Part 1

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THE STORY OF RUSSIA

R. VAN BERGEN, M.A.

AUTHOR OF "THE STORY OF JAPAN," "THE STORY OF CHINA," ETC.

NEW YORK-:-CINCINNATI-:-CHICAGO AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY

Copyright, 1905, By AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY

Entered at Stationers' Hall, London

STORY OF RUSSIA

W. P. 2.

HENRY MATHER LOWMAN

AMICUS CERTUS RE INCERTA CERNITUR.

PREFACE.

Recent events have drawn the attention upon Russia, a country of which but little is known here, because the intercourse between it and the United States has been limited. In my frequent journeys to the Far East, I found it often difficult to comprehend events because, while I could not help perceiving that the impulse leading to them came from Russia, it was impossible to discover what prompted the government of the czar. I felt the necessity to study the history of Russia, and found it so fascinating, that I resolved to place it in a condensed form before the students in our schools. They must be the judges of how I have succeeded.

R. VAN BERGEN.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

I. The Realm of the Czar 13

II. Early Records of Russia 23

III. The Norsemen (or Varingians) in Russia 29

IV. Saint Vladimir and Iaroslaf the Great 41

V. A Russian Republic 49

VI. Troublous Times 57

VII. The Yellow Peril 63

VIII. Russia Under the Mongol Yoke 71

IX. Lithuania and Moscow 79

X. Decline of the Tartar Power. Dmitri Donskoi 87

XI. Ivan III, the Great 97

XII. Russia becomes an Autocracy 106