How Russia Became the World’s Biggest Country

An interesting geographical fact is that Finland and North Korea are separated by only one country. That country is Russia.

It is no secret that the Russian Federation still holds the title of being the world’s biggest country. Stretching from the Baltics across eleven time zones to the western shores of Alaska, Russia is indeed a vast land full of complex peoples, nations, resources, and incredible beauty.

How exactly it got to be so big is a history of expansion, war, conquest, and politics that range across many generations of rulers and centuries of turmoil.

During the medieval era, many states evolved to form the foundation of what would later become Russia.

A group of Vikings known as the Varangians established a power base in the middle of the 9th century in what became the city of Novgorod. Looking to expand their trade potential, they then moved south and started operating from their newly founded city of Kyiv. These Varangians became known as the Kievan Rus’.

From this point, a loose collection of principalities formed in present-day western Russia. These principalities jostled for power, and their leaders vied for the title of Grand Prince of Kyiv.

These principalities were subjugated under the Mongols in the 13th century as they became part of the Mongol Empire. During this time, the Principality of Moscow emerged as a powerful state, although still a vassal to the Mongols and Tatars of the Golden Horde.

In 1380, this vassalage ended when the principalities rose up and defeated the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo, thus ending the period of Mongol rule. The Mongols returned, however, and took power once again.

The yoke of the Mongols was finally thrown off by Ivan III, also known as Ivan the Great, Grand Prince of Moscow,  who refused to pay tribute to his overlords. The insubordination led to the armies of the Golden Horde and Muscovy facing off on either side of the Ugra River.

After several weeks, the Khan decided to go home and left the Muscovites to their own devices. With the Mongols’ exodus, Ivan III pressed his advantage and vassalized the Khanate of Kazan, which ran from the south to the east of the Principality of Moscow.

Following the expulsion of the Mongols from the lands of the principalities of the Rus’, Moscow became the center from which Russian expansion would take shape. Under the leadership of Ivan III, the Principality of Muscovy would become the dominant power in the region, overtaking that of Novgorod and setting in motion the events that would lead to the formation of the Russian Empire centuries later.

Ivan III then turned his military attention to the powerful state of Novgorod. He defeated Novgorod at the Battle of Shelon in 1471 and forced Novgorod to pledge allegiance to Moscow. Seven years later, Ivan III took his armies to Novgorod again and formally annexed it into the lands of Moscow.

Moscow now controlled all the lands in the north from Finland all the way to the Ural Mountains.

After the death of Ivan III, his son Vasily took over and consolidated his father’s expansion. Vasily III also expanded Moscow’s lands by conquering the small autonomous states that still existed on the borders. Pskov was annexed in 1510, Volokolamsk in 1513, Ryazan in 1521, and finally Novgorod-Seversky in 1522.

Under Vasily III’s rule, the title of tsar was officially adopted, along with the double-headed eagle that became a symbol of the Russian monarchy and the Russian state.

Further Expansion

The rule of Vasily III was followed by that of Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible. Under the rule of Vasily III, the Khanate of Kazan had broken free of Russian vassalage to become an independent state that allied with the Astrakhan Khanate, the Crimean Khanate, and the Nogay Horde and came into conflict with Muscovy/Russia.

In 1552, Ivan IV laid siege to the capital of Kazan and put its defenders to the sword. After defeating this Tatar khanate, several other smaller states joined Russia to avoid the same wrath. By 1556, the last of the resistance was crushed, and Moscow could claim complete control over its former enemy. The Khanate of Astrakhan was also added to Russia’s territories, giving Russia full access to the Volga River basin.

Ivan IV took military action further and pressed conflict with the Tatars and other groups of people to the south. In 1571, a massive Crimean army of 120,000 soldiers marched on Moscow. With an army of only 6,000 troops, the Russians stood no chance and retreated. Moscow was burned, and the lands pillaged. Moscow, built almost completely of wood, was reduced to ashes in just three hours. Only the Kremlin was left standing.

Ivan’s brutal rule went from bad to worse as conflicts with the Swedes and the Poles also went awry, and Ivan was forced to cede lands to these enemies in the West.

At the time of his death in 1584, the country was in shambles.

The years that followed were miserable for the Russian people. Power struggles for the throne left the country virtually leaderless, while a famine claimed the lives of about a third of all the Russian people.

Seeking to capitalize on the disasters unfolding in Russia, Sweden and Poland attempted to establish control over Russian lands. The Poles invaded and captured Moscow, occupying it for three years before the Russian people managed to unite and cobble together a peasant army that defeated the Poles and drove them out.

Nevertheless, during this time, Russian lands were extended east of the Urals, setting the stage for huge annexations that would happen in the decades to come. Russian Cossacks came into conflict with Tatars living in the area and managed to stamp control over the region after a bitter conflict.

The end of the Rurik Dynasty and the beginning of the Romanov Dynasty ushered in an era of success and prosperity for the Russian state.

The year 1613 saw the accession of Mikhail Romanov to the throne. Although chosen for the fact that he seemed weak and easy to control, his rule was surprisingly effective. He began by attaining truces with the Swedes and the Poles, guaranteeing an end to those countries’ designs on Russian territory.

During this time, the conquest of Siberia continued. Explorers set up outposts, met with local tribes, and claimed land in the name of the Russian Empire.

Famous explorers from this era pushed even further eastwards, expanding Russian territory throughout Siberia. Pyotr Beketov founded the fortified settlements of Yakutsk, Chita, and Nerchinsk, which evolved into cities.

A Cossack explorer, Kurbat Ivanov, led expeditions to the area around the Lena River and was the first Russian to discover Lake Baikal. Ivan Moskvitin was the first Russian to reach the Sea of Okhotsk, thus becoming the first Russian to reach the Pacific Ocean via Siberia.

Vassili Poyarkov was the first Russian to explore the Amur region in the Far East, through which the Amur River runs and today forms a natural border between Russia and China. The region was later colonized by explorer Yerofey Khabarov-Svyatitsky.

Of course, the lands of Siberia were not empty. They were inhabited by local tribes that were incorporated into the Russian Empire, either by negotiation or force of arms. Depending on the situation, some tribes, such as the Yakuts, were pressured to assimilate into Russian culture, while other tribes, mostly those living in the far north, were allowed to continue their traditional ways of life. Some of these tribes continue to do so to the present day.

In the west of the country, expansion was brought about by conflict, as Russia had many enemies that resided on its western borders. Long-standing rivalries with Sweden, Poland, (and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) proved to be a constant threat, and Russia had to be permanently militarized.

Under Mikhail Romanov, Russia expanded its control by defeating the Cossacks between the Volga and the Ural Rivers. Mikhail, who died in 1645, was succeeded by Tsar Alexis, who would conquer lands along the Dnipro.

In 1648, the Cossacks in this region rebelled against Polish rule and asked Alexis to accept sovereignty over the area. Alexis accepted and was drawn into a long conflict with Poland over the Dnipro. The treaty that followed gave Russia sovereignty over everything east of the Dnipro, including Kyiv and Smolensk.

Following the reign of Alexis, Peter the Great (1682–1725) expanded Russian lands into the Baltics, conquering the territories of Estonia and Livonia (present-day northeastern Latvia and southern Estonia).

Meanwhile, in the east, Vladimir Atlasov explored the far northeast and discovered the extent of the Kamchatka Peninsula, which juts into the Pacific Ocean. This part of Russia would prove a costly conquest, as the Indigenous people presented spirited resistance to Russian expansion despite being wracked by diseases such as smallpox brought by the Russian invaders.

At the southern end of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Itelmans launched several rebellions throughout the first half of the 18th century, but the Russian occupiers easily put down these uprisings.

To the north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Koryaks provided stiff resistance to Russian expansion, and from 1744, the Russians engaged in bitter fighting with these Indigenous people.

Even further north, decades of struggle ensued with the Chukchi people. Tsarina Elizabeth was angered by the conquest’s slow progress and, in 1742, ordered the Chukchi to be “eradicated completely.”

After several decades and seven campaigns against the Chukchi, the final lands of Siberia were under Russian control.

Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great is known as one of Russia’s greatest leaders, and the Russian Empire experienced considerable expansion during her time on the throne. One of the things foremost in her mind was expansion in the south, as Russia had no access to the Black Sea.

Catherine also strengthened control over Poland and installed a monarch, Stanisław August Poniatowski, who was loyal to her but also had to struggle with uplifting a failing state. The weakness of Poland would lead to the country losing much of its territory to surrounding powers.

Conflicts on the border with the Ottomans played into her hands when the Ottomans declared war. The Ottomans were completely defeated, and fearing Austrian intervention, a plan was put forward to give away Polish land. In what became known as the First Partition of Poland, one-third of Polish lands were given away to Austria, Prussia, and Russia.

The defeat of the Ottomans also brought about a treaty allowing Russia to occupy Crimea and surrounding territory. In 1783, Catherine violated the treaty and completely annexed Crimea. The Russians would take the port of Odesa in another conflict with the Ottomans.

In 1795, the rest of Poland was partitioned between Prussia, Austria, and Russia. After defeating Napoleon, Russia received even more lands westward. As a result of redrawing the map of Europe, most of the Duchy of Warsaw would be under Russian rule.

Further war with the Ottoman Empire also resulted in territorial gains. Russian troops came dangerously close to taking Constantinople, and in 1828, the French and British brokered a peace deal whereby the Russians were given more land on the northeast coast of the Black Sea.

In the east, Alexander II took advantage of a weakened China during the Second Opium War and pushed Russia’s borders to the Amur River at the expense of Chinese territory. In addition, more territory was taken along the coast all the way down to where the Korean Peninsula started.

In 1864, Alexander II pressed conflict in Central Asia and expanded Russia’s borders further into what was called Turkestan. Today, this area comprises Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

Alaska

As far east as Siberia went, it wasn’t the furthest that the Russian Empire would stretch. In the 18th century, fur traders set up outposts on the Aleutian islands and moved further east, settling on the coast of Alaska. In 1799, the Russian-American Company was established to oversee the expansion and colonization of American land.

Their focus wasn’t just on Alaska. The Russians set up trading posts—Fort Ross on the California coast and Fort Elizabeth in Hawaii.

However, supplying Alaska so far from the Russian capital was a logistical nightmare, and with mismanagement from the Russian-American Company, the colony was a significant drain on the imperial coffers.

Furthermore, with deteriorating relations with Britain (which controlled Canada), Tsar Alexander II decided to sell the colony of Alaska to the Americans in 1867 to create a buffer between Russian and British territory and offset British power on the North American continent.

During the time of the Soviet Union, administrative borders were drawn. There was little reason to expect this to result in a later reduction of Russian territory. When the Soviet Union was dissolved, many of these administrative borders were used to create new independent states, such as Belarus and Ukraine.

At its height in 1895, Russia accounted for 8.8 million square miles, which is 16.92 percent of the world’s landmass. It was the third biggest empire in history after the British Empire and the Mongol Empire. Although reduced, the country today is almost twice the size of Canada.

It is a land filled with diversity in people and in its landscape, a legacy that reflects its imperial past.