The modern world, from Charlemagne to the present time; with a preliminary survey of ancient times . cdonald, History of France, Vol. II, pp. 179 ff.,may be consulted for the political history of this reign. RobinsonsReadings, Vol. II, p. 287 gives the text of the repeal of the Edict ofNantes. CHAPTER XXXI THE RISE OF RUSSIA 487. The Russians threw off the Tartar yoke, we have noticed,about 1500 (§214). Ivan the Terrible, the second ruler afterthat event, took the titleof Tsar (from Caesar, theold Roman title for em-perors). About 1550,under Ivan, Russia wasextended to the now cover
The modern world, from Charlemagne to the present time; with a preliminary survey of ancient times . cdonald, History of France, Vol. II, pp. 179 ff.,may be consulted for the political history of this reign. RobinsonsReadings, Vol. II, p. 287 gives the text of the repeal of the Edict ofNantes. CHAPTER XXXI THE RISE OF RUSSIA 487. The Russians threw off the Tartar yoke, we have noticed,about 1500 (§214). Ivan the Terrible, the second ruler afterthat event, took the titleof Tsar (from Caesar, theold Roman title for em-perors). About 1550,under Ivan, Russia wasextended to the now covered a vastarea — the great easternplain of Europe, reachingover into xVsiatic it had no seacoastexcept on the ice-lockedArctic, and no touch withWestern Europe. Tartarsand Turks shut Russiaoff from the Black Sea;the Swedes shut it fromthe Baltic (§ 370); andthe Poles prevented anycontact with Germany. Thus the Russians werereally Asiatic in geography. They were Asiatic also in man-ners and thought. They belonged to the Greek church; butthey had no other tie with European life. 489. Church of St. Basil, Moscow, builtabout 1575 in the reign of Ivan theTerrible. The building was brilliantlypainted in all the colors of the rainbow. 490 THE RISE OF RUSSIA [§488 488. Russia was made a European Power by Peter the Great. Peter was a barbaric genius of tremendous energy, clear intel-lect, and ruthless will. He admired* the material results ofwestern civilization, and he determined to Europeanize his peo-ple. As steps toward this, he meant to get the Baltic coastfrom Sweden, and the Black Sea from the Turks, so as to have windows to look out upon Europe. Early in his reign, the young Tsar decided to learn moreabout the Western world he had admired at a distance. InHolland he studied shipbuilding, as a workman in the navyyards. He visited most of the countries of the West, impress-ing all who met him with his insatiable voracity for informa-tion. He inspected cutleries, mu
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