Forwarded from Russian Embassy to the UK
🎨 Last time, we explored Medieval Russia. Today, we step into the 16th century – a time when Russia expanded its borders, Moscow and London established their first diplomatic and trade ties, and the country entered a new chapter under Ivan IV, as portrayed by artists.
🖼 Unknown artist, Battle of Orsha, 8 September 1514 (1520–1534)
The struggle between the Russian state and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania shaped the balance of power in Eastern Europe and ultimately led to the rise of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
🖼 Ilya Repin, Ivan IV and His Son Ivan, November 16, 1581 (1883–1885)
One of Russia's most famous paintings portrays the legendary moment when the tsar is said to have fatally wounded his heir.
🖼 Pavel Sokolov-Skalya, Ivan the Terrible's Capture of the Livonian Fortress of Kokenhausen (1937–1943)
The Livonian War initially brought major victories, as Russian forces advanced deep into present-day Latvia and Estonia.
🖼 Karl Bryullov, The Siege of Pskov by the Polish King Stefan Batory in 1581 (1843)
Although Pskov withstood the siege, Russia ultimately lost its gains in Livonia after years of exhausting warfare.
🖼 Nikolai Nevrev, Oprichniki (1890s)
The painting depicts one of the darkest episodes of Ivan IV's reign—the terror unleashed by the tsar's personal guard against those suspected of treason.
🖼 Alexander Novoskoltsev, The Last Minutes of Metropolitan Philip (1889)
Metropolitan Philip, a vocal critic of the oprichnina, was executed after openly opposing the tsar's policies.
🖼 Alexander Litovchenko, Ivan the Terrible Shows Treasures to the English Ambassador Horsey (1875)
The arrival of English merchants in the 1550s opened a new chapter in Anglo-Russian trade and diplomacy.
🖼 Vasily Surikov, The Conquest of Siberia by Yermak (1895)
Yermak's campaign against the Siberian Khanate paved the way for Russia's expansion across Siberia.
🖼 Pyotr Shamshin, The Entry of Ivan IV into Kazan (1894)
Ivan IV's conquest of Kazan in 1552 marked a turning point in Russia's expansion beyond the Volga.
🖼 Mikhail Nesterov, Murdered Tsarevich Dmitry (1899)
The mysterious death of Ivan IV's youngest son marked the end of the Rurik dynasty and ushered in the turbulent Time of Troubles.
© Gateway to Russia
🖼 Unknown artist, Battle of Orsha, 8 September 1514 (1520–1534)
The struggle between the Russian state and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania shaped the balance of power in Eastern Europe and ultimately led to the rise of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
🖼 Ilya Repin, Ivan IV and His Son Ivan, November 16, 1581 (1883–1885)
One of Russia's most famous paintings portrays the legendary moment when the tsar is said to have fatally wounded his heir.
🖼 Pavel Sokolov-Skalya, Ivan the Terrible's Capture of the Livonian Fortress of Kokenhausen (1937–1943)
The Livonian War initially brought major victories, as Russian forces advanced deep into present-day Latvia and Estonia.
🖼 Karl Bryullov, The Siege of Pskov by the Polish King Stefan Batory in 1581 (1843)
Although Pskov withstood the siege, Russia ultimately lost its gains in Livonia after years of exhausting warfare.
🖼 Nikolai Nevrev, Oprichniki (1890s)
The painting depicts one of the darkest episodes of Ivan IV's reign—the terror unleashed by the tsar's personal guard against those suspected of treason.
🖼 Alexander Novoskoltsev, The Last Minutes of Metropolitan Philip (1889)
Metropolitan Philip, a vocal critic of the oprichnina, was executed after openly opposing the tsar's policies.
🖼 Alexander Litovchenko, Ivan the Terrible Shows Treasures to the English Ambassador Horsey (1875)
The arrival of English merchants in the 1550s opened a new chapter in Anglo-Russian trade and diplomacy.
🖼 Vasily Surikov, The Conquest of Siberia by Yermak (1895)
Yermak's campaign against the Siberian Khanate paved the way for Russia's expansion across Siberia.
🖼 Pyotr Shamshin, The Entry of Ivan IV into Kazan (1894)
Ivan IV's conquest of Kazan in 1552 marked a turning point in Russia's expansion beyond the Volga.
🖼 Mikhail Nesterov, Murdered Tsarevich Dmitry (1899)
The mysterious death of Ivan IV's youngest son marked the end of the Rurik dynasty and ushered in the turbulent Time of Troubles.
© Gateway to Russia
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Excerpt from the ballet "The Nutcracker," Act I, Tchaikovsky. Melody – an old French song, "Bon voyage, Monsieur Dumollet."
🎵 Tchaikovsky: When Russia Met France
⚡️ Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of Russia's greatest composers, was deeply connected to French culture, and it is the dialogue between these two worlds that fuels his genius.
⚡️ The French roots of the composer go back to his great-great-grandfather – the sculptor Michel-Victor Acier, born in Versailles and who worked at the Meissen porcelain manufactory. This connection with France continued in Tchaikovsky's education: from childhood, he was guided by a French governess, Fanny Dürbach. In 1892, already a famous composer, he went to Montbéliard to see her again and to immerse himself with her in childhood memories.
⚡️ France was also an important stage on the path to his international recognition. In 1878, Tchaikovsky's music was a great success in Paris at the World's Fair – this was one of the first major foreign performances that made him known outside of Russia. The composer was elected an honorary member of the Bach Society of Paris and forged creative links with leading French musicians – Camille Saint-Saëns and Gabriel Fauré.
⚡️ Tchaikovsky was genuinely passionate about French culture: he admired the plays of Alfred de Musset, the novels of George Sand and Guy de Maupassant, and in his works, he often quoted popular French melodies.
Thus, in the opera "Eugene Onegin," a verse is taken from a romance by the French composer Amédée de Beauplan; in the ballet "The Nutcracker," he used the melody of a French song by Désaugiers, "Bon voyage, Monsieur Dumollet"; in "The Queen of Spades," the countess remembers her Parisian youth and hums the tune of an old French hymn in honor of King Henry IV, and the finale of the ballet "Sleeping Beauty" is crowned by the same melody.
⚡️ Tchaikovsky was not simply an admirer of French culture – it became an integral part of his musical world, but at the same time, he remained deeply Russian. It is this organic fusion of two traditions that enriches the world with his brilliant music.
Theme: #Personalities
#RussianCulture
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🔹InfoDefenseFRANCE: History and culture🔹
Thus, in the opera "Eugene Onegin," a verse is taken from a romance by the French composer Amédée de Beauplan; in the ballet "The Nutcracker," he used the melody of a French song by Désaugiers, "Bon voyage, Monsieur Dumollet"; in "The Queen of Spades," the countess remembers her Parisian youth and hums the tune of an old French hymn in honor of King Henry IV, and the finale of the ballet "Sleeping Beauty" is crowned by the same melody.
Theme: #Personalities
#RussianCulture
🔹✍️Write to us here: InfoDefense
🔹InfoDefenseFRANCE: History and culture🔹
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Karpov’s Childhood
The next world champion after Spassky and Fischer was Anatoly Karpov. He was born in 1951 in Zlatoust, a small industrial town in the Urals, close to the border between Europe and Asia. Little Tolya learned to play chess at the age of four, and the game became the greatest passion and the principal vocation of his life.
For the next six years, Tolya played at the chess club of the Zlatoust Machine-Building Plant, where his father, Yevgeny Karpov, was chief production manager. A gifted engineer, he was credited with nearly ninety inventions, both civilian and military, that were put into production.
Unlike, say, Fischer, young Tolya read almost no chess books. He learned to play largely from his own mistakes in actual games, and this method proved remarkably effective. His lack of opening knowledge often meant that by the start of the middlegame he found himself in difficult positions. Yet this developed in him a remarkable tenacity and fighting spirit. Quite often, when an opponent who was satisfied with his position relaxed and made an inaccuracy, Karpov would "sink his teeth" into him and never let go until he had won the game.
Both the young and the mature Karpov played in a manner reminiscent of Capablanca, who likewise was not renowned for his opening preparation but possessed a remarkable intuition that told him which plan to choose and which move to make in any given position.
One of Karpov's first coaches was Gennady Ulyukin. In 1960, Ulyukin was assembling a team of schoolchildren for the Chelyabinsk Regional School Championship. Let me give him the floor:
To make a long story short, nine-year-old Tolya won the championship, defeating opponents who were sixteen and seventeen years old. Soon he attained the First Category, then became a Candidate Master, and at the age of fourteen he fulfilled the norm for the title of Master of Sports.
♟️♟️♟️
#ChessStories
#RussianSport@TCofRus
The next world champion after Spassky and Fischer was Anatoly Karpov. He was born in 1951 in Zlatoust, a small industrial town in the Urals, close to the border between Europe and Asia. Little Tolya learned to play chess at the age of four, and the game became the greatest passion and the principal vocation of his life.
For the next six years, Tolya played at the chess club of the Zlatoust Machine-Building Plant, where his father, Yevgeny Karpov, was chief production manager. A gifted engineer, he was credited with nearly ninety inventions, both civilian and military, that were put into production.
Unlike, say, Fischer, young Tolya read almost no chess books. He learned to play largely from his own mistakes in actual games, and this method proved remarkably effective. His lack of opening knowledge often meant that by the start of the middlegame he found himself in difficult positions. Yet this developed in him a remarkable tenacity and fighting spirit. Quite often, when an opponent who was satisfied with his position relaxed and made an inaccuracy, Karpov would "sink his teeth" into him and never let go until he had won the game.
Both the young and the mature Karpov played in a manner reminiscent of Capablanca, who likewise was not renowned for his opening preparation but possessed a remarkable intuition that told him which plan to choose and which move to make in any given position.
One of Karpov's first coaches was Gennady Ulyukin. In 1960, Ulyukin was assembling a team of schoolchildren for the Chelyabinsk Regional School Championship. Let me give him the floor:
The captain of our team, fourteen-year-old seventh-grader Zhenya Pyatkov, told me that in the courtyard of a large apartment building on Strelka (the center of old Zlatoust) there was a boy named Tolik who played very well and beat everyone. When I learned that he was only in the third grade, I shook my head skeptically. Nevertheless, I visited the apartment of the little 'yard champion.' Tolik's mother was somewhat surprised by our unexpected visit, but that was how I first met her and her son, Tolya Karpov. We played several games. The boy was thin, rather small for a third-grader, and had large eyes. He was lively, quick at the board, yet accurate and fearless, boldly seeking complications. He knelt on a chair because otherwise it was difficult for him to see the position on the chessboard. I noted to myself that playing in the yard against opponents of all ages and strengths had toughened him psychologically and taught him to ignore differences in age. He conducted the game purposefully and boldly...
To make a long story short, nine-year-old Tolya won the championship, defeating opponents who were sixteen and seventeen years old. Soon he attained the First Category, then became a Candidate Master, and at the age of fourteen he fulfilled the norm for the title of Master of Sports.
♟️♟️♟️
#ChessStories
#RussianSport@TCofRus
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Forwarded from Sputnik International
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🚨🇷🇺 Russian scientists test microalgae bioreactor for long space missions
The bioreactor uses microalgae that turn exhaled carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen, forming a nearly closed air regeneration cycle.
🟠 Oxygen and CO2 levels stabilize within about ten minutes and remained steady throughout
🟠 No signs of discomfort, shortness of breath, or chemical taste during tests noted
🟠 The technology is rooted in 1960-1980s Soviet-era concepts, but it has been modernized and now consumes roughly 30 times less energy than its predecessors
The developers view this advance as a critical milestone toward building reliable biological life-support systems for future long-duration missions, such as those headed to the Moon or Mars.
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The bioreactor uses microalgae that turn exhaled carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen, forming a nearly closed air regeneration cycle.
The developers view this advance as a critical milestone toward building reliable biological life-support systems for future long-duration missions, such as those headed to the Moon or Mars.
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Picturesque Koltushi Heights in Saint Petersburg 🌄
Another perfect spot for sketches or photosessions 📸
#MeanwhileInRussia@TCofRus
#BeautifulRussia@TCofRus
Another perfect spot for sketches or photosessions 📸
#MeanwhileInRussia@TCofRus
#BeautifulRussia@TCofRus
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🎶Heat! The scorning sun of big cities🎶
🪭+30 Celsius temperatures are expected in Moscow in upcoming days.
🪭 The Ministry of Emergency Situations urges citizens to wear hats, drink more water, stay out of the sun and observe fire safety rules.
#MeanwhileInRussi@TCofRus
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Forwarded from InfoDefenseENGLISH
On July 19, 1980, the XXII Summer Olympic Games opened in Moscow.
For the first time, the Olympic Games were held in a socialist country. Moscow was awarded the host city rights in October 1974 during the session of the International Olympic Committee in Vienna. Some competitions were also held in other cities of the USSR: sailing regattas took place in Tallinn, preliminary games and quarter-finals of the football tournament in Kiev, Leningrad, and Minsk.
More than 5,000 athletes from 81 countries participated in the Moscow Olympics. Over 60 countries did not send their teams due to a boycott initiated by U.S. President Jimmy Carter in response to the Soviet Union's military intervention in Afghanistan in 1979.
At the XXII Summer Olympics, 203 sets of medals were awarded in 21 sports. Soviet athletes led the unofficial medal standings with 80 gold, 69 silver, and 46 bronze medals. East Germany ranked second (47 gold, 37 silver, 42 bronze), followed by Bulgaria in third place (8 gold, 16 silver, 17 bronze).
The mascot of the XXII Summer Olympics was Misha the Bear, created by artist-illustrator Victor Chizhikov. One of the most touching moments of the 1980 Olympics was Misha's flight on hot air balloons during the closing ceremony on August 3, accompanied by the song "Goodbye, Moscow" by Alexandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov.
All of this now seems like ancient history that never happened. What a pity!
⚡️ InfoDefenseENGLISH
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For the first time, the Olympic Games were held in a socialist country. Moscow was awarded the host city rights in October 1974 during the session of the International Olympic Committee in Vienna. Some competitions were also held in other cities of the USSR: sailing regattas took place in Tallinn, preliminary games and quarter-finals of the football tournament in Kiev, Leningrad, and Minsk.
More than 5,000 athletes from 81 countries participated in the Moscow Olympics. Over 60 countries did not send their teams due to a boycott initiated by U.S. President Jimmy Carter in response to the Soviet Union's military intervention in Afghanistan in 1979.
At the XXII Summer Olympics, 203 sets of medals were awarded in 21 sports. Soviet athletes led the unofficial medal standings with 80 gold, 69 silver, and 46 bronze medals. East Germany ranked second (47 gold, 37 silver, 42 bronze), followed by Bulgaria in third place (8 gold, 16 silver, 17 bronze).
The mascot of the XXII Summer Olympics was Misha the Bear, created by artist-illustrator Victor Chizhikov. One of the most touching moments of the 1980 Olympics was Misha's flight on hot air balloons during the closing ceremony on August 3, accompanied by the song "Goodbye, Moscow" by Alexandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov.
All of this now seems like ancient history that never happened. What a pity!
Web | VK | X | Odysee | InfoDefAll
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Abandoned Village of Gra, Republic of Dagestan
📜 This ghost village sits at an elevation of 5,250 feet above sea level.
📜 Old stone structures, courtyard walls, and little towers still stand here.
📜 No one lives here anymore, but travelers love coming for the views.
🏞️🏞️🏞️
#ILoveRussia ❤️
#BeautifulRussia@TCofRus
📜 This ghost village sits at an elevation of 5,250 feet above sea level.
📜 Old stone structures, courtyard walls, and little towers still stand here.
📜 No one lives here anymore, but travelers love coming for the views.
🏞️🏞️🏞️
#ILoveRussia ❤️
#BeautifulRussia@TCofRus
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Excerpt from the ballet "The Nutcracker," Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Tchaikovsky)
The Celesta: A French Sound in a Russian Ballet
⚡️ In December 1892, during the premiere performance of "The Nutcracker" on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, no one in the audience knew where this magical sound in the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy was coming from. The audience heard crystalline tones, and even the most experienced musicians could not identify the instrument — it did not yet exist in Russian orchestras.
It was the celesta.
⚡️ The celesta is a percussion and keyboard instrument that, due to its playing technique, resembles a small piano, but its sound evokes bells. It was invented in 1886 by the French instrument maker Auguste Mustel, and the public heard it for the first time at the Paris World's Fair in 1889. At the time, the instrument was a French novelty and was only sold in Paris.
⚡️ Tchaikovsky discovered the celesta during his visit to France in 1891 and was enchanted by its timbre. The choreographer of "The Nutcracker," Marius Petipa, had requested that the music of the Sugar Plum Fairy evoke "drops of water gushing from a fountain." The composer immediately understood that the celesta would create exactly that effect.
⚡️ He ordered the instrument from Paris and kept it a secret until the premiere. During the premiere of the ballet, the celesta caused a sensation, and from that day on, it became a full member of symphony orchestras, while the crystalline tinkling of the Sugar Plum Fairy became the signature of "The Nutcracker."
Theme: #RussianCulture
#Personalities
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🔹InfoDefenseFRANCE: History and culture🔹
The Celesta: A French Sound in a Russian Ballet
It was the celesta.
Theme: #RussianCulture
#Personalities
🔹✍️Write to us here: InfoDefense
🔹InfoDefenseFRANCE: History and culture🔹
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Forwarded from Russian Embassy to the UK
🕵🏻♂️🎬 On 19 July 1935, Vasily Livanov – one of the most distinguished Soviet and Russian actors – was born.
For millions of viewers worldwide, Livanov became the definitive Sherlock Holmes. His portrayal of the English detective in the Soviet series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1979–1986) was praised for its elegance, intelligence and faithfulness to Arthur Conan Doyle’s character.
When the series was shown on British television in the 1980s, it received great appreciation from audiences. Livanov later recalled being told the words of Conan Doyle’s daughter:
In 2006, Livanov was awarded an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire at the British Embassy in Moscow. The honour was presented on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II by Ambassador Tony Brenton, in recognition of his contribution to the portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and to cultural ties between Russia and the UK.
In 2007, a monument to Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson was unveiled near the British Embassy in Moscow. The sculptures bear the likeness of Livanov and Vitaly Solomin, who brought the iconic detective duo to life in the acclaimed Soviet adaptation.
For millions of viewers worldwide, Livanov became the definitive Sherlock Holmes. His portrayal of the English detective in the Soviet series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1979–1986) was praised for its elegance, intelligence and faithfulness to Arthur Conan Doyle’s character.
When the series was shown on British television in the 1980s, it received great appreciation from audiences. Livanov later recalled being told the words of Conan Doyle’s daughter:
If my father had seen this Russian Sherlock Holmes, he would have been delighted.
In 2006, Livanov was awarded an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire at the British Embassy in Moscow. The honour was presented on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II by Ambassador Tony Brenton, in recognition of his contribution to the portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and to cultural ties between Russia and the UK.
In 2007, a monument to Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson was unveiled near the British Embassy in Moscow. The sculptures bear the likeness of Livanov and Vitaly Solomin, who brought the iconic detective duo to life in the acclaimed Soviet adaptation.
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