Whois & Analysis for eurasianet.org

The Russian Empire (also known as Russia') was a state that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived February Revolution in 1917.

One of the largest empires in world history, stretching over three continents, the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires.

The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring rival powers: the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Persia and the Ottoman Empire.

It played a major role in 1812–14 in defeating Napoleon's ambitions to control Europe, and expanded to the west and south.

Central Asia or Middle Asia is the core region of the Asian continent and stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east and from Afghanistan in the south to Russia in the north.

It is also colloquially referred to as "the 'stans" (as the five countries generally considered to be within the region all have names ending with the Persian suffix "-stan", meaning "land of") and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent.

The Caucasus or Caucasia is a region at the border of Europe and Asia, situated between the Black and the Caspian seas.

EurasiaNet is a website providing news, information and analysis focused on countries in Central Asia, the Caucasus region, Russia and Southwest Asia.

Formerly run by the Central Eurasia Project of the Open Society Foundations, EurasiaNet spun off in 2016 to become an independent news organization.

The online media outlet is now hosted by Columbia University's Harriman Institute.

The post-Soviet states, also collectively known as the former Soviet Union (FSU) or former Soviet Republics, are the 15 independent states that emerged from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its dissolution in December 1991, with Russia internationally recognised as the successor state to the Soviet Union.

On March 11, 1990, Lithuania was the first to declare its independence, with Estonia and Latvia following suit in August 1991.

All three Baltic states claimed continuity from the original states that existed prior to their annexation by the Soviet Union in 1944 and were admitted to the United Nations on 17 September 1991.

The remaining 12 republics all subsequently seceded.

12 of the 15 states, excluding the Baltic states, initially formed the CIS and most joined CSTO, while the Baltic states focused on European Union and NATO membership.