Conférence "Histoire territoriale de la Russie partie 1 : de la Rous à Catherine II (IXe-XVIIIe s)"
The Rous (Ros) appear in Byzantine texts in the 9th century. Organised along tribal lines, they gradually united to form the Rous (somewhat inaccurately referred to as Kievan Rus’) under the Rurikid dynasty.
They adopted Byzantine Christianity around 988. Kyiv was at the head of around ten to twelve principalities, which were often in conflict with one another. The 13th century saw the arrival of the Mongols (Tatars), who came to dominate most of the principalities. In the 14th century, the Principality of Moscow emerged, which would gradually expand considerably, creating in the 15th century what we now know as Russia (Muscovy plus the territories of the principalities).
In the 16th century, Russia gradually subdued the Tatars. In the 17th century, it gained a foothold in Polish Ukraine; in the 18th century, it expanded to the Baltic (founding of St Petersburg); and under Catherine II (1762–1796), Russia annexed a large part of Poland (Ukraine, Belarus, Eastern Poland), the Tatar territories on the Black Sea and the Crimea. With the Napoleonic Wars, the Russian Empire became a major player on the European stage.
---- Biography ----
Robert KASPRZYK has been an associate professor of history and a lecturer at the UTB centres in Le Creusot, Montceau, Chalon and Beaune for a good 15 years.
A specialist in European history, he has covered - caricatures and propaganda posters from 1914 to the 21st century, - Napoleonic institutions, the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the history of Berlin, Vienna, Paris and Tuscany, - the Julio-Claudian emperors, - Charles V, etc.
---- Practical details -----
Venue: Conference Hall – Châtillon-sur-Seine Town Hall (entrance: Rue du Président Carnot)
Lectures begin at 2.30 pm sharp: doors open at 2.15 pm