Was the Soviet Union Stronger at its peak than the Russian Empire at its peak

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

The only time the Russian Empire was the second most powerful country on earth was probably the very specific moment in time when they were kicking the French out of Moscow. Largely in the 19th century, the Russian empire drifted from "scary authoritarian place far away" to "joke" (sometimes both). Both France and Prussia very quickly emerged from the wars as dynamic powers, and even the declining Austria would be far more diplomatically important for Europe than Russia.