1.
Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'
–
The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus, also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the official title of the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is often preceded by the honorific His Holiness, the patriarchate was established in Moscow in 1589, the first patriarch was St. Job. Abolished in 1721 by Peter the Great, the patriarchate was restored on October 28,1917, Patriarch Kirill acceded to this position on 1 February 2009. Different variations of the title Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Patriarch of Moscow and all the great and small, the modern form, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus, was initially used in 1589 through 1721. In the subsequent period, the Synod of Church authorities and public administration in Russia, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church was restored by decision of the All-Russian Local Council on October 28,1917. The first patriarch elected after restoration was Saint Tikhon, Metropolitan of Moscow, between terms, Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church elects the chair from among its permanent members of the locum tenens of the Patriarchal throne. Not later than six months after the release of locum tenens of the throne. Shall convene to elect a new Patriarch of Moscow and All the Rus, the candidate for the patriarchs must be a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, not younger than 40 years old, have a higher theological education, the expertise of the diocesan administration. The procedure for the election of the patriarch of the charter was not detailed, Kirill I was elected on 27 January 2009 by the ROC Local Council as Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, with 508 votes out of 700. He was enthroned on 1 February 2009, the Patriarch enters the dignity during a special ceremony of enthronement, which is held a few days after the election. List of Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow
2.
Russian Orthodox Church
–
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
3.
Patriarch Pimen I of Moscow
–
Patriarch Pimen, was the 14th Patriarch of Moscow and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church from 1970 to 1990. He was born 1910 in village Kobylino, Kaluga Governorate in pius family, on December 5,1925, he became a monk at Sretensky Monastery in Moscow. He also spent years in various Russian monasteries and cathedrals in Murom, Odessa, in 1954 Pimen became namestnik of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra. November 17,1957 in Odessa he was consecrated bishop of Balta, since December 26,1957 he was bishop of Dmitrov, vicar of the Moscow diocese. From July 1960 to November 14,1961 he was Chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate, November 23,1960 he was elevated to the rank of archbishop. Since March 16,1961 he was archbishop of Tula and Belyov, on November 14,1961 he was appointed Metropolitan of Leningrad and Ladoga. Local Council was opened May 30,1971, the most important act of the Council - the abolition of the oath on the old rites of the Great Moscow Council,1667. June 2,1971 on the day of the Counsil Metropolitan Pimen was elected Patriarch of Moscow. June 3 of the year he was enthroned. Pimens task was to lead a Christian church in a state ruled by an officially atheist Communist party, in his post he worked closely with the authorities, he participated in numerous peace movement conferences sponsored by the government. Pimen was awarded the Soviet Peace Fund Medal and, in 1970, Pimen was a member of the World Peace Council from 1963 onwards. In 1961, Pimen was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, at the end of his difficult term as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church he organized the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Christianization of Rus in 1988. This event became the moment that marked the end of persecution of Orthodox Christianity in the Soviet Union
4.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow
–
Kirill or Cyril is a Russian Orthodox bishop. He became Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church on 1 February 2009, in cultural and social affairs the Church under Kirill has collaborated closely with the Russian state under President Vladimir Putin. Patriarch Kirill has backed the expansion of Russian power into Crimea, Kirill was born Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev in Leningrad on 20 November 1946. His father, Rev. Mikhail Gundyaev, died in 1974 and his mother, Raisa Gundyaeva, a teacher of German, died in 1984. His elder brother, Archpriest Nikolay Gundyaev, is a professor at Leningrad Theological Academy and his grandfather, Rev. Vasily Gundyaev, a Solovki prisoner, was imprisoned and exiled in the 20s, 30s and 40s for his church activity and struggle against Renovationism. After graduation from school, he entered the Leningrad Seminary and later the Leningrad Theological Academy, on 12 September 1971, Kirill was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and was posted as a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to the World Council of Churches in Geneva. On 26 December 1974, he was appointed rector of the Leningrad Academy, since December 1975, he has been a member of the WCC Central Committee and Executive Committee. On 14 March 1976, Archimandrite Kirill was consecrated Bishop of Vyborg, on 2 September 1977, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop. From 26 December 1984, he was Archbishop of Smolensk and Vyazma, from 1986 – administrator of the parishes in the Kaliningrad Region. From 1988 he became Archbishop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, on 13 November 1989, he was appointed chairman of the department for external church relations and permanent member of the Holy Synod. On 25 February 1991, Archbishop Kirill was elevated to the rank of metropolitan, from 1990 to 2000 – chairman of the Holy Synod commission for amendments to the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Statute was adopted by the Jubilee Bishops’ Council in 2000, since 2008 – chairman of the Economy and Ethics experts council under the department for external church relations. On 27 January 2006, Kirill was given the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky by Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, since 1994 Kirill has hosted a weekly Orthodox television program Слово пастыря on ORT/Channel One. On 6 December 2008, the day after the death of Patriarch Alexy II, on 9 December, during the funeral service for Alexey II in Christ the Saviour Cathedral, he was seen and reported to have fainted at one point. On 29 December, when talking to journalists, he said he was opposed to any reforms of a liturgical or doctrinal nature in the Church. On 27 January 2009, the ROC Local Council elected Kirill I of Moscow as Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus, the conservative wing in the Russian Orthodox Church criticized Kirill for practicing ecumenism throughout the 1990s. In 2008, breakaway Bishop Diomid of Anadyr and Chukotka criticized him for associating himself with the Catholic Church. However, in a recent statement, Kirill stated that there could be no compromise with the Catholic Church
5.
Tallinn
–
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland,80 km south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm, from the 13th century until 1918, the city was known as Reval. Tallinn occupies an area of 159.2 km2 and has a population of 444,591, approximately 33% of Estonias total population lives in Tallinn. Tallinn was founded in 1248, but the earliest human settlements date back 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest capital cities of Northern Europe. The initial claim over the land was laid by the Danes in 1219 after a raid of Lyndanisse led by Valdemar II of Denmark. Due to its location, the city became a major trade hub, especially from the 14th to the 16th century. Tallinns Old Town is one of the best preserved cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tallinn is the political, financial, cultural and educational center of Estonia. Often dubbed the Silicon Valley of Europe, it has the highest number of startups per person in Europe and is a birthplace of international companies. The city is to house the headquarters of the European Unions IT agency, providing to the global cybersecurity it is the home to the NATO Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. It is ranked as a city and has been listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world. The city was a European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with Turku in Finland and it has been suggested that Quwri may have denoted a predecessor of the modern city. The earliest names of Tallinn include Kolyvan, which is known from East Slavic chronicles, up to the 13th century, the Scandinavians and Henry of Livonia in his chronicle called the town Lindanisa (or Lyndanisse in Danish, Lindanäs in Swedish and Ledenets in Old East Slavic. It has been suggested that the archaic Estonian word linda is similar to the Votic word lidna. According to this suggestion, nisa would have the meaning niemi, producing Kesoniemi, another ancient historical name for Tallinn in Finnish is Rääveli. The Icelandic Njals saga mentions Tallinn and calls it Rafala, which is a variant of the name Raphael, after the Danish conquest in 1219, the town became known in the German, Swedish and Danish languages as Reval. The name originated from Revelia Revala or Rävala, the adjacent ancient name of the surrounding area and it is usually thought to be derived from Taani-linn, after the Danes built the castle in place of the Estonian stronghold at Lindanisse. However, it could also have come from tali-linna, or talu-linna, the element -linna, like Germanic -burg and Slavic -grad / -gorod, originally meant fortress, but is used as a suffix in the formation of town names
6.
Peredelkino
–
Peredelkino is a dacha complex situated just to the southwest of Moscow, Russia. The settlement originated as the estate of Peredeltsy, owned by the Leontievs, then by Princes Dolgorukov, after a railway passed through the village in the 19th century, it was renamed Peredelkino. In 1934, Maxim Gorky suggested handing over the area to the Union of Soviet Writers, within several years, about fifty wooden cottages were constructed in Peredelkino by writers to German designs. Turkish poet Nâzım Hikmet spent the years of his self-imposed exile in the USSR at Peredelkino. More recently, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Andrei Voznesensky, Bella Akhmadulina, Robert Rozhdestvensky, the arrest of author and playwright Isaak Babel, one of the most notorious events of Joseph Stalins Great Purge, took place in Peredelkino on May 15,1939. Babel was then taken by automobile to the Lubyanka Prison, tortured, Peredelkino is presumably the source for the name of Mikhail Bulgakovs Perelygino. But, Bulgakov places his Perelygino on the Klyazma, Bolshevo, the village is also featured in John le Carrés spy novel The Russia House. In 1988, the cottages of Chukovsky and Pasternak were proclaimed memorial houses, a decade later, the dacha of Bulat Okudzhava was also opened to the public as a museum. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Peredelkino was taken over by the Russian new rich, many new apartment buildings were constructed in Novo-Peredelkino district nearby. As of 2005, the most notable resident of Peredelkino was Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow, the summer residence of Lukino adjoins the 19th-century church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour. Alexy II died there on December 5,2008, komarovo Lev Lobov and Kira Vasilyeva. A Tale of the Writers Village
7.
Moscow
–
Moscow is the capital and most populous city of Russia, with 13.2 million residents within the city limits and 17.8 million within the urban area. Moscow has the status of a Russian federal city, Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as the largest city entirely on the European continent. Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity and metropolis on Earth and it is home to the Ostankino Tower, the tallest free standing structure in Europe, the Federation Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Europe, and the Moscow International Business Center. Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia, the city is well known for its architecture, particularly its historic buildings such as Saint Basils Cathedral with its brightly colored domes. Moscow is the seat of power of the Government of Russia, being the site of the Moscow Kremlin, the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square are also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament also sit in the city and it is recognized as one of the citys landmarks due to the rich architecture of its 200 stations. In old Russian the word also meant a church administrative district. The demonym for a Moscow resident is москвич for male or москвичка for female, the name of the city is thought to be derived from the name of the Moskva River. There have been proposed several theories of the origin of the name of the river and its cognates include Russian, музга, muzga pool, puddle, Lithuanian, mazgoti and Latvian, mazgāt to wash, Sanskrit, majjati to drown, Latin, mergō to dip, immerse. There exist as well similar place names in Poland like Mozgawa, the original Old Russian form of the name is reconstructed as *Москы, *Mosky, hence it was one of a few Slavic ū-stem nouns. From the latter forms came the modern Russian name Москва, Moskva, in a similar manner the Latin name Moscovia has been formed, later it became a colloquial name for Russia used in Western Europe in the 16th–17th centuries. From it as well came English Muscovy, various other theories, having little or no scientific ground, are now largely rejected by contemporary linguists. The surface similarity of the name Russia with Rosh, an obscure biblical tribe or country, the oldest evidence of humans on the territory of Moscow dates from the Neolithic. Within the modern bounds of the city other late evidence was discovered, on the territory of the Kremlin, Sparrow Hills, Setun River and Kuntsevskiy forest park, etc. The earliest East Slavic tribes recorded as having expanded to the upper Volga in the 9th to 10th centuries are the Vyatichi and Krivichi, the Moskva River was incorporated as part of Rostov-Suzdal into the Kievan Rus in the 11th century. By AD1100, a settlement had appeared on the mouth of the Neglinnaya River. The first known reference to Moscow dates from 1147 as a place of Yuri Dolgoruky. At the time it was a town on the western border of Vladimir-Suzdal Principality
8.
Yelokhovo Cathedral
–
The Epiphany Cathedral at Yelokhovo, Moscow, is the vicarial church of the Moscow Patriarchs. The surviving building was designed and built by Yevgraph Tyurin in 1837–1845, the original church in the village of Yelokhovo near Moscow was built in 1722-31 for Tsarevna Praskovia Ivanovna. It was there that Alexander Pushkin was baptised in 1799, in 1790 a refectory with a four-tier belfry was built. The present structure was erected in 1837-1845 to a Neoclassical design by Yevgraph Tyurin, the architecture is typical for the late Empire style, with some elements of European eclectics. The riotous opulence of the decoration is due to a restoration undertaken in 1912. The enthronements of Patriarchs Sergius I, Alexius I, Pimen, the church has been well-maintained, even in the Soviet era, and is known to have a 1970 air conditioning system using deep subterranean water from a 250 meter deep artesian aquifer. The main altar is devoted to the Epiphany and the Baptism of Jesus, the cathedral has two side-chapels, the left one of Saint Nicholas and the right one of the Annunciation. The most popular shrines of the cathedral are those that house the relics of St. Alexius of Moscow, may 1944 - Patriarch Sergius I of Moscow, the granite tomb is by Alexey Shchusev 9 December 2008 - Patriarch Alexy II of Russia
9.
Primate (bishop)
–
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some archbishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence. The office is found only in older Catholic countries, and is now purely honorific. The Holy See has also granted Polish primates the privilege of wearing cardinals crimson attire, except for the skullcap and biretta, the city may no longer have the prominence it had when the title was granted. Other former functions of primates, such as hearing appeals from metropolitan tribunals, were reserved to the Holy See by the early 20th century, the closest equivalent position in the Eastern Churches in 1911 was an exarch. The Holy See has continued in modern times to grant the title of primate, with the decree Sollicitae Romanis Pontificibus of 24 January 1956 it granted the title of Primate of Canada to the Archbishop of Quebec. As stated above, this is merely an honorary title involving no additional power, a right of precedence over other bishops and similar privileges can be granted even to a bishop who is not a primate. Thus, in 1858, the Holy See granted the Archbishop of Baltimore precedence in meetings of the United States bishops. The title of primate is sometimes applied loosely to the archbishop of a capital, as in the case of the archbishops of Seoul in South Korea. The pre-reformation archbishop of Nidaros was sometimes referred to as Primate of Norway, the loose structure of the Benedictine Confederation is claimed to have made Pope Leo XIII exclaim that the Benedictines were ordo sine ordine. The powers of the Abbot Primate are specified, and his position defined, in a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops, the primacy is attached to the global Benedictine Confederation whose Primate resides at SantAnselmo in Rome. The Primatial powers are vested in the Abbot Primate to act by virtue of the proper law of its autonomous Benedictine congregation. However, certain branches of the Benedictine Order seem to have lost their autonomy to some extent. In a similar way the Confederation of Canons Regular of St. Augustine, elects an Abbot Primate as figurehead of the Confederation and indeed the whole Canonical Order. The Abbots and Superiors General of the nine congregations of confederated congregations of Canons Regular elect a new Abbot Primate for a term of office lasting six years, the Current Abbot General is Rt. Rev. Fr Maurice Bitz, Abbot of St. Pierre, Anglican usage styles the bishop who heads an independent church as its primate, though commonly they hold some other title. In both the Church of England and the Church of Ireland, two bishops have the title of primate, the archbishops of Canterbury and York in England and of Armagh, only the bishop of the senior primatial see of each of these two churches participates in the meetings. The Archbishop of Canterbury, who is considered primus inter pares of all the participants, convokes the meetings, primates and archbishops are styled The Most Reverend
10.
Soviet Union
–
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
11.
Saint Petersburg
–
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
12.
Baltic Germans
–
The Baltic Germans are ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their resettling from Estonia and Latvia during the upheavals and aftermath of the Second World War, the largest groups of present-day descendants of the Baltic Germans are found in Germany and Canada. It is estimated that several thousand still reside in Latvia and Estonia, for centuries Baltic Germans and the Baltic nobility were a ruling class over native “Undeutsche” serfs. The emerging Baltic-German middle class was mostly urban and professional, in the 12th and 13th centuries Germans, both traders and crusaders, began settling in the eastern Baltics. After the Livonian Crusade they assumed control of government, politics, economics, education, with the decline of Latin, German became the language of all official documents, commerce, education and government. After 1710 many of these increasingly took high positions in the military, political and civilian life of the Russian Empire, Baltic Germans held citizenship of the Russian Empire until 1918 and Estonian or Latvian citizenship until 1939–40. The Baltic German population never surpassed more than 10% of the total population, in 1881 there were 180,000 Baltic Germans in Russias Baltic provinces, but by 1914 this number had declined to 162,000. In 1881 there were approximately 46,700 Germans in Estonia, according to the Russian Empire Census of 1897, there were 120,191 Germans in Latvia, or 6. 2% of the population. Baltic German history and presence in the Baltics came to an end in late 1939, following the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, almost all the Baltic Germans were resettled by Nazi Germany under the Heim ins Reich program into the newly formed Reichsgaue Wartheland and Danzig-West Prussia. In 1945, most were expelled from these lands by the Soviet army, ethnic Germans from East Prussia and Lithuania are sometimes incorrectly considered Baltic Germans for reasons of cultural, linguistic, and historical affinities. However, the Germans of East Prussia held Prussian, and after 1871, Baltic Germans were not a purely German ethnic group. The early crusaders, tradesmen and craftsmen often married local females, some noble families, like Lievens, even claimed descent from native chieftains. Many of the German Livonian Order soldiers died during the Livonian war, during this time the Low German of the original settlers was replaced by the High German. In those cases where intermarriage occurred, the ethnic group frequently assimilated into German culture, adopting language, customs. They were then considered Germans, leading to the ethnogenesis of the Baltic Germans, barclay de Tolly and George Armitstead, who arrived from the British Isles, became part of the Baltic-German community. Livland, roughly the half of present-day Estonia and the northern and eastern part of todays Latvia, major towns, Riga, Wenden, Wolmar, Walk, Dorpat, Pernau. Kurland, roughly the half of present-day Latvia, major towns. Ösel belonging to present-day Estonia, major town, Arensburg, after the heavy defeat in the 1236 Battle of Saule the Livonian Brothers of the Sword became a part of the Teutonic Order
13.
Swedish Livonia
–
Swedish Livonia was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1629 until 1721. The minority part of the Wenden Voivodeship retained by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was renamed the Inflanty Voivodeship, riga was the second largest city in the Swedish Empire at the time. Together with other Baltic Sea dominions, Livonia served to secure the Swedish dominium maris baltici, the territory in turn was conquered by the Russian Empire during the Great Northern War and, following the Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia in 1710, formed the Governorate of Livonia. Formally, it was ceded to Russia in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, together with Swedish Estonia, the dominion was ruled by appointed Governors-General, but retained its own diet
14.
Charles XI of Sweden
–
Charles XI, also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire. Charles was the son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden. His father died when he was five years old, so Charles was educated by his governors until his coronation at the age of seventeen, soon after, he was forced out on military expeditions to secure the recently acquired dominions from Danish troops in the Scanian War. Changes in finance, commerce, national maritime and land armaments, judicial procedure, church government, Charles XI was succeeded by his only son Charles XII, who made use of the well-trained army in battles throughout Europe. The fact that Charles was crowned as Charles XI does not mean that he was the 11th king of Sweden who had the name Charles. His fathers name was due to his great-grandfather, King Charles IX of Sweden and this descendant was actually the 5th King Charles. The numbering tradition thus begun still continues, with the present king of Sweden being Carl XVI Gustaf, Charles was born in the Stockholm Palace Tre Kronor in November 1655. His father, Charles X of Sweden, left Sweden in July to fight in the war against Poland, after several years of warfare, the king returned in the winter of 1659 and gathered his family and the Riksdag of the Estates in Gothenburg. In mid-January 1660 he fell ill and one month later he wrote his last will, per Brahe was one member of the council. In addition, Charles X Gustav left command of the army and these provisions among others led to the remainder of the council immediately challenging the will. February 14, the day after King Charles Xs death, Hedwig Eleonora sent a message to the council stating that she knew that they contested the will and that she demanded that it should be respected. The council answered that the will must first be discussed with the parliament, and at the council in Stockholm on May 13. The parliament questioned whether it would be good for her health or suitable for a widow to attend council, and her reply that the council would be allowed to meet without her and only inform her when they considered it necessary was met with satisfaction from the council. Hedwig Eleonoras ostensible indifference to politics came as a relief to the lords of the guardian government. His mother, Queen Hedvig Eleonora, remained the regent until Charles XI attained his majority on 18 December 1672. During his first appearances in parliament, Charles spoke to the government through her and he would whisper the questions he had in her ear, and she would ask them aloud and clearly for him. As an adolescent, Charles devoted himself to sports, exercise and he appeared ignorant of the very rudiments of statecraft and almost illiterate. His main difficulties are now seen as evident signs of dyslexia, according to many contemporary sources, the king was considered poorly educated and therefore not qualified to conduct himself effectively in foreign affairs
15.
Estonia under Swedish rule
–
Estonia under Swedish rule signifies the time between 1558 and 1710, when parts of present-day Estonia were under Swedish rule. At the conclusion of hostilities in 1583, Sweden was in control of the parts of modern Estonia and Hiiumaa island. Following renewed wars between Poland and Sweden, the parts of present-day Estonia were incorporated into Sweden by the Treaty of Altmark in 1629. In 1645, Sweden also conquered the island of Ösel from Denmark, the time of Swedish rule came to an effective end in 1710, when all the Swedish Baltic provinces capitulated to Russian troops during the end-stages of the Great Northern War. Russian hegemony was formalized in 1721, the reasons for Swedish involvement in Estonia were economical as well as political and military. The Swedish Crown was not least interested in getting a share of the profits from the trade with Russia. At the same time, assertions in Estonia can also seen as a way of preventing Russia. The time of Swedish rule is sometimes referred to as the good old Swedish times. At least since the Viking Age there have been contacts between the inhabitants of present-day Sweden and Estonia, for example, a runestone in Roslags-Bro Church in Sweden commemorates a man who was killed in Estonia during the 11th century. There has been a Swedish minority in Estonia at least since the Middle Ages, during the Northern Crusades, Swedish crusaders made a failed attempt to conquer Estonia. Instead, mainly German crusading knights conquered the area and established the State of the Teutonic Order there, with the decline of the Teutonic Order and its state, Swedish political ambitions returned to Estonia. The future King John III had already as Grand Duke of Finland in the 1550s ambitions to establish Swedish rule in Estonia, the Livonian War, in which Sweden now became involved, would last to 1583. For Sweden, it resulted in Sweden keeping the territory that had in 1561 sought Swedish protection and it was not until the early 20th century that the term Estonia began to be used to signify all the lands were Estonian-speaking people lived. Sweden started to reorganise the government in the new duchy only after the conclusion of the treaty with Russia in 1583. Like the Livonian estates, Estonian aristocracy and towns had surrendered on condition that their privileges be retained, unlike in Livonia, where Poland soon violated the agreement, Swedish kings kept their promises to the city of Tallinn and the local nobility. The Swedish monarchy was represented by the lieutenant, later governor. For administration, these lands were divided into fiefdoms, subdivided into crown manors headed by bailiffs, the Swedish kings generously gave lands into private possession — in reward both for merit and for service. For that reason most of Estonian lands were in ownership by the end of the 16th century
16.
Russian Empire
–
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived February Revolution in 1917. One of the largest empires in history, stretching over three continents, the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires. The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring powers, the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Persia. It played a role in 1812–14 in defeating Napoleons ambitions to control Europe. The House of Romanov ruled the Russian Empire from 1721 until 1762, and its German-descended cadet branch, with 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third-largest population in the world at the time, after Qing China and India. Like all empires, it included a large disparity in terms of economics, ethnicity, there were numerous dissident elements, who launched numerous rebellions and assassination attempts, they were closely watched by the secret police, with thousands exiled to Siberia. Economically, the empire had an agricultural base, with low productivity on large estates worked by serfs. The economy slowly industrialized with the help of foreign investments in railways, the land was ruled by a nobility from the 10th through the 17th centuries, and subsequently by an emperor. Tsar Ivan III laid the groundwork for the empire that later emerged and he tripled the territory of his state, ended the dominance of the Golden Horde, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, and laid the foundations of the Russian state. Tsar Peter the Great fought numerous wars and expanded an already huge empire into a major European power, Catherine the Great presided over a golden age. She expanded the state by conquest, colonization and diplomacy, continuing Peter the Greats policy of modernisation along West European lines, Tsar Alexander II promoted numerous reforms, most dramatically the emancipation of all 23 million serfs in 1861. His policy in Eastern Europe involved protecting the Orthodox Christians under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and that connection by 1914 led to Russias entry into the First World War on the side of France, Britain, and Serbia, against the German, Austrian and Ottoman empires. The Russian Empire functioned as a monarchy until the Revolution of 1905. The empire collapsed during the February Revolution of 1917, largely as a result of failures in its participation in the First World War. Perhaps the latter was done to make Europe recognize Russia as more of a European country, Poland was divided in the 1790-1815 era, with much of the land and population going to Russia. Most of the 19th century growth came from adding territory in Asia, Peter I the Great introduced autocracy in Russia and played a major role in introducing his country to the European state system. However, this vast land had a population of 14 million, grain yields trailed behind those of agriculture in the West, compelling nearly the entire population to farm. Only a small percentage lived in towns, the class of kholops, close to the one of slavery, remained a major institution in Russia until 1723, when Peter I converted household kholops into house serfs, thus including them in poll taxation
17.
Great Northern War
–
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Central, Northern, and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the alliance were Peter I of Russia, Frederick IV of Denmark–Norway. George I of Great Britain and of Brunswick-Lüneburg joined the coalition in 1714 for and for Hanover in 1717, Charles XII led the Swedish army. Swedish allies included Holstein-Gottorp, several Polish magnates under Stanisław I Leszczyński, the Ottoman Empire temporarily hosted Charles XII of Sweden and intervened against Peter I. The treaty also secured the extradition and execution of Johann Reinhold Patkul, the Ottoman Empire defeated the Russian-Moldavian army in the Pruth River Campaign, but that peace treaty was in the end without great consequence to Russias position. After Poltava, the anti-Swedish coalition revived and subsequently Hanover and Prussia joined it, the remaining Swedish forces in plague-stricken areas south and east of the Baltic Sea were evicted, with the last city, Riga, falling in 1710. The coalition members partitioned most of the Swedish dominions among themselves, Sweden proper was invaded from the west by Denmark–Norway and from the east by Russia, which had occupied Finland by 1714. Sweden defeated the Danish invaders at the Battle of Helsingborg, Charles XII opened up a Norwegian front, but was killed in Fredriksten in 1718. The war ended with Swedens defeat, leaving Russia as the new dominant power in the Baltic region, by these treaties Sweden ceded her exemption from the Sound Dues, and lost the Baltic provinces and the southern part of Swedish Pomerania. The peace treaties also ended her alliance with Holstein-Gottorp, Hanover gained Bremen-Verden, Brandenburg-Prussia incorporated the Oder estuary, Russia secured the Baltic Provinces, and Denmark strengthened her position in Schleswig-Holstein. In Sweden, the monarchy had come to an end with the death of Charles XII. Between the years of 1560 and 1658, Sweden created a Baltic empire centred on the Gulf of Finland and comprising the provinces of Karelia, Ingria, Estonia, and Livonia. During the Thirty Years War Sweden gained tracts in Germany as well, including Western Pomerania, Wismar, the Duchy of Bremen, during the same period Sweden conquered Danish and Norwegian provinces north of the Sound. However, the Swedish state ultimately proved unable to support and maintain its army in a prolonged war. The cost of the proved to be much higher than the occupied countries could fund, and Swedens coffers. The foreign interventions in Russia during the Time of Troubles resulted in Swedish gains in the Treaty of Stolbovo, the treaty deprived Russia of direct access to the Baltic Sea. In the late 1690s, the adventurer Johann Patkul managed to ally Russia with Denmark and Saxony by the secret Treaty of Preobrazhenskoye, Charles XII of Sweden succeeded Charles XI of Sweden in 1697, aged 14. From his predecessor, he took over the Swedish Empire as an absolute monarch, Charles XI had tried to keep the empire out of wars, and concentrated on inner reforms such as reduction and allotment, which had strengthened the monarchs status and the empires military abilities
18.
Catherine the Great
–
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
19.
October Revolution
–
It took place with an armed insurrection in Petrograd on 25 October 1917. During this time, urban workers began to organize into councils wherein revolutionaries criticized the provisional government and this immediately initiated the establishment of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the worlds first self-proclaimed socialist state. The revolution was led by the Bolsheviks, who used their influence in the Petrograd Soviet to organize the armed forces, Bolshevik Red Guards forces under the Military Revolutionary Committee began the takeover of government buildings on 24 October 1917. The following day, the Winter Palace, was captured, the long-awaited Constituent Assembly elections were held on 12 November 1917. The Bolsheviks only won 175 seats in the 715-seat legislative body, coming in second behind the Socialist Revolutionary party, the Constituent Assembly was to first meet on 28 November 1917, but its convocation was delayed until 5 January 1918 by the Bolsheviks. On its first and only day in session, the body rejected Soviet decrees on peace and land, as the revolution was not universally recognized, there followed the struggles of the Russian Civil War and the creation of the Soviet Union in 1922. At first, the event was referred to as the October coup or the Uprising of 25th, in Russian, however, переворот has a similar meaning to revolution and also means upheaval or overturn, so coup is not necessarily the correct translation. With time, the term October Revolution came into use and it is also known as the November Revolution having occurred in November according to the Gregorian Calendar. The Great October Socialist Revolution was the name for the October Revolution in the Soviet Union after the 10th anniversary of the Revolution in 1927. The February Revolution had toppled Tsar Nicolas II of Russia, however, the provisional government was weak and riven by internal dissension. It continued to wage World War I, which became increasingly unpopular, a nationwide crisis developed in Russia, affecting social, economic, and political relations. Disorder in industry and transport had intensified, and difficulties in obtaining provisions had increased, gross industrial production in 1917 had decreased by over 36% from what it had been in 1914. In the autumn, as much as 50% of all enterprises were closed down in the Urals, the Donbas, at the same time, the cost of living increased sharply. Real wages fell about 50% from what they had been in 1913, russias national debt in October 1917 had risen to 50 billion rubles. Of this, debts to foreign governments constituted more than 11 billion rubles, the country faced the threat of financial bankruptcy. In these months alone, more than a million took part in strikes. Workers established control over production and distribution in many factories and plants in a social revolution, by October 1917, there had been over 4,000 peasant uprisings against landowners. When the Provisional Government sent punitive detachments, it only enraged the peasants
20.
Haapsalu
–
Haapsalu is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2016 it had a population of 10146. Haapsalu has been known for centuries for its warm seawater, curative mud. Salt mud spas frequented by the Russian Romanov family still operate, narrow streets with early 20th century wooden houses repeatedly lead to the sea. Haapsalu has been called the Venice of the Baltics, although this positioning has been criticized as exaggerating, the name Haapsalu is from Estonian haab aspen and salu grove. The town dates back to 1279, when it was chartered and became the centre of the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, buildings from those early days remain today, including an episcopal castle which has the largest single-nave cathedral in the Baltic states, Haapsalu Castle. Haapsalu and the area was the center for the Estonian Swedes from the 13th century until the evacuation of almost all ethnic Swedes from Estonia in 1944. For many years, locals have claimed that the sea mud has a curative effect, a military doctor, Carl Abraham Hunnius, founded the first mud cure resort in 1825. News of the curative mud quickly reached the aristocracy of Saint Petersburg, ever since then, Haapsalu has been a popular summer destination where people from all around the world come for medical treatment. Today, there are three mud cure establishments in Haapsalu varying in size and location, in the 19th century, Haapsalu became famous for its shawls, a delicate craft made by local women. The Land of Ilon Wikland, a centre for children, is set to open in a few years within the town. This world-famous book illustrator has been involved with Haapsalu since her childhood, the August Blues Festival is held every August in Haapsalu. Haapsalu is site of a school founded by Estonian fencer Endel Nelis. Haapsalu is twinned with, Haapsalu shawl Haapsalu linnastaadion August Blues Festival Official website Town heraldry Haapsalu castle Haapsalu pictures and article
21.
Estonia
–
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
22.
Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church
–
The Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church is an autonomous Orthodox church whose primate is confirmed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Its official name is Orthodox Church of Estonia, the current primate of the church is Stephanos, Metropolitan of Tallinn and all Estonia, elected in 1999. Orthodox missionaries from Novgorod and Pskov were active among the Estonians in the southeast regions of the area, closest to Pskov, in the beginning of the 13th century, however, Estonia was conquered by the Northern Crusades, and thus fell under the control of Western Christianity. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Estonia was a part of the Russian Empire, in the 1850s a rumour spread that the Orthodox Church promised to provide everybody who converted to Orthodoxy a piece of land of their own somewhere in Russia. Some 65,000 Estonian peasants were converted to the Orthodox faith in the hope of obtaining land, later, when the rumour turned out to be a hoax, a great part of the new Orthodox peasants returned to the Lutheran Church. In the late 19th century, a wave of Russification was introduced, supported by the Russian hierarchy, the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Tallinn and the Pühtitsa convent in Kuremäe in East Estonia were also built around this time. Archbishop Alexander Paulus was elected and ordained Metropolitan Alexander of Tallinn and All Estonia, prior to this, Soviet Russia had adopted a Marxist–Leninist ideology which held as an ideological goal the elimination of religion and its replacement with state atheism. In response, Patriarch Tikhon had excommunicated the Soviet leadership in 1918, in April 1922, Tikhon was imprisoned, and the Estonian clergy lost contact with the Moscow Patriarchate. In 1923 the Patriarchate of Constantinople issued a tomos which brought the EAOC under Constantinoples jurisdiction and granted it autonomy, before 1941, one-fifth of the total Estonian population were Orthodox Christians under the Patriarchy of Constantinople. There were 158 parishes in Estonia and 183 clerics in the Estonian church, there was also a Chair of Orthodoxy in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Tartu. There was a Pskovo-Pechorsky Monastery in Petseri, two convents—in Narva and Kuremäe, a priory in Tallinn and a seminary in Petseri, the ancient monastery in Petseri was preserved from the mass church destructions that occurred in Soviet Russia. In 1940, Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union, whose government undertook a programme of the dissolution of all ecclesiastical independence within its territory. From 1942 to 1944, however, autonomy under Constantinople was temporarily revived, in 1945, a representative of the Moscow Patriarchate dismissed the members of the OCE synod who had remained in Estonia and established a new organisation, the Diocesan Council. Orthodox believers in occupied Estonia were thus subordinated to being a diocese within the Russian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church of Estonia in Exile with its synod in Sweden continued its activity according to the canonical statutes, until the restoration of Estonian independence in 1991. Before he died in 1953, Metr, aleksander established his community as an exarchate under Constantinople. Most of the bishops and clergy who remained behind were deported to Siberia. In 1958, a new synod was established in exile, in 1978, at the urging of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Ecumenical Patriarch declared the charter of the Church, as granted in 1923, inoperative. The dispute often took place along ethnic lines, as many Russians had immigrated to Estonia during the Soviet occupation, lengthy negotiations between the two patriarchates failed to produce any agreement
23.
Estonia in World War II
–
Before the outbreak of the Second World War, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, concerning the partition and disposition of sovereign states, including Estonia. In particular its Secret Additional Protocol of August 1939, the Republic of Estonia declared neutrality in the war but fell under the Soviet sphere of influence due to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Mass political arrests, deportations, and executions followed, at the same time, the Soviet paramilitary destruction battalions carried out punitive operations, including looting and killing, based on the tactics of scorched earth proclaimed by Joseph Stalin. Estonia was occupied by Germany and incorporated into Reichskommissariat Ostland, in 1941, Estonians were conscripted into the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps and in 1941–1944 to the Nazi German forces. Men who avoided these mobilisations, fled to Finland to be formed into the Finnish Infantry Regiment 200, about 40% of the Estonian pre-war fleet was requisitioned by British authorities and used in Atlantic convoys. Approximately 1000 Estonian sailors served in the British Merchant Navy,200 of them as officers, a small number of Estonians served in the Royal Air Force, in the British Army and in the U. S. Army. From February to September 1944, the German army detachment Narwa held back the Soviet Estonian Operation, after breaching the defence of II Army Corps across the Emajõgi river and clashing with the pro-independence Estonian troops, the Soviet forces reoccupied mainland Estonia in September 1944. After the war, Estonia remained incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Estonian SSR until 1991, World War II losses in Estonia, estimated at around 25% of the population, were among the highest proportion in Europe. War and occupation deaths listed in the current reports total at 81,000 and these include deaths in Soviet deportations in 1941, Soviet executions, German deportations, and victims of the Holocaust in Estonia. Article II defines forms of aggression, fourth – a naval blockade of coasts or ports of another State. Estonia passed a law ratifying its neutrality on December 1st,1938, also importantly, Estonia had asserted its neutrality in its very first constitution, as well as the Treaty of Tartu concluded in 1920 between Republic of Estonia and the Russian SFSR. Early in the morning of August 24,1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a 10-year non-aggression pact, in the north, Finland, Estonia and Latvia were assigned to the Soviet sphere. Poland was to be partitioned in the event of its political rearrangement—the areas east of the Narev, Vistula and San Rivers going to the Soviet Union while Germany would occupy the west. Lithuania, adjacent to East Prussia, would be in the German sphere of influence, World War II began with the invasion of an important regional ally of Estonia – Poland, by Germany. On September 1,1939, Germany invaded its part of Poland under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, September 3, Great Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand declare war on Germany. September 14, the Polish submarine ORP Orzeł reached Tallinn, Estonia, on September 17, the Soviet Union invaded its part of Poland under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pacts secret protocol. During this invasion, a coordination of German and Soviet military activity took place. Warships of the Red Navy appeared off Estonian ports, and Soviet bombers began a patrol over Tallinn
24.
Soviet deportations from Estonia
–
Soviet deportations from Estonia were a series of mass deportations by the Soviet Union of approximately 33,000 people from Estonia in 1941 and 1945–1951. The two largest waves of deportations occurred in June 1941 and March 1949 simultaneously in all three Baltic states, the deportations targeted various categories of anti-Soviet elements and enemies of the people, nationalists, bandits, kulaks, and others. There were deportations based on nationality and religion, estonians residing in the Leningrad Oblast had already been subjected to deportation since 1935. People were deported to areas of the Soviet Union, predominantly to Siberia and Kazakhstan. Entire families, including children and the elderly, were deported without trial or prior announcement, of March 1949 deportees, over 70% of people were women and children under the age of 16. The Estonian Internal Security Service has brought to justice several past organizars of these events, the deportations have been repeatedly declared to constitute a crime against humanity by the Parliament of Estonia and also acknowledged to be so by the European Court of Human Rights. The deportation procedure was established by the Serov Instructions, the first repressions in Estonia affected Estonias national elite. On 17 July 1940, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Johan Laidoner and his family, the country political and military leadership was deported almost entirely, including 10 of 11 ministers and 68 of 120 members of parliament. Only 4,331 persons returned to Estonia,11,102 people were to be deported from Estonia according to the order of 13 June but some managed to escape. Identical deportations were carried out in Latvia and Lithuania at the same time, the first wave of deportation has always been well documented, as many witnesses were subsequently able to flee abroad during the Second World War. Deportations after 1944 were, however, much harder to document, in July 1941 Estonia was conquered by Nazi Germany, who were forced out by advancing Soviet troops in 1944. As soon as the Soviets had returned the deportations resumed, in August 1945,407 persons, most of them of German descent, were transferred from Estonia to Perm Oblast. 18 families were transferred to Tyumen Oblast in October,37 families in November and other 37 families in December 1945 as Traitors, during the collectivization period in the Baltic republics, on 29 January 1949, the Council of Ministers issued top secret decree No. 390–138ss, which obligated the Ministry for State Security to exile the kulaks, lieutenant General Pyotr Burmak, commander of the MGB Internal Troops, was in generally charge for the operation. In Estonia the deportations were coordinated by Boris Kumm, Minister of Security of the Estonian SSR, over 8,000 managed to escape, but 20,722 were sent to Siberia during three days. Slightly more than 10 percent were men of working age, the deported included disabled people, pregnant women, newborns and children separated from their parents. The youngest deportee was 1-day-old Virve Eliste from Hiiumaa island, who died a year later in Siberia, nine trainloads of people were directed to Novosibirsk Oblast, six to Krasnoyarsk Krai, two to Omsk Oblast, and two to Irkutsk Oblast. Many perished, most have never returned home and this second wave of the large-scale deportations was aimed to facilitate collectivization, which was implemented with great difficulties in the Baltic republics
25.
NKVD
–
The Peoples Commissariat for Internal Affairs, abbreviated NKVD, was a joint law enforcement agency of the whole Soviet Union that directly executed the will of the All-Union Communist Party. It was closely associated with the Soviet secret police, which at times was part of the agency, the NKVD was headed by Soviet secret police officials. The NKVD contained the regular, public police force of the USSR, including police, firefighting, border guards. It is best known for the activities of the Gulag and the Main Directorate for State Security and it was also tasked with protection of Soviet borders and espionage, influencing foreign governments and enforcing Stalinist policy within communist movements in other countries. After the Russian February Revolution of 1917, the Provisional Government dissolved the Tsars police, realizing that it was left with no capable security force, the Council of Peoples Commissars of the RSFSR created a secret political police, the Cheka, led by Felix Dzerzhinsky. It gained the right to undertake quick non-judicial trials and executions, the Cheka was reorganized in 1922 as the State Political Directorate, or GPU, of the NKVD of the RSFSR. In 1922, the USSR was formed with the RSFSR as its largest member, the GPU became the OGPU, under the Council of Peoples Commissars of the USSR. The NKVD of the RSFSR retained control of the militsiya, as a result, the NKVD also became responsible for all detention facilities as well as for the regular police. Since its creation in 1934, the NKVD of the USSR underwent many organizational changes, on February 3,1941, the Special Sections of the NKVD responsible for military counterintelligence became part of the Army and Navy. The GUGB was separated from the NKVD and renamed the Peoples Commissariat for State Security, after the German invasion, the NKVD and NKGB were reunited on July 20,1941. The CI sections were returned to the NKVD in January 1942, in April 1943, the CI sections were again transferred to the Peoples Commissariats of Defense and the Navy, becoming SMERSH, at the same time, the NKVD was again separated from the NKGB. In 1946, all Soviet Commissariats were renamed ministries, accordingly, the NKVD of the USSR was renamed as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, while the NKGB was renamed as the Ministry of State Security. In 1953, after the arrest of Lavrenty Beria, the MGB was merged back into the MVD, the police and security services were finally split in 1954 to become, The USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, responsible for the criminal militia and correctional facilities. The USSR Committee for State Security, responsible for the police, intelligence, counter-intelligence, personal protection. In implementing Soviet internal policy towards perceived enemies of the Soviet state, untold multitudes of people were sent to GULAG camps, formally, most of these people were convicted by NKVD troikas – special courts martial. Evidential standards were low, a tip-off by an anonymous informer was considered sufficient grounds for arrest. Use of physical means of persuasion was sanctioned by a decree of the state. Hundreds of mass graves resulting from operations were later discovered throughout the country
26.
German occupation of Estonia during World War II
–
After Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22,1941, Army Group North reached Estonia in July. Initially the Germans were perceived by most Estonians as liberators from the USSR and its repressions, although hopes were raised for the restoration of the countrys independence, it was soon realized that they were but another occupying power. The Germans pillaged the country for their war effort and unleashed The Holocaust in Estonia during which they, for the duration of the occupation, Estonia was incorporated into the German province of Ostland. Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22,1941, three days later, on June 25, Finland declared herself to once again be in a state of war with the USSR, starting the Continuation War. On July 3, Joseph Stalin made his public statement over the radio calling for scorched-earth policy in the areas to be abandoned. Because the northernmost areas of the Baltic states were the last to be reached by the Germans, the Estonian forest brothers, numbering about 50,000, inflicted heavy casualties on the remaining Soviets, as many as 4,800 were killed and 14,000 captured. On that day, a group of forest brothers attacked Soviet trucks on a road in the district of Harju, the Soviet 22nd Rifle Corps was the unit that lost most men, as a large group of Estonian soldiers and officers deserted from it. An Estonian writer Juhan Jaik wrote in 1941, These days bogs and forests are more populated than farms, the forests and bogs are our territory while the fields and farms are occupied by the enemy. The 8th Army, retreated in front of the 2nd corps of the German Army behind the Pärnu River - the Emajõgi River line on July 12. As German troops approached Tartu on July 10 and prepared for battle with the Soviets. The Wehrmacht stopped its advance and hung back, leaving the Estonians to do the fighting, the battle of Tartu lasted two weeks, and destroyed most of the city. Under the leadership of Friedrich Kurg, the Estonian partisans drove out the Soviets from Tartu on their own, in the meanwhile, the Soviets had been murdering citizens held in Tartu Prison, killing 192 before the Estonians captured the city. At the end of July the Germans resumed their advance in Estonia working in tandem with the Estonian Forest Brothers, both German troops and Estonian partisans took Narva on August 17 and the Estonian capital Tallinn on August 28. On that day, the Soviet flag shot down earlier on Pikk Hermann was replaced with the Flag of Estonia by Fred Ise, after the Soviets were driven out from Estonia, German troops disarmed all the partisan groups. The Estonian flag was replaced with the flag of Nazi Germany. Most Estonians greeted the Germans with relatively open arms and hoped for the restoration of independence, Estonia set up an administration, led by Jüri Uluots as soon as the Soviet regime retreated and before German troops arrived. Estonian partisans that drove the Red Army from Tartu made it possible and that all was for nothing since the Germans had made their plans as set out in Generalplan Ost, they disbanded the provisional government and Estonia became a part of the German-occupied Ostland. A Sicherheitspolizei was established for internal security under the leadership of Ain-Ervin Mere, according to Rosenberg a future policy was created, Germanization of the racially suitable elements
27.
Prisoner of war
–
A prisoner of war is a person, whether combatant or non-combatant, who is held in custody by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the prisoner of war dates to 1660. The first Roman gladiators were prisoners of war and were named according to their ethnic roots such as Samnite, Thracian, typically, little distinction was made between enemy combatants and enemy civilians, although women and children were more likely to be spared. Sometimes, the purpose of a battle, if not a war, was to capture women, a known as raptio. Typically women had no rights, and were legally as chattel. For this he was eventually canonized, during Childerics siege and blockade of Paris in 464, the nun Geneviève pleaded with the Frankish king for the welfare of prisoners of war and met with a favourable response. Later, Clovis I liberated captives after Genevieve urged him to do so, many French prisoners of war were killed during the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. In the later Middle Ages, a number of religious wars aimed to not only defeat, in Christian Europe, the extermination of heretics was considered desirable. Examples include the 13th century Albigensian Crusade and the Northern Crusades, likewise, the inhabitants of conquered cities were frequently massacred during the Crusades against the Muslims in the 11th and 12th centuries. Noblemen could hope to be ransomed, their families would have to send to their captors large sums of wealth commensurate with the status of the captive. In feudal Japan there was no custom of ransoming prisoners of war, in Termez, on the Oxus, all the people, both men and women, were driven out onto the plain, and divided in accordance with their usual custom, then they were all slain. The Aztecs were constantly at war with neighbouring tribes and groups, for the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, between 10,000 and 80,400 persons were sacrificed. During the early Muslim conquests, Muslims routinely captured large number of prisoners, aside from those who converted, most were ransomed or enslaved. Christians who were captured during the Crusades, were either killed or sold into slavery if they could not pay a ransom. The freeing of prisoners was highly recommended as a charitable act, there also evolved the right of parole, French for discourse, in which a captured officer surrendered his sword and gave his word as a gentleman in exchange for privileges. If he swore not to escape, he could gain better accommodations, if he swore to cease hostilities against the nation who held him captive, he could be repatriated or exchanged but could not serve against his former captors in a military capacity. Early historical narratives of captured colonial Europeans, including perspectives of literate women captured by the peoples of North America. The writings of Mary Rowlandson, captured in the fighting of King Philips War, are an example
28.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn
–
The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is an orthodox cathedral in the Tallinn Old Town, Estonia. It was built to a design by Mikhail Preobrazhensky in a typical Russian Revival style between 1894 and 1900, during the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is Tallinns largest and grandest orthodox cupola cathedral. It is dedicated to Saint Alexander Nevsky who in 1242 won the Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipus, the late Russian patriarch, Alexis II, started his priestly ministry in the church. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral crowns the hill of Toompea which is one of places where according to legend the Estonian folk hero Kalevipoegs father Kalev is said to have been buried. As the USSR was officially non-religious, many churches including this cathedral were left to decline, the church has been meticulously restored since Estonia regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The cathedral is decorated and has eleven bells cast in Saint Petersburg. It has three altars, with the altar dedicated to Vladimir I and the southern to St. Sergius of Radonezh. The base of the building is Finnish granite, in the five onion domes, gilded iron crosses are seen. Inside are three gilded, carved wooden iconostases, along with four icon boxes, the icons of the iconostasis and icon boxes were painted in St. Petersburg on copper and zinc plates. The windows are decorated with stained glass, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Warsaw, demolished after the restoration of Polish independence
29.
Moscow Kremlin
–
It is the best known of the kremlins and includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. Also within this complex is the Grand Kremlin Palace, the complex serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. It had previously used to refer to the government of the Soviet Union. Kremlinology refers to the study of Soviet and Russian politics, the site has been continuously inhabited by Finno-Ugric peoples since the 2nd century BC. Vyatichi built a structure on the hill where the Neglinnaya River flowed into the Moskva River. Up to the 14th century, the site was known as the grad of Moscow, the word Kremlin was first recorded in 1331. The grad was greatly extended by Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy in 1156, destroyed by the Mongols in 1237, dmitri Donskoi replaced the oak walls with a strong citadel of white limestone in 1366–1368 on the basic foundations of the current walls, this fortification withstood a siege by Khan Tokhtamysh. Dmitris son Vasily I resumed construction of churches and cloisters in the Kremlin, the newly built Annunciation Cathedral was painted by Theophanes the Greek, Andrei Rublev, and Prokhor in 1406. The Chudov Monastery was founded by Dmitris tutor, Metropolitan Alexis, while his widow, Eudoxia and it was during his reign that three extant cathedrals of the Kremlin, the Deposition Church, and the Palace of Facets were constructed. The highest building of the city and Muscovite Russia was the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, built in 1505–08, the Kremlin walls as they now appear were built between 1485 and 1495. Spasskie gates of the wall bear a dedication in Latin praising Petrus Antonius Solarius for the design. After construction of the new walls and churches was complete. The Kremlin was separated from the merchant town by a 30-meter-wide moat. The same tsar also renovated some of his grandfathers palaces, added a new palace and cathedral for his sons, and endowed the Trinity metochion inside the Kremlin. The metochion was administrated by the Trinity Monastery and boasted the graceful tower church of St. Sergius, during the Time of Troubles, the Kremlin was held by the Polish forces for two years, between 21 September 1610 and 26 October 1612. The Kremlins liberation by the army of prince Dmitry Pozharsky. During his reign and that of his son Alexis, the eleven-domed Upper Saviour Cathedral, Armorial Gate, Terem Palace, Amusement Palace, following the death of Alexis, the Kremlin witnessed the Moscow Uprising of 1682, from which czar Peter barely escaped. As a result, both of them disliked the Kremlin, three decades later, Peter abandoned the residence of his forefathers for his new capital, Saint Petersburg
30.
Vladimir Putin
–
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician. Putin is the current President of the Russian Federation, holding the office since 7 May 2012 and he was Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000, President from 2000 to 2008, and again Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012. During his second term as Prime Minister, he was the Chairman of the ruling United Russia Party, born in Leningrad, Putin studied German in high school and speaks the language fluently. He studied Law at the Saint Petersburg State University, graduating in 1975, Putin was a KGB Foreign Intelligence Officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring in 1991 to enter politics in Saint Petersburg. He moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris Yeltsins administration, rising quickly through the ranks and becoming Acting President on 31 December 1999, when Yeltsin resigned. Putin won the subsequent 2000 Presidential election by a 53% to 30% margin, thus avoiding a runoff with his Communist Party of the Russian Federation opponent and he was re-elected President in 2004 with 72% of the vote. During Putins first presidency, the Russian economy grew for eight straight years, the growth was a result of the 2000s commodities boom, high oil prices, and prudent economic and fiscal policies. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a third presidential term in 2008. The 2008 Presidential election was won by Dmitry Medvedev, who appointed Putin Prime Minister, in September 2011, after presidential terms were extended from four to six years, Putin announced he would seek a third term as president. He won the March 2012 Presidential election with 64% of the vote, under Putins leadership, Russia has scored poorly on both the Democracy index and the Corruption index. Putin has enjoyed high approval ratings during his career. In 2007, he was the Time Person of the Year, in 2015, he was #1 on the Times Most Influential People List. Forbes ranked him the Worlds Most Powerful Individual every year from 2013 to 2016, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born on 7 October 1952 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, the youngest of three children of Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin and Maria Ivanovna Putina. His birth was preceded by the death of two brothers, Viktor and Albert, born in the mid-1930s, Albert died in infancy and Viktor died of diphtheria during the Siege of Leningrad. Putins mother was a worker and his father was a conscript in the Soviet Navy. Early in World War II, his father served in the battalion of the NKVD. Later, he was transferred to the army and was severely wounded in 1942. On 1 September 1960, Putin started at School No.193 at Baskov Lane and he was one of a few in the class of approximately 45 pupils who was not yet a member of the Young Pioneer organization
31.
Alexander Nevsky
–
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky served as Prince of Novgorod, Grand Prince of Kiev and Grand Prince of Vladimir during some of the most difficult times in Kievan Rus history. He was canonized as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church by Metropolite Macarius in 1547, as it was told by the prophet Isaiah, Thus sayeth the Lord, I appoint the princes because they are sacred and I direct them. He was taller than others and his voice reached the people as a trumpet, and his face was like the face of Joseph and his power was a part of the power of Samson and God gave him the wisdom of Solomon. This Prince Alexander, he used to defeat but was never defeated, born in Pereslavl-Zalessky, Alexander was the second son of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and Rostislava Mstislavna, daughter of Kievan Rus Prince Mstislav Mstislavich the Bold. Alexander seemed to have no chance of claiming the throne of Vladimir, in 1236, however, he was summoned by the Novgorodians to become knyaz of Novgorod and, as their military leader, to defend their northwest lands from Swedish and German invaders. According to the Novgorod Chronicle written in the 14th cent, the Neva battle of 1240 saved Novgorod from a full-scale invasion from the West. Because of this battle, 19-year-old Alexander was given the sobriquet Nevsky and he would soon have to leave Novgorod because of this conflict. This supposed battle is not mentioned in any Swedish or other source, the supposed Swedish commander was called Spiridon which is an Orthodox, not Scandinavian name. Furthermore, Sweden was on the brink of war with Norway ever since the Norwegians infamous Värmland expedition in 1225, relations improved only after the Treaty of Lödöse in 1249, which was forged by the newly empowered Birger Jarl. Before the treaty, Norway remained an ally of the folkungs, giving them refuge and providing men, in this situation, it seems unlikely that Sweden could have been able to organize a major expedition against Novgorod. After Pskov had been invaded by the Germans and Estonians, the Novgorod authorities sent for Alexander, in spring of 1241 he returned from his exile, gathered an army, and drove out the invaders. Alexander and his men faced the Livonian heavy cavalry led by the bishop of Dorpat Hermann, Nevsky faced the enemy on the ice of the Lake Peipus and defeated the German knights and Estonian infantry during the Battle of the Ice on 5 April 1242. Alexander’s victory was a significant event in the history of the Russia, foot soldiers of Novgorod had surrounded and defeated an army of knights, mounted on horseback and clad in thick armour. Tactical military considerations aside, Alexanders victory was an important milestone in the development of Muscovite Russia, after the Livonian invasion, Nevsky continued to strengthen Russia’s Northwest. He sent his envoys to Norway and, as a result, Alexander led his army to Finland and successfully routed the Swedes, who had made another attempt to block the Baltic Sea from the Russians in 1256. Nevsky proved to be a cautious and far-sighted politician, historians seem to be unsure about Alexander’s behavior when it came to his relations with Mongols. He may have thought that Catholicism presented a more tangible threat to Russian national identity than paying a tribute to the Khan, Alexander tried to strengthen his authority at the expense of the boyars and at the same time suppress any anti-Mongol uprisings in the country. According to one interpretation, Alexander’s intentions were to protect scattered principalities of what would become Muscovy from repeated invasions by the Mongol army
32.
President of Russia
–
The President of the Russian Federation is the elected head of state, Supreme Commander-in-Chief and holder of the highest office within the Russian Federation. The current President of Russia is Vladimir Putin, in 1991, the office was briefly known as the President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic until 25 December 1991. According to the 1978 Russian Constitution, the President of Russia was head of the executive branch, according to the current 1993 Constitution of Russia, the President of Russia is not a part of the Government of Russia, which exercises executive power. In all cases where the President of the Russian Federation is unable to fulfill his duties, they shall be temporarily delegated to the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the Federation Council is the third important position after the President and the Prime Minister. In the case of incapacity of both the President and Prime Minister, the chairman of the house of parliament becomes acting head of state. The president is empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the Russian Federation, the president is elected directly through a popular vote to a six-year term. The law prohibits anyone from ever being elected to the presidency for a consecutive term. In all,3 individuals have served 4 presidencies spanning 6 full terms, on May 7,2012, Vladimir Putin became the 4th and current president. A candidate for office must be a citizen of the Russian Federation who is at least 35 years old and has resided in Russia for at least 10 years. The Constitution of Russia limits the election of one person to the Presidency to two consecutive terms, since the constitution contains no ruling on a total number of terms that a President may serve, a former president may seek re-election after sitting out one complete term. The election of the President is mainly regulated by the Presidential Election Law, the Federation Council calls the presidential elections. If it does not call an election that is due. The Election Day is the second Sunday of the month and the electoral constituency is the territory of the Russian Federation as a whole. Each faction in the State Duma, the house of the Russian parliament has the right to nominate a candidate for the presidential elections. The minimum number of signatures for a presidential candidate fielded by a party with no parliamentary representation is 100,000. Terms were extended from four to six years in 2008, during Dmitry Medvedevs administration, the President is elected in a two-round system every six years, with a two consecutive term limitation. If no candidate wins by an majority in the first round
33.
Saint Petersburg Theological Academy
–
The Saint Petersburg Theological Academy is a theological seminary in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The academy grants master and doctorate degrees preparing theologians and priests for the Eastern Orthodox Church and it was founded in 1797 by Gabriel, Metropolitan of Saint Petersburg, as part of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. At the turn of the 20th Century the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy was one of four religious academies of the Russian Orthodox Church, the class of 1898 had a total of 235 students regularly attending classes
34.
Epiphany (holiday)
–
Epiphany, also Theophany or Three Kings Day, is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally the visit of the Magi to the Christ child, moreover, the feast of the Epiphany, in some Western Christian denominations, also initiates the liturgical season of Epiphanytide. Eastern Christians, on the hand, commemorate the baptism of Jesus on both sides of the Jordan River, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God. Qasr el Yahud in the West Bank, and Al-Maghtas in Jordan on the east bank, Al-Maghtas is considered to be the site of the baptism of Jesus. The traditional date for the feast is January 6, however, since 1970, the celebration is held in some countries on the Sunday after January 1. In many Western Christian Churches, the eve of the feast is celebrated as Twelfth Night, the Monday after Epiphany is known as Plough Monday. Popular Epiphany customs include Epiphany singing, chalking the door, having ones house blessed, consuming Three Kings Cake, winter swimming, the word Epiphany is from Koine Greek ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia, meaning manifestation or appearance. It is derived from a meaning to appear. In classical Greek it was used of the appearance of dawn, of an enemy in war, in the Septuagint the word is used of a manifestation of the God of Israel. In the New Testament the word is used in 2 Timothy 1,10 to refer either to the birth of Christ or to his appearance after his resurrection, and five times to refer to his Second Coming. Epiphany may have originated in the Greek-speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire as a feast to honor the baptism of Jesus, around 200, Clement of Alexandria wrote that, But the followers of Basilides celebrate the day of His Baptism too, spending the previous night in readings. And they say that it was the 15th of the month Tybi of the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar, and some say that it was observed the 11th of the same month. The Egyptian dates given correspond to January 6 and 10, the Basilides were a Gnostic sect. The reference to readings suggests that the Basilides were reading the Gospels, in ancient gospel manuscripts, the text is arranged to indicate passages for liturgical readings. If a congregation began reading Mark at the beginning of the year, it might arrive at the story of the Baptism on January 6, If Christians read Mark in the same format the Basilides did, the two groups could have arrived at the January 6 date independently. The earliest reference to Epiphany as a Christian feast was in A. D.361, the holiday is listed twice, which suggests a double feast of baptism and birth. The Nativity was assigned to the date as the birth because Luke 3,23 was misread to mean that Jesus was exactly 30 when he was baptized. Epiphanius of Salamis says that January 6 is Christs Birthday, that is, His Epiphany and he also asserts that the Miracle at Cana occurred on the same calendar day
35.
Dormition of the Mother of God
–
It is celebrated on August 15 as the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Dormition not on a fixed date, the Feast of the Dormition is preceded by a two-week fast, referred to as the Dormition Fast. From August 1 to August 14 Orthodox and Eastern Catholics fast from red meat, poultry, meat products, dairy products, fish, oil, and wine. The Dormition Fast is a stricter fast than either the Nativity Fast or the Apostles Fast, with only wine and oil allowed on weekends. As with the other Fasts of the Church year, there is a Great Feast that falls during the Fast, in this case, in some places, the services on weekdays during the Fast are similar to the services during Great Lent. Many churches and monasteries in the Russian tradition perform the services on at least the first day of the Dormition Fast. In the Greek tradition, during the Fast either the Great Paraklesis or the Small Paraklesis is celebrated every evening except Saturday evening and the Eves of the Transfiguration and the Dormition. The first day of the Dormition Fast is a feast day called the Procession of the Cross, on which day it is customary to have an outdoor procession, in Orthodoxy and Catholicism, in the language of the scripture, death is often called a sleeping or falling asleep. A prominent example of this is the name of this feast, another is the Dormition of Anna, up until the 5th century Church Fathers do not mention the Dormition of the Virgin and to the 6th century Dormition was not celebrated among the Christians as a holy day. And yet, nowhere does he say that he took the holy Virgin with him, Scripture simply kept silence because of the overwhelming wonder, not to throw men’s minds into consternation. For I dare not say — though I have my suspicions, perhaps, just as her death is not to be found, so I may have found some traces of the holy and blessed Virgin. The holy virgin may have dead and been buried — her falling asleep was with honor, her death in purity, or she may have remained alive, for God is not incapable of doing whatever he wills. But we must not honor the saints to excess, we must honor their Master and it is time for the error of those who have gone astray to cease. Christians in the late 4th century had different opinions regarding Marys death, for this reason, Ambrose, for example, wrote, Neither the letter of Scripture nor Tradition does not teach us that Mary had left this life as a consequence of suffering from bodily ulcers. One of these placed in the History of the Church Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos. All listed Apocrypha quite late and differ from other content. Therefore, the Church was not taken all their content, but only the idea that the Virgin Mary blissfully rested. According to Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos in his History of the Church, after that Christians in the empire began to celebrate the death of the Virgin Mary
36.
Dean (religion)
–
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic Church, a deans assistant is called a subdean. In the church, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, except for presiding and delegating administrative tasks, they have no authority over the cardinals, acting as primus inter pares. In the academic community, the Dean is the leader of the Faculty who presides over the Faculty Board. He is deputized by a Vice-Dean and equally assisted by a Sub-Dean who can be delegated some of the task of the Dean. The most senior Professor or a Vice-Dean is the person who can act for a Dean in his or her absence from office. In the Church of England and elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, the dean is the chief resident cleric of a cathedral or other collegiate church, if the cathedral or collegiate church has its own parish, the dean is usually also rector of the parish. However, in the Church of Ireland the roles are often separated, in the Church in Wales, however, most cathedrals are parish churches, and their deans are now also vicars of their parishes. In some parts of the Communion, the senior resident cleric in a cathedral is a provost. Each diocese of the Scottish Episcopal Church has a dean of the diocese, in this way, a Scottish Episcopal dean is similar to an archdeacon in the other member churches of the Communion. In the Anglican Church of Canada, the roles of senior cleric of the cathedral are combined in one person who is referred to as Rector of Cathedral, thus, Peter Elliott is Rector of Christ Church Cathedral and Dean of New Westminster. The style The Very Reverend distinguishes a cleric as a dean, for example, the Very Reverend June Osborne is Dean of Salisbury Cathedral. In consideration of the status of a Dean, the Very Reverend title is normally a permanent title preferment. Some important deans include the deans of St Pauls, Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey is a royal peculiar, not the seat of any bishop or a cathedral, but is led by a dean. The deans of Washington National Cathedral and St. Patricks Cathedral, in many parts of the Anglican Communion, parishes are grouped together to form deaneries, each being a constituent administrative district of the diocese. Usually, a deanery is led by one of the incumbents of the parishes, who is called a rural dean. Such a dean chairs the meeting of the clergy. Rural Deans rank as primi inter pares of their chapters, the head of an Anglican theological college or seminary may also be called a dean
37.
Tartu
–
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia, following Estonias political and financial capital Tallinn. Tartu is often considered the centre of the country, especially since it is home to the nations oldest and most renowned university. The city also houses the Supreme Court of Estonia, the Ministry of Education and Research and it is the birthplace of Estonian Song Festivals. Situated 186 kilometres southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres northeast of Riga, Tartu lies on the Emajõgi, the city is served by Tartu Airport. Since 1918 the Estonian name Tartu has been used, but as the town has come under control of rulers throughout its history. Most of them derive ultimately from the earliest attested form, the Estonian Tarbatu, in German, Swedish and Polish the town has been known and is sometimes still referred to as Dorpat, a variant of Tarbatu. In Russian, the city has known as Юрьев and as Дерпт. Similarly, the city has known as Tērbata in Latvian. Archaeological evidence of the first permanent settlement on the site of modern Tartu dates to as early as the 5th century AD, by the 7th century, local inhabitants had built a wooden fortification on the east side of Toome Hill. The first documented record of the area was made in 1030 by chroniclers of Kievan Rus, yaroslav I the Wise, Prince of Kiev, invaded the region that year, built his own fort there, and named it Yuryev. Kievan Rus again controlled Tartu from 1133 for an unknown period, in the 12th century Tartu was the most notable Slavic settlement in Chud territory. His views have been criticized by historian Ain Mäesalu, subsequently, known as Dorpat, Tartu became a commercial centre of considerable importance during the later Middle Ages and the capital of the semi-independent Bishopric of Dorpat. In 1262 the army of Prince Dmitri of Pereslavl, son of Alexander Nevsky launched an assault on Dorpat and his troops did not manage to capture the bishops fortress on Toome Hill. In medieval times, after the Livonian Order was subsumed into the Teutonic Knights in 1236, in the 1280s Dorpat joined the Hanseatic League. For example, the hall of Dorpat was designed by an architect from Rostock in Mecklenburg, while the university buildings were designed by Johann Wilhelm Krause. Most Germans left during the first half of the 20th century, in particular as part of the Heim ins Reich program of the Nazis, in 1558 the forces of Muscovy led by tsar Ivan the Terrible invaded the region in what became known as the Livonian War. Dorpat was captured without a fight and the bishop was imprisoned in Moscow. In the effect of the Truce of Jam Zapolski of 1582 the city along with southern regions of Livonian Confederation became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in 1598 it became the capital of the Dorpat Voivodeship of the Duchy of Livonia
38.
Archpriest
–
An archpriest is an ecclesiastical title for certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term may be used in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church instead of dean or vicar forane. In the 16th and 17th centuries, during the persecution of Catholics in England, in the present-day Church of England, a rural or area dean resembles an archpriest. In the Catholic Latin Rite traditionally a priests first Mass has an archpriest assisting the newly ordained priest, functioning as the deacon otherwise does and his duties included deputising for the Bishop in spiritual matters when necessary. In the western church, by the Middle Ages, the title had evolved and was that of the priest of the principal parish among several local parishes, the first recorded use of this meaning of the title comes from St Charles Borromeos reforms in his own diocese. Unlike vicars general and vicars episcopal, vicars forane are not prelates and their role is entirely supervisory, and they perform visitations for the bishop and report to the bishop or vicar general any problems in their vicariate. In late Elizabethan England, an Archpriest was appointed from Rome to oversee the Roman Catholic Churchs mission in England, the title of archpriest has survived in Rome, in Malta and elsewhere, where it is now held by the rectors of the major basilicas. However, the title is entirely honorary, reflecting the fact that these churches held archpriestly status in the past, hence, the title is mostly honorary. Today, the archpriest has no control over the subordinate clergy, the use of archpriest in Roman Catholicism should not be confused with protopriest, the senior Cardinal-Priest in the College of Cardinals. In the Church of England there is at least one archpriest, the appointment was first made in 1315 AD and has been held ever since. There is a patron for the Church of St Blaise. The modern office most closely resembling that of archpriest is the role of dean or area dean. Like the archpriest of old, these officers have supervisory duties, but not ordinary jurisdiction, one example of this historical oddity is the office of Dean of Bocking in Essex. Archpriest is a rank, a title of honor given to non-monastic priests and is conferred by a bishop with the laying on of hands. An archpriest also wears a cross both as part of his street clothes and when vested. Endue our brother with Thy Grace, and adorn him with virtue to stand at the head of the Presbyters of Thy people, the rank of Protopresbyter as a distinction higher than Archpriest is a later addition. The same Order, naturally, is used for what is now called Protopresbyter, the Unitarian Church of Transylvania is divided into five Archpriestships as a form of territorial governance, virtual dioceses. Archimandrite Archpriest Controversy Arnaud de Cervole, also known as the Archpriest Archpriest of Hita Protopope References Sources Cross, london, Oxford University Press, pp. 79–80 Amanieu, A. Archiprêtre, in, Dictionnaire de Droit Canonique
39.
Viljandi
–
Viljandi is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,473 in 2013. It is the capital of Viljandi County, the town was first mentioned in 1283, upon being granted its town charter by Wilhelm von Endorpe. The town became a member of the Hanseatic League at the beginning of the 14th century, the once influential Estonian newspaper Sakala was founded in Viljandi in 1878. The flag of Viljandi is bi-coloured, its upper part light blue, the citys shield-shaped coat of arms is light blue, with a white rose in the middle. Viljandi is the white rose city – in midsummer there are 720 white roses flowering in front of the city hall, in summer, the White Rose Day is celebrated in Viljandi. First records of civilization in the surroundings of Viljandi date back to the 5th millennium B. C, the first written record of the earthen stronghold of Viljandi was in the year 1154 in the commentaries to al-Idrisis world atlas Geography. In the 12th century, a permanent settlement emerged around the stronghold of Viljandi, in 1211 the hillfort of the Estonians in Viljandi was besieged by a joint army of Germans, Latvians, and Livs. The Livonian Sword Brethren captured the hillfort in August 1223 from a contingent of the people of Rus, in place of the Sakala wooden stronghold a powerful Order Centre was started in 1224. The following year the Grand Master Volquin led the construction of the Viljandi Castle at the site of the former hillfort, the Viljandi castle was one of the largest in the Baltic region. It was a fortification of the Livonian Order and was appointed a commander from 1248. The fortress was rebuilt and modernized over the next two-hundred years. In the 13th century, a town arose on the northern side of the stronghold. The Hamburg-Riga town bylaws, lands and population of it were first recorded in 1283, during the first half of the 14th century, Viljandi joined the influential Hanseatic League – the town had become an important stop for merchants on their way to Russia and back. In 1365, the council was party when peace between Denmark and Hansa was concluded. In 1470, Johann Wolthus von Herse, then master of the order, in the Middle Ages, Viljandi was a typical small commercial town, which got its main income from transit trade. The local trade and handicraft played an important role. In 1481, Ivan III of Russia laid siege to the castle, the decline of Viljandi started during the Livonian War and in 1560, the forces of Prince Kurbski of Muscovite Russia succeeded in seizing and demolished the town and the stronghold. During the Polish–Russian War in the first quarter of the 17th century, the town, under the Swedish rule in the 17th century the town bylaws of Viljandi were cancelled
40.
Tonsure
–
Tonsure /ˈtɒnʃər/ is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp, as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word tōnsūra and referred to a practice in medieval Catholicism. Current usage more generally refers to cutting or shaving for monks, devotees, or mystics of any religion as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem. Tonsure also refers to the practice of shaving all or part of the scalp to show support or sympathy. Tonsure is still a practice in Catholicism by specific religious orders. It is also used in the Eastern Orthodox Church for newly baptized members and is frequently used for Buddhist novices. It exists as a practice in Islam after completion of the hajj and is also practiced by a number of Hindu religious orders. Tonsure is usually the part of three rites of passages in the life of the individual in Hinduism, the first is called Chudakarana, also known as choulam, caula, chudakarma, or mundana marks the childs first haircut, typically the shaving of the head. The mother dresses up, sometimes in her wedding sari, and with the father present, sometimes, a tuft of hair is left to cover the soft spot near the top of babys head. Both boys and girls go through this ceremony, sometimes near a temple or a river. The significance of Chudakarana rite of passage is the babys cyclical step to hygiene, the ritual is typically done about the first birthday, but some texts recommend that it be completed before the third or the seventh year. Sometimes, this ritual is combined with the rite of passage of Upanayana, the second rite of passage in Hinduism that sometimes involves tonsure is at the Upanayana, the sanskara marking a childs entry into school. Another rite of passage where tonsure is practiced by Hindus is after the death and completing the last rites of a family member. This ritual is found in India among male mourners, who shave their heads as a sign of bereavement. According to Jamanadas, tonsure was originally a Buddhist custom and was adopted by Hinduism, however, Pandey and others trace the practice to Sanskrit texts dated to have been composed before the birth of Buddha, which mention tonsure as a rite of passage. In Buddhism, tonsure is a part of the rite of pabbajja and this involves shaving head and face. This tonsure is renewed as often as required to keep the head cleanly shaven, the purification process of the metzora involved the ritual shaving on the metzorahs entire body except for the afflicted locations. Tonsure was not widely known in antiquity, tradition states that it originated with the disciples of Jesus, who observed the Torah command not to shave the hair around the sides of ones head
41.
Monk
–
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of other monks. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions, in the Greek language the term can apply to women, but in modern English it is mainly in use for men. The word nun is typically used for female monastics, although the term monachos is of Christian origin, in the English language monk tends to be used loosely also for both male and female ascetics from other religious or philosophical backgrounds. However, being generic, it is not interchangeable terms that denote particular kinds of monk, such as cenobite, hermit, anchorite, hesychast. In Eastern Orthodoxy monasticism holds a special and important place. Orthodox monastics separate themselves from the world in order to pray unceasingly for the world and they do not, in general, have as their primary purpose the running of social services, but instead are concerned with attaining theosis, or union with God. However, care for the poor and needy has always been an obligation of monasticism, the level of contact though will vary from community to community. Hermits, on the hand, have little or no contact with the outside world. Orthodox monasticism does not have religious orders as are found in the West, basil the Great and the Philokalia, which was compiled by St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth. Hesychasm is of importance in the ascetical theology of the Orthodox Church. Meals are usually taken in common in a dining hall known as a trapeza. Food is usually simple and is eaten in silence while one of the brethren reads aloud from the writings of the Holy Fathers. The monastic lifestyle takes a deal of serious commitment. Within the cenobitic community, all monks conform to a way of living based on the traditions of that particular monastery. In struggling to attain this conformity, the comes to realize his own shortcomings and is guided by his spiritual father in how to deal honestly with them. For this same reason, bishops are almost always chosen from the ranks of monks, Eastern monasticism is found in three distinct forms, anchoritic, cenobitic, and the middle way between the two, known as the skete. One normally enters a community first, and only after testing and spiritual growth would one go on to the skete or, for the most advanced. However, one is not necessarily expected to join a skete or become a solitary, in general, Orthodox monastics have little or no contact with the outside world, including their own families
