HIS 101
Unit 11: Medieval Russia
Novodevichy
Monastery, along the Moscow River outside of Moscow. This
medieval Russian monastery was founded by Grand Prince
Vasilii III in 1524 to commemorate his capture of Smolensk from the
Lithuanians. The convent--the name means "New Young Girls
Convent"--is like a miniature Kremlin, especially with its magnificent
5-domed Smolensk Cathedral. The
convent has been the focal point of some interesting Russian
history. When Peter the Great wanted to rid himself of his older
step-sister, he had Sofia confined to this monastery
from 1689 until her death in 1704. When Napoleone di Buonaparte planned his
retreat from Moscow in 1812, he intended to destroy the Convent but
legend has it that the nuns discovered the
fuses
leading to barrels of gunpowder just in time to extinguish them.
In 1898, the Convent created the "New Cemetery" beyond the wall for
burial of Russia's leading artists. Anton Chekhov was
buried there, and then Nikolai Gogol's remains were moved there.
Others interred included Vladimir Mayakovskii, Mikhail Bulgakov, Ilia
Ehrenburg,
Fyodor Chaliapin, Sergei Prokofiev, Valentin Serov, Isaac Levitan,
Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Konstantin Stanislavskii, Dmitrii
Shostakovich, Nadezhda Alliluyeva (Stalin's wife), Molotov, Raisa Gorbachev and Nikita Khrushchev. It is truly a list of
Russia's creative elite (You'll have to read about them in HIS 242).
What you
must do in this unit
What you can do in this unit
- Read the notes on the Mongol Invasion of Hungary in the thirteenth century. These were done by Maria Grof-Tisza, a student in HIS 111.
- Medieval Russia is not the best designed website, but the information is ok..
Some videos that you can watch for this unit
- See the videos dealing with the Rise of Moscow and Ivan IV in the HIS 241 course.
- For extra credit please suggest to your instructor a relevant video for this unit of the course. Send the title of the video, the URL and a brief explanation of why you find the video interesting and applicable to the material that is being studied in this unit.
Extra Credit Options
- For up to 10 points of extra credit, read some comments about Ivan IV by a contemporary Englishman and--in the realm of "Can you believe it?"--this account of Ivan's life and write a paragraph commenting on the life of Ivan IV.
- For extra credit, please suggest a
relevant website for this unit of the course. Send your instructor the title of the site, the URL and a brief explanation why you find the information interesting and applicable to the material being studied this unit.
Unit Learning Objectives
- Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to (1) demonstrate knowledge and evolution of historical developments connected with the rise of Moscow and (2) explain some of the historical developments connected with the reign of Tsar Ivan IV and the ensuing Time of Troubles.
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