How Russia became one of the greatest empires the world has ever known
World Service,·6 episodes
Ivan the Great's expansionist ambitions created the beginnings of the Russian empire.
Peter the Great was a larger-than-life pragmatist who made use of diplomacy.
The post-Napoleonic War years fuelled Alexander I's ambitions eastwards and in Europe.
Communism wiped away the empire of the Tzars to create the Soviet Union.
Will perestroika lead to the disintegration of the Soviet Union?
Perestroika has unleashed a wave of nationalism among Soviet republics.
