Editing Russia (section)

=== Imperial Russia ===
{{Main|Russian Empire}}
Under [[Peter the Great]], Russia was proclaimed an empire in 1721, and established itself as one of the European great powers. Ruling from 1682 to 1725, Peter defeated Sweden in the [[Great Northern War]] (1700–1721), securing Russia's access to the sea and sea trade. In 1703, on the Baltic Sea, Peter founded [[Saint Petersburg]] as Russia's new capital. Throughout his rule, [[Government reform of Peter the Great|sweeping reforms were made]], which brought significant Western European cultural influences to Russia.{{sfn|Curtis|1998|loc=Chapter 1–2. Historical Setting}} He was succeeded by [[Catherine I of Russia|Catherine I]] (1725–1727), followed by [[Peter II of Russia|Peter II]] (1727–1730), and [[Anna of Russia|Anna]]. The reign of Peter&nbsp;I's daughter [[Elizabeth of Russia|Elizabeth]] in 1741–1762 saw Russia's participation in the [[Seven Years' War]] (1756–1763). During the conflict, Russian troops overran [[East Prussia]], reaching Berlin.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kohn |first=Hans |title=Germany and Russia |journal=Current History |volume=38 |number=221 |pages=1–5 |year=1960 |publisher=U of California Press |doi=10.1525/curh.1960.38.221.1 |jstor=45310370 |s2cid=249687838 }}</ref> However, upon Elizabeth's death, all these conquests were returned to the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] by pro-Prussian [[Peter&nbsp;III of Russia]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Raeff |first=Marc |title=The Domestic Policies of Peter III and his Overthrow |journal=[[The American Historical Review]] |volume=75 |number=5 |date=June 1970 |pages=1289–1310 |publisher=Oxford University Press |jstor=1844479 |doi=10.2307/1844479}}</ref>
[[File:Growth of Russia 1547-1725.png|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Expansion of Russia (1500–1800)|Expansion]] and [[Territorial evolution of Russia|territorial evolution]] of Russia from the [[Coronation of the Russian monarch|coronation]] of [[Ivan the Terrible|Ivan IV]] to the death of [[Peter the Great|Peter I]]]]
[[Catherine the Great|Catherine&nbsp;II]] ("the Great"), who ruled in 1762–1796, presided over the [[Russian Enlightenment|Russian Age of Enlightenment]]. She extended Russian political control over the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and [[Partitions of Poland|annexed most of its territories into Russia]], making it the most populous country in Europe.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Perkins |first=James Breck |title=The Partition of Poland |jstor=1833615 |doi=10.2307/1833615 |doi-access=free |volume=2 |number=1 |date=October 1896 |pages=76–92 |journal=[[The American Historical Review]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> In the south, after the successful [[Russo-Turkish Wars]] against the [[Ottoman Empire]], Catherine advanced Russia's boundary to the Black Sea, by dissolving the [[Crimean Khanate]], and [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire|annexing Crimea]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Anderson |first=M.S. |jstor=4205010 |title=The Great Powers and the Russian Annexation of the Crimea, 1783–1784 |journal=[[The Slavonic and East European Review]] |date=December 1958 |volume=37 |number=88 |pages=17–41 |publisher=[[Modern Humanities Research Association]]}}</ref> As a result of victories over [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar Iran]] through the [[Russo-Persian Wars]], by the first half of the 19th century, Russia also [[Russian conquest of the Caucasus|conquered the Caucasus]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Behrooz |first=Maziar |title=Revisiting the Second Russo-Iranian War (1826–1828): Causes and Perceptions |jstor=24482847 |journal=[[Iranian Studies (journal)|Iranian Studies]] |year=2013 |volume=46 |number=3 |pages=359–381 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|doi=10.1080/00210862.2012.758502 |s2cid=143736977}}</ref> Catherine's successor, her son [[Paul I of Russia|Paul]], was [[Personality and reputation of Paul I of Russia|unstable and focused predominantly on domestic issues]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ragsdale |first=Hugh |title=Russia, Prussia, and Europe in the Policy of Paul I |year=1992 |pages=81–118 |journal=Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas |jstor=41046596 |volume=31 |number=1 |publisher=[[Franz Steiner Verlag]]}}</ref> Following his short reign, Catherine's strategy was continued with [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander&nbsp;I]]'s (1801–1825) [[Finnish War|wresting of Finland]] from the weakened Sweden in 1809,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Finland |jstor=1945868 |doi-access=free |doi=10.2307/1945868 |publisher=[[American Political Science Association]] |date=August 1910 |volume=4 |number=3 |pages=350–364 |journal=[[The American Political Science Review]]}}</ref> and of [[Bessarabia]] from the Ottomans in 1812.<ref>{{cite journal |last=King |first=Charles |title=Moldova and the New Bessarabian Questions |jstor=40396520 |journal=[[The World Today (magazine)|The World Today]] |volume=49 |number=7 |pages=135–139 |date=July 1993 |publisher=Royal Institute of International Affairs ([[Chatham House]])}}</ref> In North America, the Russians became the first Europeans to [[Russian America|reach and colonise Alaska]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/harriman/1899/exploration.html |title=Exploration and Settlement on the Alaskan Coast |publisher=[[PBS]] |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319205223/http://www.pbs.org/harriman/1899/exploration.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1803–1806, the [[first Russian circumnavigation]] was made.<ref>{{cite journal |last=McCartan |first=E. F. |title=The Long Voyages-Early Russian Circumnavigation |journal=[[The Russian Review]] |volume=22 |number=1 |year=1963 |pages=30–37 |doi=10.2307/126593 |jstor=126593}}</ref> In 1820, [[Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen#First Russian Antarctic expedition|a Russian expedition]] discovered the continent of [[Antarctica]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Blakemore |first=Erin |title=Who really discovered Antarctica? Depends who you ask. |date=27 January 2020 |access-date=12 January 2022 |work=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/who-discovered-antarctica-depends-who-ask|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305011853/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/who-discovered-antarctica-depends-who-ask|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 March 2021}}</ref>

====Great power and development of society, sciences, and arts====
[[File:Napoleons retreat from moscow.jpg|thumb|''[[Napoleon]]'s retreat from Moscow'' by [[Albrecht Adam]] (1851)]]
During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Russia joined alliances with various European powers, and fought against France. The [[French invasion of Russia]] at the height of Napoleon's power in 1812 reached Moscow, but eventually failed as the obstinate resistance in combination with the bitterly cold [[Russian winter]] led to a disastrous defeat of invaders, in which the pan-European [[Grande Armée]] faced utter destruction. Led by [[Mikhail Kutuzov]] and [[Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly]], the [[Imperial Russian Army]] ousted Napoleon and drove throughout Europe in the [[War of the Sixth Coalition]], ultimately entering Paris.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kroll |first1=Mark J. |last2=Toombs |first2=Leslie A. |last3=Wright |first3=Peter |title=Napoleon's Tragic March Home from Moscow: Lessons in Hubris |date=February 2000 |journal=The Academy of Management Executive |jstor=4165613 |pages=117–128 |publisher=[[Academy of Management]] |volume=14 |number=1}}</ref> [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] controlled Russia's delegation at the [[Congress of Vienna]], which defined the map of post-Napoleonic Europe.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ghervas |first=Stella |title=The Long Shadow of the Congress of Vienna |jstor=26266203 |publisher=[[SAGE Publishers]] |journal=Journal of Modern European History |volume=13 |number=4 |pages=458–463 |year=2015|doi=10.17104/1611-8944-2015-4-458 |s2cid=151713355 }}</ref>

The officers who pursued Napoleon into Western Europe brought ideas of liberalism back to Russia, and attempted to curtail the tsar's powers during the abortive [[Decembrist revolt]] of 1825.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Grey |first=Ian |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/decembrists-russia%E2%80%99s-first-revolutionaries |title=The Decembrists: Russia's First Revolutionaries |magazine=[[History Today]] |date=9 September 1973 |volume=23 |issue=9 |access-date=23 November 2021 |archive-date=30 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330122946/https://www.historytoday.com/archive/decembrists-russia%E2%80%99s-first-revolutionaries |url-status=live }}</ref> At the end of the conservative reign of [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]] (1825–1855), a zenith period of Russia's power and influence in Europe, was disrupted by defeat in the [[Crimean War]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Vincent |first=J.R. Vincent |title=The Parliamentary Dimension of the Crimean War |journal=[[Transactions of the Royal Historical Society]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=37–49 |volume=31 |year=1981 |jstor=3679044 |doi=10.2307/3679044|s2cid=153338264 }}</ref>

====Great liberal reforms and capitalism====
[[File:The defeat of Shipka Peak, Bulgarian War of Independence.JPG|thumb|The [[Battle of Shipka Pass]] for the control of the vital [[Shipka Pass]] during the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War]]]]
Nicholas's successor [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander&nbsp;II]] (1855–1881) enacted significant changes throughout the country, including the [[emancipation reform of 1861]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Zenkovsky |first=Serge A. |author-link=Serge Aleksandrovich Zenkovsky |title=The Emancipation of the Serfs in Retrospect |jstor=126692 |doi=10.2307/126692 |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |volume=20 |number=4 |journal=[[The Russian Review]] |date=October 1961 |pages=280–293}}</ref> These reforms spurred industrialisation, and modernised the Imperial Russian Army, which liberated much of the [[Balkans]] from Ottoman rule in the aftermath of the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gunter |first=Michael M. |author-link=Michael Gunter |title=War and Diplomacy: The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and the Treaty of Berlin |pages=231–233 |doi=10.1353/jwh.2013.0031 |journal=[[Journal of World History]] |publisher=[[University of Hawaiʻi Press]] |issn=1527-8050 |date=March 2013 |volume=24 |number=1 |s2cid=159687214}}</ref> During most of the 19th and early 20th century, Russia and [[British Empire|Britain]] colluded over [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]] and its neighbouring territories in [[Central Asia|Central]] and South Asia; the rivalry between the two major European empires came to be known as the [[Great Game]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fromkin  |first=David |author-link=David Fromkin |title=The Great Game in Asia |year=1980 |volume=58 |number=4 |pages=936–951 |jstor=20040512 |doi=10.2307/20040512 |journal=[[Foreign Affairs]]}}</ref>

The late 19th century saw the rise of various socialist movements in Russia. Alexander&nbsp;II was [[Assassination of Alexander II of Russia|assassinated]] in 1881 by revolutionary terrorists.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Frank |first=Goodwin |journal= [[The Slavic and East European Journal]] |jstor=309128 |title=Review: [Untitled] |doi=10.2307/309128 |pages=641–43 |year=1995 |volume=39 |number=4}}</ref> The reign of his son [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander&nbsp;III]] (1881–1894) was less liberal but more peaceful.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Taranovski |first=Theodore |title=Alexander III and his Bureaucracy: The Limitations on Autocratic Power |journal=[[Canadian Slavonic Papers]] |volume=26 |number=2/3 |year=1984 |pages=207–219 |doi=10.1080/00085006.1984.11091776 |jstor=40868293}}</ref>

====Constitutional monarchy and World War====
Under last Russian emperor, [[Nicholas&nbsp;II]] (1894–1917), the [[Revolution of 1905]] was triggered by the humiliating failure of the [[Russo-Japanese War]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Esthus |first=Raymond A. |title=Nicholas II and the Russo-Japanese War |jstor=129919 |doi=10.2307/129919 |volume=40 |number=4 |journal=[[The Russian Review]]  |date=October 1981 |pages=396–411}}</ref> The uprising was put down, but the government was forced to concede major reforms ([[Russian Constitution of 1906]]), including granting [[freedom of speech|freedoms of speech]] and [[freedom of assembly|assembly]], the legalisation of political parties, and the creation of an elected legislative body, the [[State Duma (Russian Empire)|State Duma]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Doctorow |first=Gilbert S. |title=The Fundamental State Laws of 23 April 1906 |journal=[[The Russian Review]] |year=1976 |jstor=127655 |doi=10.2307/127655 |volume=35 |number=1 |pages=33–52}}</ref>