The political, social, and cultural impact of Russian imperial rule between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries; interactions between the Russian state and non-Russian nationalities during the successive stages of the Russian expansion: the Siberian frontier in the 16th and 17th centuries; the "Western Borderlands" (Eastern Europe) from the 18th century on; the Russian presence in the Caucasus and Central Asia in the 19th century. Special focus on the structure and functioning of Russian imperial institutions; types of contact between Russians and non-Russians (strategies of conquest, resistance, forms of collaboration); and the production of culture and knowledge in the service of the Russian empire.