Russia History

The history of Russia is a very interesting one. It all began when the East Slavs, divide into Ukrainians, Russians and Belarusian. The first East Slavic state- Kievan Rus, adopted Christianity from the Byzantine Empire in the 10th century. And with this began the creation of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that molded the Russian culture.

The state of Kievan Rus later collapsed which left many of the other states to overtake it. Post 13th century, Muscovy progressively came to rule the former cultural center. In the 18th century, Muscovy acquired dominance over Russian Empire. In the year1861, serfdom in Russia was eliminated, but only increased revolutionary pressures. Sometimes later, the Stolypin reforms, the constitution of 1906 and State Duma introduced important transformations in economy and political affairs of Russia, but the tsars were still not willing to give up their autocratic rule.

Russian Revolution in the year 1917 brought the Communist Bolsheviks to power. Between 1922 and 1991, Russia history is same as that of Soviet Union. From its first years, regime in the Soviet Union was based on the one-party rule of the communists, as the Bolsheviks called themselves beginning in March 1918. However, by the end of 1980s, with the failing of its economic and political structures becoming severe, significant changes in the economy and the party leaderships led to the end of Soviet Union. Since gaining its independence, Russia claimed to be the legal heir to Soviet Union on the international stage. Russia today shares much continuity of political culture and social structure with its tsarist and Soviet past.