This revised and updated edition of is an outstanding survey and analysis of Russia's development from the end of Mongol rule to the present day. Emphasizing the country's Eurasian heritage in history and geopolitics, the volume explains how Russia's geographical situation has led to the creation of a vast empire—composed of many races, nationalities, and religions—around what was once only a small duchy. Robert Wesson clearly demonstrates how Russia is on the one hand, a European State and, on the other, an Eastern Empire. He describes how the country has drawn heavily on European ideas and technology in order to participate in the Western power system, and yet, politically, has remained an Eastern regime.