Russian Empire

Russian Empire Россійская Имперія Российская Империя Rossiyskaya Imperiya
1721–1917
Top: Civil ensign (1696–1917); State flag (1896–1917) Bottom: State flag (1858–1896) Coat of arms (1882–1917)
Motto: "Съ нами Богъ!" S' nami Bog! ("God is with us!")
Anthem: "Боже, Царя храни!" Bozhe Tsarya khrani! (1833–1917) ("God Save the Tsar!") Other used anthems: "Громъ побҍды, раздавайся!" Grom pobedy, razdavaysia! (1791–1816) ("Let the Thunder of Victory Rumble!") (unofficial) "Коль славенъ нашъ Господь в Сіонҍ" Kol' slaven nash Gospod' v Sione (1794–1816) ("How Glorious Is Our Lord in Zion") (unofficial) "Молитва русскихъ" Molitva russkikh (1816–1833) ("The Prayer of Russians")
Russia in 1914      Lost in 1856–1914      Spheres of influence      Protectorates[a] Show globe Show map of Europe Show all controlled territories (1866)
Capital	Saint Petersburg[b] (1721–1728; 1730–1917) Moscow (1728–1730)[2]
Largest city	Saint Petersburg
Official languages	Russian • French (widely used among the upper classes until the 19th century)[3]
Recognised languages	Polish, German (in Baltic provinces), Finnish, Swedish, Chinese (in Dalian)
Religion (1897)	84.2% Christianity 69.3% Eastern Orthodox (official)[4] 9.2% Catholic 5.7% Other Christian 11.1% Islam 4.2% Judaism 0.3% Buddhism 0.2% Others
Demonym(s)	Russian
Government	Unitary absolute monarchy (1721–1906) Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy[5] (1906–1917)
Emperor
• 1721–1725 (first)	Peter I
• 1894–1917 (last)	Nicholas II
Chancellor/Prime Minister
• 1810–1812 (first)	Nikolai Rumyantsev[c]
• 1917 (last)	Nikolai Golitsyn[d]
Legislature	Governing Senate[6]
• Upper house	State Council (1810–1917)
• Lower house	State Duma (1905–1917)
History
• Treaty of Nystad	10 September 1721
• Proclaimed	2 November 1721
• Table of Ranks	4 February 1722
• Decembrist revolt	26 December 1825
• Emancipation reform	3 March 1861
• Selling of Alaska	18 October 1867
• 1905 Revolution	Jan 1905 – Jul 1907
• October Manifesto	30 October 1905
• Constitution adopted	6 May 1906
• February Revolution	8–16 March 1917
• Proclamation of the Republic	14 September 1917
Area
1866[7][8]	22,800,000 km2 (8,800,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1897	125,640,021
Currency	Russian ruble
Preceded by Succeeded by Tsardom of Russia Provisional Government Russian Republic

The Russian Empire, also known as Tsarist Russia, Tsarist Empire or Imperial Russia, and sometimes simply as Russia,^[e][f] was a country in Europe and Asia from November 1721 until its dissolution in March 1917. When the Russian Empire collapsed, it became the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR), as part of the Soviet Union.

By the late 19th century, it covered about 22,800,000 km² (8,800,000 sq mi), making it the third-largest empire in history.
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1. ↑ "St. Petersburg through the Ages". St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
2. ↑ "18th Century in the Russian History", Rusmania. Archived 19 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
3. ↑ The French Language in Russia (PDF). Amsterdam University Press. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
4. ↑ J. Coleman, Heather (2014). Orthodox Christianity in Imperial Russia: A Source Book on Lived Religion. Indiana University Press. p. 4. ISBN 9780253013187. After all, Orthodoxy was both the majority faith in the Russian Empire – approximately 70 percent subscribed to this faith in the 1897 census–and the state religion.
5. ↑ Williams, Beryl (1 December 1994). "The concept of the first Duma: Russia 1905–1906". Parliaments, Estates and Representation. 14 (2): 149–158. doi:10.1080/02606755.1994.9525857.
6. ↑ "The Sovereign Emperor exercises legislative power in conjunction with the State Council and State Duma". Fundamental Laws, "Chapter One On the Essence of Supreme Sovereign Power Article 7." Archived 8 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine
7. ↑ Rein Taagepera (September 1997). "Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia". International Studies Quarterly. 41 (3): 475–504. doi:10.1111/0020-8833.00053. JSTOR 2600793. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
8. ↑ Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D. (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires". Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2): 223. ISSN 1076-156X. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.