History is a science that collects, studies, systematizes facts and events that occur or have happened at any time in the past of human civilization. True, there is an opinion that this is far from the most serious branch of knowledge. Partly because information about many facts raises doubts about their reliability. In addition, everyone can interpret the phenomena occurring in society as they like. But still, there are the most important historical events that cannot be erased from the chronicles of civilization, because they represent a certain foundation, that is, the basis of the life of society and human relationships. Some of them are worth special mention.
Chronicles of centuries
What are they, historical events that everyone should know? Ancient chronicles are full of endless wars, struggles for power between the rulers of various states and conspiracies of their confidants. The chronicles of millennia are replete with uprisings of the poor against the dominance of the rich. Almighty kings are overthrown during periods of bloody revolutions. And then some tyrants are replaced by others, if not dictators, then often individuals who do not disdain deception and betrayal in their own interests. There are also enough bright leaders with a strong character, who, partly for good reason, are later called great leaders and heroes. The names of many of them have been preserved by history, although a good half of humanity sometimes does not remember what and against whom they fought.
World conquerors often occupy a more honorable place in the memory of descendants than the discoverers of new continents, philosophers, scientists and artists. However, on the scale of civilization, it is creative discoveries that truly contribute to progress. The most important historical events of ancient times, perhaps, are: the conquest of fire, the domestication of animals and the breeding of cultivated plants, the invention of the wheel, writing and numbers. But who remembers the authors of these discoveries and revolutionary innovations? History does not keep their names.
The most famous person
No one knows whether this man actually lived, or whether his biography from the first to the last word is pure fiction. However, whether he was a real person or a myth, entire states rallied around his name and the most important historical events took place. Centuries-long wars and endless verbal battles were fought for and against his ideas, where supporters and opponents clashed in fierce battles. And even the chronicle of the new era begins counting from the date of his birth.
Jesus Christ, as the lines of Holy Scripture testify, was just the son of a simple carpenter from an unremarkable city in Israel called Nazareth. He is considered the founder of idealistic philosophy, which formed the basis of many religious cults. He was executed in Jerusalem as a criminal, for which he was subsequently deified.
Europe
Every nation builds its own history. In some ways it is similar to the chronicles of other states. However, it is definitely endowed with its own unique features. The culture of a nation is part of the country's history. It is closely connected with the events that occur in the political, state, economic and spiritual fields. It expresses the essence of a nation and human relationships. And each nation has its own most important historical events.
In the ancient period, civilizations such as the Hellenic and Roman arose in Europe, which subsequently gave others a lot in terms of the development of politics, philosophy, science, music, theater and sports. In the first millennium AD, other peoples moved to this continent. Among them are the Huns, Bulgarians, Khazars, Turks and Vikings. They created many states and civilizations that laid the foundations of modern world culture.
Discovery of America
History preserves the name of this great Spanish navigator, although he did not end up where he wanted to go. Until the end of his life, Christopher Columbus did not understand that the four expeditions that were carried out under his command with the blessing of the Catholic kings did not visit India at all. He landed on the island of San Salvador, sailing with his crew on three ships across the Atlantic Ocean, and saw the outlines of an unknown continent on October 12, 1492. This date is celebrated as the day of the discovery of America and refers to the main historical events that influenced the course of development of civilization.
The states of the New World, especially the United States, have occupied key positions in politics and economics over the past centuries, each year continuing to increase their influence on the course of events on the planet.
Formation of Rus'
Our state took shape over a vast period of time, uniting from a huge number of disparate tribes of the Eastern Slavs. Experiencing the strong influence of Byzantium, a neighboring power, Rus' became Orthodox. This happened more than a thousand years ago. And the adoption of Christianity is rightfully considered a historical event that radically influenced the life of Russia. The new religion changed people's ideas, their views, cultural traditions, and aesthetic tastes. Before the times of the dominance of the Golden Horde, Rus' was considered an advanced, cultural, developed country and a significant state.
The Battle of Kulikovo - a battle that took place in September 1380, ended with the defeat of the troops of the Tatar Khan Mamai, although Russian losses were also significant. But the victory greatly strengthened the authority and influence of the Moscow princes among neighboring peoples and contributed to the final liberation of Rus' from the Mongol-Tatar yoke. This achievement, as well as the military glory of later periods, including the defeat of Napoleon's troops in 1812, contributed to the formation of the spirit of the nation. Russians in the world are known for their love of freedom, desire for independence and ability to repel enemies.
The era of scientific achievements
Classical science of the 19th century, paying tribute to its ancient roots, continued to remain largely metaphysical. However, the fundamental discoveries of the second half of the century revolutionized scientific minds. Here are some of them: cell theory in biology, the law of conservation of energy in physics, the theory of the development of the Earth in geology.
The idea of a gradual change in the numerous species of flora and fauna existing on planet Earth has been in the air for a long time, but it finally took shape only in the 19th century in the works of the traveler and naturalist from England Charles Darwin. He published his book on the origin of species in 1859. At first it aroused vehement criticism, especially from religious leaders who saw the theory of the emergence of life without divine intervention as an encroachment on centuries-old moral principles.
The discoveries of the 19th century not only influenced the minds and worldviews of people, but prepared the ground and became the impetus for subsequent grandiose, large-scale and at the same time tragic historical events of the 20th century.
A century of revolutions, wars and tyrants
The next century was marked by numerous technical innovations, the development of aviation, the discovery of the secrets of the structure of the atom and the conquest of its energy, deciphering the DNA code, and the creation of computers.
The rapid development of industry and the economic redistribution of the world in the first half of the century became the fundamental reason that pitted the strongest states in the most brutal and bloody world wars, the beginning of which dates back to 1914 and 1939. In this century, the world heard the names of such great titans as Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, who radically changed the course of the history of the planet.
The victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, which put an end to the senseless bloodshed in 1945, marked the beginning of a new era in world history.
Conquest of space
The idea of human flights to other planets was expressed by progressive astronomers of the Middle Ages. The great scientist Isaac Newton developed theories that later formed the basis of astronautics. Jules Verne wrote science fiction novels about trips to the moon. Such dreams began to come true in April 1961, when manned space flight took place. And Yuri Gagarin became the first earthling to see the planet from a completely different angle.
The Cold War, which followed the bloody battles of the 20th century, gave rise not only to an arms race that was absurd in its madness, but also to a competition between the leading powers for influence beyond the confines of the earth's atmosphere. Human space flight was complemented by the launches of interplanetary satellites and American landings on the Moon, the first of which took place in July 1969 as part of the Apollo program.
The advent of the Internet
The first signs of the imminent birth of the World Wide Web began to make themselves felt in the 50s of the turbulent last century. We can say that the impetus for its emergence was also the Cold War. Influential circles in the United States were very concerned about the appearance of intercontinental missiles in the USSR, so lightning-fast information transmission devices were urgently invented. For this purpose, computer network connections were used. The foundations of the Internet were laid by engineer Leonard Clayton. Later, the World Wide Web opened up tremendous opportunities for humanity to communicate and exchange information.
Here is a brief summary of the historical events that everyone should know. What will happen in the future to the inhabitants of the cozy but restless planet Earth, only the future will show.
Incredible facts
Great Moments in the History of Civilization... Ten periods of history due to which the progress of the human race and the quality of its life grew very quickly. All of the following events contributed to the formation of society as we know it today, despite the fact that many of them happened in the distant past.
10. Renaissance
The artistic renaissance began earlier, but it was during this 20-year period that Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Dürer and Botticelli created many of their most famous paintings in the world: The Last Supper, Mona Lisa, Sistine Chapel, Sistine Madonna, Birth of Venus and others. The discovery of the New World by Europeans was also a major event.
9. Roman Republic and Empire
100 BC – 100 AD
Many historians claim that the Romans stole their culture from the Greeks, but this is not entirely true. The Romans did borrow some things from the Greeks, however, they managed to excel in various fields such as engineering, architecture, satire, ethics (the Stoic tradition reached its peak in Rome a little later with the works of Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius). No other societies, with the exception of Greece (and perhaps to some extent England and China) have made such a serious cultural contribution to the development of civilization. Around the same time, under the rule of the Han Empire, Chinese culture reached its maximum extent.
8. Biological Sciences
Darwin's theory of natural selection and Pasteur's germ theory were revolutionary discoveries in biology and medicine. Lister introduced sterilization in hospitals, and Mendel conducted the first experiments on inheritance. Discoveries in other areas were no less important: Maxwell described electromagnetic fields and radiation, the first internal combustion engine, a gas heater, steel, plastic and a battery were created.
7. Age of discovery
1870 – 1890
During these two decades, electricity, alternating current were discovered, the telephone, automobile, steam turbine, gas turbine, water heater, transformer, arc welding, phonograph, seismograph were created, vaccination and surgical methods of treatment were also actively developed, the laws of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics were discovered. Among other things, the most famous works by Monet, Rodin, Brahms, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov and Twain were written during this period.
6. Astronomy, mechanics, literature
This 30-year period was a period of revolutionary change on all fronts. The advent of Galileo's telescope and Kepler's planetary theory were the beginning of modern astronomy, thanks to Galileo's initiative we now study the science of physics, literature also took a big step forward with the appearance of Don Quixote, Cervantes and the essays of Montaigne (who created this genre). Moreover, a guy named Shakespeare appeared on the world stage with a lot of sonnets, works such as Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth and others. Islamic architecture reached its peak during this period.
5. Newton's era
1660 – 1687
Throughout the 17th century, important discoveries occurred, but the most dramatic advance in science was the discovery of Newton's law of universal gravitation. Newton published his Principia in 1687, but his key ideas date back to the 1660s. Newton and Leibniz almost simultaneously came to the discovery of integrals. Boyle's law, which began the development of chemistry, was derived in 1662, at about the same time Leeuwenhoek and some other scientists began to make “microscopic” observations. It was a fertile time for the development of art (Rembrandt, Vermeer) and literature (Moliere, Milton, Pascal), but not entirely successful for the development of philosophy (Hobbes, Locke).
4. Industrial Revolution
After James Watt perfected his steam engine in 1764, almost every year in the second half of the 18th century was productive. Lavoisier founded the science of chemistry, Hutton introduced the principles of geology, Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations, which is the basis of economics, Mozart developed the standards of classical music, and Burke and Hamilton defined the foundations of Anglo-American political theory, among other things, photosynthesis was discovered. As part of technological progress, the electrolysis process was discovered, the ship's chronometer, chemical processing and machinery were created.
3. Eastern Empires
11th – 12th centuries AD
Chinese civilization experienced several peaks, but perhaps the most “strong” was the period of the Sun Dynasty, during which Neo-Confucianism appeared, the seal, compass and gateways were created, and Chinese painting reached its apogee. Meanwhile, Islamic, Indian and Southeast Asian cultures also kept pace. Meanwhile, Europe began to "claw its way out" of the Dark Ages by building large medieval cathedrals and castles.
2. Mediterranean culture
5th – 4th centuries BC
The first great playwrights (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes), as well as the greatest sculptor in history, Phidias, and the greatest thinker, Socrates, lived in Athens in the fifth century BC. No other place has “produced” so many geniuses. In the 4th century, the rule of the Greeks continued with the appearance of the thinker of all times and peoples, Plato, the founder of ethics, political theory, natural history and logic, Aristotle, and the mathematicians Eudoxus and Euclid. At the other end of Eurasia during this period, Lao Tzu, Zhuang Tzu and other followers of Confucius developed Chinese Thought, and the abacus and blast furnace were also created.
1. Founding of religious traditions
6th century BC
Confucius, Buddha and Mahavira (the prophet of Jainism) all lived in the 6th century BC, although their works became world famous somewhat later (in the case of Buddha, much later). The most important books of the Old Testament were written around the same time. Greek culture rose to its peak thanks to the philosophers Thales and Parmenides, early political leaders (Solon), and poets (Sappho, Pindar). There has never been a more significant century in the history of both Western and Eastern intellectual traditions.
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 Kyiv 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, Alexey 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 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.
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 the 11th grade, it is not necessary to know by heart all the dates from the textbook. It is enough to master the mandatory minimum, which, believe me, will be useful not only in the exam, but also in life.
So, your preparation for the OGE and Unified State Examination in History must necessarily include memorizing several of the most important dates in Russian history. Stay up to date with the most important events in Russian history - and to make it easier to master them, you can, for example, write the entire minimum on cards and divide them by century. This simple step will allow you to begin to navigate history by period, and when you write everything on pieces of paper, you will unconsciously remember everything. Your parents and grandparents used a similar method when there was no trace of any Unified State Examination or State Examination.
We can also advise you to say the most important dates in the history of Russia out loud and record it on a voice recorder. Listen to the resulting recordings several times a day, and best of all, in the morning, when the brain has just woken up and has not yet absorbed the usual daily dose of information.
But under no circumstances do we recommend that you try to memorize everything at once. Have pity on yourself, no one has ever managed to master the entire school curriculum on Russian history in a day. The Unified State Examination and the State Examination Test are designed to test how well you know the full course of the subject. So don’t even think about somehow deceiving the system or hoping for the students’ favorite “night before the exam,” as well as various cheat sheets and “answers to the State Examination and Unified State Examination in History 2015,” of which there are so many on the Internet.
With leaflets, the last hope of careless schoolchildren, state exams have always been strict, and every year the situation becomes even more difficult. Exams in the 9th and 11th grades are held not only under the strict supervision of experienced teachers, but also under the supervision of video cameras, and you know, it is almost impossible to outsmart the technology.
So get enough sleep, don’t be nervous, develop your memory and memorize 35 most important dates in the history of Russia. Relying on yourself is the best thing that can help you pass the Unified State Exam and State Examination.
- 862 Beginning of the reign of Rurik
- 988 Baptism of Rus'
- 1147 First mention of Moscow
- 1237–1480 Mongol-Tatar yoke
- 1240 Battle of the Neva
- 1380 Battle of Kulikovo
- 1480 Standing on the Ugra River. Fall of the Mongol yoke
- 1547 Ivan the Terrible crowned king
- 1589 Establishment of the Patriarchate in Russia
- 1598-1613 Time of Troubles
- 1613 Election of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom
- 1654 Pereyaslav Rada.
- 1670–1671 Revolt of Stepan Razin
- 1682–1725 Reign of Peter I
- 1700–1721 Northern War
- 1703 Founding of St. Petersburg
- 1709 Battle of Poltava
- 1755 Foundation of Moscow University
- 1762– 1796 Reign of Catherine II
- 1773– 1775 Peasant War led by E. Pugachev
- 1812– 1813 Patriotic War
- 1812 Battle of Borodino
- 1825 Decembrist Revolt
- 1861 Abolition of serfdom
- 1905– 1907 First Russian Revolution
- 1914 Russia's entry into the First World War
- 1917 February Revolution. Overthrow of the autocracy
- 1917 October Revolution
- 1918– 1920 Civil War
- 1922 Formation of the USSR
- 1941– 1945 Great Patriotic War
- 1957 Launch of the first artificial Earth satellite
- 1961 Flight of Yu.A. Gagarin into space
- 1986 Chernobyl accident
- 1991 Collapse of the USSR
