March 27 in Russian history

1776: Prince Urusov and an English theatre manager founded the Petrovsky theatre in Moscow. About fifty years later the thatre became known as Bolshoi. Actually, there's probably no reason to write a lot about the theatre, since I wrote about Bolshoi a couple of months ago. In 1951, an American magazine Collier's published an article where the authors proposed a lewd musical to be staged in Bolshoi after the US victory over the USSR in the upcoming World War.

1793: After the event known as the Second Partition of Poland, Russia obtained Belorussia and the right-bank Ukraine. On March 27, 1793, Catherine II issued the manifesto proclaiming the inclusion of the right-bank Ukraine into Russia.

1878: Russian peasant Fyodor Blinov patented "the special carriage with endless rails for transportation of cargo along highways and roads". These endless rails are now known as caterpillar tracks. Fyodor's parents were serfs. He started his "career" as a burlak (barge hauler). Later he became a stoker and a motorman on the river ships. In 1877 he built the first vehicle with caterpillar tracks. This carriage had no engine and was moved by horses. In 1878 he files a patent application and in 1879 the patent is granted. In 1883 he founded an enterprise which produced fire pumps. In 1881, during the tests, two horses were able to move his carriage loaded with 550 poods (8,800 kilograms). In 1881-1888 he was busy with a working track tractor. When finished, the tractor had a steam engine with the power of 12 horse powers and had the speed of 3.2 kmph. In 1889 the tractor was demonstrated on the agricultural exhibition in Saratov.

1952: Student of the Urals Polytechnical Institute Boris Yeltsin was sent down from the institute for multiple absences from lessons. About forty years later I retraced his steps (in another university, though).

1