Imperial Russia Main article: Russian Empire Peter the Great, the first Emperor of Russia Under Peter

the Great, Russia was proclaimed an Empire in 1721 and became reco ni!ed as a world power" Rulin from 1#$2 to 172%, Peter defeated &weden in the Great 'orthern (ar, forcin it to cede (est )arelia and In ria *two re ions lost b+ Russia in the ,ime of ,roubles-,.%7/ as well as Estland and 0i1land, securin Russia2s access to the sea and sea trade".%$/ 3n the 4altic &ea Peter founded a new capital called &aint Petersbur , later 5nown as Russia2s 6(indow to Europe6" Peter the Great2s reforms brou ht considerable (estern European cultural influences to Russia" ,he rei n of Peter I2s dau hter Eli!abeth in 17718#2 saw Russia2s participation in the &e1en 9ears2 (ar *17%#8#:-" ;urin this conflict Russia anne<ed East Prussia for a while and e1en too5 4erlin" =owe1er, upon Elisabeth2s death, all these con>uests were returned to )in dom of Prussia b+ pro?Prussian Peter III of Russia" @atherine II *6the Great6-, who ruled in 17#28A#, presided o1er the B e of Russian Enli htenment" &he e<tended Russian political control o1er the Polish?0ithuanian @ommonwealth and incorporated most of its territories into Russia durin the Partitions of Poland, pushin the Russian frontier westward into @entral Europe" In the south, after successful Russo?,ur5ish (ars a ainst the 3ttoman Empire, @atherine ad1anced Russia2s boundar+ to the 4lac5 &ea, defeatin the @rimean )hanate" Bs a result of 1ictories o1er the 3ttomans, b+ the earl+ 1Ath centur+ Russia also made si nificant territorial ains in ,ranscaucasia" ,his continued with Ble<ander I2s *1$C182%- wrestin of Dinland from the wea5ened 5in dom of &weden in 1$CA and of 4essarabia from the 3ttomans in 1$12" Bt the same time Russians coloni!ed Blas5a and e1en founded settlements in @alifornia, li5e Dort Ross" In 1$C:8C#, the first Russian circumna1i ation was made, later followed b+ other notable Russian sea e<ploration 1o+a es" In 1$2C a Russian e<pedition disco1ered the continent of Bntarctica" ,he Russian Empire in 1$## and its spheres of influence In alliances with 1arious European countries, Russia fou ht a ainst 'apoleon2s Drance" ,he Drench in1asion of Russia at the hei ht of 'apoleon2s power in 1$12 failed miserabl+ as the obstinate resistance in combination with the bitterl+ cold Russian (inter led to a disastrous defeat of in1aders, in which more than A%E of the pan?European Grande BrmFe perished".%A/ 0ed b+ Mi5hail )utu!o1 and 4arcla+ de ,oll+, the Russian arm+ ousted 'apoleon from the countr+ and dro1e throu h Europe in the war of the &i<th @oalition, finall+ enterin Paris" Ble<ander I headed Russia2s dele ation at the @on ress of Gienna that defined the map of post?'apoleonic Europe" ,he officers of the 'apoleonic (ars brou ht ideas of liberalism bac5 to Russia with them and attempted to curtail the tsar2s powers durin the aborti1e ;ecembrist re1olt of 1$2%" Bt the end of the conser1ati1e rei n of 'icolas I *1$2%8%%-, a !enith period of Russia2s power and influence in Europe was disrupted b+ defeat in the @rimean (ar" 4etween 1$77 and 1$%1, a massi1e wa1e of Bsiatic cholera swept o1er Russia, claimin about one million li1es".#C/ 'icholas2s successor Ble<ander II *1$%%8$1- enacted si nificant chan es in the countr+, includin the emancipation reform of 1$#1" ,hese Great Reforms spurred industriali!ation and moderni!ed the Russian arm+, which had successfull+ liberated 4ul aria from 3ttoman rule in 1$7787$ Russo?,ur5ish (ar" ,he late 1Ath centur+ saw the rise of 1arious socialist mo1ements in Russia" Ble<ander II was 5illed in 1$$1 b+ re1olutionar+ terrorists, and the rei n of his son Ble<ander III *1$$18A7- was less liberal but more peaceful" ,he last Russian Emperor, 'icholas II *1$A781A17-, was unable to pre1ent the e1ents of the Russian Re1olution of 1AC%, tri ered b+ the unsuccessful Russo?Hapanese (ar and the demonstration incident 5nown as 4lood+ &unda+" ,he uprisin was put down, but the o1ernment was forced to concede maIor reforms, includin rantin the freedoms of speech and assembl+, the le ali!ation of political parties,

and the creation of an elected le islati1e bod+, the &tate ;uma of the Russian Empire" Mi ration to &iberia increased rapidl+ in the earl+ 2Cth centur+, particularl+ durin the &tol+pin a rarian reform" 4etween 1AC# and 1A17 more than four million settlers arri1ed in that re ion".#1/ In 1A17, Russia entered (orld (ar I in response to Bustria?=un ar+2s declaration of war on Russia2s all+ &erbia, and fou ht across multiple fronts while isolated from its ,riple Entente allies" In 1A1#, the 4rusilo1 3ffensi1e of the Russian Brm+ almost completel+ destro+ed the militar+ of Bustria?=un ar+" =owe1er, the alread+?e<istin public distrust of the re ime was deepened b+ the risin costs of war, hi h casualties, and rumors of corruption and treason" Bll this formed the climate for the Russian Re1olution of 1A17, carried out in two maIor acts"