This book is the first comprehensive examination of the Russian ruling élite and its political institutions during an important period of state building, from the emergence of Russia on the stage of world politics around 1700 to the consolidation of its position after the victory over Napoleon.Western scholarship has focused on the great rulers of the period, Peter, Catherine, and Alexander, neglecting the lesser nobility on whose support these rulers relied. LeDonne not only gives a full chronological account of the development of bureaucratic, military, economic, and political institutions in Russia during this period, but also skilfully analyses the ways in which local agencies and the ruling classes exercised control and shared power with the absolute monarchs. The book will substantially revise scholars' views of the nature of political power in imperial Russia.