Essay About Ivan Iii And Military Structure

Mongol Influence In Russia
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Due to Mongol influence, Russia existed in isolation, however, tsars such as Peter and
Catherine the Great tried various things in an effort to westernize the isolated territory. By late
17th century, Russia experienced a great internal change. Peter and his successors used
westernization to bolster Russias expansionist empire. Westernization had a great impact on
Russia and its development.
Prior to Peters attempt for westernization, he and his predecessors extended tsarist
policies of control and the expansion of Russian territory. Since the incursion of the Mongols,
Russia never recovered from the impact of isolation. As time went on, Russia gradually began to
recover. Under Ivan III, (Ivan the Great,) Russia succeeded Byzantium or “third Rome.” Ivan the
IV, (Ivan the Terrible,) placed great emphasis on controlling the tsarist autocracy, killing many
boyars who suspected conspiracy. Expansion continued, offering tsars a new way to reward
nobles (boyars) and bureaucrats by giving them estates in new territories. This practice provided
new agricultural areas and sources of labor; Russia used slaves for certain kinds of production
work in the 18th century. Along with expansion and enforcement of tsarist primacy, the early tsars
added another element to their overall approach; carefully managed contacts with the western
Europe. The tsars realized that Russias cultural and economic subordination to the Mongols had
put them at a commercial and cultural disadvantage.
By the end of the 17th century, Russia had become one of the great land empires, but it
remained unusually agricultural by the standards of the West and the great Asian civilizations.
Come the reign of Peter I, he built many new framework. He added a more definite interest in
changing selected aspects of Russian economy and culture by imitating Western forms. Overall,
Peter concentrated on improvements in political organization, on selected economic
development, and on cultural change. He used Western organizational skills in an attempt to
streamline Russias small bureaucratic state and to alter military structure. Peter created a more
well-defined military hierarchy while developing functionally specialized bureaucratic
departments. A symbol of Peters reforms, westernization and foreign policy was the building of
St. Petersburg as the capital and a port on the Baltic. Without urbanizing extensively or
developing a large commercial class, Peters reforms changed the Russian economy. Landlords
were rewarded for using serf labor to staff new manufacturing operations. This was a limited
goal, but a very important one, giving Russia the internal economic means to maintain a
substantial military presence for almost two centuries. Peter was eager to make Russia culturally
respectable in Western eyes. He abolished the tradition, at weddings, of the farther of the bride
passing a small whip to the groom, symbolizing the transfer of male power over women. He did