METU Russian History will study the political, social, economic and cultural interaction of Russia and Europe from earliest times to 1917. First we will look into origins of the Eastern Slavic states up until the Mongol Invasion of the 13th century, studying the reasons for Russia’s cultural differences with Europe. Second, we will investigate the impact of Mongol and Tatar rule and the rise of Moscow as a Eurasian empire, where we will consider the political, socio-economic and cultural development of Russia separate from the west. Third we will study the impact of Russia's interaction with Europe from Peter the Great to Nicholas II. Among the subjects and themes to be covered in the course by the group will be: the origins of the Kievan Rus', Kievan Rus' Society and Culture, Mongol and Tatar Rule, the gathering of the Russias under Muscovy, Ivan the Terrible, the Time of Troubles, the Rise of the Romanovs, Muscovite Society and Culture, westernization under Peter I and his successors; Russia as the first developing country; Russia and European affairs, internal and external problems of Tsarism, Reaction Under Nicholas I; Reform under Alexander II, the revolutionary movement in Russia; the industrial revolution and agrarian crisis of pre-revolutionary Russia; political reaction under Alexander III and Nicholas II; Russian foreign policy in the age of imperialism; the 1905 Revolution; the Dumas between autocracy and constitutional monarchy; and Russia in the First World War; and the Russian Revolutions of 1917.