Russian Empire

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The Russian Empire was an empire that extended across northern Eurasia from 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in 1917, forming the final era of Tsarist Russia and the wider Russian monarchy. 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. Prior to the imperial era, Russian governance was dominated by the aristocratic boyar elite under the authority of the grand prince and later an autocratic tsar. The groundwork of the empire was laid by Ivan III (r. 1462–1505), who greatly expanded his domain, established a centralized Russian national state, and secured independence from the Great Horde. His grandson, Ivan IV (r. 1533–1584), was the first Russian monarch to be crowned as tsar in 1547. Between 1550 and 1700, the Russian state grew by an average of 35,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi) per year. Peter the Great...

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