The Strategy of Expansion and Influence-Building in the Russian Tsarist Era

Abstract

The study examined the origins of the Russian state, the transformation of its system of government into the Tsarist imperial system, and Russia’s efforts to strengthen its position as an influential power on the international stage through the adoption of a strategy of regional geographical expansion and the enhancement of political influence beyond its borders. The findings of the study showed that Moscow succeeded in expanding the territorial extent of the state by annexing neighboring regions, including Siberia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The Russian tsars waged numerous wars on different fronts in pursuit of their expansionist objectives, which enabled Russia to play a pivotal role in European affairs and to strengthen its influence on the continent, largely at the expense of the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled a significant part of these societies for nearly five centuries. In their expansionist strategy, the Russian tsars relied on the use of ethnic factors and religious ideology to mobilize local societies, particularly in the Balkans, and to encourage them to seek independence from the Ottoman Empire.