Autocracy(самодержавие) is the core of Russian political civilization，as well as the key to understanding the historical process of Russia.Unlike many later autocratic concepts, such as Oriental despotism(деспотизм) or Western absolutism(абсолютизм), autocracy is the most essential and appropriate expression of the Russian political system, and a special historical phenomenon throughout Russian political history.Since the introduction of the term “autocracy” in Byzantium, the term has been internalized and enriched in the period of Ivan III and Ivan IV, resulting in independence from the outside world and the unrestricted nature of the inside world, which gradually became a selfrecognition accepted by Russian political officials and a collective memory recognized by the public.In the course of longterm development and evolution, autocracy, with its strong dependence on the institutional path, was finalized in Peter I Reform and became the core idea of the state institution building of the Russian Empire.

autocracy； absolutism； Russian Empire； state institution building； Ivan Ⅲ; Ivan Ⅳ