Russia (God Bless The Tsar!)

The Russian Empire (known commonly as Russia) is a large transcontinental country spanning most of northern Eurasia and, in this timeline, OTL Russia, Kazakhstan and most of Belarus. It is a member of the United Nations, sitting as a permanent member of the Security Council (prior to the veto's abolition in 1995 it held power of absolute veto), as well as the Council of Europe, the Pan-Slavic Conference and the Commonwealth of Former Russian States.

History
The Russian Empire was founded in 1721 by Peter the Great, with its capital at St Petersburg. After the near-assassination of Tsar Alexander II, the Empire, a backwards and barbaric country, underwent significant reforms, leading it, by the time of WWI, to be one of the world's largest empires, a Great Power, and a developing industrial nation focused on reform and industrialisation. During the First World War Russia sided with the Entente allies, launching an invasion of Germany and Austro-Hungary as a pre-emptive strike. It prevailed on the winning side in 1918, and subsequently settled down to a prosperous postwar period.

However, the Depression caused much unemployment and discontent, facilitating the rise of Prime Minister (later Premier) Josef Dzugashvili (Stalin for propaganda purposes).