Modern History of Russia The reigns of Peter I and Catherine the Great in the late 1600s and the 1700s marked the beginning of Russia's establishment as a major European power. These rulers attempted to westernize the traditional society of Moscow, and they ambitiously expanded Russian territories. In the early 1800s, Alexander I began to carry out further plans to westernize the government by attempting to create a Duma, or representative body. However, Russia became …showed first 75 words of 774 total…

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