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Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino (7 September 1812) was a major battle fought during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. It saw the French Grande Armée of Emperor Napoleon I (r. 1804-1814; 1815) narrowly defeat an imperial Russian army under Mikhail Kutuzov...
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Ivan III of Russia
Ivan III of Russia (Ivan the Great) was the Grand Prince of Moscow and Russia from 1462 to 1505. Ivan III was born in 1440 to Grand Prince Vasily II of Moscow (r. 1425-1462) and his wife, Maria Borovsk (l. c. 1420-1485). He served as co-ruler...
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State of Nature
The state of nature is an idea which became especially popular with certain philosophers during the Enlightenment, notably Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke (1632-1704), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). It refers to a state of existence...
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Kutuzov and His Staff Decide to Retreat from Moscow
After the Battle of Borodino, Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov meets with his staff at Fili village on 13 September 1812. After a heated argument, Kutuzov decides to abandon Moscow in order to continue the war of attrition. Oil on canvas...
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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was a Russian composer most famous for his symphonies, the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker, and the operas Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades. A composer of innovative and...
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Tsar
Tsar (also czar) is a Slavic term derived from the Latin caesar. Ivan III (Ivan the Great) (r. 1462-1505) was the first Russian ruler to begin using the title of tsar during his reign instead of the title Grand Prince of Moscow. His grandson...
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Great Northern War
The Great Northern War took place from 1700 to 1721 and was fought between Russia and Sweden during the reign of Peter I of Russia (Peter the Great). One of the key causes of the war was Peter the Great’s desire to have territory on the Baltic...
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Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) was a Russian pianist and composer best known for his piano concertos and symphonies. He overcame an early ravaging by critics and several years of depression to create works which are today amongst the most...
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The Iraq Museum & Three Wars: Three Steps from Hell
This article documents and elaborates on the many critical behind-the-scenes events, unknown to the public, before the history leaves us. The author The bulk of the “the land between the two rivers” lies in what we call today the...
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In the Café by Gauguin
An 1888 oil on jute painting, In the Café (aka Night Café at Arles), by Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) the French post-impressionist painter. Created while living in Arles, southern France, with Vincent van Gogh (1853-90), who painted a very similar...