istoryworld
Events relating to russia
Ivan IV is crowned tsar of Russia and becomes known as Ivan the Terrible
The Muscovy Company is granted a monopoly by the crown to trade with Russia, as the first of the English chartered companies
Serfdom is introduced in Russia by Boris Godunov, whose measures tie the peasants to the land
Willem Barents sets off on the first of his three expeditions to find a passage to the east through the waters north of Russia
The first false Dmitry marches into Russia with a Polish army to claim the throne
A second false Dmitry marches on Moscow, to be followed by a third in 1612
Michael Romanov is elected tsar, beginning a new dynasty on the Russian throne
The treaty of Stolbova brings into Swedish hands the coast round the Gulf of Finland, ending Russian access to the Baltic
A Cossack rebellion leads to the eventual transfer of their territory from Poland to Russia
The Russian empire, expanding eastwards through Siberia, reaches the Pacific coast
Nikon becomes patriarch of all Russia and introduces reforms which cause the Old Believers to form a breakaway sect
The 17-year-old Peter the Great becomes co-tsar of Russia with his half-brother Ivan V
Peter the Great makes an unexpected raid down the river Don and captures Azov from the Crimean Tatars
The Russian tsar, Peter I, studies western European technology, working as a ship's carpenter in Dutch and English shipyards
Peter the Great makes a symbolic gesture of reform in trimming his boyars' beards
Poland, Russia and Denmark attack Sweden, beginning the 21-year Northern War
Peter the Great sets up numerous schools and commercial enterprises to enable Russia to compete in Europe
Peter the Great falls for a Lithuanian serf, Catherine, who becomes his life-long companion
Peter the Great founds the port and city of St Petersburg, giving Russia access to the Baltic
The Swedish king Charles XII suffers his first major defeat in a brilliant career, when he faces the Russians at Poltava
The tsar formally marries Catherine, his mistress for nearly ten years (though they may have married secretly five years earlier)
The tsarevitch Alexis, heir to Peter the Great, dies from violence inflicted on him in prison
In the treaty of Nystad Sweden cedes Estonia to Russia together with most of Latvia (the rest of which soon follows)
With the transfer of Swedish territory on the Baltic coast, Russia becomes the dominant power in the region
In a ceremony in St Petersburg's cathedral Peter the Great has himself proclaimed 'emperor of all Russia'
