Russian Empire
The Russian Empire (1721-1917), also called Imperial Russia, was a country in Europe as well as Asia. It started in 1721 when Peter I of Russia founded it. Before that, it was known as the Tsardom of Russia. It lasted until it was declared a republic in March 1917 after the Russian Revolution. It was an absolute monarchy ruled by Russian emperors known as 'Tsars'. They were members of the House of Romanov and believed that they had the divine right of kings over their people.
Russian Empire Россійская Имперiя (Russian) | |||||||||
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1721–1917 | |||||||||
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Capital | St. Petersburg (1721–1728, 1730–1917) Moscow (1728–1730) | ||||||||
Demonym(s) | Russian | ||||||||
Government | Absolute monarchy (1721-1906) Constitutional Monarchy (1906-1917) | ||||||||
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• | 1721 | ||||||||
• | 1917 | ||||||||
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Today part of | Russia Belarus Ukraine Poland Finland Estonia Latvia Lithuania Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Moldova Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan United States Turkey China |
In 1914, the area of the Russian Empire was about 21,799,825 km². In 1897, its population was 128,200,000 (1897 year). Its official language was the Russian language. Its official church was the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Russian Empire was led by a Tsar who had complete control of the nation. In this autocracy, only the Tsar could make or cancel laws. In 1905 the Tsar granted a new constitution in which he shared some power with a partly elected parliament called the Duma. The Russian Empire was a great power, and one of the biggest empires that ever existed.
Russian society
Most people in Imperial Russia were peasants. They lived mainly in rural areas until the late 19th century, when the Emancipation of the Serfs freed them from the farms where they had to stay. They were allowed to marry whomever they wanted, own property, and vote.
A few people were nobility, also called boyars. They were educated and held higher prestige than the peasants. Towards the end of the 19th century, many of the educated wanted to remove the Tsar and give people more power.
History
Russo-Japanese War to the Russian Revolution
In 1904 Russia led Nicholas II got permission from the Qing dynasty to build the Trans-Siberian railway to extend the Railway into Qing Dynasty China and Korea however the Empire of Japan led by Emperor Meiji saw this as a threat and the Japanese declared war on Russia and won the war in 1905. In 1914 Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary and Germany since the Franco-Russian Alliance Of 1894 they made with the France. In 1917, World War I caused the bad conditions for workers in factories to become even worse with a food shortage. People blamed it on the Tsar and rebelled against his government. There were riots in cities such as St Petersburg and Moscow. The Tsar was soon forced to abdicate in the February Revolution in 1917. After the October Revolution he was assassinated with his family during the Russian Civil War. In 1922 most of the Russian Empire became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR when a communist government won the Russian Civil War. Some counties in the Empire escaped, but the biggest ones were forced into the USSR.
Russian EmpireRusso-Japanese War To The Russian Revolution Media
God Save The Tsar! Russian national anthem 1833 to 1917. Recorded in 1915. Performed by the chorus and orchestra of St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society
Instrumental Orchestral version
God Save the King, Íslands minni, Oben am jungen Rhein, Kongesangen, Rufst du, mein Vaterland and My Country, 'Tis of Thee (1927) instrumental.
A painting depicting the Battle of Narva (1700) in the Great Northern War
Peter the Great officially proclaimed the Russian Empire in 1721 and became its first emperor. He instituted sweeping reforms and oversaw the transformation of Russia into a major European power. Painting by Jean-Marc Nattier, 1717.
Empress Catherine the Great, who reigned from 1762 to 1796, continued the empire's expansion and modernization. Considering herself an enlightened absolutist, she played a key role in the Russian Enlightenment (painted in the 1780s).
View of Moscow River from the Kremlin, 1908