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# Russian Imperialism in Three Maps
- URL: https://www.europesblindspots.eu/russian-imperialism-in-three-maps/
- Published: 2026-10-18T14:48:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-19T16:14:31.000Z
- Description: Three maps trace imperial expansion and domination from Muscovy through the Soviet era to Russia’s wars and territorial claims in Ukraine and the Caucasus.
- Author: Albert Stulens
- Tags: Russia, Imperialism, History, Ukraine, Caucasus

Russia’s war against Ukraine began in 2014, but its imperial ambitions have a much longer history. Imperial power took different forms under the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. Their ideologies, institutions and methods differed, yet territorial expansion and the domination of other peoples recur across these histories.

Conquest, inequality, repression and forced displacement have shaped the lives of those brought under imperial rule. Their experiences also expose blind spots in how we understand Russia and its neighbours.

These three maps explore some of those blind spots. It is never too late to tell the stories they reveal.

![Map from historical expansion from Russian empire between 1147 and 1917](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f0/d7/f0d765c5-4f26-4496-b85d-fa791969d141/content/images/2026/10/01-muscovy-and-russian-empire.png)

From Moscow to empire Muscovy, conquest and colonial expansion 1147-1917

![Map from historical expansion from Soviet empire between 1917 and 1991](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f0/d7/f0d765c5-4f26-4496-b85d-fa791969d141/content/images/2026/10/02-soviet-expansion-and-domination.png)

Soviet expansion and domination, territorial acquisitions and a separately marked satellite sphere 1917-1991

![Map from historical expansion from Russian Federation between 1991 and 2026](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f0/d7/f0d765c5-4f26-4496-b85d-fa791969d141/content/images/2026/10/03-post-soviet-coercion-and-control.png)

Post-Soviet Russian power: occupation, annexation claims, military presence and dependent alliances 1991-2026