Dr. Mohammad Hasan Mahdian's lecture on the topic of Russia's position in the formation of world history was held in the form of a series of weekly meetings of scientific lectures on historical topics on Wednesday, May 19, 2024. The main topics discussed in this lecture are as follows:

In its history, Russia has always faced invasions and wars. These invasions were mainly directed towards the Baltic Sea or towards the Black Sea and the Crimean Peninsula to find a passage.

Russia's peak orientation towards the West dates back to the reign of Peter the Great. He was fascinated by the culture, industries, and social systems of European countries, and he even went anonymously to Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands to collect military and industrial data.

The slogan of the French Revolution (liberty, fraternity, and equality) was very tempting for Russian society and intellectuals at first. Still, the path of this revolution deviated and led to the suppression of the opposition, and even the leaders of the revolution were executed. The fruit of the French Revolution finally changed the monarchy system to a republic, and Napoleon came to power. He did not accept equality, fraternity and freedom, and he was in favor of unquestioning obedience of the people to the rulers. He turned to conquest and invaded Russia in 1812.

At this time, Russia was under the rule of Alexander I and was at war with Iran. Finally, Napoleon's corps was destroyed in Russia, and as a result, the Russian army entered Paris and the soldiers were introduced to the new social thoughts in Europe, so a new form of intellectualism was created in Russia.

The schools of Marxism and socialism gained influence, most of all in Russia. These were all Western schools, but their content was of interest to Russian society and became more popular in Russia than in Europe. Of course, similar ideas existed in Russia, and people like Plekhanov and Chernyshevsky promoted socialist ideas and the idea of an equal society. But what later spread in Russia and was more in line with Lenin's desire was Marxism, because Marxism emphasizes the proletarians, but Plekhanov's ideas are focused on the farmers. From the beginning, Lenin was not on good terms with the farmers, and his emphasis was on the workers, saying that because they were in the cities, they could influence the governments.

Alexander I was succeeded by his brother Constantine, who abdicated. So, Nicholas, I came to work. Unlike Constantine, he was not popular among the military, and some of the officers were against his rule and started a rebellion and wanted to attack the Winter Palace. This rebellion became known as the Decembrist Revolt, and its leaders were executed in December 1825, and the rest of the participants were stripped of their rank and exiled to Siberia and to the front of the war with Iran. This became a prelude to writing Russian classics such as Pushkin's Star of Captivating Happiness and Griboyedov's Sorrow of Wisdom.

After dominating Russian society, Nicholas I began to suppress the Decembrists, intellectuals, and authors. He won many wars and even intervened in European wars until he faced the Crimean War (1853-1856). Russia was on one side of this war, and England, France, and the Ottomans were on the other side. England and France didn't want Russia to take Crimea and have a military fleet in the Black Sea, but this issue was vital for Russia because the Black Sea was Russia's connection with the ocean. Russia lost in the Crimean War and this was one of the bitter events for Nicholas I. This failure had many implications for Russia and caused the stroke and death of Nicholas I.

He was succeeded by his son Alexander II in 1855. He had a different spirit than his father and said that if I were my father, I would forgive all the Decembrists. During his rule, literature, art, and theater developed greatly in Russia, and authors such as Tolstoy, Pushkin, and Turgenev appeared. By creating works such as War and Peace, Russian literature became the best in the world in terms of prose works.

In 1861, Alexander II overthrew the lord-serf regime and the absolutist regime in Russia, and the period of his rule is known as the era of reforms. Of course, the activities of terrorist groups increased during his rule. He traveled without a bodyguard and, despite the liberties he was given, was unsuccessfully assassinated six times and was finally killed in the seventh assassination in 1881

After him, Alexander III came to power. Having seen his father assassinated despite his reforms, he restored the absolutist system and brought the judicial and educational system, which Alexander II had removed from the church, back under the rule of the church. He said that the aristocracy should be the ruling class, and his slogan was Orthodox Christianity + absolutist government + unity of the people and the tsar.

Alexander III ruled for 13 years and died in 1894 at the age of fifty. His era has been called the anti-reform era. During his rule, no war happened; only the Afghans attacked Mary at the instigation of the British, but the Russians took Mary back. His era was a period of peace. He borrowed from France, and Russia's economic situation improved.

The last tsar after Alexander III was Nicholas II. Nicholas II was weak and did not have effective ministers. During his time, Russia's financial situation was ruined because, in 1904, the war between Russia and Japan started. This war was not Russia's will but the result of Japan gaining power in Southeast Asia, which, due to the limitation of its territory, coveted Vladivostok and the eastern lands of Russia. Russia suffered a lot in this war and had to borrow from France again.

Russia was deprived of strong personalities during Nicholas II's reign, and the foreign minister, Alexander Izvolsky, had to obey England. The treaty of 1907 between Russia and England was concluded unilaterally in favor of England. During this time, leftist groups started to assassinate national figures again. At this time, the First World War also happened, which led to the fall of the Romanovs.

The First World War ended the 300-year rule of the Romanovs. This war destroyed almost all empires: Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Ottoman, and it was also the beginning of the decline of the British Empire.

The February Revolution of 1917 took place in Saint Petersburg (Petrograd) and led to the establishment of a provisional government headed by Alexander Kerensky. Because of these disturbances, Nicholas II abdicated on March 15, 1917, and appointed his brother Mikhail in his place, but Mikhail did not accept. A week later, the provisional government arrested Nicholas II and all his family members, and a day later, the United States government recognized the new Russian government.

The provisional government had assured France and England that Russia would continue its war with Germany. On April 16, Lenin returned to St. Petersburg from European emigration with the help of the Germans. Therefore, Russia's domestic conditions worsened so much that the foreign minister of the provisional government resigned, and from here, the crisis of the provisional government began. On September 14, 1917, Kerensky proclaimed the Republic.

Mahiya Shoaibi Omrani, an expert at the Institute for Political and International Studies

(The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the IPIS)