In 1612, Russia was in a state of anarchy. They called it 'The Time of Troubles'.
The people were terrorised by war, famine and plague. Up to a third of them perished.
Foreign troops occupied Moscow, Smolensk and Novgorod.
But then, Russia fought back.
Prince Pozharsky and a merchant, Kuzma Minin, led the Russian militia to Moscow, and threw
out the Polish garrison.
Since 2005, this event has been commemorated every 4th November, as Russian National Unity
Day.
The Russian assembly, the Zemsky Sobor, realised the country had to unite behind a new ruler,
and elected a 16 year old noble, Mikhail Romanov, as the next Tsar.
His dynasty would rule Russia for the next 300 years.
Tsar Mikhail exchanged territory for peace, winning Russia much-needed breathing-space.
His son, Tsar Alexei, implemented a new legal code, the Sobornoye Ulozheniye. It turned
all Russian peasants, 80% of the population, into serfs – effectively, slaves - their
status inherited by their children, and with no freedom to travel or choose their master.
It was a system that dominated Russian rural life for the next 200 years.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Nikon, imposed religious reforms that split
the church between Reformers and 'Old Believers'. It's a schism that continues to this day.
Ukrainian Cossacks, rebelling against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, recognised
Tsar Alexei as overlord in exchange for his military support.
It led to the Thirteen Years War between Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Russia
emerged victorious, reclaiming Smolensk and taking control of eastern Ukraine.
A revolt against Tsarist government, led by a renegade Cossack, Stenka Razin, brought
anarchy to southern Russia. It was finally suppressed: Razin was brought to Moscow and
executed by quartering.
The sickly but highly-educated Feodor III passed many reforms. He abolished mestnichestvo,
the system that had awarded government posts according to nobility rather than merit, and
symbolically burned the ancient books of rank.
But Feodor died aged just 19. His sister Sofia became Princess Regent, ruling on behalf of
her younger brothers, the joint Tsars Ivan V and Peter I.
After centuries of conflict, Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth signed a Treaty
of Eternal Peace. Russia then joined 'the Holy League' in its war against the Ottoman
Empire.
Sofia's reign also saw the first treaty between Russia and China, establishing the frontier
between the two states.
At age 17, Peter I seized power from his half-sister, Sofia.
Peter became the first Russian ruler to travel abroad. He toured Europe with his 'Grand Embassy',
seeking allies for Russia's war against Turkey, and learning the latest developments in science
and shipbuilding.
The war against Turkey was successfully concluded by the Treaty of Constantinople: Russia gained
Azov from Turkey's ally, the Crimean Khanate, and with it, a foothold on the Black Sea.
Peter made many reforms, seeking to turn Russia into a modern, European state. He demanded
Russian nobles dress and behave like Europeans. He made those who refused to shave pay a beard
tax.
Peter built the first Russian navy; reformed the army and government; and promoted industry,
trade and education.
In the Great Northern War, Russia, Poland-Lithuania and Denmark took on the dominant power in
the Baltic, Sweden.
The war began badly for Russia, with a disastrous defeat to Charles XII of Sweden at Narva.
But Russia won a second battle of Narva...
Before crushing Charles XII's army at the Battle of Poltava.
On the Baltic coast, Peter completed construction of a new capital, St.Petersburg. The building
of what would become Russia's second largest city among coastal marshes was a remarkable
achievement, though it cost the lives of many thousands of serfs.
The Great Northern War ended with the Treaty of Nystad: Russia's gains at Sweden's expense
made it the new, dominant Baltic power.
Four years before his death, Peter was declared 'Peter the Great, Father of His Country, Emperor
of All the Russias'.
Peter was succeeded by his wife Catherine; then his grandson Peter II, who died of smallpox
aged just 14.
Empress Anna Ioannovna, daughter of Peter the Great's half-brother Ivan V, was famed
for her decadence and the influence of her German lover, Ernst Biron.
During Anna's reign, Vitus Bering, a Danish explorer in Russian service, led the first
expedition to chart the coast of Alaska. He also discovered the Aleutian Islands, and
later gave his name to the sea that separates Russia and America.
After Anna's death, her infant grand-nephew, Ivan VI, was deposed by Peter the Great's
daughter, Elizabeth.
Ivan VI spent his entire life in captivity, until aged 23, he was murdered by his guards
during a failed rescue attempt.
Elizabeth, meanwhile, was famed for her vanity, extravagance, and many young lovers.
But she was also capable of decisive leadership: in alliance with France and Austria, Elizabeth
led Russia into the Seven Years War against Frederick the Great of Prussia.
The Russian army inflicted a crushing defeat on Frederick at the Battle of Kunersdorf,
but failed to exploit its victory.
Meanwhile in St.Petersburg, the Winter Palace was completed at vast expense. It would remain
the monarch's official residence, right up until the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Peter III was Peter the Great's grandson by his elder daughter Anna Petrovna, who'd died
as a consequence of childbirth.
Raised in Denmark, Peter spoke hardly any Russian, and greatly admired Russia's enemy,
Frederick the Great - so he had Russia swap sides in the Seven Years War, saving Frederick
from almost certain defeat.
Peter's actions angered many army officers. And he'd always been despised by his German
wife, Catherine.
Together they deposed Peter III, who died a week later in suspicious circumstances.
His wife Catherine became Empress of Russia. Her reign would be remembered as one of Russia's
most glorious...