The History of Russia

That’s how Nikita’s tongue took him home. Exhausted by the turmoil, in 1613 the nobles chose Mikhail Romanov, one of the closest surviving relatives of the royal family, as Tsar. He was tempted by Islam because it allowed men to have several wives. It was Ivan who turned Russia into a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state.
In 1552 Ivan crushed the Tatar stronghold of Kazan. Basil’s Cathedral on Red Square was built by his order. The story goes that its ruler at the time, Prince Vladimir, wanted to replace paganism with a new religion. Nikita’s tales of Kiev’s wealth and splendour impressed the tribe’s chief so much, he hooked Nikita by the tongue to his horse’s tail and went to wage war against Kiev. Instead, he led the Poles deep into the marshy woods and perished together with the soldiers. Peter became Russia’s de facto ruler in 1696 after a fierce power struggle with his elder sister Sophia. Legend has it that a local peasant, Ivan Susann, promised to guide them to the hide-out. But Vladimir finally decided against it because he thought his people would be unhappy under a religion that prohibits wine. Ivan wasn’t of course born the Terrible. The cathedral is a collection of nine chapels put on a single foundation. Ivan’s son died childless and a string of would-be-successors battled it out for the throne. From Poles to Romanovs
Soon after Ivan’s death, the state weakened, plunging into a period of unrest and Polish invasion, known as the Time of Troubles. The Polish troops set out to kill the newly-chosen Tsar who was hiding in a remote village. Fascinated by all things European, he spent almost two years touring Western Europe – the first time a Russian Tsar ever went abroad. Hoping to exploit the Russians’ weakness after the Tatar invasion, the Teutonic Knights attacked the city of Novgorod. An ancient empire, the cradle of three modern-day nations…This was Kevan Rus – a powerful East Slavic state dominated by the city of Kiev. But don’t panic if you hear the saying – you won’t share the unfortunate Nikita’s lot. Below we reprint RT’s brief history of Russia from Klevan Rus to modern days. Today, the proverb simply means you can always ask your way around.
Back in those ancient times Russia it seems nearly became a Muslim country. One of Moscow’s most famous landmarks is another of Ivan’s legacy. Legend has it that in 999 a Kiev resident called Nikita Shemika got lost in the far-away steppes and was caught by a militant nomadic tribe. “The pig” was the Russian way of describing the wedge-shaped formation of the German army, often used in Europe in the 13-15th centuries. If you’re wondering how or why a part of your body would transport you to a European capital, here’s the story. And “Mamgai’s invasion” is a name to jokingly describe troublesome or unwelcome visitors.
And if you find out that “walking like a pig” has nothing to do with the grunting animals you’ve got another epic battle to blame – the Battle of the Ice in 1242. You’d have a hard job finding a Russian who’s never heard of Ivan Susann, now a popular character in Russian music and literature. Ironically, a “Susann” is also somebody who loses his way, leading you to a totally wrong place.
Under the first few generations of Romanovs, when Western Europe went through a political and economic boom, Russia lagged behind… until Peter the Great turned the page. The Romanov dynasty was to rule Russia for the next 300 years until the 1917 Revolution brought an end to the Tsarist state.
Back from those restless times Russia inherited, of all things, a name for bad tour-guides. The German crusaders were defeated in a fight on Lake Peipus, between modern Estonia and Russia. Their state, the Empire of the Golden Horde, ruled over Russian lands for almost three centuries. Tatar invasion
In the 13th century Klevan Rus was invaded by the Tatars. But he started out as a reformer, reorganizing the military, proclaiming a new legal code and curbing the influence of the clergy. From those ancient times comes a popular proverb “Your tongue will take you to Kiev”. Donskoi became a popular hero and the words “the slaughter of mamani” now mean a carnage or terrible defeat. Speaking of the “advancing pig”, the medieval Russian chronicles referred to the marching Teutonic knights. Ivan the Terrible
Meanwhile, Moscow replaced Kiev as the new centre of spiritual and political power, becoming the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Today is Russia Day – the national holiday of the Russian Federation. But in 1380 a Muscovite prince, Dmitry Donskoi, won a major battle against the Tatars under the command of Khan Mamgai at Kulikov Field. During their retreat, many knights drowned in the lake when the ice broke under the weight of their heavy amour. The passage of this Declaration by the First Congress of People’s Deputies marked the beginning of constitutional reform in the Russian Soviet state. It has been celebrated annually on June 12 since 1992 to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) on June 12, 1990. The empire is traditionally seen as the beginning of Russia and the ancestor of Belarus and Ukraine. Shaped in the 9th century it went on to flourish for the next 300 years. When Ivan saw the finished cathedral, he liked it so much that he had the architects blinded to prevent them from building anything like it elsewhere. A popular legend has it that the work was done by two architects – Postino and Barman (although some say it was one and the same person). He’d often travel in disguise, even working as a ship’s carpenter in Holland.

. So, in 988 Kevan Rus converted to Orthodox Christianity. He earned his nickname for his ruthless campaigns against the nobility, confiscating their lands and executing or exiling those who displeased him. The campaign began Russia’s expansion into Siberia, annexing a large Muslim population. The central and tallest one commemorates the invasion of Kazan while the rest celebrate other key victories in the Tatar campaign. St. It was a drive that strengthened Russia’s monarchy like never before. In 1547 Ivan IV (the Terrible), who was also Grand Duke of Moscow, crowned himself the first Tsar.