Thursday, January 23, 2020

Russian History for Bullers 2

As noted at the end of the previous post, our exploration of Russian history will begin by dividing the period of our interest into two smaller chunks. We should admit at the outset that simple explanations and broad generalizations inevitably run the risk of sketching a portrait that is neater than reality, of obscuring the particulars of a situation in our quest for order. This is an important caution to keep in mind as we move forward. Our framework is merely a means of organizing and arranging various historical facts into a meaningful narrative, not a mold into which we must fit every fact we encounter.

The timeline shows two major periods in Russian history over four centuries. The blue bar represents tsarist rule, the red socialist rule. The three dates immediately above the bars are all significant turning points in Russia’s history: 1613 marked the beginning of the Romanov dynasty; 1917 was the year of the Russian Revolution, which likewise entailed the end of Romanov rule; and 1991 was the year when the USSR, or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, dissolved into a number of independent states.




Obviously, many significant changes took place during these centuries, including wars of expansion and defense, assassinations and executions too numerous to count, the emancipation of the serfs and the subjugation of the peasantry, seasons of prosperity and times of famine and starvation, even the building of a transcontinental railroad and the first flight into space. In spite of this great diversity, Russia’s governance was for the most part remarkably stable: the first three centuries saw tsars from a single dynasty in power, after which they were supplanted by a single party of socialist rule. 

With this overarching framework in view, we are ready to fill in a few details about these three crucial years. Starting with the next post, we will be ready to examine more closely various people, events, and times within each of these two periods and to begin correlating those historical particulars with both Mennonite history in general and the history of our larger family in particular.

1. 1613

The beginning of tsarist Russia, more properly the Tsardom of Russia, is generally dated to 1547 and the rule of Ivan IV, or Ivan Vasilyevich, aka Ivan the Terrible. This is when a unified Russia was ruled by a single monarch. As interesting as Ivan may be, we need not say more about him; our interest in Russia begins much later with a different ruling dynasty: the Romanovs.

Michael I, or Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov, was crowned tsar in 1613, thus bringing to an end the Time of Troubles, a period of chaos and anarchy throughout the land. For the next three hundred years, a member of Michael’s family, either by birth or by marriage, would rule over Russia. We have already encountered some of these Romanovs, including Catherine II (the Great), Alexander I, and Nicholas I. We will have cause to become acquainted with others in upcoming posts, as we deepen our knowledge of and appreciation for Russian history during this time.

2. 1917

The end of tsarist Russia was concurrently the beginning of socialist rule, and the shift in power took place within a single year. As World War I (1914–1918) slogged on, many workers and especially soldiers within Russia became disillusioned with their leaders, particularly with Tsar Nicholas II, who embodied for them an autocratic form of rule that they rejected in favor of a more egalitarian system of self-governance.

Over the course of a few weeks in February 1917, these workers and soldiers sparked such a rebellion that Nicholas was forced to abdicate his throne and turn power over to a new authority. Unfortunately, Nicholas’s abdication did not lead to the end of a struggle but rather launched a new Time of Trouble, a years-long battle between not only tsarist loyalists and the revolutionary forces but also between various socialist groups who sought to impose their vision of utopia upon the Russian people.

Eventually the Bolshevik faction (later called the Russian Communist Party) led by Vladimir Lenin, among others, crushed all opposition in a brutal civil war. This victory was followed in 1922 with the establishment of the USSR. The USSR was governed by various leaders, the most notorious of whom was Joseph Stalin, but they all belonged to the same ruling party. In other words, although the form of Russia’s governance had changed, the reality remained largely the same.

3. 1991

The socialist experiment did not last as long as the Romanov dynasty, and sixty-nine years after the USSR came into existence it was formally dissolved. Russia, of course, did not cease to exist; recent events demonstrate that Russia is in many ways as vital, in ambition if not in fact, as ever before. For our purposes, the most significant difference is that all, or nearly all, of the Bullers who still lived in Russia in 1991 have since left. In other words, although Russia is a significant part of our past, it it no longer a part of our present.

The dates 1613, 1917, and 1991 mark crucial turning points in Russian history; they also mark off the period of the Buller, and Mennonite, experience in Russia. With this basic framework in mind, we are ready to fill in a number of details within each of the two periods, especially as they relate to either the Mennonite or our own familial sojourn in this great land. To that end, we will pick up with the Romanovs in the following post.


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