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Article: Sidelights. (brief historical chronology of Russia's former rule under czars and repression of the Russian Orthodox Church under communism)
- Article from:
- Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- January 27, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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* For almost 400 years, Russia was ruled by emperors, or czars. The first Russian ruler to call himself czar was Ivan IV (1530-1584), better known as "Ivan the Terrible." Ivan was indeed terrible. He set up secret police to spy on citizens. He killed his own son in a fit of rage. Because he suspected the city of Novogorod was disloyal to him, he had all its 60,000 inhabitants put to death.
* The last of Russia's czars was Nicholas II (1868-1918), shown at left with his family. Nicholas II's wife, Alexandra, filled the court with people she liked, but who were considered ...