Russian Orthodox Christians

-Russia: 1450-1750- Time Period 1450-1750 Geographic Description Acquired land back from Mongols in mid 1400s Territorial expansion policy focused particularly on central Asia to push Mongol overlords further East Early tsars pushed southward to the Caspian Sea and eastward past the Ural mountains- Third Rome Mentality All tsars were expansionists From its base in the Moscow region, Russia expanded outwards Cossacks moved into Siberia= gained new settlements and political control (similar to westward expansion in early US) Under Peter the Great, territory extended all the way from Black Sea to Bering Sea and down into China Catherine the Great sends explorers to Alaska, coast of California and even Hawaii Large, vast are of land with a generous supply of natural resources

Chapter 18 The Rise of Russia Russia's great land empire was formed between 1450 and 1750. Unlike Western colonial empires, Russia's expansion involved only limited commercial exchange. Nevertheless, it fundamentally altered power balances from Europe to Asia. Russian leaders, casting off Tatar (Mongol) domination between 1450 and 1480, proceeded on a fairly steady course of expansion. Much of the new territory was Asian, but Russia also gained the leading role in eastern Europe by the 17th century. Regional kingdoms remained in eastern Europe, and many of them differed from Russia in important ways. Poland and Lithuania continued to rival Russia into the 17th century. But Russia was increasingly the focal point as it became a significant force in world history.