This continued for centuries; by the end of the 19th century, the Russian Empire reached from the Baltic Sea, to the Black Sea, to the Pacific Ocean, and for some time included colonies in the Americas (1732–1867) and an unofficial colony in Africa (1889) in present-day Djibouti [2] that lasted only a month.

How did Russian expansion in the 19th century impact the neighboring countries and their response to Russian expansionism? What were the key events and territories that marked Russian imperial expansion during the 19th century, and how did it contribute to the formation of the Russian Empire?

At the beginning of the 19th century, Russian foreign policy was essentially concentrated on the three western neighbour countries with which it had been preoccupied since the 16th century: Sweden, Poland, and Turkey. The policy toward these countries also determined Russian relations with France, Austria, and Great Britain.

Russia - Russia from 1801 to 1917: When Alexander I came to the throne in March 1801, Russia was in a state of hostility with most of Europe, though its armies were not actually fighting; its only ally was its traditional enemy, Turkey. The new emperor quickly made peace with both France and Britain and restored normal relations with Austria.

Between the early 19th century and 1860–1890, there was a massive migration of Muslims from the Balkans and southern Russia into Turkey and Persia as a result of the Russo-Persian Wars and the Russo-Turkish Wars of the 19th century precisely. The last areas of open steppe fell to the plow sometime before 1900.