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This article covers the '''History of Russia''' from 862 AD to the present.  For current conditions see [[Russia]].

This article covers the '''History of Russia''' from 862 AD to the present.  For current conditions see [[Russia]].

==Kievan Rus==

==Kievan Rus==

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.  

==Muscovy==

==Muscovy==

In the post-Mongol period, '''[[Muscovy]]'' gradually became the dominant principality and was able, through diplomacy and conquest, to establish [[suzerain]]ty 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 council 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.

In the post-Mongol period, '''[[Muscovy]]'' gradually became the dominant principality and was able, through diplomacy and conquest, to establish [[suzerain]]ty 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 council 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.