Wild West vs Wild East: American vs Russian Expansion 1300 to 1914 – Brilliant Maps

The
map
above
contrasts
the
growth
of
the
Russian
Empire
between
1300
and
1914
with
that
of
the
United
States
from
1776
to
1914
using
a
similar
colour
scheme
for
each
decade.

You
can
see
each
map
in
more
detail
below,
followed
by
an
explanation.

Russian
Expansion
1300-1914

American
Expansion
1776
to
1914

At
it’s
peak
1895
the
Russian
Empire
controlled
an
area
of

22,800,000
km2
(8,800,000
sq
mi),
compared
to
17,098,246
km2
(6,601,670
sq
mi)
for
the
modern
country
of
Russia
today.

Contrast
that
with
the

United
States.
The
contiguous
(lower
48)
United
States
occupies
an
area
of
3,119,884.69
square
miles
(8,080,464.3
km2),
but
include
the
states

Alaska,
Hawaii
and
colonies
like
the
Philippines
and
additional
797,909
square
miles,
2,066,572
km2
for
a
total
of

3,917,793
sq
miles.
(10,147,036
km2).

Yet
Russia’s
population
today
is
only
around
145
million
people
compared
to
the
United
States
of
just
over
340
million
people.

The
Expansion
of
Russia
vs
The
United
States

Expansion
of
Russia
(1300–1914)

Russia’s
territorial
expansion
from
a
small
principality
around
Moscow
in
the
early
1300s
to
becoming
one
of
the
world’s
largest
empires
by
1914
involved
centuries
of
conquest,
colonization,
diplomatic
manoeuvres,
and
settlement
of
vast
lands.

Phases
and
Key
Events:

• 
  Rise
  of
  Muscovy
  (1300–1500s):
  • Initially,
    
    Moscow
    was
    a
    small
    principality
    under
    Mongol
    rule.
  • Gradual
    consolidation
    of
    surrounding
    principalities.
  • Ivan
    III
    (Ivan
    the
    Great,
    1462–1505)
    and
    Ivan
    IV
    (Ivan
    the
    Terrible,
    1547–1584)
    dramatically
    expanded
    Russian
    territory
    by
    annexing
    neighbouring
    lands,
    defeating
    Mongol
    khanates,
    and
    establishing
    centralized
    rule.
• 
  Siberian
  Expansion
  (1500–1700s):
  • Beginning
    with
    the
    conquest
    of
    the
    
    Khanate
    of
    Kazan
    (1552)
    and
    Astrakhan
    (1556),
    Russia
    expanded
    eastward
    across
    the
    Ural
    Mountains
    into
    Siberia.
  • Led
    by
    explorers
    and
    fur
    traders,
    notably
    
    Yermak
    Timofeyevich
    in
    the
    late
    1500s,
    Russia
    rapidly
    annexed
    Siberia,
    reaching
    the
    Pacific
    Ocean
    by
    the
    mid-1600s.
  • Driven
    by
    fur
    trade,
    agriculture,
    and
    colonization
    efforts,
    it
    established
    towns,
    forts,
    and
    settlements
    across
    vast
    Asian
    territories.
• 
  Westward
  Expansion
  and
  European
  Conflicts
  (1700–1800s):
  • 
    Peter
    the
    Great
    (1682–1725)
    gained
    territory
    along
    the
    Baltic
    coast
    after
    defeating
    Sweden
    (Great
    Northern
    War,
    1700–1721).
  • 
    Catherine
    the
    Great
    (1762–1796)
    conquered
    Crimea,
    Ukraine,
    Belarus,
    and
    parts
    of
    Poland
    in
    the
    late
    1700s.
  • Russian
    Empire
    actively
    engaged
    in
    partitions
    of
    Poland
    (1772,
    1793,
    and
    1795),
    significantly
    expanding
    westward
    into
    Europe.
• 
  Southern
  Expansion
  and
  Caucasian
  Wars
  (1800–1880s):
  • Russia
    expanded
    south
    into
    the
    Caucasus,
    conquering
    Georgia,
    Armenia,
    Azerbaijan,
    and
    parts
    of
    Central
    Asia.
  • Fought
    numerous
    wars
    with
    the
    Ottoman
    Empire
    and
    Persia,
    acquiring
    extensive
    territories
    through
    military
    conquest
    and
    diplomacy.
• 
  Central
  Asian
  Conquest
  (Mid-late
  1800s):
  • Expansion
    into
    Kazakhstan,
    Uzbekistan,
    Turkmenistan,
    Kyrgyzstan,
    and
    Tajikistan.
  • Driven
    by
    strategic
    considerations,
    trade,
    and
    competition
    with
    the
    British
    Empire
    (the
    “Great
    Game”).
• 
  Eastward
  Push
  and
  Far
  Eastern
  Expansion
  (1800–1914):
  • Established
    footholds
    on
    the
    Pacific
    coast
    (Vladivostok
    founded
    in
    1860).
  • Acquired
    territory
    in
    Manchuria
    and
    competed
    with
    Japan,
    resulting
    in
    the
    Russo-Japanese
    War
    (1904–1905).

Motivations:

• 
  Strategic
  and
  geopolitical
  ambitions
  (competing
  with
  European
  and
  Asian
  rivals).
• 
  Economic
  interests
  (fur
  trade,
  agriculture,
  natural
  resources,
  and
  later
  industrialization).
• 
  Military
  conquest
  and
  colonization
  (subduing
  local
  populations).
• 
  Ideological
  goals
  of
  spreading
  Orthodox
  Christianity
  and
  Russian
  culture
  (Russification).

Expansion
of
the
United
States
(1776–1914)

From
thirteen
coastal
colonies
to
spanning
an
entire
continent,
U.S.
expansion
was
rapid,
involving
purchases,
treaties,
warfare,
displacement
of
indigenous
peoples,
settlement
by
pioneers,
and
manifest
destiny.

Phases
and
Key
Events:

• 
  Early
  Expansion
  (1776–1803):
  • After
    independence
    (1776–1783),
    the
    new
    nation
    stretched
    westward
    to
    the
    Mississippi
    River
    through
    the
    
    Treaty
    of
    Paris
    (1783).
  • Organized
    settlement
    of
    the
    Northwest
    Territory
    and
    frontier
    lands.
• 
  Louisiana
  Purchase
  and
  Continental
  Ambitions
  (1803–1840s):
  • 
    Louisiana
    Purchase
    (1803)
    from
    France
    doubled
    the
    size
    of
    the
    country.
  • Explorations
    by
    Lewis
    and
    Clark
    (1804–1806)
    stimulated
    westward
    settlement
    and
    expansionist
    ambition.
• 
  Manifest
  Destiny
  and
  Westward
  Movement
  (1840s–1860s):
  • Concept
    of
    
    Manifest
    Destiny
    encouraged
    settlers
    to
    move
    west,
    driven
    by
    beliefs
    in
    American
    exceptionalism
    and
    economic
    opportunities.
  • Texas
    annexation
    (1845),
    Oregon
    Treaty
    (1846),
    and
    Mexican-American
    War
    (1846–1848),
    which
    led
    to
    acquiring
    vast
    territories
    including
    
    California,
    New
    Mexico,
    Arizona,
    and
    Nevada.
• 
  Civil
  War
  and
  Internal
  Consolidation
  (1861–1865):
  • Post-war
    Reconstruction
    facilitated
    further
    western
    settlement
    and
    expansion.
• 
  Purchase
  of
  Alaska
  and
  Pacific
  Expansion
  (1867–1914):

Motivations:

• 
  Manifest
  Destiny
  (belief
  in
  divine
  right
  and
  cultural
  superiority).
• 
  Economic
  factors
  (gold
  rush,
  agriculture,
  trade
  routes).
• 
  Strategic
  interests
  (control
  of
  continental
  territory,
  access
  to
  Pacific
  and
  Atlantic).
• 
  Population
  pressures
  and
  immigration
  (need
  for
  land
  and
  resources).

Comparisons
between
them

Similarities:

• Both
  expanded
  over
  large
  territories
  through
  military
  conquest,
  diplomacy,
  settlement,
  and
  colonization.
• Economic
  interests
  significantly
  drove
  both
  empires
  (fur,
  agriculture,
  natural
  resources,
  trade).
• Both
  displaced
  indigenous
  populations
  extensively
  and
  imposed
  cultural
  assimilation
  or
  marginalization.
• Each
  faced
  external
  rivalries
  (Russia
  with
  European,
  Ottoman,
  Chinese,
  and
  Japanese
  powers;
  U.S.
  primarily
  European
  colonial
  powers,
  Mexico,
  Native
  American
  tribes,
  and
  later
  Japan
  and
  Spain).

Differences:

• 
  Time
  Span:
  Russia
  expanded
  gradually
  over
  centuries,
  whereas
  U.S.
  expansion
  occurred
  rapidly
  in
  just
  over
  a
  century.
• 
  Nature
  of
  Territories:
  Russian
  expansion
  integrated
  diverse
  cultures,
  languages,
  and
  religions
  into
  an
  autocratic
  empire.
  U.S.
  expansion
  primarily
  involved
  settlers
  spreading
  westward,
  often
  displacing
  indigenous
  populations
  rather
  than
  integrating
  them.
• 
  Cultural
  Integration:
  Russia
  used
  Russification
  and
  Orthodox
  Christianity
  as
  unifying
  forces,
  while
  the
  U.S.
  used
  cultural
  assimilation,
  democracy,
  and
  republican
  ideals
  combined
  with
  racism
  and
  displacement
  of
  Native
  populations.
• 
  Overseas
  Expansion:
  U.S.
  became
  a
  colonial
  power
  by
  acquiring
  overseas
  territories;
  Russia
  expanded
  primarily
  over
  contiguous
  land,
  although
  later
  in
  the
  Far
  East,
  it
  competed
  for
  overseas
  territories
  in
  Manchuria,
  Korea
  and
  of
  course
  most
  notably
  Alaska
  which
  it
  sold
  to
  the
  United
  States.

Conclusions

• Russia’s
  expansion
  was
  gradual,
  continuous,
  and
  mostly
  contiguous,
  driven
  by
  geopolitical
  competition,
  economic
  opportunities,
  and
  colonization
  of
  Siberia
  and
  Central
  Asia.
• U.S.
  expansion
  was
  rapid,
  ideologically
  driven
  by
  Manifest
  Destiny,
  focused
  on
  continental
  land
  acquisition
  initially,
  then
  later
  extending
  overseas
  as
  part
  of
  global
  imperialism.
• Both
  resulted
  in
  immense
  territorial
  gains,
  cultural
  diversity,
  displacement
  of
  indigenous
  peoples,
  and
  significant
  geopolitical
  power,
  shaping
  their
  respective
  historical
  trajectories
  profoundly
  by
  1914.

Anything
else
you’d
add?

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Author: Brilliant Maps