Jakarta – The largest country in the world is Russia. Wide Russia which reaches 17 million square kilometers making this country 27 times larger than Ukraine and almost 8 times larger than Indonesia. Regions in Russia are divided into 9 time zones. Why does Russia have such a large territory?
Russian historian Alexander Polovtsov noted that this vast area in the north had made it very difficult for the Russian Empire to control. He added that sometimes state officials did not know what was happening on the borders of the empire’s territory.
“A report came today saying that General (Mikhail) Chernyayev had captured Tashkent (a suburb of Russia, now the capital of Uzbekistan). No one knows why or what he did it for,” wrote Polovtsov in 1865, as quoted from Russia Beyond the Headline.
Why Russia very large?
1. Expansion to the 16th Century
The history of the expansion of the Russian Empire influenced its territory later to become the largest country in the world. The Russian Empire experienced a period of territorial expansion until the 15-16 centuries.
Initially, Russia was inhabited by the Vikings of Kievan Rus in the 9th century. Under Rurik and his ancestors, the Vikings continued to expand until they were attacked by the Mongols in 1237 History.
The remaining Rus’ then gathered at the Grand Duchy of Moscow or the Grand Duchy of Moscow. This area is lower risk of Mongol attack because it is a remote forest area.
Russia’s first tsarist regime Ivan IV Vasilyevich (1533-1584) then established Moscow as the seat of government and annexed the Kazan and Astrakhan regions. The areas of these kingdoms were then conquered and united in the Russian Empire. The territory conquered by Russia was later inhabited by the Russians.
2. Conquest of Siberia
Ivan the Terrible then ordered the Cossacks to expand to the east. This journey aims to conquer other regions in the Ural Mountains such as Siberia and the Far East. In the 1700s, Russia became one of the largest empires in the world like Britain.
The areas conquered by the Cossacks covered 77 percent of present-day Russia. The Siberian plateau has an area of at least 13.1 million square kilometers. Power in Siberia made Russia the largest country in the world geographically.
According to the President of the International Geographical Union Vladimir Kolosov, Russia’s expansion into Siberia and the Far East was not much of a problem because there were not many people in the vast and cold region. Because of this, Moscow had no trouble annexing the eastern territories of the empire.
“The population density there is now even 2 people per square kilometer. In the 17th century, this figure was even lower,” he explained.
3. Security Guarantee with Tribute Reply
Kolosov added that the tribes in Siberia at that time were also allowed to continue the traditional way of life with security guarantees. The condition is that the tribes must give tribute or periodic compensation paid with yasak or feathers.
“Russia is not trying to suppress local tribes. Russians are generally interested in fur, a valuable commodity in their trade with Europeans,” said Kolosov.
According to Kolosov, the agreement could be accepted by the people of the tribes in Siberia through the peace process. Because of this, the tribal people wanted to join Russia.
Meanwhile, Russia’s expansion into the western and southern regions of the empire was much slower. Because, Russia has to compete with Poland, Turkey, and other powers.
4. Winter and General Frost
Until now, he continued, most of Siberia and the Far East, especially in the north, remained uninhabited. Because, the harsh climate becomes an obstacle for humans to live. Russia’s climate is also one of the obstacles to the attacks of other kingdoms and empires.
For example, during the Russo-Swedish Great North war of 1708, nearly half of the Swedish army and its horses died from the cold in Ukraine. At that time, Ukraine was still part of Russia. Although the Scandinavian soldiers are used to cold temperatures, Ukraine has experienced some of the lowest winters in Europe in 500 years.
The extreme winter in Russia is nicknamed General Frost or General Frost. In addition to tactics and guerrilla warfare, General Frost in Russia made the French army offensive fail in the 1800s.
But later in the 20th century, about 126 thousand Soviet troops (now Russia) also died of cold when besieged by Finnish troops. The Finnish army itself lost about 25 thousand lives.
The Federated Socialist State of the Soviet Union was established in 1922 after the Russian Empire collapsed in the February Revolution of 1917. The area of the Soviet Union in 1991 was about 22.4 million square kilometers.
The Soviet Union disbanded in 1991 after failing to establish a federation. The Soviet Union then split into Russia and 14 independent countries around it, including Ukraine. With power in most of the former Soviet Union, that’s why Russia has a large area.
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