Founded in the 12th century,
the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol
domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb
surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty
continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I
(ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was
renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial
acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of
1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation
of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian
army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the
Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The
Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR.
The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Communist rule and
Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives.
The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General
Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and
perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his
initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the
USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics. Since then, Russia has
shifted its post-Soviet democratic ambitions in favor of a centralized
semi-authoritarian state in which the leadership seeks to legitimize its rule
through managed national elections, populist appeals by President PUTIN, and
continued economic growth. Russia has severely disabled a Chechen rebel
movement, although violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus.
(Source: The World Factbook 2009.
Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009)
For more information about Russia:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
