Russian Empire

Introduction
The reign of Peter the Great
- Economy
- Military, finance, and administration
- Church and education
- Relations with the West
- Internal disturbances
Peter’s immediate successors
Catherine the Great
Paul
Alexander
- Initial liberalism
- Nationalism and reaction
- The revolutionary movement
Nicholas I
- Slavophiles and Westernizers
- The Crimean War
Alexander II
- Emancipation of the serfs
- Administrative reforms
- The revolutionary movements
  - Populism
  - Terrorism
  - Loris-Melikov
- Foreign policy
- Industrial progress
Alexander III
- Administration and economy
- Foreign policy
Nicholas II
- Reassertion of autocratic principles
- Administration and economy
- Russification policy
- Resurgence of revolutionary activity
- Other political movements
- Foreign policy and the Russo-Japanese War
- Revolution of 1905 and the First and Second Dumas
- Stolypin’s regime
  - Agricultural reform
  - Russian nationalism
- World War I
- The end of the Romanov dynasty

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Tsar Michael Romanov

The rise and fall of the Russian tsars

Historical map showing Russian expansion in Asia, with different colors representing territories acquired during specific periods and under various rulers from 1533 to 1894. The map highlights the original Russian territory in 1533 and subsequent acquisitions stretching eastward across Siberia to the Pacific Ocean, and southward toward Central Asia. Major cities, rivers, and neighboring countries are labeled for geographic context.

Oil painting of Peter the Great, emperor of Russia, shown from the waist up wearing armor and a sash, with one hand resting on a cane, against a dark background.

Map showing the territorial expansion of Russia from 1300 to 1796, with regions color-coded by the ruler or period of acquisition. The map highlights the principality of Moscow around 1300, its growth by 1462, and subsequent expansions under rulers such as Ivan III, Ivan IV, Peter the Great, and Catherine the Great, extending Russian territory across Eastern Europe and into Siberia. Major rivers, neighboring countries, and cities are labeled for geographic context.

St. Petersburg: Hermitage and Alexander Column

St. Petersburg, Russia

Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov

Russian Empire: References & Edit History

More Articles On This Topic

Russian Provisional Government
Collapse of the Russian Empire

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Article History

Type	Description	Contributor	Date
	Invalidated site: ABC News - Preserving the last remnants of Russian empire.	Grace Young	Sep 23, 2026
	Add new Web site: Gresham College - Imperial Rivalry with the Russian Empire.	Grace Young	May 09, 2026
	Add new Web site: ABC News - Preserving the last remnants of Russian empire.	Grace Young	Oct 18, 2025
	Add new Web site: UNF Digital Commons - Risky Business: Russian Trade in the Ottoman Empire in the Early Nineteenth Century (PDF).	Gloria Lotha	Aug 23, 2025
	Add new Web site: 1914-1918 - online - International Encyclopedia of the First World War - Russian Empire.	Grace Young	Mar 21, 2025
	Add new Web site: The Foreign Policy Centre - Russian Empire: between Historic Myth and Contemporary Reality.	Aakanksha Gaur	Feb 08, 2025
	Add new Web site: Khan Academy - From Muscovy to the Russian Empire.	Gloria Lotha	Dec 09, 2024
	Add new Web site: Academia - The Russian Empire 1450�1801.	Yamini Chauhan	Jul 23, 2024
	Add new Web site: The Foreign Policy Centre - Russian Empire: between Historic Myth and Contemporary Reality.	Gloria Lotha	Jan 05, 2024
	Add new Web site: Slavic-Eurasian Research Center - The Russian Empire and Its Typological Analogies.	Gloria Lotha	Nov 08, 2023
	Add new Web site: Council of Europe - Project education of Roma Children in Europe - Russian Empire (PDF).	Emily Rodriguez	Apr 27, 2023
	Add new Web site: The Yivo Encyclopediaof Jews in Eastern Europe - Russian Empire.	Gloria Lotha	Dec 12, 2022
	Add new Web site: 1914-1918 - International Encyclopedia of the First World War - Russian Empire.	Gloria Lotha	Oct 03, 2022
	Map added.	Michael Ray	May 11, 2021
	Media added.	Michael Ray	Nov 19, 2020
	Media added.	Michael Ray	Jul 31, 2019
	New article added.	Michael Ray	Aug 30, 2018