April 26 in Russian history

1164: The Golden Gate is built in Vladimir marking the finishing of the city wall. There were five gates in the wall, but only one of them survived. The gate is a limestone tower with a large arch, a battle ground above it and a miniature temple on the top. The arch was 15 meters high in the XII century, but now the ground level is 1.5 meters higher than it was. There is a stairway leading from the internal side of the gate to the battle ground and to the temple. There is an old inscription (XII-XIII centuries) on one of the windows, but I couldn't read what is written there :). The earth wall with wooden fence was adjacent to the tower. Now, there's a museum in the Golden Gate where you can see a diorama of the siege of Vladimir by Tatars in 1238, weapons of XIII and later centuries. Tatars couldn't get through the gate and entered the city through the broken wooden fence. The gate was rebuilt many times since then. For example, in XVIII century, when the empress Catherine visited Vladimir, her cart was too wide to squeeze into the arch (about 5 meters) and she ordered to make a road around the gate. The parts of the wall adjacent to the gate were dug out and a road was built. Unfortunately, the wall was supporting the gate and the gate began to fall apart. It was decided to enforce it with counterforts. These counterforts now hide a large part of the original structure. The temple at the top was also rebuilt. The remains of the earth wall are still seen from both sides of the gate.

1912: Vladislav Starevich finishes in Moscow the first puppet cartoon, The Beautiful Leukanida, a parody of medieval novels. Starevich was born in 1882 in Moscow and spent his childhood in Lithuania and Estonia. Since childhood he was interested in entomology and in 1910 he became the director of a museum of natural history in Kaunas. Then he began to make films about insects. The first films, The life of dragon-flies and The Stag Beetles, were made in 1910. Filming insects was not an easy task and then he finds a great idea. He saw the puppet animations made by the French father of animation, Émile Cohl, and decided to use dead insects to film a stop-motion animation. In 1911, he moved to Moscow and met one of the first Russian movie entrepreneurs, Alexander Khanzhonkov, who was so impressed by these cartoons that offered Starevich to make a stop-motion animation with a consistent storyline. The Beautiful Leukanida became the first such animation in the world. It was very successful (an reviewer of a British newspaper admitted that he does not understand how it was made. If the beetles are trained, the trainer must be a man of a magic fantasy and patience. That these are the real beetles is clearly seen.) and was quickly followed by other similar cartoons from the life of insects: The Cameraman's Revenge, Dragonfly and ant, Christmas in the woods, etc. Later, Starevich makes also traditional movies mixed with animated scenes: The Night Before Christmas (based on N.Gogol's stories) and Terrible Vengeance. After the revolution of 1917, Starevich moves to Yalta and then emigrates to Paris. Unlike other Russian refugees, he finds a new job immediately after arriving to France. He adapts his name to a more comfortable for a French ear Ladislas Starevich and continues making his animations. He makes Aesop's fable into the movie The Frogs That Demand a King and tens of other movies. His highest achievement became The Tale of the Fox (Le Roman de Renard), the first feature-length puppet animation. He started this film in France, but it was later financed by the Third Reich, interested in popularization of the German culture, and this Goethe's masterpiece suited their goals. This association with the Nazis was, probably, the reason why this film is not remembered today. Some other cartoons by Starevich may be found online. For example, Cameraman's Revenge and The Insect's Christmas are available here. A good article about Starevich is Entomology and Animation: A Portrait of An Early Master Ladislaw Starewicz.

March 6 in Russian history

1913: Russia begins to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the house of Romanovs. During the celebrations the royal family visited a number of cities especially important in the history of Russia and the royal house: Moscow, Vladimir, Suzdal, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl and Kostroma, where Mikhail Romanov learned in 1613 that he was elected the new tsar. On the anniversary day, Nikolay II received congratulations from highest statesmen in the Winter Palace. Among these statesmen there was the chairman of the State Duma Mikhail Rodzyanko, who would demand the tsar to abdicate the throne. On that day, after a speech, Rodzyanko presented an icon of Christ to Nikolay II.

1917: Manifesto on the restoration of the independence of Finland. Finland was a part of the Russian empire since 1809, when the "four Estates" of Finland pledged allegiance to the emperor Alexander I and the emperor gave the solemn assurance of sovereign rights, promising to respect the constitutional rights of the Finnish citizens. Since 1890s Russia begins to limit the Finnish autonomy justifying it by the necessity to bring Finnish laws in agreement with the imperial laws. In 1900, a law was adopted which aims to replace the Finnish language with Russian in the state establishments. In 1901, the freedom of assembly in Finland was limited. In 1903, the governor of Finland is granted the extraordinary authority. The police of Finland was autonomous from the Russian police and in 1904 Russian revolutionaries begin terrorist acts in Finland and kill the governor Bobrikov and some other people.

The situation is threatening, but in 1905 Russian government attempts to restore good relations. The authorities of the governor are withdrawn, the constitution of Finland is restored, a new law on elections is adopted by the Finnish parliament, Finnish and Swedish languages are officially proclaimed the state languages. For the first time in the world, the universal suffrage is granted to all citizens, including women.

In 1909, though, things are getting worse again and the parliament is dissolved and only in 1917, after the February revolution and the fall of the monarchy the constitution is restored. The Provisional Government did not plan to give independence to Finland, since it was agreed that this question should be left to the Constituent Assembly. Moreover, the Provisional Government in principle was against the secessions of any kind (and I would support them, to tell you the truth). However, the pro-independence movement gets stronger in Finland and in summer the parliament is dissolved again.

February 26 in Russian history

1832: Poland becomes a part of the Russian Empire. After the Third Partition of Poland, a semi-autonomous state was formed on the territory belonging to Russia, the Congress Kingdom of Poland. The Kingdom had a constitution but was ruled by the Russian emperor. With time, emperors Alexander I and, especially, Nicholas I began to violate the constitution and became autocratic rulers. This was one of the reasons which caused the uprising of 1830. After the suppression of the uprising, in February 1832, a new decree was issued, called the Organic Statute of the Kingdom of Poland which abolished the Polish army and the Sejm (legislative body). The Statute officially turned Poland into a part of the Empire.

1878: Ivan Franko is put under trial on the false accusation of being a member of a socialist organization. Franko was an interesting personality. He was born in 1856 near Lviv, in Galicia, which was a part of Austria-Hungary at that time. Lviv (Lemberg) was the capital of Galicia. The region was inhabited mostly by Ukrainians (or Ruthenians), but ruled by the Polish aristocracy. In 1875, Franko entered the Lviv university and joined a circle of the so called "moscowphiles". The popularity of pro-Russian sentiments in the Western Ukraine in XVIII-XIX centuries may be explained by weak self-identification of the Ruthenians. In spite of relatively tolerant position of the government of Austria-Hungary towards the Ukrainian language, this language was perceived as "low" and "uncultured" by the Ukrainians themselves. The attempts of self-identification were directed to affiliation with a larger cultural unity: Polish, Russian or Austria. The Russian party was one of the strongest for a number of reasons, especially in the second half of the XIX century. They published a number of magazines and newspapers. Trying to limit the influence of the moscowphiles, the Austrian authorities started a number of trials, accusing them in treason and anti-Austrian conspiracies. Ivan Franko was a member of one such group and he was sentenced to 9 months in jail and had to leave the university after the term. He spent these months in one room with thieves and vagabonds. This period defined his writing style. He wrote about workers and peasants who were forced by poverty to commit crimes. He also writes stories from Jewish life, which was rather unusual in those days, when anti-Semitism was a norm of everyday life. His stories were often called "radical" and "naturalistic", but the critics recognized the talent of the writer. Paradoxically, the moscowphiles gave the first impulse to the Ukrainian national movement, partially because Austria saw Russia as the worst of the three evils and attempted to replace the moscowphile tendencies with the ideas of the Ukrainian revival.

1917: Civil unrest in Petrograd. The State Duma is dissolved. On midday, demonstrations begin, which are dispersed with armed forces. Barricades are built on the streets and a general strike begins.

February 22 in Russian history

1918: The beginning of the famous Ice Campaign of the Volunteer Army (Dobrovolcheskaya Armiya, or simply Dobrarmiya). The army was born on December 27, 1917 by general Alexeyev to fight the Red Army. General Anton Ivanovich Denikin also assisted the formation of the Volunteer Army. The commander of the Army was general Lavr Fyodorovich Kornilov. It consisted of officers, soldiers, cadets, students, even schoolchildren who escaped to Don from the parts of Russia controlled by bolsheviks.

By the end of January 1918 there were about 3,500-4,000 soldiers. Together with the Cossacks led by Alexey Kaledin they fought against the regiments of Antonov-Ovseenko. Unfortunately, Cossacks were generally reluctant to support the counter-revolutionary movement and a month later the Volunteer Army had to retreat. On February 22, 1918, they left Rostov and went to Kuban. It was not the "heroic and glorious" campaign, as it is sometimes painted by the historians in emigration. Heroic -- yes, but definitely not that glorious. It was more of a march of the desperate people, who sometimes "confiscated" food from the local population, sometimes executed those who, as they suspected, supported communists, etc. They went under rain and snow, they died from frost and starvation, and reached Kuban in March. They attempted to capture Yekaterinodar (modern Krasnodar), but failed. The Kuban Cossacks, like Don Cossacks, did not grant their support.

General Kornilov was killed during the storm of Yekaterinodar and Denikin became the commander of the Dobrarmiya. He managed to raise the number of the fighters to 30,000-35,000 men and achieved some successes which made many to believe that the Bolshevism would be soon overthrown. In 1919 he almost took Moscow, but he failed. In autumn of 1919 they began to move back southwards and in spring of 1920 what remained of the army were evacuated from Novorossiysk to Crimea. In Crimea, they merged with the Armed Forces of South Russia, led by general Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel. I deeply respect these people, but I am not sure if I would respect them if I had met them face to face.

February 16 in Russian history

1918: The Council of Lithuania (Lietuvos Taryba) proclaims Lithuania's independence from Russia and Germany. In 1915, Lithuania, a part of the Russian Empire at that moment, was occupied by German troops. By 1917 it was clear that there will be no decisive German victory and Germany attempted to get some support on the occupied lands by giving them a limited autonomy. A group of Lithuanian politicians and clerics decided to form a working group to decide on the future of Lithuania. This group convened the so called Vilnius Conference, which, in its own turn, elected the Council of Lithuania. The Council's politics was not really consistent. For example, in July 1918, they decided to establish a constitutional monarchy and offered the throne to a German duke Wilhelm von Urach and even named him king Mindaugas II, but four months later the offer was recalled. In December 1917, the council adopted a resolution to form a "firm and permanent alliance" with Germany based on common currency, economic policy, transportation system and military integration. These relationships with Germany made the establishment of diplomatic relationships with other countries, enemies of Germany, much more difficult. So, on February 16, the Council decides to "re-declare" the independence, breaking the alliance. German occupation was still an obstacle, and when it was over, after a number of Communist demonstrations in various Lithuanian cities, the Lithuanian Communists formed workers' councils. In December 1918, the Communist Party of Lithuania formed a new government, displacing the Council of Lithuania. Anyway, the Lithuanian newly formed army managed to drive away the alliance of Lithuanian Communists and the Soviet Red Army. On June 20, 1920, a peace treaty between Lithuania and Soviet Russia was signed, when Russian recognized the Lithuanian independence. Now, February 16 is a national holiday in Lithuania. Happy Independence Day, Lithuania!

January 20-21 in Russian history

Sorry for being late, but the week-ends are usually such a busy time...

January 20

1591: Tsar Feodor I Ivanovich, son of Ivan IV the Terrible, the last Rurikid tsar, signed a 12-year truce with Poland. By that time, Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had been competing for a long time for the lands between Moscow and Lithuania, like Smolensk, Polotsk and other important towns. This truce stopped this rivalry for some time and gave a chance to Russia to withstand the attack of the Crimean Khanate. The Crimean Khan signed a treaty with the Swedish king Johan III, and the danger of the simultaneous attack from North and South was imminent. Johan III had about 20,000 people on the Northern borders of Russia, but he didn't want to start a war without the support from Poland. The Crimean Khan attacked Russia with 100,000 people, but due to the truce with Poland, Russia concentrated on this war and after a grave defeat the Crimean Khan left Russia. Johan III, assuming that Russia was weakened by this war, attacked Pskov, but Russian forces drove him away.

January 21

1924: V.Ulyanov (Lenin) died. One of the most controversial figures in Russian history. Born in 1870 in Simbirsk. His elder brother Alexander was executed in 1887 as a participant of a plot against the life of tsar Alexander III. In 1895 Ulyanov founds the Union for Liberation of the Working Class in St.Petersburg. He is immediately arrested and sent to Siberia for three years. He emigrates in 1900. In 1917, after the February revolution, he is allowed to return to Russia where he begins to prepare a new revolution. In October 1917 he leads the October revolution and becomes the chairman of Sovnarkom (the council of people's commissars). The initiator of the Red Terror, the "military communism", liquidation of the oppositional parties. A ruthless leader, but how could he organize a revolt, had it not been for the huge popular support?

January 19 in Russian history

1171: Knyaz of Kiev, Gleb, younger brother of Andrei Bogolyubsky, dies. The chronicles wrote of him: "if he gave the word, he kept it, he was humble, loved monasteries and monks and was generous with the poor." There were rumours that he was poisoned, but there were no direct evidences to that. Gleb's throne was given to Vladimir Mstislavich, known for his perfidy.

1918: Bolsheviks dissolve the Constituent Assembly. Ever since the revolution of 1905, many political parties, including socialist democrats, demanded for the Constituent Assembly. After the February revolution of 1917, the Provisional Government began the preparations for the elections. In November 1917 (25 Oct., old style), bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government. They banned non-socialist press and began political persecutions of other political parties, notably the Constitutional Democrats, but they permitted the elections, which were scheduled by the Provisional Government on November, 12 (old style). The elections gave 380 places in the Constituent Assembly (out of 703) to the non-Marxist party of Socialist Revolutionaries (aka Right SRs), widely supported by peasants, 168 places to Bolsheviks and much smaller number of places to other parties, including Left SRs, associated with the Bolsheviks. On 18 January (6 Jan, old style) a large demonstration supporting the Constituent Assembly took place in Petrograd (ex-St.Petersburg). The demonstration was dispersed by the Bolshevik troops, especially their praetorian guard, Latvian riflemen, who shot many people with machine guns. The Assembly started their work at around 16:00 on 18 January. Bolsheviks commented: "How can you appeal to such a concept as the will of the whole people? For a Marxist 'the people' is an inconceivable notion: the people does not act as a single unit. The people as a unit is a mere fiction, and this fiction is needed by the ruling classes." The Tauride Palace, where the Assembly took place, was blocked by Bolshevik forces, including the Latvian riflemen. Rebellous sailors entered the building, the Bolshevist leaders were present as guests, even though they already decided to dissolve the Assembly. "There is no need to disperse the Constituent Assembly: just let them go on chattering as long as they like and then break up, and tomorrow we won't let a single one of them come in," said Lenin. At about 4:00 am, the guards entered the hall and sailor Zheleznyakov said his famous "Workers don't need your chatter. The guard are tired and want to sleep. I propose to stop the discussions." The Assembly quickly voted for the Law on the Land, for the law proclaiming Russia a democratic federal republic and an appeal to Entente for peace and dispersed. On the next day, the building was locked and Bolsheviks declared the Assembly dissolved. Actually, it was the day when the Civil War began

1980: President of the USA J.Carter declares that the USA will boycott the Olympic games in Moscow.

January 17 in Russian history

1700: (Julian Jan. 6) Tsar Peter I the Great, who had just returned from Western Europe, decreed that all Russians, except for clerics, had to shave their beards off and to wear short dress instead of the old long one. The new clothes were copied from European fashions: the summer clothes reminded German dress and the winter ones were in the Hungarian style.

1799: Ballerina Avdotya Ilyinichna Istomina was born. Her father was a policeman. Mother died soon. At the age of 6 she entered the St.Petersburg theater college, which was a luck for a girl from a poor family. At the age of 9, she danced for the first time in the ballet 'Zephyr and Flora'. She was the first ballerina to dance sur les pointes, on the toes. She was known not only for her outstanding technique, but also for the purely artistic, dramatic talent. Now, her name is widely known because Pushkin, who admired her, mentioned her name in Evgeny Onegin:

Then with a half-ethereal splendour,
Bound where the magic bow will send her,
Istomina, thronged all around
by Naiads, one foot on the ground,
twirls the other slowly as she pleases,
then suddenly she's off, and there
she's up and flying through the air
like fluff before Aeolian breezes;
she'll spin this way and that, and beat
against each other swift, small feet.

Istomina died from cholera on June, 26, 1848.

1920: Capital punishments outlawed in Soviet Russia.During the rule of Ivan IV the Terrible, death penalty was widely used, around 4000 people were killed (it may be interesting to compare the figure with around 72000 vagabonds hanged by Henry VIII). Boris Godunov swore during the accession to observe a five-year moratorium on death penalty. After these five years, though, he used it often. In the times of Peter I, death penalty was the punishment for 123 various crimes. Peter's daughter, Elizabeth, was the first ruler in Europe who attempted to outlaw the capital punishment. During the period of 1891-1905, it was never used. After the revolutions began, in 1905-1906, about 4000 people were shot. Death penalty was outlawed again in 1917, but not for long, until July, 17. During the Soviet period, death penalty was outlawed three times: Nov.1917-Feb.1918, 17 Jan 1920-11 May 1920, 26 May 1947-12 Jan 1950. Since 1962, death penalty became a punishment for 'economic' crimes. 24000 people were executed during 1962-1990. After the break-up of the USSR, use of capital punishment was dramatically cut (163 executions during 1991-1996). Since 1996, the moratorium was enacted and the death penalty is not used now. However, it is not totally outlawed as yet, unfortunately.