Observations
Not quite sure what you are looking at, or what you should be looking for? Here is a collection of maps derived from the Imperiia Map and produced simply by panning, zooming, toggling on layers, and training an inquisitive eye on the screen. The "observations" on the left include explanatory text and supplementary maps or images. Most of the items in the "Observation Gallery" are short takes.
The trick to what you can think of as "elementary spatial analysis" is to seek out patterns or idiosyncrasies, strange-looking clusters, outliers, etc. Think creatively, look closely, and focus on what the map suggests, rather than on what you already know, about Russian space.
The goal of elementary spatial analysis - and of other forms of spatial analysis, when it comes down to it - is to generate questions for further research; questions that might lead to insights, and perhaps even new theories, about the spatial logic of the tsarist empire. In that spirit, the sketches in this section aim not to provide authoritative explanations but rather to highlight places in the data that stimulate curiosity, provoke questions... and demand more maps!