Territorial evolution of Russia


Territorial changes of Russia happened by means of military conquest and by ideological and political unions in the course of over five centuries.

Russian Tsardom and Empire

The name Russia for the Grand Duchy of Moscow started to appear in the late 15th century and had become common in 1547 when the Tsardom of Russia was created.
For the history of Rus' and Moscovy before 1547 : see Kievan Rus' and Grand Duchy of Moscow. Another important starting point was the official end in 1480 of the overlordship of the Tatar Golden Horde over Moscovy, after its defeat in the Great standing on the Ugra river.
Ivan III and Vasili III had already expanded Muscovy's borders considerably by annexing the Novgorod Republic, the Grand Duchy of Tver in 1485, the Pskov Republic in 1510, the Appanage of Volokolamsk in 1513, and the principalities of Ryazan in 1521 and Novgorod-Seversky in 1522.
After a period of political instability, 1598 to 1613 the Romanovs came to power and the expansion-colonization process of the Tsardom continued. While western Europe colonized the New World, the Tsardom of Russia expanded overland – principally to the east, north and south.
This continued for centuries; by the end of the 19th century, the Russian Empire reached from the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean, and for some time included colonies in the Americas and a short-lived unofficial colony in Africa in present-day Djibouti.

Expansion into Asia

The first stage from 1582 1650 so I North-East expansion from the Urals to the Pacific. Geographical expeditions mapped much of Siberia. The second stage from 1785 to 1830 looked South to the areas between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The key areas were Armenia and Georgia, with some better penetration of the Ottoman Empire, and Persia. By 1829, Russia controlled all of the Caucasus as shown in the Treaty of Adrianople of 1829. The third era, 1850 to 1860, was a brief interlude jumping to the East Coast, annexing the region from the Amur River to Manchuria. The fourth era, 1865 to 1885 Incorporated Turkestan, and the northern approaches to India, sparking British fears of a threat to India in The Great Game.

Table of changes

YearTsarTerritory takenTaken fromBackgroundMap
1552Ivan the TerribleKhanate of KazanKhanate of KazanRusso-Kazan Wars
1556Ivan the TerribleKhanate of AstrakhanKhanate of AstrakhanRussian control of the Volga trade route
1598Feodor I of RussiaKhanate of SibirKhanate of SibirConquest of the Khanate of Sibir
1582 – late 18th centurygradualSiberiaindigenous peopleRussian conquest of Siberia
1667Alexis of RussiaSmolensk, Left-bank Ukraine, Kiev, Zaprozhia Polish–Lithuanian CommonwealthRusso-Polish War
1681Feodor III of RussiaQasim KhanateQasim KhanateDeath of Queen Fatima Soltan
1686Peter the GreatGain of Kiev and Zaporizhia are permanentPolish–Lithuanian CommonwealthUnion with Poland against Ottoman Empire
1721Peter the GreatLivonia, Estonia, Ingria, and KareliaSwedenGreat Northern War
1743Elizabeth of RussiaSouth-West KareliaSwedenRusso-Swedish War
1771Catherine the GreatKalmyk KhanateKalmyk Khanateexodus of the Kalmyks to Dzungaria
1772Catherine the GreatInflanty Voivodeship and Eastern BelarusPolish–Lithuanian CommonwealthFirst Partition of Poland
1774Catherine the GreatSouthern Bug and KarbadinoOttoman EmpireRusso-Turkish War
1783Catherine the GreatCrimean KhanateOttoman EmpireAnnexation of the vassal state
1792Catherine the GreatYedisanOttoman EmpireRusso-Turkish War
1793Catherine the GreatRight-bank Ukraine and BelarusPolish–Lithuanian CommonwealthSecond Partition of Poland
1795Catherine the GreatWestern Galicia and Southern MasoviaPolish–Lithuanian CommonwealthThird Partition of Poland
1799Paul I of RussiaAlaskaindigenous peopleRussian America
1801Alexander I of RussiaEastern-GeorgiaKingdom of Kartli-KakhetiAnnexation of Georgia
1809Alexander I of RussiaGrand Duchy of FinlandSwedenFinnish War
1810Alexander I of RussiaWestern-GeorgiaKingdom of ImeretiAnnexation of Georgia
1812Alexander I of RussiaBessarabia Ottoman EmpireRusso-Turkish War
1813Alexander I of RussiaDuchy of WarsawFranceNapoleonic Wars
1813Alexander I of RussiaGeorgia, Dagestan, parts of northern Azerbaijan, and parts of northern ArmeniaSublime State of PersiaRusso-Persian War
1828Nicholas I of RussiaIgdir Province, rest of northern Azerbaijan, and ArmeniaSublime State of PersiaRusso-Persian War
1858Alexander II of RussiaNorth of the Amur RiverQing Empire Second Opium War
1860Alexander II of RussiaEast of the Ussuri RiverQing Empire Second Opium War
1730–1863gradualKazakhstanLesser Horde, Middle Horde, Great HordeIncorporation of the Kazakh Khanate
1866Alexander II of RussiaUzbekistanEmirate of BukharaRussian conquest of Bukhara
1867Alexander II of RussiaLoss of AlaskaUnited States of AmericaAlaska Purchase
1873Alexander II of RussiaNorth-TurkmenistanKhanate of KhivaKhivan campaign of 1873
1875Alexander II of RussiaSakhalinJapanborder settlement with Japan
1876Alexander II of RussiaKyrgyzstan and West-TajikistanKhanate of KokandAnnexation of the vassal state
1878Alexander II of RussiaKars Oblast and Batum OblastOttoman EmpireRusso-Turkish War
1885Alexander III of RussiaSouth-TurkmenistanTurkmensTurkmen campaign
1893Alexander III of RussiaEast-Tajikistansparsely populatedExploration of the Pamir plateau
1905Nicholas II of RussiaLoss of South-SakhalinEmpire of JapanRusso-Japanese War

Soviet Union

After the October Revolution of November 1917, Poland and Finland became independent from Russia and remained so thereafter. Russia proper became the Russian SFSR and eventually the Russian Federation. Its area of effective direct control varied greatly during the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. Eventually most of the former Eurasian lands of the Russian Empire were consolidated into one or more of each of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union.
After World War II the Soviet Union annexed:
:Category:Post–Russian Empire states|Territories of the former Russian Empire that permanently or temporarily became independent:
The dissolution of the Soviet Union has led to the creation of independent post-Soviet states, with the Russian SFSR becoming the Russian Federation. Territorial disputes of the Russian Federation involve both post-Soviet states and other neighbors.
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was an unrecognized secessionist government of the Chechen Republic during 1991–2000, which fought two wars against Russia until the government was exiled in 2000.
In 2014, Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation. The annexation was not recognized by Ukraine, the United States, Canada, the European Union, and several other members of the international community.

Atlases