Russian Empire

Russian Empire Россійская Имперія (Russian) Rossíyskaya Impériya
1721–1917
Top: Civil ensign (1696–1917); State flag (1896–1917) Bottom: State flag (1858–1896) Coat of arms (1882–1917)
Motto: С нами Бог! ('God is with us!')
Anthem: Боже, Царя храни!» (1833–1917) ("God Save the Tsar!") Гром победы, раздавайся!» (1791–1816) ("Let the Thunder of Victory Rumble!") (unofficial) Коль славен наш Господь в Сионе» (1794–1816) ("How Glorious Is Our Lord in Zion") (unofficial) Молитва русских» (1816–1833) ("The Prayer of Russians")
Russia in 1914      Lost in 1856–1914      Spheres of influence      Protectorates[a] Show globe Show map of Europe Show all controlled territories (1866)
Capital	Saint Petersburg[b] (1721–1728; 1730–1917) Moscow (1728–1730)[2]
Largest city	Saint Petersburg
Official languages	Russian
Recognized languages	Polish, German (in Baltic provinces), Finnish, Swedish, Chinese (in Dalian)
Religion (1897)	84.2% Christianity 69.3% Eastern Orthodox (official)[3] 9.2% Catholic 5.7% Other Christian 11.1% Islam 4.2% Judaism 0.3% Buddhism 0.2% Others
Demonym(s)	Russian
Government	Unitary absolute monarchy (1721–1906) Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy[4] (1906–1917)
Emperor
• 1721–1725 (first)	Peter I
• 1894–1917 (last)	Nicholas II
Chancellor/Prime Minister
• 1810–1812 (first)	Nikolai Rumyantsev[c]
• 1917 (last)	Nikolai Golitsyn[d]
Legislature	Governing Senate[5]
• Upper house	State Council (1810–1917)
• Lower house	State Duma (1905–1917)
History
• Treaty of Nystad	10 September 1721
• Proclaimed	2 November 1721
• Table of Ranks	4 February 1722
• Decembrist revolt	26 December 1825
• Emancipation reform	3 March 1861
• Selling of Alaska	18 October 1867
• 1905 Revolution	Jan 1905 – Jul 1907
• October Manifesto	30 October 1905
• Constitution adopted	6 May 1906
• February Revolution	8–16 March 1917
• Proclamation of the Republic	14 September 1917
Area
1895[6]	22,800,000 km2 (8,800,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1897	125,640,021
• 1910[7][8][9]	161,000,000
Currency	Russian ruble
Preceded by Succeeded by Tsardom of Russia Provisional Government Russian Republic

The Russian Empire^[e][f] was a vast empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its proclamation in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about 22,800,000 km² (8,800,000 sq mi), roughly one-sixth of the world's landmass, making it the third-largest empire in history, behind only the British and Mongol empires. It also colonized North America between 1799 and 1867. The empire's 1897 census, the only one it conducted, found a population of 125.6 million with considerable ethnic, linguistic, religious, and socioeconomic diversity.

The rise of the Russian Empire coincided with the decline of its rivals: the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Qajar Iran, the Ottoman Empire, and Qing China. From the 10th to 17th centuries, the Russians had been ruled by a noble class known as the boyars, above whom was an absolute monarch titled the tsar. The groundwork of the Russian Empire was laid by Ivan III (r. 1462–1505), who greatly expanded his domain, established a centralized Russian national state, and secured independence against the Tatars. His grandson, Ivan IV (r. 1533–1584), became in 1547 the first Russian monarch to be crowned "tsar of all Russia". Between 1550 and 1700, the Russian state grew by an average of 35,000 km² (14,000 sq mi) per year. Major events during this period include the transition from the Rurik to the Romanov dynasties, the conquest of Siberia, and the reign of Peter the Great (r. 1682–1725).^[10]

Peter transformed the tsardom into an empire, and fought numerous wars that turned a vast realm into a major European power. He moved the Russian capital from Moscow to the new model city of Saint Petersburg, which marked the birth of the imperial era, and led a cultural revolution that introduced a modern, scientific, rationalist, and Western-oriented system. Catherine the Great (r. 1762–1796) presided over further expansion of the Russian state by conquest, colonization, and diplomacy, while continuing Peter's policy of modernization towards a Western model. Alexander I (r. 1801–1825) helped defeat the militaristic ambitions of Napoleon and subsequently constituted the Holy Alliance, which aimed to restrain the rise of secularism and liberalism across Europe. Russia further expanded to the west, south, and east, strengthening its position as a European power. Its victories in the Russo-Turkish Wars were later checked by defeat in the Crimean War (1853–1856), leading to a period of reform and intensified expansion into Central Asia.^[11] Alexander II (r. 1855–1881) initiated numerous reforms, most notably the 1861 emancipation of all 23 million serfs.

From 1721 until 1762, the Russian Empire was ruled by the House of Romanov; its matrilineal branch of patrilineal German descent, the House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov, ruled from 1762 until 1917. By the start of the 19th century, Russian territory 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, Russia had expanded its control over the Caucasus, most of Central Asia and parts of Northeast Asia. Notwithstanding its extensive territorial gains and great power status, the empire entered the 20th century in a perilous state. A devastating famine in 1891–1892 killed hundreds of thousands and led to popular discontent. As the last remaining absolute monarchy in Europe, the empire saw rapid political radicalization and the growing popularity of revolutionary ideas such as communism.^[12] After the 1905 revolution, Nicholas II authorized the creation of a national parliament, the State Duma, although he still retained absolute political power.

When Russia entered the First World War on the side of the Allies, it suffered a series of defeats that further galvanized the population against the emperor. In 1917, mass unrest among the population and mutinies in the army culminated in the February Revolution, which led to the abdication of Nicholas II, the formation of the Russian Provisional Government, and the proclamation of the first Russian Republic. Political dysfunction, continued involvement in the widely unpopular war, and widespread food shortages resulted in mass demonstrations against the government in July. The republic was overthrown in the October Revolution by the Bolsheviks, who proclaimed the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and whose Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended Russia's involvement in the war, but who nevertheless were opposed by various factions known collectively as the Whites.^[13][14] During the resulting Russian Civil War, the Bolsheviks conducted the Red Terror. After emerging victorious, they established the Soviet Union across most of the Russian territory; it would be one of four continental empires to collapse as a result of World War I, along with Germany, Austria–Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.^[15]

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