The second volume of The Cambridge History of Russia covers the imperial period (1689-1917). It encompasses political, economic, social, cultural, diplomatic, and military history. All the major Russian social groups have separate chapters and the volume also includes surveys on the non-Russian peoples and the government's policies towards them. It addresses themes such as women, law, the Orthodox Church, the police and the revolutionary movement. The volume's seven chapters on diplomatic and military history, and on Russia's evolution as a great power, make it the most detailed study of these issues available in English. The contributors come from the USA, UK, Russia and Germany: most are internationally recognised as leading scholars in their fields, and some emerging younger academics engaged in cutting-edge research have also been included. No other single volume in any language offers so comprehensive, expert and up-to-date an analysis of Russian history in this period.

剑桥俄国史》第二卷涵盖了帝国时期（1689-1917）。它涵盖了政治、经济、社会、文化、外交和军事历史。所有主要的俄罗斯社会团体都有单独的章节，该卷还包括关于非俄罗斯民族和政府对他们的政策的调查。它涉及的主题包括妇女、法律、东正教会、警察和革命运动。该卷中关于外交和军事历史以及俄罗斯作为一个大国的演变的七个章节，使其成为对这些问题最详细的英文研究。撰稿人来自美国、英国、俄罗斯和德国：大多数是国际公认的各自领域的顶尖学者，一些从事前沿研究的新兴年轻学者也被纳入其中。没有其他任何语言的单行本能对这一时期的俄罗斯历史提供如此全面、专业和最新的分析。