1.
Lutheranism
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Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity which identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer and theologian. Luthers efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation in the German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone and this is in contrast to the belief of the Catholic Church, defined at the Council of Trent, concerning authority coming from both the Scriptures and Tradition. In addition, Lutheranism accepts the teachings of the first seven ecumenical councils of the undivided Christian Church, unlike Calvinism, Lutherans retain many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist, or Lords Supper. Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology, the purpose of Gods Law, the grace, the concept of perseverance of the saints. Today, Lutheranism is one of the largest denominations of Protestantism, with approximately 80 million adherents, it constitutes the third most common Protestant denomination after historically Pentecostal denominations and Anglicanism. The Lutheran World Federation, the largest communion of Lutheran churches, Other Lutheran organizations include the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, as well as independent churches. The name Lutheran originated as a term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Dr. Johann Maier von Eck during the Leipzig Debate in July 1519. Eck and other Catholics followed the practice of naming a heresy after its leader. Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran, preferring the term Evangelical, which was derived from euangelion, the followers of John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other theologians linked to the Reformed tradition also began to use that term. To distinguish the two groups, others began to refer to the two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed. As time passed by, the word Evangelical was dropped, Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Philippists and Calvinists. In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined the title Lutheran as referring to the true church, Lutheranism has its roots in the work of Martin Luther, who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation. Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century, as the monarch of Denmark–Norway, through Baltic-German and Swedish rule, Lutheranism also spread into Estonia and Latvia. Since 1520, regular Lutheran services have been held in Copenhagen, under the reign of Frederick I, Denmark-Norway remained officially Catholic. Although Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers. During Fredericks reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads in Denmark, at an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by the king in 1536, the people shouted, We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore. Fredericks son Christian was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his fathers death, however, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1537 he became Christian III and advanced the Reformation in Denmark-Norway
2.
Swedish language
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Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken natively by more than 9 million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, where it has equal legal standing with Finnish. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish, along with the other North Germanic languages, Swedish is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. It is currently the largest of the North Germanic languages by number of speakers, Standard Swedish, spoken by most Swedes, is the national language that evolved from the Central Swedish dialects in the 19th century and was well established by the beginning of the 20th century. While distinct regional varieties descended from the rural dialects still exist. The standard word order is, as in most Germanic languages, V2, Swedish morphology is similar to English, that is, words have comparatively few inflections. There are two genders, no cases, and a distinction between plural and singular. Older analyses posit the cases nominative and genitive and there are remains of distinct accusative and dative forms as well. Adjectives are compared as in English, and are inflected according to gender, number. The definiteness of nouns is marked primarily through suffixes, complemented with separate definite and indefinite articles, the prosody features both stress and in most dialects tonal qualities. The language has a large vowel inventory. Swedish is also notable for the voiceless velar fricative, a highly variable consonant phoneme. Swedish is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages, by many general criteria of mutual intelligibility, the Continental Scandinavian languages could very well be considered dialects of a common Scandinavian language. In the 8th century, the common Germanic language of Scandinavia, Proto-Norse, had some changes. This language began to undergo new changes that did not spread to all of Scandinavia, the dialects of Old East Norse that were spoken in Sweden are called Runic Swedish while the dialects of Denmark are referred to as Runic Danish. The dialects are described as runic because the body of text appears in the runic alphabet. Unlike Proto-Norse, which was written with the Elder Futhark alphabet, Old Norse was written with the Younger Futhark alphabet, from 1200 onwards, the dialects in Denmark began to diverge from those of Sweden. An early change that separated Runic Danish from the dialects of Old East Norse was the change of the diphthong æi to the monophthong é. This is reflected in runic inscriptions where the older read stain, there was also a change of au as in dauðr into a long open ø as in døðr dead
3.
Estonian language
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Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken natively by about 922,000 people in Estonia and 160,000 outside Estonia. It belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family, Estonian belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages, along with Finnish, Karelian, and other nearby languages. The Uralic languages do not belong to the Indo-European languages, Estonian is distantly related to Hungarian and to the Sami languages. Estonian has been influenced by Swedish, German, and Russian, furthermore, the apocope of word-final sounds is extensive and has contributed to a shift from a purely agglutinative to a fusional language. The basic word order is subject–verb–object, modern standard Estonian has evolved on the basis of the dialects of Northern Estonia. The domination of Estonia after the Northern Crusades, from the 13th century to 1918 by Denmark, Germany, Sweden, the oldest written records of the Finnic languages of Estonia date from the 13th century. Originates Livoniae in Chronicle of Henry of Livonia contains Estonian place names, words, the earliest extant samples of connected Estonian are the so-called Kullamaa prayers dating from 1524 and 1528. In 1525 the first book published in the Estonian language was printed, the book was a Lutheran manuscript, which never reached the reader and was destroyed immediately after publication. The first extant Estonian book is a bilingual German-Estonian translation of the Lutheran catechism by S. Wanradt and J. Koell dating to 1535, an Estonian grammar book to be used by priests was printed in German in 1637. The New Testament was translated into southern Estonian in 1686, the two languages were united based on northern Estonian by Anton thor Helle. Writings in Estonian became more significant in the 19th century during the Estophile Enlightenment Period, the birth of native Estonian literature was in 1810 to 1820 when the patriotic and philosophical poems by Kristjan Jaak Peterson were published. His birthday on March 14 is celebrated in Estonia as the Mother Tongue Day, a fragment from Petersons poem Kuu expresses the claim reestablishing the birthright of the Estonian language, Kas siis selle maa keel Laulutuules ei või Taevani tõustes üles Igavikku omale otsida. In English, Can the language of this land In the wind of incantation Rising up to the heavens Not seek for eternity. Kristjan Jaak Peterson From 1525 to 191714,503 titles were published in Estonian, in modern times Jaan Kross and Jaan Kaplinski remain as two of Estonias best known and most translated writers. Writings in Estonian became significant only in the 19th century with the spread of the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment, after the Estonian War of Independence in 1919, the Estonian language became the state language of the newly independent country. In 1945,97. 3% of Estonia considered itself ethnic Estonian, when Estonia was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in World War II, the status of the Estonian language changed to the first of two official languages. As with Latvia many immigrants entered Estonia under Soviet encouragement, in the second half of the 1970s, the pressure of bilingualism intensified, resulting in widespread knowledge of Russian throughout the country. The Russian language was termed as ‘the language of friendship of nations’ and was taught to Estonian children, although teaching Estonian to non-Estonians in schools was compulsory, in practice learning the language was often considered unnecessary
4.
Gulf of Finland
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The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it, other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn. The eastern parts of the Gulf of Finland belong to Russia, as the seaway to Saint Petersburg, the Gulf of Finland has been and continues to be of considerable strategic importance to Russia. Some of the problems affecting the Baltic Sea are at their most pronounced in the shallow gulf. The area of the gulf is 30,000 km2, the length is 400 km and the width varies from 70 km near the entrance to 130 km on the meridian of Moshchny Island, in the Neva Bay, it decreases to 12 km. The gulf is shallow with the depth decreasing from the entrance to the gulf to the continent. The sharpest change occurs near Narva-Jõesuu, which is why this place is called Narva wall, the average depth is 38 m with the maximum of 100 m. The depth of the Neva Bay is less than 6 metres, therefore, a channel was dug at the bottom for safe navigation. Because of the influx of fresh water from rivers, especially from the Neva River. The average water temperature is close to 0 °C in winter, in summer, it is 15–17 °C at the surface, the gulf is usually frozen from late November to late April, the freezing starts in the east and gradually proceeds to the west. Complete freezing is usually reached by late January, and it not occur in mild winters. There are frequent strong winds causing waves, surges of water. The northern coast of the gulf is high and winding, with abundant small bays and skerries only a few large bays, the coast is mostly sloping, there are abundant sandy dunes, with occasional pine trees. The southern shores are smooth and shallow, but along the entire coast runs the Baltic Klint with the height up to 55 m, in the east, the gulf ends with Neva Bay and on the west merges with the Baltic Sea. The gulf contains numerous banks, skerries and islands, starting from 1700, nineteen artificial islands with fortresses were built in the gulf by Russia. Their purpose was defense from attacks from water and their construction was urged by the Great Northern War of 1700–1721 and those include Fort Alexander, Krasnaya Gorka, Ino, Totleben, Kronshlot and others. The largest rivers flowing into the gulf are Neva, Narva, keila, Pirita, Jägala, Kunda, Luga, Sista and Kovashi flow into the gulf from the south. From the north flow Sestra River, Porvoo, Vantaa and several small rivers
5.
Lake Ladoga
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Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia just outside the outskirts of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 15th largest freshwater lake by area in the world, Ladoga Lacus, a methane lake on Saturns moon Titan, is named after the lake. In one of Nestors chronicles from the 12th century he mentions a lake called the Great Nevo, ancient Norse sagas and Hanseatic treaties both mention a city made of lakes named Old Norse Aldeigja or Aldoga. Since the beginning of the 14th century this hydronym was commonly known as Ladoga, according to T. N. Jackson, it can be taken almost for granted, that the name of Ladoga first referred to the river, then the city, and only then the lake. Therefore, he considers the primary hydronym Ladoga to originate in the inflow to the lower reaches of the Volkhov River whose Finnic name was Alodejoki river of the lowlands. The Germanic toponym was soon borrowed by the Slavic population and transformed by means of the Old Russian metathesis ald- → lad- to Old East Slavic, Ладога. Other theories about the origin of the name derive it from Karelian, aalto wave and Karelian, aaltokas wavy, or from the Russian dialectal word алодь, meaning open lake, eugene Helimski by contrast, offers an etymology rooted in German. Through the intermediate form *Aldaugja, Old Norse, Aldeigja cam about, the lake has an average surface area of 17,891 km2. Its north-to-south length is 219 km and its width is 83 km. Basin area,276,000 km2, volume,837 km3, there are around 660 islands, with a total area of about 435 km2. Ladoga is, on average,5 m above sea level, most of the islands, including the famous Valaam archipelago, Kilpola and Konevets, are situated in the northwest of the lake. Separated from the Baltic Sea by the Karelian Isthmus, it drains into the Gulf of Finland via the Neva River, Lake Ladoga is navigable, being a part of the Volga-Baltic Waterway connecting the Baltic Sea with the Volga River. The Ladoga Canal bypasses the lake in the part, connecting the Neva to the Svir. The basin of Lake Ladoga includes about 50,000 lakes and 3,500 rivers longer than 10 km, about 85% of the water inflow is due to tributaries, 13% is due to precipitation, and 2% is due to underground waters. Geologically, the Lake Ladoga depression is a graben and syncline structure of Proterozoic age and this Ladoga–Pasha structure, as it known, hosts Jotnian sediments. During the Pleistocene glaciations the depression was partially stripped of its sedimentary rock fill by glacial overdeepening, deglaciation following the Weichsel glaciation took place in the Lake Ladoga basin between 12,500 and 11,500 radiocarbon years BP. Lake Ladoga was initially part of the Baltic Ice Lake, a historical stage of Baltic Sea. It is possible, though not certain, that Ladoga was isolated from it during regression of the subsequent Yoldia Sea brackish stage, at 9,500 BP, Lake Onega, previously draining into the White Sea, started emptying into Ladoga via the River Svir
6.
Karelian Isthmus
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The Karelian Isthmus is the approximately 45–110 km wide stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is the narrow area between the Bay of Vyborg and Lake Ladoga. If the Karelian Isthmus is defined as the territory of present-day Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast to the north of the Neva. The smaller part of the isthmus to the southeast of the old Russia-Finland border is considered historically as Northern Ingria, the rest of the isthmus was historically a part of Finnish Karelia. This was conquered by the Russian Empire during the Great Northern War in 1712, when Finland became independent in 1917, the isthmus remained Finnish. Finnish Karelia was ceded to the Soviet Union by Finland following the Winter War, in 1940–1941, during the Interim Peace, most of the ceded territories in the isthmus were included within the Karelo-Finnish SSR. However, since World War II the entire isthmus has been divided between the city of Saint Petersburg, as well as Priozersky District, Vsevolozhsky District and Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast. According to the 2002 census, the population of the Kurortny District of Saint Petersburg, many Saint Petersburg residents also decamp to the Isthmus during their vacations. The isthmus terrain has been influenced dramatically by the Weichsel glaciation and its highest point lies on the Lembolovo Heights moraine at about 205 m. There are no mountains on the isthmus, but steep hills occur in some places, the Vuoksi, largest river, runs southeastwards from Lake Saimaa of Finland to Lake Ladoga, dividing the isthmus into two uneven parts. Saimaa Canal opened in 1856 links Lake Saimaa to the Bay of Vyborg, the Karelian Isthmus lies within the ecoregion of Scandinavian and Russian taiga. Geobotanically, it lies at the juncture of the Central European, Eastern European, the isthmus is mostly covered by coniferous forests formed by Scots pine and Norway spruce, with numerous lakes as well as small grass, fen and Sphagnum raised bogs. Forests cover approximately 11.700 km of the isthmus, more than three-fourths of its total square, swampy areas occupy on average 5.5 percent of the territory. In the large area along the shore of Lake Ladoga in Vsevolozhsky District, in the southeastern part of the isthmus. The same was true of the lowland along the Neva River. The soil is predominantly podsol, which contains massive boulders, especially in the north and northwest, pine forests are the most widespread and occupy 51% of the forested area of the Karelian Isthmus, followed by spruce forests and birch forests. Prominent vegetation of birch forests include meadowsweet, common wood sorrel, bilberry and graminoids Calamagrostis arundinacea. 1184 species of vascular plants are recorded in the isthmus
7.
River Narva
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The Narva is a river flowing into the Baltic Sea, the largest river in Estonia by discharge. Draining Lake Peipsi, the forms the border of Estonia and Russia and flows through the towns of Narva/Ivangorod. Though the river is only 77 kilometres long, in terms of volume discharged it is the second largest river flowing into the Gulf of Finland, the river gives its name to the Narva culture and the city of Narva. The etymology of the toponym Narva is not clear, but according to the most common theory it comes from a Vepsian word narva meaning waterfall or stream, the Narva river has its source at the northeastern end of Lake Peipus, near the villages of Vasknarva and Skyamya. The river is dammed entering Narva and Ivangorod, forming the Narva Reservoir, the Narva empties into Narva Bay near the Estonian town of Narva-Jõesuu, third largest settlement on the river after Narva and Ivangorod. The Plyussa is the largest tributary, joining the Narva at the Narva Reservoir from the right, between Narva and Ivangorod the river flows over the Baltic Klint, forming the Narva Waterfall, once among the most powerful in Europe. Before the water reaches the falls it is split into two branches by the Kreenholm island, thus the falls consist of two sections, Kreenholm Falls, west of the island, is 60 metres wide and 6.5 metres high with multiple terraces. Joala Falls, to the east, is 110 metres wide, the Estonian–Russian border follows the eastern branch and goes through Joala Falls. Since the creation of Narva Reservoir in 1955, the waterfalls are usually dry, access to the waterfalls is difficult as they are located in the border zone and the surrounding area on the Estonian side is closed industrial land belonging to Krenholm Manufacturing Company. The Narva was used as a route during the Viking Age. It was an offshoot of the route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The Narva has for centuries been an important border river, beginning in the 13th century it was the border of Medieval Livonia and the Novgorod Republic. Though in earlier periods Narva was part of a buffer zone between the two territories, gradually the river emerged as the exact border. Castles built on the banks were one of the main reasons behind this. Treaties from the 15th century between the Livonian Order and Novgorod Republic also recognize the Narva as the border, during the time of Swedish Estonia, when Ingria was also part of Sweden, the importance of the river as a border diminished. By the Treaty of Tartu, signed in 1920, the Estonian–Russian border went slightly east of the river, up to 10 kilometres, and, in particular, the town of Ivangorod was assigned to Estonia. In 1944 the former Estonian territory east of the river was transferred to Russian SFSR and the Narva was thus established as the border of Estonian SSR. In 1991 the same border became the de facto border of Estonia and Russia, although no official border treaty has been ratified since then, today the Narva is the eastern border of the European Union and Schengen Zone
8.
Estonia
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Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea, covering 45,339 km2 of land and water, and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, in 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian Supreme Soviet issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in defiance of Soviet rule, and independence was restored on 20 August 1991. Estonia is a parliamentary republic divided into fifteen counties. Its capital and largest city is Tallinn, with a population of 1.3 million, it is one of the least-populous member states of the European Union, Eurozone, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, OECD and Schengen Area. Estonia is a country with an advanced, high-income economy that is among the fastest growing in the EU. Its Human Development Index ranks very highly, and it performs favourably in measurements of economic freedom, civil liberties, the 2015 PISA test places Estonian high school students 3rd in the world, behind Singapore and Japan. Citizens of Estonia are provided with health care, free education. Since independence the country has developed its IT sector, becoming one of the worlds most digitally advanced societies. In 2005 Estonia became the first nation to hold elections over the Internet, in the Estonian language, the oldest known endonym of the Estonians was maarahvas, meaning country people or people of the land. The land inhabited by Estonians was called Maavald meaning Country Parish or Land Parish, one hypothesis regarding the modern name of Estonia is that it originated from the Aesti, a people described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his Germania. The historic Aesti were allegedly Baltic people, whereas the modern Estonians are Finno-Ugric, the geographical areas between Aesti and Estonia do not match, with Aesti being further down south. Ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland, as the country is called in Icelandic. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the name are Estia and Hestia, esthonia was a common alternative English spelling prior to 1921. Human settlement in Estonia became possible 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, the oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in south-western Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating it was settled around 11,000 years ago, the earliest human inhabitation during the Mesolithic period is connected to Kunda culture, which is named after the town of Kunda in northern Estonia. At that time the country was covered with forests, and people lived in communities near bodies of water
9.
Russian Orthodox Church
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The Russian Orthodox Church, alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox patriarchates. The Primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus and it also exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the autonomous Church of Japan and the Orthodox Christians resident in the Peoples Republic of China. The ROC branches in Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova and Ukraine since the 1990s enjoy various degrees of self-government, in Ukraine, ROC has tensions with schismatic groups supported by the current government, while it enjoys the position of numerically dominant religious organisation. The ROC should also not be confused with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, headquartered in New York, New York, the two Churches reconciled on May 17,2007, the ROCOR is now a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church. According to one of the legends, Andrew reached the location of Kiev. The spot where he erected a cross is now marked by St. Andrews Cathedral. By the end of the first millennium AD, eastern Slavic lands started to come under the influence of the Eastern Roman Empire. There is evidence that the first Christian bishop was sent to Novgorod from Constantinople either by Patriarch Photius or Patriarch Ignatios, by the mid-10th century, there was already a Christian community among Kievan nobility, under the leadership of Byzantine Greek priests, although paganism remained the dominant religion. Princess Olga of Kiev was the first ruler of Kievan Rus′ to convert to Christianity and her grandson, Vladimir of Kiev, made Rus officially a Christian state. The Kievan church was a metropolitanate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Ecumenical patriarch appointed the metropolitan, who usually was a Greek. The Metropolitans residence was located in Kiev itself, the capital of the medieval Rus state. Following the tribulations of the Mongol invasion, the Russian Church was pivotal in the survival, despite the politically motivated murders of Mikhail of Chernigov and Mikhail of Tver, the Mongols were generally tolerant and even granted tax exemption to the Church. Such holy figures as Sergius of Radonezh and Metropolitan Alexis helped the country to withstand years of Tatar oppression, the Trinity monastery founded by Sergius of Radonezh became the setting for the flourishing of spiritual art, exemplified by the work of Andrey Rublev, among others. The followers of Sergius founded four hundred monasteries, thus extending the geographical extent of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. However, the Moscow Prince Vasili II rejected the act of the Council of Florence brought to Moscow by Isidore in March 1441, Isidore was in the same year removed from his position as an apostate and expelled from Moscow. The Russian metropolitanate remained effectively vacant for the few years due largely to the dominance of Uniates in Constantinople then. In December 1448, Jonas, a Russian bishop, was installed by the Council of Russian bishops in Moscow as Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia without the consent from Constantinople. Subsequently, there developed a theory in Moscow that saw Moscow as the Third Rome, the successor to Constantinople
10.
Izhorians
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The Izhorians, along with the Votes, are an indigenous people of Ingria. Small numbers can still be found in the part of Ingria. The history of the Izhorians is bound to the history of Ingria and it is supposed that shortly after 1000 AD the Izhorians moved from Karelia to the west and south-west. In 1478, the Novgorod Republic, where Ingrians had settled, was united with the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the establishment of St Petersburg in 1703 had a great influence on Izhorian culture. World War II had the biggest impact on Izhorians, as devastating battles took place on their territory, large numbers of Izhorians perished during World War II, so in honour of them the Izhorianss battalion was named after them. In 1848, P. von Köppen counted 17,800 Izhorians, in the 1959 census, however, only 1,100 Izhorians were counted in the USSR. In 1989,820 self-designated Izhorians,302 of whom were speakers of the Ingrian language were registered,449 Izhorians lived in the territory of the USSR. According to the 2002 Russian Census, there were 327 Izhorians in Russia, there were also 812 Ingrians in Ukraine according to Ukrainian Census and a further 358 Ingrians in Estonia. Their language, close to Karelian, is used primarily by members of the older generation, Izhorian, along with Finnish, Karelian and Vepsian, belongs to the Northern Finnic group of the Uralic languages. In 1932–1937, a Latin-based orthography for the Izhorian language existed, taught in schools of the Soikinsky Peninsula, several textbooks were published including a grammar of the language in 1936. However, in 1937 the Izhorian written language was abolished and mass repressions of the peasantry began, the Izhorians and the Votes are generally Orthodox, while the other Finnic inhabitants of Ingria, the Ingrian Finns, are generally Lutheran. Izhorians in the Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire Estonian National Museum V. Cherniavskij, Izoran keel /Ижорский язык
11.
Votes
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Votes, sometimes also Vods are a people of Votia in Ingria, the part of modern-day northwestern Russia that is roughly southwest of Saint Petersburg and east of the Estonian border-town of Narva. The Finnic Votic language spoken by Votes is close to extinction, Votians were one of the founding people of Veliky Novgorod. The Votic language is spoken in three villages of historical Votia and by an unknown number of fluent Votic speakers in the countryside. The villages are Jõgõperä, Liivcülä, and Luuditsa, Votes are the oldest known ethnic group in Ingria. They are probably descended from an Iron-age population of north-eastern Estonia, some scientists claim they were a tribe of Estonians, who developed a separate identity during isolation from other Estonians. It is speculated the ancient Estonian county of Vaiga got its name from Votians, the Budini, ancient people described by Herodotus, have been identified as Votes. The Kylfings, an active in Northern Europe during the Viking Age. Earliest literary references of Votes by their name are from medieval Russian sources. They were previously considered Chudes together with Estonians in Russian sources, in 1069 Votes were mentioned taking part in an attack on the Novgorod Republic by the Principality of Polotsk. Eventually Votes became part of the Novgorod Republic and in 1149 they were mentioned taking part in an attack by Novgorod against Jems who are speculated to be peoples of Tavastia, one of the administrative divisions of Novgorod, Vochskaa, was named after Votes. After the collapse of Novgorod, the Grand Duchy of Moscow deported many Votes from their homelands, missionary efforts started in 1534, after Novgorods archbishop Macarius complained to Ivan IV that Votes were still practicing their pagan beliefs. Makarius was authorized to send monk Ilja to convert the Votes, Ilja destroyed many of the old holy shrines and worshiping places. Conversion was slow and the next archbishop Feodosii had to send priest Nikifor to continue Iljas work, slowly Votes were converted and they became devoted Christians. Sweden controlled Ingria in the 17th century, and attempts to convert local Orthodox believers to the Lutheran faith caused some of the Orthodox population to migrate elsewhere, at the same time many Finnish peoples immigrated to Ingria. Religion separated the Lutheran Finns and Orthodox Izhorians and Votes, so intermarriage was uncommon between these groups, Votes mainly married other Votes, or Izhorians and Russians. They were mostly trilingual in Votic, Izhoran and Russian, in 1848, the number of Votes had been 5,148. But in the Russian census of 1926 there were only 705 left, from the early 20th century on, the Votic language no longer passed to following generations. Most Votes were evacuated to Finland along with Finnish Ingrians during World War II, as a distinct people, Votes have become practically extinct after Stalinist dispersion to distant Soviet provinces as punishment for alleged disloyalty and cowardice during World War II
12.
Indigenous peoples
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Groups are usually described as indigenous when they maintain traditions or other aspects of an early culture that is associated with a given region. Not all indigenous peoples share such characteristics, Indigenous societies are found in every inhabited climate zone and continent of the world. Estimates put the population of indigenous peoples from 220 million to 350 million. The adjective indigenous is derived from the Latin word indigena, which is based on the root gen- to be born with a form of the prefix in in. Any given people, ethnic group or community may be described as indigenous in reference to some particular region or location that they see as their tribal land claim. Other terms used to refer to indigenous populations are aboriginal, native, original, james Anaya, former Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has defined indigenous peoples as living descendants of pre-invasion inhabitants of lands now dominated by others. They are culturally distinct groups that find themselves engulfed by other settler societies born of forces of empire, throughout history, different states designate the groups within their boundaries that are recognized as indigenous peoples according to international or national legislation by different terms. Their ability to influence and participate in the policies that may exercise jurisdiction over their traditional lands. The presence of external laws, claims and cultural mores either potentially or actually act to constrain the practices and observances of an indigenous society. These constraints can be observed even when the society is regulated largely by its own tradition. They may be imposed, or arise as unintended consequence of trans-cultural interaction. They may have an effect, even where countered by other external influences. This definition has some limitations, because the definition applies mainly to pre-colonial populations, the primary impetus in considering indigenous identity comes from the post-colonial movements and considering the historical impacts on populations by the European imperialism. Greek sources of the Classical period acknowledge the existence of indigenous people. These peoples inhabited lands surrounding the Aegean Sea before the subsequent migrations of the Hellenic ancestors claimed by these authors, the disposition and precise identity of this former group is elusive, and sources such as Homer, Hesiod and Herodotus give varying, partially mythological accounts. However, it is clear that cultures existed whose indigenous characteristics were distinguished by the subsequent Hellenic cultures, greco-Roman society flourished between 250 BC and 480 AD and commanded successive waves of conquests that gripped more than half of the globe. The rapid and extensive spread of the various European powers from the early 15th century onwards had an impact upon many of the indigenous cultures with whom they came into contact. The Canary Islands had an indigenous population called the Guanches whose origin is still the subject of discussion among historians, the United Nations estimates that there are over 370 million indigenous people living in over 70 countries worldwide
13.
Kievan Rus'
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Kievan Rus was a loose federation of East Slavic tribes in Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century, under the reign of the Rurik dynasty. The modern peoples of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia all claim Kievan Rus as their cultural ancestors, according to Russian historiography the first ruler to start uniting East Slavic lands into what has become known as Kievan Rus was Prince Oleg. He extended his control from Novgorod south along the Dnieper river valley to protect trade from Khazar incursions from the east, Sviatoslav I achieved the first major expansion of Kievan Rus territorial control, fighting a war of conquest against the Khazars. Vladimir the Great introduced Christianity with his own baptism and, by decree, extended it to all inhabitants of Kiev and beyond. Kievan Rus reached its greatest extent under Yaroslav the Wise, his sons assembled and issued its first written legal code, the state declined beginning in the late 11th century and during the 12th century, disintegrating into various rival regional powers. The state finally fell to the Mongol invasion of the 1240s. During its existence, Kievan Rus was known as the land of the Rus, in Greek as Ῥωσία, in Old French as Russie, Rossie, in Latin as Russia, and from the 12th century also Ruthenia. Various etymologies have been proposed, including Ruotsi, the Finnish designation for Sweden, and Ros, the term Kievan Rus was coined in the 19th century in Russian historiography to refer to the period when the centre was in Kiev. Later, the Russian term was rendered into Belarusian and Ukrainian as Кіеўская Русь Kijeŭskaja Rus’ and Ки́ївська Русь Kyivska Rus’, prior to the emergence of Kievan Rus in the 9th century AD, the lands between the Baltic Sea and Black Sea were primarily populated by eastern Slavic tribes. In the northern region around Novgorod were the Ilmen Slavs and neighboring Krivichi, who occupied territories surrounding the headwaters of the West Dvina, Dnieper, to their north, in the Ladoga and Karelia regions, were the Finnic Chud tribe. In the south, in the area around Kiev, were the Poliane, a group of Slavicized tribes with Iranian origins, the Drevliane to the west of the Dnieper, and the Severiane to the east. To their north and east were the Vyatichi, and to their south was forested land settled by Slav farmers, controversy persists over whether the Rus’ were Varangians or Slavs. This uncertainty is due largely to a paucity of contemporary sources, attempts to address this question instead rely on archaeological evidence, the accounts of foreign observers, legends and literature from centuries later. To some extent the controversy is related to the myths of modern states in the region. According to the Normanist view, the Rus were Scandinavians, while Russian and Ukrainian nationalist historians generally argue that the Rus were themselves Slavs. Normanist theories focus on the earliest written source for the East Slavs, nevertheless, archaeological evidence from the area suggests that a Scandinavian population was present during the 10th century at the latest. On balance, it likely that the Rus proper were a small minority of Scandinavians who formed an elite ruling class. Liutprand of Cremona, who was twice an envoy to the Byzantine court, identifies the Russi with the Norse, leo the Deacon, a 10th-century Byzantine historian and chronicler, refers to the Rus as Scythians and notes that they tended to adopt Greek rituals and customs
14.
Greek Orthodox Church
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Historically, the term Greek Orthodox has also been used to describe all Eastern Orthodox Churches in general, since Greek in Greek Orthodox can refer to the heritage of the Byzantine Empire. Over time, most parts of the liturgy, traditions, and practices of the church of Constantinople were adopted by all, thus, the Eastern Church came to be called Greek Orthodox in the same way that the Western Church is called Roman Catholic. Orthodox Churches, unlike the Catholic Church, have no Bishopric head, such as a Pope, however, they are each governed by a committee of Bishops, called the Holy Synod, with one central Bishop holding the honorary title of first among equals. Greek Orthodox Churches are united in communion with other, as well as with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Eastern Orthodox hold a doctrine and a common form of worship. The most commonly used Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church was written by Saint John Chrysostom, others, are attributed to St. Basil the Great, St. James, the Brother of God and St. The majority of Greek Orthodox Christians live within Greece and elsewhere in the southern Balkans, but also in Lebanon, Cyprus, Anatolia, European Turkey, and the South Caucasus. In addition, due to the large Greek diaspora, there are many Greek Orthodox Christians who live in North America, Orthodox Christians in Finland, who compose about 1% of the population, are also under the jurisdiction of a Greek Orthodox Church. Thus, they may attend services held in Old Russian and Old Church Slavonic, the Church conducts its liturgy in Koine Greek in the areas of Albania populated by the ethnic Greek minority, alongside the use of Albanian throughout the country. The Greek and Eastern Churches online Constantelos, Demetrios J. Understanding the Greek Orthodox church, its faith, history, the Orthodox Eastern Church Hussey, Joan Mervyn. The orthodox church in the Byzantine empire online Kephala, Euphrosyne, the Church of the Greek People Past and Present Latourette, Kenneth Scott. Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, II, The Nineteenth Century in Europe, The Protestant,2, 479-484, Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, IV, The Twentieth Century in Europe, The Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Churches McGuckin, John Anthony. The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, media related to Greek Orthodox Church at Wikimedia Commons
15.
Treaty of Stolbovo
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The Treaty of Stolbovo is a peace treaty of 1617 that ended the Ingrian War, fought between Sweden and Russia. After nearly two months of negotiations, representatives from Sweden and Russia met at the village of Stolbova, south of Lake Ladoga, on 27 February 1617. From the outset, Sweden had gone into the negotiations with very high ambitions, as a consequence of this ambition, the Swedes originally demanded far-reaching territorial gains into western Russia, including the important northern port of Arkhangelsk. Arkhangelsk did not change hands in the treaty, partly because of the Dutch and English efforts. England is officially credited with brokering this peace, through their mediator John Mericke, after the war, the leader of the Dutch delegation, Reinoud van Brederode, was granted the title Baron and given the barony of Wesenberg in Estonia by Gustavus Adolphus. The De la Gardie Campaign Dymitriads List of treaties Rise of Sweden as a Great Power Time of Troubles
16.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
17.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
18.
Ingrian Finns
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In the forced deportations before and after World War II most of them were relocated to other parts of the Soviet Union. Today the Ingrian Finns constitute the largest part of the Finnish population of the Russian Federation, according to some records, some 25,000 Ingrian Finns have returned or still reside in the Saint Petersburg region. Finnish-speaking Ingrians are not to be confused with Izhorian-speaking Ingrians, Ingrian Finns mainly constitute of two groups, Savakot originated from migrant Savonians and Äyrämöiset coming from the Karelian Isthmus, then parts of the Swedish realm. They were Lutheran resettlers and migrant workers who moved to Ingria during the period of Swedish rule 1617–1703, others originated from more or less voluntary conversion among the indigenous Finnic-speaking Votes and Izhorians, where approved by the Swedish authorities. Finns made up 41.1 percent of the population of Ingria in 1656,53.2 percent in 1661,55.2 percent in 1666,56.9 percent in 1671 and 73.8 percent in 1695. After the Russian reconquest and the foundation of Saint Petersburg, the flow of migration was reversed, there the Ingrian Finns assimilated with the Karelian Finns. In 1870, the printing of the first Finnish-language newspaper, Pietarin Sanomat, before that Ingria received newspapers mostly from Vyborg. The first public library was opened in 1850, in Tyrö, the largest of the libraries, situated in Skuoritsa, had more than 2,000 volumes in the second half of the 19th century. In 1899, the first song festival in Ingria was held in Puutosti, by 1897, the number of Ingrian Finns had grown to 130,413, and by 1917 it exceeded 140,000. It was reintegrated with Russia at the end of 1920 under the Treaty of Tartu, from 1928 to 1939, Ingrian Finns in North Ingria constituted the Kuivaisi National District with its center in Toksova and Finnish as its official language. The First All-Union Census of the Soviet Union in 1926 recorded 114,831 Leningrad Finns, Soviet rule, and the German occupation during World War II, were as disastrous for the Ingrian Finns as for other small ethnic groups. Many Ingrian Finns were either executed, deported to Siberia, or forced to relocate to parts of the Soviet Union. There were also refugees to Finland, where they were assimilated, in 1928, collectivization of agriculture started in Ingria. To facilitate it, in 1929–1931,18,000 people from North Ingria were deported to East Karelia or the Kola Peninsula, as well as to Kazakhstan and other parts of Central Asia. In April 19357,000 people were deported from Ingria to Kazakhstan, elsewhere in Central Asia, in Ingria they were replaced by people from other parts of the Soviet Union. In 1937 Lutheran churches and Finnish-language schools in Ingria were closed down, in March 1939 the Kuivaisi National District was liquidated. Initially during the Winter War, the Soviet policy was mixed, during the Finnish and German occupation of the area, Ingrian Finns were evacuated to Finland. However, after the Continuation War, most of these Ingrian Finns, who were still Soviet citizens, were returned to the Soviet Union
19.
Finland
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Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian
20.
Treaty of Nystad
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The Treaty of Nystad was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire on 10 September 1721 in the then Swedish town of Nystad, sweden had settled with the other parties in Stockholm and in Frederiksborg. During the war Peter I of Russia had occupied all Swedish possessions on the eastern Baltic coast, Swedish Ingria, Swedish Estonia and Swedish Livonia, in pre-1917 Saint Petersburg, in the Vyborgsky district one of the thoroughfares was named after the Nystad treaty. The district also houses a church commemorating the first Russian victory in the Great Northern war, list of treaties Freden i Nystad – Ништадтский мир1721 – Uudenkaupungin rauha 1721. Trilingual source publication of the documents concerning the treaty from The Russian Foreign Ministry Archives. Published by Agricola – The Finnish History Network publication series number 10
21.
Russification
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Russification or Russianization is a form of cultural assimilation process during which non-Russian communities, voluntarily or not, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian one. The major areas of Russification are politics and culture, in politics, an element of Russification is assigning Russian nationals to leading administrative positions in national institutions. In culture, Russification primarily amounts to domination of the Russian language in official business, the shifts in demographics in favour of the ethnic Russian population are sometimes considered as a form of Russification as well. In this sense, although Russification is usually conflated across Russification, Russianization, Russianization and Sovietization, for example, did not automatically lead to Russification – change in language or self-identity of non-Russian peoples to being Russian. An early case of Russification took place in the 16th century in the conquered Khanate of Kazan, the main elements of this process were Christianization and implementation of the Russian language as the sole administrative language. After the Russian defeat in the Crimean War in 1856 and the Polish rebellion of 1863, Russia was populated by many minority groups, and forcing them to accept the Russian culture was an attempt to prevent self-determinationist tendencies and separatism. In the 19th century, Russian settlers on traditional Kirghiz land drove many of the Kirghiz over the border to China, indigenous to large parts of western and central Russia are the Uralic peoples, such as the Vepsians, Mordvins, Maris and Permians. Historically, the Russification of Uralic peoples begins already with the eastward expansion of the East Slavs. The Russification of the Komi began in the 13th to 14th centuries, komi-Russian bilingualism has become the norm over the 19th and has led to increasing Russian influence in the Komi language. As a result, several of Russias indigenous languages and cultures are considered endangered. E. g. between the 1989 and 2002 censuses, the numbers of the Mordvins have totalled over 100,000. Russification intensified after the November Uprising of 1831, and in particular after the January Uprising of 1863, in 1864, the Polish and Belarusian languages were banned in public places, in the 1880s, Polish was banned in schools and on school grounds and offices of Congress Poland. Research and teaching of the Polish language, history or of Catholicism were forbidden, illiteracy rose as Poles refused to learn Russian. Students were beaten for resisting Russification, a Polish underground education network was formed, including the famous Flying University. According to Russian estimates, by 1901 one-third of the inhabitants in the Congress Kingdom was involved in education based on Polish literature. From 1840s Russia even considered introducing Cyrillic script for spelling Polish language, with the first school books printed in 1860s, a similar development took place in Lithuania. Muravyov also banned the use of Latin and Gothic scripts in publishing and he was reported saying, What the Russian bayonet didnt accomplish, the Russian school will. The knygnešiai became a symbol of the resistance of Lithuanians against Russification, the campaign also promoted the Russian Orthodox faith over Catholicism
22.
Baltic Sea
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The Baltic Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, enclosed by Scandinavia, Finland, the Baltic countries, and the North European Plain. It includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga, the sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10°E to 30°E longitude. The Baltic Sea is connected by waterways to the White Sea via the White Sea Canal. Traffic history Historically, the Kingdom of Denmark collected Sound Dues from ships at the border between the ocean and the land-locked Baltic Sea and they were collected in the Øresund at Kronborg castle near Helsingør, in the Great Belt at Nyborg. In the Little Belt, the site of intake was moved to Fredericia, the narrowest part of Little Belt is the Middelfart Sund near Middelfart. Oceanography Geographers widely agree that the physical border of the Baltic is a line drawn through the southern Danish islands, Drogden-Sill. The Drogden Sill is situated north of Køge Bugt and connects Dragør in the south of Copenhagen to Malmö, it is used by the Øresund Bridge, including the Drogden Tunnel. By this definition, the Danish Straits are part of the entrance, but the Bay of Mecklenburg, another usual border is the line between Falsterbo, Sweden and Stevns Klint, Denmark, as this is the southern border of Øresund. Its also the border between the shallow southern Øresund and notably deeper water, hydrography and biology Drogden Sill sets a limit to Øresund and Darss Sill, and a limit to the Belt Sea. The shallow sills are obstacles to the flow of salt water from the Kattegat into the basins around Bornholm. The Kattegat and the southwestern Baltic Sea are well oxygenated and have a rich biology, the remainder of the Sea is brackish, poor in oxygen and in species. While Tacitus called it Mare Suebicum after the Germanic people called the Suebi, the origin of the latter name is speculative. Adam of Bremen himself compared the sea with a belt, stating that it is so named because it stretches through the land as a belt and he might also have been influenced by the name of a legendary island mentioned in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder. Pliny mentions an island named Baltia with reference to accounts of Pytheas and it is possible that Pliny refers to an island named Basilia in On the Ocean by Pytheas. Baltia also might be derived from belt and mean near belt of sea, meanwhile, others have suggested that the name of the island originates from the Proto-Indo-European root *bhel meaning white, fair. This root and its meaning were retained in both Lithuanian and Latvian. On this basis, a related hypothesis holds that the name originated from this Indo-European root via a Baltic language such as Lithuanian, yet another explanation is that the name originally meant enclosed sea, bay as opposed to open sea. Some Swedish historians believe the name derives from the god Balder of Nordic mythology, in the Middle Ages the sea was known by variety of names
23.
Saint Petersburg
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Saint Petersburg is Russias second-largest city after Moscow, with five million inhabitants in 2012, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. It is politically incorporated as a federal subject, situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 271703. In 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, in 1924 to Leningrad, between 1713 and 1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of imperial Russia. In 1918, the government bodies moved to Moscow. Saint Petersburg is one of the cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. A large number of consulates, international corporations, banks. Swedish colonists built Nyenskans, a fortress, at the mouth of the Neva River in 1611, in a then called Ingermanland. A small town called Nyen grew up around it, Peter the Great was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he intended to have Russia gain a seaport in order to be able to trade with other maritime nations. He needed a better seaport than Arkhangelsk, which was on the White Sea to the north, on May 1703121703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured Nyenskans, and soon replaced the fortress. On May 271703, closer to the estuary 5 km inland from the gulf), on Zayachy Island, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. The city was built by conscripted peasants from all over Russia, tens of thousands of serfs died building the city. Later, the city became the centre of the Saint Petersburg Governorate, Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712,9 years before the Treaty of Nystad of 1721 ended the war, he referred to Saint Petersburg as the capital as early as 1704. During its first few years, the city developed around Trinity Square on the bank of the Neva, near the Peter. However, Saint Petersburg soon started to be built out according to a plan, by 1716 the Swiss Italian Domenico Trezzini had elaborated a project whereby the city centre would be located on Vasilyevsky Island and shaped by a rectangular grid of canals. The project was not completed, but is evident in the layout of the streets, in 1716, Peter the Great appointed French Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond as the chief architect of Saint Petersburg. In 1724 the Academy of Sciences, University and Academic Gymnasium were established in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great, in 1725, Peter died at the age of fifty-two. His endeavours to modernize Russia had met opposition from the Russian nobility—resulting in several attempts on his life
24.
Sovereign state
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A sovereign state is, in international law, a nonphysical juridical entity that is represented by one centralized government that has sovereignty over a geographic area. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined territory, one government, and it is also normally understood that a sovereign state is neither dependent on nor subjected to any other power or state. The existence or disappearance of a state is a question of fact, States came into existence as people gradually transferred their allegiance from an individual sovereign to an intangible but territorial political entity, of the state. States are but one of political orders that emerged from feudal Europe, others being city states, leagues. Westphalian sovereignty is the concept of sovereignty based on territoriality. It is a system of states, multinational corporations. Sovereignty is a term that is frequently misused and that position was reflected and constituted in the notion that their sovereignty was either completely lacking, or at least of an inferior character when compared to that of civilised people. Lassa Oppenheim said There exists perhaps no conception the meaning of which is more controversial than that of sovereignty. It is a fact that this conception, from the moment when it was introduced into political science until the present day, has never had a meaning which was universally agreed upon. In the opinion of H. V. Evatt of the High Court of Australia, sovereignty is neither a question of fact, nor a question of law, but a question that does not arise at all. The right of nations to determine their own status and exercise permanent sovereignty within the limits of their territorial jurisdictions is widely recognized. The Westphalian model of sovereignty has increasingly come under fire from the non-west as a system imposed solely by Western Colonialism. What this model did was make religion a subordinate to politics and this system does not fit in the Islamic world because concepts such as separation of church and state and individual conscience are not recognised in the Islamic religion as social systems. Nation denotes a people who are believed to or deemed to share common customs, religion, language, origins, however, the adjectives national and international are frequently used to refer to matters pertaining to what are strictly sovereign states, as in national capital, international law. State refers to the set of governing and supportive institutions that have sovereignty over a definite territory, State recognition signifies the decision of a sovereign state to treat another entity as also being a sovereign state. Recognition can be expressed or implied and is usually retroactive in its effects. It does not necessarily signify a desire to establish or maintain diplomatic relations, There is no definition that is binding on all the members of the community of nations on the criteria for statehood. In actual practice, the criteria are mainly political, not legal, in international law, however, there are several theories of when a state should be recognised as sovereign
25.
North Ingria
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Its aim was to be incorporated into Finland. It ruled parts of Ingria from 1919 until 1920, with the Peace Treaty of Tartu it was re-integrated into Russia. However, Ingrian Finns of this area enjoyed a degree of national autonomy until the 1930s in compliance with the policy of national delimitation in the Soviet Union. In 1928 the Kuivaisi National District was established there with its base in Toksovo. In 1939 it was abolished and the area was joined to the Pargolovo district, today, it is the north-eastern part of Vsevolozhsky District. Postage stamps and postal history of North Ingria Ingria on Fire, A little-known episode of the White Movement, including a map of Finnish toponyms
26.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
27.
Ethnic group
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An ethnic group or ethnicity is a category of people who identify with each other based on similarities, such as common ancestral, language, social, cultural or national experiences. Unlike other social groups, ethnicity is often an inherited status based on the society in which one lives, in some cases, it can be adopted if a person moves into another society. Ethnic groups, derived from the historical founder population, often continue to speak related languages. By way of language shift, acculturation, adoption and religious conversion, it is possible for individuals or groups to leave one ethnic group. Ethnicity is often used synonymously with terms such as nation or people. In English, it can also have the connotation of something exotic, generally related to cultures of more recent immigrants, the largest ethnic groups in modern times comprise hundreds of millions of individuals, while the smallest are limited to a few dozen individuals. Conversely, formerly separate ethnicities can merge to form a pan-ethnicity, whether through division or amalgamation, the formation of a separate ethnic identity is referred to as ethnogenesis. The term ethnic is derived from the Greek word ἔθνος ethnos, the inherited English language term for this concept is folk, used alongside the latinate people since the late Middle English period. In Early Modern English and until the mid-19th century, ethnic was used to mean heathen or pagan, as the Septuagint used ta ethne to translate the Hebrew goyim the nations, non-Hebrews, non-Jews. The Greek term in antiquity could refer to any large group, a host of men. In the 19th century, the term came to be used in the sense of peculiar to a race, people or nation, the abstract ethnicity had been used for paganism in the 18th century, but now came to express the meaning of an ethnic character. The term ethnic group was first recorded in 1935 and entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1972, depending on the context that is used, the term nationality may either be used synonymously with ethnicity, or synonymously with citizenship. The process that results in the emergence of an ethnicity is called ethnogenesis, the Greeks at this time did not describe foreign nations but had also developed a concept of their own ethnicity, which they grouped under the name of Hellenes. Herodotus gave an account of what defined Greek ethnic identity in his day, enumerating shared descent. Whether ethnicity qualifies as a universal is to some extent dependent on the exact definition used. Many social scientists, such as anthropologists Fredrik Barth and Eric Wolf and they regard ethnicity as a product of specific kinds of inter-group interactions, rather than an essential quality inherent to human groups. According to Thomas Hylland Eriksen, the study of ethnicity was dominated by two distinct debates until recently, one is between primordialism and instrumentalism. In the primordialist view, the participant perceives ethnic ties collectively, as a given, even coercive
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Cultural heritage
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Cultural heritage includes tangible culture, intangible culture, and natural heritage. Objects are a part of the study of history because they provide a concrete basis for ideas. Their preservation demonstrates a recognition of the necessity of the past, in The Past is a Foreign Country, David Lowenthal observes that preserved objects also validate memories. This unfortunately poses a danger as places and things are damaged by the hands of tourists, the required to display them. Similarly changing is the value each generation may place on the past, classical civilizations, and especially the Indian, have attributed supreme importance to the preservation of tradition. Its central idea was that institutions, scientific knowledge and technological applications need to use a heritage as a resource. Using contemporary language, we could say that ancient Indians considered, as social resources, ethics considered that what had been inherited should not be consumed, but should be handed over, possibly enriched, to successive generations. This was an imperative for all, except in the final life stage of sannyasa. What one generation considers cultural heritage may be rejected by the next generation, Cultural property includes the physical, or tangible cultural heritage, such as artworks. These are generally split into two groups of movable and immovable heritage, immovable heritage includes buildings, large industrial installations or other historic places and monuments. Moveable heritage includes books, documents, moveable artworks, machines, clothing, and other artifacts and these include objects significant to the archaeology, architecture, science or technology of a specified culture. The concept includes the ways and means of behavior in a society, and these include social values and traditions, customs and practices, aesthetic and spiritual beliefs, artistic expression, language and other aspects of human activity. The significance of artifacts can be interpreted against the backdrop of socioeconomic, political, ethnic, religious. Naturally, intangible heritage is more difficult to preserve than physical objects. These kind of heritage sites often serve as an important component in a countrys tourist industry, Heritage can also include cultural landscapes. As of 2011, there are 936 World Heritage Sites,725 cultural,183 natural, each of these sites is considered important to the international community. The underwater cultural heritage is protected by the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage and this convention is a legal instrument helping states parties to improve the protection of their underwater cultural heritage. In additional, UNESCO has begun designating masterpieces of the Oral, international Institute for Conservation Much of heritage preservation work is done at the national, regional, or local levels of society
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Gatchinsky District
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Gatchinsky District is an administrative and municipal district, one of the seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The area of the district is 2,868.7 square kilometers and its administrative center is the town of Gatchina. The northern part of the district is essentially a mixture of urban areas - suburbs of Saint Petersburg -, the central and the southern parts are forested. Much of the area of the district belongs to the basin of the Luga River. The main tributary of the Luga within the district is the Oredezh River. Minor areas in the east of the district belong to the basin of the Tosna River, both the Tosna and the Izhora are left tributaries of the Neva. Minor areas in the northwest in the district belong to the basin of the Strelka River, in the south of the district, the Mshinskoye Boloto Zakaznik was created to protect the swamp landscape with the pine-tree forest. The zakaznik is shared with Luzhsky District, originally, the area of the district was populated by Finnic peoples, in particular, the Izhorians. From the 9th century, the area was changing hands between Novgorod Republic, and Sweden, Gatchina was first mentioned under 1499 as Khotchino. In 1617, according to the Treaty of Stolbovo, the area was transferred to Sweden, the city of Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703. In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great and it was later split between Tsarskoselsky and Petergofsky Uyezds, the governorate was accordingly renamed Petrogradsky in 1913 and Leningradsky in 1924. It frequently was a residence of Russian Tsars, for instance, Pavel I grew up in Gatchina, on November 20,1918 Tsarskoye Selo was renamed Detskoye Selo, and the uyezd was renamed Detskoselsky. On February 14,1923 Detskoselsky and Petergofsky Uyezds were abolished and merged into Gatchinsky Uyezd, on February 14,1923 Gatchina was renamed Trotsk, and Gatchinsky Uyezd was renamed Trotsky Uyezd, after Leon Trotsky. On August 1,1927, the uyezds were abolished and Trotsky District, the governorates were also abolished, and the district was a part of Leningrad Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. It included parts of former Trotsky Uyezd, on August 2,1929, after Trotsky was deported from Soviet Union, Trotsk was renamed Krasnogvardeysk, and the district was renamed Krasnogvardeysky. On July 23,1930, the okrugs were abolished as well, in the 1930s, some areas from Oraniyenbaumsky and Luzhsky Districts were transferred to Krasnogvardeysky District. On October 3,1938 Krasnogvardeysk was designated a town of oblast significance, between August 1941 and January 1944 the area of Krasnogvardeysky District was occupied by German troops. On January 28,1944 Krasnogvardeysk was renamed Gatchina, and the district was renamed Gatchinsky, in 1963—1965, Lomonosovsky District was merged into Gatchinsky District, while at the same time parts of Gatchinsky District were transferred to Luzhsky District
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Kingiseppsky District
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Kingiseppsky District is an administrative and municipal district, one of the seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. In the north and northwest it is washed by the waters of the Gulf of Finland, the area of the district is 2,908 square kilometers. Its administrative center is the town of Kingisepp, the territory of the district is mostly flat with altitudes ranging from 0 to 150 meters above sea level. Main rivers include the Luga, the Narva, and the Plyussa, Narva Reservoir is located in the southern portion of the district. Agricultural lands constitute a significant portion of the districts territory, a number of islands in the Gulf of Finland belong to the district, including Gogland, Moshchny, and Seskar. Originally, the area of the district was populated by Finnic peoples, eventually, after the 9th century, the area east of the Luga River was dependent on the Novgorod Republic. In 1384, the Yam Fortress was founded to protect the western borders, eventually, the lands between the Luga and the Narva were claimed by Russia as well, and in 1492 Ivan III founded the Ivangorod Fortress on the right bank of the Narva. The fortress is considered to be the piece of art of fortification. The area was constantly at the frontier and became the battleground between Germans and Swedes, on one side, and Russians, on the other side. In 1617, according to the Treaty of Stolbovo, the area was transferred to Sweden, in the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Ingermanland Governorate. It was later included into Yamburgsky Uyezd with the center in Yamburg. In 1780, part of the area was transferred into newly established Narvsky Uyezd of Saint Petersburg Governorate, in 1796, Narvsky Uyezd was abolished and merged into Yamburgsky Uyezd. The governorate was renamed Petrograd in 1914 and Leningrad in 1924, in May 1922, Yamburg was renamed Kingisepp, and Yamburgsky Uyezd was renamed Kingiseppsky, to commemorate Viktor Kingissepp. On August 1,1927, the uyezds were abolished and Kingiseppsky District, the governorates were also abolished, and the district was a part of Leningrad Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. It included parts of former Kingiseppsky Uyezd, on July 23,1930, the okrugs were abolished as well, and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast. Between March 22,1935 and September 19,1940, the district was a part of Kingisepp Okrug of Leningrad Oblast, after Kingisepp Okrug was abolished, Kigisepp became a town of oblast significance. Between August 1941 and February 1944, during World War II, in February 1944, the Kingisepp–Gdov Offensive, a military operation in which the Soviet Army advanced to the east bank of the Narva and of Lake Peipus, took place here. The town of Kingisepp was seriously damaged and rebuilt after the war, in 2010, the administrative division of Leningrad Oblast was harmonized with the municipal division, and Kingisepp was made the town of district significance
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Kirovsky District, Leningrad Oblast
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Kirovsky District is an administrative and municipal district, one of the seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. From the north, the district is bounded by Lake Ladoga, the area of the district is 2,590.46 square kilometers. Its administrative center is the town of Kirovsk, the Neva River, which connects Lake Ladoga with the Baltic Sea, serves as the northwestern border of the district. The territory of the district is divided between the basins of the Neva, of Lake Ladoga, and of the Volkhov River. The main rivers inside the district are the Mga and the Tosna, the Naziya, large areas of the district are covered by swamps. The western part of the district is essentially an area adjacent to the city of St. Petersburg. Originally, the territory of the district was populated by Finnic peoples. From the 9th century, the Neva River was a key ingredient of the route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The fortress of Oreshek, controlling access to the Baltic Sea at the source of the Neva, was founded in the 14th century and rebuilt several times. In 1617, per the terms of the Treaty of Stolbovo, the area was transferred to Sweden, the city of St. Petersburg was founded in 1703. In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, in 1727, it became a part of Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd, and in 1755, Shlisselburgsky Uyezd was established. In 1914, Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd was renamed Petrogradsky, on February 14,1923, Shlisselburgsky Uyezd was merged into Petrogradsky Uyezd. In January 1924, the uyezd was renamed Leningradsky, the eastern part of the district in 1708 was included into Ladozhsky Uyezd with the seat in Staraya Ladoga. In 1727, separate Novgorod Governorate was split off, the uyezd was transformed into Novoladozhsky Uyezd, in 1776, the area was transferred to Novgorod Viceroyalty and in 1781, it was moved back to Saint Petersburg Governorate. On December 9,1922, the center of the uyezd was moved to the selo of Gostinopolye. In 1924, the changes were rolled back, the center moved to Novaya Ladoga. The name of the uyezd remained Volkhovsky, Saint Petersburg Governorate was renamed twice, first Petrograd Governorate and subsequently Leningrad Governorate. On August 1,1927, the uyezds were abolished and Mginsky District, the governorates were also abolished and the district became a part of Leningrad Okrug of Leningrad Oblast
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Lomonosovsky District, Leningrad Oblast
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Lomonosovsky District is an administrative and municipal district, one of the seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. In the north, the district is bounded by the Gulf of Finland, the area of the district is 1,919 square kilometers. Its administrative center is the town of Lomonosov, the district is elongated along the shore of the Gulf of Finland and belongs to the drainage basin of the rivers flowing to the gulf, the biggest of which are the Sista and the Kovashi. The inner areas of the district are hilly, there are several lakes in Lomonosovsky District, the biggest of which is Lake Lubenskoye. Much of the area is swampy and forested, originally, the area of the district was populated by Finnic peoples. In the 11th century, the Slavs began settling there, the area was dependent on the Novgorod Republic. The Koporye Fortress, one of the built by Novgorodians to protect the borders, was mentioned first in 1240. From the 15th century, it was annexed together with all Novgorod Lands by the Grand Duchy of Moscow, it belonged to the Vodskaya pyatina, one of the five pyatinas of Novgorod Lands. The area was constantly at the frontier and became the battleground between Germans and Swedes, on one side, and Russians, on the other side. In 1617, according to the Treaty of Stolbovo, the west of the area was transferred to Sweden, in the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Ingermanland Governorate. It later became a part of Petergofsky Uyezds, with the center in Petergof, the governorate was renamed Petrograd in 1914 and Leningrad in 1924. On February 14,1923 Petergofsky Uyezd was merged with Detskoselsky Uyezd to form Gatchinsky Uyezd, on February 14,1923 Gatchina was renamed Trotsk, and Gatchinsky Uyezd was renamed Trotsky Uyezd, after Leon Trotsky. On August 1,1927, the uyezds were abolished and Oranienbaumsky District, the governorates were also abolished, and the district was a part of Leningrad Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. It included parts of former Trotsky Uyezd, on July 23,1930, the okrugs were abolished as well, and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast. On August 27,1939 Bolshaya Izhora was made an urban-type settlement, between August 1941 and January 1944, during World War II, the western part of the district was occupied by German troops. The eastern part was not occupied and served as the Oranienbaum Bridgehead to protect the city of Leningrad, on February 23,1948 the town of Oranienbaum was renamed Lomonosov to commemorate Mikhail Lomonosov, and the district was renamed Lomonosovsky. On December 10,1958 Sosnovy Bor was granted the urban-settlement status, on February 1,1963 Lomonosovsky District was abolished and merged into Gatchinsky District, on January 13,1965 it was reestablished. On November 22,1966 Lebyazhye was granted urban-type settlement status, on April 19,1973 Sosnovy Bor became a town of oblast significance and ceased to be a part of the district
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Tosnensky District
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Tosnensky District is an administrative and municipal district, one of the seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The area of the district is 3,585.4 square kilometers and its administrative center is the town of Tosno. The northern part of the district is heavily urbanized and consists essentially of suburbs of Saint Petersburg, whereas the part is swampy. The whole area of the district belongs to the basin of the Neva River. The rivers in the north and in the west of the drain into left tributaries of the Neva, of which the Tosna. The rivers in the south and in the east of the drain into the Tigoda. The Tigoda crosses the southeastern part of the district, while a stretch of the Kerest makes the boundary between the district and Novgorod Oblast. Originally, the area of the district was populated by Finnic peoples, from the 9th century, the area was changing hands between Novgorod Republic, and Sweden. In 1617, according to the Treaty of Stolbovo, the area was transferred to Sweden, the city of Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703. In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, in 1727, Novgorod Governorate split off. The eastern part of the area was a part of Novgorodsky Uyezd of Novgorod Governorate, the western part remained in Saint Petersburg Governorate and later was split between Tsarskoselsky and Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezds. On November 20,1918 Tsarskoye Selo was renamed Detskoye Selo, on February 14,1923 Detskoselsky and Petergofsky Uyezds were abolished and merged into Gatchinsky Uyezd, with the administrative center located in Gatchina. On August 1,1927, the uyezds were abolished and Lyubansky District, the governorates were also abolished, and the district was a part of Leningrad Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. It included parts of former Novgorodsky Uyezds, on July 23,1930, the okrugs were abolished as well, and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast. On August 20,1935 Tosno and Krasny Bor were granted urban-type settlement status, between September 1941 and January 1944, during World War II, the district was occupied by German troops. On December 9,1960 parts of abolished Mginsky District were transferred to Tosnensky District, on February 1,1963 Tosno was granted town status. On August 1,1927 Detskoselsky District was established as well and it was a part of Leningrad Okrug of Leningrad Oblast and included areas formerly belonging to Gatchinsky and Novgorodsky Uyezds. The town of Slutsk was also a part of the district, on August 19,1930 the district was abolished and split between Tosnensky, Krasnogvardeysky, and Leningradsky Prigorodny Districts
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Volosovsky District
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Volosovsky District is an administrative and municipal district, one of the seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The area of the district is 2,700 square kilometers and its administrative center is the town of Volosovo. The population of Volosovo accounts for 24. 6% of the total population. The area of the district is basically flat, much of the area belongs to the drainage basin of the Luga River. The Luga itself forms the border of the district. Rivers in the areas in the north of the district drain into other tributaries of the Gulf of Finland. The biggest such tributary in the area of the district is the Sista, originally, the area of the district was populated by Finnic peoples, eventually, the Slavs began arriving. After the 9th century, the area was dependent on the Novgorod Republic, from the 15th century, it was annexed together with all Novgorod Lands by the Grand Duchy of Moscow, it belonged to the Vodskaya pyatina, one of the five pyatinas of Novgorod Lands. The area was constantly at the frontier and became the battleground between Germans and Swedes, on one side, and Russians, on the other side. In 1617, according to the Treaty of Stolbovo, the west of the area was transferred to Sweden, in the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Ingermanland Governorate. It was later split between Yamburgsky and Petergofsky Uyezds, the governorate was renamed Petrograd in 1914 and Leningrad in 1924. In May 1922, Yamburgsky Uyezd was renamed Kingiseppsky, on February 14,1923 Petergofsky Uyezd was merged with Detskoselsky Uyezd to form Gatchinsky Uyezd, with the administrative center located in Gatchina. On February 14,1923 Gatchina was renamed Trotsk, and Gatchinsky Uyezd was renamed Trotsky Uyezd, on August 1,1927, the uyezds were abolished and Volosovsky District, with the administrative center in the settlement of Volosovo, was established. The governorates were abolished, and the district was a part of Leningrad Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. It included parts of former Trotsky and Kingiseppsky Uyezds, on April 20,1930 Kikerino was granted urban-type settlement status, and Volosovo became a suburban settlement. On July 23,1930, the okrugs were abolished as well, on July 5,1937 Volosovo was made an urban-type settlement. Between August 1941 and January 1944, during World War II, on February 1,1963 Volosovsky District was abolished and merged into Kingiseppsky District, on January 13,1965 it was reestablished. It remained the last district of Leningrad Oblast with the center not having the town status until April 14,1999
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Vsevolozhsky District
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Vsevolozhsky District is an administrative and municipal district, one of the seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. Petersburg in the west, and is washed by Lake Ladoga in the east, the area of the district is 3,036.4 square kilometers. Its administrative center is the town of Vsevolozhsk, the Okhta River flows through the district while the Neva defines its southeastern border. There are many lakes in the district, most significant of them being Lakes Lembolovskoye, Kavgolovskoye, Khepoyarvi, the landscape is mostly flat with in the south and east and hilly in the west and northwest. Altitudes range between 170–180 meters above sea level in the north to less than 1 meter in the south, about 60% of the districts territory is covered by forests, mostly pine. In 1617, according to the Treaty of Stolbovo, the west of the area was transferred to Sweden, in the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Ingermanland Governorate. In 1727, it became a part of Saint Petersburgsky Uyezd, and in 1755, Shlisselburgsky Uyezd was established, in 1914, the uyezd and the governorate were renamed Leningradsky. On February 14,1923 Shlisselburgsky Uyezd was merged into Petrogradsky Uyezd, in January,1924 the uyezd and the governorate were renamed Leningradsky. On August 1,1927, the uyezds were abolished and Leninsky District, the governorates were also abolished, and the district was a part of Leningrad Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. It included parts of former Leningradsky Uyezd, on July 23,1930, the okrugs were abolished as well, and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast. On August 19,1930 Leninsky District was abolished and merged into newly established Leningradsky Prigorodny District with the center in the city of Leningrad. Another district established on August 1,1927 was Pargolovsky District with the center in the settlement of Pargolovo III. It was a part of Leningrad Okrug of Leningrad Oblast and included parts of former Leningradsky Uyezd, on August 19,1930 Pargolovsky District was abolished and split between Kuyvozovsky District and newly established Leningradsky Prigorodny District. On August 19,1936 Leningradsky Prigorodny District was abolished and split between the town of Leningrad and Krasnoselsky, Slutsky, Mginsky, Vsevolozhsky and Pargolovsky Districts. Krasnoselsky, Slutsky, Vsevolozhsky, and Pargolovsky Districts were established on that day to accommodate the areas belonging to Leningradsky Prigorodny District. It also included settlements of Imeni Morozova and Dubrovka. On November 27,1938 a number of settlements, including Vsevolozhskoye, were merged into the urban-type settlement of Vsevolozhsky. On December 8,1955 some areas in the south of the district were transferred to the city of Leningrad, on February 1,1963 the urban-type settlement of Vsevolozhsky was renamed Vsevolozhsk and granted the status of town of oblast significance
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Leningrad Oblast
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Leningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia. It was established on August 1,1927, although it was not until 1946 that the borders had been mostly settled in their present position. The oblast was named after the city of Leningrad, the first governor of Leningrad Oblast was Vadim Gustov. The current governor, since 2012, is Alexander Drozdenko, the oblast has an area of 84,500 square kilometers and a population of 1,716,868, up from 1,669,205 recorded in the 2002 Census. The most populous town of the oblast is Gatchina, with 88,659 inhabitants, Leningrad Oblast is located around the Gulf of Finland and south of two great lakes of the European Part of Russia, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. Its northeastern part, between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga, occupies the Karelian Isthmus, some islands in the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga also belong to the oblast. Much of the area of the oblast belongs to the basin of the Neva. Whereas the Neva, which flows to the Gulf of Finland is relatively short, its basin is enormously big and includes Lake Onega. The Svir and the Volkhov flow from Lake Onega and Lake Ilmen, respectively, other major tributaries of Lake Ladoga include the Vuoksi and the Syas. Rivers in the part of the oblast flow to the Gulf of Finland. Minor areas in the east of the oblast belong to the basin of the Chagodoshcha, a tributary of the Mologa. Thus, the divide between the basins of the Baltic and Caspian Seas crosses the oblast, the Karelian Isthmus is a rocky terrain which hosts a lake district. The biggest lakes on the Karelian Isthmus are Lake Vuoksa, Lake Sukhodolskoye, the rest of the area of the oblast is essentially flat. The exception is the Tikhvin Ridge, a chain of hills in the east of the oblast, most of the area is covered by forests and swamps. The most taxonomically diverse vascular plant families are Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Poaceae and Rosaceae, by far the most diverse genus is Carex. The territory has no endemic plant taxa, the territory of present-day Leningrad Oblast was populated shortly after the end of the Weichsel glaciation and now hosts numerous archaeological remnants. The Volga trade route and trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks crossed the territory, staraya Ladoga, the first capital of legendary Rurik, founded in the 8th-9th century, is situated in the east of the oblast, on the Volkhov River. During the Russo-Swedish Wars of the 15th-17th centuries, the border moved back, ingrian Finns soon became the dominant ethnic group
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Carta marina
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The Carta marina is the common short form of what is more fully titled Carta marina et descriptio septentrionalium terrarum. Swedish ecclesiastic Olaus Magnus created the map, which was published in 1539 and this is the earliest map of the Nordic countries that gives details and place names. Only two earlier maps of the Nordic countries are known, those of Jacob Ziegler and Claudius Clavus, the map is centered on Scandia, which is shown in the largest size text on the map and placed on the middle of Sweden. The map covers the Nordic lands of Svecia, Gothia, Norvegia, Dania, Islandia, Finlandia, the map is framed with longitudes and latitudes running from 55° to the Arctic Circle. The map was printed in black and white from nine 55x40 cm woodcut blocks to produce a document that is 1.70 m wide by 1.25 m tall. The sheets are sequenced from west to east and north to south, to construct the map, Magnus drew from a variety of ancient sources including Ptolemys map in Geographia, and contemporary sources such as the work of Astronomer Jacob Ziegler. In addition to sources, Magnus also relied on the descriptions of sailors. The map was in production for 12 years, the first copies were printed in 1539 in Venice, Olaus complemented the map with Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus printed in Rome,1555. These Latin notes were translated by Olaus into Italian and German, a colored reproduction of the map was printed in Rome by Antoine Lafréry in 1572. All of the original maps copies passed out of public knowledge after 1574, and it was later widely questioned whether the map had ever existed. In 1886, Oscar Brenner found a copy at the Hof- und Staatsbibliothek in Munich, in 1961, another copy was found in Switzerland, brought to Sweden the following year by the Uppsala University Library, as of 2007 it is stored at Carolina Rediviva. Martin Waldseemüller, who had created a similar map of the world in 1516 with the same title. The site contains information on early printing process. Carta Marina, Lafreris edition 1572 at the World Digital Library (Antoine Lafrérys edition from 1572 digitized by the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm Drømmen om hjemlandet
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Viking Age
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The Viking Age is the period from the late 8th century to the mid-11th century in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, following the Germanic Iron Age. It is the period of history when Scandinavian Norsemen explored Europe by its seas and rivers for trade, raids, colonisation and conquest. Three Viking ships had beached in Weymouth Bay four years earlier, the Viking devastation of Northumbrias Holy Island was reported by the Northumbrian scholar Alcuin of York, who wrote, Never before in Britain has such a terror appeared. Vikings were portrayed as violent and bloodthirsty by their enemies. The chronicles of medieval England portrayed them as rapacious wolves among sheep, the first challenges to the many anti-Viking images in Britain emerged in the 17th century. Pioneering scholarly works on the Viking Age reached a readership in Britain. Archaeologists began to dig up Britains Viking past, linguistics traced the Viking-Age origins of rural idioms and proverbs. New dictionaries of the Old Norse language enabled more Victorians to read the Icelandic Sagas, the Vikings who invaded western and eastern Europe were chiefly pagans from Denmark, Norway and Sweden. They also settled in the Faroe Islands, Ireland, Iceland, peripheral Scotland, Greenland and their North Germanic language, Old Norse, became the mother-tongue of present-day Scandinavian languages. By 801, a central authority appears to have been established in Jutland. In Norway, mountainous terrain and fjords formed strong natural boundaries, communities there remained independent of each other, unlike the situation in Denmark which is lowland. By 800, some 30 small kingdoms existed in Norway, the sea was the easiest way of communication between the Norwegian kingdoms and the outside world. It was in the 8th century that Scandinavians began to build ships of war, the North Sea rovers were traders, colonisers and explorers as well as plunderers. There are various theories concerning the causes of the Viking invasions, for people living along the coast, it would seem natural to seek new land by the sea. Another reason was that during this period England, Wales and Ireland, the Franks, however, had well-defended coasts and heavily fortified ports and harbours. Pure thirst for adventure may also have been a factor, a reason for the raids is believed by some to be over-population caused by technological advances, such as the use of iron, or a shortage of women due to selective female infanticide. Although another cause could well have been caused by the Frankish expansion to the south of Scandinavia. Consequently, these Vikings became raiders, in search of subsistence, There is ongoing debate among scholars as to why the Scandinavians began to expand during the 8th through 11th centuries
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Iron Age
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The Iron Age is an archaeological era, referring to a period of time in the prehistory and protohistory of the Old World when the dominant toolmaking material was iron. It is commonly preceded by the Bronze Age in Europe and Asia with exceptions, meteoric iron has been used by humans since at least 3200 BC. Ancient iron production did not become widespread until the ability to smelt ore, remove impurities. The start of the Iron Age proper is considered by many to fall between around 1200 BC and 600 BC, depending on the region, the earliest known iron artifacts are nine small beads dated to 3200 BC, which were found in burials at Gerzeh, Lower Egypt. They have been identified as meteoric iron shaped by careful hammering, meteoric iron, a characteristic iron–nickel alloy, was used by various ancient peoples thousands of years before the Iron Age. Such iron, being in its metallic state, required no smelting of ores. Smelted iron appears sporadically in the record from the middle Bronze Age. While terrestrial iron is abundant, its high melting point of 1,538 °C placed it out of reach of common use until the end of the second millennium BC. Tins low melting point of 231, similarly, recent archaeological remains of iron working in the Ganges Valley in India have been tentatively dated to 1800 BC. By the Middle Bronze Age, increasing numbers of smelted iron objects appeared in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, African sites are turning up dates as early as 1200 BC. Modern archaeological evidence identifies the start of iron production in around 1200 BC. Between 1200 BC and 1000 BC, diffusion in the understanding of iron metallurgy and use of objects was fast. As evidence, many bronze implements were recycled into weapons during this time, more widespread use of iron led to improved steel-making technology at lower cost. Thus, even when tin became available again, iron was cheaper, stronger, and lighter, and forged iron implements superseded cast bronze tools permanently. Increasingly, the Iron Age in Europe is being seen as a part of the Bronze Age collapse in the ancient Near East, in ancient India, ancient Iran, and ancient Greece. In other regions of Europe, the Iron Age began in the 8th century BC in Central Europe, the Near Eastern Iron Age is divided into two subsections, Iron I and Iron II. Iron I illustrates both continuity and discontinuity with the previous Late Bronze Age, during the Iron Age, the best tools and weapons were made from steel, particularly alloys which were produced with a carbon content between approximately 0. 30% and 1. 2% by weight. Steel weapons and tools were nearly the same weight as those of bronze, however, steel was difficult to produce with the methods available, and alloys that were easier to make, such as wrought iron, were more common in lower-priced goods
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Staraya Ladoga
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It used to be a prosperous trading outpost in the 8th and 9th centuries. A multi-ethnic settlement, it was dominated by Scandinavians who were called by the name of Rus, for that reason, it is sometimes called the first capital of Russia, though back then Russia didnt exist for many centuries to come. Dendrochronology suggests that Ladoga was founded in 753, until 950, it was one of the most important trading ports of Eastern Europe. Merchant vessels sailed from the Baltic Sea through Ladoga to Novgorod and this route is known as the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. An alternative way led down the Volga River along the Volga trade route to the Khazar capital of Atil, tellingly, the oldest Arabian Middle Age coin in Europe was unearthed in Ladoga. The original inhabitants of the settlement were Norsemen, the original Finnish name, Alode-joki, was rendered as Aldeigja in Norse language and later as Ladoga in Old East Slavic. According to the Hypatian Codex that was created at the end of 13th century, Ruriks successors later moved to Novgorod and then to Kiev where foundations for the powerful state of Kievan Rus were laid. There are several huge kurgans, or royal funerary barrows, at the outskirts of Ladoga, one of them is said to be Ruriks grave, and another one—that of his successor Oleg. The Heimskringla and other Norse sources mention that in the late 990s Eric Haakonsson of Norway raided the coast and set the town ablaze. Ladoga was the most important trading center in Eastern Europe from about 800 to 900 CE, Ladogas next mention in chronicles is dated 1019, when Ingigerd of Sweden married Yaroslav of Novgorod. Under the terms of their settlement, Yaroslav ceded Ladoga to his wife, who appointed her fathers cousin. This information is confirmed by sagas and archaeological evidence, which suggests that Ladoga gradually evolved into a primarily Varangian settlement, at least two Swedish kings spent their youths in Ladoga, king Stenkil and Inge I, and possibly also king Anund Gårdske. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Ladoga functioned as a trade outpost of the powerful Novgorod Republic, later its trade significance declined and most of the population engaged in fishing in the 15th century. After new fortresses such as Oreshek and Korela were constructed in the 14th century further to the west of Ladoga, Ladoga belonged to the Vodskaya pyatina of the Republic and contained eighty-four homesteads in the 15th century, most of the land belonged to the church. The Novgorodians built there a citadel with five towers and several churches, the reconstruction of one of the towers of Staraya Ladogas fortress was scheduled to be completed in 2010. The fortress was rebuilt at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, while the churches of St. George. Inside St. Georges, some magnificent 12th-century frescoes are still visible, in 1703, Peter the Great founded the town of Novaya Ladoga closer to the bank of Lake Ladoga. The ancient fortress thenceforth declined and came to be known as Staraya Ladoga, the heart of Staraya Ladoga is an old fortress where the Yelena River flows into the Volkhov
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Varangians
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According to the 12th century Kievan Primary Chronicle, a group of Varangians known as the Rus settled in Novgorod in 862 under the leadership of Rurik. Before Rurik, the Rus might have ruled an earlier hypothetical polity, Ruriks relative Oleg conquered Kiev in 882 and established the state of Kievan Rus, which was later ruled by Ruriks descendants. Engaging in trade, piracy, and mercenary activities, Varangians roamed the river systems and portages of Gardariki and they controlled the Volga trade route, connecting the Baltic to the Caspian Sea, and the Dnieper and Dniester trade route leading to the Black Sea and Constantinople. Attracted by the riches of Constantinople, the Varangian Rus initiated a number of Rus-Byzantine Wars, at least from the early 10th century many Varangians served as mercenaries in the Byzantine Army, constituting the elite Varangian Guard. Eventually most of them, both in Byzantium and in Eastern Europe, were converted from paganism to Orthodox Christianity, culminating in the Christianization of Kievan Rus in 988. Coinciding with the decline of the Viking Age, the influx of Scandinavians to Rus stopped. Some scholars seem to assume a derivation from vár with the common suffix -ing, the reduction of the second part of the word could be parallel to that seen in Old Norse foringi leader, correspondent to Old English foregenga and Gothic
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Aristocracy
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Aristocracy is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning rule of the best, at the time of the words origins in Ancient Greece, the Greeks conceived it as rule by the best qualified citizens—and often contrasted it favourably with monarchy, rule by an individual. In later times, aristocracy was usually seen as rule by a group, the aristocratic class. The Greeks did not like the concept of monarchy, and as their democratic system fell, in Ancient Rome, the Republic consisted of an aristocracy—as well as consuls, a senate, and a tribal assembly. In the Middle Ages and early modern era, aristocracies primarily consisted of an aristocratic class, privileged by birth. Since the French Revolution, aristocracy has generally been contrasted with democracy, however, this distinction is often oversimplified. In exchange feudal aid is received from tenants or vassals, oaths of military allegiance, however an oligarchy, nobility or royalty had the right to set taxes, assemble or raise armies and command loyalty by virtue of traditional authority. In the 1651 book Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes describes an aristocracy as a commonwealth in which the representative of the citizens is an assembly by part and it is a system in which only a small part of the population represents the government. Modern depictions of aristocracy tend to regard it not as the ancient Greek concept of rule by the best, history, John Cannon, Oxford University Press,1997, ISBN 978-0-19-866176-4 Aristocracy in the Modern World, Ellis Wasson, Palgrave Macmillan,2006
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Veliky Novgorod
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It is situated on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg. The city lies along the Volkhov River just downstream from its outflow from Lake Ilmen, UNESCO recognized Novgorod as a World Heritage Site in 1992. At its peak during the 14th century, the city was the capital of the Novgorod Republic, the Charter of Veliky Novgorod recognizes 859 as the year when the city was first mentioned. Archaeological dating is fairly easy and accurate to within 15–25 years, as the streets were paved with wood, and most of the houses made of wood, allowing tree ring dating. The Varangian name of the city Holmgård/Holmgard is mentioned in Norse Sagas as existing at a yet earlier stage, originally, Holmgård referred only to the stronghold southeast of the present-day city, Rurikovo Gorodische. First mention of this Nordic or Germanic etymology to the name of the city of Novgorod occurs in the 10th-century policy manual De Administrando Imperio by Byzantine emperor Constantine VII, in 882, Ruriks successor, Oleg of Novgorod, conquered Kiev and founded the state of Kievan Rus. Novgorods size as well as its political, economic, and cultural influence made it the second most important city in Kievan Rus, according to a custom, the elder son and heir of the ruling Kievan monarch was sent to rule Novgorod even as a minor. When the ruling monarch had no son, Novgorod was governed by posadniks, such as the legendary Gostomysl, Dobrynya, Konstantin. Of all their princes, Novgorodians most cherished the memory of Yaroslav the Wise and his son, Vladimir, sponsored construction of the great St. Sophia Cathedral, more accurately translated as the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom, which stands to this day. In Norse sagas the city is mentioned as the capital of Gardariki, four Viking kings—Olaf I of Norway, Olaf II of Norway, Magnus I of Norway, and Harald Hardrada—sought refuge in Novgorod from enemies at home. No more than a few decades after the 1030 death and subsequent canonization of Olaf II of Norway, the town of Visby in Gotland functioned as the leading trading center in the Baltic before the Hansa League. At Novgorod in 1080, Visby merchants established a trading post which they named Gutagard, later, in the first half of the 13th century, merchants from northern Germany also established their own trading station in Novgorod, known as Peterhof. At about the time, in 1229, German merchants at Novgorod were granted certain privileges. In 1136, the Novgorodians dismissed their prince Vsevolod Mstislavich, the year is seen as the traditional beginning of the Novgorod Republic. One of the most important local figures in Novgorod was the posadnik, or mayor, the tysyatsky, or thousandman, originally the head of the town militia but later a commercial and judicial official, was also elected by the Veche. Another important local official was the Archbishop of Novgorod who shared power with the boyars, archbishops were elected by the Veche or by the drawing of lots, and after their election, were sent to the metropolitan for consecration. While a basic outline of the officials and the Veche can be drawn up. The boyars and the archbishop ruled the city together, although where one officials power ended, throughout the Middle Ages, the city thrived culturally
