THE TRANSITION OF RUSSIA TO A POLICY OF COLONIZATION OR TO WHOM IN RUSSIA TO LIVE WELL?

The article describes how the Russian Empire took possession of foreign territories and developed its own lands, colonizing many peoples, including the Russians themselves. The author emphasizes that Russia ac- quired most of its territory before it became an Empire, and the main reason for this gathering of land was fur fishing. When this resource was exhausted, the state underwent a catastrophic and productive transformation that laid the Foundation of the Empire. It was a period of many experiments: the Empire discovered, captured, set- tled, cultivated – in a word, civilized – the land on both sides of its moving borders. For centuries, the Russian state has combined territorial expansion with a strong immigration policy. It imported people, resettled and reset- tled them, experimented with different forms of population management