Russian Empire Map: How Its Borders Grew, 1721-1917
How the Russian Empire's borders grew from 1721 to 1917, region by region, since no single year's map covers the whole period accurately.
Last updated September 2026
Contents11
- Reading the growth region by region
- Record detail: peak size, disputed figure
- Why this page has no single map image
- Neighboring states
- Cities that mark the growth
- Population density
- What changed after the empire ended
- Key dates on the Russian Empire map
- Where to see historic Russian Empire maps
- Siberia and the Pacific
- Verdict: reading a Russian Empire map
A Russian Empire map from any one year tells only part of the story. The empire's borders grew for nearly two centuries under Romanov rule. A state on the Baltic and in Eastern Europe became one of the largest land empires in history. This page describes that growth region by region. It does not rely on one fixed map.
TL;DR: A Russian Empire map depends on its date. Peter I won the Baltic coast by 1721. Catherine II added Crimea and much of Poland-Lithuania. Finland came in 1809. The Caucasus and Central Asia came in the 1800s. Russia sold Alaska in 1867. The empire's peak area is usually given as about 22 to 23 million square kilometres.
Reading the growth region by region
A useful Russian Empire map has to be read with a timeline, not on its own. The same land could show very different borders only a few decades apart.
| Region | Roughly when added | How |
|---|---|---|
| Baltic coast | Early 1700s | Won from Sweden in the Great Northern War under Peter I |
| Parts of Poland-Lithuania | Late 1700s | Three partitions of Poland-Lithuania, shared with Prussia and Austria |
| Crimea and Black Sea coast | Late 1700s | Wars with the Ottoman Empire under Catherine II |
| Finland | Early 1800s | Taken from Sweden, held as an autonomous grand duchy |
| Caucasus | Early-to-mid 1800s | Extended military campaigns against local states and the Ottoman and Persian empires |
| Central Asia | Mid-to-late 1800s | Campaigns against the khanates of Khiva, Bukhara, and Kokand |
| Siberia and the Pacific coast | Across the whole period, accelerating in the 1800s | Settlement and administrative expansion, formalized by the Trans-Siberian Railway from 1891 |
| Alaska | Held from the 1700s, sold in 1867 | Colonial fur-trading territory, sold to the United States rather than lost in a war |
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Record detail: peak size, disputed figure
Peak territorial extent.
Status: Disputed.
Note: Reference books put the empire's largest size at about 22 to 23 million square kilometres. The exact figure depends on the year. It also depends on which loosely held frontier lands are counted.
Sources: Britannica, "Russian Empire"; Encyclopedia.com, "Russian Empire".
Why this page has no single map image
Borders that shifted this often do not fit well in one picture. A map of 1725 would leave out Crimea and Finland. It would leave out the Caucasus, Central Asia and most of the Pacific coast. A map that showed Alaska as Russian in 1900 would be wrong.
The sale took place in 1867. If you want a map for a set year, use dated historical maps. The David Rumsey Map Collection and Stanford University Libraries hold examples. They are listed in the sources below.
Neighboring states
After about 1815, a Russian Empire map shows several strong neighbours. The Austrian and Ottoman Empires lay to the south-west and south. Persia and the Central Asian khanates lay to the south-east. Qing China ran along a long eastern border. Japan lay across the northern Pacific.
Russia fought several of these neighbours over the border lands. The wars included the Crimean War in the 1850s. They also included a war with Japan over Manchuria and Korea in 1904-1905.
Cities that mark the growth
Saint Petersburg became the imperial capital. It was founded in 1703 on newly won Baltic land. Sevastopol was founded in 1783, after Catherine II took Crimea.
It anchored Russian naval power on the Black Sea. Vladivostok was founded in 1860 on the Pacific coast. It marked the empire's furthest secure reach to the east. Later it became the end of the line for the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Population density
A map that shows only borders can mislead you about where people lived. Most people lived in the west and centre. They lived around Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and on Ukraine's rich farmland. Siberia's vast eastern lands had few settlers.
What changed after the empire ended
Most of the Russian Empire's land carried over into the Soviet Union that followed it. But several western lands left for good. Finland, Poland and the Baltic states became independent.
Key dates on the Russian Empire map
| Year | Change to the map |
|---|---|
| 1721 | Treaty of Nystad: Livonia, Estonia and Ingria gained from Sweden |
| 1772, 1793, 1795 | Partitions of Poland-Lithuania |
| 1783 | Annexation of Crimea |
| 1809 | Finland taken from Sweden as an autonomous grand duchy |
| 1812 | Bessarabia gained from the Ottoman Empire |
| 1858-1860 | Treaties with China give the Amur and Pacific coast regions |
| 1867 | Alaska sold to the United States |
| 1860s-1880s | Central Asian khanates conquered or made protectorates |
| 1905 | Southern Sakhalin lost to Japan after the Russo-Japanese War |
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Where to see historic Russian Empire maps
Major map libraries hold original maps of the empire. They include the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection and Stanford University Libraries. When you use any map, check its date and who made it. A map printed in 1890 will not show later changes. Maps made for political reasons may show claims, not real control.
Siberia and the Pacific
Russia's push into Siberia began before the Romanovs. Cossack bands set out in the 1580s. They reached the Pacific coast by the 1640s. For two centuries the region was held through forts and fur-trading posts, with few settlers.
Treaties with China in 1858 and 1860 added the lands along the Amur River. They also added the coast where Vladivostok was founded. The Trans-Siberian Railway, begun in 1891, at last linked European Russia to the Pacific. It brought millions of settlers east in the empire's last decades.
For the rulers who drew these borders, see our guide to the best books about the Romanovs. Massie covers Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.
Verdict: reading a Russian Empire map
A Russian Empire map is accurate only for its date. The empire grew from a foothold on the Baltic in 1721. It came to span Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Siberia to the Pacific. It sold Alaska in 1867.
Its peak area is usually put at about 22 to 23 million square kilometres. Sources give that figure differently. For how this compares with other empires, see largest empire in history. For the British version, see British Empire map.
For the full line from Michael in 1613 to Nicholas II, see the Romanov dynasty page.
Sources checked for this page
- Britannica, "Russian Empire"
- Encyclopedia.com, "Russian Empire"
- David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, "Russian Empire"
- Stanford University Libraries, map of the Russian Empire
- Britannica, "Russian Empire: The reign of Peter the Great"
Questions people also ask
Why doesn't this page show a single Russian Empire map?
The empire's borders shifted repeatedly across nearly two centuries. A map from any one year would leave out territory gained later or wrongly show territory, like Alaska, that had already been sold. This page lists regions and roughly when each joined instead.
How big was the Russian Empire at its largest?
Reference sources put its peak land area in a range around 22 to 23 million square kilometers, varying by year and which loosely controlled frontier territories are counted.
When did Russia sell Alaska?
In 1867, to the United States. Any map showing the empire after that date should not include Alaska as Russian territory.
When did Russia take Crimea?
The Russian Empire annexed Crimea in 1783, under Catherine II, after wars with the Ottoman Empire.
Did the Russian Empire include Finland and Poland?
Yes. Finland was an autonomous grand duchy under the Russian emperor from 1809 to 1917, and much of Poland came under Russian rule through the partitions of 1772-1795 and the settlement of 1815.