1.
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
2.
Catherine the Great
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Catherine II of Russia, also known as Catherine the Great, was a Russian monarch. She was the female leader of Russia, reigning from 1762 until her death in 1796 at the age of 67. She came to following a coup détat when her husband. Russia was revitalised under her reign, growing larger and stronger than ever, in both her accession to power and in rule of her empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favourites, most notably Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. In the west, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ruled by Catherines former lover, king Stanisław August Poniatowski, was eventually partitioned, in the east, Russia started to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America. Catherine reformed the administration of Russian guberniyas, and many new cities, an admirer of Peter the Great, Catherine continued to modernise Russia along Western European lines. However, military conscription and the continued to depend on serfdom. This was one of the reasons behind several rebellions, including the large-scale Pugachevs Rebellion of cossacks. The period of Catherine the Greats rule, the Catherinian Era, is considered the Golden Age of the Russian Empire. The Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility, issued during the reign of Peter III and confirmed by Catherine. Construction of many mansions of the nobility, in the classical style endorsed by the Empress and she enthusiastically supported the ideals of The Enlightenment, thus earning the status of an enlightened despot. Catherine was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia as Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, she was nicknamed Figchen. Her father, Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, belonged to the ruling German family of Anhalt, two of her first cousins became Kings of Sweden, Gustav III and Charles XIII. In accordance with the then prevailing in the ruling dynasties of Germany, she received her education chiefly from a French governess. She once wrote to her correspondent Baron Grimm, I see nothing of interest in it, although Catherine was born a princess, her family had very little money. Catherines rise to power was supported by her mothers relatives who were both wealthy nobles and royal relations. Catherine first met Peter III at the age of 10, based on her writings, she found Peter detestable upon meeting him. She disliked his pale complexion and his fondness for alcohol at such a young age, Peter also still played with toy soldiers
3.
Cadet
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The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries, the term is also used in civilian contexts and as a general attributive, for example in its original sense of a branch of a ruling house which is not currently in the direct line of succession. The term comes from the French term cadet for younger sons of a noble family, in Commonwealth countries, including the United Kingdom, a cadet is a member of one of the cadet forces. In the United Kingdom these are the Combined Cadet Force, the Sea/Royal Marine Cadets, Army Cadets, Military officers in training are called officer cadets. In Canada, the term refers to an officer in training, with the official rank names as Officer Cadet for the Air Force and Army. It also refers to any member of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets and these three organizations are volunteer youth groups administered by the Department of National Defence. In Germany, the rank Cadet only exists in the German Navy for officers in training, in the Army and the Luftwaffe, officers in training usually have the rank of a Fahnenjunker or Ensign before they are promoted into the rank of a Lieutenant. Graduates of PMMA are given reserve officer status in the Philippine Navy, the term cadet is also applicable to the enrollees of Citizens Army Training and Reserve Officer Training Corps. Service academy cadets are thought to be between the NCO and Officers ranks, and NCO consider cadets as rank higher to them, in Ireland, a Cadet is a pupil of the Military College, which carries out officer training for the Air Corps, Army and Naval Service. Training takes two years and the Cadets are split into Senior and Junior Grades and Classes, in Norway, a cadet is a pupil of either of the three Krigsskolen, which educate commanding officers for either the Army, the Navy or to the Air Force. In the United States, cadet refers to a college student who is concurrently in training to become a commissioned officer of the armed forces. Some state-sponsored military colleges, including The Citadel, Virginia Military Institute and private college, Norwich University. In Australia Cadet also refers to an officer in training, the official rank is Officer Cadet however OCDTs in the Royal Military College—Duntroon are referred to as Staff Cadet for historical reasons. In the British and Commonwealth as well as Russian service, these groups of boys or youths are organized, armed and trained on volunteer military lines, the Antigua and Barbuda Cadet Corps consists of students between the ages of 12 and 19. It Is a voluntary organization, sponsored by the government. The main objective is to training and personal development to the youths through paramilitary activities. The training is geared to young men and woman to become model citizens. Emphasis during training is based on discipline, loyalty, leadership
4.
Seven Years' War
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The Seven Years War was a war fought between 1754 and 1763, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763. It involved every European great power of the time except the Ottoman Empire and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain on one side and the Kingdom of France on the other. Meanwhile, in India, the Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, faced with this sudden turn of events, Britain aligned herself with Prussia, in a series of political manoeuvres known as the Diplomatic Revolution. Conflict between Great Britain and France broke out in 1754–1756 when the British attacked disputed French positions in North America, meanwhile, rising power Prussia was struggling with Austria for dominance within and outside the Holy Roman Empire in central Europe. In 1756, the major powers switched partners, realizing that war was imminent, Prussia preemptively struck Saxony and quickly overran it. The result caused uproar across Europe, because of Austrias alliance with France to recapture Silesia, which had been lost in a previous war, Prussia formed an alliance with Britain. Reluctantly, by following the diet, most of the states of the empire joined Austrias cause. The Anglo-Prussian alliance was joined by smaller German states, Sweden, seeking to re-gain Pomerania joined the coalition, seeing its chance when virtually all of Europe opposed Prussia. Spain, bound by the Pacte de Famille, intervened on behalf of France, the Russian Empire was originally aligned with Austria, fearing Prussias ambition on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but switched sides upon the succession of Tsar Peter III in 1762. Naples, Sicily, and Savoy, although sided with the Franco-Spanish alliance, like Sweden, Russia concluded a separate peace with Prussia. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris between France, Spain and Great Britain and the Treaty of Hubertusburg between Saxony, Austria and Prussia, in 1763. The Native American tribes were excluded from the settlement, a subsequent conflict, Prussia emerged as a new European great power. Although Austria failed to retrieve the territory of Silesia from Prussia its military prowess was noted by the other powers. The involvement of Portugal, Spain and Sweden did not return them to their status as great powers. France was deprived of many of its colonies and had saddled itself with heavy war debts that its inefficient financial system could barely handle. Spain lost Florida but gained French Louisiana and regained control of its colonies, e. g. Cuba and the Philippines, France and Spain avenged their defeat in 1778 when the American Revolutionary War broke out, with hopes of destroying Britains dominance once and for all. The Seven Years War was perhaps the first true world war, having taken place almost 160 years before World War I and it was characterized in Europe by sieges and the arson of towns as well as open battles with heavy losses
5.
Battle of Zorndorf
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The battle was tactically inconclusive, with both armies holding the ground and claiming victory. The site of the battle was the Prussian village Zorndorf, the French at Rossbach and, then, the Austrians at Leuthen. In August 1758, Austrias ally Russia invaded East Prussia with 43,000 troops under William Fermor advanced within 100 km of Berlin, and were poised to join the Austrians under Field Marshal Daun. The king, Frederick II of Prussia, understood that the joining of his enemies would spell the fall of Berlin and, deciding to forestall their plans, Fermor, who was then besieging Küstrin, learned about this maneuver from a Cossack sortie. He lifted the siege and occupied a position at Zorndorf,10 km northeast of Küstrin, on August 25 Fredericks infantry attacked a Russian Observation Corps, which consisted of young conscripts only. The Russians managed to hold their own until the cavalry of Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz struck against them. In the meantime, Fredericks infantry fell upon the left wing of the Russian army, during the ensuing battle, both sides quickly ran out of gunpowder and engaged in hand-to-hand fighting. When some of the Prussian battalions showed signs of tiring, Frederick himself led them in an attack, the battle was described by contemporaries as the bloodiest in the 18th century. One Prussian officer reported that bodies of Russians covered the field row by row, they kissed their cannons while their bodies were cut to pieces by our sabers, after the battle, Frederick famously declared that its easier to kill the Russians than to win over them. The Prussians lost 12,800 men, the Russians lost 18,000 in total and that the Russians took such heavy casualties and did not pull back, left an imprint on the Prussian soldiers and Frederick himself. Before the battle he regarded the Russian army as weaker than his own, the battle appeared inconclusive, since neither side was defeated and driven from the battlefield. After the fighting, Frederick withdrew his cavalry to stop the ongoing skirmish with the Cossacks, considering himself the victor, Fermor sent a letter to Saint Petersburg, assembled his troops into two columns and marched towards Landsberg to link up with the forces of Count Pyotr Rumyantsev. The Prussians followed them but refrained from launching another attack, while a strategic success for Frederick, the battle nonetheless took a severe toll on its army which was to fight further campaigns against numerically stronger forces. Russias Military Way to the West, Origins and Nature of Russian Military Power 1700-1800, Routledge & Kegan Paul, the Army of Frederick the Great, The Emperors Press, Chicago,1996. ISBN 1-883476-02-X Hook A. Zorndorf 1758, Frederick Faces Holy Mother Russia, Russian Army of the Seven Years War, Part 1. Fermors report of the battle Orders of Battle Zorndorf 1758, Obscure Battles Kronoskaf, Battle of Zorndorf
6.
Peter III of Russia
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Peter III was emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was born in Kiel as Karl Peter Ulrich, the child of Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and Anna Petrovna. The German Peter could hardly speak Russian and pursued a strongly pro-Prussian policy and his death could also have been the result of a drunken brawl with his bodyguard when he was being held captive after Catherines coup. Peter was born in Kiel, in the duchy of Holstein-Gottorp and his parents were Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and Anna Petrovna. His mother died three months after his birth, in 1739, Peters father died, and he became Duke of Holstein-Gottorp as Charles Peter Ulrich at the age of 11. When his mother Annas younger sister, Elizabeth, became Empress of Russia, she brought Peter from Germany to Russia, previously in 1742, the 14-year-old Peter was proclaimed King of Finland during the Russo-Swedish War, when Russian troops held Finland. This proclamation was based on his rights to territories held by his childless great-uncle. About the same time, in October 1742, he was chosen by the Swedish parliament to become heir presumptive to the Swedish throne and it has been reported that the underage Peters succession rights to Sweden were renounced on his behalf. Also in November, Karl Peter Ulrich converted to Eastern Orthodoxy under the name of Peter Fedorovich, Empress Elizabeth arranged for Peter to marry his second cousin, Sophia Augusta Frederica, daughter of Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst and Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. The young princess formally converted to Russian Orthodoxy and took the name Ekaterina Alexeievna and they married on 21 August 1745. The marriage was not a one, but produced one son, the future Emperor Paul. Catherine later claimed that Paul was not fathered by Peter, that, in fact, during the sixteen years of their residence in Oranienbaum, Catherine took numerous lovers, while her husband did the same in the beginning. The classical view of Peters character is drawn out of the memoirs of his wife. She described him as an idiot, drunkard from Holstein, good-for-nothing etc and this portrait of Peter can be found in most history books, including 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica, There have been many attempts to revise the traditional characterisation of Peter and his policies. Currently, a newly established union is working on a project to build a memorial for Peter III in Kiel, after Peter succeeded to the Russian throne, he withdrew Russian forces from the Seven Years War and concluded a peace treaty with Prussia. He gave up Russian conquests in Prussia and offered 12,000 troops to make an alliance with Frederick II of Prussia, Russia thus switched from an enemy of Prussia to an ally — Russian troops withdrew from Berlin and marched against the Austrians. This dramatically shifted the balance of power in Europe, suddenly handing the delighted Frederick the initiative, Frederick recaptured southern Silesia and subsequently forced Austria to the negotiating table. As Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Peter planned war against Denmark in order to parts of Schleswig to his Duchy
7.
Gatchina
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Gatchina is a town and the administrative center of Gatchinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located 45 kilometers south of St. Petersburg by the road leading to Pskov. It is a part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg, khotchino was first documented in 1499 as a village in possession of Novgorod the Great. In the 17th century, in a series of wars, it passed to Livonia, then to Sweden, at that time, Gatchina was a southern vicinity of the new Russian capital, St. Petersburg. In 1708, Gatchina was given by Peter the Great to his sister Natalya Alexeyevna, in 1765, it became the property of Count Orlov. Between 1766 and 1788, Count Orlov built a castle with 600 rooms and laid out an extensive English landscape park over 7 square kilometers, with an adjacent zoo. A triumphal arch was erected to a design by the architect of Gatchina, Antonio Rinaldi, Gatchina Palace was expanded several times by several imperial owners. Rococo interiors were designed by Rinaldi and Vincenzo Brenna and executed by Italian stuccoworkers, interiors were highlighted with parquetry floors, painted ceilings, and distinctly Italian furniture. Catherine the Great took such a liking to the Gatchina Palace and park that at Orlovs death in 1783 she bought Gatchina and granted it to her son. Paul I remained the owner of Gatchina for eighteen years and he invested many resources as well as using his experience from his travels around Europe to make Gatchina an exemplary town and residence. During the 1790s Paul expanded and rebuilt much of the palace, Paul graced the park with numerous additions, bridges, gates, and pavilions, such as The Isle of Love, The Private garden, The Holland garden, and The Labyrinth, among many other additions. A remarkable monument of Pauls reign is the Priory Palace on the shore of the Black Lake, constructed for the Russian Grand Priory of the Order of St John, it was presented to the Order by a decree of Paul I dated August 23,1799. After Pauls death his widow, Maria Fyodorovna owned the grand palace, then Emperor Nicholas I took over ownership from 1828 to 1855. He made the most significant expansion of the palaces and parks, the Arsenal Halls served as the summer residence of Tsar Nicholas I and his court. In 1851, Tsar Nicholas I opened the monument to his father, Paul I, in 1853 the railroad between St. Petersburg and Gatchina opened. At that time, Gatchinas territory was expanded by incorporation of several villages, Tsar Alexander II used Gatchina Palace as his second residence. Alexander II made updates and renovations in the Main Gatchina Palace, Tsar Alexander III, after experiencing the shock and stress of his fathers assassination, made Gatchina his prime residence. The palace became known as The Citadel of Autocracy after the Tsars reactionary policies and he lived most of his time in Gatchina Palace. Nicholas II, the last Russian Tsar, spent his youth in the Gatchina Palace and his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna, widow of Alexander III, was the patron of the city of Gatchina and Gatchina Palace and parks
8.
Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
9.
Grigory Potemkin
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Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tavricheski was a Russian military leader, statesman, nobleman and favourite of Catherine the Great. He died during negotiations over the Treaty of Jassy, which ended a war with the Ottoman Empire that he had overseen, Potemkin was born into a family of middle-income noble landowners. He first attracted Catherines favor for helping in her 1762 coup and he became Catherines lover, favorite and possibly her consort. After their passion cooled, he remained her friend and favored statesman. Potemkins defining achievements include the annexation of the Crimea and the successful second Russo-Turkish War. The fall of Ottoman stronghold Izmail that he orchestrated prompted Gavrila Derzhavin and Osip Kozlovsky to write Russias first national anthem, in 1774, Potemkin became the governor-general of Russias new southern provinces. An absolute ruler, he worked to colonize the wild steppes and he founded the towns of Kherson, Nikolayev, Sevastopol, and Ekaterinoslav. Ports in the region became bases for his new Black Sea Fleet, Potemkin was known for his love of women, gambling and material wealth, he oversaw the construction of many historically significant buildings, including the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg. A descendant of the Moscovite diplomat Pyotr Potemkin, Grigory was born in the village of Chizhovo near Smolensk into a family of noble landowners. His father, Alexander Potemkin, was a war veteran, his mother Daria was good-looking, capable and intelligent. Potemkin received his first name in honour of his fathers cousin Grigory Matveevich Kizlovsky and it has been suggested that Kizlovsky fathered Potemkin, who became the centre of attention, heir to the village and the only son among six children. As the son of a family, he grew up with the expectation that he would serve the Russian Empire. After Alexander died in 1746, Daria took charge of the family, in order to achieve a career for her son, and aided by Kizlovsky, the family moved to Moscow, where Potemkin enrolled at a gymnasium school attached to the University of Moscow. The young Potemkin became adept at languages and interested in the Russian Orthodox Church and he enlisted in the army in 1750 at age eleven, in accordance with the custom of noble children. In 1755 a second inspection placed him in the élite Horse Guards regiment, having graduated from the University school, Potemkin became one of the first students to enroll at the University itself. Talented in both Greek and theology, he won the Universitys Gold Medal in 1757 and became part of a twelve-student delegation sent to Saint Petersburg later that year, the trip seems to have affected Potemkin, afterwards he studied little and was soon expelled. Faced with isolation from his family, he rejoined the Guards, at this time his net worth amounted to 430 souls, equivalent to that of the poorer gentry. His time was taken up drinking, gambling, and promiscuous lovemaking
10.
Ropsha
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The palace and park ensemble of Ropsha are included in the World Heritage list as a constituent of Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. The settlement was first mentioned in the documents of the Novgorod Republic in the 15th century and it passed to Sweden following the Treaty of Stolbovo but was recaptured by Peter the Great during the Great Northern War. Upon hearing about the properties of Ropshas mineral springs, the tsar planned to make it his summer retreat. Prince Romodanovsky was an old man of harsh disposition, who kept bears in his palace to scare infrequent visitors. Being in charge of Peters secret police, he would bring political prisoners to a torture chamber arranged in Ropsha Palace, despite macabre stories of his cruelty and misdeeds, a neighbour, Chancellor Golovkin, found it prudent to arrange the marriage of his son to Romodanovskys daughter. After the 1722 wedding, Ropsha Palace was overhauled and expanded under the supervision of Golovkins friend, as Rastrelli was busy with other projects, his designs for Ropsha were never executed. Towards the end of her reign, Empress granted the estate to her nephew and heir and it was there that he was brought under guard after the coup détat of 1762, and it was there that Peter III was allegedly murdered under shady circumstances. Later the same year, Catherine the Great resolved that Ropsha is not to be mentioned again and presented the ill-famed place to her lover and it is widely believed that Lazarev was just a figurehead who acted at the behest of Catherines son Paul. The latter, unable to acquire the grounds for fear of his mothers ire, was still drawn to the place where his father had been murdered. It was only after Catherines death that Tsar Paul took over Ropsha from Lazarev, during the Pauls reign, the Ropsha palace was rebuilt in a Neoclassical style to a design by Georg von Veldten. A large paper factory was nearby and the English gardener Thomas Gray laid out an English park with a mosaic of ponds full of fish. Paul apparently planned to rename Ropsha, in commemoration of the events of 1762. Although the ponds of Ropsha remained a fishing ground under his sons. It was more popular with anglers who even named a special breed of scaly carp after Ropsha. When Alexandre Dumas, père visited the estate in 1858, the palace belonged to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, in the ensuing decades, it was seldom inhabited, though Grand Duchess Xenia, the last tsars sister, chose to spend her wedding night there. Nicholas II turned Ropsha Palace and parks into his favorite hunting and fishing retreat, the Tsar was seen here surrounded by aristocratic milieu coming from all over Europe for hunting, fishing, and dining in Russian style. Ropsha also had a military garrison, imperial cavalry division was stationed here until 1918. During the Russian Civil War Ropsha saw some fighting, as General Yudenich wrested it from the Bolsheviks on two occasions
11.
Orlov Trotter
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The Orlov Trotter is a horse breed with a hereditary fast trot, noted for its outstanding speed and stamina. It is the most famous Russian horse, the breed was developed in Russia in the late 18th century by Count Alexei Orlov at his Khrenovskoy Stud farm near the town of Bobrov. The Orlovs emerged as the result of crossing various European mares with Arabian stallions, during the 19th century, Orlov trotters were used mainly for riding and harness racing by Russian nobility. They were valued for their beauty and elegance combined with the ability to work hard and they were also used for the improvement of other Russian horses. Eventually Standardbred stallions were crossed with Orlov mares and a new breed, the possibility of the complete extinction of the Orlovs was a concern in the 20th century because of crossbreeding and the Soviet disregard of horse-raising. However, the breed survived, and today fifteen stud farms in Russia, the land that became Orlovs Khrenovsky stud farm was given to him by Catherine II as a reward for his participation in the coup detat which brought her to the throne. The buildings were constructed by Giovanni Giliardi, the original estate was very large, the modern Khrenovsky stud area is fifteen times smaller than it was prior to the Bolshevik revolution. The ancestor of all Orlov Trotters was the purebred grey Arabian stallion Smetanka, Orlov bought him in Turkey for the enormous sum of 60,000 rubles. Although he died the year, he lived to sire five offspring. Among others he was crossed with Isabelline, a Danish mare from the Frederiksborg royal stud-farm, Polkan was crossed with a Dutch mare which, in 1784, produced the grey stallion Bars I, considered the first Orlov trotter. For seventeen years Bars I was crossed with different mares and sired eleven stallions that carried his distinguishing characteristics, the emergence of the breed was the result of a thorough and elaborate selection process. About 3,000 horses kept at the stud were involved, Orlov was very protective of his bloodstock, and would sell only geldings. Even when Tsar Alexander I asked Orlov to sell him several stallions and this rule was maintained for twenty years after Orlovs death. Later, when the Khrenovsky stud farm belonged to the Russian Crown, in 1809, the Khrenovsky stud-farm was inherited by Orlovs daughter Anna. Until 1831 Orlovs disciple, the former serf Vasily Shishkin, continued to develop the breed, however, in 1831, he left the Khrenovsky stud-farm and founded his own. Orlovs daughter lacked her fathers competence in horse-breeding and the Khrenovsky stud-farm went downhill, Trotters were intensively crossed with various European breeds in order to increase their dimensions and their quality fell. In 1845, the stud-farm passed into the hands of the Crown and it was able to regain its fame only some decades later. In 1881, the Khrenovsky stud-farm stopped raising all breeds except for Orlov trotters, the best Orlov trotters were now raised in private stud-farms such as the Shishkins
12.
Livorno
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Livorno is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 159,431 residents in February 2015 and it has traditionally been known in English as Leghorn, pronounced /lɛˈɡɔːrn/ leg-AWRN, or /ˈlɛɡhɔːrn/ LEG-hawrn. The construction of the Via Aurelia coincided with the occupation of the region by the Romans, the natural cove called Liburna, later transformed in Livorna then in Livorno, is a reference to the type of ship, the liburna, used by Roman navy. Others ancient toponyms include, Salviano, Antignano which was the place situated before Ardenza where were the beacons for the ships directed to Porto Pisano. The name Livorna is mentioned for the first time in 1017 as a coastal village, the port. In 1077 a tower was built by Matilda of Tuscany, the Republic of Pisa possessed Livorno from 1103 and built there a quadrangular Fort called Quadratura dei Pisani in defence of the port. Porto Pisano was destroyed after the defeat of the Pisan fleet in the Battle of Meloria in 1284. Livorno was bought in 1399 by the Visconti of Milan, then was sold to the Republic of Genoa in 1405, between 1427 and 1429, the census was held. According to the results of the census, there were 118 families in Livorno, monks, Jews, military personnel, and the homeless were not included in the census. In 1551 the population was 1562 residents, in 1745 it had risen to 32,534, the only remainder of medieval Livorno is a fragment of two towers and a wall, located inside the Fortezza Vecchia. Livorno was designed as an Ideal town during the Italian Renaissance, the Porto Mediceo was overlooked and defended by towers and fortresses leading to the town centre. In the late 1580s, Ferdinando I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, declared Livorno a free port, to regulate this trade, in 1593 the Dukes administration established the Leggi Livornine. These laws were in force until 1603, until the beginning of the Counter-Reformation, the laws established a well-regulated market, protecting merchant activities from crime and racketeering, and instituted laws regarding international trade. Additionally, expanding Christian tolerance, the offered the right of public freedom of religion. Livorno became an enlightened European city and one of the most important ports of the entire Mediterranean Basin, many European foreigners moved to Livorno. These included Christian Protestant reformers who supported such leaders as Martin Luther, John Calvin, French, Dutch, and English arrived, along with Orthodox Greeks. Meanwhile, Jews continued to trade under their previous treaties with the Grand Duke, on 19 March 1606, Ferdinando I de Medici elevated Livorno to the rank of city, the ceremony was held in the Fortezza Vecchia Chapel of Francis of Assisi. The Counter-Reformation increased tensions among Christians, dissidents to the Papacy were targeted by various Catholic absolute rulers, livornos tolerance fell victim to the European wars of religion
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Robert Nisbet Bain (1911). "Orlov". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 