Territorial evolution of the Russian state, from the thirteen to the twenty-first centuries

The article is devoted to the study of territorial evolution of the Russian state from the thirteenth century (when Moscow became a distinct principality) up to the present. The study is based on multidisciplinary approach; concepts, theories, and methods of history, political and historical geography, international relations, and geopolitics being applied. Territorial growth of Russia, which for centuries has been the largest state in the world, would not be possible without cohesive ideological basis. Orthodox Christianity provided such a basis throughout much of Russian History. Ideological principles of the Russian state include the belief in its unique path and a sense of mission, with support for brotherly Slavic and Orthodox peoples as part of such a mission. Another important feature of the Russian state that resulted from its territorial growth is multiethnic structure of its population.