Russian Empire



Jeremiah Garland or Mikhail Volkov

The Imperial Tsardom of Russia (Императорский царизма в России), or the Oligarchical Sovereignty of the Holy Russian Empire  (Олигархические суверенитете Святой Русской империи) is a country in northern Eurasia. With the second largest empire in the world (largest connected empire), Russia is a respected world power with a unique culture and society.

The Russia Empire shares borders with (from northwest to southeast) the Kalmar Union, Poland-Lithuania, Belarus, Roumania, the Ottoman Empire, Persia, the Qing Dynasty, and the Korean Empire. Russia's total land-mass is approximately 16,000,000 square kilometres (about 6,000,000 square miles), stretching from the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland in the west, to the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Strait in the east.

Currently, the Tsardom of Russia's leadership is a diarchical oligarchy. Tsar Vladimir I (Vladimir Pyotr Vasilyevich Romanov I, Владимир Романов Петр Васильевич Я) is the reigning tsar of all executive matters, including diplomatic and economic matters, while Tsar Mikhail II (Mikhail Sebastian Aleksandr Volkov II, Себастьян Александра II, Михаил Волков) is the reigning tsar in charge of judicial matters, as well as serving as generalissimo of the Imperial Russian Army.

History
Russia's history dates back to the 9th century A.D., when Slavic traders from north-eastern Europe known as Varangians gained access to the Russian mainland via the Baltic Sea. Upon further exploration into the land, the Slavs established trading cities throughout, most notably Novgorod. Upon venturing further south into the Black Sea and Caspian Sea regions, the Varangians established more cities, including Kiev. Eventually, these cities prospered over time, and adapted their own governments. These governments acted as independent states, called a "Rus". In 882, the Kievan Rus was founded, and the first line of grand dukes entered the Kievan Golden Age. Within the next centuries, more city-states would emerge, including the Grand Duchy of the Moscovy Rus, the Kazan Rus, and the Novgorod Rus.

In the late 12th century, land in the east, mostly inhabitated by the Islamic Tatar tribes, fell under command of the Golden Horde, the portion of the Mongol Empire led by Temujin "Genghis" Khan. As the Mongol Empire expanded, the Golden Horde's influence, under different leaders, eventually crossed the Ural Mountains (acting as a boundary between Europe and Asia) and gained a hold on the governing city-states in the west. By the 1300s, nearly all of Russia had fallen into Mongolian-Tatar control.

During the 15th century, the Russian city-states lay in harsh turmoil. In 1547, however, Tsar Ivan IV (the "Terrible") led a revolt on the oppresive Mongols, and eventually freed western Russia from their rule. The same year, Ivan IV united all the freed Russian city-states, and declared himself first Tsar (Caesar) of "all the Russias". During his long reign (1547-1584) Ivan IV nearly doubled the already expanding Russian Tsardom, established a strong central government (including the a parliamentarian figure, the Russian Imperial Court), and established the Russian capital in the Moscovy Rus, now called Moscow.

However, Russia's progress soon declinded due to a line of weak rulers, and continuing wars with Poland-Lithuania, Sweden, the Crimean Khanate (a final incarnation of the Golden Horde), the Byzantine Empire, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire respectively. However, by the mid 1600s, Tsar Mikhail I came to power in Russia, and began a lasting dynasty known as the Romanov rule. Under the Romanov leaders, Russia conquered foes such as the Ottoman Empire and Persia, increased its size further, and improved the military with the addition of the Cossacks, noble yet zealous warriors hailing from the Ukrainian steppes. During this time, Russia also gained control of most of Ukraine (in addition to Kiev), after the Russo-Polish War.

By the close of the 17th century, Russia had emerged as a world power, yet seemed isolated from the rest of the western world. In 1682, Tsar Peter I "the Great" came to power in the Tsardom of Russia. Under his rule, Russia would not only accomplish significant victories against Sweden and Poland-Lithuania in the Great Northern War, but would also be launched into a "cultural revolution". Under Peter the Great, art, literature, architecture, science, and music fluorished in Russia, awarding them membership into the western world. Perhaps Peter I's greatest achievement, though, was the construction of St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea in 1723. The city, the site of a captured Swedish fort, not only became the new Russian capital, but also a world mecca of culture, earning it the nickname the "Venice of the East".

Government
Like nations such as Great Britain, France, and Spain, Russia is a combined-government type of a kingdom (monarchy) and an empire. In 1721, Peter the Great had converted the Tsardom of Russia into the Empire of Russia. However, rather than take on the title of "Emperor", all Russian rulers since have kept the title of "Tsar".

Russia's kingdomship is officially an enlightened diarchy, in which almost all power is limited to the two tsars. However, a portion of the power belongs to the Russian Imperial Court, a parliamentarian group of politicians who are responsible for setting laws, proposing new ideas (to be approved by the tsars), and handling foreign relations. In addition, each member of the Imperial Court specializes in a certain field (e.g., the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Religion) and act as advisers to the tsars.

The Russian Empire is divided into twelve oblasts, or regions. Each oblast is governed by an imperial governor, who is hand-selected by the tsars. For a complete list of the Russian oblasts, see below.

Economy
The Russian economy is a free-market one, like all other European competitors. However, due to recent philosophies and ideologies, Russia has begun experimenting with a socialist-based economy.

Russian trade is mercantile-based. The primary trade company (owned by the Tsars and the Imperial Court) is the Russian Trade Federation, operating out of the imperial capital St. Petersburg. Other notable Russian trade cities include Arkhangelsk on the White Sea, Odessa on the Black Sea, Baku on the Caspian Sea, Magadan in the Sea of Okhotsk, and Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean.

Though the Russian economy is ran by either of the Russian Tsars (in this case, Vladimir I), both the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Trade and Commerce, both members of the Russian Imperial Court, have a strong influence in the economy. All new taxes are to be proposed by the Russian Imperial Court, and submitted for approval to the Tsars.

The current Russian currency is the Ruble (also spelled Rouble). The current Russian average network income and growth revenue (as of 1745) is estimated at 5.2 billion Rubles (112 million British Schillings), making Russia the second richest nation in the world, only behind Great Britain.

Royal Family

 * His Imperial Majesty The Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias Vladimir Pyotr Vasilyevich Romanov I -- Tsar of Russia; Imperator of the Russian Empire; Grand Duke of Kyiv; King of Armenia
 * His Imperial Majesty The Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias Mikhail Sebastian Aleksandr Volkov II -- Tsar of Russia; Imperator of the Russian Empire; Grand Duke of Moscovy; Lord Chancellor of the Bela Rus
 * His Imperial Majesty The Crowned Prince of all the Russias Ivan Gershvin Domeshev Romanov I -- Crowned-Prince of Russia; Archbishop of Kazan; Lord Proktor of St. Petersburg