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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)

                                     

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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.


Russia Symbol   A Global Empire’s Attention and Favor
    A Global Empire’s Attention and Favor
NYPL, Spencer Collection
Engagement Symbol   Russian Merchant to the Americas
    Russian Merchant to the Americas
NYPL, Slavic and Baltic Division

Russia Symbol   Catherine in Her Later Years
    Catherine in Her Later Years
NYPL, Slavic and Baltic Division
Engagement Symbol   The Romanov’s Heirs Saluted by Venice
    The Romanov’s Heirs Saluted by Venice
NYPL, Spencer Collection
Engagement Symbol   The Costume of Russia’s Many Peoples, on Paper
    The Costume of Russia’s Many Peoples, on Paper
NYPL, Spencer Collection
Engagement Symbol   Mughal Splendors
    Mughal Splendors
NYPL, General Research Division
Photographic Services & Permissions
Russia Symbol  A Global Empire’s Attention and Favor


Catherine II, Empress of Russia (1729–1796)
Imperial Charter issued by Catherine II, granting privileges for service to the state
[St. Petersburg], August 10, 1775
NYPL, Spencer Collection

In 1744, the fourteen-year-old Princess Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst arrived in Russia. She soon learned that to gain acceptance at court, she needed to learn Russian, convert to Orthodoxy, adapt to local customs, and lavish gifts on those soon to be surrounding her. When she ascended the throne in 1762 as Empress Catherine II (known as Catherine the Great), she continued her generosity. As one example, this signed document grants hereditary land rights to Argirii Bostanzhian (fl. 18th century), a former Chamberlain of the Moldavian principality, as compensation for service to Russia. Catherine kept a glittering court, rivaling those in the rest of Europe, as this handsomely illuminated manuscript attests.