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Although human experience on the territory of present-day Russia dates back to [[Paleolithic]] times, the first lineal predecessor of the modern Russian state was founded in 862. The political entity known as Kievan Rus was established in [[Kiev]] in 962 and lasted until the 12th century. In the 10th century, [[Christianity]] became the state religion under [[Vladimir]], who adopted [[Greek Orthodox]] rites. Consequently, [[Byzantine]] culture predominated, as is evident in much of Russia's architectural, musical, and artistic heritage. Over the next centuries, various invaders assaulted the Kievan state and, finally, [[Mongols]] under [[Batu Khan]] destroyed the main population centers except for [[Novgorod]] and Pskov in the 13th century and prevailed over the region until 1480. Some historians believe that the Mongol period had a lasting impact on Russian political culture.  

Although human experience on the territory of present-day Russia dates back to [[Paleolithic]] times, the first lineal predecessor of the modern Russian state was founded in 862. The political entity known as Kievan Rus was established in [[Kiev]] in 962 and lasted until the 12th century. In the 10th century, [[Christianity]] became the state religion under [[Vladimir]], who adopted [[Greek Orthodox]] rites. Consequently, [[Byzantine]] culture predominated, as is evident in much of Russia's architectural, musical, and artistic heritage. Over the next centuries, various invaders assaulted the Kievan state and, finally, [[Mongols]] under [[Batu Khan]] destroyed the main population centers except for [[Novgorod]] and Pskov in the 13th century and prevailed over the region until 1480. Some historians believe that the Mongol period had a lasting impact on Russian political culture.  

In the post-Mongol period, [[Muscovy]] gradually became the dominant principality and was able, through diplomacy and conquest, to establish suzerainty over European Russia. [[Ivan III]] (1462-1505) referred to his empire as "the Third Rome" and considered it heir to the Byzantine tradition. [[Ivan IV]] (the Terrible) (1530-1584) was the first Russian ruler to call himself [[tsar]]. He pushed Russian eastward with his conquests but his later reign was marked by the cruelty that earned him his familiar epithet. He was succeeded by [[Boris Godunov]], whose reign commenced the so-called [[Time of Troubles]]. Relative stability was achieved when [[Michael Romanov]] established the dynasty that bore his name in 1613.  

In the post-Mongol period, [[Muscovy]] gradually became the dominant principality and was able, through diplomacy and conquest, to establish suzerainty over European Russia. [[Ivan III]] (1462-1505) referred to his empire as "the Third Rome" and considered it heir to the Byzantine tradition. [[Ivan IV]] (the Terrible) (1530-1584) was the first Russian ruler to call himself [[tsar]]. He pushed Russian eastward with his conquests but his later reign was marked by the cruelty that earned him his familiar epithet. He was succeeded by his feeble son, the childless Feodor I Ivanovich who reigned from 1584-1598. [[Boris Godunov]],the brother-in-law of Feodor, became the tsar Boris I. He ruled from 1598-1604 when he was disposed and killed, along with this wife and son, by a cabal of [[boyar]]. With the death of Boris I Russia commenced the so-called [[Time of Troubles]] which was to see further brief and bloody reigns. In 1613, after relative stability was achieved, fifteen year old [[Michael Romanov]] was selected by an assembled counsil of lay and ecclesiastical to be the new tsar. The dynasty that bore his name survived until 1917 with the death of Nichols II and his family.  

During the reign of [[Peter the Great]] (1689-1725), modernization and European influences spread in Russia. Peter created Western-style military forces, subordinated the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] hierarchy to the tsar, reformed the entire governmental structure, and established the beginnings of a Western-style education system. He moved the capital westward from Moscow to [[St. Petersburg]], his newly-established city on the [[Baltic]]. His introduction of European customs generated nationalistic resentments in society and spawned the philosophical rivalry between "Westernizers" and nationalistic "Slavophiles" that remains a key dynamic of current Russian social and political thought.  

During the reign of [[Peter the Great]] (1689-1725), modernization and European influences spread in Russia. Peter created Western-style military forces, subordinated the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] hierarchy to the tsar, reformed the entire governmental structure, and established the beginnings of a Western-style education system. He moved the capital westward from Moscow to [[St. Petersburg]], his newly-established city on the [[Baltic]]. His introduction of European customs generated nationalistic resentments in society and spawned the philosophical rivalry between "Westernizers" and nationalistic "Slavophiles" that remains a key dynamic of current Russian social and political thought.