The Russian Empire spanned Eurasia from 1721 to 1917 and also held colonies in North America between 1799 and 1867. Covering an area of approximately 8,800,000 square miles, it remains the third-largest empire in history, surpassed only by the British Empire and the Mongol Empire.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the territory of the Russian Empire extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea in the south, and from the Baltic Sea in the west to Alaska, Hawaii, and California in the east. By the end of the 19th century, it had expanded its control over most of Central Asia and parts of Northeast Asia.
Following Russia's role in defeating Napoleonic France, the Russian Empire played a leading political role in the next century, although its retention of serfdom precluded economic progress to any significant degree. As Western European economic growth accelerated during the Industrial Revolution, Russia began to lag ever farther behind, creating new weaknesses for the Empire seeking to play a role as a great power.
Growth of the Russian Empire
Further Info
- Russian Empire (Wikipedia)
- A Brief History of Imperial Russia
