> The surrounding areas are so hugely populated and it’s a coast. To elaborate: "It's a coast" doesn't help much when there aren't warm-water ports (ie, ports

> The surrounding areas are so hugely populated and it’s a coast. To elaborate: "It's a coast" doesn't help much when there aren't warm-water ports (ie, ports that can be used year-round). Even nowadays, shipping by water is the cheapest way to deliver goods, making warm-water ports still incredibly lucrative. As it turns out, a large portion of European history can be explained simply by the fact that Russia need(ed) warm-water ports, and understanding the actions that they took in pursuit of them. A related fun fact: in Civ V, if you start as Venice, you're much more likely to spawn on a starting tile that's near water - that's documented and well-known among players. While it's not documented, I'm fairly certain from personal experience that if you start as Russia, you're more likely to spawn on an inland tile, meaning that you'll have to expand in order to be able to establish seafaring routes.