Anyone who lived through the Cold War will doubtless recall the shocking events surrounding the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the political ramifications that followed for many years. With the conflict...
Category - Russian History
AndyRasputin facts
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was one of the most controversial figures in Russian history. From his arrival at the Russian court through to the incredible night of his death, the mystical ‘monk’ was one of the pivotal...
How much did Alaska cost?
While Alaska is widely known today as the largest state in the USA, it once part of Russia. For around a hundred years from the mid 18th century onwards, Alaska was a Russian colony but, after a handsome price was...
Lost Cosmonauts
The Soviet Union being a secretive place, it’s not surprising that many conspiracy theories have formed about the Soviet space programme. In particular, there are many claims that Soviet space accidents were covered up...
Cosmonaut Makarov
Oleg Makarov was a Soviet cosmonaut. He flew three missions into space, plus one aborted mission. Makarov was born on 6 January 1933 in Udomlya. After initial work as an engineer on the Soviet space programme, he began...
Peter the Great Accomplishments
Peter the Great is so called because he was one of the most important leaders in Russian history. The most visible of Peter the Great’s accomplishments was the foundation of the city of St Petersburg. But this is far...
Battle of Kursk Facts
The battle of Kursk, which took place in July 1943, was one of the most significant battles of the Eastern Front. German forces attempted to encircle the Soviet armies around Kursk and crush them, in much the same...
Ivan the Terrible Facts
Ivan the Terrible, formally Ivan IV Vasilyevich, was the first Tsar of Russia. His reign, one of the longest of Russian Tsars, saw Russia emerge from its position as a medieval nation state into the beginnings of the...
Yuri Gagarin Facts
Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space on April 12, 1961, when his Vostok rocket completed a single orbit of the earth. This article, written on the 50th anniversary of his historic flight, contains a number of...
Sputnik Facts
This article contains information and facts about Sputnik, the Soviet satellite that first orbited the earth on 4 October 1957. Three Sputniks were launched into space In all, three Sputniks were launched into space...