| A | B |
|---|
| "warm water port" | what early Russian rulers wanted because the water surrounding most of Russia is frozen for a good part of the year |
| "Window on the West" | used to describe Peter the Great's move of the Russian capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg ? because it now faced west towards Sweden |
| absolute monarchy | dictatorship |
| Absolutism | period of history when kings had total power |
| aristocracy | upper class ? nobility |
| autocrat | dictator |
| autonomy | independence - another term for self-determination |
| Balkan Peninsula | its located in SouthEastern Europe |
| Boyars | Russian nobility / aristocracy |
| Byzantine Empire | located at Constantinople ?. Along the Dardenelles & Bosporus (waterway) ?. Existed 500 - 1400 AD .. Preserved Greek & Roman culture |
| Catherine the Great | she expanded Russia to the Black Sea & gained a "warm-water port" |
| civil liberties | natural rights ?. Human rights |
