123-591: [REDACTED] Russian Empire [REDACTED] Russian Imperial Army Before 1860: [REDACTED] Circassian Cavalry Units [REDACTED] Irregular military [REDACTED] Abreks [REDACTED] Murtaziqs (1848–1859) After 1860: [REDACTED] Circassian Confederational Army Foreign volunteers [REDACTED] Military casualties: 43,000–90,000 in combat (Estimate) [REDACTED] Civilian casualties: 1763–1818: 315,000+ Surviving Destroyed or barely existing The Russo-Circassian War , also known as
246-647: A Russian fortress. Thus began the first hostilities between the Circassians and the Russian Empire. While some Kabardian (Eastern Circassian) nobles wanted to fight the Russians, arguing they could convince the Ottomans and Crimea to help them, other nobles wanted to avoid fighting with Russia and try to make peace. In January 1764, several Kabardian nobles including Atajuq Misost Bematiqwa met with
369-563: A centralized Russian national state , and secured independence against the Tatars . His grandson, Ivan IV ( r. 1533–1584 ), became in 1547 the first Russian monarch to be crowned " tsar of all Russia ". Between 1550 and 1700, the Russian state grew by an average of 35,000 km (14,000 sq mi) per year. Major events during this period include the transition from the Rurik to
492-518: A few were introduced , no major changes were attempted. The liberal Alexander I was replaced by his younger brother Nicholas I (1825–1855), who at the beginning of his reign was confronted with an uprising. The background of this revolt lay in the Napoleonic Wars , when a number of well-educated Russian officers travelled in Europe in the course of military campaigns, where their exposure to
615-424: A gift, the freed peasants had to pay a special lifetime tax to the government, which in turn paid the landlords a generous price for the land that they had lost. In numerous cases the peasants ended up with relatively small amounts of the least productive land. All the property turned over to the peasants was owned collectively by the mir , the village community, which divided the land among the peasants and supervised
738-626: A great power, playing a major role in European politics. On 2 November [ O.S. 22 October] 1721, the day of the announcement of the Treaty of Nystad, the Governing Senate and Synod invested the tsar with the titles of Peter the Great, Pater Patriae (father of the fatherland), and Imperator of all Russia . The adoption of the title of imperator by Peter I
861-504: A major domestic factor with its support for liberating Balkan Christians from Ottoman rule and making Bulgaria and Serbia independent. In early 1877, Russia intervened on behalf of Serbian and Russian volunteer forces, leading to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) . Within one year, Russian troops were nearing Constantinople and the Ottomans surrendered. Russia's nationalist diplomats and generals persuaded Alexander II to force
984-426: A military operation against Russia, but many other Kabardian nobles did not want a war and wanted to surrender. In the middle of 1768, fifteen of these Kabardian princes who decided to surrender reported to Kizlyar that they were ready to "take an oath" of allegiance to Russia. Misost Bematiqwa, not wanting to surrender or convert to Christianity, refused. Bematiqwa's resistance was strengthened when on 18 October 1768,
1107-406: A modern, scientific, rationalist, and Western-oriented system. Catherine the Great ( r. 1762–1796 ) presided over further expansion of the Russian state by conquest, colonization , and diplomacy, while continuing Peter's policy of modernization towards a Western model. Alexander I ( r. 1801–1825 ) helped defeat the militaristic ambitions of Napoleon and subsequently constituted
1230-582: A result of this unification of the Kabardino-Nogai-Cossack campaign for discovery, 164 settlements were defeated, judging by the Russian chronicles. The Ingush went to the mountains again. Kabardians settled on their former territory. Circassia was a key strategic location amidst the power struggle between the emerging Russian Empire, established England and France , and the failing Ottoman Empire . Russia set her sights on expansion along
1353-407: A result, there was a slow improvement in the living standards of Russian peasants in the empire's last two decades before 1914. Recent research into the physical stature of Army recruits shows they were bigger and stronger. There were regional variations, with more poverty in the heavily populated central black earth region ; and there were temporary downturns in 1891–93 and 1905–1908. By the end of
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#17327727973321476-639: A series of defeats that further galvanized the population against the emperor. In 1917, mass unrest among the population and mutinies in the army culminated in the February Revolution , which led to the abdication of Nicholas II, the formation of the Russian Provisional Government , and the proclamation of the first Russian Republic . Political dysfunction, continued involvement in the widely unpopular war, and widespread food shortages resulted in mass demonstrations against
1599-589: A smaller number of scholars is that proper warfare began in 1817 with the arrival of Aleksey Yermolov , and prior to that it was merely clashes. During the reign of Catherine II , the Imperial Russian Army started entering Circassian soil and Russia started building forts in an attempt to quickly annex Circassia. On 17 July (O.S.), 1763, Russian forces entered the town of Mezdeug (modern-day Mozdok ) in Eastern Circassia, turning it into
1722-563: A tyrant who only cared about his rule. Although there had previously been a small Muslim presence in Circassia, significant conversions came after 1717, when Sultan Murad IV ordered the Crimeans to spread Islam among the Circassians. Islam gained much more ground later as conversion came to be used to cement defensive alliances to protect their independence against Russian expansion. Despite this, there were still Pagans and Christians among
1845-503: A very large and complex bureaucracy, and a court that rivaled those of Versailles and London . But the government was living far beyond its means, and 18th-century Russia remained "a poor, backward, overwhelmingly agricultural, and illiterate country". In 1801, over four years after Paul became the emperor of Russia, he was killed in Saint Michael's Castle in a coup. Paul was succeeded by his 23-year-old son, Alexander . Russia
1968-878: A wasteland and useless, and saw the government wasting money, but later, much gold and petroleum were discovered. In the late 1870s, Russia and the Ottoman Empire again clashed in the Balkans. From 1875 to 1877, the Balkan crisis intensified, with rebellions against Ottoman rule by various Slavic nationalities, which the Ottoman Turks had dominated since the 15th century. This was seen as a political risk in Russia, which similarly suppressed its Muslims in Central Asia and Caucasia. Russian nationalist opinion became
2091-522: Is also known for Russia's involvement in the Seven Years' War , where it was successful militarily, but gained little politically. Catherine the Great was a German princess who married Peter III , the German heir to the Russian crown. After the death of Empress Elizabeth, Catherine came to power after she effected a coup d'état against her very unpopular husband. She contributed to the resurgence of
2214-416: Is usually seen as the beginning of the "imperial" period of Russia. Following the reforms, the governance of Russia by an absolute monarch was enshrined. The Military Regulations made a note of the autocratic nature of the regime. During the reign of Peter I, the last vestiges of the independence of the boyars were lost. He transformed them into the new nobility , who were obedient nobles that served
2337-511: The 1828–1829 Russo-Turkish War , Russia invaded northeastern Anatolia and occupied the strategic Ottoman towns of Karin and Gümüşhane (Argiroupoli) and, posing as protector of the Greek Orthodox population , received extensive support from the region's Pontic Greeks . Following a brief occupation, the Russian imperial army withdrew back into Georgia. Russian emperors quelled two uprisings in their newly acquired Polish territories:
2460-638: The 1861 emancipation of all 23 million serfs. From 1721 until 1762, the Russian Empire was ruled by the House of Romanov ; its matrilineal branch of patrilineal German descent, the House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov , ruled from 1762 until 1917. By the start of the 19th century, Russian territory extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea in the south, and from the Baltic Sea in
2583-624: The Black Sea , he seized ports on the Kuban and looted and pillaged them. Then, he marched up along the Kuban River , pillaging villages. During this single invasion in Circassia, the Russians killed 43,247 Circassian men and women, and drove away 39,200 horses, 190,000 cattle and 227,000 sheep from Circassia. Russia kept waging this type of warfare against Circassia during the period from 1711 to 1763, but this type of operations were not in order to annex Circassia, but rather raid it. Although Peter I
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#17327727973322706-544: The Boxer Rebellion . Japan strongly opposed Russian expansion, and defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. Japan took over Korea, and Manchuria remained a contested area. Meanwhile, France , looking for allies against Germany after 1871, formed a military alliance in 1894, with large-scale loans to Russia, sales of arms, and warships, as well as diplomatic support. Once Afghanistan
2829-535: The British domination. Peter I ( r. 1682–1725 ), also known as Peter the Great, played a major role in introducing the European state system into Russia. While the empire's vast lands had a population of 14 million, grain yields trailed behind those in the West. Nearly the entire population was devoted to agriculture, with only a small percentage living in towns. The class of kholops , whose status
2952-586: The Circassian diaspora . While the war was initially an isolated conflict, Russian expansion through the entire region soon drew a number of other nations in the Caucasus into the conflict. As such, the war is often considered the western half of the Caucasus War . During the war, the Russian Empire did not recognize Circassia as an independent polity , instead seeing Circassia as part of Russia, which
3075-759: The Coalition and joined the Continental System . By 1812, Russia had occupied many territories in Eastern Europe, holding some of Eastern Galicia from Austria and Bessarabia from the Ottoman Empire ; from Northern Europe, it had gained Finland from the war against a weakened Sweden ; it also gained some territory in the Caucasus. Following a dispute with Emperor Alexander I, in 1812, Napoleon launched an invasion of Russia . It
3198-622: The Crimean War , which Russia lost. The war was fought primarily in the Crimean peninsula , and to a lesser extent in the Baltic during the related Åland War . Since playing a major role in the defeat of Napoleon, Russia had been regarded as militarily invincible, but against a coalition of the great powers of Europe, the reverses it suffered on land and sea exposed the weakness of Emperor Nicholas I's regime. When Emperor Alexander II ascended
3321-506: The Enlightenment , the specter of revolution and disorder continued to haunt her and her successors. Indeed, her son Paul introduced a number of increasingly erratic decrees in his short reign aimed directly against the spread of French culture in response to their revolution . In order to ensure the continued support of the nobility, which was essential to her reign, Catherine was obliged to strengthen their authority and power at
3444-623: The Franco-Russian Alliance , to contain the growing power of Germany; completed the conquest of Central Asia ; and demanded important territorial and commercial concessions from China. The emperor's most influential adviser was Konstantin Pobedonostsev , tutor to Alexander III and his son Nicholas, and procurator of the Holy Synod from 1880 to 1895. Pobedonostsev taught his imperial pupils to fear freedom of speech and
3567-621: The Great Northern War , which ended in 1721 when an exhausted Sweden asked for peace with Russia. As a result, Peter acquired four provinces situated south and east of the Gulf of Finland , securing access to the sea. There he built Russia's new capital, Saint Petersburg , on the Neva river, to replace Moscow, which had long been Russia's cultural center. This relocation expressed his intent to adopt European elements for his empire. Many of
3690-596: The Holy Alliance , which aimed to restrain the rise of secularism and liberalism across Europe. Russia further expanded to the west, south, and east, strengthening its position as a European power. Its victories in the Russo-Turkish Wars were later checked by defeat in the Crimean War (1853–1856), leading to a period of reform and intensified expansion into Central Asia . Alexander II ( r. 1855–1881 ) initiated numerous reforms , most notably
3813-478: The Industrial Revolution , Russia began to lag ever farther behind, creating new weaknesses for the empire seeking to play a role as a great power. Russia's status as a great power concealed the inefficiency of its government, the isolation of its people, and its economic and social backwardness. Following the defeat of Napoleon, Alexander I had been ready to discuss constitutional reforms, but though
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3936-675: The Italian and Swiss expedition ,—he inflicted a series of defeats on the French; in particular, the Battle of the Trebbia in 1799. Nicholas II Nicholas II, also known as Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, was the final Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand duke of Finland. His reign started on 1 November 1894 and ended with his abdication on 15 March 1917. Born on 18 May 1868 at Alexander Palace , Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire, he
4059-606: The November Uprising in 1830 and the January Uprising in 1863. In 1863, the Russian autocracy had given the Polish artisans and gentry reason to rebel, by assailing national core values of language, religion, and culture. France , Britain , and Austria tried to intervene in the crisis but were unable to do so. The Russian press and state propaganda used the Polish uprising to justify the need for unity in
4182-615: The Ottoman Empire . His attention then turned to the north. Russia lacked a secure northern seaport, except at Arkhangelsk on the White Sea , where the harbor was frozen for nine months a year. Access to the Baltic Sea was blocked by Sweden, whose territory enclosed it on three sides. Peter's ambitions for a "window to the sea" led him, in 1699, to make a secret alliance with Saxony , the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , and Denmark-Norway against Sweden ; they conducted
4305-543: The Red Terror . After emerging victorious, they established the Soviet Union across most of the Russian territory; it would be one of four continental empires to collapse as a result of World War I , along with Germany , Austria–Hungary , and the Ottoman Empire . The foundations of a Russian national state were laid in the late 15th century during the reign of Ivan III . By the early 16th century, all of
4428-475: The Romanov dynasties, the conquest of Siberia , and the reign of Peter the Great ( r. 1682–1725 ). Peter transformed the tsardom into an empire, and fought numerous wars that turned a vast realm into a major European power. He moved the Russian capital from Moscow to the new model city of Saint Petersburg , which marked the birth of the imperial era, and led a cultural revolution that introduced
4551-522: The Russian invasion of Circassia , was the invasion of Circassia by Russia , starting in 1763 ( O.S ) with the Russian Empire assuming authority in Circassia, followed by the Circassian refusal, and ending 100 years, 10 months and 6 days later with the last army of Circassia defeated on 21 May 1864 ( O.S ), making it exhausting and casualty-heavy for both sides. The Russo-Circassian War was
4674-552: The Russian nobility that began after the death of Peter the Great, abolishing State service and granting them control of most state functions in the provinces. She also removed the Beard tax instituted by Peter the Great. Catherine extended Russian political control over the lands of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , supporting the Targowica Confederation . However, the cost of these campaigns further burdened
4797-547: The Russian-Turkish War , Sheikh Mansur moved to Circassia, and started Western Circassian resistance against Russia. He led the Circassians in assaults against Russian forces. The Russian army entered Circassia again after the Battle of Jilehoy and raided the Abaza , Besleney , Chemguy and Hatuqway regions in 1787, successfully defeated the regional Circassian armies and burned near a hundred villages. In 1788,
4920-661: The Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) , they clashed with Persia over control and consolidation of Georgia, and also became involved in the Caucasian War against the Caucasian Imamate . At the conclusion of the war, Persia irrevocably ceded what is now Dagestan , eastern Georgia, and most of Azerbaijan to Russia, under the Treaty of Gulistan . Russia attempted to expand to the southwest, at the expense of
5043-546: The Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) which led to the incorporation of left-bank Ukraine , and the Russian conquest of Siberia . Poland was partitioned by its rivals in 1772–1815;most of its land and population being taken under Russian rule. Most of the empire's growth in the 19th century came from gaining territory in central and eastern Asia south of Siberia. By 1795, after the Partitions of Poland , Russia became
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5166-551: The collectivism of the medieval Russian obshchina or mir over the individualism of the West. More extreme social doctrines were elaborated by such Russian radicals on the left, such as Alexander Herzen , Mikhail Bakunin , and Peter Kropotkin . After Russian armies liberated the Eastern Georgian Kingdom (allied since the 1783 Treaty of Georgievsk ) from the Qajar dynasty 's occupation of 1802, during
5289-488: The liberalism of Western Europe encouraged them to seek change on their return to autocratic Russia . The result was the Decembrist revolt (December 1825), which was the work of a small circle of liberal nobles and army officers who wanted to install Nicholas' brother Constantine as a constitutional monarch. The revolt was easily crushed, but it caused Nicholas to turn away from the modernization program begun by Peter
5412-420: The 19th century, the Russian Empire dominated its territorial extent, covering a surface area of 22,800,000 km , making it become the world's third-largest empire. Maria Temryukovna Maria Temryukovna (born Kucheney ; Russian : Мари́я Темрю́ковна ; Kabardian : Гуэщэней Идар Темрыкъуэ и пхъу ; c. 1545 – 1 September 1569) was the tsaritsa of all Russia from 1561 until her death as
5535-572: The Balka River, was attacked on 29 September 1779, and was occupied with the loss of the Kabardian defenders as well as 2,000 horses, 5,000 cattle and 5,000 sheep. About 50 tribal elites died in this conflict. On October 10, 1779, the principalities of Chemguy, Besleney, and Kabarda coordinated an offensive together. The leaders were Misostiqo Bat and Qownshayiqo Adildjeri. As a result, Russian armies temporarily withdrew from Circassia. In 1781,
5658-531: The Black Sea had become very important for Russian trade, being responsible for a third of its exports. The date of the outbreak of the Russian-Circassian War has been a matter of debate by historians. Most scholars agree that organised warfare happened after 1763 when Russia established forts in Circassian territory, but small-scale conflicts had been going on since 1711. Another view held by
5781-480: The Black Sea, and England sought to reduce Russia's ability to take advantage of the declining Ottoman Empire, known as the Eastern Question . In order to counter Persian influence in the region, Russia would require shipyards on the Black Sea, which made Circassia, with its coastline, a target. The Circassian territories were particularly attractive to the Russians due to their fertile valleys, and by 1853
5904-451: The Circassian people. The Circassian-Russian alliance was damaged and eventually broken when the Circassians converted to Islam and adopted a more pro-Ottoman policy. On 13 May 1711, Tsar Peter I ordered Araksin, Governor of Astrakhan, to pillage Circassia. Araksin moved with 30,000 strong Russian armed forces and, on 26 August 1711, broke into the lands of the Circassians, and captured Kopyl town (now Slavianski). From there, heading towards
6027-759: The Circassians. On 29 May (O.S.), 1791, Russian troops led by Ivan Gudovich crossed the Kuban and entered Circassia to capture the Anapa castle. The Russian camp was established in June. Russian Empire The Russian Empire was a vast empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its proclamation in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in
6150-400: The Crimean Khanate with the 1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca . Following these events, Russian presence in the region got stronger, and the Circassians requested help and alliance from the Ottomans. In 1776 the Russian army built several forts in Terek to encircle the Kabardian Circassians from the north. The Circassians managed to gather a 14,000 strong army and won back several forts. From 1777
6273-412: The Golden Horde, Timur's hordes, Kalmyks, Nogais, Kumyks and Adygs alternately replaced each other. The Ingush were partially exterminated, partially driven into the mountains. However, all these years they did not abandon their attempts to return to the plain. The Ingush got this opportunity in the 15th–16th centuries. This campaign was directed against the Ingush societies that left the mountains after
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#17327727973326396-684: The Great Northern War, served as the state's capital. This concept of the triune Russian people, composed of the Great Russians , the Little Russians , and the White Russians , was introduced during the reign of Peter I, and it was associated with the name of Archimandrite Zacharias Kopystensky (1621), the Archimandrite of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and expanded upon in the writings of an associate of Peter I, Archbishop Professor Theophan Prokopovich . Several of Peter I's associates are well-known, including François Le Fort , Boris Sheremetev , Alexander Menshikov , Jacob Bruce , Mikhail Golitsyn , Anikita Repnin , and Alexey Kelin. During Peter's reign,
6519-445: The Great and champion the doctrine of Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality . In order to repress further revolts, censorship was intensified, including the constant surveillance of schools and universities. Textbooks were strictly regulated by the government. Police spies were planted everywhere. Under Nicholas I, would-be revolutionaries were sent off to Siberia, with hundreds of thousands sent to katorga camps. The retaliation for
6642-427: The Kabardia region. In 1784, Sheikh Mansur , an imam in Chechnya who wanted to unite all Caucasian peoples against Russia, declared holy war against Russia. Angered, the Russian troops plundered and burned his village to the ground. Soon, Chechen fighters won the Battle of the Sunja . In 1786, Russian forces abandoned the new fort of Vladikavkaz , and did not occupy it again until 1803. From 1787 to 1791, during
6765-444: The Kabardian princes to help the Kuban serasker in the upcoming campaign to Russia. In January 1769, the Kizlyar commandant, Major General N. A. Potapov, sent a letter to Bematiqwa putting pressure on him to stop listening to the Ottoman caliph and surrender. In the same year, a Russian army fought a battle against the Kabardian Circassians with the support of the Kalmyk Khan 's 20,000 cavalrymen, and were victorious as they destroyed
6888-413: The Kabardians became even more precarious when Russia occupied the Kuban in 1781 and annexed the Crimea in 1783. Many Tatars, the erstwhile enemies, took refuge in Circassia. Sensing the threat posed by Russia, the Circassians and Nogais launched joint attacks on the Russians in the Western Caucasus in 1784, but no success was achieved. Between 1783 and 1785, Russian forces led by General Potyomkin attacked
7011-440: The Kabardians. As a result of the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) , the Ottomans had forces in Circassia. They were seen as fellow Muslim allies by the Circassians. The Cossacks defended the village of Naur against a strong Circassian-Turkish combined army of 8,000 men. The Circassian Revolution began in 1770. In 1771, Circassians under the command of Soqur Qaramirza burned many Cossack and Russian barracks. A battle took near
7134-453: The Malka River on 29 September 1771. The Russians under General Yakobi won the battle. In 1772, a serious collision took place. In the fort Kizlar of the Russian army there were 10,000 soldiers. The battle occurred on Daghestan territory. Both sides suffered serious losses as finally the Russians emerged victorious. In the same year, 1772, the Kabardian princes sent another embassy to the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey, calling him to assist them in
7257-511: The Ottoman Empire . This resulted in a significant weakening of the Crimean Khanate , an Ottoman vassal and long-term Russian adversary. The discontent over the dominant positions of Baltic Germans in Russian politics resulted in Peter I's daughter Elizabeth being put on the Russian throne. Elizabeth supported the arts, architecture, and the sciences (for example, the founding of Moscow University ). But she did not carry out significant structural reforms. Her reign, which lasted nearly 20 years,
7380-406: The Ottoman Empire, respectively. As a result, Pan-Slavists were left with a legacy of bitterness against Austria-Hungary and Germany for failing to back Russia. Disappointment at the results of the war stimulated revolutionary tensions, and helped Serbia, Romania , and Montenegro gain independence from, and strengthen themselves against, the Ottomans. Another significant result of the war
7503-453: The Ottoman Empire, using recently acquired Georgia at its base for its Caucasus and Anatolian front. The late 1820s were successful years militarily. Despite losing almost all recently consolidated territories in the first year of the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828 , Russia managed to favorably bring an end to the war with the Treaty of Turkmenchay , including the formal acquisition of what are now Armenia , Azerbaijan, and Iğdır Province . In
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#17327727973327626-402: The Ottoman sultan, who had declared war on Russia, sent a letter to Bematiqwa stating that he, as caliph, orders that all the Muslim peoples of the Caucasus should officially rise to war with Russia, obey the Crimean Khan as their commander, and together with the Nogais, defeat Russia. In December 1768, Muhammad-aga, the personal envoy of the Crimean Khan, arrived in Kabarda. The Crimean Khan asked
7749-430: The Ottomans to sign the Treaty of San Stefano in March 1878, creating an enlarged, independent Bulgaria that stretched into the southwestern Balkans. When Britain threatened to declare war over the terms of the treaty, an exhausted Russia backed down. At the Congress of Berlin in July 1878, Russia agreed to the creation of a smaller Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia , as a vassal state and an autonomous principality inside
7872-428: The Ottomans, in Circassia, built a strong fortress in order to ensure Turkish influence in Circassia and as a base for future operations against Russia in the Kuban and the Don, as well as in the Crimea. In 1782, Ferah Ali Pasha arrived in the Soghujaq Castle in Western Circassia as a missionary and diplomat from the Ottoman Empire with the aim of Islamizing some Circassians who were still not Muslims. The position of
7995-399: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Partitions of Poland , alongside Austria and Prussia . As part of the Treaty of Georgievsk , signed with the Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti , and her own political aspirations, Catherine waged a new war against Persia in 1796 after they had invaded eastern Georgia . Upon achieving victory, she established Russian rule over it and expelled
8118-461: The Russian Empire coincided with the decline of its rivals: the Swedish Empire , the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Qajar Iran , the Ottoman Empire , and Qing China . From the 10th to 17th centuries, the Russians had been ruled by a noble class known as the boyars , above whom was an absolute monarch titled the tsar . The groundwork of the Russian Empire was laid by Ivan III ( r. 1462–1505 ), who greatly expanded his domain, established
8241-451: The Russians besieged the Bighurqal (Anapa) castle, but failed. In 1787, Circassian envoys led by Tatarkhan Kurighoqo and Sidak Jankat requested a meeting with the Russians to secure a solution, but they were denied. The Russians sent the envoys back. In 1790, a large Russian army led by General Yury Bogdanovich Bibikov crossed the Kuban River and entered the territory of Western Circassia. Bibikov managed to reach Anapa, but failed to capture
8364-462: The Russians built a line of forts from Mozdok northwest to Azov . The presence of Cossacks in former grazing lands slowly converted traditional raiding from a kind of ritualized sport into a serious military struggle. In 1778, a battle took place between the Russian troops under the command of Colonel Kulbakov and the Circassians. In 1779, general Yakobi conducted an offensive in Kabarda, which lasted all summer. The Circassian region of Kabardia, near
8487-414: The Russians. In 1557, Temryuk Idar of Eastern Circassia allied with the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible and built a defense against possible enemies. Circassians were Christians during this period and Islam had not begun to spread. In 1561, Ivan the Terrible married Goshenay , daughter of Temryuk , and named her Mariya. Because of his alliance with Russia, in several narratives, Temryuk was described as
8610-422: The Senate that its mission was to collect taxes, and tax revenues tripled over the course of his reign. Meanwhile, all vestiges of local self-government were removed. Peter continued and intensified his predecessors' requirement of state service from all nobles, in the Table of Ranks . As part of Peter's reorganization, he also enacted a church reform . The Russian Orthodox Church was partially incorporated into
8733-438: The already oppressive social system, under which serfs were required to spend almost all of their time laboring on their owners' land. A major peasant uprising took place in 1773, after Catherine legalized the selling of serfs separate from land. Inspired by a Cossack named Yemelyan Pugachev and proclaiming "Hang all the landlords!", the rebels threatened to take Moscow before they were ruthlessly suppressed. Instead of imposing
8856-556: The building of the Trans-Siberian Railway , 1890 to 1904. This opened up East Asia ; and Russian interests focused on Mongolia, Manchuria , and Korea . China was too weak to resist, and was pulled increasingly into the Russian sphere. Russia obtained treaty ports such as Dalian / Port Arthur . In 1900, the Russian Empire invaded Manchuria as part of the Eight-Nation Alliance 's intervention against
8979-507: The campaign as “one of the most vital tasks in Russian history .” In 1861, Russian Tsar Alexander II publicly declared the imperial policy as the expulsion of all Circassians; followed by the state implementation of settler-colonial Russification and Christianization programs across Caucasus . Circassians, Christianised through Byzantine influence between the 5th and 6th centuries, were generally in alliance with Georgians and both Georgians and Circassians wanted to keep good relations with
9102-599: The castle. He also suffered heavy losses during his retreat. After this defeat, Bibikov was removed from his post and Circassian attacks on Russian forts increased significantly. At the same year, Russian armies entered the Bzhedugh region and burnt several villages. The Russians introduced courts in Kabarda in the early 1790s and declared that the Adyghe Xabze , the Circassian law, has been removed. This greatly angered
9225-483: The conflict, and Russian state media and officials have gone as far as to claim that the conflict "never happened” and they have also claimed that Circassia "voluntarily joined Russia in the 16th century". Several Russian imperial historians have recorded the expulsion and extermination campaign against Circassians by Russian military during the 1860s. Adolf Berzhe portrayed the expulsion of Circassians as essential for "Russian security" while Rostislav Fadeyev described
9348-482: The country's administrative structure, in effect making it a tool of the state. Peter abolished the patriarchate and replaced it with a collective body, the Most Holy Synod , which was led by a government official . Peter died in 1725, leaving an unsettled succession. After a short reign by his widow, Catherine I , the crown passed to Empress Anna . She slowed the reforms and led a successful war against
9471-449: The death of Peter were returned in the 1732 Treaty of Resht and 1735 Treaty of Ganja as a deal to oppose the Ottomans. Peter reorganized his government based on the latest political models of the time, molding Russia into an absolutist state. He replaced the old Boyar Duma (council of nobles) with a nine-member Senate , in effect a supreme council of state. The countryside was divided into new provinces and districts . Peter told
9594-593: The departure of Timur the Lame and mastered their foothill plane from the beginning of the 15th century. In 1562, the Kabardian prince Temryuk Idarovich undertook an aggressive campaign against the Ingush , who lived in anticipation. Detachments of Nogai Murzas come to his aid. The Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, married to Temryuk's daughter Maria, sent 1,000 Cossacks under the command of Grigory Pleshcheev to help him. As
9717-577: The empire. The semi-autonomous polity of Congress Poland subsequently lost its distinctive political and judicial rights, with Russification being imposed on its schools and courts. However, Russification policies in Poland, Finland and among the Germans in the Baltics largely failed and only strengthened political opposition. In 1854–1855, Russia fought Britain , France and the Ottoman Empire in
9840-497: The end his dynasty was overthrown by the Russian Revolution . The Industrial Revolution began to show significant influence in Russia, but the country remained rural and poor. Economic conditions steadily improved after 1890, thanks to new crops such as sugar beets, and new access to railway transportation. Total grain production increased, as well as exports, even with rising domestic demand from population growth. As
9963-448: The expense of the serfs and other lower classes. Nevertheless, Catherine realized that serfdom must eventually be ended, going so far in her Nakaz ("Instruction") to say that serfs were "just as good as we are" – a comment received with disgust by the nobility. Catherine advanced Russia's southern and western frontiers, successfully waging war against the Ottoman Empire for territory near the Black Sea , and incorporating territories of
10086-516: The government and other major buildings were designed under Italianate influence. In 1722, he turned his aspirations toward increasing Russian influence in the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea at the expense of the weakened Safavid Persians . He made Astrakhan the base of military efforts against Persia, and waged the first full-scale war against them in 1722–23 . Peter the Great temporarily annexed several areas of Iran to Russia, which after
10209-792: The government in July . The republic was overthrown in the October Revolution by the Bolsheviks , who proclaimed the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and whose Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended Russia's involvement in the war, but who nevertheless were opposed by various factions known collectively as the Whites . During the resulting Russian Civil War , the Bolsheviks conducted
10332-553: The implicit threat to India ; and decades of diplomatic maneuvering resulted, called the Great Game . That rivalry between the two empires has been considered to have included far-flung territories such as Outer Mongolia and Tibet . The maneuvering largely ended with the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. Expansion into the vast stretches of Siberia was slow and expensive, but finally became possible with
10455-478: The inevitable war against tsarist Russia. However, in June 1774, despite nominally being allies, the Crimean Khanate attacked Circassia. A large Crimean army led by Khan Devlet-Girey and Kalga Shabaz-Girey attacked Kabarda and the Battle of Beshtamak took place. The Crimean horde entered Mozdok and hit the nearby villages, which were occupied and ruined by them. The Ottoman Empire lost its protection over
10578-589: The last remaining absolute monarchy in Europe, the empire saw rapid political radicalization and the growing popularity of revolutionary ideas such as communism . After the 1905 revolution , Nicholas II authorized the creation of a national parliament, the State Duma , although he still retained absolute political power. When Russia entered the First World War on the side of the Allies , it suffered
10701-468: The late 19th century, it covered about 22,800,000 km (8,800,000 sq mi), roughly one-sixth of the world's landmass, making it the third-largest empire in history , behind only the British and Mongol empires. It also colonized North America between 1799 and 1867. The empire's 1897 census, the only one it conducted, found a population of 125.6 million with considerable ethnic, linguistic, religious, and socioeconomic diversity. The rise of
10824-488: The longest war both Russia and Circassia have ever fought and the longest war in the Caucasus region. During and after the war, the Russian Empire employed a genocidal strategy of systematically massacring civilians which resulted in the Circassian genocide where up to 3,500,000 Circassians were either killed or forcibly expelled to the Ottoman Empire (especially to modern-day Turkey ; see Circassians in Turkey ), creating
10947-525: The marriage negotiations between Ivan and Catherine Jagiellon stranded. Ivan soon came to regret the decision to marry her, on account of his new wife being viewed as illiterate and vindictive. She never fully integrated to the Muscovite way of life, and was considered a poor stepmother to Ivan's two sons Ivan and Feodor . She gave birth to a son named Vasili, named after her father-in-law on 21 March 1563, though he died on 3 May that same year. Maria
11070-598: The military, 20 percent to government economic activities, 12 percent to administration, and nine percent for the Imperial Court in St. Petersburg. The deficit required borrowing, primarily from bankers in Amsterdam ; five percent of the budget was allocated to debt payments. Paper money was issued to pay for expensive wars, thus causing inflation. As a result of its spending, Russia developed a large and well-equipped army,
11193-407: The most populous state in Europe, ahead of France . The foundations of the Russian Empire were laid during Peter I 's reforms , which significantly altered Russia's political and social structure, and as a result of the Great Northern War which strengthened Russia's standing on the world stage. Internal transformations and military victories contributed to the transformation of Russia into
11316-736: The new parliament (the Duma). He signed the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 to counter Germany's influence in the Middle East, ending the Great Game between Russia and the British Empire . However, his reign was marked by criticism for the government's suppression of political dissent and perceived failures or inaction during events like the Khodynka Tragedy , anti-Jewish pogroms, Bloody Sunday (1905) , and
11439-481: The newly established Persian garrisons in the Caucasus. Catherine's expansionist policy caused Russia to develop into a major European power, as did the Enlightenment era and the Golden age in Russia. But after Catherine died in 1796, she was succeeded by her son, Paul . He brought Russia into a major coalition war against the new-revolutionary French Republic in 1798. Russian commander Field Marshal Suvorov led
11562-401: The obligation of the nobility to serve was reinforced, and serf labor played a significant role in the growth of the industry, reinforcing traditional socioeconomic structures. The volume of the country's international trade turnover increased as a result of Peter I's industrial reforms. However, imports of goods overtook exports, strengthening the role of foreigners in Russian trade, particularly
11685-446: The press, as well as dislike democracy, constitutions, and the parliamentary system. Under Pobedonostsev, revolutionaries were persecuted—by the imperial secret police , with thousands being exiled to Siberia —and a policy of Russification was carried out throughout the empire. Russia had little difficulty expanding to the south, including conquering Turkestan , until Britain became alarmed when Russia threatened Afghanistan , with
11808-568: The redrawing of the map of Europe at the Congress of Vienna (1815), which ultimately made Alexander the monarch of Congress Poland . The " Holy Alliance " was proclaimed, linking the monarchist great powers of Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Although the Russian Empire played a leading political role in the next century, thanks to its role in defeating Napoleonic France, its retention of serfdom precluded economic progress to any significant degree. As Western European economic growth accelerated during
11931-828: The representative of the Russian Kizlyar commandant N. A. Potapov and unsuccessfully demanded the demolition of the Mozdok fortress built by the Russians. If the Russian government refused, the Kabardian princes threatened to seek alliance with the Crimean Khan against Russia. Also in 1764, Kabardian Circassian knights Keysin Keytiqo and Kundeyt Shebez-Giray also met with Catherine II in Saint Petersburg. They informed her that "the military build-up in Mezdeug
12054-488: The revolt made "December Fourteenth" a day long remembered by later revolutionary movements. The question of Russia's direction had been gaining attention ever since Peter the Great's program of modernization. Some favored imitating Western Europe while others were against this and called for a return to the traditions of the past. The latter path was advocated by Slavophiles , who held the "decadent" West in contempt. The Slavophiles were opponents of bureaucracy, who preferred
12177-619: The second wife of Ivan the Terrible , the tsar of all Russia . The daughter of Temryuk of Kabardia , Maria (originally named Qochenay bint Teymour ( Кученей ) before her baptism) was presented to Ivan in Moscow after the death of his first wife Anastasia Romanovna . Russian folklore tells of how Ivan's first wife, before dying, warned him not to take a pagan as a wife. Ivan was so smitten by Maria's beauty, that he decided to marry her immediately. On 21 August 1561, they married, four days before Ivan's 31st birthday. The marriage took place after
12300-454: The semi-independent and petty princedoms in Russia had been unified with Moscow. During the reign of Ivan IV , the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan were conquered by Russia in the mid-16th century, leading to the development of an increasingly multinational state. Much of Russia's expansion occurred in the 17th century, culminating in the first Russian colonization of the Pacific ,
12423-461: The serfs, was the single most important event in 19th-century Russian history, and the beginning of the end of the landed aristocracy's monopoly on power. The 1860s saw further socioeconomic reforms to clarify the position of the Russian government with regard to property rights. Emancipation brought a supply of free labor to the cities, stimulating industry, while the middle class grew in number and influence. However, instead of receiving their lands as
12546-552: The state for the rest of their lives. He also introduced the Table of Ranks and equated the votchina with an estate . Russia's modern fleet was built by Peter the Great, along with an army that was reformed in the manner of European style and educational institutions (the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences ). Civil lettering was adopted during Peter I's reign, and the first Russian newspaper, Vedomosti ,
12669-422: The throne in 1855, the desire for reform was widespread. A growing humanitarian movement attacked serfdom as inefficient. In 1859, there were more than 23 million serfs in usually poor living conditions. Alexander II decided to abolish serfdom from above, with ample provision for the landowners, rather than wait for it to be abolished from below by revolution. The Emancipation Reform of 1861 , which freed
12792-489: The traditional punishment of drawing and quartering, Catherine issued secret instructions that the executioners should execute death sentences quickly and with minimal suffering, as part of her effort to introduce compassion into the law. She furthered these efforts by ordering the public trial of Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova , a high-ranking noblewoman, on charges of torturing and murdering serfs. Whilst these gestures garnered Catherine much positive attention from Europe during
12915-603: The upper reaches of the Kumy river. Bematiqwa and his associates, in need of allies, turned to the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray for help. The Khan promised to send a small detachment, however, before that happened, the Russian lieutenant general Johann de Medem sent detachments of Cossacks and Kalmyk cavalry against the Kabardians. In an unequal battle on the river Eshkokon, the superior Russian forces defeated
13038-449: The various holdings. Although serfdom was abolished, its abolition was achieved on terms unfavorable to peasants; thus, revolutionary tensions remained. Revolutionaries believed that the newly freed serfs were merely being sold into wage slavery in the onset of the industrial revolution, and that the urban bourgeoisie had effectively replaced the landowners. Seeking more territories, Russia obtained Priamurye ( Russian Manchuria ) from
13161-679: The violent suppression of the 1905 Russian Revolution. The Russo-Japanese War , which resulted in the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima , further eroded his popularity. By March 1917, public support for Nicholas II had dwindled, leading to his forced abdication and the end of the 304-year rule of the Romanov (dynasty) in Russia (1613–1917). Nicholas II was deeply devoted to his wife, Alexandra, whom he married on 26 November 1894. They had five children: Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Tsesarevich Alexei. The Russian Imperial Romanov family
13284-699: The weakened Manchu-ruled Qing China , which was occupied fighting against the Taiping Rebellion . In 1858, the Treaty of Aigun ceded much of the Manchu Homeland, and in 1860, the Treaty of Peking ceded the modern Primorsky Krai , also founded the outpost of future Vladivostok . Meanwhile, Russia decided to sell the indefensible Russian America to the United States for 11 million rubles (7.2 million dollars) in 1867. Initially, many Americans considered this newly gained territory to be
13407-424: The west to Alaska, Hawaii, and California in the east. By the end of the 19th century, Russia had expanded its control over the Caucasus , most of Central Asia and parts of Northeast Asia . Notwithstanding its extensive territorial gains and great power status, the empire entered the 20th century in a perilous state. A devastating famine in 1891–1892 killed hundreds of thousands and led to popular discontent. As
13530-554: The whole Kabardian army. Another major battle took place in the Nartsane area in June 1769, when a large Russian army entered Kabardia and took up positions near the Pashtu mountains. Circassian forces under the leadership of Misost Bematiqwa retreated as both sides suffered losses. At this point, the anti-Russian group, which refused to cooperate with the Russian tsarist government, was headed by Bematiqwa. He and his supporters moved to
13653-486: Was assassinated by the Narodnaya Volya , a Nihilist terrorist organization . The throne passed to Alexander III (1881–1894), a reactionary who revived the maxim of "Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality" of Nicholas I. A committed Slavophile, Alexander III believed that Russia could be saved from turmoil only by shutting itself off from the subversive influences of Western Europe. During his reign, Russia formed
13776-427: Was catastrophic for France, whose army was decimated during the Russian winter . Although Napoleon's Grande Armée reached Moscow, the Russians' scorched earth strategy prevented the invaders from living off the country. In the harsh and bitter winter, thousands of French troops were ambushed and killed by peasant guerrilla fighters. Russian troops then pursued Napoleon's troops to the gates of Paris, presiding over
13899-402: Was close to that of slaves , remained a major institution in Russia until 1723, when Peter converted household kholops into house serfs , thus counting them for poll taxation. Russian agricultural kholops had been formally converted into serfs earlier in 1679. They were largely tied to the land, in a feudal sense, until the late 19th century. Peter's first military efforts were directed against
14022-620: Was executed by who were believed to be drunken Bolshevik revolutionaries under Yakov Yurovsky, as ordered by the Ural Regional Soviet in Yekaterinburg on the night of 16–17 July 1918. This marked the end of the Russian Empire and Imperial Russia. Russia was in a continuous state of financial crisis. While revenue rose from 9 million rubles in 1724 to 40 million in 1794, expenses grew more rapidly, reaching 49 million in 1794. The budget allocated 46 percent to
14145-457: Was generally hated by her subjects, who believed her to be manipulative and witch -like in her behaviour. Some sources claim it was she who first incited her husband to form the oprichniki . She died on 1 September 1569 at the age of 25. It was rumored that she had been poisoned by her own husband, but there is no historical evidence to such rumours. The Tsar also never admitted as such, and had many people tortured on suspicion of assassinating
14268-703: Was in a state of war with the French Republic under the leadership of the Corsica -born First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte . After he became the emperor , Napoleon defeated Russia at Austerlitz in 1805, Eylau and Friedland in 1807. After Alexander was defeated in Friedland, he agreed to negotiate and sued for peace with France; the Treaties of Tilsit led to the Franco-Russian alliance against
14391-583: Was informally partitioned by the Anglo-Russian Convention in 1907, Britain, France, and Russia came increasingly close together in opposition to Germany and Austria-Hungary. The three would later comprise the Triple Entente alliance in the First World War . In 1894, Alexander III was succeeded by his son, Nicholas II , who was committed to retaining the autocracy that his father had left him. Nicholas II proved as an ineffective ruler, and in
14514-496: Was published. Peter I promoted the advancement of science, particularly geography and geology , trade, and industry, including shipbuilding, as well as the growth of the Russian educational system. Every tenth Russian acquired an education during Peter I's reign, when there were 15 million people in the country. The city of Saint Petersburg , which was built in 1703 on territory along the Baltic coast that had been conquered during
14637-701: Was the acquisition from the Ottomans of the provinces of Batumi , Ardahan , and Kars in Transcaucasia , which were transformed into the militarily administered regions of Batum Oblast and Kars Oblast . To replace Muslim refugees who had fled across the new frontier into Ottoman territory, the Russian authorities settled large numbers of Christians from ethnically diverse communities in Kars Oblast, particularly Georgians , Caucasus Greeks , and Armenians , each of whom hoped to achieve protection and advance their own regional ambitions. In 1881, Alexander II
14760-433: Was the eldest son and successor of Aleksandr Aleksandrovich (later known as Alexander III of Russia ) and his wife Maria Fyodorovna (formerly Dagmar of Denmark ). During his rule, Nicholas II supported the economic and political reforms proposed by his prime ministers, Sergei Witte and Pyotr Stolypin . He favored modernization through foreign loans and strong ties with France, but was reluctant to give significant roles to
14883-687: Was unable to annex Circassia in his lifetime, he laid the political and ideological foundation for the occupation to take place. After the Mongols and Timur, the Ingush began to develop their foothill plains in the 15th–16th centuries. “In the XIII-XIV centuries. complex processes are taking place on the plain and in the foothills of the North Caucasus: long and unprecedentedly cruel wars, on the flat part of Ingushetia such nomads and semi-nomads as
15006-413: Was unacceptable, the region has been a land of Circassians, the situation would create hostility and conflict". She refused diplomacy and the envoys were sent back. On 21 August 1765, the citizens of Circassia were instructed by Russian General De-Medem to accept Russian control or face the Russian army. In 1765, Kabardian Circassians occupied the fortress of Kizlyar. In June 1767, Misost Bematiqwa started
15129-433: Was under rebel occupation, despite the fact that the polity was not and had never been under Russian control. Russian generals did not refer to the Circassians by their ethnic name. Instead, they called the Circassians "mountaineers", "bandits", and "mountain scum". The war has been subjected to historical revisionism and it has also garnered controversy due to the fact that later Russian sources mostly ignored or downplayed
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