Tsarist Empire

Russian Empire
Российская Империя (Russian)
1721–1917
Flag Lesser coat of arms
Motto S nami Bog! Съ нами Богъ! "God is with us!"
Anthem Bozhe, Tsarya khrani! Боже, Царя храни! "God Save the Tsar!"
Russian Empire at its peak:   Russian Empire   Protectorates and sphere of influence
Capital		Saint Petersburg (renamed Petrograd in 1914) (1721–28; 1730–1917) Moscow (1728–30)
Languages		Official Russian Regional Armenian Azerbaijani Belarusian Chechen Estonian Finnish Georgian Iranian Kazakh Kyrgyz Latvian Lithuanian Mongolian Polish Romanian Tajik Persian Turkish Turkmen Ukrainian Uzbek
Religion		Dominant Orthodox Christianity Minor Roman Catholicism Protestantism Lutheranism Judaism Islam Buddhism
Government		Absolute monarchy (1721–1906) Constitutional monarchy (1906–17; de jure)
Emperor
•	1721–1725 (first)	Peter I
•	1894–1917 (last)	Nicholas II
Chairman of the Council of Ministers
•	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. 2 Mar] 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
Today part of		Armenia  Azerbaijan  Belarus  China  Estonia  Finland  Georgia  Iran  Kazakhstan  Kyrgyzstan  Latvia  Lithuania  Moldova  Mongolia  Poland  Romania  Russia  Tajikistan  Turkey  Turkmenistan  Ukraine  Uzbekistan  United States
a. ^ After 1866, Alaska was sold to the United States, but Batum, Kars, Pamir and Transcaspia were acquired. b. ^ Renamed Petrograd in 1914. c. ^ Russia continued to use the Julian calendar until after the collapse of the empire (see Old Style and New Style dates).
Warning: Value specified for ""

The Russian Empire (Russian: Российская Империя) or Russia was an empire that existed across Eurasia and North America from 1721, following the end of the Great Northern War, until the Republic was proclaimed by the Provisional Government that took power after the February Revolution of 1917.

The third largest empire 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 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.