This book is intended to provide a carefully researched and authoritative volume on the expansion of the Russian empire, and thereby offer the first comprehensive history of Russian imperialism. It covers the period from the decline of the Mongol empire to the Bolshevik Revolution. The book is divided into two sections: the first attempts to explain the sources of Russian imperialistic behaviour within the Russian historical context; the second discusses the implementation of plans and objectives as the Russian empire builders advanced northwestward to the waters of the Baltic, southward to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and eastwards through Siberia to the Pacific Ocean.