Historical Study: The Rise of the Russian Empire

I've began yet another Russian appreciation phase, probably my fifth or sixth one but it never gets old. With each phase comes new perspectives and new areas to dive into. It seems like every year after Christmas around wintertime I jump into some sort of Russian phase. This is obviously because of the cold winter that is associated with Russia. When I think Russian culture I quickly think of my two favorite all time movies (Reds and Dr. Zhivago- which I just watched with my dad hence the start of another phase). I also think of the classic literature of Leo Tolstoy; War and Peace and Anna Karenina. I have read War and Peace and am now currently reading Anna Karenina. Russia has a very interesting culture that I would probably rank among my favorites alongside French and British. This is because of their famous literature, art, classical music, but most of all because of their history. 

Just last year I was in a Russian phase due to the video game Assassins Creed Chronicles. I was once again inspired by the very intriguing historical topic of the Russian Revolution (see Final Years of the Romanov Dynasty). I have written countless times about Russian Culture and especially the Russian Revolution. This time I want to go even further back into Russian history, at the start of their empire established by Peter the Great. This recent fascination is much ado to the TV show I am watching on Hulu called The Great. This is probably the 3rd show I've seen pertaining to Catherine the Great and I feel it is long overdue that I make a deep dive on the topic. 

So in this post I want to focus primarily on the establishment of the Russian Empire. I will break this down into four phases ranging from 1672-1796. First is with the transformation of the Russian Tsardom into a Russian Empire which occurred under the leadership of Peter the Great in 1721. The second phase I would like to study is the Great Northern War, between Russia and the Swedish Empire, This essentially marked the rise of Russia as a new European superpower. This conflict continued throughout much of the 18th century and brought about a new balance of power in eastern Europe (with the collapse of the Swedish and Ottoman Empire and the rise of the Russian Empire). The third phase is pertaining to the various rulers and events that followed Peter. And the fourth phase is the leadership of Catherine the Great from 1762-1792 who furthered Russia's expansion and modernization. 

Peter the Great

I remember back in 2010 reading a book on Russian history and was very interested by this historical character of Peter the Great. It's my general understanding that he was educated in western Europe and was inspired by their ideals to reform his home country of Russia. He began his reign in 1672 eager to modernize his country to western enlightenment ideals. He was a very intelligent and ambitious leader, standing tall with undeniable charisma. His early efforts to westernize his country began with arranged marriages as well as adopting western wardrobe style and mannerisms. He also emphasized a greater attention to Russia's naval force to oppose the Ottoman Empire. This navy achieved it's first major victory against the Ottomans at the Azov campaign in 1696. It would later play an even more significant part in their war against the Swedes.

Perhaps one of the more interesting aspects of Peter's reign was his Grand Embassy into western Europe. This occurred in 1697 for 18 months where Peter traveled incognito with a group of advisors to further assess and analyze western culture. His ultimate goal was to gain allies against the Ottoman Empire, but he also acquired new understanding of shipbuilding in Amsterdam and city-building in England. He later returned to Russia eager to construct a booming center of culture with iconic architecture that became known as St. Petersburg. It stands today as the second largest city in Russia with iconic architectural buildings such as the Winter Palace, State Hermitage Museum, Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, and Saint Isaac's Cathedral.

Following his return from western Europe in 1699 Peter began a heightened campaign of shipbuilding and naval supremacy. He decided to bring a halt to his conflicts with the Ottoman Empire, satisfied with their hold of the Sea of Azov. He then put his attention on controlling the Baltic Sea and opposing the mighty Swedish Empire. The Swedish Empire had become the new European power in the north after their victory at the Thirty Years War in 1648, under the leadership of Gustavus Adolphus. For most of the 17th century, the Swedish Empire controlled the northern Baltic territory until Peter opposed them in the Great Northern War. 

The Great Northern War

This decision to outright challenge the Swedish Empire for northern supremacy became the turning point to Russian historical supremacy. This would eventually lead to the end of the tsardom and the establishment of the Russian Empire, by which Peter became the great father of Russia. Also this conflict with Sweden, that began in 1700 with the Great Northern War would carry on for nearly a century. To no surprise the war got off to a bad start for the Russians who simply were not quite as prepared as the Swedes. At the Battle of Narva (present day Estonia) the Swedish army under the leadership of Charles XII crushed their heavily outnumbered Russian aggressors. This marked a humiliating defeat for Peter's opening campaign of the war.

However Peter was not easily deterred from his goal and decided to completely reorganize his army. Luckily he was able to rely on his allies of Denmark-Norway, Saxony, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to divide the conflict on multiple fronts. In 1703 Peter established the capitol city of St. Petersburg which was conveniently located off the Baltic Sea to further press the Swedish eastern territory. The Swedish were eventually able to crush the Polish in 1706 and then began an offensive in 1708 into Russian territory. Charles XII achieved a few early victories within Russia, however his march to Moscow was repelled at the Battle of Lesnaya. This marked the first major victory for the Russian army against the Swedes in the Great Northern War. 

Charles XII was stubborn however and refused to retreat his army back to Sweden, instead he decided to revert his invasion on Ukraine (which was also Russian territory at the time). Peter encouraged his commanders to scorch the region in Ukraine, so that the Swedish army would not be able to use it's resources. Finally in 1709 at the Battle of Poltava the Swedish army was crushed by the Russian army. This marked a turning point in the war, in which King Charles XII was forced to abandon his campaign and retreat into the Ottoman Empire. In this decisive victory the Russian army had arrived to Europe as a new military power. 

However this victory at the Battle of Poltava did not mark an end to the war, and Peter may have pressed his luck by invading the Ottoman Empire (an ally of the Swedish Empire). In 1710 the Russo-Turkish War began and quickly became a disastrous decision for the exhausted Russian army. Within a couple years this campaign was crushed and the Russians were forced to secede territory back to the Ottoman Empire along the Black Sea. However in return the Ottoman Empire broke ties with Charles XII. Following this engagement, Peter was able to revert his attention back against the northern Swedish front. 

By 1714 the Russian army achieved a major victory against the Swedish navy at the Battle of Gangut, thus capturing much of the eastern Scandinavian territory (present day Estonia and Finland). From this point on the Swedish Empire had begun to deteriorate while Russia continued to gain more support and territory. Despite all signs to the Swedish being defeated, King Charles XII would not surrender until his death in 1718. A few years later in 1721 the Swedish Empire accepted defeat and signed the Treaty of Nystad which ended the Great Northern War. This marked a new shift of power by which the Swedish Empire had fallen and the Russian Empire had arrived. Peter the Great had acquired new territory in Estonia and Finland and transformed the Russian Tsardom into a Russian Empire. 

Empress Anna and Empress Elizabeth

In 1725 Peter died at the age of 52 due to a urinary affection, and the throne passed to his wife Catherine. She ruled for two years until she died at the age of 43 due to tuberculosis and the throne passed to their 11 year old grandchild Peter II. However this reign was also short lived as Peter II died in 1730 due to smallpox. The crown then went to the niece of Peter the Great, Anna Ivanovna who reigned for ten years and maintained Russia's powerful standing amidst the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739. Anna died in 1740 and intended for her grandnephew Ivan VI to become heir, however this claim was disputed and ultimately went to Peter the great's daughter, Elizabeth. 

During her reign from 1741 to 1762 Empress Elizabeth brought about another golden era of domestic construction and reform. Just as her father had done she instituted ideals of the western Enlightenment all throughout Russian society. She modernized the country's infrastructure with newer roads and academic institutions such as the University of Moscow and the Imperial Academy of Arts. She is also known for overseeing some of Russia's most iconic monuments in the Winter Palace and the Smolny Cathedral. She also oversaw Russia's involvement in the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War from 1756-1763. Both events did not affect Russia's territory as much as a shift in their political alliances. 

In 1759 Elizabeth's Russian army had a decisive victory over Frederick the Great's Prussian army at the Battle of Kunersdorf. However she died shortly after in Jan of 1762 and peace was established between Prussia and Russia. The throne went to her son Peter III, who quickly became an unpopular leader due to his strong ties with Prussia and their leader Frederick the Great. His reign was very short lived and the cunning Catherine was able to conspire with other Russian nobles to dispose of him. Thus Peter III was forced to abdicate his throne in a coup d'état in July of 1762 that handed over the throne to his wife. Peter III mysteriously died shortly after, most likely due to an assassination. The young Ivan VI was also assassinated due to his claim to the throne. And so although she was not of the Russian-Romanov lineage, Catherine had the rightful claim and quickly won favor with the Russian nobles. 

Catherine the Great

Catherine was arranged to marry Peter III in 1745 at the age of 16 in which she moved from her homeland of Prussia to live in St. Petersburg. She was fond of the arts and the philosophical ideals of the western enlightenment. However she despised her husband's crude and alcoholic nature. In 1756 she gave birth to her only child, Paul who would later ascend to the throne. In 1762 she became empress regnant when her husband took the throne, which only lasted for 6 months until he was disposed of. Catherine thus became queen and established important political, noble, and military allies to sustain he reign.

She was a fond admirer of Peter the Great and took on her reign with ambitious goals of further modernization. She quickly abandoned her Prussian heritage and fully adopted the Russian culture to become a very popular leader. Following the assassination of her husband, she never remarried however had many lovers throughout her life. This included Grigory Orlov who helped her conspire and lead the coup d'état against her husband Peter III. Together they had an illegitimate child, Alexei Bobrinsky who never had a claim to the throne. After Orlov, Catherine had many other lovers who were able to rise to prominence thanks to their relation with the empress. 

Catherine considered herself a very enlightened ruler and was a great admirer of the arts. She brought upon a golden age of cultural revival often referred to as the Russian Enlightenment. During her reign saw a boom of new cities, towns, architecture, libraries, museums, theatres, and academic institutions.  She was also an advocate for female rights and established the first ever higher academic institution for females. She made efforts at improving the serf's conditions however ultimately did not change the economic balance of the serfs and nobles. As a result she endured many revolts and rebellions throughout her reign. 

She furthered Russia's imperial might through foreign alliances, wars, and new territorial acquisitions. Perhaps her most significant military victory came against the Ottomans in an effort to control the Black Sea. This was a campaign initiated by Peter the Great, and Catherine hoped to gain a further hold of the territory. The Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774 resulted in major losses for the Ottoman Empire who were forced to cede territory to the Russians including the Crimean peninsula. This ultimately began the downfall of the Ottoman Empire and their hold of the Black Sea. 

Along with her territorial gains from the Ottoman Empire, she also acquired new land in Europe by partitioning much of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This expansion was facilitated by one of her lovers, Stainslaw Poniatowski a Polish aristocrat who became King of Poland in 1764 until the throne was suppressed by the Russian Empire. Catherine also expanded her empire to the America's by colonizing the region of Alaska in 1784 as well as an outpost in Fort Ross, California. The region of Alaska brought them some prosperous fur trade until they sold the territory in the mid 1800s. 

After a 34 year reign, longer than any other female in Russian history, Catherine the Great died of a stroke in 1796 at the age of 67. Her son Paul Petrovich succeeded her to the throne. After her death many curious urban legends arose mostly pertaining to her sexual behavior. It is speculated that she had between 12 to 22 lovers, a vast collection of erotic furniture, and even various bestiality accounts particularly that with a horse. Despite these unique rumors, there can be no question of the contributions she made to Russian society. To this day the cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow have become iconic centers of art and culture much thanks to her renovations. Throughout her reign she oversaw a golden renaissance of Russian culture and prosperity and for that reason is considered a "great" leader of Russia.