The development of geographical knowledge in Russia was a long process extending over several centuries, and its characteristics were determined by the totality of historical conditions that emerged during different periods of Russian history. One of the most important stages in the history of Russian geography was the period from 1725, when the reforms of Peter the Great were being implemented, to the end of the eighteenth century. These reforms laid the direct foundation for the further development of geographical science in Russia. It is sufficient to note that during this period, in addition to numerous smaller expeditions, several major scientific expeditions were carried out that made significant contributions to the history of world geography. These included the Second Kamchatka Expedition (1733-1743), the so-called Academy Expeditions (1768-1774), and the expedition of I. Billings and G. A. Sarychev (1785-1793). The results of these expeditions greatly expanded knowledge of the northern part of European Russia and its Arctic waters, as well as of Siberia. The Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and the northwestern regions of America were discovered and began to be explored and developed. During the same period, the Academy of Sciences, founded in St. Petersburg in 1725, became the most important scientific center directing numerous geographical, economic, ethnographic, and cartographic studies. The years 1725-1800 are also distinguished by the fact that the scholarly activity of a number of outstanding Russian scientists fell entirely, or for the most part, within this era, and their works enriched the history of geography and related disciplines. During these years, V. N. Tatishchev, I. K. Kirilov, and F. I. Soymonov continued their research. The entire scientific career of M. V. Lomonosov belongs to these decades. In the first half of the eighteenth century, P. I. Rychkov, author of The Topography of Orenburg, the explorers of Kamchatka S. P. Krasheninnikov and G. W. Steller, and the Siberian scholar G. F. Müller were active. In the second half of the century, the leaders and participants of the Academy Expeditions included Academicians P. S. Pallas, I. I. Lepekhin, I. A. Güldenstädt, N. Ya. Ozeretskovsky, V. F. Zuev, and others. During the same period, geographical journals and a large number of monographs began to be published. The works of many scholars contained not only comprehensive descriptions of vast regions of the country, individual settlements, river systems, and other geographical features, but also scientific generalizations explaining the characteristics of Russia’s natural environment, as well as studies of theoretical and historical-geographical problems. This Survey represents only the first part of our ongoing study of the history of Russian geography during the last three quarters of the eighteenth century. It is therefore impossible to provide here a complete analysis of Russian geographical knowledge of that era. Our aim is merely to give a general characterization of the most important aspects and features of the development of Russian geography between 1725 and 1800, and then, in greater detail, to examine Russian explorations and discoveries in the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, their islands, and adjacent lands. The historical conditions of Russia during the period under consideration make it possible to distinguish two phases: from 1725 to the mid-1760s, and from the mid-1760s to the end of the eighteenth century. Each phase possessed its own distinctive characteristics in the development of geographical knowledge. We devote less attention to the first period than to the second, since the geographical research of those years has already been discussed in specialized major works by Soviet scholars. The accompanying schematic map was prepared by A. A. Potulov on the basis of our materials.