trade opportunities,  to protect long traveled traders.

Rus’ was a name, and as the name of a  trade company, they traveled setting up trading towns along the interior river systems west of the Ural Mountains; the reference to these locations became known as Rus’. Most common legend came from a story that the Slavic people asked for protection from rival princes in surrounding areas where groups of slavs congregated. One of the settlements they set up, the legend goes, the group asked the Vikings to rule for them. The name, therefore as the legend goes, comes from a prince named Rus’. They founded the princely house of Kiev, and so the name comes to represent all lands of these people, However, the identifying of the company with the name of Rus’, which settled in various locations, probably is more realistic. The understanding for this comes from the general identification of people of the Rus’. As before, trade was the vital life-blood of these people. Honey and other trade commodities were their economic survival.  The Slavic-forest people, practicing subsistence by farming, made little profit. Discussed within the pages of this section of the website are many reasons, mainly due to geography and climate. The Vikings saw the indigenous people as commercial opportunity. The indigenous people already had a settlement, built towns, a  place to station the trade company(s). A mutual agreement of cooperation becomes a manifold interpretation for the naming the original identification for a group of people. The Normanist argument claims’ Vikings brought in a fraternal ideology.

Possibly,  the Viking Rus’ brought an element of  political imagery,  so important to starting ethnic identities, they brought political legitimacy.  These warrior requirements of the job required strong men.  

((((

Eurasia

600 AD, people near Chernobyl live in cricket and marshes.

General History: Rome’s Eastern Empire, remained strong after the fall of the western Empire proved valuable in beginnings of the Rus’ people. Added in with the significance of the times the Vikings looking for vital trade routs through rivers and estuaries settled ports in the lands of the Rus’, intermixed and then blended in with the Slavs. Then the final factor was the support of the Christian church as Islam, and eventually the Far easterners, who adopted Islam moved into, colonize the open lands available and sparkly populated, and established civilizations that came to dominate out lives today. The main aim of cultures were the control of the routs of the Silk Rout, which ended at Constantinople.

Formation of Russia.

( today known as the Russian Federation).

3rd and 6th centuries, the steppes provided the pathway for nomadic migrations, and invasions, led by warlike tribes which would often move on to Europe, as was the case with Huns and Turkish Avars. A Turkic people, the Khazars, ruled south Russia through the 8th century.

9^th -10^th Century

Global Warming allowed the Vikings to navigate the Artic Oceans, and brought warmer temperatures to realm in Russia, otherwise cold today.

Vikings, were Scandinavian were called Rus.’ They settled and established ports for trade and focused on Silk Rout distribution centers. Vikings stopped at Marseille, France, and port settlers asked them who they were and they replied they were called the Rus’. Vikings made the Dnieper River the major waterway for trade. Kiev sits upon its banks.

The terms La Longe Durée: Continuity of many factors, and how they affected the culture in the short terms as many peoples intermingled in Eurasia.

(groups: Mari settle along the Volga watershed.

Slavs live in the forests, and know how to adapt in wooded areas.

Vladimir I adopts eastern Orthodox Christianity, from Constantinople’s influence, in 988.

1)      Kievan throne: Yaroslav ‘the wise’ d. 1054.

2)      Society: Complex political structures.

3)      Rulership: Hierarchy basis in theory, but not always practiced.

4)      Moscow mentioned for the first time in 1147  during the reign of Prince Yurii Dolgorkii. The city sits upon a plateau where the waterways flow easily and this attracted people.

5)      Byzantium emperor Constantine IX Monomachus, relative married prince Vsevolod Yaroslavovich whos son became grand prince of Kiev in 1113, and was known as Vladimire Monomakh.

Ryurkids ( Ryurik’s decendants ) princes of the lands of Rus’, also inhabited many Slavs.

1)      Capital at Kiev ( modern day Ukriane)

2)      10^th century, lands controlled from Kiev to Novgorod.

3)      13^th century, Batu’s military campaigns 1237-’40, a grandson of Chingis Khan.

4)      December 1240, Tartars capture Kiev.

5)      Kipchack Khanate, aka Golden Horde, create capital at Sarai.

6)      Demand tribute or tax, but do not abolish Kievan Dynastic throne.

7)      Mongols become settled, adopt Islam, and urbanize, but stay out of Rus’ daily lives. This allows the Rus’ to fightback and expands westward. Reason: Mongols were superior warriors, but not efficient, or felt the need to bureaucratize themselves. Period called ‘Fragmentation.’

In the 11th and 12th centuries, the constant incursions of nomadic Turkish tribes, such as the Kipchaks and the Pechenegs, led to the massive migration of Slavic populations from the fertile south to the heavily forested regions of the north, known as Zalesye.

The medieval states of Novgorod Republic and Vladimir-Suzdal emerged as successors to Kievan Rus.

the middle course of the Volga River came to be dominated by the Muslim state of Volga Bulgaria.

14th Century

Mongol Division

Mongol culture and dress did influence the  Rus’ people, in dress, diet and style.

Rus’ peoples do not give up Christianity on both divisions of realms. The Mongols and other easterners adopt Islam.

After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Muscovite Russia remained the only more or less functional Christian state on the Eastern European frontier, allowing it to claim succession to the legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Mongols just wanted to receive tribute and/or taxes and could not administer rule, as they were not stepped in the policies or found the need to run a bureaucracy. Overtime internal division left them to break-up the Golden Horde and rename it the Great Horde, and the result was a loss of realms and territory, and the off-shoot called the Crimean Khanate. Timerlane had destabilized the area as well, and Anatolia was in a civil war in the and then the arising Ottoman Turks, who incorporated some numbers of tribes from the steppes founded Islam with Mehmed ‘ The Conqueror’ in the 15^th century at took the eastern capital of Rome. The only remaining outpost for eastern Christianity, laid at the Russian’s doorsteps.  Rūm Seljuks dominated Anatolia ending around 1308. The variety of Turkish language link back to Japanese (modern argument) but more importantly Mongolian, as there was curious cognates in both languages. Yet, influence goes both ways, and the Turks could have influence the Mongols and Japanese.  The older and more establish belief is that Turkic language was from Hungarian or the ancestors of Hungarian, the Han Dynasty of China. Many ties back to the Han/Hun periods as Khan ( note the spelling), the later usage of the Mongolian leaders term for king, is a close cognate.  Mongolians even spoke parts of various Turkic languages. Seljuks are always Muslim, but later pick up Persian, the ancient Iranian influence with their advancements eastward in the 11^th century. As with the Ghaznavids going east in 1017 Seljuks enter Anatolia. After Bayezid I failed to take the eastern Roman capital, Timur ( Eng. Tamerlane) Lenk invades Anatolia, destabilizes it, which led to a civil war and the rise of Mehmed I in which he officially adopts Islam to unify the various tribes, and consolidates power in which he uses to unseat the Christians in Constantinople in 1453. The people of Rus’ had no idea how far the upstart Ottoman’s would go in establishing their new-found power into a vast land empire. Already shell-shocked with the success of vast land empire building with the Mongols success  - could this be an outlying factor in Ivan’s consolidation of Christian power in the lands of the Rus’? Certianly, the Rus’ felt that they were now the inheritors, the safe keepers, of Christianity in Eurasia.

The Mongols allowed the title of the grand princes to continue, but often Khans intervened in dynastic disputes between rival kinships. There were not enough Mongols to rule the people, so they left the power structures of the Rus’ in place, and this prove vital for insurgency.

1)      Mongols live on horses, so navigating through the wooded areas of the north in which Slavic kins flourished proved daunting, and finally impossible. Northern Forest Zone plays a large part in reestablishing themselves in the west. Note Climate different at that time. 

2)      Early annexation of neighboring principalities begin.

3)      Ivan III ( 1462-1505) annexed Novgorod, and the northern hinterlands, and added the principality of Tver’ to his domain.

4)      Muscovite expansion period

5)      Slowly annexing lands to the west, incorporating the Slavic people who became known as Belorussians and Ukrainiand.

6)      Emancipation over the Mongols, a major theme for unification.

7)      Mid-14^th Century, Mongols disintegrating, internal struggle, crisis leads to Crimean Khanate formulation and the formulation of Kazan Khanate, of the mid- Volga.

8)      Golden Horde renamed Great Horde.

9)      Great Horde base power in lower Volga.

10)  Climate Cooling from the Medieval Warm Period (MWP).

11)   September 1380, Grand Prince Dmitrii Ivanovich led coalition of princes to defeat the Tartar warrior Mamai at Kulikoro, on the upper reaches of the River Don.

15th & 16th Century

Bit’chelóm , bending the head in reverence toward the ground. This was observed by foreigners' who commented on this strange practice of the Rus' people.

Yánov, reinvented histor. Drew a line directly from Ivan IV to Stalin.
In the Middle Ages the Russians are made up of Slaves. They are derivatives of Poles, Serbians, Ukrainians, and Slaves.

Russia: They are more interested into penetrating what is east of them. They go to Siberia and to the Pacific and claim that part of the world for them. They make a great fur business and Europeans paid a high price for the clothing. So hunters in Russia made good living. The people who penetrated the eastern part of Russia were cave like people and they tried to claim parts of China, as well.

In the middle ages the Russians lived in the North Central area of Russia. They were mainly of tribesmen who hade tribal leaders. They did not want to unified and elect a leader over the all the tribes.

Around the middle to the late 800s AD the Russian tribes were attacked periodically which made them come together to figure out what to do. (C. 862 AD) Once they knew that Unity was the only way of survival, then they called all the heads of the tribesmen together for a meeting. No one tribe could unify on a certain leader. "What tribe would be the leader." So they decided to send a scout to the European Lands to survey out a Leader.

After sending the messenger, he came upon a Danish Viking named Herorika. After Herorika decides to be the Russian leader he takes up his family and relocates to upper middle Russia. Here he establishes the Russia Capital and begins what is known as the

Tsars (Kings). These Tsars began the Russian Monarchy in 900 AD. The Russians started to invite skilled German and Dutch people to share their skills with the Russians.

One of the next Tsars, Vladimir, wanted to start an unified religion. He had heard of Christianity in the Roman- Europe area and heard of a Pope. He also heard of different types of religion . So he selected a handful of delegates to travel to find the best place on earth that represented the best religion. In the Biggest Church in the world, at the time, at Constantinople, his delegates went to a service and returned to tell Vladimir that they found heaven. Thus Greek Orthodoxy was born in Russia. Greek Orthodoxy was at complete odds with the Roman Catholics Church. each thought that each other were the Devils themselves. The Greeks really thought that the Roman Catholics Church was really the Devil. The significance of this is that the Russians will put up a wall against the trading to the west because of the Churches involvement in the middle ages.

As times goes by, in 1200s a little western trade develops with the Russians and Europeans. Russians produce furs that the wealthy like in in Europe and they also produce beeswax. The different with Beeswax, compared to other waxes at the time is that they didn’t give off a smoke trail and that they had a milder scent. In addition, the beeswax is good for meaning clothing, as it sticks to fabric well. The Russians were about to start off huge trade as they were big producers of beeswax, a middle age electricity. The middle age person needed to see at night and the smokeless candle wax was the best; but, something drastic happened that changed the course of history for the Russians...

The Mongols came yelling and galloping in with war cry’s and slaughtered most of the villages. This was an absolute disaster for the People of Russia. The Horeback Empire ( The Mongols) begin to conquer everywhere. By 1240 they had defeated the Middle of Russia and nearly destroyed all of the Russians. They destroyed Kiev and butchered all the people. The Russians fled to hiding. ( Mongols eventually will be close to wiping out Hungary, Germany, Poland in their march toward total world control). Conciliations recall became the only saving factor for the world 0 the Mongols would never come back to Europe.

The significance of the Mongols in Russia was that they dominated, controlled all areas, exacted tributes and demanded culture change for 600 years of the Russians. In addition, this put the Russians further from transforming to western culture. The photos of the Tsars appear to be dressed in Mongol outfits and Mongol Adornments. Even their crowns were in the shape of the Mongol kings. The influence of the Mongols over the Russians would be until 1450s. Still the Russians would hold on to much of the Culture until being opened up to western culture later on.

The Mongols did not rule the Russian Administrations; they simple exacted the tribute, of gold, of money, of fur, of minerals, and of workers for their own.

If you did not comply, they would sick a ten-foot pole in the hole and sharpen it like the head of a pencil, yet it was four-inches in diameter and sit you on it and it would take days because of gravity for you to penetrate the entire pole causing a excruciating elongated death. The Mongols are brutal, this will show its self in the new Tsars attitudes when the Mongols finally collapse ( Their Empire) and leave. In addition to this death methods the Romanians pick up the practice of this slow death sentence torture and began to use it. Significance is that Russia will be Isolated from the rest of the world because of the Mongols.

By 1450 AD in Moscow, The Russians become free. They gain independence, and Turks ( Muslims) take over southern Russia. Now the Russians get back northern areas. South Russia Mongolians become Muslim, and sell slaves of Russians as the Arabs are into slavery at this particular time.

By the 1500s Russia Tsars reappear in the form of fierce fighting men. They adopted their masters roles of aggressors and produced Ivan The Terrible. The reason was that he grew up knowing nothing but the Mongols ruling ways.



• Russia 1648-1918 Romanovs

In 1648 the Russian Royalty went through a change.

New Tsars take over and their called Romonovs. They began a dynasty that will last until the Russian Communist revolution 1918. The Romanovs were happy to maintain the statusquo in Russia

In the pictures of the Mongols they’re dressed in silk linen robes of Mongols clothes and culture. The first ruler is named Michael Romanovs. He is pictured on horseback, like the Horseback people (the Mongols). By this time the culture is Christian Mongol Russian. Pearls are sown on the robes barrowed from the Byzantine Empire, and this will be the fad of the Russians The embroidered pearls adorned the uniforms of the rulers and dress codes and even the crowns are made in the image of the Mongol war headdress. The Royal scepter is typical western royalty, yet the orb with the cross is Mongol, Christian influenced. Michael’s son Alexia had a picture of a scepter and Mongol outfit. His sister Sofia, as well, yet she was not fit to rule. Alexander died and so nobles begin joking for power. Another son was to mentally ill to rule so Ivan was put on the thrown. This will start the "foreign quarter." The Russians were conditioned not to trust others cultures so they set up a place in the city for only traders to live when they did business. This was called the Foreign Quarter. At the time the Russia made way for only limited trade, when they badly needed cash. They wanted to stay away from other cultures as much as they could. All westerners who traded had to live in this foreign quarter. Peter happened to live in the quarter and grew up alongside other western children. He even had a Danish (girlfriend) mistress. He also had a intermixed with western adults. One result is that he learned how to sail on the open seas. He would know that it would be important to set up a sea port if Russia was going to be a world player. Before this time Russia was only traveling by river and local sea, they didn't know about open sea travel. Peter gets the west culture in hand this plays a significant part in later times for him. Meanwhile the nobles put Theodore on the thrown, but he could not handle it. So they asked Peter to co-rule with him. Then Theodore dies leaving Peter the absolute ruler.

tsar n. also czar or tzar is a male monarch or emperor, especially one of the emperors who ruled Russia until the revolution of 1917.

Peter the Great
CZAR 1682-1721
EMPEROR OF ALL RUSSIA 1721-1725

As the new Tsars he rules with his own will. He wants western culture after growing up with it. This finally opens up Russia to the world and progress could step in. This would modernize Russia. The only obstacle to opening up Russia to the World was that of the Muslims (Turks). Turks were a major power and held the key access routs in trade; Especially by the Black Sea. So he would send his first army to combat the Turks and lose handedly. Security was Peters main concern, so instead of sulking ( About Turk Control of the Black Sea) he began a plan to modernize his troops with western army gear. " It wont be easy..." he said. He needed western tactics and weapons. Gordon, a Scotsman ( A general), is recruited and he trains the army well. He trains them in the western form of warfare and this changes their style of fighting. Now the Russian soldier fights the western civilization style. He then launches an attack on the Sea of Azov ( Southern Russia Black Sea Region) to get access to the Black sea. The Turks hack his army into pieces. He failed, but is resilient and he will look into what needs to be better.

Birth Name: Peter Alexeevich

Peter, the absolute Tsars, rethinks “what can I do to will this battle?” Peter is resilient, and to solve the Turkish problem he rethinks his days learning about western navy dominance. Although there is no oceans that link to the Black sea, he finds a northern river that runs down into to it. “ I remember sea power,” he says. “It’s the naval power that counts!” He begins to build river boats and with guns. He attacks the forts and the Turks were not expecting a naval brigade surprise. Peter’s troops handily win. The war is an overwhelming success. He holds a victory parade back in Moscow and the people are shocked to see their Tsars on foot in plain soldiers clothes and not on a white stallion and dressed in traditional Mongol clothes. The parade held captured officers of the Turkish armies, the loot they took, the Turkish flags and the Russian troops marched in unison proudly. Peter also appeared clean shaven, a western culture attitude. The Russian for a long time believed that hair on a human, represented in the beard, was a sign of the distinction between men and animals. This shocked the Russian people, as well. The people said “ What happened to the Tsars? Peter was a modernizer.

Next, Gordon is called to see about the Sweden’s army and an attack on Narva.

• After an early victory over the Turks in 1696 at Azov, Peter began the Great Northern War against Sweden in 1700.
• Quest For the Sea Port

Peter the Great was six-foot- eight-inches tall. “Time to start modernizing Russia.”
He only knew of the western world by seconded hand knowledge. He wanted to experience it fist hand. He didn’t want to make a royal delegation ( Proper Royal) so he decided to give himself a false name and travel to Europe to enlist men and women who could help in the modernizing of Russia.
1. Peter goes on a fact finding mission.
2. Doesn’t want it to be a royal visitor.
3. He wants to be free of the crowed – he goes undercover.
4. Russian delegation is the official title and he is just one of the delegates.
5. He goes to Sweden where they were a major progressive country, at the time.
6. He learns iron mining and steal production.
7. There he signs up experts in the mining to go to Russia.
8. Germany: Signs up experts in such things as making coo-coo clocks, porcelain products
9. Visits France and dines with Louis XIV (Understands Versailles; later in St. Petersburg, he will build his own Versailles).
10. England: He visits with Sir. Isaac Newton; see Shakespeare plays.
11. Amsterdam, Holland is the place he wanted to go the most. It is here that he knows the best built ships are made. Holland at the time was the most advanced nation in ship building.
12. In order to get a navy he needs to learn how to build one. He manages to get a job as a commoner working at the Shipyard, and uses hammer and chisel to eight-months. He learned how to build ships. Holland is the place that impresses him the most.
13. So a King (Tsars) was a commoner who worked for a shipyard to better his own country.
14. Peter is not a respecter of class warfare. He treats people the same. This would be evident later on, in that, he marries and captured women (Catherine (second wife)) , and hires a peasant to run Russia’s finances.
15. He gets back to Russia to learn he has been deposed and his sister Sofia ( Mentally ill) is on the throne. He quickly in Ivan the Terrible style squelches the rebellion. He hangs the rebellious and leaves them in public view for two weeks. He also tortures some of them by lifting their arms behind their back and tying a tree-log to their feet and stretching their joints out while publicly flogging them.
16. Peter had enough supporters back home to fight the rebellions.
17. Why was Peter disposed of? Well the traditional Russians believed that a corruption would take place because he had gone to the western world. They actually thought that Peter’s body would come back to Russia, but that the Devil would have taken it over.
18. Peter deposed his sister Sophia and places her into a covenant.
19. Peter used the cruelty and determination of the Mongol controls he grew up learning about.
20. Peter wants to Change the calendar from old - russian time c. 7000 days since creation to the western worlds colander. He also moves the New Year to January first to be in agreement with the western worlds.
21. Changes in grooming take place. The public are to change over from Mongol outfits to outfits of the modern western world. There was a howl of protests to shaving the beards from the Greek Orthodox Church ( Their national church). The church believed that they would lose their minds and brains if they had to cut off their beards. In case that a noble didn’t want to have his cut, Peter personally did it. After a while no beards were permitted in the capital city. However, one visiting could keep his beard, but at a tax payment of a “Beard tax.”
22. He forced the nobles to do this to set an example.
23. He brings women out of seclusion. Before women were kept in the backrooms and out away from sight. Now if you appear in public functions, then you brought your girlfriend or wife.
24. Western clothes are demanded.
25. Women learn court etiquette.
26. Peter was not a respecter of persons.
27. Peter takes ballet from France; sends a young women to take lessons in France; she returns and becomes the first prima-ballerina in Russia. ( High art form of dance). She was a peasant girl
28. People began to respect talent and not class.
29. More army reforms are conditioned to western ways.
30. He begins a ministry of culture, a ministry of war, a ministry of finance ect…
31. He observed a peasant bargaining in the marketplace and took notice. He was a peasant. Peter asked him to be in charge of finances. He becomes the minister of Finance and turns out to be another Colbert.
32. He begins his own spy/intelligence organization to keep an eye on rebellions. ( CIA like).
33. Moscow goes completely western in grooming. At home nobles were allowed to wear their traditional Mongol uniforms.
34. Creates western style schools.
35. First newspaper adopted from European western nations.
36. Surveys and maps the terrain of Russia.
37. Mining experts explore the regions for mining possibilities.
38. Establishment of Museums dedicated to archeology, plants, animals and, also, history.
39. Archeological practices start under his orders.
40. Sea port needed located with a capital. Similar to European nations. A place to connect Russia to the outside world. Russia does not have great access to the Sea. This is Peter dream. Sweden has encompassed all areas to the Sea. Now Peter sends people to negotiate a price of a small peace of land to build a port. The Sweden leaders tell him no! So Peter calls Gordon (Scottish General) to help get ready his troops to battle the progressive advanced Swedish army.

Meanwhile in the black sea, although the Russians now had the terrain on the Northern Black sea they did not, however, have ships to patrol it. And the Turks had powerful fleet. So this turned Peters visions to the opening of a sea port on the west. He traveled as a little kid to the White sea ( Up in the Artic Ocean, yet is was too cold and only three months out of the year one could sail there. This is where he received as a child his navigation abilities. Close to the gulf of Finland is where the Swedes had land he wanted to make a sea port. The White Sea was the only Russian access to an Ocean at that time. It was useless for year around access to the open waters.

41. Peter approaches Charles XII of Sweden. “ I want to buy land by the ocean.”
42. Charles XII says “No!”
43. “ I need to get my army and conquer Narva,” Peter said.
44. Peter makes a secret agreement with the Danes ( Denmark) to attack and take what they want from the Swedes.
45. Danes from the west and Russians from the east, was the plan.
46. Charles XII only a teenager, yet strategically brilliant took his whole army, instead of breaking them up, and went after the Danes and demolished them. Then he turned his army around and faced Peter’s army and willing crushed them.
47. Charles got the Danes in a truce quickly and beat the Russians to hell. Peter in a panic road back to Moscow, and is said to have rode many horses to death on the way back.
48. The Swedes made a huge mistake. They thought that Peter would not try again.
49. In 1704 , Peter realizing he had been beaten, still would not give up. He saw that the Swedes were engage in another war in Poland and fighting in the swamps. He took this opportunity to take Narva. He was successful this time.
50. The place was a swamp land. Peter builds at the tip of the region a gulf city ( Port city). The sea would freeze up, yet is was not like the Artic Ocean and was available ten-months out of the year. He named the city after his favorite saint. St. Peter. He called it Saint Petersburg. The area was a swamp land. So Peter bought many serfs from his nobles and began to fill in the swamps with landscape and even many skeletons of the serfs wound up buried in the landfills. He finished landscaping and the city looked like an imitation of Amsterdam.
51. The result a new city: Peter passes a decree like that of Louis XIV. He tells all the nobles that to remain a noble you have to build a house in this new city. I” I will give you free land, but you have to build a house,” Peter said.
52. Building a new capital and a navy port, Peter is modernizing Russia.
53. Peter sends a fleet to India to study plants and minerals, because science was at this stage, and he didn’t want to be left behind, in this field.
54. Government building aligns the banks of the port.
55. He remarried a captive of one of his wars named Catherine. They got along because she was not a noble ( A threat) and they had the same personalities. His first wife was a traditional Russian. She wanted the old ways and the churches influences in her life.
56. The Church of Russia at the time was telling her and her newborn Alexi ( Boy to be next Zsar) was to bring back Russia back to its old ways – back to the old Mongol ways.
57. Catherine ( Second wife) who Peter got along marvelously only produced a girl.
58. Catherine was trusted and when the nobles or government officials did not feel like being yelled at by Peter, they simply gave the bad new to her.
59. She got along with his government ministers.
60. Peter also drank allot. He could hold his liquor. He would have parties and invite all the nobles. He managed to force them in a drinking contest to show his weight. He proposed shots of Vodka in salutes to almost everything. Peter believed he was better then anyone if he could out-drink them. “ I’m better person if I can out-drink you nobles,” he would say. He eventually started to get headaches from drinking an possibly damaged his liver in his later years leading to his death. Toast shots in celebrations in Russia possible started with him. Most of the time his nobles would be passed out and he would sit at the table with a good buzz, after out drinking them all.
61. By 1717 he had Russia modernized and decided on another European trip. This time it would be an official royal trip. This was a proper visit to the west.
62. He visits various countries, and gets wined and dined. He also, gets more people to enlist in the continuing modernization of Russia.
63. Meanwhile back at home another rebellion develops and this time the Church and rebellious put his son on the throne.
64. Like the first time he comes back and uses Ivan the Terrible tactics to suppress the rebellion. He puts the rebels in court and puts his son on trial. He is found guilty and he hangs him in public and displays him on a corner building in St. Petersburg.
65. He also, sends many rebellious to Siberia.
66. His son hangs for two weeks in public display. It was a sad time for Peter, yet he had to do it.
67. 1725 Peters liver gives out and he dies.
68. The significance of Peter the Great is that he modernizes Russia in western culture and customs.
69. Russia went from extremely isolated and religious to secular and open to the world.
70. He builds a capital close to the sea and creates a navy. He conquers parts of southern Russia where the Turks formally had lands.
71. Catherine succeeds to the throne , but is only a figure head as his ministers and nobles run the country until the next male heir is throned.
72. All the nobles and government and Peter spoke French, because it was a more defined language before the late 1800s change this in the Russia awakening period to their own language. At first the Russian language was a peasant language.
 

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