A message on famous historical events. The most interesting historical facts about different things

Historical events and facts are very educational and interesting. They give us a unique opportunity to understand what is happening in a given period of development of human society, nations and countries. Almost all nations have interesting historical facts. Russia has especially many of them. This is easily explained by the rich, centuries-old past of our country. Widespread legends about rulers, about scientific and technological progress, about art and culture have always attracted and continue to attract citizens of other states. Below are examples of such historical facts.

About rulers

Since the beginning in 1825, rulers in our country have alternated according to the “bald - hairy” principle. This pattern has persisted to this day.

About television

In 1992, the chimes on television on New Year's Eve were delayed by one minute.

About money

The double-headed eagle on coins is not the country’s coat of arms, but the emblem of the Bank of Russia.

Scientific and historical fact

The only person in the world who lives in Russia is This man - He spent more than 800 hours in space, moving at high speed. According to the theory of relativity, time slows down at high speeds. It was calculated that the astronaut returned to Earth 0.02 seconds younger.

About laws

In 1994, the government passed a law prohibiting dogs from barking from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. This law is still valid, but only in Moscow. It is also noteworthy that the legislative act does not stipulate what punishment the violator will suffer.

Geography facts

The Russian Federation is almost twice the size of the United States. The St. Petersburg metro is the deepest in the world. connects the capital and the city of Vladivostok and is the longest railway line in the world. Siberian taiga - 8% of the earth's land.

Technique

There are many more Kalashnikov assault rifles in the world than all other types of weapons combined.

About the rulers and laws of Tsarist Russia

Interesting historical facts about Russia are not always accurate and scientifically verified. For example, according to some historians, Ivan the Terrible did not kill his son.

In Russia, equality between men and women was proclaimed 2 years earlier than in the United States.

Peter the Great had his own way of combating drunkenness in the country. He ordered medals, which weighed more than 7 kg, to be given to all offenders. They were obliged not to remove it for seven days.

Racketeering is the department in charge of receiving petitions under Peter the Great.

The interesting story is rich in facts from the life of the tsarist army: Nicholas the First, as a punishment, gave the offending officers a choice between keeping a watch out of turn and listening to an opera.

Denbei is the first Japanese to come to Russia. In 1695 he arrived in Kamchatka, and in 1701 he reached Moscow. Peter the Great ordered him to teach Japanese to Russian children in schools.

“Here lies Suvorov” - the inscription on the slab near the monument to the commander.

Boris and Gleb are the first Russians to be canonized (1072).

Interesting historical facts in pre-revolutionary Russia

About the Army and Navy

In the Russian Imperial Navy the command "Cover up!" meant that you had to wear a hat.

In the army of imperial times there was the rank of cornet, and in modern times - ensign; in the army of imperial times - the rank of lieutenant, and in modern times - lieutenant.

Geography facts

1740 - the coldest winter in Russia.

After 1703, Poganye Ponds in Moscow began to be called... Chistye Ponds!

About science

M.V. Lomonosov is the founder of Moscow State University, but he himself never visited this university.

About the people

In Ancient Rus', grasshoppers were called dragonflies.

In Rus', the “original” is a stick that was used to beat a witness to a crime.

An interesting historical fact is that the Thai anthem was written in 1902 by a Russian composer.

Interesting about the politics of the USSR. Historical truth

What in the USSR was called the Cuban missile crisis, in the USA they began to call it the Cuban crisis, and in Cuba itself - the October crisis.

An interesting historical fact is that legally the war between Germany and the USSR ended on January 21, 1955. The decision was made by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

In 1931, the Red Army and White Guards fought on the same side; at the request of the Governor-General of the Chinese province Sheng Shicai, they suppressed the uprising of the Turkic population.

Unusual historical facts of the USSR

In World War II, machine gunner Semyon Konstantinovich Hitler fought in the Red Army.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the USSR used tractors in battles due to a shortage of combat vehicles.

During the entire period of the Cold War, the world was twice on the verge of a nuclear disaster due to failures in computer systems in the USSR and the USA. Nuclear war was averted only thanks to the experienced military leaders of both superpowers.

During the Great Patriotic War, mines were cleared by dogs specially trained for this purpose; they were the main assistants of sappers.

In the USSR, the main opponent of the Nazis, according to Hitler, was the announcer Yuri Levitan, and not Stalin, as many believe.

Interesting science and technology in the USSR

In the village of Baikonur, in the Kazakhstan SSR, a wooden cosmodrome was built in the 1950s. This was done in order to mislead enemy states. The real cosmodrome is located more than 350 km from this village.

During World War II, the USSR designed a flying tank based on the design of the A-40 tank, but the project was closed due to a lack of powerful towing vehicles.

The laser pistol was invented in the Soviet Union in 1984.

The Americans suggested that the USSR be the first to launch into space not dogs but black children.

GAZ-21 has a wide range of models, including a model with right-hand drive and an automatic transmission.

The T-28 tank could overcome “lunar landscapes”. This was the name of the territory that was seriously damaged by the fighting.

Scientific and historical fact: the space device that the Soviet Union wanted to launch into space to explore Mars, during tests showed that there is no life on Earth. After this incident, it was sent for revision.

About famous personalities

The list of gifts for Stalin's seventieth birthday was published in newspapers for more than three years.

Rokossovsky is a marshal of both the USSR and Poland.

Khrushchev ridiculed and sharply criticized paintings painted by artists in the avant-garde direction. At the same time, he often used obscene language.

Vladimir Putin, when he served in the KGB, had the call sign “Mol”.

About laws

In the Soviet Union there was a tax on childlessness.

About sport

Lev Yashin is a famous football goalkeeper who took bronze at the USSR Ice Hockey Championship in 1953.

The main prize in Sportloto has been won only twice in the entire history of this game.

Music and television

Evgeny Leonov voiced such a character as Winnie the Pooh in cartoons.

The group "Aria" has a song called "Will and Reason", few people know that this is the motto of the Nazis in fascist Italy.

Geography facts

In the early 1920s, the city of Novosibirsk had two time zones. On the left bank of the Ob River the difference from the capital was 3 hours, and on the right bank it was 4 hours.

In the 20s and 30s of the twentieth century, Vladikavkaz was the center of both the Ingush and North Ossetian republics.

About the meaning of words

The word "zek" means "prisoned Red Army soldier."

"Unknown" world history

This or that historical fact does not always sound plausible and understandable to a contemporary. Examples are given below.

During the time of Genghis Khan in Mongolia, anyone who dared to urinate in any body of water was executed. Because water in the desert was more valuable than gold.

In England in 1665-1666, the plague devastated entire villages. It was then that medicine recognized smoking as beneficial, which supposedly destroyed the deadly infection. Children and teenagers were punished if they refused to smoke.

Ancient Egyptian beauties evenly distributed pieces of fat throughout their hair. In the sun they melted and evenly covered the hair with a greasy shiny layer, which was considered very fashionable.

The famous inventor of the sewing machine, Isaac Singer, was simultaneously married to five women. In total, he had 15 children from all the women. He called all his daughters Mary. Probably so as not to make a mistake...

Interesting historical facts on the funeral theme: the English admiral Nelson, who lived from 1758 to 1805, slept in his cabin in a coffin that was cut out of the mast of an enemy French ship. His “feat” was repeated by a French actress who learned her lyrics while lying in a coffin. She often took this prop on tour, which made those around her very nervous. In the Middle Ages, sailors deliberately inserted at least one gold tooth, even sacrificing a healthy one. For what? It turns out that it was for a rainy day, so that in case of death he could be buried with honor far from home.

Approximately half of New Yorkers speak several languages ​​other than their native American English by age 5.

In 2007, New York was visited by approximately 46 million tourists, who spent more than $28 billion in the city!

The entire story lasted only 38 minutes. Zanzibar and England “fought” so much in 1896. England won.

A few more myths. Or is it true?

Historians claim that on Cocos Island, located 300 miles south of Costa Rica, pirates hid treasure worth two billion dollars. Archaeologists are searching.

The most incomprehensible mystery of humanity is death. What happens to a person after he dies? Modern scientists are conducting large-scale and multimillion-dollar research in this area. So far there is only 100% conclusion that human consciousness continues to exist after physical death.

Official data from the British Admiralty states that as a result of shipwrecks, an eighth of all gold and silver mined on earth rests on the seabed. Today, you can buy an old map with treasure coordinates on the black market. Is this true or a scam? In 1985, using such a map, Mel Fisher found the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora off the coast of Florida, which sank back in 1622. From the bottom of the ship he managed to lift 450(!) million dollars worth of valuables.

In some countries, every movement of citizens is monitored by intelligence services using Internet tracking programs. Sensors are built into modern phones, TVs, and computers. World espionage is thriving. Is it true? Who knows...

The history of the Russian state goes back more than 12 centuries. Over the course of centuries, events took place that became turning points on the scale of a huge country. Top 10 important dates in Russian history collected in our top ten today.

Of course, such a list cannot be called exhaustive - in the richest Russian history there are more than one hundred significant days. However, we suggest starting small and turning to the current top ten.

September 8, 1380 - Battle of Kulikovo (Battle of the Don or Mamayevo)

This battle between the army of Dmitry Donskoy and the army of Mamai is considered a turning point in the more than two hundred years of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The crushing defeat dealt a blow to the military and political dominance of the Horde. According to legend, the battle was preceded by a duel between the Russian hero Peresvet and the Pecheneg Chelubey.

November 24, 1480 – Fall of the Tatar-Mongol yoke

The Mongol yoke was established in Rus' in 1243 and remained unshakable for 237 years. At the end of November 1480, the Great Stand on the Ugra River ended, marking the victory of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III over the Khan of the Great Horde, Akhmat.

October 26, 1612 – Liberation of the Kremlin from invaders

On this day, members of the people's militia, led by the legendary Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, liberate the Kremlin from the Polish-Swedish invaders. Among those who left the Kremlin was the nun Martha with her son Mikhail Romanov, who in 1613 was proclaimed the new Russian sovereign.

June 27, 1709 – Battle of Poltava

The largest battle of the Northern War ended in a decisive victory for the Russian army. From that moment on, Sweden's authority as one of the leading military powers in Europe was over. But the power of the renewed Russian army was demonstrated to the whole world.

August 26, 1812 - Battle of Borodino

The largest battle of the Patriotic War lasted 12 hours. Both armies lost 25-30% of their strength. The battle was conceived by Napoleon as a general one, and the goal was a crushing defeat of the Russian army. However, the battle ended ingloriously for the French, despite the Russian retreat, and became the beginning of the end of the Napoleonic campaign.

February 19, 1861 – abolition of Russian serfdom

The freedom of the peasants was secured by the manifesto of Emperor Alexander II, who was popularly nicknamed the Liberator. By the time the manifesto was published, the share of serfs in the Russian population was about 37%.

February 27, 1917 – February Revolution

An armed uprising in February 1917 led to the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II. These events are considered the beginning of the Soviet period in Russian history. For the next 74 years, a new form of government was established in the state.

May 9, 1945 – Signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany

The day of the end of the Great Patriotic War was declared a national holiday immediately in 1945. Despite the fact that the first victory parade took place in the capital on Red Square on June 24, 1945, Russians celebrate Victory Day on May 9.

April 12, 1961 - Yuri Gagarin's flight into space

The first human flight into space was not only the most important event in the scientific world, but also significantly strengthened the prestige of the USSR as a military space power. In the eyes of the whole world, the authority of the Americans was undermined; space flight became decisive for a number of states that wavered in their sympathies between the Union and the United States.

December 8, 1991 – Signing of the Agreement on the Creation of the CIS (Belovezhskaya Agreement)

The agreement was signed by three leaders: Boris Yeltsin, Stanislav Shushkevich and Leonid Kravchuk. This event can be considered the date of the final collapse of the USSR. By the end of 1991, the Russian Federation was recognized by the world community and took the place of the USSR in the UN. It can be considered that from this moment the history of modern Russia began.

In 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright built the Flyer airplane. The plane was equipped with a gasoline engine, and its first flight was made to a height of 3 m and lasted for 12 seconds. In 1919, the first air line from Paris to London was opened. The maximum number of passengers allowed was , and the flight duration was 4 hours.

Radio broadcast

In 1906, the first radio broadcast was broadcast. Canadian Regenald Fessenden played the violin on the radio, and his performance was received on ships thousands of miles away. By the beginning of the 1960s. The first pocket radios powered by batteries appeared.

World War I

In 1914, in which 38 countries took part. The Quadruple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria) and the Entente bloc (Russia, England, France, Italy, etc.) took part in the hostilities. The conflict occurred between Austria and Serbia due to the murder of the Austrian heir to the throne. The war has lasted more than 4 years, and more than 10 million soldiers died in battles. The Entente bloc won, but the economies of the countries fell into decline during the hostilities.

Russian Revolution

In 1917, the Great October Revolution began in Russia. The tsarist regime was overthrown and the Romanov imperial family was executed. Tsarist power and capitalism were replaced by a socialist system, which proposed to create equality for all workers. The dictatorship of the proletariat was established in the country, and class society was eliminated. A new totalitarian state has emerged - the Russian Socialist Federative Republic.

A television

In 1926, John Baird received television images, and in 1933, Vladimir Zworykin achieved better reproduction quality. Electronic images were updated on the screen 25 times per second, resulting in moving images.

The Second World War

In 1939, the Second World War began, in which 61 states took part. The initiator of military action was Germany, which attacked first Poland and later the USSR. The war lasted 6 years and claimed 65 million lives. The greatest losses during the war fell to the USSR, but thanks to the indestructible spirit, the Red Army won a victory over the fascist occupiers.

Nuclear weapon

In 1945, it was used for the first time: American armed forces dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Herashima and Nagasaki. Thus, the United States sought to speed up the end of World War II with Japan. Hundreds of thousands of residents were killed, and the results of the bombing had catastrophic consequences.

Computers and Internet

In 1945, two American engineers John Eckert and John Moakley created the first electronic computer (computer), which weighed about 30 tons. In 1952, the first display was connected to a computer, and the first personal computer was created by Apple in 1983. In 1969, the Internet system was created for the exchange of information between US research centers, and by the early 1990s. The Internet has turned into a worldwide network.

A space flight

In 1961, a Soviet rocket overcame gravity and made the first flight into space with a man on board. The three-stage rocket was built under the leadership of Sergei Korolev, and the spacecraft was piloted by Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

Collapse of the USSR

In 1985, “Perestroika” began in the Soviet Union: a system appeared, strict censorship was replaced by glasnost and democracy. But many reforms led to an economic crisis and aggravation of national contradictions. In 1991, there was a coup in the Soviet Union and the USSR broke up into 17 separate independent states. The country's territory shrank by a quarter, and the United States became the world's only superpower.

The twentieth century is the most eventful, dangerous and productive century in human history. The rise in living standards and life expectancy, the vigorous development of science, the invention of antibiotics, the study of genetics and the emergence of the Internet coexisted with such concepts as world war, the nuclear bomb, fascism and genocide.

The 20th century was eventful like no other era before. Many revolutions, and not only political ones, amazing discoveries, attempts for the first time to unite humanity not through war and the seizure of territories (although not without this), but on terms of cooperation, the most important achievements and inventions in medicine and technology, the rapid development of science, changes in mass consciousness. More than once in the world history of the last century, civilization teetered on the brink of destruction; universal history could have ended in a nuclear apocalypse.

People literally moved from horses to cars, trains and planes, set out to conquer space, invented new directions in art and sports, discovered the secrets of genetics and practically got rid of slavery. The quality and length of life have improved, and the world's population has quadrupled. The most important historical events on all five inhabited continents affected all spheres of human activity. Humanity is entering the 21st century, building on the great and significant achievements of the twentieth century.

Early 20th century

Humanity greeted the twentieth century with wars and revolutions, great discoveries and serious political upheavals. The radio and x-ray, the internal combustion engine and the light bulb had already been invented, and the foundations of psychoanalysis and equality were laid.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Russia remained a state with an absolute monarchy, which, however, had already lost popularity among the people. In many ways, the authority of the monarch was harmed by all sorts of “fools” who enjoyed great influence at court, especially Grigory Rasputin, a former horse thief who became a symbol of the licentiousness and weakness of the autocracy, “tried.”

The year 1900, the last year before the 20th century, largely determined the next century, giving people sound cinema, which was invented by Leon Gaumont, and the airship created by the legendary German Zeppelin.

In 1901, Karl Landsteiner makes a stunning discovery that changed medicine forever - he discovers the existence of different blood groups. And the well-known Alois Alzheimer describes the disease named after him. In the same 1901, the American Gillette invents the safety razor, and Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, strengthens the position of monopolies in the state and supports the Anglo-Japanese alliance against Russia.

The year 1903 was marked by the flight of the American Wright brothers. The invention of aviation spurred scientific and technological progress throughout the world. In the same year, Bolshevism arose, the Russo-Japanese War occurred in 1904-05, and “Bloody Sunday” of 1905 turned the life of Russia upside down, marking the beginning of major government changes that subsequently divided the world into two camps - socialist and capitalist. The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century in Russian poetry is called the “Silver Age”. Tsvetaeva, Blok, Mayakovsky, Yesenin - these brilliant poets are known to everyone, and they worked precisely then, during the years of turbulent social upheaval.

Sexual revolution

Until the 20th century, the role of women in the vast majority of countries was secondary in all branches of science, culture and public life. In addition, the topic of sex was taboo in any society, and same-sex relationships were equated with a crime.

The concept of “Sexual Revolution” was introduced into use in the 30s of the 20th century by Freud’s student, engaged in social criticism, Wilhelm Reich. He vehemently preached the need for sex education and the abolition of morality that promotes bigotry. His program included items on the permission of divorce, abortion and same-sex relationships, sex education as a means of family planning and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

Many sociologists and historians believe that the foundations of this revolution were laid back in 1917 in the young Soviet Republic, which offered women equal rights with men in all sectors of the economy and even political life. But in a narrower sense, the sexual revolution is understood as the processes that took place in the West in the 60s.

The woman categorically stopped agreeing with the role of male property and took upon herself the courage to decide for herself what to wear and what to do. In addition, by the 60s, in a number of countries, the quality requirements for condoms and other contraceptives were seriously tightened and they became widely available, whereas previously their use was often prohibited by law with rare exceptions.

The social activity of women has increased, the risk of illness and unwanted pregnancies has decreased, and an era of free morality has arrived. This process continues in the world today, but if in the 60s supporters of the sexual revolution only wanted to get rid of undesirable things that were inevitable under sanctimonious morality (for example, unnecessary pregnancies and mass infections with skin and venereal diseases), today there is extreme freedom of morals sometimes it has the opposite effect - in particular, AIDS is raging in Russia, and the institution of the family in some regions has been almost completely destroyed.

The struggle for human rights in the 20th century

Back in the 19th century, many countries used slavery, got rid of “inferior” people, which included the disabled or homosexuals, and blacks were considered “second-class citizens.” In the first decade of the 20th century, unrest began in Russia, which ended with the October Revolution, and for the first time in the world, the concept of social equality arose in the society of a large state. The Stalinist constitution in the USSR was one of the most democratic in the world. Unfortunately, these achievements could not become progressive under the conditions of a totalitarian state.

A little later, in the first half of the 20th century, in Germany, Italy, France, a similar idea of ​​the superiority of society over the individual arose - and fascism was born, destroying not only social justice, but also declaring most of the planet's population as “inferior groups” of people. The terrible lesson of fascism prompted the process of creating international mechanisms that protect human rights.

In the mid-20th century, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, and in 1966, the international Bill of Rights arose, which remains the basis of human rights today. The Bill enshrines the universal concept of human dignity - equality of people in all spheres of life, regardless of country of residence, skin color, religion or gender.

The incompatibility of rights with oppression, tyranny, slavery was also established and a legal system of guarantees of human rights was provided. Probably everyone is familiar with the great names of historical figures who made a huge contribution to the fight for human rights: in Russia it was Andrei Sakharov, in Germany - Albert Schweitzer, in India - Mahatma Gandhi and many, many others. Wikipedia pages are dedicated to each of them, where important historical events associated with these people are described in detail.

The achievements of the history of the 20th century in relation to equality changed the world and consciousness, thanks to them humanity, free from prejudice and violation of individual rights, was able to achieve significant success by the beginning of the 21st century. Unfortunately, there are extremes here too; sometimes modern phenomena such as tolerance and feminism take completely absurd forms.

Science, technology and medicine

The active development of technology in the 20th century was constantly pushed by armed conflicts of the first half of the century, which broke out every now and then between different countries. Two world wars stimulated the development of medicine and technology, which humanity was able to use for peaceful purposes.

In 1908, the physicist Geiger invented a device for measuring radioactivity, and in 1915 the German army received a gas mask created by the chemist Haber. At the end of the twenties, two discoveries in medicine occurred at once - an artificial respiration apparatus and the first antibiotic, penicillin, which forever ended the main cause of death in people - inflammatory processes.

In 1921, Einstein formulated the theory of relativity, and this launched a series of scientific explorations that led man into space. Surprisingly, things like the cell phone, scuba gear, computer and microwave oven were invented in the 40s. And about each of these events we can safely say that these are significant dates that changed the world. The fifties brought contact lenses and ultrasound to the world; in the sixties, humanity first broke out of its planet, invented virtual reality and the computer mouse.

In the seventies, such things as body armor and artificial hearts, personal computers and computer games appeared. But the main gift to humanity was made by Robert Elliot Kahn and Vinton Cerf, who invented the Internet. Infinite freedom of communication and unlimited access to any information were only a few years away.

The eighties and nineties were a time of no less great discoveries. Recent history is rapidly moving towards the possibility of coping with aging, almost completely eliminating humans from the process of producing goods and food, the invention of artificial intelligence, and deciphering the genome.

Thanks to the achievements of the 20th century, most of humanity lives in a post-industrial era, in a society dominated by innovative technology, science and high productivity. And the most valuable qualities of each person were education and a creative approach to work.

Culture and education

The invention of cinema was a significant milestone, and television made it possible to “travel” to different countries without leaving home. The accelerated development of communications, media, transport and technology in the second half of the century pushed the process of development and interpenetration of cultures of different countries, and art was divided into two movements - traditionally high art and “market” or “boulevard”, mass culture.

This was greatly facilitated by rapidly growing education. At the very beginning of the last century, the percentage of people who knew how to read and write was extremely low, and today, perhaps, it is very difficult to find a person who cannot read at least in their native language. By the way, literature has also changed dramatically over the past century. A new genre has emerged - science fiction, telling about miracles, most of which humanity has been able to bring into reality. For example, laser, cloning, flight to the moon, genetic experiments.

In 1916, the first microphone appeared in America, and in 1932, American Adolphus Rickenbacket invented the electric guitar, and music sounded different. After the “golden sixties,” when the world cultural revolution took place, a good hundred new trends appeared in music, forever changing all the canons. In 1948, the first record player appeared, and the next year the production of vinyl records began.

The last century is the era of the emergence of mass culture, which kept pace with the progress of television. Europe accused America of the penetration of mass culture into European art, a number of Russian cultural figures believed that the domestic classical school was being subjected to excessive “Europeanization,” but the mixing of different ideas, traditions and philosophies could no longer be stopped.

Mass culture is a product for wide consumption that satisfies the needs of the crowd. And “high art” is aimed at the harmonious development of the individual, elevating him and introducing him to beauty. Both sides are necessary, they reflect all social processes of society and help people communicate.

Wars of the 20th century

Despite the rapid development of civilization, the 20th century is a time of the greatest wars and disasters in human history. In 1914, the First World War began, in which 38 of the 59 states then existing in the world took part in one way or another. Against the backdrop of this terrible bloodshed in Russia at the beginning of the century, a socialist revolution and a Civil War took place, which claimed more lives than all the battles with the Napoleonic army. Some of its outbreaks, smoldering in Central Asia, were extinguished only in the forties. The First World War ended in 1918.

In January 1933, the then little-known participant in the First World War, Adolf Hitler, was appointed Reich Chancellor of Germany. He considered the defeat of Germany to be a consequence of the activities of traitors to the nation and was eager to take revenge. Hitler did everything to gain unlimited power and unleashed another, much bloodier and more terrible, World War II, in which about 72 million people died. There were 73 states in the world at that time, and 62 of them were drawn into this bloody meat grinder.

For the USSR, the war ended on May 9, 1945, but for the rest of the world, the remnants of fascism were completely eradicated only in September of the same year, when Japan surrendered after the infamous nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The result of this war was the rapid development of technology, the creation of the UN and serious cultural changes throughout the world.

Finally

Despite all the upheavals, humanity has survived and continues to progress. Developed countries are relying on the development of humanity, unity and science to find solutions to environmental problems, cope with the challenges of overpopulation, overcome dependence on oil and create new sources of energy.

Perhaps those who say that governments have outlived their usefulness are right. Accounting and distribution of resources can be left to the smart machines of a single center, and united humanity, no longer divided by the borders of eternally competing states, is capable of mastering much more global tasks than are being solved now. For example, take a closer look at your own genetics, ridding a person of all diseases, or open the way to the stars. All this remains fantasy for now - but doesn’t the entire 20th century look fantastic with its incredible progress?...

I wonder what the sex life of our ancestors was like? What were the poses? What were the morals like? Or maybe intimacy was something vicious and sinful? This can be judged from ancient writings and folklore. And here are the conclusions the researchers made.

/ Historical facts

Who came up with the idea that women are fragile and weak creatures who cannot protect themselves? Let him stand up and be stoned. Several arguments that can change your opinion about the women's world and women's existence. A fascinating journey through time will reveal many interesting secrets and facts to you.

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In the bustle of vanities, we forgot a little about the 125th anniversary of Mikhail Bulgakov, and when we remembered, in order not to be trivial, we decided to talk not about the writer himself, but about an equally amazing person who became the prototype of Professor Preobrazhensky - surgeon Sergei Abramovich Voronov, who was also considered a genius , and Frankenstein at the same time.

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Art is eternal. From cave paintings to digital art: our entire stay on this planet is permeated with threads of paints, canvases, pencils and pastels. This is a kind of time funnel, with the help of which you can find yourself anywhere at any second. But which of all this is truly worthy of being considered great?

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Great scientists and historians began to conduct in-depth research to prove or disprove the existence of some famous people. I propose to familiarize yourself with six historical figures whose existence is most controversial.

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Nowadays, a phone means every minute access to the Internet, games, applications, and even two cameras to make it more convenient to take selfies. The telephone has become an indicator of a person’s social status in society. Now it serves not for voice communication, but more for text communication, via social networks and text messages. But once upon a time everything was different...

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Amazing architectural monuments, man-made masterpieces and archaeological finds that go beyond our understanding, dating back centuries and millennia BC, present the history of human civilization in a completely different light. Read on to know more.

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Are your new designer jeans so tight that you can't take a breath? Do shoes make a date hell? Well, put your heels aside and check out the real “instruments of torture” that were once on the must-have list of any self-respecting fashionista. We present to your attention the five most unhealthy fashion delights.

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What does it mean if a person “begs the belly” in order to avoid being “hanged” as punishment for a “petty betrayal”, in the hope of simply being sentenced to “relocation”? These are terms that were used daily in courtrooms throughout the 16th to 19th centuries, each representing a fascinating and often disturbing piece of our history. I propose 15 historical crimes and punishments.

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When we talk about cruelty and evil, we often think of murderers, maniacs and rapists. But have you ever thought that in 100% of cases male names come to mind? How could it be otherwise? After all, a woman is a mother, she is tenderness and love. But history shows that indescribable, unimaginable cruelty sometimes settled in a fragile woman’s heart.

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We are surrounded by many things without which we simply cannot imagine our lives, they are so “for granted” for us. It's hard to believe that once upon a time there were no matches, pillows or forks for eating. But all these objects have gone through a long path of modification to come to us in the form in which we know them. I propose to learn the complex history of simple things. Part 2.

/ Historical facts

We are surrounded by many things without which we simply cannot imagine our lives, they are so “for granted” for us. It's hard to believe that there was once no comb, tea bag or buttons. But all these objects have gone through a long path of modification to come to us in the form in which we know them. I propose to learn the complex history of simple things.

/ Historical facts

“Our” habits are the habits of post-Soviet people. We were brought up and grew up in approximately equal conditions, with the same opportunities. And our customs and traditions have made us recognizable almost all over the world. And even if we get lost in a foreign country, we can still recognize each other, even if we don’t talk. One word: “ours”!

A. M. Vasnetsov. Moscow Kremlin in the 17th century

11 events in Russian history that just beg to be shown on screen

We really, really want more historical cinema. We even found some interesting options.

If you look at the historical and near-historical Russian films released in wide release in recent years (we deliberately leave Soviet cinema behind), it becomes a little sad. Not even because history is changed for the sake of artistic fiction, but more often they simply use the era as a beautiful setting for the plot, no.

The story is huge, but God forbid, ten percent of it is taken from it, and mostly the same thing:

• The Great Patriotic War and its individual episodes (offhand, over the past few years these are the new two parts of “Burnt by the Sun” by Mikhalkov, “Brest Fortress”, “Stalingrad”, “The Dawns Here Are Quiet”, etc., TV series - their name is legion);
• First World War and Civil War (“Battalion”, “Admiral”, “Gentlemen Officers: Save the Emperor”);
• the period of time between two revolutions (“The Romanovs. The Crowned Family”, “Rasputin”, “Gregory R.”, “Conspiracy”);
• Patriotic War of 1812 (“1812: Uhlan Ballad”, “Vasilisa”, even to some extent “Rzhevsky against Napoleon”);
• Peter's era ("Tsarevich Alexei", ​​"Servant of the Sovereigns", series "Peter I. Testament");
• Troubles (“1612: Chronicles of the Time of Troubles”, “Boris Godunov”);
• Ivan the Terrible (“Tsar”, TV series “Ivan the Terrible”).

Well, that’s basically it. If you need the Mongol yoke, there is only the “Horde”. Pre-Mongol Rus' in recent years has been represented by “Yaroslav” and the cartoon “Prince Vladimir”; thirteenth century - the film “Alexander. Battle of the Neva".

Biographies of poets with Bezrukov also stand apart.

We understand everything, but I really, really want more historical cinema. We even found some interesting options.

1. Oleg’s campaign against Constantinople

Year of event: 907

Characters: Prophetic Oleg, Byzantine Emperor Leo VI Philosopher

Scene: Kyiv, Constantinople

Fragment of the Radziwill Chronicle

Yes, we’re going to be a little disingenuous here: while “The Tale of Bygone Years” tells a lot and in detail about the campaign, the Byzantine chroniclers are restrainedly silent. Perhaps there was no campaign in the form that “The Tale...” describes it? But just imagine:

Oleg, the Kiev governor, leaves Igor to reign in Kiev and gathers a huge army from all lands - the Varangians, the Slavs, and Chud and Meri, everyone - equips two thousand ships, cavalry and goes to war with Byzantium. The Emperor closes the harbor with a chain - and Oleg consigns the surroundings of the City to fire and sword, and even the chronicler describes what was done as atrocities. Finally, if it is not possible to approach the city by ship by sea, then they go by land; the ships are put on wheels, the sails are inflated by the wind, and so they go on dry land to Constantinople. (Yes, even Karamzin here allows himself to doubt that perhaps the ships could have been carried by hand, “and the fable, having imagined the action of sails on a dry route, turned a difficult but possible thing into a wonderful and incredible thing”).

But, finally, the Byzantines surrender - first, of course, they try to poison ours (but they don’t succeed), and then they agree to tribute and a peace treaty.

And the Prophetic Oleg nails his shield to the gates of Constantinople, and the ships return back under golden-woven silk sails.

Well, isn't it beautiful?

F. Bruni. Oleg nails his shield to the gates of Constantinople
(State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg)

2. Strengthening the Moscow Principality

Event years: second half of the XIII - beginning of the XV centuries.

Characters: Moscow princes Daniil Alexandrovich, Yuri Danilovich, Ivan Kalita and others - before Dmitry Donskoy; Metropolitans of Moscow; boyars, Tatar khans, ordinary people.

Scene: Moscow, Tver, Orda

Apollinary Vasnetsov. Moscow Kremlin under Ivan Kalita.

In light of the current emphasis on Orthodoxy-autocracy-nationality- an absolutely necessary piece of history for film adaptation, moreover, it is important precisely from the point of view of the unity of all three components. From this point of view, it is completely incomprehensible how such a wonderful piece of history and, moreover, the literary cycle of Dmitry Balashov “The Sovereigns of Moscow” remains idle.

The cycle, covering more than a century of history, would be our “Tudors”; there is a place for everything - treason, betrayal, saints and sinners, love stories, plague and, of course, the formation of statehood.

Dmitry Donskoy

3. Standing on the Ugra

Year of event: 1480

Characters: Ivan III, Khan Akhmat.

Scene: Ugra River (Kaluga region)

Monument "Standing on the Ugra River"
(opened in 1980 in honor of the 500th anniversary)

The date of actual liberation from the Golden Horde pales in comparison to the Battle of Kulikovo, which took place a hundred years before. Meanwhile, this is a most interesting episode of Russian history with such details as the use of military stratagem, a split among the boyars, military alliances and, ultimately, the manifestation of the power of the Moscow prince.

In the film I would like to see those moments that are little familiar to the common man. For example, the burning of the city of Aleksin (otherwise we only know about Kozelsk), alliance with the Crimean Tatars (in the current political conditions this is a relevant episode), one of the first large-scale use of artillery in Russian history.

Personally, it seems to me that this is truly one of the forgotten events, although the scale of the Standing on the Ugra both historically and cinematically leaves no doubt that we will soon see the film on the big screens.

Ivan III
(fragment of the monument “Millennium of Russia”, Veliky Novgorod)

4. Rebellious age

Years of events: 1603−1698

Deysthowling faces: Boris Godunov, Khlopko, Alexey Mikhailovich, Stepan Razin, Ivan Bolotnikov, Nikon, Sofya Alekseevna, Ivan V, Khovansky, Peter I

Scene: Moscow and surrounding regions, Solovetsky Monastery, southern Russia (Don).

The rebellious age is associated with the name of Alexei Mikhailovich (but nicknamed the Quietest), but some events go beyond the scope of his reign. For example, some historians begin this period with the peasant war led by Cotton in 1603. But at the time of the second Romanov there were already several riots - the Solyanaya, the Medny, the Peasant War under the leadership of Stenka Razin, the church schism, and the Solovetsky uprising. Russia was still shaking! And after himself, Alexei Mikhailovich left two militant groups, the struggle of which caused several Streltsy uprisings and the Khovanshchina. One of these events is widely known to everyone from Surikov’s painting “The Morning of the Streletsky Execution.”

The whole century cannot be put into one film, so we want to see a mini-series that will consistently reveal the events. History unwinds like a ball in which all events are interconnected. An interesting directorial technique would be flashbacks or the depiction of events not sequentially, but in a mosaic. Then the idea of ​​a “tangle of history” will be fully revealed. You can trace the history of a family or several heroes who are involved in all the events of this century. Because, remember, history is made by people.

5. Discovery of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk

Event years: 1635−1641

Characters: Ivan Moskvitin, Dmitry Kopylov

Scene: Tomsk, Yakutsk, Aldan River, Amur River, coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk

The development of Siberia is our era of conquistadors; comparable in speed, complexity, scope and expansion. For some reason, they usually don’t remember anyone except Ermak - but let’s say, a native of the Moscow region, Tomsk foot Cossack Ivan Moskvitin, who became the first European on the shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Foot Cossacks from Tomsk, led by Ataman Kopylov, move from Tomsk to Yakutsk. He, in turn, sends a small detachment (less than forty people) led by foreman Moskvitin to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to look for furs and the legendary Chirkol mountain, full of silver ore. And they went to the sea, and in the winter of 1640 they placed two boats there - they laid the foundation for the Russian Pacific Fleet.

Vasily Surikov. Kaazaki in a boat
(study for the painting “The Conquest of Siberia by Ermak”)

In 1640, Moskvitin’s detachment with an Evenk guide went to look for the mouth of the “Mamur River” (the mouth of the Amur) - and almost found it, and also saw the island of Sakhalin; hunger forced me to turn back.

In 1641 Moskvitin returned to Yakutsk with rich booty. And in 1646, the capital also learned about the Sea of ​​Okhotsk...

6. Ivan VI

Years of events: 1740−1764

Characters: Ivan Antonovich, Anna Leopoldovna, Elizaveta Petrovna.

Place of events: St. Petersburg, Kholmogory, Shlisselburg.

"Our answer to the Man in the Iron Mask." Ivan Antonovich was placed on the throne according to the will of Anna Ioannovna, who did not want the throne to go to the descendants of Peter I. He became Emperor of the Russian Empire at the age of 3 months and was under the regency of Biron, and then after the coup - of his mother Anna Ioannovna (who, however, , was under the influence of the noble elite).

After a year of reign, he was overthrown from the throne by Elizaveta Petrovna, who sent the baby and his family to the north of the country to Kholmogory. After 15 years of isolation in the village, the boy was completely transferred to solitary confinement in the Shlisselburg fortress, with the condition that he would be killed if he attempted to escape. Which is what happened 8 years later.

The infant emperor was erased from Russian history through the efforts of Elizabeth, so much so that he was even omitted from the Faberge egg created for the Tercentenary of the House of Romanov.

We propose to restore historical injustice and show how a person had to suffer because he was born at the wrong time and in the wrong family, that “emperors cry too,” and the positive heroes of history (for example, Elizaveta Petrovna) can be very cruel.

Ivan Tvorozhnikov. Lieutenant Vasily Mirovich at the corpse of Ivan Antonovich
July 5, 1764 in the Shlisselburg fortress.

7. Decembrist uprising

Year of event: 1825

Characters: Alexander I, Konstantin Alexandrovich, Nicholas I, General Miloradovich, Pestel, Ryleev, Muravyov-Apostol, Kakhovsky and others.

Scene: Saint Petersburg

“Ha-ha,” you tell me, “so there is the “Star of Captivating Happiness”, here are the Decembrists!” But, you understand, I would like to look at the same story from a slightly different angle. From a different point of view.

Karl Kohlman. Decembrist revolt.

Soviet history textbooks - and indeed the entire mass perception of the Decembrists - were aimed primarily at considering them in the first place: what they did, what they wanted, what they achieved, how it all ended. The wives, again, are an extremely romantic story. But it would be terribly interesting for me to look from the other side: here comes November 1825, Alexander I either dies in Taganrog, or secretly disappears and takes on the guise of the elder Fyodor Kuzmich. His brother abdicated the throne two years ago; Nicholas became the heir. And so the leapfrog begins: they begin to take the oath to Konstantin, a secret manifesto is announced, Nikolai declares that Konstantin should be the heir. Confusion, confusion. And so the Decembrists enter this chaos on December 14 - and what happens?

And you know, I’m really very sorry that Nicholas I in cinema can only be remembered in “Poor Nastya” (yes, and Livanov in “Star of Captivating Happiness,” but when was that). This is wrong - let’s make a film about him.

Vasily Golike. Portrait of Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich.

8. Murder of Griboyedov

Year of events: 1829

Characters: A. S. Griboyedov, his wife Nina Chavchavadze, Prince Abass-Mirza.

Scene: Tiflis, Tabriz, Tehran.

Few people know that the talented diplomat and writer was not distinguished by standards of decency in social life, and was completely outraged by the Persians for not observing and even ridiculing their traditions. Therefore, we remembered another hero who combined both positive and negative traits. Nicholas Brody.

Imagine a film about the murder of Griboyedov in the style of "Motherland", with all possible reasons - from angry Persians to English spies. And his young wife Nina, who loves her husband, but at the same time does not accept his defiant behavior. Straight up Cary Mathison.

Put all the components together and we get a political spy thriller with well-written characters, a dark atmosphere and questions that the viewer himself has to answer.

Streets of Tehran. Sketches by Eugene Flandin (mid-19th century)

9. The love story of Maria Feodorovna and Alexander III

Time of action: 1860s

Characters: Maria Feodorovna (Maria Sofia Frederica Dagmar), Tsarevich Nicholas, Tsarevich Alexander (future Emperor Alexander III).

Scene: Nice, Copenhagen, Kronstadt, St. Petersburg.

The daughter of the King of Denmark was initially the bride of Tsarevich Nicholas, the eldest son of Alexander II, but six months after the engagement, Nicholas died in Nice from tuberculosis. During her illness, Alexander and Maria became close, she admitted that after Nikolai she could only love his brother, and Alexander doted on sweet Minnie, as the princess was called in the Romanov family. And a year later the engagement took place.

Maria became empress and lived a happy family life with her husband. But we are interested in precisely these few years of first love, loss, finding new love, jealousy of Alexander’s first passion, Maria Meshcherskaya, moving to a new country. For 20-year-old young girls, this story could be an example of true and inspiring love.

10. Selling Alaska

Year of events: 1867

Characters: General Governor of Eastern Siberia Muravyov-Amursky, Russian envoy to Washington Eduard Stekl, Alexander II, Andrew Johnson.

Scene: St. Petersburg, Washington, Sitka (formerly Novoarkhangelsk).

Did you know that in 1799, the Russian-American Company was created by the state to develop lands in North America? Now this sounds strange, right? Before this, only private companies were present there. But even with the advent of official power, life in the region was not active - there were about 2,500 Russians and 60,000 Indians, whose main occupation was hunting and selling furs.

The first negotiations with the United States were conducted during the Crimean War, when a confrontation with England could happen not only in the Black Sea, but also on the other side of the world (Britain then owned the territory of Canada).

It is also interesting that not everyone in the United States was interested in buying uninhabited and distant land, especially in the post-Civil War environment. But on October 18, 1867, Alaska officially passed into US hands. The transaction cost was $7.2 million or 11.5 million rubles.

In the film, it would be interesting to see negotiations between both the Russian and American sides, the life of Russian people in those distant lands and the history of an individual in the context of the transition of territory from one state to another.

11. Multan case

Years of events: 1892−1896

Characters: A.F. Koni, V.G. Korolenko

Scene: Vyatka province (modern Kirov region and Udmurtia).

In 1892, in the city of Mamlyzh, Vyatka province of the Russian Empire, a case was heard charging ten Votyak (Udmurt) peasants with murder for the purpose of sacrifice.

In April of this year, a peasant woman found the headless corpse of a local beggar on the road. It was decided that the Votyaks (Udmurts) from the village of Old Multan killed him in order to sacrifice him. There were three trials - at the first, seven of the ten accused were convicted, in 1894 the verdict was confirmed, and finally, in 1896, all were acquitted. The Multan case could be interesting not only as a court drama, but also as a trial that was greatly influenced by public outcry.

Acquitted Multans and their defenders ()

We shared the idea for the article with some of our readers and asked them to write what they would be interested in seeing on screen from Russian history.

Catherine:

I would like something about pre-Mongol Rus', about relations with Byzantium and Scandinavia. A separate film about Vseslav of Polotsk. The period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke is also interesting, but not like in the film “Horde”. I want a strong, adventurous movie. If we take a closer look at the time period, then about the Great Game in Asia, when the interests of Russian and British intelligence collided there in the nineteenth century. I became interested in this era after Vadim Nesterov’s book “The People Who Brought the Cold,” about Russia’s advance into Central Asia; in general, every chapter can be filmed.

Julia:

Unfortunately, it is much easier to list the standard set of themes of our historical cinema than to choose one of the many events that have not been previously covered. Previously, there was Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great (okay, Alexander Nevsky as a nice bonus), the Decembrists as the ancestors of revolutionaries, the wives of the Decembrists as a romantic, then the Second World War was added and all that followed, so for the anniversary they remembered the First World War, and thanks for that. Since we need to dwell on something, and with the Romanovs we are not completely deaf, I would like to see something about the Rurikovichs. Specifically about Andrei Yuryevich Bogolyubsky, the son of Yuri Dolgoruky, not the most famous person, but still his biography is worth recommending to filmmakers.

Bogolyubsky's life was full of all sorts of events. He took part in the siege of Chernigov, was expelled from Ryazan, where he was put in charge, independently and against the will of his father, he left for Vladimir, where at the same time he took from Vyshgorod the icon of the Mother of God, which became world famous as the Vladimir icon. In 1169, he took Kyiv, placing his younger brother there to reign, in 1170 he took Novgorod by siege, and organized campaigns against Volga Bulgaria several times. In addition, it was under Bogolyubsky that the Golden Gate and the Assumption Cathedral were built in Vladimir, as well as the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl - all of them went down in the history of Russian architecture as indisputable masterpieces. This can be omitted, or shown indirectly, focusing only on the romantic line. Andrei Bogolyubsky was married to the daughter of the boyar Kuchka, who was killed by his father, and, according to one version, was killed by her relatives because of blood feud. According to another, more plausible one, the murder occurred due to the defeat at Vyshgorod and the associated conflict with the boyars. As you can see, no matter what part of the biography you take on, you can make an interesting movie out of everything. It could be action, it could be political, it could be a crime about a kidnapping, it could be melodrama.

Andrey Bogolyubsky (sculptural reconstruction by M.M. Gerasimov)

Dina:

Speaking globally, I would like domestic filmmakers to take up history before the 16th century, because... in the mass consciousness it is one big white spot (and sometimes a black hole).

If we take specific personalities or events, then personally I would be interested in watching a film about Rurik, because... The events associated with him are an important milestone in history, and the figure is semi-mythical, and in connection with the confrontation between the Norman and Rodnoverian theories, the people have a mess in their heads. In fact, it is a very interesting period; it is interesting to trace the connection and mutual influence of the Slavic and Scandinavian cultures, customs, way of life, everything that can be “promoted” to raise mass interest in the native history of the ancient period.

Anna:

I won’t suggest making a film about the populists, because you could make a couple of TV series about them, several spin-offs, a dozen full-length films - and there will still be several collections of additional materials “How we filmed all this and what we had to leave behind the scenes.” But what a wonderful detective mini-series could be made about St. Petersburg gendarmes investigating terrorist attacks by Narodnaya Volya members! An excellent opportunity to show in detail and not boringly the everyday life of the capital of the Russian Empire, and of all walks of life. “Ochakovskaya Street” is our answer to “Ripper Street”!

Anton:

About whom: about service people from the times of Alexei Mikhailovich. Why about this: Popular accounts of our history often suffer from excessive attention to the tsars, and in these schemes they also strive to contrast the Russia of Alexei Mikhailovich with the Russia of Peter I. So our seventeenth century after the Time of Troubles, even visually, not many people can accurately imagine, and even distinguished from life in the 16th century, and yet there were no less dramatic events in it than in the then France of Louis XIV. And if we are to transfer to the screen the story of ordinary people who created the future empire not with loud exploits, but with decades of sweat and blood, then no one would be better suited than service people, because the country then lived primarily in war. It was an era of constant expansion and defense. At that time, the survival of the state had not yet been ensured, and Klyuchevsky was completely right when comparing our country in the 15th-17th centuries. with an armed camp surrounded on three sides. The great confrontation with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth continued. At the cost of great labor, the dream of the return of Smolensk came true. Regiments of the “new system” were created: musketeers, reiters, dragoons. Every year, thousands of servants of the sovereign, from early spring to late autumn, took up the defense of the borders, and in the “Ukrainians” the Crimean and Nogai raids never stopped... The patrol that was carried out on the abatis lines is exactly the real story that will easily put the defense in the belt Walls of books by J. R. R. Martin.

In order not to end on a very sad note, “oh, there’s so much left uncovered,” let’s be a little glad that in the future we will have a little more variety (and we’ll talk about some of the films), including:

• the film “Viking” about Vladimir Svyatoslavich (aka the Saint, aka Red Sun) and the baptism of Rus';
• the film “Evpatiy Kolovrat” about the legendary hero of the Mongol invasion,
• the film “Matilda” about the romance between the ballerina Kshesinskaya and the heir to the throne, the future Nicholas II;
• The film “Time of the First” is about the first manned spacewalk.

And Nikita Mikhalkov is threatening to make a film (which he will later re-edit into a series - or vice versa) about Griboedov.