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Russian Imperia

Russian Empire
Pre-reformed Russian Россійская Имперія
Russian Российская Империя
transliteration Rossiyskaya Imperiya
1721–1917
Motto
"S' nami Bog!"
Съ нами Богъ!

"God is with us!"
Anthem
Bozhe, Tsarya khrani!
Боже, Царя храни!

"God Save the Tsar!"
Russian Empire on its peak:
  Territory[a]
  Protectorates and sphere of influence
Capital St. Petersburg
(1721–28; 1730–1917)
Moscow
(1728–30)
Languages Russian
Religion Russian Orthodox
Government Absolute monarchy
(1721–1906)
Constitutional monarchy
(1906–17; only de jure)
Emperor
 •  1721–1725 (first) Peter I
 •  1894–1917 (last) Nicholas II
 •  1905–1906 (first) Sergei Witte
 •  1917 (last) Nikolai Golitsyn
Legislature Emperor along with the legislative assembly
 •  Upper house State Council
 •  Lower house State Duma
History
 •  Empire proclaimed
by Peter I
22 Oct [O.S. 11 Oct] 1721
 •  Decembrist revolt
took place
26 Dec [O.S. 14 Dec] 1825
 •  Emancipation reform
proclaimed
3 Mar [O.S. 19 Feb] 1861
 •  1905 Revolution
took place
Jan–Dec 1905
 •  Constitution
adopted
6 May [O.S. 23 Apr] 1906
 •  February Revolution
took place
Feb–Mar 1917
 •  Abdication
of Nicholas II
15 Mar [O.S. 25 Feb] 1917
 •  Republic proclaimed
by the Provisional Government
14 Sep [O.S. 1 Sep] 1917
Area
 •  1866 23,700,000 km2 (9,200,000 sq mi)
Population
 •  1897 est. 125,640,021 
Currency Ruble
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Tsardom of Russia
Russian Republic
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The Russian Empire (also known as Russia) was an empire that existed from 1721 until proclamation of the Russian Republic by the Provisional Government that took power after the February Revolution of 1917.

One of the largest empires in world history, stretching over three continents, the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires. The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring rival powers: the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Persia and the Ottoman Empire. It played a major role in 1812–1814 in defeating Napoleon's ambitions to control Europe and expanded to the west and south.

The House of Romanov ruled the Russian Empire from 1721 until 1762, and its German-descended cadet branch, the House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov, ruled from 1762. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea in the south, from the Baltic Sea on the west to the Pacific Ocean, and (until 1867) into Alaska in North America on the east. With 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third-largest population in the world at the time, after Qing China and India. Like all empires, it included a large disparity in terms of economics, ethnicity, and religion. There were numerous dissident elements, who launched numerous rebellions and assassination attempts; they were closely watched by the secret police, with thousands exiled to Siberia.


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