04 – Russia’s Large Territory in Asia: A Historical Review of the Russian Imperial Expansion

At a Glance

Course Description

This course will review the history of territory expansion of the Romanov Russia (1613-1917). It will explain why 75% of the Russian population today lives in European Russia (West of the Ural Mountains), but 75% of the Russian territory is in the Asian continent (Siberia and the Far East). The course will also address Russia’s cultural and ethnic diversity based on imperial Russia’s territorial encroachment.

Instructor

Ning Chia came from Beijing, China, with an undergraduate education in history. She received her M.A. from Illinois State University and her PhD from Johns Hopkins University. She was a history professor at Central College in Pella, Iowa, for 31 years before teaching for OLLI at Iowa State.