"That empire was born from the ashes the barbarian conquests." "Spanning 15 time zones ... and a sixth of the whole mass terrestrial world." "First of all you need to consider its enormous size." "After 400 years of chaos, The Russian Empire was forged ... by Czars of immense power, whose ambition ... was so colossal as the country itself." "She wrote a their corresponding ..." ""I can not stop building." "Building is like a disease." "It's almost like alcoholism. "" "These visionaries led Russia the path of greatness ... adapting technologies ... conquering territories and building an empire." "But the same will that supplied the thirst for eternal glory ... eventually devour the people themselves." "Moscow, 1480 ... one czar decided achieve power unprecedented." "Seu nome, Ivã III." "For centuries, its people been under the heel ... the most brutal warriors Eurasia ... were from Mongolia, Tatars." "But Ivan III resolved I would do everything to defeat them." "No hesitation, tore down the treaty ligava to the Tartars ... and stated that Russia belonged to him." "Now the future of the Russian people was at stake." "If Ivan lost, all perish ... if he won, Russia would become the land of the czars." "Ola, sou Peter Weller." "They say that the history of Russia is the story of their cities." "Russia, as we know, was born in the ninth century ... when several people began to gather ... around a single dominant clan, Kievan Rus called." "The clan, who was from Ukraine, migrated here ... for a forest area surrounded by several rivers and lakes ... and started a small village, Call Novgorod ... meaning "New City"." "Oral tradition tells us that life in Novgorod ... was so chaotic, tumultuous people decided to call ... a Viking warrior, named Rurik, across the Baltic ... to come here and establish order." "In Novgorod, From Kiev Rus clan flourished." "Adopted the religion and technology neighbors, the Byzantines ... and built new cities as the population grew." "One of the warehouses located in the fertile lands of the West ..." "Chamou-soi Moscou." "Moscow, whose official year Established in 1147 is ... was a small wooden fort in a river ... chamava that Moscow "Moskva"." "Meanwhile clan members ... became known as Russians." "However, without rulers, or defenses ..." "Russian cities were easy target for the invasion ... the most aggressive warriors, Tatars." "In 1237, 120,000 Tatars Knights ... crossed the river Volga, to invade." "The first Russians were no match for this strong cavalry." "For nearly 24 months, the Tartars devastated Russia ... but for the authorities, the invasion was an opportunity ... to negotiate with the invaders and better rebuild the city." "The rise of Moscow began in the fourteenth century ... from a political game clever, cunning and ruthless ..." "Part of the great princes Moscow ... who managed to ingratiate Tartar chiefs ... and collect taxes the other Russian principalities." "Under the Tartar Protection, Moscow began to drain ... the resources of other cities." "Territories annexed ended forming a single Muscovite state." "However, leaders still had to pay ... the Tatar warriors hated." "That all changed in 1462, with Ivan III." "Ivan came to power resolved putting an end to the Tatar rule." "Adotou the title of Great Prince all the Russian ... and devised a plan to defeat the Tartars." "I think Ivan had all the necessary features ..." "Tsar to be a success." "He was really great ... was ambitious, opportunistic, ruthless and awake." "The new czar start by marriage ... and chose the princess of the empire ... who had given her religion and architecture, Byzantium." "With this alliance, Ivan adopted the Byzantine symbol ..." "Double Headed Eagle and called Russia the Third Rome." "In 1472 ..." "Tsar began build own legacy." "Commissioned a cathedral, that would be the clear sign ... that Russia was a power to be recognized." "The workers began working on the great work ... that same year." "But Mother Nature had other ideas." "In 1474, a small tremor earth shook Moscow." "Two years of construction turned into a pile of rubble." "Erected in rough stone, on fragile foundation ... was a likely crash." "Ivan turned disaster to opportunity." "At that point, Ivan III did what ... a shrewd ruler would ... searched for the best in the business." "And the best architects this period ... the fifteenth century, were in Italy." "Ivan thought Aristotle Fioravanti." "Known and skilled master architect of Italy." "But before rebuilding Cathedral of Moscow ... it was necessary to demolish what had been." "In the first of several innovations, Fioravanti used military technology ... in the form of a ram to overthrow the ruins of the cathedral." "This left the Muscovites awe ... which had taken months to erect, without success ..." "Fioravanti dropped three weeks." "Then Fioravanti started new construction ... what is known today as Assumption Cathedral." "started inspirational local churches in old ... but gave him touches Western technology." "The result revolutionized Russian architecture." "To start, the foundation." "Instead of a trench filled with stones ..." "Typical constructions Russian medieval ... he robbed this ditch and dug large wooden stakes ... which is a much more stable environment to sustain a building ... so it does not crack or deformed ... and thus collapse." "Innovations Fioravanti not stopped." "Instead of stacking stones, as usual ... he chose desencontrar blocks for mooring ... in order to achieve stability." "Finished walls, he turned ... the delicate and dangerous construction the vaulted ceilings." "When you get the vault, the ceiling ..." "There is too much weight on the walls." "So the third element he introduced ... were the iron screens." "Were iron bars introduced in masonry ... and went to the vault." "This serves as a way more supporting ... it ties the structure." "Finally, instead of the round stone domes ... so common in churches ... he introduced bricks lighter and more robust ... teaching Russian as burn and become the new material." "Thus, from the foundation to masonry walls ... and iron screens in the structure ..." "Fioravanti used a number of techniques ... were known in Italy ... but placed in the context Russian symbolism." "Finished, the cathedral was 30m high." "Was admirable and impressive." "With this symbol of power ..." "Ivan was ready to challenge the Tatars." "The response was immediate." "Assembled a formidable army and attacked Moscow." "Ivan already waiting for them, and the two armies fought battle ... near the Ugra river the 500km from Moscow." "After months of struggle balanced ..." "Russians succeeded winning the Tartars." "Ivan drove the oppressors ... who had subjugated the Russians for nearly three centuries." "With this recorded legacy monuments in stone and bronze ..." "Ivan III became ..." "Ivan the Great." "When he died in 1505, Ivan had created ... an independent Russia but there is an empire." "this distinction Ivan would be with another ... whose absolute power and inhuman cruelty ... you would title Ivan the Terrible." "At the end of the reign, in 1505, Ivan the Great ... had freed the Russian people subservience to the Tartars ... triplicate and the lands of Moscow." "In other words, he spent 40 thousand km ² ... to more than 120,000 km ² ... which itself was already a great achievement." "That's what gave him the title "the Great"." "But the Tartars were still a problem." "While away from Moscow, its capital, Kazan ... stood in the way the achievements of Russia." "Only grim determination the third grandson of Ivan ... deliver once Russia from the Tartars ... and turn into the empire." "He would be known as Ivan the Terrible." "I think the longest period Expansion isolated ... was that of Ivan the Terrible." "The Moscow reign spanned the Volga regions of Europe ... and, later on, whole of Siberia." "This great emperor had had ... an adolescence extremely disturbed." "As a boy, he lost his father ... and witnessed the brutal fight the succession ... involving torture, execution and murder." "Such atrocities would mark Ivan forever." "A traumatic childhood of Ivan the Terrible ..." "Ivan produced a it was merciless." "Even as a child, he tortured animals." "He was cruel and sadistic." "When he took power in 1547, he was convinced that God ... had entrusted with the governing Russia." "He was the first Russian ruler ... to formally crowned as Tsar." "Czar is a Russian word derived from Caesar." "It is an imperial title." "How Tsar Ivan found the perfect outlet for your rude and forceful intellect ... launching the first Russian offensive ... the famous siege of Kazan." "First, he created an army almost 150 thousand ... including units artillery and engineering ... trained in tactics of Europe site." "Engineers adapted the techniques for the Russian war machine." "First of all, designed an ... to defend the Russian troops, the open plains of Eurasia." "It was called "Gulai gorod"." "This, in fact, was a moving fortress." "The gorod Gulai was done wood panel ... or wooden walls." "They were real shells, made to defend ... the infantry artillery, called "strelietz" ..." "Russian sniper." "The Russian infantry was within these mobile fortresses ... and used firearms, cannons, against cavalry." "Yet another way was to use this against a besieged city, as Kazan." "August 23, 1552, with armed and equipped army ..." "Ivan began his journey towards Kazan." "It was very ingenious:" "The Russians were organized ... and raised forts wooden prefabricated ... and kept coming increasingly closer to Kazan." "In other words, were cracking down." "Entrenched on the outside ..." "Ivan forces launched an attack relentlessly ... from gorods Gulai 10m high ... with a rain of projectiles over the city walls." "Killed many soldiers on the streets of Kazan ... with these mobile towers." "Seeing their intact towers, Ivan commanded the officers ... they found a way to invade the city." "A bold plan was created to dig a tunnel under the walls ... fill it with mine and cause an explosion." "The September 30, they ascended one spark ... that would decide the fate of Kazan." "The force of the explosion did stop the battle." "This was the signal the rest of the Army." "And all regiments the tsarist army ... started simultaneously the invasion of the fortress." "After eight days of bloody battle, Kazan fell." "Ivan became a winner and Russia an empire." "It was a monumental feat ... because the taking of Kazan ... meant that Russia ... was incorporating the old Tatar lands ... to which they owed obligations." "And Kazan opened the way ... to Russia expand into an empire." "Opened the way to the south, to the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea ... and opened the way to the east, to Siberia." "In 1555, to celebrate the victory, Ivan ordered ... a monument that would become the symbol of the Russian Empire." "250 00:16:00,826 -- 00:16:04,057 Today, it is known like Saint Basil's Cathedral." "The Cathedral of Intercession ... we know like Saint Basil's Cathedral ... is based on the technology of the towers Brick, brought by the Italians ... and adapted by the Russians, to create church towers." "Built almost entirely with bricks ... the cathedral was composed eight churches in one." "Its design is geometric ... with churches around a central tower ... symbolizing the eight days Site of Kazan." "In the 1580s ... was added feature most distinctive cathedral." "The dome with onions actually has this form ... that image by boss that forms its base." "She gets into a cylinder called "drum" ... and the cylinder, and the top, it extends ... rises and tapers to a point." "This is the acebolado dome." "The domes of St. Basil were absolutely unique." "Each was built in different textures ... with metal plates hand painted." "The structure is iron." "If you take the coating, is a kind of cage ... which was squeezed to form the boss." "The result was a visual stunning architectural ... never seen before in Russia." "In 1553, the fields of Ivan were the largest in Europe ... and he was in the height of his power." "But his increasing paranoia and iron fists that ruled ... were slowly strangling the empire itself." "He plunged into a series costly wars ... and systematically eliminated anyone who dared to face it." "The dark insanity of Ivan consumed the Russian people." "No one felt safe, not even his family." "Another reason to Ivan IV be called "the Terrible" ... is probably the end of his reign ... when he murdered his son, who tried to protect ... his pregnant wife Fury of Ivan." "Ivan hit so angry at the daughter- she miscarried." "When the son was heckles him, Ivan turned against him too ... and in a fit of anger killed him with one blow." "With a single gesture insane ..." "Ivan destroyed the very line of succession." "When the Czar died in 1584 ... the empire he was close to ruin." "Shortly after Ivan came a time ... known as a difficult time." "There was a civil war ... along with a war against foreign intervention." "The Muscovy and Russia were very close ... losing their independence." "A century after achieve independence ..." "Russia found itself the brink of disaster ... but soon a giant appear the stage of history ... amazing the world by founding a sparkling town in the middle of nowhere." "1696... a new czar came to power with a revolutionary plan ... to proceed with the task that Ivan the Terrible had begun ... and transform his nation in a modern empire." "His name was Peter the Great." "Peter the Great, was a person absolutely unique." "It was a giant, both physically Average 2m ... as for your personality." "He did not respect the tradition and conventions ... and was extremely curious regarding the news." "The enormous size of Peter matched his ego." "Around him there was always a whirlwind of activities." "He assumed the duties a dozen men." "He was truly a person extraordinary, out of the box." "Peter spent adolescence in Moscow ... carousing with artisans and military in poor neighborhoods ... learning warfare tactics and technology." "Peter not only I was excited ... with the European technology ... he was also very aware of the weakness ... and the backwardness of Russia compared to Europe." "He wanted to change the situation." "Early on, he went to Europe, Incognito ... and there he studied naval engineering with Dutch experts." "He also learned the art Navigation in the English navy ... and saw all the riches that European empires ... were sucking their colonies." "Thought it might be a good use to the natural resources of Russia." "But he wanted was part of the game ... and he knew that for this, would you take to force ... their country of late medieval he was ... and into the light Western trade." "When he returned to Russia, Peter wanted to transform his country ... in naval power not only for trade with European ... but also to compete as a military power." "Peter turned to a strip of land ... 600 km north of Moscow, near the Baltic Sea ... the banks of the Neva River." "With vanity a Roman god ... he imagined a city ... that Russia would map of Europe." "And call this city St. Petersburg." "A city that location have direct sea access to Europe." "The only problem was that these lands belonged to Sweden ... but Peter did not flinch, and in 1700 ... threw her a withering attack seizing land by force." "In 1703, was released the cornerstone of the city." "The new capital that Peter had in mind ... should be a fortress, military and naval center ... and the window to Europe, by which Western ideas ... modern ideas will spread throughout the empire." "Saint Petersburg was born at the expense much blood and war ... but for the humble people, the ambition of the Czar ... was a double-edged sword." "Peter chose the place of the new city ... because of its access to the Baltic Sea, but this advantage was costly." "For 5 months each year, the river and its surroundings froze ... and consequently had floods when it melted." "The city building would be a great challenge." "Then Peter appealed the natural resource ... that compensated all other in Russia ... cheap labor." "The Russian people literally built St. Petersburg ... with his own hands." "That swampy world ... almost no supply could reach." "To secure the foundations of the fortress above the waters ... workers had to dig the earth with their hands ... and carry thousands of tons of clay ... in jackets and shirts." "Everything had to be imported." "Until the wood had the amount to be cut ... to descend by the current in bulk ... in order to stabilize foundations." "There was no firm ground ... all large structures ... were founded on piles." "To do so, engineers designed a pulley system ... to plunge thousands of cuttings in soft soil." "They lifted the block and dropped, to enter the stake in the ground." "And it was repeated dozens thousands of times, in Petersburg." "Within five months, thousands of workers ... had erected the hexagonal walls and the bastions of the fortress ... standing behind me." "At night, they returned home hungry and cold ... and as well as thousands came to, died by the thousands of diseases ... exhaustion or in floods." "In 1708, an estimated 25 billion workers had died ... building this city, which gave him the nickname ... the "City of Bones"." "The statistics do not say how many died by the end of construction." "But a historian nineteenth century said ... which, up to that point, no battle in the annals of military history ... had cost many lives as the number of workers ... who died building St. Petersburg." "For Peter, the ends justify the means." "In 1706, he launched the first warship ... the St. Petersburg yard ... first City industrial complex." "Had shipbuilders residents ... manufacturers of candles and ropes, forges and an iron foundry." "Russia now had a navy ... and the Tsar would gradually changing the face of the empire." "In 1712, with the usual efficiency and rude ..." "Peter proceeded the greatest change." "In one stroke single ... he made ?" "St. Petersburg Russia's capital." "In an instant, the 300th anniversary Muscovite supremacy of ... collapsed to the ground." "Moscow was stunned." "Many Russians reacted to Peter ... as if he came from another planet." "They did not understand." "he imposed their strange ideas ... with the strength of a king and absolute autocrat." "He inherited this of his predecessors ... but he knew very well how to use to their advantage." "His vision of revolutionizing Russia ... was what guided his life." "Nothing and no one escaped the effect ..." "This revolutionary process." "Peter spared no expense to create a city from scratch ... but in 1714, St. Petersburg was still far ... be a European center as he expected." "And the years of partying and excess already beginning to weigh on the Tsar." "Without that iron will ... entire project threatened to crumble ..." "Russia and leave again, the edge of chaos." "For decades, Peter the Great was focused on the task ... to transform Russia in a great empire ... with St. Petersburg as the capital ... with one exception, he continued to promote ... his legendary nights drink with friends ... but it did not diminish their wholesome Your amazing energy." "He had beaten Sweden in the Great Northern War ... expanded the borders of Russia the Baltic to the Pacific." "Built a European capital, created a navy ... schools did engineering and science ... and increased sevenfold trade of Russia." "Militarily and politically, Russia was already an empire ... but still lacked an essential element:" "Prestige." "In 1714 ..." "Peter scribbled the design of a palace ... he wanted to build on top of a headland ... 40km from St. Petersburg." "His name would Peterhof." "The palace was surrounded by more 200 acres of gardens ... graced by network and sparkling fountains ... hill and sources below." "The work of this great design began in 1716." "A large number of soldiers was summoned to dig the ditches ... where rush plumbing sources." "In 1719, the Hydraulic engineers in the country ... began working in complicated system." "The palace was at the top and high water pressures." "It's fall, the force of gravity feeding the fountains." "Taking advantage of the rugged terrain and water sources close ... workers built a system of 22km ... driven by gravity." "The water was stored at elevated reservoirs ... where spurted by immense pipe ... coming down vertiginous 15m to the central source." "The water accumulated sufficient force to squirt the height of 20m." "The result was stunning." "The sight impressed either, the palace was nicknamed ..." "Russian Versailles." "But Peter did not have much time to enjoy this marvel." "Having plunged into the icy water ." "to save a sailor ... the great Tsar fell ill and did not resist." "At the end of the reign, he transformed a backward and poor country ... at an early empire." "But the task was far of fulfilled." "It would be an ambitious and tenacious German, Woman grandson of Peter ... that would complete the transformation St. Petersburg ... naval fortress the glittering capital ... we know today." "Her name, Catherine the Great." "Catherine took power, in 1762 ... after deposing her husband ... who had been Emperor for only six months." "She knew how to master it easily." "With the throne assured ..." "3 487 00:30:42,106 -- 00:30:45,310 Catherine followed the footprints Peter the Great ... and transformed Russia in world power." "As foreign and European ... she practically completed the process of Europeanization ..." "Peter had started at the beginning of the century." "Actually Catherine considered herself ... legitimate heir of Peter." "In the eighteenth century, to be a successful monarch ... it was necessary to expand the territory." "And that Catherine did very well." "Catherine annexed about 500 000 hectares of land in the country ... which generated vast wealth and expanded the empire ... for size Russia today." "It was also necessary to control several reforms." "And that's what she did." "As a priority, Catherine used his immense wealth ... to modernize the city." "She ombreou with great monarchs ... offering the immense humble people ... several hospitals, sanitary measures ... basic services and schools." "During her reign, Catherine established rules of architecture ... for the construction of new cities" "And she built 216 new cities ... with planning where would the squares ... types of facade, the materials ... be used in the construction." "But more beautiful design Catherine and prestigious ... was the renewal of the royal residence." "The most extravagant monument to luxury and refinement ... the Winter Palace." "This palace had three floors extending over 200m." "On the outside, was decorated 200 columns with exquisite ... and over 150 statues marble." "Inside, there were more than 500 rooms ... almost fourfold the White House." "In the course of his reign, Catherine promoted ... a burst constructions as never seen before." "With all this activity, the Tsarina turned ..." "Petersburg in an ostensive and proudly showcase ... culture, wealth and power the Russian Empire." "She wrote to a correspondent ..." ""I can not stop building." "It's like a disease, almost like alcoholism. "" "But construction was not the only defect in the czarina." "Behind the doors the Winter Palace ..." "Catherine exercised another form of patronage ... caring for their numerous and generally young lovers." "534 00:33:29,607 -- 00:33:31,074 She worked hard." "At night, wanted a male company." "She had several lovers, whom he treated well and generously." "She gave them lands and servants." "But the luxuries of Catherine and its full power ... about to give humans like this ... symbolized the gulf between ..." "Russian worker elite." "Although he was kind to his subjects, reforms of Catherine ... not quite contemplate the people." "At the end of his reign in 1796 ..." "Russia was a superpower." "The brightness of the country, however, brought glory and attracted enemies." "In 1812, the most ambitious General of Europe ... undertook a march of conquest ... as had never been seen since the Roman Empire." "And he chose Russia as the next victim." "When he died in 1796, Catherine had added ... 500 000 hectares lands of the empire." "Over 40 million people were now considered Russian." "When his grandson, Alexander I, ascended the throne in 1801 ..." "Russia was important number the global chessboard." "And that made ?" "it a coveted trophy ... for the most fearsome general Europe, Napoleon Bonaparte." "In 1812, Tsar Alexander face a problem ..." "Russia has not seen since the Mongol invasion, six centuries before." "Napoleon was a threat Handsome Russia." "He had almost all of Europe ... under control." "Napoleon invaded Russia with an army unprecedented ..." "Over 500,000 soldiers." "The Russians, seeing they could not face them ... adopted the tactic of strategic retreat." "burned all what was left behind ... to leave the intruders without food." "when we finally arrived in Moscow ..." "Napoleon realized it had underestimated ... the will of steel the Russian people." "Napoleon probably thought to invade Russia and take the capital," "Alexandre accept negotiate with him." "But no." "He simply ignored, until the bitter cold ..." "Napoleon did understand there was nothing to gain ... staying in Moscow." "And then he retreated." "Forced to march by the same ... freezing and desolate landscape I already knew ..." "Unbeatable army of Napoleon was reduced to 10% of survivors." "Unbeatable army of Napoleon was reduced to 10% of survivors." "In 1883, the successor of Alexander commissioned a monument ... and installed in the center of the square Main St. Petersburg ... a symbol the Russian iron will." "It was called the Alexander Column." "The Alexander Column is on a granite base ... red granite." "It is a monolith, a whole piece." "Again, one czar forced subjects ... literally move mountains ... to erect a monument in honor of the empire." "A battalion of workers ... extracted the base of the column ... one piece, and took her to St. Petersburg." "It was a process that required three years and thousands of workers." "In Petersburg, the engineers faced the daunting task ... lifting the monolith 700 tonnes and 25m high." "They used a large rope that was bound to the column." "Around, hoists had operated by several people." "At a signal, all passed a system of pulleys ... so that the column was raised gradually ... is put in place prepared the base." "Today, the column still think the huge pedestal." "Its total height is 48m." "Was perfectly designed and constructed." "The fall of Napoleon eliminated the threats ... the status of Russia the largest continental empire." "At the turn of the nineteenth century, the country average nearly 10,000 km ..." "Baltic Sea to the Pacific coast ... going to Alaska." "A sixth covered of the entire planet Earth ... including 15 time zones." "And with the new tsar, continue to grow." "As Nicholas II knew Asia, because of their previous trips ... his first trips were for Asian nations ..." "He had a real conviction ... that the future of Russia was in the Pacific." "But with a territory that was lost in the horizon ... the empire was in a danger being crushed by own weight." "And the engineers find A solution ... such as Russia itself." "Build the railway Trans-Siberian." "Those who promoted the construction ... than would be the time the railroad longest in the world in 1890 ... had goals in mind ... economic and political." "They wanted to open the Far East to Russian exports." "At the same time, they wanted to establish Russian power in the east." "The May 31, 1891 ... was seated the first rail a railroad ... that transpose the distance of 9.200km ... equivalent to the cross United States twice." "equivalent to the cross United States twice." "Imagine what it was built the railroad ... sincerely, leaves me impressed." "The building has been divided into stages ... requiring thousands of workers, engineers, soldiers ... and even imprisoned, to perform the task." "In a typical stretch the railroad through ... the Siberian steppes ... an initial team cleaned the ground ... and cut trees to make way for the railroad." "After it was necessary to much work ... for excavation of sites where the tracks pass." "When the earth was leveled ... rails were brought and settlers." "The transport of supplies to the icy plains was a problem ... because the railroad did not exist." "The rails were placed gradually ... and the workers wore the stretch ready to transport the steel from the west ... and continue to build, step by step." "This process was repeated week after week, month after month ... during all the years in the late imperial period." "The strenuous work was an ordeal for the Russians." "It was very hard work, very hard." "Imagine that desolate vastness ... which was transformed Rustic campgrounds ... with workers living in tents ... or, in some cases, shelters, working for months ... in stretches of railroad-supplied relatively limited ... in winter, they were subjected to a extremely low temperature ... in summer, the terrible heat that climate." "In 1904, the railroad was ready." "Russia had a communication line to the east ... and was free to try another achievement in Asia." "The problem, of course, does that put Russia ... in conflict with Japan .." "who had political objectives cheap and very similar." "This conflict of objectives led a war between Russia and Japan" "In 1905, Russia went to war ... and suffered humiliating defeat the Japanese." "That defeat fueled the flames ... growing resentment against the Tsar." "In 1914, Tsar plunged the country in another war." "A war that decimated much of the population." "The First World War." "After centuries building the largest empire of the world at your expense ... the people felt that reached to the breaking point." "The March 15, 1917, the revolt broke out." "Tsar Nicholas II was deposed." "The nearly 500 years of absolute power Czars collapsed to the ground." "The main factor in the disintegration the Russian Empire ... in 1917 ... was the collapse of the Tsarist regime." "He was the emperor I served as the foundation ... to keep the empire together." "The tsars had used the power to build beautiful cathedrals ... a city on swamps ... a railroad crossing a continent ... and sumptuous palaces that even today have no rivals." "The history of the Russian Empire can be seen as a great achievement." "At the same time, this achievement has taken its toll." "In many respects, the empire was built at the expense of the Russian people." "In 1917 the achievements of the empire ... be rewritten with a new system ... determined to improve the lives the humblest peasant." "The powerful empire grew and subjects consumed increasingly ... to build the amusement palace of the rich ... and a hell for the rest." "In the early twentieth century, the exploited poor and illiterate ..." "Russia got tired." "Devastated by the Great War, incited by radical ... the people rose to demolish Russia for which they had fought so ... in a fierce revolution would replace ... a great empire on the other." "Peter Weller , For History Channel ;" "Mahdi.2ndFerdowsi , For Translation"