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Peter the Great, a pivotal figure, introduces reforms, modernizes the military, and founds the Russian navy, transforming Russia into a major European power.
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The Great Northern War with Sweden, resulting in Russia gaining territory including Estonia and Livonia.
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Peter the Great founds St. Petersburg, which later becomes the capital, serving as a "window on Europe".
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Peter the Great dies, and his wife Catherine I reigns as Empress of Russia.
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Peter the Great dies, and his wife Catherine I reigns as Empress of Russia.
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Catherine II (the Great) takes the crown, ruling for 34 years in what will be called the Golden Age of the Russian Empire.
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Catherine II (the Great) takes the crown, ruling for 34 years in what will be called the Golden Age of the Russian Empire.
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Catherine the Great leads Russian expansion, including gaining territory from the Ottoman Empire and the partitioning of Poland.
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Napoleon invades Russia, but his army is nearly destroyed by the Russian winter weather.
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The Decembrist revolt occurs in Saint Petersburg.
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The Crimean War begins, with Russia eventually losing to an alliance of France, the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and Sardinia.
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Tsar Alexander II launches reforms and frees the serfs.
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Russia sells Alaska to the United States.
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Russian-Turkish War sees Russia seize land from the Ottoman Empire in the Caucasus and establish client states in the Balkans.
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Assassination of Tsar Alexander II.
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a conflict between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire, resulting in a decisive Japanese victory and a shift in the balance of power in East Asia.
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a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906
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The February Revolution leads to the abdication of Nicholas II, the formation of the Russian Provisional Government, and the proclamation of the first Russian Republic.
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The Bolshevik Revolution, led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrows the Provisional Government and establishes the Soviet Union
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The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was officially formed, uniting various republics under communist rule.
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Lenin died in 1924, and Joseph Stalin consolidated power, leading to a period of authoritarian rule and purge
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Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union, starting World War II on the Eastern Front ( Russia is successful)
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Stalin dies, and the "post-Stalin thaw" begins with Nikita Khrushchev's rise to power
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The Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, marking the beginning of the Space Race
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he Cuban Missile Crisis, a tense standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States, nearly leads to nuclear war
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Khrushchev is ousted, and Leonid Brezhnev comes to power
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The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, leading to a decade-long war
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Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union and initiates reforms known as perestroika and glasnost
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The Berlin Wall falls, symbolizing the weakening of the Soviet bloc
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The Soviet Union collapses, and the Commonwealth of Independent States is formed
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Vladimir Putin becomes president, marking the beginning of his long tenure in power.
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Russia annexes Crimea and supports separatists in eastern Ukraine, leading to the Russo-Ukrainian War.
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Russia launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, resulting in a major humanitarian crisis and international condemnation.