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Article: Russia
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. 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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RUSSIA
RUSSIA.
Russia emerged as a state at the end of the fifteenth century on the northeastern periphery of Europe, with a thin population spread over the forest belt of the east European plain. Never having seen either feudalism or serfdom, its society was different from
that of western Europe. Its Christianity came from Byzantium, which further set it apart from its western neighbors. During the sixteenth to eighteenth century Russian society changed rapidly, with the appearance of serfdom, economic growth, and expansion south into the steppe and east to Siberia. The Russian state grew in size and sophistication, especially after the reign of Peter I the Great (ruled 1682
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