1.
Principality of Pskov
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The Principality of Pskov or Lordship of Pskov was a medieval state that grew out of the Rus Khaganate in the late 9th century. The city of Pskov was founded by the Rus, then expanded into a duchy or principality. It was a state of various Rus states between the 1230s and 1348, when the Treaty of Bolotovo recognized the independence of Pskov. Pskov is situated on the shore of the Lake Peipus, to the east of Livonia. In the 13th century, the Principality of Pskov was a strip of land along the eastern Narva River and Peipus. The division between Livonia and Pskov was made up by an area of water bodies and poorly settled areas, the town of Pskov was founded in the late 9th century by the Rus. Olga of Kiev, the wife of Igor of Kiev, was born in Pskov. In 1065–67, Vseslav attacked Pskov and Novgorod, then was captured by Iziaslav I of Kiev, in 1218, the princes of Novgorod and Pskov attacked Estonia and Latvia, while the Lithuanians had attacked Pskov in the meantime. A conflict ensued in the years between Pskov and Letgallia. Now, Pskov entered an alliance with Riga. The Novgorod nobility believed that Yaroslav had merely used the pretext of attacking Riga to conquer Pskov, Yaroslav now asked Pskov to take part in the attack, but Pskov refused. Between 1236 and 1242, the Kievan Rus, except Novgorod, Pskov, the Teutonic knights captured a fort southwest of Pskov, then occupied the city in 1240 and established rule to the west of Novgorod. After appeals from Novgorod, Grand Prince Yaroslav sent two brothers, Alexander and Andrey, who expelled the knights and halted their eastern advance, in 1316, Pskov troops took part in a Novgorod campaign against Tver. In the 1320s, the coalitions of the Teutonic knights and Novgorod, on one side, in 1322–23 Pskov campaigned as a Lithuanian dependency, probably first in the Lithuanian attack on Dorpat, then in the Grodno raid into Danish Estonia. In response, in May 1323, knight Kesselhuth launched a 18-day siege of Pskov, while Pskovs request to Novgorod, the siege was ended after an army dispatch from Lithuania, after which peace was agreed. Alexander Mikhailovich of Vladimir was forced to flee after a joint Muscovite–Tatar invasion in 1327 and he was excommunicated by the city metropolitan, but returned in 1331, ruling the city until 1337. The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 6, C. 1300-c.1415, Livonia, Rus’ and the Baltic Crusades in the Thirteenth Century
2.
Livonian Brothers of the Sword
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The Livonian Brothers of the Sword was a military order established by the third bishop of Riga, Bishop Albert of Riga, in 1202. Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204 for the second time, the membership of the order comprised German warrior monks who fought Baltic pagans in the area of modern-day Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Alternative names of the Order include Christ Knights, Sword Brethren, from its foundation, the undisciplined Order tended to ignore its supposed vassalage to the bishops. In 1218, Albert asked King Valdemar II of Denmark for assistance, the Brotherhood had its headquarters at Fellin in present-day Estonia, where the walls of the Masters castle still stand. Other strongholds included Wenden, Segewold and Ascheraden, the commanders of Fellin, Goldingen, Marienburg, Reval, and the bailiff of Weißenstein belonged to the five-member entourage of the Orders Master. Pope Gregory IX asked the Brothers to defend Finland from the Novgorodian attacks in his letter of November 24,1232, however, no known information regarding the knights possible activities in Finland has survived. The Order was decimated in the Battle of Schaulen in 1236 against Lithuanians and Semigallians and this disaster led the surviving Brothers to become incorporated into the Order of Teutonic Knights in the following year, and from that point on they became known as the Livonian Order. They continued, however, to function in all respects as a branch of the Teutonic Order. It also appears prominently in The Mongoliad, where they appear as one of the antagonists of the fictional order to which the main characters belong. The Sword Brothers by Peter Darman is an account of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword set in the 13th century. The order is featured in Medieval II, Total War, available as an unit of the Teutonic Order. Teutonic Order Battle of Saule Livonian Crusade Northern Crusades Order of Dobrin
3.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
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The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 13th century until 1795. The state was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija, the Grand Duchy later expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus and other Slavic lands, including territory of present-day Belarus, parts of Ukraine, Poland and Russia. At its greatest extent in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe and it was a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage. Consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 12th century, Mindaugas, the first ruler of the Grand Duchy, was crowned as Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in the crusade by the Teutonic Knights. The multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state emerged only at the reign of Gediminas. The reign of Vytautas the Great marked both the greatest territorial expansion of the Grand Duchy and the defeat of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and it also marked the rise of the Lithuanian nobility. After Vytautass death, Lithuanias relationship with the Kingdom of Poland greatly deteriorated, Lithuanian noblemen, including the Radvila family, attempted to break the personal union with Poland. However, the unsuccessful Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars with the Grand Duchy of Moscow forced the union to remain intact, eventually, the Union of Lublin of 1569 created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In this federation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania maintained its political distinctiveness and had separate government, laws, army, shortly after, the unitary character of the state was confirmed by adopting the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations. The newly reformed Commonwealth was invaded by Russia in 1792 and partitioned between the neighbours, with a truncated state remaining only nominally independent, after the Kościuszko Uprising, the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and Austria in 1795. The Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania name the name of the state as Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia. The title of Grand Duchy was consistently applied to Lithuania from the 14th century onward, in the 12th century, Slavic chronicles refer to Lithuania as one of the areas attacked by the Rus. Pagan Lithuanians initially paid tribute to Polotsk, but they grew in strength. The sudden spark of military raids marked consolidation of the Lithuanian lands in Aukštaitija, the Livonian Order and Teutonic Knights, crusading military orders, were established in Riga in 1202 and in Prussia in 1226. The Christian orders posed a significant threat to pagan Baltic tribes, the peace treaty with Galicia–Volhynia of 1219 provides evidence of cooperation between Lithuanians and Samogitians. This treaty lists 21 Lithuanian dukes, including five senior Lithuanian dukes from Aukštaitija, although they had battled in the past, the Lithuanians and the Žemaičiai now faced a common enemy. Likely Živinbudas had the most authority and at least several dukes were from the same families, the formal acknowledgment of common interests and the establishment of a hierarchy among the signatories of the treaty foreshadowed the emergence of the state
4.
Pskov
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Pskov is a city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located about 20 kilometers east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Pskov is one of the oldest cities in Russia, the name of the city, originally spelled Pleskov, may be loosely translated as of purling waters. Its earliest mention comes in 903, which records that Igor of Kiev married a local lady, Pskovians sometimes take this year as the citys foundation date, and in 2003 a great jubilee took place to celebrate Pskovs 1, 100th anniversary. The first prince of Pskov was Vladimir the Greats youngest son Sudislav, once imprisoned by his brother Yaroslav, he was not released until the latters death several decades later. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the town adhered politically to the Novgorod Republic, in 1241, it was taken by the Teutonic Knights, but Alexander Nevsky recaptured it several months later during a legendary campaign dramatized in Sergei Eisensteins 1938 movie Alexander Nevsky. Having fortified the town, Daumantas routed the Teutonic Knights at Rakvere and his remains and sword are preserved in the local kremlin, and the core of the citadel, erected by him, still bears the name of Dovmonts town. By the 14th century, the town functioned as the capital of a de facto sovereign republic and its most powerful force was the merchants who brought the town into the Hanseatic League. Pskovs independence was recognized by Novgorod in 1348. Several years later, the veche promulgated a law code, which was one of the sources of the all-Russian law code issued in 1497. For Russia, the Pskov Republic was a bridge towards Europe, for Europe, the importance of the city made it the subject of numerous sieges throughout its history. The Pskov Krom withstood twenty-six sieges in the 15th century alone, at one point, five stone walls ringed it, making the city practically impregnable. A local school of icon-painting flourished, and the masons were considered the best in Russia. Many peculiar features of Russian architecture were first introduced in Pskov, finally, in 1510, the city fell to Muscovite forces. The deportation of families to Moscow is a subject of Rimsky-Korsakovs opera Pskovityanka. As the second largest city of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, most famously, it withstood a prolonged siege by a 50, 000-strong Polish army during the final stage of the Livonian War. The king of Poland Stephen Báthory undertook some thirty-one attacks to storm the city, even after one of the city walls was broken, the Pskovians managed to fill the gap and repel the attack. Its amazing how the city reminds me of Paris, wrote one of the Frenchmen present at Báthorys siege, as a consequence, the citys importance and well-being declined dramatically, although it has served as a seat of separate Pskov Governorate since 1777. During World War I, Pskov became the center of much activity behind the lines, Pskov was also occupied by the Estonian army between 25 May 1919 and 28 August 1919 during the Estonian War of Independence when Bułak-Bałachowicz became the military administrator of Pskov
5.
Old East Slavic
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Old East Slavic, Old Ruthenian, Old Rusian was a language used in the 10th–15th centuries by East Slavs in Kievan Rus and states which evolved after the collapse of Kievan Rus. Dialects of it were spoken, though not exclusively, in the area occupied by Belarus, central and northern Ukraine. Linguists from each of the three East Slavic countries tend to treat Old East Slavic as the predecessor of their own language. The Russian drevnerusskij jazyk means Old Rus’ian as well, Rusian is similarly used by some western scholars such as Horace Lunt. The language was a descendant of the Proto-Slavic language and faithfully retained many of its features, a striking innovation in the evolution of this language was the development of so-called pleophony, which came to differentiate the newly evolving East Slavic from other Slavic dialects. For instance, Common Slavic *gordъ settlement, town was reflected as OESl. gorodъ, Common Slavic *melko milk > OESl. moloko, other Slavic dialects are differed by resolving the closed-syllable clusters *eRC and *aRC as liquid metathesis, or by no change at all. Since extant written records of the language are sparse, it is difficult to assess the level of its unity, in consideration of the number of tribes and clans that constituted Kievan Rus, it is probable that there were many dialects of Old East Slavonic. Nonetheless, by 1150 it had more unity than any other branch of Slavic, with time, it evolved into several more diversified forms, which were the predecessors of the modern Belarusian, Russian, Rusyn and Ukrainian languages. The Ukrainian branch split away first, between 1200 and 1500, whereas Russian later separated from Belarusian by 1700, each of these languages preserves much of the Old East Slavic grammar and vocabulary. The Old Church Slavonic language was introduced, documentation of the language of this period is scanty, making it difficult at best fully to determine the relationship between the literary language and its spoken dialects. There are references in Arab and Byzantine sources to pre-Christian Slavs in European Russia using some form of writing, although the Glagolitic alphabet was briefly introduced, as witnessed by church inscriptions in Novgorod, it was soon entirely superseded by the Cyrillic. The following excerpts illustrate two of the most famous literary monuments, the spelling of the original excerpt has been partly modernized. The translations are best attempts at being literal, not literary,1110, from the Laurentian Codex,1377, Early language, fall of the yers in progress or arguably complete. South Slavic features include времѧньнъıх bygone, modern R прошлых, modern Ukr минулих, correct use of perfect and aorist, єсть пошла is/has come, нача began Note the style of punctuation. 1200, from the Pskov manuscript, fifteenth cent, illustrates the sung epics, with typical use of metaphor and simile. The Old East Slavic language developed a certain literature of its own, though much of it was influenced as regards style, the earliest dated specimen of Old East Slavic must be considered the written Slovo o zakone i blagodati, by Hilarion, metropolitan of Kiev. In this work there is a panegyric on Prince Vladimir of Kiev and this subtle and graceful oration admirably conforms to the precepts of the Byzantine eloquence. It is rivalled by another panegyric on Vladimir, written a decade later by Yakov the Monk, from the writings of Theodosius we see that many pagan habits were still in vogue among the people
6.
Seto dialect
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Seto is a dialect of the South Estonian or Võro language, spoken by 12,549 people. It is sometimes considered as a language, the speakers, Seto people, mostly inhabit the area near Estonias southeastern border with Russia, in the county of Setomaa. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Seto, näile om annõt mudsu ja süämetunstus ja nä piät ütstõõsõga vele muudu läbi kjauma. Võro, Kõik inemiseq sünnüseq avvo ja õiguisi poolõst ütesugumaidsis, näile om annõt mudsu ja süämetunnistus ja nä piät ütstõõsõga vele muudu läbi käümä. Estonian, Kõik inimesed sünnivad vabadena ja võrdsetena oma väärikuselt ja õigustelt, neile on antud mõistus ja südametunnistus ja nende suhtumist üksteisesse peab kandma vendluse vaim. Finnish, Kaikki ihmiset syntyvät vapaina ja tasavertaisina arvoltaan ja oikeuksiltaan, heille on annettu järki ja omatunto, ja heidän on toimittava toisiaan kohtaan veljeyden hengessä. English, All human beings are free and equal in dignity. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood, eichenbaum, K. Pajusalu, K. Setode ja võrokeste keelehoiakutest ja identiteedist. – Keel ja Kirjandus nr 7, lk
7.
Russian language
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Russian is an East Slavic language and an official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and many minor or unrecognised territories. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of the four living members of the East Slavic languages, written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century and beyond. It is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages and it is also the largest native language in Europe, with 144 million native speakers in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers, the language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Russian is also the second most widespread language on the Internet after English, Russian distinguishes between consonant phonemes with palatal secondary articulation and those without, the so-called soft and hard sounds. This distinction is found between pairs of almost all consonants and is one of the most distinguishing features of the language, another important aspect is the reduction of unstressed vowels. Russian is a Slavic language of the Indo-European family and it is a lineal descendant of the language used in Kievan Rus. From the point of view of the language, its closest relatives are Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Rusyn. An East Slavic Old Novgorod dialect, although vanished during the 15th or 16th century, is considered to have played a significant role in the formation of modern Russian. In the 19th century, the language was often called Great Russian to distinguish it from Belarusian, then called White Russian and Ukrainian, however, the East Slavic forms have tended to be used exclusively in the various dialects that are experiencing a rapid decline. In some cases, both the East Slavic and the Church Slavonic forms are in use, with different meanings. For details, see Russian phonology and History of the Russian language and it is also regarded by the United States Intelligence Community as a hard target language, due to both its difficulty to master for English speakers and its critical role in American world policy. The standard form of Russian is generally regarded as the modern Russian literary language, mikhail Lomonosov first compiled a normalizing grammar book in 1755, in 1783 the Russian Academys first explanatory Russian dictionary appeared. By the mid-20th century, such dialects were forced out with the introduction of the education system that was established by the Soviet government. Despite the formalization of Standard Russian, some nonstandard dialectal features are observed in colloquial speech. Thus, the Russian language is the 6th largest in the world by number of speakers, after English, Mandarin, Hindi/Urdu, Spanish, Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Education in Russian is still a choice for both Russian as a second language and native speakers in Russia as well as many of the former Soviet republics. Russian is still seen as an important language for children to learn in most of the former Soviet republics, samuel P. Huntington wrote in the Clash of Civilizations, During the heyday of the Soviet Union, Russian was the lingua franca from Prague to Hanoi
8.
Eastern Orthodox Church
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The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
9.
Estonian mythology
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Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging to the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology. Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers accounts, systematic recordings of Estonian folklore started in the 19th century. Pre-Christian Estonian deities included a known as Jumal or Taevataat in Estonian, corresponding to Jumala in Finnish. According to the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia in 1222 the Estonians even disinterred the enemys dead, some traces of the oldest authentic myths may have survived in runic songs. There is a song about the birth of the world – a bird lays three eggs and starts to lay out the nestlings – one becomes Sun, one becomes Moon, other Finno-Ugric peoples have also myths according to which the world has emerged from an egg. The world of the Estonians’ ancestors is believed to have turned around a pillar or a tree, milky Way was a branch of the World Tree or the way by which birds moved. These myths were based on animistic beliefs, changes occurred in proto-Estonian mythology as a result of the contacts with Baltic and Germanic tribes, as well as the transition from hunting and gathering to farming. Personifications of celestial bodies, sky and weather deities and fertility gods gained importance in the world of the farmers, there may have been a sky and thunder god called Uku or Ukko, also called Vanaisa or Taevataat. Proto Estonian pre-Christian deities may also have included a sky-god by name Jumal, known also by other Finnic peoples as Jumala in Finnish, many recorded legends and myths depicting a supreme sky god are however probably of later origin and feature Christian or foreign influences. Estonian legends about giants may be a reflection of Germanic influences, there are numerous legends interpreting various natural objects and features as traces of Kalevipoegs deeds. The giant has merged with Christian Devil, giving birth to a new character – Vanapagan (a cunning demon living on his farm or manor and his farm hand Kaval-Ants. In the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, cantos 47,48 and 49 can be interpreted as descriptions of the impact, faehlmann also wrote eight fictional myths combining motives of Estonian folklore, Finnish mythology and classical Greek mythology. Matthias Johann Eisen was another folklorist and writer who studied folk legends, many of their contemporary scholars accepted this mythopoeia as authentic Estonian mythology. The Estonian literary mythology describes the following pantheon, The supreme god and he is celebrated in sacred oak forests around Tartu. The god of thunder is Uku, ukus daughters are Linda and Jutta, the queen of the birds. Uku has two sons, Kõu and Pikker, Pikker possesses a powerful musical instrument, which makes demons tremble and flee. He has a naughty daughter, Ilmatütar, during the era of Estonian national awakening the elements in the literary mythology were quickly and readily incorporated into contemporary popular culture through media and school textbooks. It can be difficult to tell how much of Estonian mythology as we know it today was constructed in the 19th
10.
Viceroy
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A viceroy /ˈvaɪs. rɔɪ/ is a regal official who runs a country, colony, city, province, or sub-national state, in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning in the place of, a viceroys territory may be called a viceroyalty, though this term is not always applied. The adjectival form is viceregal, less often viceroyal, the term vicereine is sometimes used to indicate a female viceroy suo jure, although viceroy can serve as a gender-neutral term. Vicereine is more used to indicate a viceroys wife. The title was used by the Crown of Aragon, where beginning in the 14th century, it referred to the Spanish governors of Sardinia. In Europe, until the 18th century, the Habsburg crown appointed viceroys of Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia, Navarre, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, with the ascension of the House of Bourbon to the Spanish throne, the historic Aragonese viceroyalties were replaced by new captaincies general. At the end of War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish monarchy was shorn of its Italian possessions and these Italian territories, however, continued to have viceroys under their new rulers for some time, Sardinia would have a viceroy until 1848. These large administrative territories became known as Viceroyalties, New viceroyalties were created for New Granada in 1717 and the Río de la Plata in 1776. These units gathered the local provinces which could be governed by either a crown official, audiencias primarily functioned as superior judicial tribunals, but unlike their European counterparts, the New World audiencias were granted by law both administrative and legislative powers. The Bourbon Reforms introduced the new office of the intendant, which was appointed directly by the crown and had broad fiscal and administrative powers in political and military issues. The government started six years after the discovery of sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, in 1505, however the post was centered by governor Afonso de Albuquerque, who became plenipotentiary, and remained so. The duration in office was three years, possibly longer, given the power represented, of the thirty-four governors of India in the 16th century. After the end of the Iberian Union in 1640, the governors of Brazil that were members of the Portuguese high nobility started to use the title of Viceroy. Brazil became a permanent Viceroyalty in 1763, when the capital of the State of Brazil was transferred from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro, the designation Viceroy, although it was most frequently used in ordinary parlance, had no statutory authority, and was never employed by Parliament. The Governor-General continued to be the representative of the Crown. The viceroys reported directly to the Secretary of State for India in London and were advised by the Council of India, alongside the Commander-in-Chief, India, the viceroy was the public face of the British presence in India, attending to many ceremonial functions as well as political affairs. During the offices history, the Governors-General of India were based in two cities, Calcutta during the 19th century and New Delhi during the 20th century, additionally, whilst Calcutta was the capital of British India, the viceroys spent the summer months at Simla. The two historic residences of the viceroys still stand, the Viceroys House in New Delhi and Government House in Calcutta and they are used today as the official residences of the President of India and the Governor of West Bengal, respectively
11.
Grand Duchy of Moscow
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The Grand Duchy of Moscow, or Grand Principality of Moscow, was a late medieval Rus principality centered on Moscow and the predecessor state of the early modern Tsardom of Russia. The state originated with Daniel I, who inherited Moscow in 1283, eclipsing and it later annexed the Novgorod Republic in 1478 and the Grand Duchy of Tver in 1485. After the Mongol invasion of Rus, Muscovy was a vassal to the Mongol ruled Golden Horde until 1480. By his marriage to the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, he established Muscovy as the state of the Roman Empire. Ivans successor Vasili III also enjoyed success, gaining Smolensk from Lithuania in 1512. Vasilis son Ivan IV was an infant at his fathers death in 1533 and he was crowned in 1547, assuming the title of tsar together with the proclamation of Tsardom of Russia. As with many states the country had no particular official name. The Duke of Moscow or the Sovereign of Moscow were common short titles, in rivalry with other duchies Moscow dukes also designated themselves as the Grand Dukes, claiming a higher position in the hierarchy of Russian dukes. During the territorial growth and later acquisitions, the title became rather lengthy. Since the 14th century various Moscow dukes added of all Rus to their titles, after the title of Russian metropolitans, Dmitry Shemyaka was the first Moscow duke who minted coins with the title the Sovereign of all Rus. Under the Polish-Lithuanian influence the country began to be called Muscovy in Western Europe, the first appearances of the term were in an Italian document of 1500. Initially Moscovia was the Latinized name of the city of Moscow itself, not of the state, later it acquired its meaning and has been used alongside of the older name. The term Muscovy persisted in the West until the beginning of the 18th century and is used in historical contexts. When the Mongols invaded the lands of Kievan Rus in the 13th century, the first ruler of the principality of Moscow, Daniel I, was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky of Vladimir-Suzdal. He started to expand his principality by seizing Kolomna and securing the bequest of Pereslavl-Zalessky to his family, daniels son Yuriy controlled the entire basin of the Moskva River and expanded westward by conquering Mozhaisk. He then forged an alliance with the overlord of the Rus principalities, Uzbeg Khan of the Golden Horde, the Khan allowed Yuriy to claim the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir-Suzdal, a position which allowed him to interfere in the affairs of the Novgorod Republic to the north-west. Yuriys successor, Ivan I, managed to retain the title of Grand Duke by cooperating closely with the Mongols and by collecting tribute and taxes from other Rus principalities on their behalf. This relationship enabled Ivan to gain regional ascendancy, particularly over Moscows chief rival, the city of Tver
12.
Vasili III of Russia
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Vasili III Ivanovich was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1505 to 1533. He was the son of Ivan III Vasiliyevich and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name Gavriil. He had three brothers, Yuri, born in 1480, Simeon, born in 1487 and Andrei, born in 1490, as well as five sisters, Elena, Feodosiya, another Elena, another Feodosiya and Eudoxia. Vasili III continued the policies of his father Ivan III and spent most of his reign consolidating Ivans gains, Vasili annexed the last surviving autonomous provinces, Pskov in 1510, appanage of Volokolamsk in 1513, principalities of Ryazan in 1521 and Novgorod-Seversky in 1522. Vasili was equally successful against the Crimean Khanate, although in 1519 he was obliged to buy off the Crimean khan, Mehmed I Giray, under the very walls of Moscow, towards the end of his reign he established Russian influence on the Volga. In 1531–32 he placed the pretender Cangali khan on the throne of Khanate of Kazan, regarding internal policy, Vasili III enjoyed the support of the Church in his struggle with the feudal opposition. In 1521, metropolitan Varlaam was banished for refusing to participate in Vasilis fight against an appanage prince, rurikid princes Vasili Shuisky and Ivan Vorotynsky were also sent into exile. The diplomat and statesman, Ivan Bersen-Beklemishev, was executed in 1525 for criticizing Vasilis policies, maximus the Greek, Vassian Patrikeyev and others were sentenced for the same reason in 1525 and 1531. During the reign of Vasili III, the landownership of the increased, while authorities actively tried to limit immunities and privileges of boyars. By 1526 when he was 47 years old, Vasili had been married to Solomonia Saburova for over 20 years with no heir to his throne being produced, conscious of her husbands disappointment, Solomonia tried to remedy this by consulting sorcerers and going on pilgrimages. When this proved unsuccessful, Vasili consulted the boyars, announcing that he did not trust his two brothers to handle Russias affairs, not many of the boyars approved of his choice, as Elena was of Catholic upringing. Vasili was so smitten that he defied Russian social norms and trimmed his beard to appear younger, after three days of matrimonial festivity, the couple consummated their marriage, though initially it appeared that Elena was as sterile as Solomonia. The Russian populace began to suspect this was a sign of Gods disapproval of the marriage, however, to the great joy of Vasili and the populace, the new tsaritsa gave birth to a son, who would succeed him as Ivan IV. Three years later, a son, Yuri, was born. According to a story, Solomonia Saburova also bore a son in the convent where she had been confined, whilst out hunting on horseback near Volokolamsk, Vasili felt a great pain in his right hip, the result of an abscess. He was transported to the village of Kolp, where he was visited by two German doctors who were unable to stop the infection with conventional remedies. Believing that his time was short, Vasili requested to be returned to Moscow, by 25 November 1533, Vasili reached Moscow and asked to be made a monk before dying. Taking on the name Varlaam, Vasili died at midnight,4 December 1533, rulers of Russia family tree Bain, Robert Nisbet
13.
Novgorod Republic
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Citizens referred to their city-state as His Majesty Lord Novgorod the Great, or more often as Lord Novgorod the Great. The Republic prospered as the easternmost port of the Hanseatic League, in the middle of the 9th century Novgorod was only a name used to describe a staging post on the trade route from the Baltic Sea to the Byzantine Empire. It was populated by various Finnic and Slavic tribes that were constantly at war with one another for supremacy. However, these tribes came together during the beginning of the 9th century to try, Novgorod functioned as the original capital of the Rus people until 882 when Oleg transferred his administration to Kiev. From that time until 1019-1020 Novgorod was a part of Kievan Rus, Novgorod Princes were appointed by the Grand Prince of Kiev. Novgorod was sort of a center as by legend it was the first city of Rus. Novgorod still possesses relics of the beliefs that preceded Christianity and are now part of their pre-Christian Pagan/Norse/Slavic history. Novgorod continuously played a key role in the politics of Rus by assisting Vladimir the Great of Kiev, one of his first actions as Grand Prince was to grant loyal Novgorodians numerous freedoms and privileges. Thus the foundation for the Novgorod Republic was laid, while still a part of Kievan Rus, Novgorod eventually evolved into a powerful regional center that was largely independent. The Novgorod boyars began to dominate the offices of posadnik and tysyatsky, in 1136, the Novgorodians dismissed Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich and over the next century and a half were able to invite in and dismiss a number of princes. However, these invitations or dismissals were often based on who the dominant prince in Rus or Appanage Russia was at the time, cities such as Staraya Russa, Staraya Ladoga, Torzhok, and Oreshek were part of the Novgorodian Land. According to some accounts, a vicar of the archbishop ran the city of Staraya Ladoga in the 13th century, the city of Pskov, initially part of the Novgorodian Land, had de facto independence from at least the 13th century after joining the Hanseatic League. Several princes such as Dovmont and Vsevolod Mstislavich reigned in Pskov without any deference to or consultation with the prince or other officials in Novgorod, pskovs independence was acknowledged by the Treaty of Bolotovo in 1348. Even after this, however, the Archbishop of Novgorod headed the church in Pskov and kept the title Archbishop of Novgorod the Great, in the 12th–15th century, the Novgorodian Republic expanded east and northeast. The Novgorodians explored the areas around Lake Onega, along the Northern Dvina, in the beginning of the 14th century the Novgorodians explored the Arctic Ocean, the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea, and the West-Siberian river Ob. The Ugric tribes that inhabited the Northern Urals had to pay tribute to Novgorod the Great, losing them meant economic and cultural decline for the city and its inhabitants. Indeed, the failure of the Novgorodians to win these wars led to the downfall of the Republic. Soviet-era Marxist scholarship frequently described the system of Novgorod as a feudal republic
14.
Tsardom of Russia
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From 1551 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 per year. After a military victory over Sweden and Poland, he implemented substantial reforms and proclaimed the Russian Empire in 1721. While the oldest endonyms of the Grand Duchy of Moscow used in its documents were Rus and the Russian land, in the 1480s Russian state scribes Ivan Cherny and Mikhail Medovartsev mention Russia under the name Росиа, Medovartsev also mentions the sceptre of Russian lordship. In England of the 16th century, it was both as Russia and Muscovy. In Northern Europe and at the court of the Holy Roman Empire, however, muscovites refute this, saying that their country was originally called Russia. When they are asked what nation they are, they respond Russac, which means Russians, and when they are asked what place they are from, by the 16th century, the Russian ruler had emerged as a powerful, autocratic figure, a Tsar. By assuming that title, the sovereign of Moscow tried to emphasize that he was a ruler or emperor on par with the Byzantine emperor or the Mongol khan. At first, the Byzantine term autokrator expressed only the meaning of an independent ruler. Ivan IV was crowned Tsar and thus was recognized, at least by the Russian Orthodox Church and that concept was to resonate in the self-image of Russians in future centuries. The development of the Tsars autocratic powers reached a peak during the reign of Ivan IV, Ivan strengthened the position of the Tsar to an exceptional degree, demonstrating the risks of unrestrained power in the hands of a mentally unstable individual. Although apparently intelligent and energetic, Ivan suffered from breakdowns of paranoia and depression, Ivan IV became Grand Prince of Moscow in 1533 at the age of three. The Shuysky and Belsky factions of the boyars competed for control of the regency until Ivan assumed the throne in 1547, reflecting Moscows new imperial claims, Ivans coronation as Tsar was a ritual modeled after those of the Byzantine emperors. With the continuing assistance of a group of boyars, Ivan began his reign with a series of useful reforms, in the 1550s, he declared a new law code, revamped the military, and reorganized local government. These reforms undoubtedly were intended to strengthen the state in the face of continuous warfare, the key documents prepared by the so-called Select Council of advisors and promulgated during this period are as follows. Muscovy remained a fairly unknown society in Western Europe until Baron Sigismund von Herberstein published his Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii in 1549 and this provided a broad view of what had been a rarely visited and poorly reported state. In the 1630s, the Russian Tsardom was visited by Adam Olearius, whose lively, further information about Russia was circulated by English and Dutch merchants. One of them, Richard Chancellor, sailed to the White Sea in 1553, upon his return to England, the Muscovy Company was formed by himself, Sebastian Cabot, Sir Hugh Willoughby, and several London merchants. Ivan the Terrible used these merchants to exchange letters with Elizabeth I, despite the domestic turmoil of the 1530s and 1540s, Russia continued to wage wars and to expand
15.
Estonia
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Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea, covering 45,339 km2 of land and water, and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, in 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian Supreme Soviet issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in defiance of Soviet rule, and independence was restored on 20 August 1991. Estonia is a parliamentary republic divided into fifteen counties. Its capital and largest city is Tallinn, with a population of 1.3 million, it is one of the least-populous member states of the European Union, Eurozone, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, OECD and Schengen Area. Estonia is a country with an advanced, high-income economy that is among the fastest growing in the EU. Its Human Development Index ranks very highly, and it performs favourably in measurements of economic freedom, civil liberties, the 2015 PISA test places Estonian high school students 3rd in the world, behind Singapore and Japan. Citizens of Estonia are provided with health care, free education. Since independence the country has developed its IT sector, becoming one of the worlds most digitally advanced societies. In 2005 Estonia became the first nation to hold elections over the Internet, in the Estonian language, the oldest known endonym of the Estonians was maarahvas, meaning country people or people of the land. The land inhabited by Estonians was called Maavald meaning Country Parish or Land Parish, one hypothesis regarding the modern name of Estonia is that it originated from the Aesti, a people described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his Germania. The historic Aesti were allegedly Baltic people, whereas the modern Estonians are Finno-Ugric, the geographical areas between Aesti and Estonia do not match, with Aesti being further down south. Ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland, as the country is called in Icelandic. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the name are Estia and Hestia, esthonia was a common alternative English spelling prior to 1921. Human settlement in Estonia became possible 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, the oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in south-western Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating it was settled around 11,000 years ago, the earliest human inhabitation during the Mesolithic period is connected to Kunda culture, which is named after the town of Kunda in northern Estonia. At that time the country was covered with forests, and people lived in communities near bodies of water
16.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
17.
Pskov Krom
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The Pskov Krom is an ancient citadel in Pskov, Russia. In the central part of the city, the Krom is located at the junction of the Velikaya River and smaller Pskova river, the citadel is of medieval origin, with the surrounding walls constructed starting in the late 15th century. The Krom was the administrative and spiritual centre of the Pskov Republic in the 15th century, in 2010, two of the towers of the Krom were damaged in a fire
18.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
19.
Lake Peipus
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Lake Peipus is the biggest transboundary lake in Europe on the border between Estonia and Russia. The lake is the fifth largest in Europe after Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in Russia north of St. Petersburg, Lake Vänern in Sweden, Lake Peipus is a remnant of a body of water which existed in this area during an Ice Age. It covers 3,555 km2, and has a depth of 7.1 m. The lake has several islands and consists of 3 parts, Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe is the part of the lake with an area of 2,611 km2. Lake Pskov is the part of the lake. Lake Lämmijärv/Teploe is the sound connecting the two parts of the lake, the lake is used for fishing and recreation, but suffered from some environmental degradation from Soviet era agriculture. Some 30 rivers and streams discharge into Lake Peipus, the largest rivers are the Emajõgi and the Velikaya River. The lake is drained by the Narva River, in 1242, the lake was the site of the Battle on the Ice between the Teutonic Knights and Novgorodians under Alexander Nevsky. The lake is a remnant of a body of water which existed in this area during an Ice Age. In the Paleozoic Era, 300–400 million years ago, the territory of the modern Gulf of Finland was covered by a sea. Its modern relief was formed as a result of activities, the last of which. The banks of Lake Peipus have smooth contours and form one large bay – Raskopelsky Bay. The low shores of the lake mostly consist of peat and are bordered by vast lowland, there are sand dunes and hills, covered with pine forests. Along the sandy shores there is a 200–300 m wide stretch of shallow waters, the relief of the bottom is uniform and flat, gradually rising near the shores and covered with silt, and in some places with sand. The deepest point of 15.3 m is located in the Teploe Lake,300 m from the coast, the lake is well-flowing, with the annual inflow of water equal to about half of the total water volume. The lake water is fresh, with a low transparency of about 2.5 m due to plankton, water currents are weak, they are induced by the wind and stop when it ceases. However, during the flood, there is a constant surface current from north to south. Because of the depth, the lake quickly warms up
20.
Ugandi County
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Ugandi was an independent county between the east coast of Lake Võrtsjärv and west coast of Lake Pskov, bordered by Vaiga, Mõhu, Nurmekund, Sakala, Tālava, and The Principality of Pskov. Ugandi had an area of approximately 3000 hides, Ugandi corresponded roughly to the present Estonias territory of Võru County, Põlva County and half of Tartu County and Valga County, as well as Petseri County. The county was first mentioned in print by Henry of Livonia After the Northern crusades it became Bishopric of Dorpat, in Latvian, Igaunija is still the modern national name for Estonia. The name Ugandi is derived by associating Ugaunia with the name of Uandimägi Hill near Otepää, an alternate theory proposes that the name Ugaunia could have been derived from the Slavic language word Ug, meaning South. The power center of Ugandi is believed to have been in the stronghold of Odenpeh in present-day Linnamägi Hill in the town of Otepää. The hill is indeed shaped like a head of a bear, another important Ugaunian stronghold was Tarbatu by the river Emajõgi. It was erected around 600 AD on the east side of Toome Hill in what is today Tartu, due to its location, Ugandi always bore the brunt of East Slavs attacks against Chudes, as they called Finnic peoples around their North-Eastern boundaries. In 1030 Kievan Prince Yaroslav I the Wise oraganized a military campaigne against Chuds, defeated them, Kievan rule of Tartu/Tarbatu may have lasted 30 years until 1061, when, according to Old East Slavic chronicles, Yuryev was burned down by Sosols. In modern Estonian literature, the province of Ugaunia is called Ugandi or Ugala, in Latvian, the country of Estonia is still called Igaunija after Ugaunians, their ancient warlike neighbors. In Estonian folklore, Ugaunians are enemy warriors and robbers, for example, a folk song from Viljandi calls for speeding up the harvest work because Ugaunians might attack. Ugalane has also used as a disparaging word for an unsophisticated country person. Rulers of Novgorod Republic and Principality of Pskov made frequent raids against Ugaunians in the 12th century, fort Bears Head was conquered in 1116 and 1193, Tharbata in 1134 and 1192. Ugaunians themselves made several raids against Pskov, at the beginning of the 13th century, a new powerful enemy appeared. German crusaders had established a foothold at the mouth of the Daugava river and started to expand, the Ugaunians southern neighbors, the Latgalians, saw the crusaders as potential allies against their traditional adversaries. The Ugaunians wanted to continue the truce with their new neighbors and they demanded that the Ugaunians pay reparation for an old incident. Many years ago the Ugaunians, upon the advice of the Livonians, had robbed a caravan of German merchants by the Daugava river, in 1207 the crusaders sent a priest called Alabrand to Ugaunia to demand compensation, but did not receive an answer. Next year the Letts and Teutonic Knights sent a new delegation to Ugaunia, Ugaunians were offered eternal peace if they accept Christianity and return everything they had robbed from Germans and Letts. Ugaunians refused and left, threatening the Letts with very sharp lances, the crusaders and Letts went to war against Ugaunians
21.
Nyenschantz
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Nyenschantz, often known as Ниен Nien or Канцы Kantsy, was a Swedish fortress built in 1611 at the mouth of the Neva river in Swedish Ingria, on the site of present St. Petersburg, Russia. Nyen was the Swedish name for the Neva river, and officially the fortress was known as Nyenskans. The term skans is Swedish for bastion, near the fortress of Nyenskans a town, Nyen, soon developed which was granted town privileges and became the administrative centre of Swedish Ingria in 1642. According to church records, the population was largely Finnish, secondly Swedish. In 1656, a Russian attack badly damaged the town, an important Swedish emporium, Nyen was burned down in 1702 in order not to become a threat to the fortress in the event of a Russian invasion. This fortress stood in contrast to Schlüsselburg, Key-town, at the end of the Neva river. The last Swedish commandant of Nyenskans was Colonel Johan Apolloff, preceded by Colonel Alexander Pereswetoff-Morath, having fallen into Russian hands the fortress functioned only for some weeks, and very soon the tsar founded the fortress and city of Saint Petersburg near the site. Nothing remains of Nyen above ground, but on June 15,2000 a monument was opened on the site of the fortress, at the mouth of the Okhta river to a design by V. A. Reppo. In the early winter of 2007 remains of the bastions were identified during archaeological excavations. In May 2003, the museum 700 years, Landskrona, the Neva Mouth, star fort Vauban Okhta Center Media related to Nyenschantz at Wikimedia Commons Nyenschanz on the website of the St. Petersburg Diocese gazette Museum official page The Nyenskans Fortress
22.
Veliky Novgorod
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It is situated on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg. The city lies along the Volkhov River just downstream from its outflow from Lake Ilmen, UNESCO recognized Novgorod as a World Heritage Site in 1992. At its peak during the 14th century, the city was the capital of the Novgorod Republic, the Charter of Veliky Novgorod recognizes 859 as the year when the city was first mentioned. Archaeological dating is fairly easy and accurate to within 15–25 years, as the streets were paved with wood, and most of the houses made of wood, allowing tree ring dating. The Varangian name of the city Holmgård/Holmgard is mentioned in Norse Sagas as existing at a yet earlier stage, originally, Holmgård referred only to the stronghold southeast of the present-day city, Rurikovo Gorodische. First mention of this Nordic or Germanic etymology to the name of the city of Novgorod occurs in the 10th-century policy manual De Administrando Imperio by Byzantine emperor Constantine VII, in 882, Ruriks successor, Oleg of Novgorod, conquered Kiev and founded the state of Kievan Rus. Novgorods size as well as its political, economic, and cultural influence made it the second most important city in Kievan Rus, according to a custom, the elder son and heir of the ruling Kievan monarch was sent to rule Novgorod even as a minor. When the ruling monarch had no son, Novgorod was governed by posadniks, such as the legendary Gostomysl, Dobrynya, Konstantin. Of all their princes, Novgorodians most cherished the memory of Yaroslav the Wise and his son, Vladimir, sponsored construction of the great St. Sophia Cathedral, more accurately translated as the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom, which stands to this day. In Norse sagas the city is mentioned as the capital of Gardariki, four Viking kings—Olaf I of Norway, Olaf II of Norway, Magnus I of Norway, and Harald Hardrada—sought refuge in Novgorod from enemies at home. No more than a few decades after the 1030 death and subsequent canonization of Olaf II of Norway, the town of Visby in Gotland functioned as the leading trading center in the Baltic before the Hansa League. At Novgorod in 1080, Visby merchants established a trading post which they named Gutagard, later, in the first half of the 13th century, merchants from northern Germany also established their own trading station in Novgorod, known as Peterhof. At about the time, in 1229, German merchants at Novgorod were granted certain privileges. In 1136, the Novgorodians dismissed their prince Vsevolod Mstislavich, the year is seen as the traditional beginning of the Novgorod Republic. One of the most important local figures in Novgorod was the posadnik, or mayor, the tysyatsky, or thousandman, originally the head of the town militia but later a commercial and judicial official, was also elected by the Veche. Another important local official was the Archbishop of Novgorod who shared power with the boyars, archbishops were elected by the Veche or by the drawing of lots, and after their election, were sent to the metropolitan for consecration. While a basic outline of the officials and the Veche can be drawn up. The boyars and the archbishop ruled the city together, although where one officials power ended, throughout the Middle Ages, the city thrived culturally
23.
Pskov Oblast
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Pskov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia, located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the city of Pskov, as of the 2010 Census, its population was 673,423. Pskov Oblast is the westernmost federal subject of contiguous Russia, in the northwest, Pskov Oblast is limited by Lake Peipus, which makes up most of the state border with Estonia. The oblast is located in the Baltic Sea drainage basin, mostly in the basin of the Narva River, the biggest river of this basin is the Velikaya, which flows across the whole oblast from south to north and drains into Lake Peipus. The drainage basin of the Velikaya covers the territory of the oblast, with the exception of relatively minor areas in its southern, eastern. The rivers in the southeast drain into the Lovat, which has its source in Belarus and crosses Pskov Oblast from south to north, the Lovat is a major tributary of Lake Ilmen and is itself in the Neva Rivers basin. Another tributary of Lake Ilmen is the Shelon River, which flows in the part of the oblast. Finally, minor areas in the lie in the basin of the Western Dvina. A short stretch of the Western Dvina makes up the border between Pskov and Tver Oblasts, the north of the oblast is flat and swampy, whereas the central and the southern parts are formed by glacial landscapes. There are many lakes, especially in the south, the biggest one, after Lake Peipus, is Lake Zhizhitskoye, with an area of 51.3 square kilometers. It is located in the southeast of the oblast, in the basin of the Western Dvina, wood is one of the most important natural resources in the oblast, with forests taking up to one third of the territory. Total wood reserves as of January 1,2005 were estimated to be at 331,200,000 cubic meters, Pskov lands had significant importance in Russian history. Until the 1230s Pskov was a principality, and subsequently was subordinated to Novgorod and became a republic, in Pskov Republic the highest authority belonged to the assembly of citizens. In 1348, the Treaty of Bolotovo was concluded, recognizing independence of Pskov, however, Pskov quickly run into dependence from the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the emerging regional superpower, and after 1399 Moscow appointed vice-roys to Pskov. The formal independence ended in 1510, when Pskov was occupied by the troops of Vasili III of Russia, throughout the history, Pskov Lands were always located in the west of Russian Lands and were almost constantly at war. In particular, in 1242 the Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipus stopped the expansion of the Teutonic Knights to the East, during the Livonian War in 1581, the Polish troops laid siege to Pskov. The southeastern part of the oblast was a part of the Principality of Toropets before it was appended to Moscow in the 15th century, december 29,1708 Tsar Peter the Great issued an edict which established seven governorates. The north of the present area of Pskov Oblast, which at the time belonged to Russia, was a part of Ingermanland Governorate, in 1727, a separate Novgorod Governorate was established, and the area was transferred there
24.
Aristocracy (government)
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Aristocracy is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning rule of the best, at the time of the words origins in Ancient Greece, the Greeks conceived it as rule by the best qualified citizens—and often contrasted it favourably with monarchy, rule by an individual. In later times, aristocracy was usually seen as rule by a group, the aristocratic class. The Greeks did not like the concept of monarchy, and as their democratic system fell, in Ancient Rome, the Republic consisted of an aristocracy—as well as consuls, a senate, and a tribal assembly. In the Middle Ages and early modern era, aristocracies primarily consisted of an aristocratic class, privileged by birth. Since the French Revolution, aristocracy has generally been contrasted with democracy, however, this distinction is often oversimplified. In exchange feudal aid is received from tenants or vassals, oaths of military allegiance, however an oligarchy, nobility or royalty had the right to set taxes, assemble or raise armies and command loyalty by virtue of traditional authority. In the 1651 book Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes describes an aristocracy as a commonwealth in which the representative of the citizens is an assembly by part and it is a system in which only a small part of the population represents the government. Modern depictions of aristocracy tend to regard it not as the ancient Greek concept of rule by the best, history, John Cannon, Oxford University Press,1997, ISBN 978-0-19-866176-4 Aristocracy in the Modern World, Ellis Wasson, Palgrave Macmillan,2006
25.
Kievan Rus'
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Kievan Rus was a loose federation of East Slavic tribes in Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century, under the reign of the Rurik dynasty. The modern peoples of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia all claim Kievan Rus as their cultural ancestors, according to Russian historiography the first ruler to start uniting East Slavic lands into what has become known as Kievan Rus was Prince Oleg. He extended his control from Novgorod south along the Dnieper river valley to protect trade from Khazar incursions from the east, Sviatoslav I achieved the first major expansion of Kievan Rus territorial control, fighting a war of conquest against the Khazars. Vladimir the Great introduced Christianity with his own baptism and, by decree, extended it to all inhabitants of Kiev and beyond. Kievan Rus reached its greatest extent under Yaroslav the Wise, his sons assembled and issued its first written legal code, the state declined beginning in the late 11th century and during the 12th century, disintegrating into various rival regional powers. The state finally fell to the Mongol invasion of the 1240s. During its existence, Kievan Rus was known as the land of the Rus, in Greek as Ῥωσία, in Old French as Russie, Rossie, in Latin as Russia, and from the 12th century also Ruthenia. Various etymologies have been proposed, including Ruotsi, the Finnish designation for Sweden, and Ros, the term Kievan Rus was coined in the 19th century in Russian historiography to refer to the period when the centre was in Kiev. Later, the Russian term was rendered into Belarusian and Ukrainian as Кіеўская Русь Kijeŭskaja Rus’ and Ки́ївська Русь Kyivska Rus’, prior to the emergence of Kievan Rus in the 9th century AD, the lands between the Baltic Sea and Black Sea were primarily populated by eastern Slavic tribes. In the northern region around Novgorod were the Ilmen Slavs and neighboring Krivichi, who occupied territories surrounding the headwaters of the West Dvina, Dnieper, to their north, in the Ladoga and Karelia regions, were the Finnic Chud tribe. In the south, in the area around Kiev, were the Poliane, a group of Slavicized tribes with Iranian origins, the Drevliane to the west of the Dnieper, and the Severiane to the east. To their north and east were the Vyatichi, and to their south was forested land settled by Slav farmers, controversy persists over whether the Rus’ were Varangians or Slavs. This uncertainty is due largely to a paucity of contemporary sources, attempts to address this question instead rely on archaeological evidence, the accounts of foreign observers, legends and literature from centuries later. To some extent the controversy is related to the myths of modern states in the region. According to the Normanist view, the Rus were Scandinavians, while Russian and Ukrainian nationalist historians generally argue that the Rus were themselves Slavs. Normanist theories focus on the earliest written source for the East Slavs, nevertheless, archaeological evidence from the area suggests that a Scandinavian population was present during the 10th century at the latest. On balance, it likely that the Rus proper were a small minority of Scandinavians who formed an elite ruling class. Liutprand of Cremona, who was twice an envoy to the Byzantine court, identifies the Russi with the Norse, leo the Deacon, a 10th-century Byzantine historian and chronicler, refers to the Rus as Scythians and notes that they tended to adopt Greek rituals and customs
26.
Velikaya River
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It is a major tributary of Lake Peipus and belongs to the basin of the Narva River. It is 430 kilometres long, and the area of its basin 25,200 square kilometres, the name of the river means literally Grand or Great in Russian. The towns of Opochka, Ostrov and Pskov are located on the banks of the Velikaya. The principal tributaries of the Velikaya are the Alolya River, the Issa River, the Sorot River, the Sinyaya River, the Utroya River, the Kukhva River, the Cheryokha River, and the Pskova River. The source of the Velikaya is located in the Bezhanitsy Hills in the northwest of Novosokolnichesky District, the river flows south through a system of lakes to Lake Veryato, where it turns west. It accepts the Alolya from the right and gradually turns north, northwest of the urban-type settlement of Pushkinskiye Gory it turns west, accepts the Sinyaya from the left and turns north. In the city of Pskov the Velikaya accepts the Pskova from the right and turns northwest, forming a river delta as it enters Lake Peipus. The drainage basin of the Velikaya comprises vast areas in the west and southwest of Pskov Oblast, as well as in the east of Latvia, the river has a significant historic importance. Pskov was founded in 903, and the Velikaya provided it with access to the sea, via Lake Peipus, the Velikaya is navigable in its lower course. Media related to Velikaya River at Wikimedia Commons Velikaya River in the State Water Register of Russia
27.
Narva River
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The Narva is a river flowing into the Baltic Sea, the largest river in Estonia by discharge. Draining Lake Peipsi, the forms the border of Estonia and Russia and flows through the towns of Narva/Ivangorod. Though the river is only 77 kilometres long, in terms of volume discharged it is the second largest river flowing into the Gulf of Finland, the river gives its name to the Narva culture and the city of Narva. The etymology of the toponym Narva is not clear, but according to the most common theory it comes from a Vepsian word narva meaning waterfall or stream, the Narva river has its source at the northeastern end of Lake Peipus, near the villages of Vasknarva and Skyamya. The river is dammed entering Narva and Ivangorod, forming the Narva Reservoir, the Narva empties into Narva Bay near the Estonian town of Narva-Jõesuu, third largest settlement on the river after Narva and Ivangorod. The Plyussa is the largest tributary, joining the Narva at the Narva Reservoir from the right, between Narva and Ivangorod the river flows over the Baltic Klint, forming the Narva Waterfall, once among the most powerful in Europe. Before the water reaches the falls it is split into two branches by the Kreenholm island, thus the falls consist of two sections, Kreenholm Falls, west of the island, is 60 metres wide and 6.5 metres high with multiple terraces. Joala Falls, to the east, is 110 metres wide, the Estonian–Russian border follows the eastern branch and goes through Joala Falls. Since the creation of Narva Reservoir in 1955, the waterfalls are usually dry, access to the waterfalls is difficult as they are located in the border zone and the surrounding area on the Estonian side is closed industrial land belonging to Krenholm Manufacturing Company. The Narva was used as a route during the Viking Age. It was an offshoot of the route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The Narva has for centuries been an important border river, beginning in the 13th century it was the border of Medieval Livonia and the Novgorod Republic. Though in earlier periods Narva was part of a buffer zone between the two territories, gradually the river emerged as the exact border. Castles built on the banks were one of the main reasons behind this. Treaties from the 15th century between the Livonian Order and Novgorod Republic also recognize the Narva as the border, during the time of Swedish Estonia, when Ingria was also part of Sweden, the importance of the river as a border diminished. By the Treaty of Tartu, signed in 1920, the Estonian–Russian border went slightly east of the river, up to 10 kilometres, and, in particular, the town of Ivangorod was assigned to Estonia. In 1944 the former Estonian territory east of the river was transferred to Russian SFSR and the Narva was thus established as the border of Estonian SSR. In 1991 the same border became the de facto border of Estonia and Russia, although no official border treaty has been ratified since then, today the Narva is the eastern border of the European Union and Schengen Zone
28.
Izborsk
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Izborsk is a rural locality in Pechorsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia. It contains one of the most ancient and impressive fortresses of Western Russia, the village lies 30 kilometers to the west of Pskov and just to the east of the Russian-Estonian border. According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, the town was the seat of Ruriks brother Truvor from 862-864, the next mention of the town in Slavonic chronicles dates back to 1233, when the place was captured by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. Pskov moved the fortress to a convenient site in 1302. The most ancient extant structure is the Tower Lukovka, constructed in 1330, at that time it was the only stone building west of Pskov and adjoined a wooden wall. After seven other stone towers and the new stone wall were completed, the Nativity church within the fortress was built in the 16th century. Near the fortress is a museum of stone crosses, in the later 16th century, Izborsk was one of the smaller, but nonetheless strategically important fortresses that protected the northwest Russian borders from invasion. The fortress was supposed to be impregnable, which is why the seizure of it in 1569 by a small Lithuanian regiment came as such a shock to the then ruler, the relative ease and suspicious circumstances of the seizure of the fortress deeply troubled the already paranoid Ivan. With rumors of disaffection and growing discontent throughout the country on the rise, recent restoration of the fortress, completed in 2012, was accompanied by gross embezzlement of money, and the fortress was severely damaged. On 15 March 2016, Grigory Pirumov, deputy minister of culture of Russia, and two other offices of the Ministry of Culture, were arrested on criminal charges related to the embezzlement
29.
Livonian Order
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The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. It was later a member of the Livonian Confederation, from 1435 to 1561, the Order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after their defeat by Samogitians in 1236 at the Battle of Schaulen. They were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights and became known as the Livonian Order in 1237, in 1298 Lithuanians took Karkus castle north of Riga, and defeated the order in the Battle of Turaida, killing Livonian Land Master Bruno and 22 knights. In 1346, the Order bought the Duchy of Estonia from King Valdemar IV of Denmark, life within the Orders territory is described in the Chronicle of Balthasar Russow. The Livonian Orders defeat in the Battle of Swienta on September 1,1435, during the Livonian War, however, the Order suffered a decisive defeat by troops of Muscovite Russia in the Battle of Ergeme in 1560. After coming to an agreement with Sigismund II Augustus and his representatives, in the southern part of the Brothers lands he created the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia for his family. Most of the lands were seized by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The north of Estonia was taken back by Denmark and Sweden, the Livonian Master, like the grandmaster of the Teutonic Order, was elected by his fellow knights for a life term. The grandmaster exercised supervisory powers and his advice was considered equal to a command, the grandmaster of Teutonic knights did not limit local autonomy, he rarely visited Livonia or sent ambassadors for oversight
30.
Daumantas of Pskov
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Daumantas or Dovmont, was a Lithuanian princeling best remembered as a military leader of the Principality of Pskov between 1266 and 1299. During his term in office, Pskov became de facto independent from Novgorod and he is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church with his feast day observed on May 20. Until 1265, Daumantas was Duke of Nalšia, a province of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Mindaugas and Daumantas wives were sisters, in spite of the family relationship, Daumantas chose to ally himself with Mindaugas nephew Treniota, who was Duke of Samogitia. Treniota had been increasing his personal power within the kingdom as he tried to spark an all-Balts rebellion against the Teutonic Knights. In 1263, Daumantas assassinated Mindaugas and two of his sons and it has been suggested that he acted in collusion with Treniota. As a result, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania relapsed into paganism for another one hundred, some Russian chronicles say that Daumantas motive for the murder was to further his power and get revenge, after Queen Mortas death c. 1262, Mindaugas took Daumantas wife for himself, when Mindaugas dispatched a large army towards Bryansk, Daumantas participated in the expedition, but suddenly returned and killed Mindaugas and two of his sons. According to the Bychowiec Chronicle, Daumantas received the title, Duke of Utena, when Vaišelga, the eldest son of Mindaugas, entered into an alliance with Shvarn of Halych-Volhynia in 1264, he was able to take revenge for his fathers death by killing Treniota. Daumantas and his followers fled to Pskov, after arriving in Pskov, Dovmont was baptized into Eastern Orthodoxy, assumed the Christian name Timotheus and married a daughter of Dmitry of Pereslavl, son of Alexander Nevsky. He led Pskovian armies against Lithuanians and defeated them on the bank of the Western Dvina, proceeded to devastate the land of Duke Gerdenis, and captured his two sons and wife. Dovmonts daring spirit, his ways, and the success of his military enterprise persuaded the Pskovians to elect him as their knyaz. Dovmonts election was never sanctioned by the Novgorod Republic, which had controlled the Pskovian affairs. Dovmont was again in command and returned to Pskov in triumph, in the next year the Pskovian-Novgorodian alliance was cemented by the invasion of the Livonian Order. The Pskovians, led by Dovmont, joined their forces with the Novgorodians, led by Yaroslav and Alexander Nevskys son Dmitry, and inflicted a crushing defeat on the knights in the Battle of Rakvere. The following year Grand Master of the Order, Otto von Lutterberg, laid siege to Pskov, the knights sought peace at any cost and their attacks on Pskov and Novgorod ceased for thirty years. In 1270, Yaroslav again attempted to interfere into Pskovian affairs, the Pskovians stood up for Dovmont, forcing Yaroslav to abandon his plans. In order to strengthen his position, Dovmont married Dmitrys daughter, in 1282, when his father-in-law was ousted from Vladimir to Koporye, Dovmont made a sally into Ladoga, where he captured Dmitrys treasury from the Novgorodians and transported it to Koporye
31.
Battle of Wesenberg (1268)
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The Battle of Wesenberg, Rakvere or Rakovor was a battle fought on February 18,1268, between the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Knights and a coalition of Russian princes. Medieval accounts of the battle vary, with both sides claiming victory, such that the other was unable to mount further attacks, the most likely conclusion is that the battle was a tactical draw, with both sides withdrawing, badly bloodied, to defend their own lands. The two armies clashed within 7.5 kilometers from the Livonian town of Wesenberg, Russian forces, numbering up to 30,000 troops, were led by Dmitry of Pereslavl together with his future son-in-law, Daumantas of Pskov. Apart from the knights, the Livonian army included Danish forces and it is unclear who the overall commander of the crusading army was, as some sources claim that Livonian Ordensmeister Otto von Lutterberg was not present, while others claim he was. Bishop Alexander of Dorpat was likely one of the armys leaders, the Livonian forces deployed in their customary deep boars head wedge of heavily armoured knights, called by the Russians the great iron pig. This abandonment of the plan led to the first wedge being encircled. The fighting to reduce the first wedge was apparently terrific, neither our fathers nor grandfathers have witnessed such a terrible battle, reports the Novgorodian First Chronicle. At last the Novgorodian militia prevailed, although its leader, the posadnik Mikhailo Fyodorovich, was killed in action, the Russian princes pursued the knights up to Rakvere. Upon his return to his camp, Dmitry of Pereslavl discovered that it had been looted by another regiment of the knights and he decided to wait for the morning. Three days passed and no new attack ensued on the part of the knights, the Russian leaders claimed victory and returned to Novgorod in triumph. The most proximate Livonian source for the battle, the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, tells a different story. According to the author, Ordenmeister Otto von Lutterberg was away, campaigning elsewhere. As a result, only a number of brothers of the Livonian Order were present with the local troops. The Livonian force then laid siege to Pskov, but were defeated when a relief army arrived there from Novgorod, medieval Russian Armies 1250 -1450. Livonia, Rus’ and the Baltic Crusades in the Thirteenth Century
32.
Boyar
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The rank has lived on as a surname in Russia, Ukraine and Romania, and also in Finland, where it is spelled Pajari. Also known as bolyar, the various names in other languages include Bulgarian, боляр or болярин, Ukrainian, буй or боярин, Russian, боя́рин. Multiple different derivation theories of the word have been suggested by scholars and linguists, such as it having possible roots from old Turkic, bai and är. Another possible etymology of the term it may come from the Romanian word boi, the title entered Old Russian as быля. It was probably transformed through boilar or bilyar to bolyar and bolyarin, a member of the nobility during the First Bulgarian Empire was called a boila, while in the Second Bulgarian Empire, the corresponding title became bolyar or bolyarin. Bolyar, as well as its predecessor, boila, was a hereditary title, the Bulgarian bolyars were divided into veliki and malki. Presently in Bulgaria, the word bolyari is used as a nickname for the inhabitants of Veliko Tarnovo—once the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire. In medieval Serbia, the rank of the Boyars was equivalent to the rank of the Baron, meaning free warrior, with the rule of the Ottoman Empire after 1450, the Ottoman as well as the Austro-Hungarian terms exchanged the Serbian one. Today, it is a term representing the aristocracy. Boyars 9th - 13th centuries, wielded power through their military support of the Kievan princes. Power and prestige of many of them, however, soon came to depend almost completely on service to the state, family history of service and, to a lesser extent, land ownership. Boyars of Kievan Rus were visually similar to knights, but after the Mongol invasion. The boyars occupied the highest state offices and, through a council and they received extensive grants of land and, as members of the Boyars Duma, were the major legislators of Kievan Rus. After the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, the boyars from central and southern parts of Kievan Rus were incorporated into Lithuanian, during the 14th and 15th centuries, the boyars of Moscow had considerable influence that continued from the Muscovy period. However, starting with the reign of Ivan III, the boyars were starting to lose that influence to the tsars in Russia. Because of Ivan III’s expansionist policies, administrative changes were needed in order to ease the burden of governing Muscovy, the face of provincial rule disappeared. What is interesting about the boyars is their implied duties, because boyars were not constitutionally instituted, much of their powers and duties came from agreements signed between princes. Agreements, such as one between Ivan III and Mikhail Borisovich in 1484 showed how allegiances needed to be earned and secured, instead of the grand prince personally overseeing his lands, he had to rely on his lieutenants and close advisors to oversee day-to-day operations
33.
Ecclesiastic
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The word ecclesiology was defined in the 19th century as the science of the building and decoration of church buildings and at least one publication still uses the word in this sense. The Ecclesiologist was first published in October 1841 and dealt with the study of the building and its successor Ecclesiology Today is still, as of 2017, being published by The Ecclesiological Society. The situation regarding the etymology has been summed up by Alister McGrath, is it a visible or earthly corporation, or a unified and visible society — a church in the sense of a specific denomination or institution, for instance. Or is it the body of all believing Christians, regardless of their denominational differences, what is the relationship between living Christians and departed Christians —do they constitute together the Church. What is the relationship between a believer and the Church and that is, what is the role of corporate worship in the spiritual lives of believers. Can salvation be found outside of formal membership in a faith community. What is the authority of the Church, who gets to interpret the doctrines of the Church. Is the organizational structure itself, either in a corporate body, or generally within the range of formal church structures. For example, is the Bible a written part of a wider revelation entrusted to the Church as faith community, or is the Bible the revelation itself, and the Church is to be defined as a group of people who claim adherence to it. What are the sacraments, divine ordinances, and liturgies, in the context of the Church, what is the comparative emphasis and relationship between worship service, spiritual formation, and mission, and is the Churchs role to create disciples of Christ or some other function. Is the Eucharist the defining element of the rest of the sacramental system, is the Church to be understood as the vehicle for salvation, or the salvific presence in the world, or as a community of those already saved. How should the Church be governed, what was the mission and authority of the Apostles, and is this handed down through the sacraments today. What are the methods of choosing clergy such as bishops and priests. Who are the leaders of a church, must there be a policy-making board of leaders within a church and what are the qualifications for this position, and by what process do these members become official, ordained leaders. Must leaders and clergy be ordained, and is possible only by those who have been ordained by others. What are the roles of spiritual gifts in the life of the church, how does the Churchs New Covenant relate to the covenants expressed in scripture with Gods chosen people, the Jewish people. What is the destiny of the Church in Christian eschatology. This shift is most clearly marked by the encyclical Divino afflante Spiritu in 1943, avery Robert Cardinal Dulles, S. J. contributed greatly to the use of models in understanding ecclesiology
34.
Veche
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Veche was a popular assembly in medieval Slavic countries. In Novgorod, where the veche acquired the greatest prominence, the veche was broadly similar to the Norse thing or the Swiss Landsgemeinde, the semantic derivation that yields the meaning of the word under consideration is parallel to that of congregation. The contemporary words svedeniya and svidchennya both meaning information are cognates of this word, the East Slavic veche is thought to have originated in tribal assemblies of Eastern Europe, thus predating the Rus state. The earliest mentions of veche in East European chronicles refer to examples in Belgorod Kievsky in 997, Novgorod the Great in 1016, the assemblies discussed matters of war and peace, adopted laws, and called for and expelled rulers. In Kiev, the veche was summoned in front of the Cathedral of St Sophia, in Ukraine, the town viche was simply a gathering of community members to inform everybody of important events and come up with a collective planning for the near future. The veche was the highest legislature and judicial authority in the Republic of Novgorod until 1478, Аn upper Senate-like Council of Lords was also created, with title membership for all former city magistrates. Some sources indicate that veche membership may have become full-time, some of the more recent scholars call this interpretation into question. The Novgorod assembly could be summoned by anyone who rung the veche bell. The whole population of the city - boyars, merchants, separate assemblies could be held in the boroughs or Ends of Novgorod. Of all other towns of Novgorod Land, the only mention a veche in Torzhok. In the Pskov Republic the veche continued until 1510, when city was taken over by Grand Prince Vasilii III. In Pskov the veche assembled in the court of the Trinity cathedral, veches, known in Poland as wiece, were convened even before the beginning of the Polish statehood in the Kingdom of Poland. Issues were first debated by the elders and leaders, and later presented to all the men for a wider discussion. One of the types of wiec was the one convened to choose a new ruler. By the 12th or 13th centuries, the wiec institution likewise limited its participation to high ranking nobles, the nationwide gatherings of wiec officials in 1306 and 1310 can be seen as precursors of the Polish parliament. Paul, The Iaroslavichi and the Novgorodian Veche, A Case Study on Princely Relations with the Veche, Russian History
35.
Viktor Vasnetsov
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Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov was a Russian artist who specialized in mythological and historical subjects. He is considered the co-founder of Russian folklorist and romantic nationalistic painting, Viktor Vasnetsov was born in the remote village of Lopyal in Vyatka Governorate in 1848, the second of the six children. His father Mikhail Vasilievich Vasnetsov, known to be inclined, was a member of priesthood. His grandfather was an icon painter, two of Mikhail Vasnetsovs three sons, Viktor and Apollinary, became remarkable painters, the third one becoming a schoolteacher. It was in Lopyal that Viktor started to paint, mostly landscapes and scenes of village life, recalling his childhood in a letter to Vladimir Stasov, Vasnetsov remarked that he had lived with peasant children and liked them not as a narodnik but as a friend. From the age of ten, Viktor studied in a seminary in Vyatka, during his seminary years, he worked for a local icon shopkeeper. He also helped an exiled Polish artist, Michał Elwiro Andriolli, having graduated from the seminary, Viktor decided to move to Saint Petersburg to study art. He auctioned his paintings of Woman Harvester and Milk-maid in order to raise money required for the trip to the Russian capital, in August 1867 Viktor entered the Imperial Academy of Arts. Three years later, the Peredvizhniki movement of realist painters rebelled against the Academism, Vasnetsov befriended their leader Ivan Kramskoi, referring to him as his teacher. He also became close to his fellow student Ilya Yefimovich Repin. It is ironic, but Viktor, whose name is associated with historical and mythological paintings, for his graphic composition of Christ and Pontius Pilate Before the People, the Academy awarded a small silver medal to him. In the early 1870s he executed a lot of engravings depicting contemporary life, two of them won him a bronze medal at the World Fair in London. At that period he started producing genre paintings in oil. Such pieces as Peasant Singers and Moving House were warmly welcomed by democratic circles of Russian society, in 1876 Repin invited Vasnetsov to join the Peredvizhniki colony in Paris. While living in France, Viktor studied classical and contemporary paintings, at that period, he painted Acrobats, produced prints, and exhibited some of his works at the Salon. It was in Paris that he became fascinated with fairy-tale subjects, starting to work on Ivan Tsarevich Riding a Grey Wolf, Vasnetsov was a model for Sadko in Repins celebrated painting Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom. In 1877 he returned to Moscow and these works were not appreciated at the time they appeared. Many radical critics dismissed them as undermining the realist principles of the Peredvizhniki, even such prominent connoisseurs as Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov refused to buy them
36.
Agriculture
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Agriculture is the cultivation and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of human civilization. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science, the history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies. Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology, genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture, although they are banned in several countries. Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts, the major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials. Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, oils, meats, fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo, other useful materials are also produced by plants, such as resins, dyes, drugs, perfumes, biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants. The word agriculture is a late Middle English adaptation of Latin agricultūra, from ager, field, Agriculture usually refers to human activities, although it is also observed in certain species of ant, termite and ambrosia beetle. To practice agriculture means to use resources to produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops. This definition includes arable farming or agronomy, and horticulture, all terms for the growing of plants, even then, it is acknowledged that there is a large amount of knowledge transfer and overlap between silviculture and agriculture. In traditional farming, the two are often combined even on small landholdings, leading to the term agroforestry, Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least 11 separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin, wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago. Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 15,000 years ago, rice was domesticated in China between 13,500 and 8,200 years ago, followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago. From around 11,500 years ago, the eight Neolithic founder crops, emmer and einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax were cultivated in the Levant. Cattle were domesticated from the aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey. In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans, coca, llamas, alpacas, sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in New Guinea around 9,000 years ago. Sorghum was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago, cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago, and was independently domesticated in Eurasia at an unknown time
37.
Fishing
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Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild, techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping. Fishing may include catching aquatic animals other than fish, such as molluscs, cephalopods, crustaceans, the term is not normally applied to catching farmed fish, or to aquatic mammals, such as whales where the term whaling is more appropriate. According to United Nations FAO statistics, the number of commercial fishermen. Fisheries and aquaculture provide direct and indirect employment to over 500 million people in developing countries, in 2005, the worldwide per capita consumption of fish captured from wild fisheries was 14.4 kilograms, with an additional 7.4 kilograms harvested from fish farms. In addition to providing food, modern fishing is also a recreational pastime, Fishing is an ancient practice that dates back to at least the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic period about 40,000 years ago. Isotopic analysis of the remains of Tianyuan man, a 40. Archaeology features such as middens, discarded fish bones, and cave paintings show that sea foods were important for survival. During this period, most people lived a lifestyle and were, of necessity. However, where there are examples of permanent settlements such as those at Lepenski Vir. The British dogger was a type of sailing trawler from the 17th century. The Brixham trawler that evolved there was of a build and had a tall gaff rig. They were also sufficiently robust to be able to tow large trawls in deep water, the great trawling fleet that built up at Brixham, earned the village the title of Mother of Deep-Sea Fisheries. The small village of Grimsby grew to become the largest fishing port in the world by the mid 19th century, an Act of Parliament was first obtained in 1796, which authorised the construction of new quays and dredging of the Haven to make it deeper. It was only in the 1846, with the expansion in the fishing industry. The foundation stone for the Royal Dock was laid by Albert the Prince consort in 1849, the dock covered 25 acres and was formally opened by Queen Victoria in 1854 as the first modern fishing port. The elegant Brixham trawler spread across the world, influencing fishing fleets everywhere, by the end of the 19th century, there were over 3,000 fishing trawlers in commission in Britain, with almost 1,000 at Grimsby. These trawlers were sold to fishermen around Europe, including from the Netherlands, twelve trawlers went on to form the nucleus of the German fishing fleet
38.
Blacksmith
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A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut. Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, grilles, railings, light fixtures, furniture, sculpture, tools, agricultural implements, decorative and religious items, cooking utensils and weapons. The black in blacksmith refers to the black fire scale, a layer of oxides that forms on the surface of the metal during heating. The origin of smith is debated, it may come from the old English word smythe meaning to strike or it may have originated from the Proto-German smithaz meaning skilled worker. Blacksmiths work by heating pieces of iron or steel until the metal becomes soft enough for shaping with hand tools, such as a hammer, anvil. Heating generally takes place in a forge fueled by propane, natural gas, coal, charcoal, some modern blacksmiths may also employ an oxyacetylene or similar blowtorch for more localized heating. Induction heating methods are gaining popularity among modern blacksmiths, color is important for indicating the temperature and workability of the metal. As iron heats to higher temperatures, it first glows red, then orange, yellow, the ideal heat for most forging is the bright yellow-orange color that indicates forging heat. Because they must be able to see the color of the metal, some blacksmiths work in dim, low-light conditions. The key is to have consistent lighting, but not too bright, the techniques of smithing can be roughly divided into forging, welding, heat-treating, and finishing. Forging—the process smiths use to shape metal by hammering—differs from machining in that forging does not remove material, instead, the smith hammers the iron into shape. Even punching and cutting operations by smiths usually re-arrange metal around the hole, drawing lengthens the metal by reducing one or both of the other two dimensions. As the depth is reduced, or the width narrowed, the piece is lengthened or drawn out, as an example of drawing, a smith making a chisel might flatten a square bar of steel, lengthening the metal, reducing its depth but keeping its width consistent. Drawing does not have to be uniform, a taper can result as in making a wedge or a woodworking chisel blade. If tapered in two dimensions, a point results, drawing can be accomplished with a variety of tools and methods. Two typical methods using only hammer and anvil would be hammering on the anvil horn, another method for drawing is to use a tool called a fuller, or the peen of the hammer, to hasten the drawing out of a thick piece of metal. Fullering consists of hammering a series of indentations with corresponding ridges, the resulting effect looks somewhat like waves along the top of the piece. Then the smith turns the hammer over to use the face to hammer the tops of the ridges down level with the bottoms of the indentations
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Trade
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Trade, or commerce, involves the transfer of goods or services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. A network that allows trade is called a market, the original form of trade, barter, saw the direct exchange of goods and services for other goods and services. Barter is trading things without the use of money, later one side of the barter started to involve precious metals, which gained symbolic as well as practical importance. Modern traders generally negotiate through a medium of exchange, such as money, as a result, buying can be separated from selling, or earning. The invention of money greatly simplified and promoted trade, Trade between two traders is called bilateral trade, while trade between more than two traders is called multilateral trade. Trade exists due to the specialization and division of labor, in which most people concentrate on an aspect of production. As such, trade at prices between locations can benefit both locations. Trade originated with human communication in prehistoric times, trading was the main facility of prehistoric people, who bartered goods and services from each other before the innovation of modern-day currency. Peter Watson dates the history of commerce from circa 150,000 years ago. In the Mediterranean region the earliest contact between cultures were of members of the species Homo sapiens principally using the Danube river, at a time beginning 35–30,000 BCE, Trade is believed to have taken place throughout much of recorded human history. There is evidence of the exchange of obsidian and flint during the stone age, Trade in obsidian is believed to have taken place in Guinea from 17,000 BCE. The earliest use of obsidian in the Near East dates to the Lower, Trade in the stone age was investigated by Robert Carr Bosanquet in excavations of 1901. Trade is believed to have first begun in south west Asia, obsidian was traded at distances of 900 kilometres within the Mediterranean region. Trade in the Mediterranean during the Neolithic of Europe was greatest in this material, networks were in existence at around 12,000 BCE Anatolia was the source primarily for trade with the Levant, Iran and Egypt according to Zarins study of 1990. Melos and Lipari sources produced among the most widespread trading in the Mediterranean region as known to archaeology, the Sari-i-Sang mine in the mountains of Afghanistan was the largest source for trade of Lapis Lazuli. The material was most largely traded during the Kassite period of Babylonia beginning 1595 BCE, ebla was a prominent trading centre during the third millennia, with a network reaching into Anatolia and north Mesopotamia. Materials used for creating jewelry were traded with Egypt since 3000 BCE, long-range trade routes first appeared in the 3rd millennium BCE, when Sumerians in Mesopotamia traded with the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley. The Phoenicians were noted sea traders, traveling across the Mediterranean Sea, for this purpose they established trade colonies the Greeks called emporia
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Baltic region
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The terms Baltic region, Baltic Rim countries, and Baltic Rim refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea. The first to name it the Baltic Sea was eleventh century German chronicler Adam of Bremen. Depending on the context the Baltic region might stand for, The countries that have shorelines along the Baltic Sea, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden. The group of countries presently referred to by the shorthand Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, exclaved from the remainder of Russia. Historic East Prussia and the lands of Livonia, Courland. The former Baltic governorates of Imperial Russia, Todays Estonia and Latvia, the countries on the historical British trade route through the Baltic Sea, i. e. including the Scandinavian Peninsula. The Council of the Baltic Sea States, comprised by the countries with shorelines along the Baltic Sea, in addition to Norway, Iceland and the rest of European Union. The islands of the Euroregion B7 Baltic Islands Network, which includes the islands and archipelagos Åland, Bornholm, Gotland, Hiiumaa, Öland, Rügen, and Saaremaa
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Western Europe
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Western Europe, or West Europe, is the region comprising the western part of Europe. Below, some different geographic and geopolitical definitions of the term are outlined, prior to the Roman conquest, a large part of Western Europe had adopted the newly developed La Tène culture. This cultural and linguistic division was reinforced by the later political east-west division of the Roman Empire. The division between these two was enhanced during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages by a number of events, the Western Roman Empire collapsed, starting the Early Middle Ages. By contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire, mostly known as the Greek or Byzantine Empire, survived, in East Asia, Western Europe was historically known as taixi in China and taisei in Japan, which literally translates as the Far West. The term Far West became synonymous with Western Europe in China during the Ming dynasty, the Italian Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci was one of the first writers in China to use the Far West as an Asian counterpart to the European concept of the Far East. In his writings, Ricci referred to himself as Matteo of the Far West, the term was still in use in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Post-war Europe would be divided into two spheres, the West, influenced by the United States, and the Eastern Bloc. With the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain, behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Although some countries were neutral, they were classified according to the nature of their political. This division largely defined the popular perception and understanding of Western Europe, the world changed dramatically with the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The Federal Republic of Germany peacefully absorbed the German Democratic Republic, COMECON and the Warsaw Pact were dissolved, and in 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Several countries which had part of the Soviet Union regained full independence. Although the term Western Europe was more prominent during the Cold War, it remains much in use, in 1948 the Treaty of Brussels was signed between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It was further revisited in 1954 at the Paris Conference, when the Western European Union was established and it was declared defunct in 2011, after the Treaty of Lisbon, and the Treaty of Brussels was terminated. When the Western European Union was dissolved, it had 10 member countries, six member countries, five observer countries. The CIA divides Western Europe into two smaller subregions, regional voting blocs were formed in 1961 to encourage voting to various UN bodies from different regional groups. The European Union is an economic and political union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe, some Western and Northern European countries of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are members of EFTA, though cooperating to varying degree with the European Union
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Handicraft
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One of the worlds oldest handicraft is Dhokra, this is a sort of metal casting has been used in India for over 4,000 years and is still used. Collective terms for handicrafts include artisanry, handicrafting, crafting, many handicrafters use natural, even entirely indigenous, materials while others may prefer modern, non-traditional materials, and even upcycle industrial materials. The individual artisanship of an item is the paramount criterion. Most crafts require the development of skill and the application of patience, like folk art, handicraft output often has cultural and/or religious significance, and increasingly may have a political message as well, as in craftivism. The Arts and Crafts movement originated as a late 19th-century design reform and social movement principally in Europe, North America and Australia and this was held up in contrast to what was perceived to be the alienating effects of industrial labor. These activities were called crafts because originally many of them were professions under the guild system, adolescents were apprenticed to a master craftsman, and refined their skills over a period of years in exchange for low wages. Simple arts and crafts projects are an elementary and middle school activity in both mainstream and alternative education systems around the world. e. The use of traditional handicrafting techniques by professional fine artists, many community centers and schools run evening or day classes and workshops, for adults and children, offering to teach basic craft skills in a short period of time. If sold, they are sold in Direct sales, Gift shops, Public markets, in developing countries, handicrafts are sold to locals and as Souvenirs to tourists. Sellers tend to speak at least a few words of common tourist languages
Estonia
Russia
