The empire in nine maps
Nine frames across a thousand years — watch a river-realm of the Rus fall under the Mongol yoke, gather into Muscovy, race across Siberia to the Pacific, swell into the largest contiguous empire on earth, and finally contract to the Federation of today. Use the labels, the arrows, or your keyboard's ← →.
The land & the lines
Beyond the borders: the belts of tundra, forest, and steppe; the rivers that were the first roads; the rails that remade the east; the great battles; and the brutal swing of a continental winter and summer.
The ruling houses
Two dynasties held the throne for a thousand years — the Rurikids from Rurik to the extinction of the line in 1598, and, after the Time of Troubles, the Romanovs from 1613 to 1917. Each ruler is tagged with a kinship to the one above.
Maps are schematic — historical extents approximated onto modern outlines, for orientation rather than precision. Part of the Russian History guide.