devoted a mere six lines to the archaeology of the Scythes (Daniel 1975: 111).
With respect to pre-revolutionary archaeology this has remained the case
through to the present day (Bianchi Bandinelli 1982 (1976); Gran-Aymerich
1998; Schnapp & Kristiansen 1999; Trigger 1989). The value of overviews
such as those provided by Bulkin and others (1982) and Klejn (1993) are
restricted by their focus on the Soviet era and are therefore of limited use for
the purposes of this book. Given its volume and importance, one cannot but
consider the archaeology developed in Russia and her colonies during the
nineteenth and early twentieth century as the Cinderella of world histories of
archaeology.
The Russian EmpireFrom the early modern period the eastern-most European country, Russia,
established herself as an imperial contender. In contrast to the Western
European empires, however, its territorial expansion took place in areas
adjacent to her borders and not in distant lands. Thus, although the use of
the term ‘Russian Empire’ is well extended, that of ‘Russian colonies’ is less
so, especially in areas such as Siberia that had mainly been occupied previ-
ously by non-state societies. Russia’s conquests started in the sixteenth
century, with Ivan the Terrible (1530–84), who for theWrst time used the
title of Tsar (from the Roman Caesar or Czar). He invaded the territories
that had previously been occupied by the Golden Horde: Kazan (1552) and
Astrakhan (1556) were conquered, and part of what is nowadays Siberia was
brought under Russian rule from 1581. The advance towards the east
continued until the mid seventeenth century, when Russian-controlled
areas reached the PaciWc.
With the Romanov dynasty (1613–1917) the enlargement of Russia would
convert her into the largest country in the world. The Golden Age of Russian
imperialism was the eighteenth century, during the reigns of Peter I and
Catherine II, otherwise conveniently known as Peter the Great (r. 1682–
1725) and Catherine the Great (r. 1762–96). Under their rule Russia estab-
lished itself as the European power in the East. The Russian state was oYcially
named the Russian Empire from the time of Peter the Great in 1721. The
expansion under his rule was mainly directed towards the north. To ensure
sea-faring contact with the rest of Europe, access to the eastern shores of the
Baltic was obtained from the Swedes. In this area St Petersburg, the Tsar’s new
capital, was built. Peter the Great also captained Russia’sWrst occupation of
Finland between 1714 and 1721 (from 1808 Russia would turn it into an
autonomous Grand Duchy in personal union with the Russian Empire).
248 Colonial Archaeology