Questions tagged [russia]
The largest country in the world, spanning territory from the eastern edge of Europe to Siberia in northern Asia, except for the period 1918-1990, when it was known as the "Soviet Union"
328
questions
5
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1answer
149 views
Did Hezbollah kidnap Russian diplomats, and Russia subsequently dismember Hezbollah family members?
I heard this story several years ago, I don't recall the exact details, and I don't even know if the story is real or not (if it is real, I'm guessing it may be exaggerated). Can anyone confirm this ...
5
votes
2answers
139 views
How did Britain and Russia block the railway in Iran?
Karen Armstrong (2000):
[...] both Britain and Russia promoted only the technology that furthered their own interests and blocked such inventions as the railway, which might have benefited the ...
4
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1answer
264 views
+100
Did Helsinki have higher standards of living than Saint Petersburg when it was a part of the Russian Empire?
For over a century Finland was a part of the Russian Empire. It seems that overall Finland was significantly richer than Russia proper in the early XX century (look at these estimates). Was Helsinki ...
2
votes
1answer
166 views
Was the Kerensky Offensive doomed from the start?
I've been reading about Russia in the Great War during 1917, and what is quite surprising for me is the Kerensky Offensive. Primarily, what is surprising is that the army was in great material terms ...
6
votes
0answers
80 views
What specific Medieval Rus waterway engineering examples are there?
I've been investigating a statement (cited below) made in Nicolle's 'Lake Peipus 1242' which describes waterway engineering by Medieval Russian princes but doesn't bring any specific examples. Which ...
8
votes
2answers
298 views
Why was Austria given the best chunk in the First Partition of Poland, even while protesting it?
In the First Partition of Poland, Austria was given 2.7 million people, versus 1.3 million for Russia, and almost 1 million for Prussia. Austria got more than twice as much land as Prussia, and only ...
14
votes
2answers
1k views
Why was Poland subject to much harsher Russification than Finland was?
A Wikipedia page describes Russification of Poland:
Russification in Congress Poland intensified after the November Uprising of 1831, and in particular after the January Uprising of 1863. In 1864 the ...
10
votes
2answers
207 views
What did the Baltic Fleet do in Reval in 1904 and when was it there?
I noticed, in @Schwern's answer that the 1904-1905 journey of the Baltic Fleet is cited as having started in (modern Tallinn). This doesn't make much sense as to the best of my knowledge Reval/Tallinn ...
0
votes
1answer
91 views
Good books on Kievan Rus era? [closed]
Title pretty much self explenatory.
Im a student myself (but not of history), and I am looking for a good book on the period that is not too heavy, but gives good coverage for early east Slavic ...
5
votes
1answer
141 views
Did Boris Belousov join in his brother's conspiracy to kill the Emperor?
I'm working on a paper about the Belousov-Zhabotinsky-reaction (a chemical oscillator).
I included some information about the history of oscillation reaction, in particular about Boris Pavlovich ...
6
votes
2answers
243 views
Identify male uniform 1860-80 north Central Europe single breast trouser boot round cap
This photo is believed to be from 1860-1880 Poland/Lithuania, as the house behind them looks like a Polish thatch house. The man in question is in the center back of the photo.
Uniform is single ...
25
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3answers
4k views
How did the Bolsheviks fund their government? [closed]
I came across this from a telegram sent by a Mr. Lindley in Russia to Mr. Balfour in London.ā
(Received November 28.)
(Telegraphic.)
Archangel, November 27, 1918.
Principal reason why Bolsheviks have ...
10
votes
1answer
238 views
Why are the buildings built in classical style in the first half of the 19th century in Russia so frequently yellow-and-white - coloured?
So many buildings built in neo-classical style in cr. 1800-1850 in Russian empire are yellow (always the same shade of yellow) with white columns. There are some exceptions, e.g. grey or blue of beige ...
3
votes
1answer
273 views
What was the ethnic makeup of Lenin's bodyguards during the assassination attempt? [closed]
There were detachments of foreign soldiers fighting for the Bolshevik cause during the Russian Civil War, most notably, Chinese. Apparently Chinese troops served as the personal bodyguards for the ...
2
votes
0answers
87 views
Were Christians prohibited to pass Golden Horde - Rus border immediately before Black Death?
Note: this question is similar to earlier Were there any travel restrictions during the Black Death pandemic?, but asks about travel restrictions existing before the epidemic.
Wikipedia article on ...
11
votes
4answers
490 views
How did Soviet soldiers resist tanks during the battle of Shumshu?
During the battle of Shumshu, it is claimed in the Wikipedia article that forces ratio was as follow:
Japan side: 8 500 personnel (combatant and non combatant?) and 77 tanks
Russian side: up to 9 000 ...
3
votes
1answer
119 views
Is Carolyn Seymour (the actress) related to Alexander von Benckendorff (the Russian statesman)?
Browsing Wikipedia (I know) the other day, I came across the page for the British actress Carolyn Seymour. The page in question states that she was born Carolyn von Benckendorf (note that this is only ...
1
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0answers
53 views
Where can I find lists of politically unreliable persons created by Austro-Hungarian authorities in Western Ukraine before World War I?
I found the following "list of politically unreliable persons" in the Thalerhof Concentration Camp Almanacs (Russian title: Š¢Š°Š»ŠµŃŠ³Š¾ŃŃiŠ¹ Š°Š»ŃŠ¼Š°Š½Š°Ń
Ń, ŠæŃŠ¾ŠæŠ°Š¼ŃŃŠ½Š°Ń ŠŗŠ½ŠøŠ³Š° Š°Š²ŃŃŃiŠ¹ŃŠŗŠøŃ
Ń Š¶ŠµŃŃŠ¾ŠŗŠ¾ŃŃŠµŠ¹, ...
3
votes
1answer
177 views
What did Russia do in 1848 that could make the Austrians seek “brutal revanche” towards the Russians?
In the first volume of the Thalerhof Concentration Camp Almanacs (Russian title: Š¢Š°Š»ŠµŃŠ³Š¾ŃŃiŠ¹ Š°Š»ŃŠ¼Š°Š½Š°Ń
Ń, ŠæŃŠ¾ŠæŠ°Š¼ŃŃŠ½Š°Ń ŠŗŠ½ŠøŠ³Š° Š°Š²ŃŃŃiŠ¹ŃŠŗŠøŃ
Ń Š¶ŠµŃŃŠ¾ŠŗŠ¾ŃŃŠµŠ¹, ŠøŠ·ŃŠ²ŠµŃŃŃŃŃŠ²Ń Šø Š½Š°ŃŠøŠ»ŠøŠ¹ Š½Š°Š“Ń ŠŗŠ°ŃŠæŠ°ŃŠ¾ - ŃŃŃŃŠŗŠøŠ¼Ń ...
27
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3answers
7k views
Why did Peter the Great name Saint Petersburg, Russia with a foreign styled name?
When Peter the Great of Russia established Saint Petersburg he originally called it Sankt-Pieter-Burch (Š”Š°Š½(Šŗ)Ń-ŠŠøŃŠµŃ-ŠŃŃŃ
Ń) in Dutch manner. Later, under apparent German influence it was changed to ...
9
votes
2answers
338 views
Why were the cities of the Eastern European Plain founded much later than those elsewhere in Europe?
As site on which to found a city, Moscow seems to have a lot going for it. It's surrounded by fertile farmland - Russia produces more grain than the United States - it's located on a watercourse which ...
4
votes
3answers
238 views
Did the Third Rome theory help make Michael Romanov tsar?
Rome fell apart as the Middle Ages began, and Constantinople, the "Second Rome", was conquered as they ended. Afterwards, a famous religious argument or school of thought in Russia maintained that ...
4
votes
1answer
394 views
Did Austrian chief of staff Franz Riml say that the only way to correct the Russophile Ukrainians is to exterminate them?
Several Russian pages claim that Austrian general Franz Riml von Altrosenburg said the following:
Galician Russians can be divided in two groups:
a) Russophiles and
b) Ukrainophiles.
If ...
27
votes
6answers
8k views
Why is the late Russian Empire associated with Byzantium while having little in common with it?
I have started reading the book A people's tragedy by Orlando Figes about the Russian revolution. I am no historian, however having read a few pages I have a few questions about the repeated ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Did the western Allies and Russia try to cooperate in World War I as they did in World War II?
America's General Eisenhower referred to it as "cross-ruffing." Coincidentally or otherwise, the timing of Operation Torch came close to the Russian counterattack at Stalingrad, and Operation Husky ...
5
votes
2answers
267 views
Was the Russian Black Sea fleet strong enough to help with land operations on the southern shore in World War I?
The Russian Black Sea Fleet was stronger than the Turkish Black Sea fleet for most of the 19th century. But the successful flight of two German ships to the Black Sea greatly strengthened the Turkish ...
4
votes
2answers
424 views
How was the vast Khazar fortress of Sarkel destroyed?
I understood that Sarkel was a vast Khazar hilltop limestone-bricks fortress of the type of a fortified town, located in the present-day Rostov Oblast of Russia, on the left bank of the lower Don ...
6
votes
0answers
96 views
Which misdeeds of F. Reineke was J.B.B. de Lesseps “obliged to suppress”?
F. Reineke was commandant of Kamchatka from about 1780 to 1784. According to ŠŠøŃŠµŃ's ŠŃŃŠ¾ŃŠøŃ ŃŠøŠ¼Š²Š¾Š»Š¾Š² ŠŗŠ°Šŗ ŠøŃŃŠ¾ŃŠøŃ Š°Š“Š¼ŠøŠ½ŠøŃŃŃŠ°ŃŠøŠ²Š½Š¾Š³Š¾ Š“ŠµŠ»ŠµŠ½ŠøŃ Š³Š¾ŃŃŠ“Š°ŃŃŃŠ²Š° he was responsible for moving the territorial ...
7
votes
1answer
130 views
Who was part of the Raznochintsy class in 1800s Russia?
In the system of social estates of Imperial Russia, someone "of miscellaneous rank" was a member of the raznochintsy, at least until the category was abolished. Š.Š.Š Š°Š·Š³Š¾Š½ says this happened at the ...
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votes
1answer
265 views
Why did Hitler repeat Napoleon's error (attacking Russia in mid-summer instead of late spring)? [closed]
We often hear that it's important to learn from history to avoid the errors of people before us. To me - then - it's astounding to think that a head of state like Hitler, surrounded with elite ...
1
vote
2answers
443 views
Why is the English name of the country “Russia” not spelled “Rossia” (with the letter o)? [closed]
Russkoje tsarstvo later changed to Rossiyskoye tsarstvo.
Why is the English name of the country "Russia" not spelled "Rossia"?
3
votes
1answer
440 views
Why didn't all non-Russian states become independent during the collapse of the Soviet Union?
There are so many sub-divisions in the country who are not Russian in their language and ethnicity, Tuva, Dagestan, Chechnya etc.
When states like the Baltics, Ukraine, and Central Asia were gaining ...
5
votes
1answer
461 views
Would an illegitimate child of a monarch have been recognized at the Russian court?
For purposes of a novel I am writing I would like to know if an illegitimate son or daughter of a 19th century Russian tsar would have been recognized by the court. Would it matter if the birth was ...
0
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0answers
60 views
Did Russia support both Georgian nationalists and the Georgian government during Georgian civil war?
I am trying to understand the history of Georgia after the independence from Russia reading the French Wikipedia article about it. Yet I don't understand the position of Russia during the Civil War.
...
0
votes
1answer
236 views
Are the war plans published in “Dropshot: The American Plan for World War III against Russia in 1957” genuine?
In 1979 Anthony Cave Brown published a book (Operation, World War III: The Secret American Plan 'Dropshot' for War with the Soviet Union, 1957, Arms and Armour Press, 1979; Google Books, Amazon) which ...
1
vote
2answers
247 views
What are some good sources on the everyday life of Soviet troops during WWII?
Imagine I wanted to get a basic understanding what the everyday life of a Soviet soldier (especially infantry, tank units, air force) during WWII was like.
What books and other resources in English, ...
25
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1answer
3k views
Did Catherine the Great really call for the abolition of serfdom?
... like Catherine the Great S01E01 (2019) shows?
This would be almost a century before serfdom was actually abolished, and makes one wonder why the Czars didn't just do it, if they were in favor of ...
4
votes
1answer
446 views
Did Yuri Gagarin really mention Anna Magnani in his flight in space?
This NYTimes article about the Italian actress Anna Magnani states:
Perhaps the best way to describe her effect on audiences is to quote from a documentary on the Italian actress by the Belgian film ...
4
votes
0answers
188 views
What uniform is my great great Cossack grandfather wearing?
The man bellow with the medals and the beard is my great great grandfather. He was a cossack in the Urals, I have been looking for ages but I can not find what Cossack uniform he is wearing.
I really ...
4
votes
2answers
739 views
What are specific parts of this 19th century dress called?
Src: Portrait of Nadezhda Polovtseva
So this a the Portrait of Nadezhda Polovtseva in which she is wearing a white and green gown. I just need a really simple explaination of what the separate ...
4
votes
0answers
137 views
What medals is my Cossack Great Grandfather wearing?
The man in the centre with the medals and the moustache is my great great grandfather. Ive been trying to figure out what Medals he's been wearing, I know he have 4 crosses of st George on the left of ...
12
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1answer
3k views
What are these hats and the function of those wearing them (worn by the Russian imperial army at Borodino)?
After the battle of Borodoni Franz Roubaud worked on a great panorama painting of 115 meters long.
looking at the big panorama painting by Franz Roubaud I noticed that some of the Russian imperial ...
4
votes
1answer
611 views
When did Tsar Nicholas II become Tsar of Russia?
I'm having trouble understanding the technicalities of throne inheritance in the Tsardom.
Did Nicholas II become Tsar after his fathers' death on the 1st of November 1894, or did he become Tsar after ...
4
votes
1answer
218 views
How long was a coach journey from Coburg to St Peterburg in 1790s?
If someone had to get from Coburg to St Petersburg in the 1790s? Would they travel overland by stagecoach or go up to the north German coast and get a boat round to the Gulf of Finland and enter ...
12
votes
4answers
3k views
Did the Russian Empire have a claim to Sweden? Was there ever a time where they could have pursued it?
Consider that Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and the one that all Russian emperors after Catherine were descended from, would have been king of Sweden had his aunt not stolen the throne ...
2
votes
2answers
344 views
Is this story about the Tsar's encounter with a sergeant true?
I once read a story (about why one should not be rude to strangers or rude in general) in a local magazine that,
once Tsar Peter I asked about directions from a Sergeant. Sergeant (not knowing whom ...
2
votes
0answers
71 views
What happened to the cavalry corps of Simon Boudienny?
According to this question, there was a campaign led by the Russians in Ukraine where they engaged a cavalry unit. I imagine it was in 1941, and according to Wikipedia research, it might be the ...
2
votes
1answer
122 views
For how many years in the eighteenth century were Russian soldiers present within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth borders?
For modern Poland, the answer is rather simple. Russian, and later Soviet soldiers, were stationed inside the Polish borders for almost the whole 19th and 20th centuries (with a notable exception for ...
6
votes
1answer
854 views
Identification of a badge with Russian text
Here's a curious badge that I found somewhere years ago, but didn't know whom to ask.
(click to enlarge)
Could someone please identify it? I learnt the Cyrillic script and tried googling it, but ...
1
vote
0answers
48 views
Did Boris Tarasov return from Mexico to Russia?
Boris Tarasov, employee of the Russian-American Company, was arrested in San Pedro, California in 1815. As a prisoner of some political value, in 1816 he was sent from Monterey to San Blas and then ...
