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On 16 July 1826, an enormous Persian army invaded the southern domains of the Russian Empire, but was routed in several battles. On 10 February 1828, Persia surrendered and signed the Treaty of Turkm...
Russia expanded down the eastern and western shores of the Black Sea in the first half of the nineteenth century, hoping to eventually gain possession of Constantinople and the Turkish Straits. The d...
The Caucasian War flared up after Russia moved troops into the mountains in 1817 and founded the fortress of Grozny on the River Sunzha in 1818. The brutal policies of the commander-in-chief, General...
The history of St Petersburg begins in the spring of 1703, during the Great Northern War between Russia and Sweden. “On the twenty-third day of April, Fieldmarshal Boris Sheremetev led an infantry co...
The history of the Romanov dynasty begins with Fyodor Nikitovich Romanov, the member of an old Russian family descended from Andrei Kobyla, a boyar of Ivan Kalita. Andrei Kobyla received his unusual ...
The family of Prince Rurik split into a large number of branches, beginning with the prince’s great-grandson, Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev. Vladimir’s son, Yaroslav the Wise, divided the country bet...
In 1877, Russia declared war against Turkey in support of the Balkan nations, who were fighting for their independence from the Ottoman Empire. The Russian forces crossed the River Danube and quickly...
In 1904, Russia and Japan came to blows in the Far East over their failure to agree on spheres of influence in Korea and China. Japan was much better prepared for war, and the Russian army and navy s...
The idea for a costume ball in celebration of the 290th anniversary of the House of Romanov came to Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna at the end of 1902. The entire event was held at the Winter Palace in ...
The celebrations marking the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty began on the morning of 21 February 1913 with an artillery salute of thirty-one rounds from the Peter and Paul Fortress. The Patriarch...