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This is a copy of an engraving published in the year 1750, with the original being from 1703 depicting the fortress of Kronstadt. This military fortification was constructed under the reign of Peter the Great after the Russian Empire’s expansion into the region of Ingria onto the Gulf of Finland. During the founding of the city of St. Petersburg, Tsar Peter ordered the construction of a naval fortress situated on the island of Kotlin off the coast of the newly founded capital. This engraving outlined the plans for the citadel which would allow the brand new Russian Fleet to port safely in the Gulf.

The first operational levels of fortification would be completed by 1704 during the ongoing Great Northern War with the Kingdom of Sweden; which had been the island’s previous owner. The construction was planned by an etnic German, explaining why the fortress was given a German name being Kronstadt, a derivative of Kronslott meaning Crown’s Castle. The construction itself was a military operation and according to a quote from the National Library of Russia, “Building work was carried out by captive Swedes and Russian soldiers''. It withstood attack from the Swedes during the conflict and became not only a bastion of defense for Saint Petersburg but a center of the Russian Navy and thereby Imperial military might and expansion both in the Baltic Sea and beyond. I chose this photo as it relates directly to Peter the Great, the Great Northern War and Imperial expansion in general.

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The image above depicts a map of Russia from the time of Catherine the Great’s reign. It was a culmination of the finished work from research expeditions taken up from 1768-1774. The lands of the empire are displayed center frame as well as other elements of symbology on the periphery. Catherine is depicted in the bottom right hand corner accompanied by the Roman god Mercury. They are depicted next to military hardware as well as naval vessels. These items served to symbolize Catherine’s connection to the military and the empire’s expansion. Also depicted in Catherine’s and Mercury’s hands is a two-leafed map as the quote from the Russian National Library elaborates on, “ One of the leaves depicts the territory of the Black Sea coast, where repeated Russian-Turkish wars were conducted.”, obviously playing on Russian territorial expansion. Also depicted is a goddess with cherubs and a banner labeled the Russian Empire paying homage to iconography of the Roman Empire which the Russian Empire considered itself a successor of. Not to mention the European Enlightenment”s, which was affecting the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great, fixation and admiration for the Romans.

The map shows a large swath of Eurasia; already giving credence to the fact the Russian Empire was already a gargantuan state straddling two continents. The accuracy of the geographic proportions of the map are also quite good showing the success of the scientific missions who’s information created the work in the first place. I chose this image as it plantently displays Russian Imperial expansion, both militarily and scientifically,  under Catherine the Great.

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This is a map circa the year 1820 depicting the Kingdom of Poland, also known as Congress Poland, during the former independent kingdom’s period under Imperial Russian rule. Following the Napoleonic Wars Poland, at least the territories shown here, were given to Russia following the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Poland was formerly part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a former major player in Eastern European geopolitics, was an historic rival of the Russian Empire and had previously even occupied Moscow for a time during the era of Muscovy and the time of troubles. By the time of the making of this map Poland was a part of the Russian state with the term kingdom referring to the Russian Czar holding the title of the King of Poland

Poland proved to be a problem child of a province for the Czar as the Poles resented Russian domination of their land. Although the territorial annexation of Poland still was technically a win for Russian Imperial glory; it was not an easy prize to hold on to. Czar Nicholas the First experienced a major uprising in the Kingdom from 1830 to 1831 with the Russian army having to be called in to put the rebellion down by force of arms. This both added to Nicholas’ paranoia of insurrection and usurpation of his throne; as he had already experienced the Decembrist uprising at the dawn of his reign. As well as the Polish conflict permanently souring Nicholas’ personal opinion of his Polish subjects. I picked this photo as it depicts the physical territory of the Russian Empire’s expansion and the underlying headache it caused for the monarchy.

Source:“Canvas Empire: Geographical Atlas of the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Finland.” Canvas Empire: a Spatial History of the Russian Empire, https://scalar.fas.harvard.edu/imperiia/geographical-atlas.

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This is a print dating back to the year 1837 depicting Russian soldiers resting on the side of the road. The location the soldiers are depicted at is on the Crimean Peninsula outside of Yalta. The Crimea Peninsula had been added to the Russian Empire late in the eighteenth century. By the time of the reign of Nicholas the First Crimea had been part of the Empire for decades but was still mostly populated by Tartar Muslims who swore loyalty to the Russian Czar. Even during years of peace in the region Imperial soldiers could often be seen performing auxiliary duties as the quote, “In peacetime, soldiers were tasked with public works projects. This group was building the road between Yalta and Alupka.”.

Crimea was on the frontier of the empire as it sat precariously on the northern edge of the Black Sea, right across from the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans had been the previous rulers of the Crimean Peninsula and the Russian Empire always feared the return of the Ottomans to the region during one of their many wars between each other in the era. I chose this image because it shows how the Russian Empire kept a military presence in many of their more problematic and or tenuous regions of control following territorial expansion by the Empire. The military presence within Crimea would prove especially vital given that the region would experience a major war between Russia, the Ottomans, and the western powers within it just over a decade after this sketch was made.

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This is a photo taken of a building in the center of the city of Khiva, now in modern day Uzbekistan, in 1873 by a Russian photographer. The Khanate of Khiva, formerly an independent state, had fallen to the Russian Empire via military conquest that same year. Russian involvement in the region had been a long standing issue for the Khivans as multiple expeditions by Imperial forces had been launched at subduing Khiva ending in defeat for the Imperial forces. Central Asia had historically been a crossroads of cultures mixing Turkish, Persian, Indian,  East Asian, and Siberian influences. The region had formerly been home to many Khanates, as the legacy of nomadic empires still loomed large. During the nineteenth century however, the region became a geopolitical battleground between the Russian and British Empire in what would be known as the Great Game. Russia had long sought access to warm water ports in order to have stable maritime trade and to project naval power on the high seas; an historic trope of the Russian nation throughout the history of the empire and beyond. Britain, being the colonial holders of the Indian subcontinent, feared Russian influence and ambition in the region. This mutual clash of ambition culminated in the rivalry of the two empires throughout the nineteenth century. Britain famously launched incursions into Afghanistan as Russia swept down from her holdings in Siberia and the southern Urals. The goal of Russia to achieve strategic depth in territorial acquisition led to the forced annexation of the Central Asian Khanates into the empire. Within this photo you can see Persian architectural styles which give credence to the non-Russian heritage of this newly acquired Russian Imperial territory. This photo marks the era in which Russian power firmly took control of the region , ushering in Imperial dominance of Khiva and her nonethnic Russian citizenry. It is also notable to mention the use of photography within the empire as it is in itself a form of technological conquest of the Russian Empire over the petty kingdoms of the region. Russia was actually well known as a hotbed of early photography of its landscapes and peoples as the quote, “For example, contemporaries noted that the Russian section enjoyed great success at the Paris International Geographical Exhibition in 1875" shows. I chose it as an example of blatant, and mass Russian Imperial expansion during the late empire which was in congruence with European Imperial expansion around the globe. The image gives credence to the truly ever increasing multicultural aspect of the Russian state.

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This is a famous British political satire piece from the year 1877. It depicts a stylized map of Europe with the Russian Empire depicted as an octopus with its tentacles reaching out and grabbing its neighbors. The year 1877 is important as it was the year of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877, unironic naming to say the least. The man depicting the Ottoman Empire is depicted doing battle with the aquatic beast, the Turk’s arms and legs grasped by tentacles. Other characters within the comic such as Persia are also being assaulted by the Russian octopus with Finland, Poland and the central asian territories in the grasp of the Russian Empire’s appendages. The German Empire is seen, through its geographical extension of East Prussia, pushing back on the Russians. As well the Hungarian portion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire can be seen lurching towards Russia and being restrained by the Austrian half; a nod to the lingering Hungarian animosity towards the Russians for their role in suppressing the Hungarian Revolution decades earlier. It is also notable that the tentacle in the region of Crimea is injured, a reference to the Crimean War of the 1850s. The eyes of the Octopus are labeled St. Petersburg and Moscow, the two largest cities and hubs of power within the Russian Empire. This interpretation of the Russian Empire as an aggressive octopus was not the only time this was done as this quote shows, “The octopus has frequently appeared in satirical maps of territorial expansion and war, including the Russo-Japanese War of 1904.” I chose this image as it is an excellent depiction of Russian Imperial expansionism during the late nineteenth century. The image depicts the fears of the rest of Europe towards Russia as well as its attempts at seemingly ever expanding geographic grasp.