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False Dmitrii I (Lzhedmitrii)
The figure of False Dmitrii I is, possibly, among the greatest mysteries of Russian history. His story is inherently related to the history of Russian-Polish struggle. False Dmitrii I, a pretender, who claimed to be the son of Ivan IV the Terrible,…
Migration of the Gagauz People into Moldova
The Gagauz people are an Orthodox Turkic people mostly living in Moldova. Originally living in Bulgaria, they were given incentives to re-settle to Moldova by the Russians following the Russo-Turkish wars in order to settle an under-cultivated…
The Treaty of Aigun
The Amur region grew in importance for Russia during the 1850s. Count Nikolas Muravyov-Amursky led expeditions into the region during the first part of the decade, and during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, the Russian presence in the Amur region was…
Complementary Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation
After treaties in 1991 and 2001 were not able to complete define the disputed border between the Russian Federation and the Republic of China, the two states were party to the Complementary Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the…
Orthodox Church Politics
In 1811, the Russian Orthodox Church takes over the Georgian Orthodox Church at the direction of Russian officials. Previously, the common Orthodox religion of Georgia and Russia had served as part of the means of bringing the two closer together.
Russian Presence in Transnistria
The Dniester Moldavian Republic is a small strip of land in between Moldova and Ukraine. Dniesterians have been trying to separate from Moldova since 1989, either by forming their own state or by joining Russia. They are not recognized by other…
Treaty of Georgievsk
In 1783, the Treaty of Georgievsk was signed, between the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, in Eastern Georgia, under King Irlaki II, and Russia, under Catherine II. The relationship was initiated by King Irlaki II. The major elements that came out of the…
Georgian Independence
On April 9, 1991, a national referendum established Georgia’s independence from the Soviet Union. The news came to the Georgian people on a day meant to remember the April 9, 1989 “Tbilisi Massacre.” It was reported in the Los Angeles Times that…
Joseph Stalin's journey from Georgia to St. Petersburg
Stalin was born in Gori, now a city in present-day Georgia, and spent his childhood there before traveling to Tbilisi to attend school on a scholarship. He was, however, expelled from the Georgian Orthodox Tiflis Spiritual Seminary after poor…
South Ossetian War
South Ossetia is an autonomous republic in Georgia that declared independence in 2008. Only a few countries – in particular, Russia, which maintains a military presence in South Ossetia – recognize its independence.
Heavy fighting broke out…
Heavy fighting broke out…
Our Lady of Kazan
Our Lady of Kazan is a Russian icon that was found in the burnt ruins of the city of Kazan in 1579. Mary, the mother of God in Christian tradition, appeared three times to a small child, providing instructions on where to look for the icon. Over the…
Kiev Sophia
The St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Kiev is an important monument to the increasing influence of Orthodox Christianity, as well as the flourishing of Ukrainian artistic expression, under the reign of Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kievan Rus. This…
Loaf of Rye Bread
Black bread was, since time immemorial, a ubiquitous Russian food. Born out of climactic and economic necessity, black bread has been credited with giving the Russian peasantry the physical strength necessary to crush Napoleonic France, but also…