Russia

Russia grew from the principality of Moscow. In 1337 Ivan I collected tribute for the Golden Horde, strengthening Moscow under the khan's suzerainty.

Ivan III built a centralized state in the late 15th century; his grandson Ivan IV was crowned tsar in 1547. Russian rule spread across Siberia, and the Romanovs took the throne in 1613. After defeating Sweden in the Great Northern War, Peter the Great proclaimed an empire in 1721 and moved the capital to Saint Petersburg. Catherine II expanded it during her reign from 1762 to 1796.