Covering more than 1,000 years of tumultuous history, RUSSIA AS EMPIRE shows how the medieval empire of Kyivan Rus’ metamorphosed into today’s Russian Federation. Kees Boterbloem vividly and lucidly describes Russia’s various incarnations and considers how the concept of empire evolved from tsarist Russia to the Soviet Union, and how and why it survives today. He discusses the ideological architects of these empires and the ideas of their political leaders --- the tsars, Lenin, Stalin, Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin. The book considers the role of the various empires’ inhabitants, revealing how and why they adhered to, or believed in, their country’s imperial mission. What emerges is a highly original overview that illuminates the continuities and discontinuities in Russian history.