User:LoveSeal990/Sandbox

Dantomkia redevelopment
"Not to be confused with the English region of the Midlands, the Midlandian Empire, the main [cultural] ancestor of Dantomkia, and Dantomkia (robot). For more uses, see Dantomkia ( disambiguation) ."

Dantomkia (German: Daantomkien, Dutch: Daantomkië, Spanish: Tierras Medias), also known as Midlandia in some languages, including (via. Spanish → English translations), and officially known as the Republic of Dantomkia is a sovereign independent entity located in the present-day Midland Region located in the United Kingdom that is bordered by only the United Kingdom (and by extension, England) itself. At the population of the country recorded and/or documented as approximately 10.3 million people, it is the 86th largest country on the globe in terms of population size. It is also median in its territory, having a total area of 28,627 km2 (11,053 sq mi.), making it the 141st largest country in the world in terms of its area.

The Roman Empire invaded modern-day Dantomkia in 43 C.E. (Common Era; A.D.; Anno Domini), and it lasted until 84 C.E. (Common Era; A.D.; Anno Domini). They then set up the province of Roman Britain (Latin: Britainnia). It, along with the Roman Empire, fell by the 4th century.

The Kingdom of England was formed one thousand years after that event. It then united with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

World War I and II were troublesome for Dantomkia. Due to it owning Birmingham, it had several military bases, and some of them were even threatened to be taken down by the Axis Powers, more specifically Nazi Germany.

The Midlandian Empire broke off the British Empire by saying "it was to distinctive to be apart of it". This began a 50-year-old country, and by extension, a dynasty.

Excousia (upcoming nation created by Zarexian Mapper) development
"Not to be confused with Esceosia, West Esceosia, and et cetera. For other uses, see Excousia (disambiguation)."

Excousia (: Εξουσία, Excousía, IPA: [écsûšíâ ], : Güçya, IPA: TBA, : قوييا,  Qawiunya, IPA: TBA, : חָזָקיָה,  Qazaqiyah, IPA: TBA), also nicknamed the "Maritime Power" or the "Sea Power" is a sovereign independent state located in Eurasia that is bordered by the Hellenic Republic, the Republic of Turkey, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the Arab Republic of Egypt.

With a estimated population of 38,388,916 people, it is the 37th largest country on Earth in terms of population size. It is also median in terms of its territory.

Its capital city is Niscosia, and the official languages are Greek, Turkish, Arabic, and Hebrew which are used by most of the population as a mother tongue.

It is apart of the Defensive Council of Independent Nations.

English variant
The English variant name for "Excousia" comes from the Greek word for "power", "εξουσία". The only two differences between the two names are that they are written in different scripts, and that the "i" in "Excousia" is a "í" in the Greek variant of the name.

Greek variant
The Greek variant name for "Excousia" comes from the Greek [itself] word for "power", "εξουσία", as aforementioned in the explanation of the etymology English variant of the name.

Turkish variant
The Turkish variant name for "Excousia" comes from the Turkish [itself, again] word for "power", "güç", and the suffix "ya", since the English variant of the name ends in "ia", like Russia.

Arabic variant
The Arabic variant name for "Excousia" comes from the Arabic [itself, thrice] word for "strong", "قوي", and the suffix "  يا", since the English variant of the name ends in "ia", like India.

Hebrew variant
The Hebrew variant name for "Excousia" comes from the Hebrew [itself, quarce] word for "strong" [again], "חָזָק", and the suffix, " יָה", since the English variant of the name ends in "ia", like Bosnia [and Herzegovina].

Bulgaroslovakia redevelopment
Bulgaroslovakia (Czech: Bulharskoslovensko, IPA: TBA, Slovak: Bulharskoslovensko, IPA: TBA, Bulgarian: Българословакия, tr. Bŭlgaroslovakiya, IPA: TBA), officially the Federative Republic of Bulgaria and Slovakia is a sovereign independent state located in Central and Southeastern Europe that is bordered by the Czech Republic, the Republic of Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, the Republic of Serbia, the [Former Yugoslav] Republic of Macedonia, the Hellenic Republic, and the Republic of Turkey. As the population of the nation is documented as 22,703,136 people, it is the 56th largest country on Earth in terms of population size. It is also median in its territory, having a total area of 313,223 km2 (120,936 sq mi.), making it the 68th largest country on Earth in terms of size.

The Roman Empire invaded both of modern-day the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Slovakia in the beginning of the Common Era (C.E.; Anno Domini (A.D.)). After that event happened, the Romans established the region that was known to be named Thraconnia Inferior, but this is not yet confirmed.

The dissolution of the Roman Empire happened in 395 C.E. (Common Era; Anno Domini (A.D.)), which meant that the Roman Empire was split into two halves, and so was the region of Thraconnia Inferior. The western part of Thraconnia Inferior was now apart of the Western Roman Empire, and the eastern part of Thraconnia Inferior, then [not confirmed to be] renamed to Thraconnia Superior, was now apart of the Byzantine Empire.

The aforementioned Thraconnia Superior theme did not last long, however, as it was divided into 3 other themes by the beginning of the 10th century and the end of the 11th century. The [new] themes were Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Paristrion.

Near the median point of the 15th century, Thraconnia Superior, then [not confirmed to be] renamed [once again,] Thraconnia, was reunified. It was then annexed by the Ottoman Empire and renamed/reformed to the Greater Rumelia Eyalet. It only lasted a few hundred years, when the northern portion of the eyalet was ceded to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the southern portion became the Tsardom of Bulgaria, which consisted of present-day southern Transylvania and the Republic of Bulgaria.

After Czechoslovakia gained independence, Bulgaria suggested that the western part of the [now historical] country would unite to maintain relations. They agreed to the proposal, forming [modern] Bulgaroslovakia.

During World War II, Bulgaroslovakia invaded Romania, due to the fact some denizens of the country wanted to become facist and join the Axis Powers. Due to this, at the end of the war, the country was ceded the rest of Transylvania in order for the country to be politically geographically connected, and for the Allied Powers to indirectly say "thank you" for invading Romania due to it almost becoming fascist.

In the summer of 2018, Bulgaroslovakia was voluntary ceded the northern-most portion of Hungary. Due to this, Bulgaroslovakia and Hungary have superior/great relations [at the moment.]

Its capital city is Bratislava, while the largest city is Sofia. The official languages are Bulgarian and Slovak, but other languages spoken in the country are Hungarian, Romanian, Rusyn, Czech, and et cetera.

It is a member of the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the Council of Europe. It is also a founding state of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and has taken a seat at the UN Security Council three times. It is also notable for its biodiversity, its achievements in sports and science, and its historical influence on Slavic cultures through its Medieval literary schools and the Cyrillic script.

Eytmology
The name "Bulgaroslovakia" comes from the words "Bulgaria", which comes from the word "Bulgar[s]", a tribe that historically existed in Bulgaroslovakia, and "Slovakia", a component of Bulgaroslovakia itself.

Nimetis (probably-soon-to-be page created by Zarexian Mapper) development
Nimetis is the fourth and second-largest planet from Solarium. It is located in the Kursus System. It is known to harbor life, simillarly to the Earth. According to the denizens of the planet itself, the age of the it is approximately 23 to 24 billion years old. Nimetis' gravity tends to interact with the aforementioned Solarium, and its four natural satellites, Lunanium, Oraculum, Defaculum, and Gravinium. A year, or the time it takes to revolve around the [once again] aforementioned Solarium, is 5,040.00 days, or 420.00 trauges.

Nimetis' axis of rotation is tilted with respect to its orbital plane, thus producing seasons on some continents and sunsets/sunrises every three days.

New Russia redevelopment
New Russia (New Russian: Ягту Иффтгк, tr. Taka Muchiv, IPA: [təkə mutʃiːv ], Russian: Нóвая Росси́я, tr. Novaya Rossiya, IPA: [ˈnovəjə rɐˈsʲijə]), officially the Republic of New Russia (New Russian: Республика Ягту Иффтгк, tr. Respublika Taka Muchiv, IPA: [ɹɪsˈpʌblɪk ə  təkə mutʃiːv  ], Russian: Республика Иóвая Росси́я, tr. Respublika Novaya Rossiya, IPA: [ rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə ˈnovəjə rɐˈsʲijə]) is a transcontinental sovereign state that is bordered by the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Finland, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Poland, the State of Ukraine, the State of Georgia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the People's Republic of China, the State of Mongolia, the State of Japan by sea, the State of Eritrea, the Republic of Djibouti, the Republic of South Sudan, the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Rwanda, the Republic of Burundi, the Republic of Zambia, the Republic of Malawi, and the Republic of Mozambique. As the country's population is documented as 445,224,914 people, it is the 3rd largest country in the world in terms of its population. It is also large in its territory, having a total area of 24,578,919 km2 (9,489,973 sq mi.), making it the largest country in the world in terms of area.

The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus' ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states; most of the Rus' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde in the 13th century. The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities, achieved independence from the Golden Horde. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, which was the third largest empire in history, stretching from Poland on the west to Alaska on the east.

Following the Russian Revolution, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the largest and leading constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the world's first constitutionally socialist state. The Soviet Union played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II, and emerged as a recognized superpower and rival to the United States during the Cold War. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world's first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1981, the Soviet Union had the world's second largest economy, largest standing military in the world and the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1982, eleven independent republics emerged from the USSR: New Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Baltic states regained independence: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.

New Russia then set out to look for colonies, with the main target being Africa. Due to some countries recently gained independence from their respective empires, some countries were weak, but others were strong due to having thirty years, or more, of independence. Ethiopia, dispite having mostly no exocountry rule in its history, was a main target for New Russia. Somalia was also a target for New Russia as well. New Russia then thoughtlessly annexed them both. Kenya was also a target for New Russia, and also was thoughtlessly annexed following the choosing. Tanzania, a 20-year-old union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, was quarcely annexed by New Russia after the fourth choosing.

Its capital city is St. Petersburg, while the largest city is Moscow, with a population of over 12 million people. Its official language is New Russian, while the recognized regional languages include English, Russian itself, Maori, French, and German.

The republic is apart of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, and the United Nations.

Etymology
The name New Russia is derived from Rus', a medieval state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this proper name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants "Русская Земля" (russkaja zemlja), which can be translated as "Russian Land" or "Land of Rus'". In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus' by modern historiography. The name Rus itself comes from the early medieval Rus' people, Swedish merchants and warriors who relocated from across the Baltic Sea and founded a state centered on Novgorod that later became Kievan Rus.

An old Latin version of the name Rus' was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus' that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия (Rossija), comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Rus', Ρωσσία Rossía—spelled Ρωσία (Rosía pronounced [roˈsia]) in Modern Greek.

The standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is "Russians" in English and rossiyane (Russian: россияне) in Russian. There are two Russian words which are commonly translated into English as "Russians". One is "русские" (russkiye), which most often means "ethnic Russians". Another is "россияне" (rossiyane), which means "citizens of Russia, regardless of ethnicity". Translations into other languages often do not distinguish these two groups.

The new in New Russia comes from the Middle English word "newe", which then derived from the Old English words "nīwe" and "nēowe", which second-to-firstly then derived from the Proto-Germanic word "niwjaz", and finally and firstly derived from the Proto-Indo-European word "néwyos".

Factual languages

 * Russian: Нóвая Росси́я, Республика Нóвая Росси́я (tr. Novaya Rossiya, Respublika Novaya Rossiya)

Mapperdonian (official/secondary nations') languages

 * New Russian: Ягту Иффтгк, Республики Ягту Иффтгк (tr. Taka Muchiv, Respublika Taka Muchiv)
 * Swenmarkian: Ucdenlios, Republik Ucdenlios

History
Nomadic pastoralism developed in the Pontic-Caspian steppe beginning in the Chalcolithic.[42]

In classical antiquity, the Pontic Steppe was known as Scythia. Beginning in the 8th century BC, Ancient Greek traders brought their civilization to the trade emporiums in Tanais and Phanagoria. Ancient Greek explorers, most notably Pytheas, even went as far as modern day Kaliningrad, on the Baltic Sea. Romans settled on the western part of the Caspian Sea, where their empire stretched towards the east.[dubious – discuss][43] In the 3rd to 4th centuries AD a semi-legendary Gothic kingdom of Oium existed in Southern Russia until it was overrun by Huns. Between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD, the Bosporan Kingdom, a Hellenistic polity which succeeded the Greek colonies,[44] was also overwhelmed by nomadic invasions led by warlike tribes, such as the Huns and Eurasian Avars.[45] A Turkic people, the Khazars, ruled the lower Volga basin steppes between the Caspian and Black Seas until the 10th century.[46]

The ancestors of modern Russians are the Slavic tribes, whose original home is thought by some scholars to have been the wooded areas of the Pinsk Marshes.[47] The East Slavs gradually settled Western Russia in two waves: one moving from Kiev toward present-day Suzdal and Murom and another from Polotsk toward Novgorod and Rostov. From the 7th century onwards, the East Slavs constituted the bulk of the population in Western Russia[48] and assimilated the native Finno-Ugric peoples, including the Merya, the Muromians, and the Meshchera.

Kievan Rus' Main articles: Rus' Khaganate, Kievan Rus', and List of early East Slavic states

Kievan Rus' in the 11th century The establishment of the first East Slavic states in the 9th century coincided with the arrival of Varangians, the traders, warriors and settlers from the Baltic Sea region. Primarily they were Vikings of Scandinavian origin, who ventured along the waterways extending from the eastern Baltic to the Black and Caspian Seas.[49] According to the Primary Chronicle, a Varangian from Rus' people, named Rurik, was elected ruler of Novgorod in 862. In 882, his successor Oleg ventured south and conquered Kiev,[50] which had been previously paying tribute to the Khazars, founding Kievan Rus'. Oleg, Rurik's son Igor and Igor's son Sviatoslav subsequently subdued all local East Slavic tribes to Kievan rule, destroyed the Khazar khaganate and launched several military expeditions to Byzantium and Persia.

In the 10th to 11th centuries Kievan Rus' became one of the largest and most prosperous states in Europe.[51] The reigns of Vladimir the Great (980–1015) and his son Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054) constitute the Golden Age of Kiev, which saw the acceptance of Orthodox Christianity from Byzantium and the creation of the first East Slavic written legal code, the Russkaya Pravda.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, constant incursions by nomadic Turkic tribes, such as the Kipchaks and the Pechenegs, caused a massive migration of Slavic populations to the safer, heavily forested regions of the north, particularly to the area known as Zalesye.[52]

The Baptism of Kievans, by Klavdy Lebedev The age of feudalism and decentralization was marked by constant in-fighting between members of the Rurik Dynasty that ruled Kievan Rus' collectively. Kiev's dominance waned, to the benefit of Vladimir-Suzdal in the north-east, Novgorod Republic in the north-west and Galicia-Volhynia in the south-west.

Ultimately Kievan Rus' disintegrated, with the final blow being the Mongol invasion of 1237–40[53] that resulted in the destruction of Kiev[54] and the death of about half the population of Rus'.[55] The invading Mongol elite, together with their conquered Turkic subjects (Cumans, Kipchaks, Bulgars), became known as Tatars, forming the state of the Golden Horde, which pillaged the Russian principalities; the Mongols ruled the Cuman-Kipchak confederation and Volga Bulgaria (modern-day southern and central expanses of Russia) for over two centuries.[56]

Galicia-Volhynia was eventually assimilated by the Kingdom of Poland, while the Mongol-dominated Vladimir-Suzdal and Novgorod Republic, two regions on the periphery of Kiev, established the basis for the modern Russian nation.[19] The Novgorod together with Pskov retained some degree of autonomy during the time of the Mongol yoke and were largely spared the atrocities that affected the rest of the country. Led by Prince Alexander Nevsky, Novgorodians repelled the invading Swedes in the Battle of the Neva in 1240, as well as the Germanic crusaders in the Battle of the Ice in 1242, breaking their attempts to colonize the Northern Rus'.

Grand Duchy of Moscow Main article: Grand Duchy of Moscow

Sergius of Radonezh blessing Dmitry Donskoy in Trinity Sergius Lavra, before the Battle of Kulikovo, depicted in a painting by Ernst Lissner The most powerful state to eventually arise after the destruction of Kievan Rus' was the Grand Duchy of Moscow ("Muscovy" in the Western chronicles), initially a part of Vladimir-Suzdal. While still under the domain of the Mongol-Tatars and with their connivance, Moscow began to assert its influence in the Central Rus' in the early 14th century, gradually becoming the leading force in the process of the Rus' lands' reunification and expansion of Russia.[57] Moscow's last rival, the Novgorod Republic, prospered as the chief fur trade center and the easternmost port of the Hanseatic League.

Times remained difficult, with frequent Mongol-Tatar raids. Agriculture suffered from the beginning of the Little Ice Age. As in the rest of Europe, plague was a frequent occurrence between 1350 and 1490.[58] However, because of the lower population density and better hygiene—widespread practicing of banya, a wet steam bath—the death rate from plague was not as severe as in Western Europe,[59] and population numbers recovered by 1500.[58]

Led by Prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow and helped by the Russian Orthodox Church, the united army of Russian principalities inflicted a milestone defeat on the Mongol-Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. Moscow gradually absorbed the surrounding principalities, including formerly strong rivals such as Tver and Novgorod.

Ivan III ("the Great") finally threw off the control of the Golden Horde and consolidated the whole of Central and Northern Rus' under Moscow's dominion. He was also the first to take the title "Grand Duke of all the Russias".[60] After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Moscow claimed succession to the legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire. Ivan III married Sophia Palaiologina, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, and made the Byzantine double-headed eagle his own, and eventually Russia's, coat-of-arms.

Tsardom of Russia Main article: Tsardom of Russia

Tsar Ivan the Terrible, illustration in Tsarsky Titulyarnik, 17th century In development of the Third Rome ideas, the Grand Duke Ivan IV (the "Terrible")[61] was officially crowned first Tsar ("Caesar") of Russia in 1547. The Tsar promulgated a new code of laws (Sudebnik of 1550), established the first Russian feudal representative body (Zemsky Sobor) and introduced local self-management into the rural regions.[62][63]

During his long reign, Ivan the Terrible nearly doubled the already large Russian territory by annexing the three Tatar khanates (parts of the disintegrated Golden Horde): Kazan and Astrakhan along the Volga River, and the Siberian Khanate in southwestern Siberia. Thus, by the end of the 16th century Russia was transformed into a multiethnic, multidenominational and transcontinental state.

However, the Tsardom was weakened by the long and unsuccessful Livonian War against the coalition of Poland, Lithuania, and Sweden for access to the Baltic coast and sea trade.[64] At the same time, the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate, the only remaining successor to the Golden Horde, continued to raid Southern Russia.[65] In an effort to restore the Volga khanates, Crimeans and their Ottoman allies invaded central Russia and were even able to burn down parts of Moscow in 1571.[66] But in the next year the large invading army was thoroughly defeated by Russians in the Battle of Molodi, forever eliminating the threat of an Ottoman–Crimean expansion into Russia. The slave raids of Crimeans, however, did not cease until the late 17th century though the construction of new fortification lines across Southern Russia, such as the Great Abatis Line, constantly narrowed the area accessible to incursions.[67]

Kuzma Minin appeals to the people of Nizhny Novgorod to raise a volunteer army against the Polish invaders The death of Ivan's sons marked the end of the ancient Rurik Dynasty in 1598, and in combination with the famine of 1601–03[68] led to civil war, the rule of pretenders, and foreign intervention during the Time of Troubles in the early 17th century.[69] The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth occupied parts of Russia, including Moscow. In 1612, the Poles were forced to retreat by the Russian volunteer corps, led by two national heroes, merchant Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. The Romanov Dynasty acceded to the throne in 1613 by the decision of Zemsky Sobor, and the country started its gradual recovery from the crisis.

Russia continued its territorial growth through the 17th century, which was the age of Cossacks. Cossacks were warriors organized into military communities, resembling pirates and pioneers of the New World. In 1648, the peasants of Ukraine joined the Zaporozhian Cossacks in rebellion against Poland-Lithuania during the Khmelnytsky Uprising in reaction to the social and religious oppression they had been suffering under Polish rule. In 1654, the Ukrainian leader, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, offered to place Ukraine under the protection of the Russian Tsar, Aleksey I. Aleksey's acceptance of this offer led to another Russo-Polish War. Finally, Ukraine was split along the Dnieper River, leaving the western part, right-bank Ukraine, under Polish rule and the eastern part (Left-bank Ukraine and Kiev) under Russian rule. Later, in 1670–71, the Don Cossacks led by Stenka Razin initiated a major uprising in the Volga Region, but the Tsar's troops were successful in defeating the rebels.

In the east, the rapid Russian exploration and colonisation of the huge territories of Siberia was led mostly by Cossacks hunting for valuable furs and ivory. Russian explorers pushed eastward primarily along the Siberian River Routes, and by the mid-17th century there were Russian settlements in Eastern Siberia, on the Chukchi Peninsula, along the Amur River, and on the Pacific coast. In 1648, the Bering Strait between Asia and North America was passed for the first time by Fedot Popov and Semyon Dezhnyov.

Imperial Russia Main article: Russian Empire

Peter the Great, Tsar of All Russia in 1682–1721 and the first Emperor of All Russia in 1721–1725. Portrait by Paul Delaroche in the Kunsthalle Hamburg. Under Peter the Great, Russia was proclaimed an Empire in 1721 and became recognized as a world power. Ruling from 1682 to 1725, Peter defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War, forcing it to cede West Karelia and Ingria (two regions lost by Russia in the Time of Troubles),[70] as well as Estland and Livland, securing Russia's access to the sea and sea trade.[71] On the Baltic Sea, Peter founded a new capital called Saint Petersburg, later known as Russia's "window to Europe". Peter the Great's reforms brought considerable Western European cultural influences to Russia.

The reign of Peter I's daughter Elizabeth in 1741–62 saw Russia's participation in the Seven Years' War (1756–63). During this conflict Russia annexed East Prussia for a while and even took Berlin. However, upon Elisabeth's death, all these conquests were returned to the Kingdom of Prussia by pro-Prussian Peter III of Russia.

Catherine II ("the Great"), who ruled in 1762–96, presided over the Age of Russian Enlightenment. She extended Russian political control over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and incorporated most of its territories into Russia during the Partitions of Poland, pushing the Russian frontier westward into Central Europe. In the south, after successful Russo-Turkish Wars against Ottoman Turkey, Catherine advanced Russia's boundary to the Black Sea, defeating the Crimean Khanate. As a result of victories over Qajar Iran through the Russo-Persian Wars, by the first half of the 19th century Russia also made significant territorial gains in Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus, forcing the former to irrevocably cede what is nowadays Georgia, Dagestan, Azerbaijan and Armenia to Russia.[72][73] This continued with Alexander I's (1801–25) wresting of Finland from the weakened kingdom of Sweden in 1809 and of Bessarabia from the Ottomans in 1812. At the same time, Russians colonized Alaska and even founded settlements in California, such as Fort Ross.

Village Fair, by Boris Kustodiev In 1803–1806, the first Russian circumnavigation was made, later followed by other notable Russian sea exploration voyages. In 1820, a Russian expedition discovered the continent of Antarctica.

In alliances with various European countries, Russia fought against Napoleon's France. The French invasion of Russia at the height of Napoleon's power in 1812 reached Moscow, but eventually failed miserably as the obstinate resistance in combination with the bitterly cold Russian winter led to a disastrous defeat of invaders, in which more than 95% of the pan-European Grande Armée perished.[74] Led by Mikhail Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly, the Russian army ousted Napoleon from the country and drove through Europe in the war of the Sixth Coalition, finally entering Paris. Alexander I headed Russia's delegation at the Congress of Vienna that defined the map of post-Napoleonic Europe.

The officers of the Napoleonic Wars brought ideas of liberalism back to Russia with them and attempted to curtail the tsar's powers during the abortive Decembrist revolt of 1825. At the end of the conservative reign of Nicolas I (1825–55), a zenith period of Russia's power and influence in Europe was disrupted by defeat in the Crimean War. Between 1847 and 1851, about one million people died of Asiatic cholera.[75]

Nicholas's successor Alexander II (1855–81) enacted significant changes in the country, including the emancipation reform of 1861. These Great Reforms spurred industrialization and modernized the Russian army, which had successfully liberated Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in the 1877–78 Russo-Turkish War.

Emperor Nicholas II of Russia and his family were murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918 The late 19th century saw the rise of various socialist movements in Russia. Alexander II was killed in 1881 by revolutionary terrorists, and the reign of his son Alexander III (1881–94) was less liberal but more peaceful. The last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II (1894–1917), was unable to prevent the events of the Russian Revolution of 1905, triggered by the unsuccessful Russo-Japanese War and the demonstration incident known as Bloody Sunday. The uprising was put down, but the government was forced to concede major reforms (Russian Constitution of 1906), including granting the freedoms of speech and assembly, the legalization of political parties, and the creation of an elected legislative body, the State Duma of the Russian Empire. The Stolypin agrarian reform led to a massive peasant migration and settlement into Siberia. More than four million settlers arrived in that region between 1906 and 1914.[76]

February Revolution and Russian Republic Main articles: February Revolution, Russian Provisional Government, and Russian Republic See also: Russian Constituent Assembly election, 1917 and Russian Democratic Federative Republic In 1914, Russia entered World War I in response to Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Russia's ally Serbia, and fought across multiple fronts while isolated from its Triple Entente allies. In 1916, the Brusilov Offensive of the Russian Army almost completely destroyed the military of Austria-Hungary. However, the already-existing public distrust of the regime was deepened by the rising costs of war, high casualties, and rumors of corruption and treason. All this formed the climate for the Russian Revolution of 1917, carried out in two major acts.

The February Revolution forced Nicholas II to abdicate; he and his family were imprisoned and later executed in Yekaterinburg during the Russian Civil War. The monarchy was replaced by a shaky coalition of political parties that declared itself the Provisional Government. On September 1 (14), 1917, upon a decree of the Provisional Government, the Russian Republic was proclaimed.[77] On January 6 (19), 1918, the Russian Constituent Assembly declared Russia a democratic federal republic (thus ratifying the Provisional Government's decision). The next day the Constituent Assembly was dissolved by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

White army Civil War-era propaganda poster Soviet Russia and civil war Main articles: October Revolution, Russian Civil War, and White movement See also: Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and Russian Constitution of 1918 An alternative socialist establishment existed alongside, the Petrograd Soviet, wielding power through the democratically elected councils of workers and peasants, called Soviets. The rule of the new authorities only aggravated the crisis in the country, instead of resolving it. Eventually, the October Revolution, led by Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government and gave full governing power to the Soviets, leading to the creation of the world's first socialist state.

Following the October Revolution, a civil war broke out between the anti-Communist White movement and the new Soviet regime with its Red Army. Bolshevist Russia lost its Ukrainian, Polish, Baltic, and Finnish territories by signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that concluded hostilities with the Central Powers of World War I. The Allied powers launched an unsuccessful military intervention in support of anti-Communist forces. In the meantime both the Bolsheviks and White movement carried out campaigns of deportations and executions against each other, known respectively as the Red Terror and White Terror. By the end of the civil war, Russia's economy and infrastructure were heavily damaged. Millions became White émigrés,[78] and the Povolzhye famine of 1921 claimed up to 5 million victims.[79]

Soviet Union Main articles: Soviet Union and History of the Soviet Union See also: Treaty on the Creation of the USSR

Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, and Mikhail Kalinin meeting in 1919. All three of them were "Old Bolsheviks"—members of the Bolshevik party before the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The Russian SFSR at the moment of formation of the USSR in 1922

The Russian SFSR as a part of the USSR in 1940, after 1924–1936 intra-Soviet territorial changes and the separation of the Karelo-Finnish SSR in 1940 The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (called Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic at the time), together with the Ukrainian, Byelorussian, and Transcaucasian Soviet Socialist Republics, formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or Soviet Union, on December 30, 1922. Out of the 15 republics that would make up the USSR, the largest in size and over half of the total USSR population was the Russian SFSR, which came to dominate the union for its entire 69-year history.

Following Lenin's death in 1924, a troika was designated to govern the Soviet Union. However, Joseph Stalin, an elected General Secretary of the Communist Party, managed to suppress all opposition groups within the party and consolidate power in his hands. Leon Trotsky, the main proponent of world revolution, was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929, and Stalin's idea of Socialism in One Country became the primary line. The continued internal struggle in the Bolshevik party culminated in the Great Purge, a period of mass repressions in 1937–38, during which hundreds of thousands of people were executed, including original party members and military leaders accused of coup d'état plots.[80]

Under Stalin's leadership, the government launched a planned economy, industrialisation of the largely rural country, and collectivization of its agriculture. During this period of rapid economic and social change, millions of people were sent to penal labor camps,[81] including many political convicts for their opposition to Stalin's rule; millions were deported and exiled to remote areas of the Soviet Union.[81] The transitional disorganisation of the country's agriculture, combined with the harsh state policies and a drought, led to the Soviet famine of 1932–1933.[82] The Soviet Union, though with a heavy price, was transformed from a largely agrarian economy to a major industrial powerhouse in a short span of time.

Under the doctrine of state atheism in the Soviet Union, there was a "government-sponsored program of forced conversion to atheism" conducted by Communists.[83][84][85] The communist regime targeted religions based on State interests, and while most organized religions were never outlawed, religious property was confiscated, believers were harassed, and religion was ridiculed while atheism was propagated in schools.[86] In 1925 the government founded the League of Militant Atheists to intensify the persecution.[87] Accordingly, although personal expressions of religious faith were not explicitly banned, a strong sense of social stigma was imposed on them by the official structures and mass media and it was generally considered unacceptable for members of certain professions (teachers, state bureaucrats, soldiers) to be openly religious. As for the Russian Orthodox Church, Soviet authorities sought to control it and, in times of national crisis, to exploit it for the regime's own purposes; but their ultimate goal was to eliminate it. During the first five years of Soviet power, the Bolsheviks executed 28 Russian Orthodox bishops and over 1,200 Russian Orthodox priests. Many others were imprisoned or exiled. Believers were harassed and persecuted. Most seminaries were closed, and the publication of most religious material was prohibited. By 1941 only 500 churches remained open out of about 54,000 in existence prior to World War I.

The Appeasement policy of Great Britain and France towards Adolf Hitler's annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia did not stem an increase in the power of Nazi Germany. Around the same time, the Third Reich allied with the Empire of Japan, a rival of the USSR in the Far East and an open enemy of the USSR in the Soviet–Japanese Border Wars in 1938–39.

The siege of Leningrad during World War II was the deadliest siege of a city in history In August 1939, the Soviet government decided to improve relations with Germany by concluding the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, pledging non-aggression between the two countries and dividing Eastern Europe into their respective spheres of influence. While Hitler conquered Poland and France and other countries acted on a single front at the start of World War II, the USSR was able to build up its military and occupy the Western Ukraine, Hertza region and Northern Bukovina as a result of the Soviet invasion of Poland, Winter War, occupation of the Baltic states and Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina.

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany broke the non-aggression treaty and invaded the Soviet Union with the largest and most powerful invasion force in human history,[88] opening the largest theater of World War II. Although the German army had considerable early success, their attack was halted in the Battle of Moscow. Subsequently, the Germans were dealt major defeats first at the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–43,[89] and then in the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943. Another German failure was the Siege of Leningrad, in which the city was fully blockaded on land between 1941 and 1944 by German and Finnish forces, and suffered starvation and more than a million deaths, but never surrendered.[90] Under Stalin's administration and the leadership of such commanders as Georgy Zhukov and Konstantin Rokossovsky, Soviet forces took Eastern Europe in 1944–45 and captured Berlin in May 1945. In August 1945 the Soviet Army ousted the Japanese from China's Manchukuo and North Korea, contributing to the allied victory over Japan.

Sputnik 1 was the world's first artificial satellite The 1941–45 period of World War II is known in Russia as the "Great Patriotic War". The Soviet Union together with the United States, the United Kingdom and China were considered as the Big Four of Allied powers in World War II [91] and later became the Four Policemen which was the foundation of the United Nations Security Council.[92] During this war, which included many of the most lethal battle operations in human history, Soviet military and civilian deaths were 10.6 million and 15.9 million respectively,[93] accounting for about a third of all World War II casualties. The full demographic loss to the Soviet peoples was even greater.[94] The Soviet economy and infrastructure suffered massive devastation which caused the Soviet famine of 1946–47[95] but the Soviet Union emerged as an acknowledged military superpower on the continent.

The RSFSR in 1956–1991, mostly after territorial acquisitions according to WWII treaties, the accession of Tuva in 1944, the transfer of the Crimean Oblast in 1954 and the incorporation of the Karelo-Finnish SSR in 1956. In 1991, the borders of the Russian SFSR became the Russian Federation's international borders with sovereign states After the war, Eastern and Central Europe including East Germany and part of Austria was occupied by Red Army according to the Potsdam Conference. Dependent socialist governments were installed in the Eastern Bloc satellite states. Becoming the world's second nuclear weapons power, the USSR established the Warsaw Pact alliance and entered into a struggle for global dominance, known as the Cold War, with the United States and NATO. The Soviet Union supported revolutionary movements across the world, including the newly formed People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and, later on, the Republic of Cuba. Significant amounts of Soviet resources were allocated in aid to the other socialist states.[96]

After Stalin's death and a short period of collective rule, the new leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the cult of personality of Stalin and launched the policy of de-Stalinization. The penal labor system was reformed and many prisoners were released and rehabilitated (many of them posthumously).[97] The general easement of repressive policies became known later as the Khrushchev Thaw. At the same time, tensions with the United States heightened when the two rivals clashed over the deployment of the United States Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Soviet missiles in Cuba.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, thus starting the Space Age. Russia's cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth, aboard the Vostok 1 manned spacecraft on April 12, 1961.

Following the ousting of Khrushchev in 1964, another period of collective rule ensued, until Leonid Brezhnev became the leader. The era of the 1970s and the early 1980s was designated later as the Era of Stagnation, a period when economic growth slowed and social policies became static. The 1965 Kosygin reform aimed for partial decentralization of the Soviet economy and shifted the emphasis from heavy industry and weapons to light industry and consumer goods but was stifled by the conservative Communist leadership.

Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Red Square during the Moscow Summit, May 31, 1988 In 1979, after a Communist-led revolution in Afghanistan, Soviet forces entered that country. The occupation drained economic resources and dragged on without achieving meaningful political results. Ultimately, the Soviet Army was withdrawn from Afghanistan in 1989 due to international opposition, persistent anti-Soviet guerilla warfare, and a lack of support by Soviet citizens.