Similar to what happened with the Treaty of Versailles in 1918, the end of World War II reshaped the European map, with a special impact on the eastern part of the continent and the borders between Germany, Poland, Russia, and the present Baltic states. This resulted in some cities that previously belonged to one country […]
Russia
Posted inModern Era
How Liechtenstein could have bought Alaska
There was a time when Alaska was Russian territory, something that barely leaves a trace today, except for some churches and a population that predominantly professes the Russian Orthodox religion. In 1867, the Russians sold Alaska to the United States, considering it a better deal than letting it fall into British hands without receiving anything […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
World’s oldest fortresses discovered in Siberia were built 8,000 years ago
An international team of archaeologists led by researchers from the Freie University of Berlin has made a pioneering discovery in a remote region of Siberia. They uncovered prehistoric fortified settlements that reveal hunters-gatherers in Siberia were building complex defensive structures around their villages as early as 8,000 years ago. This changes our understanding of early […]
Posted inCulture
Abram Gannibal, the African slave who became a military engineer, general of the Russian army and great-grandfather of the writer Alexander Pushkin
There is an episode from the eighteenth century that in a way seems to come from a work of fiction: that of Abram Petrovich Gannibal, an African prince kidnapped by the Otmans but bought by a Russian ambassador who took him to his country, where, after a careful education, he reached high military and political […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
Battle on the Ice, the medieval battle fought on a frozen lake
If you haven’t already watched Sergei Eisenstein’s movie, Alexander Nevsky, I recommend that you look for it and watch it, regardless of whether it’s a 1938 black and white film or not. Not only because this director’s titles are still visually fascinating three quarters of a century later, but also because, after reading this article, […]
Posted inArt, Modern Era
The scientist who captured the Russian Empire in colour photographs before they were invented
Photography has improved so much, technologically speaking, that today we see images from only twenty years ago and they almost seem prehistoric to us; in fact, many people probably don’t even know what rolls were or how the processing was done. It would be even worse if we go back a little further, to black […]
