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Russia Engages the World, 1453-1825
1453 Through the Reign of Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584) The Time of Troubles to the First Romanovs (1598-1682) Peter the Great and His Legacy (1682-1762) The Age of Catherine the Great (1762-1801) The Reign of Emperor Alexander I (1801-1825)

                                     

Explore this Section:

Peter the Great and His Legacy (1682–1762): A Summary of Russian History
Russia Symbol Introduction
Russia Symbol The Early Years
Russia Symbol The Drive Toward Westernization
Russia Symbol The Drive Toward Empire
Russia Symbol The Historical Assessment
Russia Symbol Immediate Successors
Russia Symbol The Reign of "the Daughter"
Peter the Great and His Legacy (1682–1762): A Summary of World History
Europe
Eurasia


Russia's Globalization:
A Key

Events marked Russia Symbol are specific to Muscovy/Russia's internal development.
Those marked World Symbol are important world historical or cultural events.
Engagement Symbol indicates specific points of sociocultural or military engagement between Muscovy/Russia and foreign powers or individuals.




















 

 

  A Russian Engraving of a Classic Fabulist
 
   Photographic Services & Permissions
 

Planudes Maximus (“Aesop”) (ca. 1260–ca. 1310)
Zhitie ostroumnago Esopa [The Life of the Clever Aesop]
N.p., ca. 1750
NYPL, Spencer Collection

Although western and Classical aesthetics appealed to Russia’s elites during the 18th century, popular taste remained broad and sometimes coarse. This fanciful, crudely executed illustration of Aesop is from a rare copper-engraved block book featuring an earlier Russian translation of the Life of Aesop.