Located in Eastern Europe and Asia, Russia is the largest country in the world by area. The majority of its population lives in the European part. Its capital is Moscow and other important cities include St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg. In the eighteenth century, the nation had formed and expanded as the Russian Empire. In 1917, Czar Nicholas II was overthrown in the Russian Revolution, which lead the rise of the Soviet Union. The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government and organized a socialist republic. Russia was led by Joseph Stalin following Lenin’s death; his time in office saw the Great Purge, massive industrialization, and the use of penal labor camps. Russia also played a major role in World War II, fighting for the Allied Powers.