Lyskovsky District ( Russian : Лы́сковский райо́н ) is an administrative district ( raion ), one of the forty in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast , Russia . Municipally , it is incorporated as Lyskovsky Municipal District . It is located in the east of the oblast on both sides of the Volga River . The area of the district is 2,134 square kilometers (824 sq mi). Its administrative center is the town of Lyskovo . Population: 39,964 ( 2010 Census ); 43,755 ( 2002 Census ) ; 46,895 ( 1989 Soviet census ) . The population of Lyskovo accounts for 54.7% of the district's total population.
131-588: In the Russian Empire , the territory of what today is Lyskovsky District was mostly within Makaryevsky Uyezd of Nizhny Novgorod Governorate . The seat of the uyezd was in the town of Makaryev (today's settlement of Makaryevo ) on the northern bank of the Volga River , next to the ancient Makaryev Monastery . Until the fire of 1816, Makaryev was home to the annual Makaryev Fair . The administrative offices of
262-842: A new war . The long six-year war for Russia took place in parallel with the Russo-Persian War , the Russo-Swedish War and the War of the Fourth Coalition . Despite this, in the decisive campaign of 1811, the Russian army of Kutuzov defeated the Ottoman army on the Danube , which made it possible to conclude a peace treaty beneficial for Russia, according to which Russia gained Bessarabia . The Ottoman Empire had maintained military parity with Russia until
393-665: A Russo-Iranian alliance against Turkey, as Persia was at war with the Ottoman Empire. In the meantime Russia was also supporting the accession to the Polish throne of Augustus III in the War of the Polish Succession (1733–35), over the French -nominated Stanisław Leszczyński . Austria had been Russia's ally since 1726. Russia entered into another war with the Ottoman Empire in 1736, prompted by raids on Ukraine by Crimean Tatars and
524-529: A Western model. Alexander I ( r. 1801–1825 ) helped defeat the militaristic ambitions of Napoleon and subsequently constituted 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
655-667: A colossal advantage, since the Russian Black Sea Fleet fleet had not recovered from the Crimean War. Despite this, the hostilities on the Black Sea in this war were not important. In response to the Russian proximity to the straits the British, against the wishes of the new Sultan Abdul Hamid II , intervened in the war. A large task force representing British naval supremacy entered the straits of Marmara and anchored in view of both
786-507: 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
917-581: A few years, they bordered each other along a large territory in the Caucasus, which caused further frictions. Russia managed to secure a favourable international situation by signing treaties with Persia in 1732 and 1735 . These returned all Iranian territories gained since 1722 in the North and South Caucasus and Northern Iran, and avoided war with the emerging leader of Persia, Nader Shah . The treaties had other diplomatically favourable aspects as they established
1048-424: 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
1179-475: A great deal of extra money from a uniform tax system with little corruption. The Sultan got a tighter grip on the provincial beys and increased the tribute they had to pay. However, Sultan Abdülaziz , used much of this money on furnishing and creating great palaces to rival the ones in England and France, which he had visited. The empire was undergoing a revolution, and throughout Anatolia a new Ottoman nationalism
1310-547: 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
1441-565: A plague outbreak. In 1739, the Münnich army crossed the Dnieper , defeated the Ottoman Empire at Stavuchany , and occupied the fortress of Khotin and Iaşi . However, Austria was defeated by the Ottoman Empire once again and signed a separate peace treaty on August 21. This, coupled with the imminent threat of Swedish invasion , forced Russia to sign the Treaty of Niš with Turkey on September 18, ending
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#17330945211901572-700: A population of 125.6 million with considerable ethnic, linguistic, religious, and socioeconomic diversity. The rise of 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
1703-407: 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
1834-634: A series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European history . Except for four wars (the war of 1676–1681 , the Pruth River Campaign , the war of 1735–1739 , and the Crimean War ), the conflicts ended in losses for the Ottoman Empire, which was undergoing a long period of stagnation and decline ; conversely, they showcased
1965-561: A stubborn struggle, surrendered to Plevna . After that, the Russian army crossed the Balkan Mountains, defeated the remaining Turkish troops and reached the approaches to Constantinople. In the Caucasus, the Turkish army held back the Russian offensive, but after a defeat at the Battle of Aladzha , retreated to Erzurum , after which the Russians took Kars . On the Black Sea, the Ottoman fleet had
2096-496: 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
2227-788: 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
2358-412: A year earlier (1828) by the Russians from Qajar Iran through the Treaty of Turkmenchay . After the war of 1877-78, Russia also received Kars and Ardahan . During the early months of World War I , Kars was a key military objective for the Ottoman army. Enver Pasha who pushed the Ottoman Empire into World War I, needed a victory against the Russians to defend his position. He collected an army on
2489-560: 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
2620-416: 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
2751-504: 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:
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#17330945211902882-837: The Baku Commune was established in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic . The commune later became the Centrocaspian Dictatorship , in turn conquered by the Ottoman Islamic Army of the Caucasus , then shortly by the Triple Entente and finally the Bolsheviks . Defeat on other fronts caused the Ottoman Empire to surrender and withdraw forces. Both the Armenian and Azerbaijani Republics ended up being part of
3013-636: The Balkans . The population of much of the Balkans were Slavs , as were the Russians. They also mainly followed the Eastern Orthodox Church , as did the Russians. When new movements in Russia, such as that of the Slavophiles , started to enter the region, it became agitated and prone to revolution. When the government in Constantinople tried to initiate measures to prevent an economic collapse throughout
3144-842: The Batak massacre in 1876. Januarius MacGahan , a journalist of the New York Herald and the London The Daily News wrote of the terrible happenings after his visit to Batak with Eugene Schuyler . According to most sources, around 5,000 people were massacred in Batak alone. The total number of victims in the April uprising according to most estimates around 15,000, which is supported by Eugene Schuyler 's report, published in The Daily News , according to which at least 15,000 persons were killed during
3275-529: 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
3406-577: 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
3537-620: 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
3668-496: 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 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
3799-554: 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
3930-598: The Dnieper River . Russia joined the European Holy League ( Austria , Poland , Venice ) in 1686. During the war, the Russian army organized the Crimean campaigns of 1687 and 1689 and the Azov campaigns (1695–96) . In the light of Russia's preparations for the war with Sweden and other countries' signing the Treaty of Karlowitz with Turkey in 1699, the Russian government signed the Treaty of Constantinople with
4061-507: The Dolmabahçe Palace and the Russian army. Looking at the prospect of a British entry into the war the Russians decided to settle the dispute. The Treaty of San Stefano gave Romania and Montenegro their independence, Serbia and Russia each received extra territory, Austria-Hungary was given control over Bosnia , and Bulgaria was given almost complete autonomy. The hope of the Sultan
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4192-499: 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
4323-600: 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
4454-605: 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
4585-592: The Imperial Russian Army . This time there was no help from abroad; in truth, many European nations supported the Russian war, as long as it did not get too close to Constantinople. Ten and a half months later when the war had ended, the age of Ottoman domination over the Balkans was over. In the Balkans, the Russian army, having crossed the Danube, captured the Shipka Pass . The Turkish army of Osman Nuri Pasha , after
4716-469: 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
4847-609: 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
4978-537: 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
5109-493: 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 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
5240-487: 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
5371-413: The Ottoman army , which could not take Astrakhan and almost completely perished in the steppes, while the Ottoman fleet was wrecked in the Sea of Azov . The peace treaty between the two sides cemented Russia's rule on the Volga, but allowed the Ottoman Empire to obtain a number of commercial benefits. The Crimean Khanate , an Ottoman vassal , continued its expansion against the Tsardom of Russia , but
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5502-415: The Partitions of Poland , Russia became 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
5633-470: 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 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
5764-426: 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
5895-413: 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
6026-403: The Soviet Union in 1920. The Soviet-Turkish border was established under the Treaty of Moscow (1921) . Treaty of Belgrade : Habsburgs cede the Kingdom of Serbia with Belgrade , the southern part of the Banat of Temeswar and northern Bosnia to the Ottomans, and the Banat of Craiova ( Oltenia ), gained by the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718, to Wallachia (an Ottoman subject), and set
6157-402: 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 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
6288-471: The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca , which formally granted independence to the Crimean Khanate , but in reality it became dependent on Russia. Russia received 4.5 million rubles and two key seaports allowing the direct access to the Black Sea . It also marked the first time that a foreign power directly interfered in the affairs of the Sublime Porte , as the treaty gave Russia protector status over Turkey's Orthodox Christian subjects. In 1783, Russia annexed
6419-424: 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
6550-430: 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
6681-462: The 17th century, culminating in the first Russian colonization of the Pacific , 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
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#17330945211906812-454: 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. History of the Russo-Turkish wars Collapse and dissolution of both empires during World War I Russo-Turkish wars ( Russian : Русско-турецкие войны , romanized : Russko-turetskiye voyny ) or Russo-Ottoman wars ( Turkish : Osmanlı-Rus savaşları ) were
6943-495: The April Uprising in addition to 36 villages in three districts being buried. According to Donald Quataert around 1,000 Muslims were killed by Christian Bulgarians and consequently 3,700 Christians were killed by Muslims. Soon the Balkan rebellions were beginning to falter. In Europe, papers were filled with reports of Ottoman soldiers killing thousands of Slavs. Even in Great Britain William Ewart Gladstone published his account of Ottoman atrocities in his Bulgarian Horrors and
7074-474: The Austrians from Mehadia and overran the Banat (1789); but in Moldavia Field-Marshal Pyotr Rumyantsev was successful and captured Iaşi and Khotyn . Ottoman generals were incompetent, and the army mutinous; expeditions for the relief of Bender and Akkerman failed, Belgrade was taken by the Austrians, The Russian army under the command of Alexander Suvorov defeated the Turks in the Battle of Rymnik and captured Izmail . The fall of Anapa completed
7205-444: The British the island of Cyprus . While annoyed at British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli , the Sultan had nothing but praise for Otto von Bismarck who forced many of the major concessions upon Russia. These close Germano-Ottoman relations would persist until both empires' very end. The Russian extension in this century developed with the main theme of supporting independence of Ottomans' former provinces and then bringing all of
7336-507: The Crimea the same month, inflicting some defeats on the army of the Crimean Khan and capturing Karasubazar . Lacy and his soldiers had to leave the Crimea, however, due to lack of supplies. Austria entered the war against Turkey in July 1737 but was defeated a number of times. In August, Russia, Austria and Turkey began negotiations in Nemirov , which would turn out to be fruitless. There were no significant military operations in 1738. The Russian army had to leave Ochakov and Kinburn due to
7467-403: The Crimean Khanate . In the same year, Russia established its protectorate over the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti according to the Treaty of Georgievsk . In 1787, Empress Catherine II made a triumphant trip across the Crimea , accompanied by representatives of foreign courts and her ally, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor . These events and the friction caused by mutual complaints of infringements of
7598-684: 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,
7729-445: 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
7860-483: The Great ended very unsuccessfully for Russia. The Russian army, led by the tsar, was surrounded by a superior Turkish-Tatar army and was forced to agree to unfavorable peace conditions, according to which it returned the previously captured Azov to the Ottoman Empire. By the late 17th century, Safavid Iran , which neighbored both empires and had been one of the greatest rivals for Turkey for centuries (16th–19th centuries), had been heavily declining. Taking advantage of
7991-511: 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,
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#17330945211908122-427: The Ottoman Empire in 1700. Following the results of peace, Russia managed to annex Azov and get access to the Sea of Azov. After the Russians had defeated the Swedes and the pro- Swedish Empire Ukrainian Cossacks led by Ivan Mazepa in the Battle of Poltava in 1709, Charles XII of Sweden managed to persuade the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III to declare war on Russia on November 20, 1710. The Prut campaign of Peter
8253-406: 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
8384-453: 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
8515-430: 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
8646-399: 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
8777-422: The Question of the East . The uprisings raised a chance for Russia, and ( Prince Gorchakov ) and Austria-Hungary ( Count Andrássy ), who made the secret Reichstadt Agreement on July 8, 1876, on partitioning the Balkan peninsula depending on the outcome. The following year a new Russo-Turkish war had begun. Despite fighting better than they ever had before, the modernised Ottoman armies still were not equal to
8908-434: 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 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
9039-418: 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 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
9170-422: 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
9301-400: The Slav peoples of the Balkans under Bulgaria or using Armenians in the east sets the stage. At the end of the century from Russian perspective; Romania , Serbia and Montenegro and the autonomy of Bulgaria was achieved. That alarmed the Great Powers . After the Congress of Berlin the Russian expansion was controlled through stopping the expansion of Bulgaria. The Russian public felt that at
9432-620: The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, which had closed the previous war, stirred up public opinion in Constantinople , and the British ambassador lent his support to the war party. In 1787 the Ottomans demanded that Russia vacate the Crimea. Russia declared war, but Ottoman preparations were inadequate and the moment was ill-chosen, now that Russia and Austria were in alliance, a fact that came to light only after events were already in motion. The Turks drove back
9563-438: 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
9694-503: The ascendancy of Russia as a European power after the modernization efforts of Peter the Great in the early 18th century. The first Russo-Turkish War (1568–1570) occurred after the conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan by the Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible . The Ottoman Sultan Selim II tried to squeeze the Russians out of the lower Volga by sending a military expedition to Astrakhan in 1569. The Turkish expedition ended in disaster for
9825-537: 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
9956-475: 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
10087-449: 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
10218-466: The eastern border. The army was badly defeated under Enver's command at the Battle of Sarikamish January 2, 1915, against Nikolai Yudenich . This defeat was more due to the winter weather and bad planning, given the fact that Russians were actually preparing to evacuate Kars. With the loss of the eastern army, Ottoman defenses crumbled with further small battles and the Russian army succeeded in advancing as far west as Erzincan . The Ottoman army suffered
10349-416: 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 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,
10480-557: The empire, it touched off a revolt in Herzegovina in 1875. The revolt in Herzegovina quickly spread to Bosnia and then Bulgaria . Soon Serbia also entered the war against the Turks. These revolts were the first test of the new Modern Ottoman Army . Even though they were not up to Western European standards, the army fought effectively and brutally; during the war, the Ottomans carried out
10611-563: 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
10742-489: 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
10873-612: The end of Congress of Berlin thousands of Russian soldiers had died for nothing. During the Greek uprising, the Russian Empire reached the Ottoman borders in the Caucasus , which were located in the southwest of the region, as well as northeastern Anatolia . Under the terms of the Treaty of Adrianople , the Ottoman Empire recognized Russian sovereignty over western Georgia , which was formerly under Ottoman suzerainty, and recognized Russian domination of present-day Armenia , which had been conquered
11004-578: The entire Ottoman fleet at Sinop , Britain and France concluded that armed intervention on the side of the Ottomans was the only way to halt a massive Russian expansion. Even though the Ottomans and Russians were on opposing sides, the roots of the ensuing Crimean War lay in the rivalry between the British and the Russians. The war ended unfavorably for the Russians, with the Paris peace of 1856 . The wars declined Ottoman morale and turned it helpless, illustrating that modern technology and superior weaponry were
11135-499: 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
11266-510: 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
11397-537: 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
11528-564: The independence of Greece and the transition of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus to Russia. Thus Greece became the first independent country created out of a section of the Ottoman Empire. Russian Empire aspirations for a section of the empire and bases on Russia's southern flank provoked British fears over naval domination of the Mediterranean and control of the land route to the Indian Subcontinent . When in 1853 Russia destroyed
11659-534: The lands of central Ukraine. Crimean Tatars , Turks and Nogais ravaged New Serbia , took a significant number of slaves . Their raid was repulsed by the garrison of the Fortress of St. Elizabeth , after which the movement to the Black Sea continued troops of General Rumyantsev . The Polish opposition was defeated by Alexander Suvorov , who was then transferred to the Ottoman theatre of operations, where in 1773 and 1774 he won several minor and major battles following
11790-583: The military campaign of the Crimean khan in the Caucasus . In May 1736, the Russian army launched an invasion of the Crimean peninsula and burned the capital of the Crimean Khanate, Bakhchysarai . On June 19, the Russian Don army under the command of General Peter Lacy captured Azov. In July 1737, the Münnich army took by storm the Ottoman fortress of Ochakov . The Lacy army (now 40,000 strong) marched into
11921-583: 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,
12052-503: The most important part of a modern army, and a part that the Ottoman Empire was sorely lacking. While fighting alongside the British, French, and even the Piedmontese , the Ottomans could see how far they had fallen behind. Things began to change after the Crimean War. One of these changes arose as Europeans began to see commercial opportunity in the empire and the money entering via trade dramatically increased. The government also received
12183-701: 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
12314-477: 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
12445-509: The next heavy defeat in the Battle of Erzurum in 1916, after which the Russian army captured the whole of Western Armenia . After the 1916 campaign, the front remained stable until the Russian Revolution . The collapse of the Russian army after the 1917 revolution left only thinly spread Armenian units to resist the inevitable Ottoman counter-attack. The newly declared First Republic of Armenia took over Kars in April 1918. That same year in March,
12576-401: 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
12707-446: 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
12838-619: The previous grand successes of the Russian Field-Marshal Pyotr Rumyantsev at Larga and Kagul . Naval operations of the Russian Baltic Fleet in the Mediterranean yielded victories under the command of Aleksei Orlov . In 1771, Egypt and Syria rebelled against Ottoman rule, while the Russian fleet totally destroyed the Ottoman Navy at the Battle of Chesma . On July 21, 1774, the Ottoman Empire signed
12969-535: The proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in 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
13100-563: 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
13231-488: 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
13362-525: The second half of the eighteenth century, but by the 1820s the Ottoman armies were unable to put down the Greek War of Independence in southern Greece . The great powers of Europe intervened, and assisted Greece with its independence. After the Battle of Navarino and the Russo-Turkish War (1828–29) , in which the Russian army first crossed the Balkan Mountains and took Adrianople , Turkey recognized
13493-461: 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
13624-551: The series of Ottoman disasters. The Russian Black Sea Fleet , created just a few years earlier, under the command of Admiral Ushakov , inflicted a series of defeats on the Turkish Fleet and seized the initiative in the Black Sea. Sultan Selim III was nervous to restore his country's prestige by a victory before making peace, but the condition of his military rendered this hope unavailing. Turkey signed an assistance pact with Prussia on 31 January 1790, but received no help during
13755-429: The situation, Russia and the Ottoman Empire conquered swaths of its territory comprising contemporary Dagestan , Azerbaijan , and Northern Iran , which was taken by Peter I in the Russo-Persian War (1722–1723) ; the Ottomans took the territory to the west, comprising modern day Armenia , parts of Eastern Anatolia , as well as western Iran. The gains by both were confirmed in the Treaty of Constantinople (1724) . For
13886-531: 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 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,
14017-538: 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 ,
14148-422: 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
14279-489: 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
14410-491: The transformation of Russia into 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
14541-606: The uyezd, however, were located in the village of Lyskovo, which, being located on the southern bank of the Volga, was conveniently served by the Kazan Post Road. The modern district was established in 1929. Lyskovo brewery and vegetable canning plant are well known in the region. Russian Empire The Russian Empire was a vast empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its proclamation in November 1721 until
14672-449: 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
14803-719: 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
14934-624: The war, but who nevertheless were opposed by various factions known collectively as the Whites . During the resulting Russian Civil War , the Bolsheviks conducted 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
15065-539: The war. Following a border incident at Balta, Sultan Mustafa III declared war on Russia on September 25, 1768. The Turks formed an alliance with the Polish opposition forces of the Bar Confederation , while Russia was supported by Great Britain , which offered naval advisers to the Imperial Russian Navy . In January 1769, a 70-thousand Turkish-Tatar army led by Crimean Khan Qırım Giray invaded
15196-511: The war. Accordingly, the Treaty of Jassy was signed with Russia on 9 January 1792, by which the Crimea and Ochakov were left to Russia, the Dniester was made the frontier in Europe, and the Asiatic frontier remained unchanged. Gábor Ágoston attributes the decline of Ottoman power relative to Russia to the reactionary Janissaries : In 1806, the Ottoman Empire incited by Napoleonic France started
15327-677: 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
15458-462: 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 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,
15589-535: Was appearing. It seemed as though it might be possible for the empire to turn its decline around. The monetary and governmental collapse combined with a new threat from Russia began the final stages of the Empire's collapse. Russia had been forced by the Crimean War to give up its ambitions of conquering the Ottoman capital of Constantinople and taking control of the Bosphorus . Instead it decided to focus on gaining power in
15720-479: 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
15851-476: 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
15982-402: 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
16113-798: Was defeated at the Battle of Molodi in 1572. The next conflict between Russia and Turkey began 100 years later as part of the struggle for the territory of Ukraine. While Russia conquered Left-bank Ukraine after the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) , the Ottoman Empire, in the course of the Polish–Ottoman War (1672–1676) , spread its rule over all of Right-bank Ukraine with the support of its vassal , Petro Doroshenko (1665–1672). The latter's pro-Ottoman policy caused disapproval among many Ukrainian Cossacks , who would elect Ivan Samoilovich as sole Hetman of all Ukraine in 1674. In 1676, Russian troops captured Chigirin and overthrew Doroshenko, who
16244-604: 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
16375-514: Was exiled to Russia. In 1677, the Ottoman army tried to retake Chigirin, but was defeated. In 1678, the Ottoman army was finally able to take Chigirin after a bloody assault, but here the Ottoman expansion to the northeast was stopped. In 1679–80, the Russians repelled the attacks of the Crimean Tatars and signed the Treaty of Bakhchisarai in 1681, which established the Russo-Turkish border on
16506-674: 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
16637-513: 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
16768-492: 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
16899-420: Was that the other great powers would oppose such a one-sided resolution and a conference would be held to revise it. His hope became reality and in 1878 the Congress of Berlin was held where Germany promised to be an "honest broker" in the treaty's revision. In the new treaty Bulgarian territory was decreased and the war indemnities were cancelled. The conference also again hurt Anglo-Ottoman relations by giving
17030-688: 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
17161-433: 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
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