He led the team that made the first crossing of theGreenland interior in 1888, traversing the island oncross-country skis. He won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during hisFram expedition of 1893–1896. Although he retired from exploration after his return to Norway, his techniques of polar travel and his innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequentArctic andAntarctic expeditions. He was elected an International Member of theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1897. (Full article...)
The construction of the cathedral was approved in 1894 by theMinistry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire.Groundbreaking was in 1899; construction work began in 1901 and was completed ten years later. Three-aisled and built from red brick, the cathedral is based on a design by architectTomasz Bohdanowicz-Dworzecki. The style was influenced byWestminster Abbey andMilan Cathedral. With the help of funds from Catholic parishes in Russia and its neighbouring states, the church was consecrated as a chapel for Moscow's Polish parish in 1911. In the aftermath of theRussian Revolution in 1917, theProvisional Government was overthrown by theBolsheviks and Russia eventually became part of theSoviet Union in 1922. Because the promotion ofstate atheism was a part ofMarxist–Leninist ideology, the governmentordered many churches closed; the cathedral was closed in 1938. During World War II, it was threatened with demolition, and was used after the war for civil purposes, as a warehouse and then a hostel. Following thefall of communism in 1991, it returned to being a church in 1996. In 2002 it was elevated to the status of cathedral. Following an extensive and costly programme of reconstruction and refurbishment, the cathedral was reconsecrated in 2005. (Full article...)
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Extent of Ali Bey and Daher's territory between 1768 and 1774 and Russian naval movements in the Levant, based on the accounts of Sauveur Lusignan, a contemporary historian Beirut was twice occupied during theRusso-Turkish War of 1768–1774 by squadrons of theImperial Russian Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, first in June 1772 and second from October 1773 to early 1774, as part of itsLevant campaign.Russia's main objective in this campaign was to assist local forces led by Egypt's autonomous ruler,Ali Bey al-Kabir, who was in open rebellion against theOttoman Empire.
Russia, led byCatherine the Great, was pressing the Ottomans in Europe. Ali took advantage of the Empire's preoccupation with Russia to declare Egypt's independence; in 1771 he sent an army led byMuhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab to occupy Ottoman territory in the Levant. Abu al-Dhahab unexpectedly returned to challenge Ali for control of Egypt. Ali requested Russian military assistance against both his rival and the Ottomans. When this aid, in the form of a small Russiansquadron, arrived in the region, Ali had already fled Egypt and taken refuge inAcre, the power base of his ally,Daher al-Umar. After helping repel an Ottoman offensive onSidon, the Russian squadron sailed for Beirut. They bombarded the town in June 1772 and occupied it from 23 to 28 June. (Full article...)
The ship was torpedoed during the Japanese surprise attack onPort Arthur during the night of 8/9 February 1904 andgrounded in the harbour entrance when she attempted to take refuge inside, as herdraft had significantly deepened from the amount of water she had taken aboard after the torpedo hit. She was refloated and repaired in time to join the rest of the1st Pacific Squadron when they attempted to reachVladivostok through the Japanese blockade on 10 August. The Japanese battle fleet engaged them again in theBattle of the Yellow Sea, forcing most of the Russian ships to return to Port Arthur after theirsquadron commander was killed and hisflagship damaged.Retvizan was sunk by Japanesehowitzers in December after the Japanese gained control of the heights around the harbour. (Full article...)
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With the pale yellow rump visible.Buryatia, Russia.
Pallas's leaf warbler is one of the smallestPalearcticwarblers, with a relatively large head and short tail. It has greenish upperparts and white underparts, a lemon-yellow rump, and yellow double wingbars,supercilia and centralcrown stripe. It is similar in appearance to several other Asian warblers, including some that were formerly considered to besubspecies of it, although its distinctivevocalisations aid identification. (Full article...)
The region that formed the TDFR had been part of theRussian Empire. As the empire dissolved during the 1917February Revolution and aprovisional government took over, a similar body, called theSpecial Transcaucasian Committee (Ozakom), did the same in the Caucasus. After theOctober Revolution and rise of theBolsheviks in Russia, theTranscaucasian Commissariat replaced the Ozakom. In March 1918, as theFirst World War continued, the Commissariat initiated peace talks with theOttoman Empire, which hadinvaded the region, but the talks broke down quickly as the Ottomans refused to accept the authority of the Commissariat. TheTreaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended Russia's involvement in the war, conceded parts of the Transcaucasus to the Ottoman Empire, which pursued its invasion to take control of the territory. Faced with this imminent threat, on 22 April 1918 the Commissariat dissolved itself and established the TDFR as an independent state. A legislature, the Seim, was formed to direct negotiations with the Ottoman Empire, which had immediately recognized the state. (Full article...)
At the beginning of theRusso-Japanese War of 1904–1905,Petropavlovsk took part in theBattle of Port Arthur, where she was lightly damaged by Japanese shells and failed to score any hits in return. On 13 April 1904, the ship sank after striking one or moremines nearPort Arthur, in northeast China. Casualties numbered 27 officers and 652 enlisted men, includingVice AdmiralStepan Makarov, the commander of thesquadron, and thewar artistVasily Vereshchagin. The arrival of the competent and aggressive Makarov after the Battle of Port Arthur had boosted Russian morale, which plummeted after his death. (Full article...)
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Nikita Zotov,rotogravure by Alexandr Osipov, 1882–1883
Not much is known about Zotov's life aside from his connection to Peter. Zotov left Moscow for a diplomatic mission toCrimea in 1680 and returned to Moscow before 1683. He became part of the "Jolly Company", a group of several dozen of Peter's friends that eventually becameThe All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters. Zotov was mockingly appointed "Prince-Pope" of the Synod, and regularly led them in games and celebrations. He accompanied Peter on many important occasions, such as theAzov campaigns and the torture of theStreltsy after theiruprising. Zotov held a number of state posts, including from 1701 a leading position in the Tsar's personal secretariat. Three years before his death, Zotov married a woman 50 years his junior. He died in December 1717 of unknown causes. (Full article...)
Serving in theBaltic Sea duringWorld War I,Slava was the largest ship of the Russian Gulf of Riga Squadron that fought theGerman High Seas Fleet in theBattle of the Gulf of Riga in August 1915. She repeatedly bombarded German positions and troops for the rest of 1915 and during 1916. During theBattle of Moon Sound in 1917,Slava was badly damaged by the GermandreadnoughtSMS König, significantly increasing her draft. The shallow channel made it impossible to escape and she wasscuttled in the Moon Sound Strait between the island ofMuhu (Moon) and the mainland. TheEstoniansscrapped her during the 1930s. (Full article...)
In mid- to late-19th-century Russia,Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and a group ofcomposers known asThe Five had differing opinions as to whetherRussian classical music should be composed following Western or native practices. Tchaikovsky wanted to write professional compositions of such quality that they would stand up to Western scrutiny and thus transcend national barriers, yet remain distinctively Russian in melody, rhythm and other compositional characteristics. The Five, made up of composersMily Balakirev,Alexander Borodin,César Cui,Modest Mussorgsky, andNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, sought to produce a specifically Russian kind ofart music, rather than one that imitated older European music or relied on European-style conservatory training. While Tchaikovsky himself used folk songs in some of his works, for the most part he tried to follow Western practices of composition, especially in terms of tonality and tonal progression. Also, unlike Tchaikovsky, none of The Five were academically trained in composition; in fact, their leader, Balakirev, considered academicism a threat to musical imagination. Along with criticVladimir Stasov, who supported The Five, Balakirev attacked relentlessly both theSaint Petersburg Conservatory, from which Tchaikovsky had graduated, and its founderAnton Rubinstein, orally and in print.
As Tchaikovsky had become Rubinstein's best-known student, he was initially considered by association as a natural target for attack, especially as fodder for Cui's printed critical reviews. This attitude changed slightly when Rubinstein left the Saint Petersburg musical scene in 1867. In 1869 Tchaikovsky entered into a working relationship with Balakirev; the result was Tchaikovsky's first recognized masterpiece, the fantasy-overtureRomeo and Juliet, a work which The Five wholeheartedly embraced. When Tchaikovsky wrote a positive review of Rimsky-Korsakov'sFantasy on Serbian Themes he was welcomed into the circle, despite concerns about the academic nature of his musical background. The finale of hisSecond Symphony, nicknamed theLittle Russian, was also received enthusiastically by the group on its first performance in 1872. (Full article...)
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Eduard Anatolyevich Streltsov (Russian:Эдуа́рд Анато́льевич Стрельцо́в,IPA:[ɨdʊˈartɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲitɕstrʲɪlʲˈtsof]ⓘ; 21 July 1937 – 22 July 1990) was a Sovietfootballer who played as aforward forTorpedo Moscow and theSoviet national team during the 1950s and 1960s. A powerful and skilful attacking player, he scored the fourth-highest number of goals for the Soviet Union and has been called "the greatest outfield player Russia has ever produced". He is sometimes dubbed "the RussianPelé".
Born and raised in east Moscow, Streltsov joined Torpedo at the age of 16 in 1953 and made his international debut two years later. He was part of the squad that won the gold medalat the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and came seventh in the1957 Ballon d'Or. The following year, his promising career was interrupted by allegations ofsexual assault shortly before the1958 World Cup. Soviet authorities pledged he could still play if he admitted his guilt, after which he confessed, but was instead prosecuted and sentenced to twelve years offorced labour under theGulag system (abolished in 1960 and replaced by prisons). The conviction was highly controversial, with many pointing to conflicts between Streltsov and government officials. (Full article...)
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Launch ofIzmail in 1915
TheBorodino-class battlecruisers (Russian:Линейные крейсера типа «Измаил») were a group of fourbattlecruisers ordered by theImperial Russian Navy beforeWorld War I. Also referred to as theIzmail class, they werelaid down in late 1912 atSaint Petersburg for service with theBaltic Fleet. Construction of the ships was delayed by a lack of capacity among domestic factories and the need to order some components from abroad. The start of World War I slowed their construction still further, as the imported components were often not delivered and domestic production was diverted into areas more immediately useful forthe war effort.
Three of the four ships werelaunched in 1915 and the fourth in 1916. Work on thegun turrets lagged, and it became evident that Russian industry would not be able to complete the ships during the war. TheRussian Revolution of 1917 halted all work on the ships, which was never resumed. Although some consideration was given to finishing the hulls that were nearest to completion, the three furthest from completion were sold forscrap by theSoviet Union during the early 1920s. TheSoviet Navy proposed to convertIzmail, the ship closest to completion, to anaircraft carrier in 1925, but the plan was cancelled after political manoeuvring by theRed Army cut funding and she was eventually scrapped in 1931. (Full article...)
In the early days ofsound cinema, among the various distinguished composers ready to try their hand at film music, Prokofiev was not an obvious choice for the commission. Based in Paris for almost a decade, he had a reputation for experimentation anddissonance, characteristics at odds with thecultural norms of the Soviet Union. By early 1933, however, Prokofiev was anxious to return to his homeland, and saw the film commission as an opportunity to write music in a more popular and accessible style. (Full article...)
Lenin, a Sovietnuclear-powered icebreaker, was both the world's first nuclear-powered surface ship and the first nuclear-powered civilian vessel. The ship entered operation in 1959 and worked to clear sea routes for cargo ships along Russia's northern coast. Nuclear power proved to be an ideal technology for a vessel working in such a remote area, as it obviated the need for regular replenishment of fuel. From 1960 to 1965, the ship covered over 85,000 mi (137,000 km) during the Arctic navigation season, of which three-quarters was through ice. After being decommissioned in 1989, the vessel was subsequently converted into a museum ship and is now permanently based atMurmansk.
Hotel Astoria is afive-star hotel located onSaint Isaac's Square inSaint Petersburg. Commissioned in 1910 by the Palace Hotel Company to host visitors to theRomanov tercentenary, the hotel was designed byFyodor Lidval and first opened in 1912. After theOctober Revolution, it continued to be used as a state-operated hotel, though during World War II it was also a field hospital. The hotel, now owned byRocco Forte Hotels, has been renovated several times, most recently in 2012.
AlthoughJames Clerk Maxwell made the first color photograph in1861, the results were far from realistic until Prokudin-Gorsky perfected the technique with a series of improvements around1905. His process used a camera that took a series of monochrome pictures in rapid sequence, each through a different colored filter. Prokudin-Gorskii then went on to document much of the country of Russia, travelling by train in a specially equippeddarkroomrailroad car.
Barge Haulers on the Volga is an oil painting on canvas completed between 1870 and 1873 by therealist artistIlya Repin. It depicts eleven menphysically dragging abarge on the banks of theVolga River. Depicting these men as at the point of collapse, the work has been read as a condemnation of profit from inhumane labor.Barge Haulers on the Volga drew international praise for its realistic portrayal of the hardships of working men, and launched Repin's career. It has been described as "perhaps the most famous painting of thePeredvizhniki movement [for]....its unflinching portrayal of backbreaking labor". Today, the painting hangs in theRussian Museum inSaint Petersburg.
TheChesme Column is avictory column in theCatherine Park at theCatherine Palace, a former Russian royal residence inTsarskoye Selo, a suburb ofSaint Petersburg. It was erected to commemorate three Russian naval victories in the 1768–1774Russo-Turkish War, including theBattle of Chesma in 1770. The column is made from three pieces of white-and-pink marble; decorated with therostra of three ships' bows, and crowned by a triumphal bronze statue depicting a Russian eagle trampling a crescent moon, the symbol of Turkey. Bronze plaques on three sides of the pedestal depict scenes from the battles, and the campaign is described on the plaque on the fourth side.
Kombat (Russian for 'battalion commander') is a black-and-white photograph by Soviet photographerMax Alpert. It depicts a Soviet military officer, armed with aTT pistol, raising his unit for an attack duringWorld War II. This work is regarded as one of the most iconic Soviet World War II photographs, yet neither the date nor the subject is known with certainty. According to the most widely accepted version, it depicts juniorpolitruk Aleksei Gordeyevich Yeryomenko, minutes before his death on 12 July 1942, inVoroshilovgrad Oblast, now part of Ukraine. The photograph is in the archives ofRIA Novosti, a Russian state-owned news agency.
This photo of theNilov Monastery onStolobny Island inTver Oblast,Russia, was taken bySergey Prokudin-Gorsky in 1910 before the advent of colour photography. His process used a camera that took a series ofmonochrome pictures in rapid sequence, each through a different coloured filter. By projecting all three monochrome pictures using correctly coloured light, it was possible to reconstruct the original colour scene.
A painting depictingIvan Tsarevich, one of the mainheroes ofRussian folklore, riding amagic carpet after having captured theFirebird, which he keeps in a cage. This work wasViktor Vasnetsov's first attempt at illustrating Russian folk tales and inaugurated a famous series of paintings on the themes drawn from Russian folklore.
AnAlaskan parchment scrip banknote in the denomination of 1ruble, printed on vellum or parchment by theRussian-American Company. On the obverse, the horizontal text immediately beneath the double-headed eagle reads "Seal of the Russian American Company". The oval text reads "under august protection of His Imperial Majesty", and under the oval is the value of the note "one ruble".
Alaskan parchment scrip was used as a form of company scrip in Alaska when it was a possession of the Russian Empire. In circulation from 1816 to 1867, such scrip could be printed on vellum, parchment, orpinniped skin. Denominations of 10, 25, 50 kopecks and 1, 5, 10, and 25 rubles were issued.
In the early part of the 20th century, French chefAuguste Escoffier brought it toFrance and included recipes for it in his bookThe Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery. (Full article...)
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served asPresident of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served asPrime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. He has been described as thede facto leader of Russia since 2000.
... that scholarAxinte Frunză wanted Romania to join theCentral Powers in 1916, espousing "a vision that was profoundly anti-statist (with hints of anarchism), populist, and virulently anti-Russian"?
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![Image 1 Photo, c. 1914 Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (Russian: Анастасия Николаевна; 18 June [O.S. 5 June] 1901 – 17 July 1918) was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. Anastasia was the younger sister of Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, and Maria (commonly known together as the OTMA sisters) and was the elder sister of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia. She was murdered with her family by a group of Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg on 17 July 1918. (Full article...)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBlank.png)
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![Image 6 Barge Haulers on the Volga Painting: Ilya Repin Barge Haulers on the Volga is an oil painting on canvas completed between 1870 and 1873 by the realist artist Ilya Repin. It depicts eleven men physically dragging a barge on the banks of the Volga River. Depicting these men as at the point of collapse, the work has been read as a condemnation of profit from inhumane labor. Barge Haulers on the Volga drew international praise for its realistic portrayal of the hardships of working men, and launched Repin's career. It has been described as "perhaps the most famous painting of the Peredvizhniki movement [for]....its unflinching portrayal of backbreaking labor". Today, the painting hangs in the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg. More selected pictures](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aIlia_Efimovich_Repin_(1844-1930)_-_Volga_Boatmen_(1870-1873).jpg)
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