After the end of the Polish War of 1617-1618, Russia and Poland signed the Treaty of D'Urino, russia expelled the Polish interventionists, and the internal affairs of the country continued to stabilize, and russia's "Time of Turmoil" (Time of Trebles) came to an end. Russia, which had experienced turmoil, began to recuperate and enter a stable stage of development.
Looking at the geography of Russia at this time, the north was a strong enemy of Sweden, a Protestant, who had just conquered Russia in 1614 and obtained the Baltic sea port, and in 1617 obtained Karelia, which was located next to today's Lake Ladoga, from the Treaty of Stollbovar. Sweden was the economic, political, and military power of the time, Sweden was about to carry out monetary reforms in 1627 and form a conscription system of the National Army, Gustav military reforms led to military reform throughout Europe, and intervened in the Thirty Years' War in 1630.
To the west was the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Catholic, who supported the pseudo-Tsar in the recent era of great upheaval, and at one point conquered Moscow, plunging Russia into great chaos, and taking Smolensk from the alliance under moscow, known as the "Spear of Catholicism", which launched a war against Sweden and Russia under the ambitions of Sigismons III. Poland's proud winged cavalry has shone throughout the wars.
To the southwest is the Crimean Khanate, and the Zaporozhian Cossacks in polish territory, behind the Crimea is the powerful Ottoman Turkey, who believes in Islam, this powerful country has been the most powerful and feared country in the eyes of European countries after the conquest of Gustinople in 1453, the Ottoman Empire invaded the Balkans, besieged Vienna, and was called the number one power in Eastern Europe.
To the south was the Caucasus, where Georgian fortresses straddled rugged mountains and held invaders under the city. The east is ridiculed as the "rotten land of Siberia", Siberia, the towering Ural Mountains, and the vast uninhabited grasslands. Treasures with countless connotations, in previous times there have been colonists to the East to expand, establishing a number of colony points.
What would you do if you were a decision-maker in Russia?
There is no doubt that the expansion of the vast steppes to the east was the least stressful, that firearms and the new types of fortresses reformed after the Renaissance were good weapons against the nomads, and that Siberia did not have a politically capable regime and a powerful army like the countries of the west. Precisely because the pressure to expand eastward was minimal, eastward expansion was a great undertaking that Russia had worked tirelessly for centuries to accomplish.
In contrast, Russia's expansion in the West has suffered many resistances and setbacks. Although in the end, Russia also knocked down many powers and gained a large amount of territory, but its efforts were huge.
Let's see what historicalLy Russia did
After the years of great turmoil, Russia entered a period of recuperation, and after a steady political, economic, and military development, Russia set its sights on its old enemy, Poland. Russia's support for the Zaporizhian Cossacks against Poland triggered an era known in Poland as the "Great Flood". The famous novel "Fire and Sword" trilogy and the same background game "Ride and Slash: Fire and Sword" tell the history of this era, the first Northern War.
Like the "great years of turmoil" in Russia, from the Great Khmelnytsky Cossack Revolt of 1648 to the Polish-Russian Armistice of 1667, it became a period of turmoil in Poland. This eighteen-year history allowed Russia to regain territories lost during the Great Unrest and to acquire Left Bank Ukraine, North Donetsk, and Eastern Lithuania, and Kiev. Zaporizhian Cossacks are administered jointly by both countries.
In the following, Russia and Ukraine merged, triggering the First Russo-Turkish War, after which the two sides were bounded by the Dnieper River.
Peter the Great ascended to the throne, pursued "Westernization" after a series of military reforms, and gained Azov in the Second Russo-Turkish War.
After completing the military reform, Peter the Great stared at the mouth of the Baltic Sea in the north, so he inevitably clashed with the great power Sweden. Peter then worked with the Polish-Saxon kings Augustus and Denmark-Norway to establish a siege of Sweden. The Great Northern War broke out, but Karl XII, who had just succeeded the Swedish king, was no small feat, defeating Denmark and Norway before the Russian war began, kicking it out of the war, and then raiding and crushing the huge Russian army in Varna with a force of 1:4, after which Peter was shocked, and in this battle almost all of Russia's troops were consumed, so that Russia at that time was almost unable to stop the invasion of any army. Karl XII marched south and attacked Augustus' hometown of Saxony. Following the Crusade, Karl XII said, "I will take care of the Tsar in Moscow", but caught up with the cold tide that had not been encountered in a hundred years, and finally defeated Poltava, and the Russian snowstorm thwarted Karl XII's sharpness.
After the end of the Great North, Russia gained the coveted baltic sea estuary, where Peter founded a new city called St. Petersburg. After defeating the formidable rivals Sweden and Poland, Russia turned around and took over its old rival, Ottoman Turkey, and fought the Azov and Crimean Peninsulas in the following Russo-Turkish wars.
In 1723 Russia launched a war against Persia, seizing parts of the west and south banks of the Caspian Sea
In the diplomatic revolution that followed, Britain abandoned its traditional ally Austria and extended an olive branch to the emerging country of Prussia, and Austria formed an alliance with France and Russia. After the Emperor sent troops, the Seven Years' War broke out. The Russian army inflicted heavy losses on Frederick II and occupied Berlin for a time. But with Elizabeth's death, the pro-Purpi Peter III took the throne. Frederick II saw the event as God's salvation of Prussia.
At the mediation of the "Protechnic Peter" of the Seven Years' War, Russia and Prussia made peace and declared war on Austria. Prussia eventually won the Seven Years' War. Russia then won a major victory in the Fifth Russo-Turkish War. Under Catherine's rule, Russia's national power reached its peak. Russia eventually began to pack up its old rival, Poland, for the first time.
At this time, Russia had become a weak country after the great turmoil years into a major power in Eastern Europe. In the ensuing Revolution-Napoleonic Wars, Russia finally established itself as a great power, and a series of famous generals such as Suvorov and Kutuzov also brought about reforms in the new world for Russia. Napoleon brought enlightenment ideas to the feudal Russian system. At this time, Russia also won many victories in the Russo-Turkish War, and its sphere of influence ranged from the Caucasus to the Balkans.
Russia's expansion in the West was the result of a series of wars and a great price, and the cost of the war in the East and China was insignificant compared to that of the West.