Russian Empire



The Imperial Tsardom of Russia (Императорский царизма в России), or the Diarchic 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 Russian 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 Александр II, Михаил Волков) is the reigning tsar in charge of judicial matters, as well as serving as generalissimo of the Imperial Russian Army. The Prime Minister of Russia, which has limited power beneath the Tsars, is Markus Aleksandr Kutosov III.

Political Status

 * Official Name: The Imperial Diarchic Tsardom of Muscovy and All the Russias
 * Abbreviated Name: The Tsardom of Russia
 * System of Government: Tsarist Autocracy / Absolute Monarchy
 * Head of State(s): Vladimir Pyotr Vasilyevich Romanov I, Mikhail Aleksandr Sebastian Volkov II
 * Head of the Legislature: Devid Vasili Andrei Zharkov I
 * Imperial Capitol: Sankt-Peterburg (legislative, executive), Muscovy (judicial)
 * Executive Branch: Autocratic reign by the diarchic Tsars
 * Legislative Branch: Unicameral Parliamentarian Legislature (the Boyar Duma); Influence from the Tsars' elected cabinet of advisers, the Royal Imperial Court; ran by elected prime minister

Economic Status

 * Networth Income:  K 5,200,000,000 (£112,000,000)
 * Currency: Russian Ruble ( K) 
 * System of Economy: Free Market / Autarkic Agricultural (Serfdom)
 * System of Trade: Mercantilistic
 * Major Exports (Agricultural): Wheat, timber, rye, muslin, precious metals (esp. zinc, copper, iron)
 * Major Expots (Industrial): Textiles, limestone, fishing, weaponry / armour, alcoholic beverages

Social Status

 * Population: 45,850,000 (estimated 1745 census)
 * Primary Nationalities: Russian (60%), Ukrainian (15%), Lithuanian (8%), Prussian (7%), Scandanavian / Nordic (5%), Roumanian (4%), Polish (1%)
 * Primary Ethnicities: Russian (Slavik / Baltic) (47%), Cossak / Crimean / Moldavian (20%), Tatar (12%), Caucasian (Armenian / Georgian / Azerbaijani) (9%), Turkic (Kazakh / Turkmen / Kyrgyz / Tajik / Uzbek) (7%), Mongol / Manchurian (2%)
 * Primary Languages: Russian (official), Ukrainian, Polish, Finnish, Estonian, Turkish, various other indigenous tongues
 * Primary Religions: Russian Orthodox (official), Roman Catholicism, Armenian Catholicism, Judaism, Lutheran, Zoroastrianism, Islam, Karaites, various other indigenous pagan faiths

Military Status

 * Total Military Personnel (active): 1,375,000 (estimated 1745 census)
 * Total Military Personnel (reserve): 890,000 (estimated 1745 census)
 * The Grand Army of the Tsar total: 950,000 (660,000 infanty, 210,000 cavalry, 80,000 artillery)
 * The Grand Navy of the Tsar total: 425,000 (364,000 marines, 61,000 seamen)
 * The Grand Navy of the Tsar strength: 585 (253 frigates / destroyers, 189 sloops / gun-brigs, 72 post-ships, 71 ship-of-the-lines)

Diplomatic Status

 * The Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (George II): Allied, very friendly
 * The Kingdom of Prussia (Frederick II): Allied, very friendly
 * The Chancellery of the Kalmar Union (Caddius I): Allied, very friendly
 * The Representative Kingdom of Portugal (Grace I): Allied, very friendly
 * The Kingdom of Austria-Hungary (Hannah I): Allied, friendly
 * The Kingdom of the Netherlands (Jarod I): Allied, friendly
 * The Kingdom of Bohemia (Eduard I): Allied, friendly (disputed claim)
 * The Constitutional Republic of the Barbary Coast (Jonathan I): Allied, friendly
 * The Kingdom of Roumania (Albert I): Allied, friendly
 * The Feudalistic Kingdom of Japan (Buru I): Allied, indifferent
 * The Italian and Papal States (Kortez I): Allied, indifferent
 * The Constitutional Republic of Ethiopia (Stpehen I): Allied, indifferent
 * The Kingdom of Belgium and Northern France (James I): Allied, indifferent
 * The Kingdom of Spain (Madster I): Neutral
 * The Kingdom of France (Louis XIV): Neutral
 * The Kingdom of Sweden (John IV): Neutral
 * The Imperial Kingdom of Qing (Sheng I): Neutral
 * The Turkish Caliphate of the Ottoman Empire (Ahmed IV): Enemies
 * The Persian Caliphate of the Safavid Empire (Abbas III): Enemies
 * The Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania (Charles VII): Enemies

Europe

 * Belorussia
 * Poland
 * Königsburg
 * Courland
 * Pomerania
 * Montenegro
 * Holstein-Gottorp
 * Schleswig
 * Moldavia

Asia

 * Kyrgyz
 * Tajiki
 * Uzbek
 * Turkmen
 * Mongolia
 * Sakhalin
 * Heilongjiang

Americas

 * Alaska
 * Yukon
 * Nunavit

Russian 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; Count of Arkhangelsk
 * His Imperial Majesty The Crowned Prince of all the Russias Ivan Gershvin Domeshev Romanov VIII -- Crowned-Prince (Tsarevich) of Russia; Archbishop of Kazan; Lord Proktor of St. Petersburg
 * His Imperial Majesty The Archbishop of The Holy Russian Church Vladimir Imran Zakkaev II -- His Holy Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church; Patriarch of Moscovy; Archduke of Belorus

Russian Imperial Court

 * Viscount of the Imperial Court (Prime Minister) -- Markus Aleksandr Kutosov III
 * Minister of War -- Rekhart Dmitri Luthr III
 * Minister of the Interior -- Venyamin Makmorgn I
 * Minister of Religion -- Yakov Grigoryev IV
 * Minister of Finance -- Albertus Markolic Volikov I
 * Minister of Navy -- Matvei Markus Antoni Fey I
 * Minister of Defense -- Devid Sergei Vasilovsky II

Grand-Dukes

 * Grand-Duke of Courland -- Caddius Archibald Bane I
 * Grand-Duchess of Courland -- Elizabeth Bane I

Largest Cities
Below are the thirty largest cities (by population) within the Russian Empire. Poland, Belorus, and Lithuania are included, while Prussia and protectorates in Finland and Portugal are excluded. All populations obtained from 1745 census.

Early Slavic Inhabitant and the Kievan Rus
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.

Mongol Conquest
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.

Rise of the Tsar
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.

The Romanov Dynasty
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.

Peter the Great
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".

In 1745, after the resignation of Tsar Andrei I, Tsar Mikhail II, the true heir to the throne, took over. Only days after his rule, though, he handed power over to a close friend and native Briton Vladimir I. However, currently both Tsars are serving simultaneously.

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.