1) How did Mongol occupation affect Russian civilization?
After the Mongol invasion, Russians began dressing like Mongols and many cultural habits of the Mongols diffused into Russian civilization. The Mongols decreased the literacy rate and made the economy go down.
2) What was the nature and impact of Russian expansion and Westernization under the following Russian leaders:
The Ivans: During the reign of the ivans, the family tried to make Russia as powerful as possible and dreamed that one day it would become the next Rome. Ivan III created a centralized government and made himself the tsar of Russia. During the reign of Ivan IV, killed many of his Russian nobles so he could keep the throne for himself. Many trade routes were created during the reign of the Ivans and the Russian economy prospered
Peter the Great: Peter thought the best thing for Russia was to copy the West. He started to diffuse western culture into Russian culture, and implemented many western ideas on to Russia. Peter also created a great port city called St. Petersburg which he captured from Sweden
Catherine the Great: Catherine the Great was a little hesitent with western influence on Russia. She publicly disapproved the French revolution and was harsh on her citizens so they would not rebel against the empire. Catherine tried really hard to spread Russian influnece to the rest of the world as the Russian empire got bigger and gained more and more land
3) Why did Russia become economically dependent on the West?
The Russian economy was built to model the West and they depended on the need of the West for raw materials that Russia has. Russian agriculture was a big part in the economy and it could not improve because the peasants started to revolt multiple times because they recieved unfair treatment.
phamalex 