Imperial Russia

The Russian Empire was officially established in 1721 by Petre I the Great in an effort to modernize Russia in response to social and technological progress in Western Europe. The newly-founded empire was ruled by the Romanov dynasty, whose sovereigns assumed the title of "Tsar", a Slavic term hailing back to the Roman title "Caesar". Under the tsars, Russia became the second largest contiguous empirew in history through the seizure of neighbouring regions. &nbsp