What characteristics influenced Russian culture to enter its golden age?

Russian culture is European in origin, and its development followed the European cultural trajectory until the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, after which it was interrupted by the establishment and development of the Moscow Principality. After 240 years of Mongol rule, the Principality of Moscow, compared with other countries in Europe during the same period, began to show its near-Asian characteristics

I. Byzantine culture synthesized the characteristics of Asia and Europe, and Rus' culture, which was influenced by the Byzantine culture, was a kind of mixed culture, and later, due to the influence of different geopolitical environments, socio-historical development and other factors, the culture of Rus' culture had been developed along the European cultural track until the invasion of the Mongols.

Russia belongs to the largest ethnic group in Europe, the Slavs among the East Slavic one, originated from the ancient Rus tribes, the Russians in the 14th-15th centuries as a tribe, to the second half of the 19th century to form a nation. In terms of ethnic origin,

Russians belong to the European race, the ancient Russians lived on the border of the mountains and lakes, and later, with the establishment of the Kievan Rus' and the Moscow Principality, the Russians' territory was constantly expanding.

But by the middle of the 16th century, the Russians had never crossed the Ural Mountains and the Ural River, and it was not until 1547 that Tsar Ivan IV sent his generals to cross the Ural Mountains, and only then did they enter Asia. The Russian language is a member of the Indo-European family of languages, and the original Russian alphabet was created in the mid-9th century by two brothers who were Greek missionaries from Byzantium for missionary purposes.

It was derived from Bulgarian, later called Old Church Slavonic or Bulgarian, and after Peter's reforms in 1708 became an important basis for the modern Russian alphabet.

From the point of view of religious beliefs, the Russian people have experienced a process of conversion from polytheism to Christianity, and the Kievan Rus founded by Gurus in the 9th century A.D. had a relatively close connection with the Byzantine Empire, and Christianity was introduced to Russia from Byzantium. Byzantine-style architecture and painting appeared in Russia.

In addition to this, the Rus script was created during this period and thus began the course of written literature, early Rus education also took place, and the Rus culture rose rapidly in a short period of time to the level of its European contemporaries.

The influence of Byzantine culture on Rus' culture is undeniable, but Byzantine culture was not the first and only source of Rus' culture. Rus' culture was not a blank sheet of paper before the absorption of Byzantine culture, but localized areas of Rus' had their own scripts, and the creation of oral literature had reached a very high level by that time.

Russia maintained cultural ties with neighboring countries, including the Catholic countries, and foreign cultures were not transplanted into Rus' culture, but were absorbed into the national culture through digestion.

Most of the early religious buildings in Rus' were modeled after Byzantine buildings, but in the later years, the national style of some of these buildings became more and more prominent.

Since the Byzantine Empire spanned three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa, its culture synthesized the characteristics of Asia and Europe, and the Rus' culture, which was influenced by the Byzantine culture, was a kind of mixed culture at the beginning, but later, due to the influence of different geo-environmental and socio-historical development and other factors, the demarcation line became clearer and clearer.

Early Greek, Roman, and ancient Egyptian cultures, due to geographic proximity and conquests after the rise of powerful nations, were to a certain extent fused with each other, making it difficult to distinguish between Eurasia. However, the Eastern Roman Empire, which was strong for a while, continued to shrink in its area of domination due to the rise of its strong neighbors, and in 1204 the Crusades captured Constantinople and established the Latin Empire.

The gradual Asiaticization of the Byzantine Empire did not have a profound effect on Rus, and the center of Rus culture moved very rapidly northward from the southern city of Kiev, away from the center of Byzantine culture. Moreover,

Even if Byzantine culture had a basis in the development of the later Asian culture, this basis was not transferred to Rus.

The earliest origins of Russian culture were European, and the development of this culture followed the track of European culture until the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, and then, with the emergence of the Asian factor, it did not come from Byzantium, but for other reasons.

Second, at the end of the 12th century, the Duchy of Kiev was completely disintegrated, and the Rus people who were in a state of division were invaded and plundered from all sides, and were in urgent need of a united regime to concentrate their power in the struggle, and the unification became an irreversible direction, and the authoritarian kingship was the best choice to realize the unification under the conditions of that time

If we say that before the invasion of the Mongols the socialization of the Rus people was in line with that of the Western Europe, then after that, it had been in line with the European culture, and it was in line with the European culture. If before the Mongol invasion the socialization of Rus' was in line with the Western Europe, after that it was interrupted by the creation and development of the Moscow Principality. As a monarchy based on feudal serfdom, the Moscow Principality, which was established after 240 years of Mongol rule, began to show the characteristics of near-Asianization in comparison with other European countries of the same period.

But it would be incorrect to attribute all this to the influence of the Mongols in Asia; at the end of the 12th century the Kievan principality was completely dissolved, and independent feudal principalities were formed on its vast territory, each of which was divided into different parts with their own political centers, without any consolidation or connection with each other.

It was in this state of division that the Rus, living on the unprotected plains, were not only subjected to invasions from the Mongols in the east, but also to the depredations of Sweden and the southern steppes, and the Rus, in need of a united power, concentrated all their forces in the struggle.

On the other hand, the development of the feudal economy closely linked the various regions of Rus and provided material security. Therefore, unification became an irreversible direction, and the authoritarian monarchy was the best choice to realize unification under the prevailing conditions, which was different from Western Europe, which was in the middle of the Middle Ages in a state of fragmentation, with the concepts of the state and the nation weak, and the monarchy was in a disadvantageous position in the fight with the clerical power.

Russian culture began to carry Asian cultural elements from the Principality of Moscow, but it would be inaccurate to say that Russian culture began to develop into an Asian culture. In terms of Mongol influence on Rus, the rule of the Golden Horde over Rus was not one of direct occupation; the Khans viewed Rus as autonomous, but as a region dependent on the Khans and subject to tribute, and very few Mongols remained in Rus.

Whether it was Rus or Central Asia, the level of social development was higher than that of the Mongols, and the number of Mongols in the Golden Horde was relatively small, and the Mongols were quickly assimilated into the local population through mixed marriages and intermarriages with other ethnic groups.

By the end of the 14th century, the Mongols were already using the Turkic language, and the local Mongols in other parts of Central Asia had completed the process of Islamization by the end of the 14th century. However, the territory of the Golden Horde was taken over by the local Crimean Khanate and others, which were later incorporated into Russia.

During the almost two centuries of the Golden Horde rule, the development of Russian culture was always slow, and for a long time it was a period of recovery and reconstruction.

The influence of the Tatars on the cultural sphere of Rus' was very slight. In the 14-16th centuries, during the period of restoration and development of Rus', the new architecture, paintings, etc. were European, not Asian, and there was no interruption of the previous European cultural traditions.

The destruction of Kievan Rus by the Mongols did not mean the destruction of the Rus culture. The Mongols did not completely isolate the Rus from the European countries, and the countries less affected by the Mongol rule were still the gateway of the Rus to Europe, and the European literature and artworks, new knowledge and ideas were constantly imported into the Rus and became a stimulating factor of the Rus culture. It was a stimulus for the rise of Rus' culture.

Third, after the reform of Peter I, Russia entered the process of full Europeanization, the 18th century is the climax of the Europeanization of Russia, which promotes the development of Russian culture itself, to the 19th century, Russian culture in the world cultural stage more than a lot of glorious moments, becoming the history of the development of Russian culture? The Golden Age?

Russia's modern civilization is generally considered to have begun with the reforms of Peter I, and the process of Russia's full-scale Europeanization began here, but the contact between Russia and Europe did not begin at this time, and the contact between Russia and Europe was indeed interrupted during the period of Mongol rule, but this contact was quickly restored and strengthened after Russia was freed from its rule. It was quickly restored and strengthened after Rus' liberation.

European culture, political activism, dress, and music continued to enter Russia, and some Europeans began to settle in Moscow, bringing with them European theater, music, and other forms of entertainment. By the middle of the 16th century, Russia had established very direct trade relations with Britain via the North Dvina River, and direct trade with Britain and Holland made the north an economically prosperous region.

In the first half of the 17th century, Polish culture had a certain degree of influence on the Russian upper class, Polish books had a certain degree of influence on the Russian upper class, Polish books and Polish tutors were very much respected and welcomed by the upper class, and craftsmen's workshops run by foreign merchants and using foreign technology appeared in Russia.

Peter the Great's reforms were the beginning of Russia's modern civilization, hundreds of years later than Western Europe's modern civilization from the Renaissance, when Russia could feel the pressure of a higher level of civilization from Europe even with its eyes closed, the 18th century can be said to be the peak of Russia's Europeanization, and the reforms of the Europeanization firstly contributed to the development of Russia's culture itself, and the Western drama, music and so on were introduced into Russia and became more and more important in the development of Russian culture. Western theater, music, and so on were introduced to Russia and developed in Russia.

At the same time, this Europeanization movement had a result that the rulers did not expect, that is, the introduction of European Enlightenment thinking, the 19th century Russian culture in the world's cultural arena has a lot of bright moments, became the history of the development of Russian culture? The Golden Age? and this era was also the result of the brewing development of the 18th century.

Russia's Europeanization tradition has a long history, but the conflict between European culture and national culture has been accompanied by the history of Europeanization in Europe and Russia, Peter's reforms at the beginning of the opposition and resistance from both the upper and lower classes and

In the face of the European culture from the surface to the deep infiltration of the Russian, a part of the people tend to be like a rush, part of the fear of the heart, which is also the This was the basis for the creation of the Slavophiles and the Westerners.

The Europeanization of Russia in the 18th century led to the interweaving of capitalism and feudal serfdom, the importation of European culture and the strengthening of the Asian element in the traditional culture of the country, which constituted a very peculiar social and cultural phenomenon in Russia.