Publisher's Synopsis
The development of the Russian state was marked by a steady growth of population and especially territory. Its colonial expansion was mainly an eastward movement in search of profitable resources, the way west being blocked by other European powers and the way south by other empires (Ottoman and Chinese). The push to the east proceeded rapidly and distantly, being eased not only by the absence of foreign opposition and native disunity but also by Siberia's interwoven river network and the North Pacific's convenient causeway of the Aleutian chain, plus the lure of 'soft gold' (furs) in the form of Siberian sables and Pacific sea otters.
