The foundations of a Russian national state were laid in the late 15th century during the reign of Ivan III. By the early 16th century, all of the semi-independent and petty princedoms in Russia had been unified with Moscow. D… See more

By the end of the 19th century the area of the empire was about 22,400,000 square kilometers (8,600,000 sq mi), or almost one-sixth of the Earth's landmass; its only rival in size at the time was the British Empire. … See more

From its initial creation until the 1905 Revolution, the Russian Empire was led by the emperor (also referred to as tsar) who ruled as an absolute monarch. After the Revolution of 1905, Russia developed a new type o… See more

The judicial system of the Russian Empire was established by the statute of 20 November 1864 of Alexander II. This system – based partly on English and French law – was predicated on the separation of judicial and admini… See more