Nihonium was first reported to have been created in 2003 by a Russian–American collaboration at the
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in
Dubna, Russia, and in 2004 by a team of Japanese scientists at
Riken in
Wakō, Japan. The confirmation of their claims in the ensuing years involved independent teams of scientists working in the United States, Germany, Sweden, and China, as well as the original claimants in Russia and Japan. In 2015, the
IUPAC/IUPAP Joint Working Party recognised the element and assigned the
priority of the discovery and naming rights for the element to Riken. The Riken team suggested the name nihonium in 2016, which was approved in the same year. The name comes from the common Japanese name for Japan (日本, nihon). (Full article...)
Khrushchev was born in 1894 in a village in western Russia. He was employed as a
metal worker during his youth, and he was a
political commissar during the
Russian Civil War. Under the sponsorship of
Lazar Kaganovich, Khrushchev worked his way up the Soviet hierarchy. He originally supported
Stalin's purges and approved thousands of arrests. In 1938, Stalin sent him to govern the
Ukrainian SSR, and he continued the purges there. During what was known in the Soviet Union as the
Great Patriotic War, Khrushchev was again a commissar, serving as an intermediary between Stalin and his generals. Khrushchev was present at the
defense of Stalingrad, a fact he took great pride in throughout his life. After the war, he returned to Ukraine before being recalled to Moscow as one of Stalin's close advisers. (Full article...)
The army was formed at
Khabarovsk in the
Soviet Far East in 1938 as the 2nd Army. After the Far Eastern Front was split in September that year it became the 2nd Independent Red Banner Army. When the front was reformed in June 1940, the army was redesignated as the 2nd Red Banner Army, stationed in the
Blagoveshchensk area. It spent the bulk of World War II guarding the border in that area, sending formations to the
Eastern Front while undergoing several reorganizations. In August 1945, the army fought in the
Soviet invasion of Manchuria, capturing the Japanese fortified regions of
Aihun and
Sunwu adjacent to its sector of the border, and advancing into Manchuria to
Qiqihar. The army was disbanded after the war in late 1945. (Full article...)
Image 4
King Władysław II Jagiełło, detail of the Triptych of Our Lady of Sorrows in the
Wawel Cathedral,
Kraków
Jogaila was the last pagan ruler of
medieval Lithuania. After he became King of Poland, as a result of the
Union of Krewo, the newly formed Polish-Lithuanian union confronted the growing power of the
Teutonic Order. The allied victory at the
Battle of Grunwald in 1410, followed by the
Peace of Thorn, secured the Polish and Lithuanian borders and marked the emergence of the Polish–Lithuanian alliance as a significant force in Europe. The reign of Władysław II Jagiełło extended Polish frontiers and is often considered the beginning of Poland's
Golden Age. (Full article...)
Euler is held to be one of the greatest, most prolific mathematicians in history and the greatest of the 18th century. Several great mathematicians who produced their work after Euler's death have recognised his importance in the field as shown by quotes attributed to many of them:
Pierre-Simon Laplace expressed Euler's influence on mathematics by stating, "Read Euler, read Euler, he is the master of us all."
Carl Friedrich Gauss wrote: "The study of Euler's works will remain the best school for the different fields of mathematics, and nothing else can replace it." His 866 publications as well as his correspondences are being collected in the Opera Omnia Leonhard Euler which, when completed, will consist of 81 quartos. He spent most of his adult life in
Saint Petersburg, Russia, and in
Berlin, then the capital of
Prussia. (Full article...)
He led the team that made the first crossing of the
Greenland interior in 1888, traversing the island on
cross-country skis. He won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his
Fram expedition of 1893–1896. Although he retired from exploration after his return to Norway, his techniques of polar travel and his innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent
Arctic and
Antarctic expeditions. He was elected an International Member of the
American Philosophical Society in 1897. (Full article...)
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a large
bear native to the
Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the
brown bear, and the two species can
interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land
carnivore, with adult males weighing 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). The species is
sexually dimorphic, as adult females are much smaller. The polar bear is white- or yellowish-furred with black skin and a thick layer of fat. It is more slender than the brown bear, with a narrower skull, longer neck and lower shoulder hump. Its teeth are sharper and more adapted to cutting meat. The paws are large and allow the bear to walk on ice and paddle in the water.
Polar bears are both terrestrial and
pagophilic (ice-living) and are considered to be
marine mammals due to their dependence on
marine ecosystems. They prefer the annual
sea ice but live on land when the ice melts in the summer. They are mostly carnivorous and specialized for preying on
seals, particularly
ringed seals. Such prey is typically taken by ambush; the bear may stalk its prey on the ice or in the water, but also will stay at a breathing hole or ice edge to wait for prey to swim by. The bear primarily feeds on the seal's energy-rich
blubber. Other prey include
walruses,
beluga whales and some terrestrial animals. Polar bears are usually solitary but can be found in groups when on land. During the breeding season, male bears guard females and defend them from rivals. Mothers give birth to cubs in
maternity dens during the winter. Young stay with their mother for up to two and a half years. (Full article...)
Marshal Mortier at the battle of Durenstein in 1805, Auguste Sandoz
The Battle of Dürenstein (
German: Schlacht bei Dürnstein; also known as Dürrenstein, Dürnstein and Diernstein) or the Battle of Krems (
Russian: Сражение при Кремсе), on 11 November 1805, was an engagement in the
Napoleonic Wars during the
War of the Third Coalition. Dürenstein (modern
Dürnstein),
Austria, is located in the
Wachau valley, on the river
Danube, 73 kilometers (45 mi) upstream from
Vienna, Austria. The river makes a crescent-shaped curve between Dürnstein and nearby
Krems an der Donau, and the battle was fought in the flood plain between the river and the mountains.
At Dürenstein, a combined force of
Russian and
Austrian troops trapped a
French division commanded by
Théodore Maxime Gazan. The French division was part of the newly created
VIII Corps, the so-called Corps Mortier, under command of
Édouard Mortier. In pursuing the Austrian retreat from
Bavaria, Mortier had over-extended his three divisions along the north bank of the Danube.
Mikhail Kutuzov, commander of the Coalition force, enticed Mortier to send Gazan's division into a trap and French troops were caught in a valley between two Russian columns. They were rescued by the timely arrival of a second division, under command of
Pierre Dupont de l'Étang. The battle extended well into the night, after which both sides claimed victory. The French lost more than a third of their participants, and Gazan's division experienced over 40 percent losses. The Austrians and Russians also had heavy losses—close to 16 percent—but perhaps the most significant was the death in action of
Johann Heinrich von Schmitt, one of Austria's most capable chiefs of staff. (Full article...)
Image 10
A Finnish
Maxim M/09-21 machine gun crew during the Winter War
The Winter War was a war between the
Soviet Union and
Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of
World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the
Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. Despite superior military strength, especially in tanks and aircraft, the Soviet Union suffered severe losses and initially made little headway. The
League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from its organization.
The Soviets made several demands, including that Finland cede substantial border territories in exchange for land elsewhere, claiming security reasons – primarily the protection of
Leningrad, 32 km (20 mi) from the Finnish border. When Finland refused, the Soviets invaded. Most sources conclude that the Soviet Union had intended to conquer all of Finland, and cite the establishment of the
puppet Finnish Communist government and the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocols as evidence of this, while other sources argue against the idea of a full Soviet conquest. Finland repelled Soviet attacks for more than two months and inflicted substantial losses on the invaders in temperatures as low as −43 °C (−45 °F). The battles focused mainly on
Taipale along the
Karelian Isthmus, on
Kollaa in
Ladoga Karelia and on
Raate Road in
Kainuu, but there were also battles in
Salla and
Petsamo in
Lapland. (Full article...)
Image 11
Maria Vasilievna Trubnikova (
Russian: Мари́я Васи́льевна Тру́бникова,
néeIvasheva [Ивашева]; 6 January 1835 – 28 April 1897) was a Russian feminist and activist. Of mixed Russian and French heritage, Trubnikova was orphaned at an early age and subsequently raised by a wealthy relative. She married at 19; she and her husband, Konstantin, had seven children. In adulthood, Trubnikova hosted a women-only
salon which became a center of feminist activism. She also maintained international connections to fellow feminists in England, France, and other countries. Alongside
Anna Filosofova and
Nadezhda Stasova, whom she mentored, Trubnikova was one of the earliest leaders of the
Russian women's movement.
Together, the three friends and allies were referred to as the "
triumvirate". They founded and led several organizations designed to promote women's cultural and economic independence, including a publishing cooperative. Subsequently, they successfully pushed government officials to allow higher education for women, although continuing opposition meant that their successes were sometimes limited or reversed. In later life, Trubnikova experienced severe illness and personal difficulties; she died in 1897. (Full article...)
Although musically precocious, Tchaikovsky was educated for a career as a civil servant as there was little opportunity for a musical career in Russia at the time and no system of public music education. When an opportunity for such an education arose, he entered the nascent
Saint Petersburg Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1865. The formal Western-oriented teaching that Tchaikovsky received there set him apart from composers of the contemporary
nationalist movement embodied by the Russian composers of
The Five with whom his
professional relationship was mixed. (Full article...)
Image 14
Antarctica (/ænˈtɑːrktɪkə/ⓘ) is
Earth's southernmost and least-populated
continent. Situated almost entirely south of the
Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the
Southern Ocean (also known as the
Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic
South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than
Europe, and has an area of 14,200,000 km2 (5,500,000 sq mi). Most of Antarctica is covered by the
Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9 km (1.2 mi).
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average
elevation. It is mainly a
polar desert, with annual
precipitation of over 200 mm (8 in) along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's
freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global
sea levels by almost 60 metres (200 ft). Antarctica holds the record for the
lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F). The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 °C (50 °F) in the summer. Native
species of animals include
mites,
nematodes,
penguins,
seals and
tardigrades. Where
vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of
lichen or
moss. (Full article...)
Image 15
During the
Khrushchev era, especially from 1956 through 1962, the
Soviet Union attempted to implement major wage reforms intended to move
Soviet industrial workers away from the mindset of overfulfilling quotas that had characterised the Soviet economy during the preceding
Stalinist period and toward a more efficient
financial incentive.
Throughout the Stalinist period, most Soviet workers had been paid for their work based on a
piece-rate system. Thus their individual wages were directly tied to the amount of work they produced. This policy was intended to encourage workers to toil and therefore increase production as much as possible. The piece-rate system led to the growth of bureaucracy and contributed to significant inefficiencies in Soviet industry. In addition, factory managers frequently manipulated the personal production quotas given to workers to prevent workers' wages from falling too low. (Full article...)
The Krestovsky Stadium is the home ground of
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. Photographed here in 2016, when construction was nearing completion, it is situated on
Krestovsky Island in the Russian city of
Saint Petersburg. It was opened in 2017 as a venue for the
2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and hosted the final, in which Germany beat Chile 1–0. It was one of the venues for the
2018 FIFA World Cup the following year. Among other features, it has a retractable roof, and is equipped with a video-surveillance and identification system, as well as security-alarm, fire-alarm and robotic fire-extinguishing systems. The stadium's seating capacity is 67,800.
Gorky Park is a park in central
Moscow, Russia, inaugurated in 1928 following the use of the site in 1923 for the First All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Industries Exhibition. The park was named after the writer and political activist
Maxim Gorky. It underwent a major reconstruction in 2011; nearly all the amusement rides and other attractions were removed, extensive lawns and flower beds were created, and new roadways were laid. A 15,000 m2 (160,000 sq ft)
ice rink was installed at the same time. This picture shows the
colonnaded main portal of Gorky Park.
Hotel Astoria is a
five-star hotel located on
Saint Isaac's Square in
Saint Petersburg. Commissioned in 1910 by the Palace Hotel Company to host visitors to the
Romanov tercentenary, the hotel was designed by
Fyodor Lidval and first opened in 1912. After the
October Revolution, it continued to be used as a state-operated hotel, though during World War II it was also a field hospital. The hotel, now owned by
Rocco Forte Hotels, has been renovated several times, most recently in 2012.
Ivan Goremykin (1839–1917) was a Russian
prime minister during
World War I. A politician with
archconservative views, after some time in the Ministry of Justice, he transferred to the Ministry of the Interior in 1891. He held the rank of prime minister from May to July 1906 and again from 1914 to 1916; during both terms his effectiveness was strongly limited by opposition from the
State Duma. In the aftermath of the
October Revolution, Goremykin was recognized as a member of the Tsarist government and killed by a street mob.
Lenin, a Soviet
nuclear-powered icebreaker, was both the world's first nuclear-powered surface ship and the first nuclear-powered civilian vessel. The ship entered operation in 1959 and worked to clear sea routes for cargo ships along Russia's northern coast. Nuclear power proved to be an ideal technology for a vessel working in such a remote area, as it obviated the need for regular replenishment of fuel. From 1960 to 1965, the ship covered over 85,000 mi (137,000 km) during the Arctic navigation season, of which three-quarters was through ice. After being decommissioned in 1989, the vessel was subsequently converted into a museum ship and is now permanently based at
Murmansk.
A Boyar Wedding Feast is an oil-on-canvas painting created by Russian artist
Konstantin Makovsky in 1883. The
boyars were members of the highest rank of the feudal aristocracy of Russia in the 16th and 17th centuries, and a wedding was an important social event. In this painting, the guests are depicted toasting a newlywed couple. They stand at the head of the table, where the groom sees his bride without her veil for the first time; she appears timid and bashful as the men toast for the first kiss. Behind the couple, the Lady of Ceremony gently urges on the bride. A roasted swan is being brought in on a large platter, the last dish to be served before the couple retires to the bedroom. The work is in the collection of the
Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, in Washington, D.C.
Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) was a
Russian writer who is regarded as one of the world's greatest novelists. He is best known for War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877), often cited as pinnacles of
realist fiction. Born to an aristocratic family on 9 September [
O.S. 28 August] 1828, Tolstoy was orphaned when he was young. He studied at
Kazan University, but this was not a success, and he left university without completing his degree. During this time, he began to write and published his first novel, Childhood, in 1852. Tolstoy later served at the
Siege of Sevastopol during the
Crimean War, and was appalled by the number of deaths and left at the conclusion of the war. He spent the remainder of his life writing whilst also marrying and starting a family. In the 1870s he converted to a form of fervent
Christian anarchism.
This photo of the Nilov Monastery on
Stolobny Island in
Tver Oblast,
Russia, was taken by
Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky in 1910 before the advent of colour photography. His process used a camera that took a series of
monochrome pictures in rapid sequence, each through a different coloured filter. By projecting all three monochrome pictures using correctly coloured light, it was possible to reconstruct the original colour scene.
A
Chechen man prays during the First Battle of Grozny, January 1995. The flame in the background is coming from a gas pipeline which was hit by
shrapnel.
Although
James Clerk Maxwell made the first color photograph in
1861, the results were far from realistic until Prokudin-Gorsky perfected the technique with a series of improvements around
1905. His process used a camera that took a series of monochrome pictures in rapid sequence, each through a different colored filter. Prokudin-Gorskii then went on to document much of the country of Russia, travelling by train in a specially equipped
darkroomrailroad car.
Russian wine refers to
wine made in
Russia, at times also including the disputed region of
Crimea. The vast majority of Russia's territory is unsuitable for grape growing, with most of the production concentrated in parts of
Krasnodar and
Rostov regions, as well as Crimea.
The Russian market is characterized by the presence of many low-cost products, with a significant part of local wines having a retail price of less than 100 rubles ($1.71). Attempts to shift away from the low-quality reputation of Soviet wines has been moderately successful, though 80% of wines sold in Russia in 2013 were made from grape concentrates. (Full article...)
At least three people are killed and 16 others are injured when Russian missiles hit civilian infrastructure in
Kharkiv.
(Reuters)
Ukraine and Russia announce their first exchange of prisoners of war in nearly four months, with 150 people freed following negotiations mediated by the
United Arab Emirates.
(Reuters)
... that Michael S. Farbman's reporting of the
Russian Civil War in winter 1917–18 was described by The Observer as "one of the outstanding successes of the time in special correspondence"?
... that the Russian and Belarusian military exercise Zapad 2013 was officially described as counterterrorist, but international observers concluded that it was a preparation for a conventional war?
... that Ivan Beshoff, the last survivor of the mutiny on the Potemkin, emigrated to Ireland where he established a fish and chip shop that is still run by his descendants?
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