Russia (War Avoided)

Russian Empire Россійская Имперія Timeline: War Avoided
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem:  Боже, Царя храни! "God Save the Tsar!"
Location of Russia Russia (green)
Capital		Saint Petersburg
Largest		Moscow
Official languages		Russian
Regional languages		Belarusian • Kazakh • Mongolian
Demonym		Russian
Government		Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
-	Emperor	Nicholas III
-	Prime Minister	Nikolay Kharitonov
Legislature		Parliament
-	Upper house	Senate
-	Lower house	House of Representatives
Formation
-	Kievan Rus'	879
-	Grand Duchy of Moscow	1283
-	Tsardom of Russia	16 January 1547
-	Foundation of Empire	2 November 1721
-	Current constitution	5 April 1881
Population
-	2022 estimate	149,134,345
Currency		Russian ruble (RUB)
Drives on the		Right

Russia (Russian: Россія), officially the Russian Empire (Russian: Россійская Имперія) is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It borders Norway, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Bohemia, Ukraine, and Crimea to the west; and Anatolia, Iran, Afghanistan, China, and Manchuria to the south; it also shares overseas borders with Japan to the south, and the United States to the east. It is the largest country in the world, encompassing one-eighth of Earth's inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across eleven time zones. It is the ninth-most populous country, and the most populous country in Europe, with a population of 159.2 million. Saint Petersburg, the capital, is the second-largest city in Russia; while Moscow is the country's largest city and cultural centre.

The East Slavs emerged as a recognisable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. The medieval state of Rus' arose in the 9th century. In 988, it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. Rus' ultimately disintegrated, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow rose during the 15th century. By the 18th century, the nation had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to evolve into the modern state of the Russian Empire, the third-largest empire in the world.

Russia's victories in the Russo-Turkish Wars were checked by defeat in the Crimean War (1853-1856), which led to a period of reform and intensified expansion in Central Asia. Emperor Alexander II (1855–1900) initiated numerous reforms, most dramatically the emancipation of all 23 million serfs in 1861. His policy in Eastern Europe officially involved the protection of Eastern Orthodox Christians within the Ottoman Empire. Eventually, he turned Russia into a more democratic state, and thus removed all threats of radical ideologies such as Marxism rising up. It especially established dominance in Asia after its victory against Japan in the Russo-Japanese War. However, in the 1920s a bunch of regions demanded independence to which the Russian government had to eventually give in, although they fought hard to prevent the secession of Poland in the late '20s.

Russia is a great power in the world. It has a universal healthcare system, and a free university education. Russia's economy is the world's eleventh-largest by nominal GDP and the sixth-largest by PPP.