New Russian leader Lenin calls for immediate armistice

New Russian leader Lenin calls for immediate armistice

On November 8, 1917, one day after an armed uprising led by his radical socialist Bolsheviks toppled the provisional Russian government, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin rises before the newly formed All-Russian Congress of Soviets to call for an immediate armistice with the Central Powers in World War I.

Lenin, in exile in Western Europe when the war broke out in 1914, managed to secure passage through Germany back to Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg) in April 1917, after the first wave of Russia’s revolution in March overthrew the regime of Czar Nicholas II. In the months that followed, the Bolsheviks increased their influence, aided in their cause by Russia’s dismal economic situation and widespread frustration with the continuing war effort. In late June, the spectacular failure of an offensive ordered by the provisional government’s minister of war, Alexander Kerensky, sent the army into a tailspin, with millions of soldiers deserting the front and streaming home to join the socialist cause.

Over the next several months, Russia’s revolutionary fervor only increased, as Kerensky - by now serving as prime minister - struggled to maintain order in the face of growing opposition. Meanwhile, Lenin was hiding in Finland after an abortive workers’ uprising in July. He returned to Russia in late September, in time to push the Bolshevik Central Committee to organize an armed insurrection and seize power. The committee approved the plan in late October.

 

Ruling the Empire

Nearly forty years were to pass before a comparably ambitious and ruthless ruler appeared on the Russian throne. Catherine II, the Great, was a German princess who married the German heir to the Russian crown. Finding him incompetent, Catherine tacitly consented to his murder. It was announced that he had died of "apoplexy", and in 1762 she became ruler. Catherine contributed to the resurgence of the Russian nobility that began after the death of Peter the Great. Mandatory state service had been abolished, and Catherine delighted the nobles further by turning over most government functions in the provinces to them.

Catherine the Great extended Russian political control over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with actions including the support of the Targowica Confederation, although the cost of her campaigns, on top of the oppressive social system that required lords' serfs to spend almost all of their time laboring on the lords' land, provoked a major peasant uprising in 1773, after Catherine legalized the selling of serfs separate from land. Inspired by another Cossack named Pugachev, with the emphatic cry of "Hang all the landlords!" the rebels threatened to take Moscow before they were ruthlessly suppressed. Catherine had Pugachev drawn and quartered in Red Square, but the specter of revolution continued to haunt her and her successors.

Catherine successfully waged war against the decaying Ottoman Empire and advanced Russia's southern boundary to the Black Sea. Then, by allying with the rulers of Austria and Prussia, she incorporated the territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. By the time of her death in 1796, Catherine's expansionist policy had made Russia into a major European power.

 

 

Ivan the Terrible

Ivan IV Vasilyevich, called the Terrible, became ruler in 1533 at the age of 3, and during his long minority the state was continually torn by a struggle for dominance among the noble, or boyar, class. In 1547 Ivan assumed the throne and became the first Muscovite grand duke to be formally crowned as czar; in the same year he married Anastasia Romanovna, a member of the Romanov family. Ivan opposed the old nobility because of the strife that had disrupted his childhood, and in 1549 he called the first Zemsky Sobor, an irregular national assembly, representing all classes of Russian society except the peasants. His aim was to consolidate his autocratic position by weakening the power of the boyars and the church. In December 1564, Ivan left Moscow and announced that he had abdicated; the following January he agreed to resume the throne after receiving absolute powers. Returning to Moscow, he seized half of Muscovy as his personal property. This territory, called the oprichnina, was a separate administrative unit ruled directly by the czar. Ivan distributed it among his supporters as rewards for military and personal service, thereby establishing a new service corps called oprichniki. In return for the land, the oprichniki acted as Ivan’s personal police force. When the boyars, resentful of their diminishing power, plotted against him, Ivan resorted to torture, exile, and execution to repress them.

Although Ivan’s name is perpetuated as The Terrible for the savage cruelty and excesses of his later reign, he founded a strong Russian state and set the pattern for supreme czarist rule.

The Process of Ethnogeny

People exist at certain geographical location at some historical period; as time passed by areas of human distribution and borders of states changed. Both ethnic groups and states are not eternal: they are born and perish, develop and transform in new social communities. So Russian, Ukrainian and Byelorussian people were formed on the basis of eastern Slavonic super ethnic group. Formation of people (process of ethnogeny) and formation of states have economic base closely connected with inhabitancy of people and their way of life which in its turn influenced cultural and community features of ethnic groups. Natural cradle of eastern Slavic people of the Russian state was Eastern European plain. Its open spaces, landscapes, soil and climatic conditions, river basins determined not only the formation of dominant economic and cultural complexes, population settlements but also the formation of ethnic and state frontiers according to results of armed political conflicts and colonization processes. To the middle of the first millennium AD there were steady economic and cultural complexes located in woods, forest-steppes and steppe zones of Eurasia; the process of ethnogeny developed actively. To VI - VII centuries the final stage of eastern slavs allocation from common pro-Slavonic unity began. The transformation of eastern Slavic cultural and ethnic community into local independent civilization was connected with the adoption of Christianity by prince Vladimir in 988.

 

The Battle of Poltava

The year 2009 marked the 300th anniversary of a battle fought in hilly terrainnear the Ukrainian town of Poltava. In the history of warfare it does not rank as one of the outstanding examples of bravery, great generalship or brilliant tactics. The victors owed their success as much to fortune as to heroism. Daniel Defoe, on receiving the news in England, was scornful. He described the outcome as ‘an army of veterans beaten by a mob, a crowd, a mere militia; an army of the bravest fellows in the world, beaten by scoundrels’. Many of his contemporaries shared his surprise and dismay and assumed that this apparent triumph of an uncivilized eastern nation over the best fighting machine in Europe was but a flash in the pan. How wrong they were. The Battle of Poltava was one of the major turning points of modern history and we are still living with its consequences. Peter the Great’s victory over Charles XII on June 27th, 1709 signaled the end of Sweden’s long period of domination of the Baltic and, more significantly, the emergence of Russia as a major European power. Peter I became sole ruler of Russia in 1696 at the age of 23 and lost no time in setting about a far-reaching program of reform that transformed his country by opening it up to western influences. He understood well the importance of international trade and the potential wealth to be gained from the export of flax, hemp, pitch, furs, hides and timber. He was determined to challenge Swedish supremacy.

 

Novgorodian Icon-Painting

If we compare the art of Novgorod as a whole with that of Kievan Rus', the Principality of Vladimir - Suzdal' and the Grand Duchy of Moscow, we are immediately impressed by its full - blooded nature, its strong affinity with life, its close kinship with the people. It is striking in its freshness and spontaneity. Novgorodian painting is keynoted by the spelling force of its images, achieved through an original colour scheme, vivid and glowing. The artists of Novgorod did not favour complicated, intricate subjects. The involved symbolism of both Byzantine theologians and West European scholastics was alien to them. They preferred to depict the most venerated local saints (Florus and Laurus, Elijah, Anastasia, Paraskeva Pyatnitsa and others) who were counted on to help them in their farming and their trade. Lining the saints upon a row, beneath the image of the Virgin of the Sign, which came to be regarded as the city's emblem, Novgorodians treated the icon without undue ceremony, as an old friend. They confided their innermost thoughts to it, and they fully expected it to help them in everything that they regarded as important and urgent. This approach to icon - painting tended to bring it closer to life.

It would be wrong, however, to underestimate the visionary element in Novgorodian icon - painting. Like all medieval art it contains muchthat is abstract, conventional, much that transplants all images onto a different plane where the action takes place in a setting that is outside timeand space. This original combination of seemingly irreconcilable elements is the source of the Novgorodian icon's unfading charm.

Social Unrest

The reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901) marked the climax of Britain's imperial ambitions. The era was unique for its solidity of purpose and outlook, and its tremendous energies and achievements.' The earlier part of the twentieth century saw a strong reaction against the Victorian ethos, which led to critical underestimation of the literary and artistic output of the period, but the balance has now been redressed, and we are able to appreciate Victorian art and literature for what it was, in the context of its age.

Consideration of two laws, passed immediately prior to Victoria’s accession, is essential in order to gain Understanding of the period: the First Reform Bill of 1832 and the new Poor Law of 1834. The population explosion, which took the population of Britain from 10.5 million in 1801 to about 37 million in 1901, was an extremely important factor in shaping social and political life during the nineteenth century. High inflation (caused in part by the Corn Law of 1815, which artificially raised the price of grain in order to protect British farmers) and unemployment after the Napoleonic Wars led to great social unrest. Fearing riots and a French-style revolution, Parliament passed the First Reform Bill in 1832. This bill extended the voting franchise to members of the middle classes having a certain property qualification; and, for the first time, large cities like Manchester and Birmingham were represented in Parliament.

 

The People’s Charter

A new step on the road to universal suffrage was the People’s Charter of 1838, the result of a combined effort by unions, workers and radicals. This demanded rights which we nowadays take for granted: no property restrictions on MP’s, the secret ballot, payment for MP’s and voting rights for all adult citizens. The House of Commons rejected the Charter and civil unrest continued, followed by stringent measures taken by the Government to repress it. The Poor Law had set up the feared and hated ‘workhouses’ where poor were confined in conditions which were little improvement on the wretched misery they had suffered outside. They were fed a subsistence diet, made to work extremely long hours and separated from their families. Dickens’ novels depicted the hypocrisy and contradictions inherent in the system and were important in the creation of pressure for social reform.

The horrors of the workhouse led many people to drift toward the towns in the hope of finding a better life. Alas, depressing and dangerous conditions awaited them in the newly formed factories and the un healthy slums built for them hurriedly and at minimum cost. Epidemics were common and deadly: 31,000 died of cholera in 19832. it was not until the 1850s that town councils began to pay attention to these problems, appointing a Health Officer, and building parks and public baths for the population.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving is America's preeminent day. It is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday in the month of November. It has a very interesting history. Its origin can be traced back to the 16th century when the first thanksgiving dinner is said to have taken place. The legendary pilgrims crossed the Atlantic in the year 1620 in Mayflower-A, the 17th Century sailing vessel. About 102 people traveled for nearly two months with extreme difficulty. This was so because they were kept in the cargo space of the sailing vessel. No one was allowed to go on the deck due to terrible storms. The pilgrims comforted themselves by singing Psalms - a sacred song. The pilgrims reached Plymouth rock on December 11th 1620, after a sea journey of 66 days. Though the original destination was somewhere in the northern part of Virginia, they could not reach the place owing to winds blowing them off course. Nearly 46 pilgrims died due to extreme cold in winter. However, in the spring of 1621, Squanto, a native Indian taught the pilgrims to survive by growing food. In the summer of 1621, owing to severe drought, pilgrims called for a day of fasting and prayer to please God and ask for a bountiful harvest in the coming season. God answered their prayers and it rained at the end of the day. It saved the corn crops.

It is said that Pilgrims learnt to grow corn, beans and pumpkins from the Indians, which helped all of them survive. In the autumn of 1621, they held a grand celebration where 90 people were invited including Indians. The grand feast was organized to thank god for his favors. This communal dinner is popularly known as “The first thanksgiving feast”.

 

Origin of the Olympics

The Ancient Olympic Games is a series of competitions held between representatives of several city-states from Ancient Greece, which featured mainly athletic but also combat and chariot racing events. The origin of these Olympics is shrouded in mystery and legend. One of the most popular myths identifies Heracles and his father Zeus as the progenitors of the Games. According to legend, it was Heracles who first called the Games "Olympic" and established the custom of holding them every four years. A legend persists that after Heracles completed his twelve labors, he built the Olympic stadium as an honor to Zeus. Following its completion, he walked in a straight line for 200 steps and called this distance a "stadion", which later became a unit of distance. Another myth associates the first Games with the ancient Greek concept of Olympic truce. The most widely accepted date for the inception of the Ancient Olympics is 776 BC; this is based on inscriptions, found at Olympia, of the winners of a footrace held every four years starting in 776 BC. The Ancient Games featured running events, a pentathlon (consisting of a jumping event, discus and javelin throws, a foot race and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, and equestrian events. The winners of the events were admired and immortalized in poems and statues. The Games were held every four years, and this period, known as an Olympiad, was used by Greeks as one of their units of time measurement.

 

Operation Barbarossa

At the turn of the 21st century more books had been written about Hitler since his death than about Napoleon during the half-century after the latter’s demise. Time and distance from the events of World War II have also affected the historical interpretation of Hitler. There is a general consensus about his historical importance (a term that does not imply a positive judgment). Hitler was principally, and alone, responsible for starting World War II. (This was different from the various responsibilities of rulers and of statesmen who had unleashed World War I).

A major historical dispute concerns Hitler's reasons for Operation Barbarossa. Some historians such as Andreas Hillgruber have argued that Barbarossa was merely one "stage" of Hitler's Stufenplan (stage by stage plan) for world conquest, which Hillgruber believed that Hitler had formulated in the 1920s. Other historians such as John Lukacs have contended that Hitler never had a stufenplan, and that the invasion of the Soviet Union was an ad hoc move on the part of Hitler due to Britain's refusal to surrender. Lukacs has argued that the reason Hitler gave in private for Barbarossa, namely that Winston Churchill held out the hope that the Soviet Union might enter the war on the Allied side, and that the only way of forcing a British surrender was to eliminate that hope, was indeed Hitler's real reason for Barbarossa. In Lukacs's perspective, Barbarossa was thus primarily an anti-British move on the part of Hitler intended to force Britain to sue for peace by destroying her only hope of victory rather than an anti-Soviet move.

 

The many faces of Churchill

Churchill entered parliament as member for Oldham in 1900 as a Conservative. He changed parties in 1904 after increasing disagreement with the mainstream Conservative policy of protectionist tariffs preferentially favouring trade with the British Empire, joining the Liberals and winning the seat of Manchester North West. His political ascent was rapid, becoming successively Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary and First Lord of the Admiralty before he was 40 years old.

Winston Churchill was also an accomplished artist and took great pleasure in painting, especially after his resignation as First Lord of the Admiralty in 1915. He found a haven in art to overcome the spells of depression, or as he termed it, the "Black Dog", which he suffered throughout his life. As William Rees-Mogg has stated, "In his own life, he had to suffer the 'black dog' of depression. In his landscapes and still lives there is no sign of depression". He is best known for his impressionist scenes of landscape, many of which were painted while on holiday in the South of France, Egypt or Morocco.

Churchill was also a prolific writer of books, writing a novel, two biographies, three volumes of memoirs, and several histories in addition to his many newspaper articles. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values".

 

Бальная культура

Слово «бал» пришло в русский язык из немецкого; в переводе означает мяч. В старину в Германии существовал такой обычай: на Пасху сельские девушки с песнями обходили дома своих подруг, которые за минувший год вышли замуж. Каждой из них дарили по мячику, набитому шерстью или пухом. В ответ молодая женщина обязывалась устроить для всей молодежи деревни угощение и танцы, наняв за свой счет музыкантов. Сколько было в селе молодоженов, столько давалось и мячей, или балов, то есть вечеринок с танцами. В России до конца XVII в. ничего похожего на балы не существовало. В 1718 г. указом Петра I были учреждены ассамблеи, ставшие первыми русскими балами.

Начиная с петровской эпохи во всех государственных высших и средних учебных заведениях, высших школах, иностранных пансионах танец стал обязательным предметом. Его изучали в царском лицее и в скромных ремесленных и коммерческих училищах. В России не только прекрасно знали все новейшие и старинные бальные танцы, но умели исполнять их в благородной манере. Иностранные специалисты - владельцы частных танцевальных классов - невольно перенимали русскую манеру обучения. Петербург и Москва постепенно стали самыми значительными хореографическими центрами Европы.

 

Дочь графа Спенсера

Дочь графа Спенсера, представителя ветви того же семейства Спенсер-Черчиллей, что и герцог Мальборо и Уинстон Черчилль. Несмотря на формально «некоролевское» происхождение, в Диане текла королевская кровь. Ее предки по отцовской линии были носителями королевской крови через незаконнорожденных сыновей короля Чарльза II и незаконнорожденную дочь короля Джеймса I. Графы Спенсеры издавна проживали в самом центре Лондона, в Спенсер-хаузе. Познакомилась Диана с принцем во время благотворительного мероприятия, вышла замуж за него в 1981. К свадьбе было приковано большое внимание публики и СМИ. В 1982 и 1984 родились сыновья Дианы и Чарльза, принцы Уильям и Гарри (Генри). К середине 1980-х годов отношения между супругами испортились, в частности, из-за продолжавшихся после брака отношений Чарльза с Камиллой Паркер Боулз (впоследствии, после гибели Дианы, ставшей его второй женой). Сама Диана некоторое время была в близких отношениях со своим инструктором по верховой езде Джеймсом Хьюиттом, в чём призналась в 1995 году в телеинтервью (годом ранее Чарльз сделал аналогичное признание о связи с Камиллой). Брак распался в 1992 году, после чего супруги жили раздельно, и завершился разводом в 1996 году по инициативе королевы Елизаветы II.

 

Князья Киевской Руси

Византия не оставляла без внимания Киевскую Русь. Ее привлекали богатства русских земель, а также воз­можность приобретения новых рабов: на невольничьих рынках империи рабы-славяне ценились очень высо­ко. Отношения двух государств были достаточно слож­ными. Русь неоднократно предпринимала военные дей­ствия против Византии, а поход на нее князя Олега в 911 году закончился подписанием договора, по кото­рому русские купцы получили право торговать в столи­це государства Царьграде беспошлинно. Внук Рюрика князь Святослав Игоревич продолжил по­литику усиления Руси. Его войска нанесли поражение Волжской Булгарии, разгромили Хазарский каганат, от­разили натиски печенегов. Однако в 972 году князь по­пал в засаду у днепровских порогов, устроенную кочев­никами по заказу византийцев, и был убит. Печенежский хан приказал сделать из черепа Святослава чашу, окован­ную золотом. Из этой чаши он пил на пирах, надеясь, что к нему перейдет сила героического славянского князя. Нов­городцы в 970 году взяли сына Святослава князя Владимира на княжеский престол. В 976 году, узнав, что его брат Ярополк убил другого бра­та, Олега, Владимир решил действовать. Князь отправился к варягам, набрал там дружину и пошел с ней к граду Киеву. По дороге Владимир разбил полоцкого князя Рогвольда. Затем он подослал к Ярополку убийц, и те свою задачу успешно выполнили. Таким образом, 33-летний Владимир сел на киевский престол.

 

Административная реформа

Накануне 4 ноября 1819 года рязанские чиновники трепетали. В этот день в городе ждали важное должностное лицо – нового генерал-губернатора. Сам государь Александр I назначил Александра Дмитриевича Балашова для проведения в Рязани административной реформы. В первом же письме императору он сообщает о Рязанской губернии следующее: «В селениях власть помещика не ограничена. Недоимок миллионы. Полиция ничтожна. Судьи вне уважения. Хозяйственной части нет и признаку. Главные доходы основаны на винной продаже».

С разрешения государя генерал-губернатор начал преобразования в местной власти. Балашов руководствовался проектом конституции Александра I. В соответствии с этим проектом он создал губернский совет – первый в истории Рязани представительный орган. Все экономические и социальные вопросы стал решать не один человек – губернатор, а совет, на заседаниях которого строго велись протоколы. В 1825 году появились уездные и волостные советы. Чиновников впервые в истории обязали представлять губернатору письменные отчеты. Благодаря Балашову в Рязани появились дом трудолюбия, школа канцелярских служителей и дворянское воспитательное заведение (прообраз современных интернатов).

Новая культурная парадигма

Отличительная черта эпохи Возрождения — светский характер культуры и её антропоцентризм (то есть интерес, в первую очередь, к человеку и его деятельности). Появляется интерес к античной культуре, происходит как бы её «возрождение» — так и появился термин.

Новая культурная парадигма возникла вследствие кардинальных изменений общественных отношений в Европе. Рост городов-республик привёл к росту влияния сословий, не участвовавших в феодальных отношениях: мастеровых и ремесленников, торговцев, банкиров. Всем им была чужда иерархическая система ценностей, созданная средневековой, во многом церковной культурой и её аскетичный, смиренный дух. Это привело к появлению гуманизма — общественно-философского движения, рассматривавшего человека, его личность, его свободу, его активную, созидающую деятельность как высшую ценность и критерий оценки общественных институтов.

В городах стали возникать светские центры науки и искусства, деятельность которых находилась вне контроля церкви. Новое мировоззрение обратилось к античности, видя в ней пример гуманистических, неаскетичных отношений. Изобретение в середине XV века книгопечатания сыграло огромную роль в распространении античного наследия и новых взглядов по всей Европе.

 

Факты, гипотезы, мнения

Чем ближе 2012 год, тем страсти все более накаляются. Об очередном апокалипсисе сегодня говорят все. Поисковая система Google на запрос «2012» выдает более 170 млн. страниц. Эти страхи родились несколько лет назад, когда мир узнал, что календарь древнего племени майя заканчивается 21 декабря 2012 годом. Почему? Какую великую тайну они знали? Близость конца была так пугающе притягательна, что массовое сознание даже противилось выслушивать простые и разумные объяснения ученых относительно конца майянского летосчисления. Не надо забывать, что любой календарь устроен просто: он учитывает движение планет вокруг Солнца. И чем точнее наблюдения за космическими телами, тем точнее летосчисление. У нас сейчас самый точный календарь. А древние индейские племена многого не знали.

Но сейчас, в середине 2010 года, когда час Х становится все ближе, древнюю страшилку делают еще страшнее. В газетах, на телевидении, а особенно в Интернете настойчиво стала повторяться то в шутку, то всерьез повергающая в трепет фраза: «К нам летит Нибиру!» Подразумевая под этим названием некое космическое тело, летящее из глубин космоса по направлению к Земле.

 

История рыцарства

В наши дни под словом "рыцарь", мы подразумеваем честного и благородного человека, готового всегда прийти на помощь слабым и обиженным. Что же представляло собой рыцарство, как историческое явление? Это был особый привилегированный слой средневекового общества, основным занятием которого было военное дело. Сходные социальные группы существовали и в восточных странах (самураи в Японии), но обычно это понятие связывают с историей Западной и Центральной Европы VIII-XV веков.

Появление рыцарства связано с возникновением системы феодального землевладения. При передаче земли во временное (а позже постоянное) владение ее жалователь становился сеньором, а получатель - вассалом последнего. В обязанности вассалов входила защита владений сеньора, выкуп его из плена, участие в его совете и суде и т. д. Вышестоящий феодал не мог подчинить себе рыцаря находящегося на службе у его собственного вассала. В результате складывалась многоступенчатая феодальная лестница от короля до безвассальных рыцарей. В дни различных праздников и торжеств было принято устраивать турниры, на которых рыцари состязались в воинском искусстве. Победителем объявлялся тот, кто первым выбивал противника из седла. Наградой ему обычно служило оружие, доспехи или лошадь.

 

Сценарии будущего мира

В эпоху древности в процессах интеграции цивилизаций важную роль играли торговля, миграции, войны, распространение мировых религий и образование мировых империй, которые насильственно объединяли в одно политическое целое огромные территории, крайне неоднородные с точки зрения экономического развития, этнического состава и культурных традиций. В рамках империй активно шло этническое смешение, усиливались культурные контакты и экономические связи, т.к. государство обычно поощряло внутреннюю и международную торговлю и располагало средствами для строительства дорог, кораблей и портов, обеспечения безопасности купцов.

Особое место среди мировых империй занимают государства, объединявшие Восток и Запад: империя Александра Македонского и эллинистические царства, появившиеся после её распада, и Римская империя. В эпоху эллинизма интеграция привела к образованию особого типа государств — эллинистических монархий, в которых элементы восточной деспотии сочетались с традициями республиканского полисного строя (самоуправление некоторых городов, народные собрания). В эллинистических царствах распространялся греческий язык и культура, в Римской империи активно шла романизация провинций. Восток, в свою очередь, оказывал воздействие на греческую и римскую культуру — особенно в религиозной жизни.

 

Рождение календаря

Любой из нас с легкостью может назвать, какой сегодня день недели, число, месяц, год. В разговоре мы часто используем обороты, которые так или иначе затрагивают тему времени: «через неделю», «год назад», «до новой эры» и т.д.? Но что же стоит за этими привычными словами? Почему мы начинаем Новый год 1 января? Почему в неделе семь дней, а в месяце 30 или 31 день? Как выглядел самый первый календарь и кто его придумал? На эти и многие другие, схожие с ними вопросы, отвечает вспомогательная историческая дисциплина хронология, или наука о времени и его измерении.

На протяжении многих веков до н.э. люди наблюдали за сезонными изменениями природы, старясь установить какие-либо закономерности, которые затем становились основой будущего календаря (от лат. calendarium — долговая книга), т.е. системы счета промежутков времени, основанной на видимых движениях небесных тел. Главными же объектами наблюдений человека стали Луна и Солнце, что и положило начало трем основным видам календаря — лунному, солнечному и смешанному. В лунных календарях согласование годов с движением Земли вокруг Солнца не производится. В солнечном же календаре месяцы никак не согласованы с движениями Луны. А смешанный календарь соединил в себе наблюдения и за Солнцем, и за Луной.

New Russian leader Lenin calls for immediate armistice

On November 8, 1917, one day after an armed uprising led by his radical socialist Bolsheviks toppled the provisional Russian government, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin rises before the newly formed All-Russian Congress of Soviets to call for an immediate armistice with the Central Powers in World War I.

Lenin, in exile in Western Europe when the war broke out in 1914, managed to secure passage through Germany back to Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg) in April 1917, after the first wave of Russia’s revolution in March overthrew the regime of Czar Nicholas II. In the months that followed, the Bolsheviks increased their influence, aided in their cause by Russia’s dismal economic situation and widespread frustration with the continuing war effort. In late June, the spectacular failure of an offensive ordered by the provisional government’s minister of war, Alexander Kerensky, sent the army into a tailspin, with millions of soldiers deserting the front and streaming home to join the socialist cause.

Over the next several months, Russia’s revolutionary fervor only increased, as Kerensky - by now serving as prime minister - struggled to maintain order in the face of growing opposition. Meanwhile, Lenin was hiding in Finland after an abortive workers’ uprising in July. He returned to Russia in late September, in time to push the Bolshevik Central Committee to organize an armed insurrection and seize power. The committee approved the plan in late October.

 

Ruling the Empire

Nearly forty years were to pass before a comparably ambitious and ruthless ruler appeared on the Russian throne. Catherine II, the Great, was a German princess who married the German heir to the Russian crown. Finding him incompetent, Catherine tacitly consented to his murder. It was announced that he had died of "apoplexy", and in 1762 she became ruler. Catherine contributed to the resurgence of the Russian nobility that began after the death of Peter the Great. Mandatory state service had been abolished, and Catherine delighted the nobles further by turning over most government functions in the provinces to them.

Catherine the Great extended Russian political control over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with actions including the support of the Targowica Confederation, although the cost of her campaigns, on top of the oppressive social system that required lords' serfs to spend almost all of their time laboring on the lords' land, provoked a major peasant uprising in 1773, after Catherine legalized the selling of serfs separate from land. Inspired by another Cossack named Pugachev, with the emphatic cry of "Hang all the landlords!" the rebels threatened to take Moscow before they were ruthlessly suppressed. Catherine had Pugachev drawn and quartered in Red Square, but the specter of revolution continued to haunt her and her successors.

Catherine successfully waged war against the decaying Ottoman Empire and advanced Russia's southern boundary to the Black Sea. Then, by allying with the rulers of Austria and Prussia, she incorporated the territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. By the time of her death in 1796, Catherine's expansionist policy had made Russia into a major European power.

 

 

Ivan the Terrible

Ivan IV Vasilyevich, called the Terrible, became ruler in 1533 at the age of 3, and during his long minority the state was continually torn by a struggle for dominance among the noble, or boyar, class. In 1547 Ivan assumed the throne and became the first Muscovite grand duke to be formally crowned as czar; in the same year he married Anastasia Romanovna, a member of the Romanov family. Ivan opposed the old nobility because of the strife that had disrupted his childhood, and in 1549 he called the first Zemsky Sobor, an irregular national assembly, representing all classes of Russian society except the peasants. His aim was to consolidate his autocratic position by weakening the power of the boyars and the church. In December 1564, Ivan left Moscow and announced that he had abdicated; the following January he agreed to resume the throne after receiving absolute powers. Returning to Moscow, he seized half of Muscovy as his personal property. This territory, called the oprichnina, was a separate administrative unit ruled directly by the czar. Ivan distributed it among his supporters as rewards for military and personal service, thereby establishing a new service corps called oprichniki. In return for the land, the oprichniki acted as Ivan’s personal police force. When the boyars, resentful of their diminishing power, plotted against him, Ivan resorted to torture, exile, and execution to repress them.

Although Ivan’s name is perpetuated as The Terrible for the savage cruelty and excesses of his later reign, he founded a strong Russian state and set the pattern for supreme czarist rule.