Tell me more ×  On one hand, it seems so because the Molotov-
Ribbentrop pact defined the border between the two spheres of
influence to be the border of the Russian Empire before WWI. On
the other hand, the USSR ended up annexing more than was agreed
in the pact, e.g., Lvov (a.k.a. Lviv, Lemberg), which had been
Austrian before WWI.  Do we know if it was Stalin's intent to
restore the Russian Empire's borders, or maybe just a trick to
foil Germany?  share|improve this question I'm not entirely sure
I understand this question. It seems to suggest that the 1917
revolution, which deposed the Tzarist empire, wasn't that
important? Not only did the revolution turn Russia into a
Communist nation under Marxist ideology, but the "Russian
Empire" was dismantled at that point. Now, under Stalin and his
predecessors there was some "empire building" but under the
Communist flag/ideology not necessarily Russia (though they did
want to be at the head of this new Communist Empire.) So, did
they want to revive the Russian Em