Oroszország mint birodalom. Az Orosz Birodalom területe és népessége

The article presents the historical evolution of the main attributes of the Russian Empire, starting from territorial expansion toward the West (historical East Poland and Ukraine), and the East (Caucasus, Central Asia, Siberia). The progressive extension of Russian imperial statehood from the 16th century to the end of the 19th century also affected the ethnic and religious composition of the enlarged empire, and stimulated the emergence of modern national thinking among the greatest peoples of empire. The peculiar, step-by-step conquest of new territories boosted a new relationship between the centre and the internal peripheries, under the influence of various imperial ideologies.