The nation's history began when the East Slavs became a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD.[1] The Vikings and their descendants founded and ruled the first East Slavic state of Kievan Rus' in the 9th century.They adopted Christianity from the Byzantine Empire in 988[2] which influenced Russian culture.[2] Kievan Rus' eventually broke up and the lands were divided into many small feudal states. The most powerful successor state to Kievan Rus' was the Grand Duchy of Moscow. This served as the main force in the Russian reunification and struggle against the Golden Horde. Moscow slowly combined the surrounding Russian principalities and dominated the cultural and political legacy of Kievan Rus'.
By the 18th century, the nation had expanded through conquest, annexation and exploration to become the Russian Empire. This was the third largest empire in history. It stretched from Poland eastward to the Pacific Ocean and Alaska. The empire was ruled by a king. This king was called a Tsar.
Peter the Great was ruled Russia from 1689 until 1725. He moved the capital to the new city of Saint Petersburg. He changed Russia's backward society, by making it modern like the European countries
The Russo-Japanese War started in 1904 and ended in 1905. Japan won the war. The Russian defeat was one of the reasons for later revolutions.
In October 1917, the Bolsheviks (later called "Communists") took over the country and murdered the tsar. The Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky created the first Marxist Communist State in world history.
From 1922 to 1991 Russia was the largest part in the Soviet Union, or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). People sometimes used the name "Russia" for the whole Soviet Union. Russia was only one of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics. It actually was named the "Russian Soviet Socialist Republic".
The Soviet Union broke apart in 1990-1991. Russia became successor of Soviet Union. Russia replaced the USSR in UN.
Dmitry Medvedev was elected President of Russia in 2008. Vladimir Putin became Prime Minister in the same year. He previously was president.
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المصدر = ويكيبيديا الانجليزية
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