February 14 in Russian history

1610: After the death of Feodor, the ruling dynasty ended in 1606 and the Time of Troubles began. Legal tsar, Vasili Shuysky, almost lost his power when two people, both known as false Dmitri, attempted to pretend they were lawful rulers, but unsuccessfully. A group of boyars attempted to restore order in the country and on February 14, 1610 (February 4 old style), elected Wladislaus, son of the Polish king Sigismund III, as the new tsar. Strictly speaking, they had no right to elect anyone, but some months later Moscow swore allegiance to Wladislaus. His father, though, decided that he could do it better and proclaimed himself the Russian ruler. It was more than the Muscovites could bear and a strong patriotic movement started, led by Kuzma Minin.

1956: Nikita Khrushchev made the classified speech the "cult of personality" of Stalin. Strangely enough, he forgot to mention the Red Terror of Lenin and his own participation in Stalin's terror. And yet, after the total worshipping of Stalin, even these bits of truth had the effect of a bomb.