Mongols : There's nothing there but trees and wolves. Russians : It's free real estate.

Yes, you miss that Russians establish Fort Ross in 1812 in today's California, which is crazy to think of.

Russia: This list is incomplete, you can help by expanding it.

This is the first video in a long time in which you haven mentioned Portugal

"How did Russia get so big?" Because they had two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese, and a large vodka.

This is literally third video on exactly this topic that I got in my subscribtion page this month.

Kievan Rus is not the name of the country but a time period created later by historians. Moreover, Kiev was not the original capital of Rus - it was captured by Prince Oleg the Prophetic (regent of the son of Rurik) in 882 and only after the capital was moved to Kiev.

Japan: The Kuril Islands have always been ours! Russia: I don't understand what you're talking about, you only conquered them at the beginning of the 20th century

Alexander I didn't go to war against Finland. He went to war against Sweden and conquered the territory called Finland (renamed Grand Duchy of Finland by Alexander).

At 7:45. Fun fact: some geologists believe that Russia's "Time of Troubles" was triggered by vast famines caused by very harsh winters and extremely short growing seasons caused by one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the past 2,000 years--the massive blow-up of Huaynaputina. This is a huge volcano in southern Peru that exploded tremendous quantities of ash into the atmosphere in 1600, which blocked out the sun for a few years and led to a sudden cooling of the Earth's surface. This is manifested in very long and harsh winters. This eruption was larger than the far more famous one at Krakatoa in 1883. The Spanish had built a large settlement near this volcano, Arequipa, and this thriving colonial town was wiped off the face of the Earth by apocalyptic amounts of ash that had fallen on it, along with a large number of earthquakes that struck it one after the other. Some geologists also theorize that the Huaynaputina eruption triggered "The Little Ice Age" in Europe, China, Russia and North America in the early 1600s.

1. The word "Rus'"comes from the word Rower, although it's still under debate. However, the tribe that conquered Southern Karelia, were mostly known as "Varyags" or varangians 2. Main part of the trade wasn't going on with local slavic population, but was going through the traderoads "From Varangians to Persians" and "From Varangians to Greeks". Expansion of the Arabian Califate made this traderoads very important, because The Silk Road and The Spice Road was blocked. This made important for the Varangians to control these territories, to build the infrastructure so the trade ships could safely go through the rivers of Volga and Dniepr, and eventually a government have appeared. 3. Ivan IV's nickname "The Terrible" comes from mistranslation of the word "Grozny", which means literally means "thunderous", or "menacing". He had a heavy character, and there were executions, like anywhere in Europe, but certainly not a remarkably big, and there were not much of reasons (besides oprichnina, of course) to call him The Terrible. Also, he was the first tzar, not the Vasily III, because on his coronation a byzantine ritual of anointing was performed, and the word tzar comes from "Caesar" directly. Just wanted to note it, a lot of people doesn't know it. 4. Pavel I (or Paul) wasn't actually so much of a diplomate. He only ruled for 5 years, during which Napoleon was thrashing Europe. Many reforms of Paul I were directly reforming russian military. He was a big fan of Friedrich II of Prussia, and he in many ways was using prussian methods of training the military. 5. A lot of information was missed with no mention of Crimean War. One of many reasons of this war was russian influence on local minorities and expansion towards the Balkans, as Russia, with Byzantine Empire long gone, proclaimed herself a defender of orthodox faith. Ottoman Empire, "the sick man of Europe", was not much of a threat anymore, but still was making the balance of power in the region of eastern mediterranean, but expansion of Russia in the Balkans could ruin it. So, in result of the Crimean War, the most part of expansion was stopped, only the influence by faith and support of bolgarian and greek rebels remained. Russia would be in only single war with Turks until WW1, in 1877-1878, with minor land additions to empire, partially because of it. 6. 7:03 omg this map is terrible Just a minor additions to the video, GK, but still, the video is great, thank you!

Oh we got a long one this week

This is getting out of hand, now there's two of them.

8:38 "The False Dmitris" sounds like a no-wave group from the late 70's

"How did Russia get so big?" Mercator: "I didn't do it!"

It’s interesting how despite the collapse of both the Russian empire and subsequently the Soviet Union which resulted in massive Territorial losses, Russia managed to maintain its gargantuan size.

"How come Russia is the biggest country in the world today?" Russian Empire by the end of 19th century: hold my pelmeni

How everything in this world is relative ... Non-Russians, looking at a modern map, ask - how can Russia be so big? ... I, a Russian, looking at the same map, and remembering what Russia was just recently ... I ask myself, how can Russia be so small? ...

It basically came down to the same colonial race other European powers where involved in. but Russia went the land route east instead of seeking overseas colonies.

Imagine if Russia hadn’t sold Alaska…

Russia is actually slightly bigger than Pluto.

The word "Царь" (Tsar) is pronounced exactly by letters TS A R. There's no z sound at all. Not a reproach, just a reference.

The almost claimed territory of Macquarie Island by the Russians is quite impressive

It was not a council of nobles who elected the Michael Romanov - there were representatives from all the population including farmers.

Russia had no natural borders that offered protection from enemies. So they were forced to conquer the whole continent. And when they reached the Pacific, they couldn't stop and set over to America. So they finally got their overseas colony as well.

Looking at genetic studies. The Rus, or at least Rurik's clan was a local "river raider" kind of clan. the Rurikids themselves, the royal family, were of mixed Norse, Finnic and Slavic backgrounds indicating Rurik's family lived in the family long enough to intermix with the locals. It also makes sense that a local warlord took power as opposed to a foreigner coming and being given the reigns over the proto state. The Rurikid dynasty ruled the Russian and the Ruthenians since the 9th century. The Russian state was massive since the reign of Igor Rurikovich. At the peak the Kievan Rus stretched over a span of some 1 million square kilometers. That was huge at the time, and still is fairly large today.

16:46 Your comment about war against Finland is not accurate. If you are referring to Finnish war of 1808-1809, it was between Russia and Sweden. Finland didn't exist as a sovereign nation back then.

Romanovs are actually not extinct.

Alternate title: History of Russia

I always wondered about that, thanks for the quick summary

Long story short they took all the land that nobody else wanted

Calling Ivan the terrible is so wrong, he was genius, his Kazan campaign was executed when he only 22

"How did Russia gets so big??" "Rush B, my friend. Rush B."

6:47 - wow. I guess the city names are higher and so are the dates of anexations.

Привет из России , друзья)

Thanks for including Tannu Tuva in the map - a hoi4 player

Very well-made video. You did a great job explaining a lot of history in a short amount of time while still making it interesting and understandable

That state never called the kievan rus. this is a modern Russian historical term to describe some period of Russian history. The state was called just Rus.

If you haven’t already watched the video General Knowledge or anyone else - Epic TV has video on the history of Russia (From Rurik to Revolution) - it’s a great video & worth a watch. Great video as well. Continue the brilliant work General Knowledge 😁👍

ca. 1735 - Russia: is ruled by a female 2021 - USA: still waiting for a female president...

18:09 Wait a second! This is Nicholas II of Russia, not Nicholas I of Russia that you made a typo mistake! Nicholas I of Russia was the Emperor of the Russian Empire before Nicholas II!

Russia basically did what their fellow European countries did during colonialism they expanded by taking the land they could & like US they just expanded in their own backyard so when decolonisation took place they got to keep it. I think every country that expanded in contiguous land has kept those land (well most seem to have if not all) but those with far away possessions have lost it (with some exceptions like overseas territories of many). Very interesting & detailed video.

During Russia's greatest extent they bordered Germany, Iran, China, Korea, and Canada. That's just so mind-bogglingly big to me.

6:47 this map hurts my brain

Mostly flat lands. But, with one omission. Waterways, a.k.a. rivers. Lots of them. It made traversing a flat terrain even more quicker and easier. Lots and lots of rivers for Russia, General 😮😮😮

PLS make a video about the war of ultramar ( war between Portugal and his colonies)

Great video! Beautiful images!

Wow, that was great! So informative, and answered a whole bunch of my curiosity. Thanks!

I miss my '90s Encarta. It has some awesome animations that showed things like territorial expansion.

That's an excellent question, General Knowledge😎👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

I know this might seem like an odd request, but could you make your next video about what the total amount of wealth would be if every East India Company combined into a single giant East India Company? I'm asking this because I've heard that the Dutch East India Company was the wealthiest corporation of all time, yet I know for a fact that the British East India Company and various other East India Companies were also extremely wealthy.

Note how Russia expands eastwards so much for the nation intent on conquering Europe

Forests: Exists Russia: it's mine Tundras: Exists Russia: mine Completely random island: Exists Russia: yes

“Why did Russia get so big?” It followed yo moms diet lmao

Why is Russia so big? I'm talking only about the eastern expansion. 1 The main reason is geography. The sparsely populated steppes and mountains on the southern outskirts of Russia, in fact, are not needed by anyone. Only nomadic peoples can live in the steppes - a weak enemy. 2 Powerful neighbors: Golden Horde and China. the golden horde extended its influence to china, mongolia, eastern europe. Russia was securely covered from the south and east by its enemies. the golden horde and its satellites regularly raided. Russia managed to become a vassal of the Golden Horde. Tax is much better than raids. Much later, Russia will go to the Pacific Ocean. Again, a powerful power (China) in the south will be able to cover Russia from attacks by other countries. 3. Unification of Russian princes. The raids of the Golden Horde rallied the warring Russian cities. The centralization of power helped Russia resist the Golden Horde, and then itself absorb the former satellites of the Golden Horde (Kazan, Siberian, Astrakhan, Crimean Khanates). 4 Russia is the easternmost European country (civilized). Of course, many countries dispute this title, but that's not the point. During the time of Ivan the Terrible, the Khanate of Kazan was conquered. The Russian army had the most advanced guns of that time. Russia always had access to European technologies, which it used. Many times reformer tsars introduced European technologies to Russia. 5 Relatively mild colonization of the peoples east of Russia. Nobody killed the locals, they negotiated with them. The locals were conquered so that they paid taxes. The Russians did not need "living space", unlike the Americans. They usually appointed a Russian chief (the tradition was preserved in Soviet times). He kept order, ensured the collection of taxes, and ensured the protection of the locals from unconquered peoples. Russians lived in cities, and local peoples lived in villages. Such tactics allowed more than 150 peoples of Russia to survive. Now Tatars live in Tatarstan 53,2%, Bashkirs live in Bashkiria 29,5%, Yakuts live in Yakutia 49,9%, Chechens live in Chechnya 95,3%. In the 20th century, nationalities mixed up (wars, large construction projects, urbanization, friendship of peoples). Already in the third generation of mixed marriages, for example, the Chuvash considers himself Russian. About Siberian expansion: In Siberia there was a ridiculous tax - two fur skins a year. This is a terrible Russian colonization ? lol. There were also nationalities that fought with the Russians. For example, it did not work out to completely conquer Alaska. The strong remoteness of Alaska prevented the normal supply of food, weapons and ammunition. Even after the collapse of the Russian empire, unconquered peoples remained. For example, the Chukchi are skilled fighters of the Far North, a warlike tribe that fought with all neighboring tribes. The Soviet government made them drunk (the northern peoples have no resistance to alcohol), but also gave writing, education, medicine and the benefits of civilization. The Chukchi became the hero of Soviet jokes. Jokes about an uneducated person in a big city. Sadly. Now there are only 15,900 Chukchi in Russia. Doubly sad.

It's like playing total war in the perspective of many Russia's Empress and emperor hahaha

You know a country is pretty fucking big, when it shares it's border with North Korea and Norway.

Everyday, I asked that question a lot

You said that the Rurik dynasty ruled Russia since the 13 century and ended in 16 century when they arrived in 9 century and that’s when they started ruling.

Great video!

Russia is out here playing EU4 in real life.

I remember some time ago seeing that what triggered the exploration\expansion of the east was the harvesting of animal fur which was highly valued at that time. Also because that territory was held by the now very weak "mongol empire". Is this true?

I'm more amazed with the fact that Russia managed to maintain all of its territories intact while it went from Russian Empire, to Soviet Union and then Russian Federation, they must have some insane logistics, and the Siberian railway systems and their high ways must be really good.

what is the animation software you use? is this doodly or toonly?

Probably a less known detail -- There used to be a park and museum in northern central Moscow, reportedly by area 1 ten-millionth of the area of the whole Soviet Union. The museum showed achievements of the socialist nation(s). Near it was a titanium statue, called "Kosmos" with a space rocket shape pointing to the sky. Another noteworthy item near it was the Moscow (Ostankino) TV tower (and a large studio and administrative building nearby). At a time, the tower was a tourist attraction, with 3 restaurants high up. They were operated one at a time. They were on top of each other, and if I recall, the top one was called The Seventh Heaven. By the way, the North Branch of the Moscow Metro terminated just at the gate of the park. And our visiting team joked about the park size -- "Let's check how much expansion space there is around the park, just in case".

You basically summarized the history of Russia thank you for the amazing video

Great effort from you thanks 🙏🏼

The last Russian Tsar was no Nikolai I but Nicolai II, although the photo is correct. Also it would be greate to meantion the changes of USSR territory during XX century (annexation parts of Poland, Hungary, Romania and also gaining Kaliningrad after ww2). Nevertheless, a great video, thank you!

Don't mess with slavs

It should be remembered that the Russians had to fight a lot and bring tens of millions of sacrifices to defend all these territories.

I like the countryball in the thumbnail.

Same way as the US, Brazil, Argentina or the UK, which enlarged to Canada and Australia (together similar extensión as Russia)

*Johnny harris wants to know your location*

Short answer: Use cossacks to expand into the vast and empty territory and beat up the local tribes

Great vid *:)*

Im from Algeria, my country are 10 top of bigger countrys of world 🇩🇿

Western European states were surrounded by near-peers. To find riches and land, they had to sail across the seas. That limited the number of people who went, and in most cases European settlers were always outnumbered by locals. Most of these colonies have since become independent. Russians could just head east on foot (or later by train). So they did in much larger numbers (and of course it helped that there were so few natives to their east). Russians became the majority population in the most-desirable areas, all the way to the Pacific.

Kiev rus was a termin designations of ancient rus invented by historian M. A. Maksimovich in 1837

This is a great video. Make more videos like this :D

06:32 Dynasty of Rurykids extinction in 1610, Vasyliy 4 Shuyskiy also is member of Rurykids, but member of Suzdal branch of the dynasty Rurykids. And dynasty of Rurykids still exists.

Could you make a video like this one but about Argentine expansion to the south? It was a much quicker process, but it also consisted of many steps.

Ivan the Terrible: WE AIN'T BIG ENOUGH! Cossacks:Am I a joke to you?

Excellent video and very well researched.

What is the program you use in the start to compare Russia to other country's

"Napoleon invaded Russia, and half of Europe as well". Now THAT'S an understatement.

Where is that map of ephemeral states of the Russian Civil War? I would like to see it for myself if at all possible.

I'm a huge geography nerd, but laying Russia near the equator blew my mind!

GK, still, the video is awesome! Thank you!

If Russia did not Sell Alaska to US., Russia Will Locate 3 Continents + Asia +Europe +North America Love from Cambodia💕💕💞

Moscow princes actually had a legit legal claim for Genghis Khan legacy as his descendants in lands of former Mongol Empire through marriage of prince Yuri of Moscow and sister of Oz Beg Khan of Golden Horde. Quite a little detail to forget about expansion.

What is this website called where you can see the true size of a country?

6:47 map is corrupted 19:54 it's ok *layers are not superimposed correctly (maybe my translation is not correct too)

can you make a video about "what if the portuguese empire reunited?"

Typically mistake with translation (including medieval propaganda) Ivan IV known as "Grozny" it mean - Ivan 'The Storm", not "The Terrible"

It's not big enough for us Russians, we want more.

7:17 The holy hand grenande!

in every Russia history a town called 'smolensk' is mentioned 🤔

Where is the unification of polish-Lithuanian commonwealth vid? ;C

Здравствуйте. Очень приятно, что Вы сделали такой подробный разбор нашей истории, спасибо

very well explained