The Isolation of Russia

8/9/2019 The Isolation of Russia

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The Isolation of Russia

At the time of the Age of Democratic Revolutions,Russia had become isolated from Europe. Theisolation of Russia is a major factor in

understanding the behavior of the Russian peopleand the decisions of the Czar at the time of theRussian Revolution.


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http://sheppardsoftware.com/Europeweb/snapshot/Russia.htm


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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Partition_of_the_Roman_Empire_in_395_AD.png


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Byzantine Influence on Russia

Cyril and Methodius of the Eastern OrthodoxChurch went as missionaries to Russia in the 800's.In order to convert the slavic people there, they

created the cyrillic alphabet, which allowed them totranslate the Bible into the common language. Thecyrillic alphabet is unique and made it difficult forEuropeans to learn the Russian language.


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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_using_Cyrillic


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Baroque ArchitectureThe St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kiev,

although started in 1113, represents one of the most typicalexamples of Ukrainian Baroque architecture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Baroque


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The Influence of the Mongols

The Mongols were horseman who swept across theplains as invaders in the 1200's. They ruled Russiafor approximately 300 years. At the time of their

invasion, Russia had been on a clear course towardsthe development of democracy. Due to thesuppression of the Mongols and their strongautocratic system, the Russians fell at least a century

(perhaps two) behind Europe. Russians did notexperience the European movements of theRenaissance and Reformation.


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Russian Rulers

A combination of Mongol influence and Byzantineinfluence may be seen in the Russian government.Russia rulers were more powerful than other

absolute rulers due to the lack of a powerful noble ormiddle class. Russian rulers were called Czars, afterthe Roman title ofCaesar.

The Russian Czar or Czarina, during the Romanov

reign, was the wealthiest person in the world.


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Poor Peasant Population

Recall that the Third Estate in France made up 98%of the population of France. Peasants made up asimilar percentage of the Russian population.

However, unlike the Third Estate, this groupincluded no wealthy middle class merchants. Mostof Russian was poor, uneducated and highlysuppressed.


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The Lack of a Warm Water Seaport

By far, the most damaging and isolating condition ofRussia was the lack of a warm water port. TheRussian people had no access to the Mediterraneanfor trade and the diffusion of culture with Europe.They fell behind in industry and trade. Most of the

decisions made by this nation in the 20th centuryreflect the desire for a warm water port.


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The Isolation of Russia

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